Surfshark VPN Review - Tech Advisor

At a Look

Knowledgeable’s Ranking

Professionals

Limitless connectionsGreat speedsAudited no-logs coverage

Cons

No IPv6 supportPrice doubles on subscription renewal

Our Verdict

Surfshark is a superb selection in the event you’re after a VPN. It’s good worth, provides nice speeds, unblocks streaming companies and has an audited no-logs coverage.

Value When Reviewed

From $2.30 per thirty days (charged at $59.76 upfront for 26 months)

Finest Costs At this time: Surfshark

Whether or not you’re acquainted with the identify or not, Surfshark is a great-value VPN service.

It was purchased by Nord Safety, NordVPN’s dad or mum firm, which additionally additionally owns AtlasVPN.

This implies Surfshark sits within the center by way of value, making it the candy spot for anybody that doesn’t wish to pay NordVPN’s present costs.

Surprisingly, Surfshark (and Atlas VPN) don’t place any limits on what number of gadgets you possibly can connect with their respective VPN service at anybody time, whereas NordVPN does. Nevertheless, it’s uncommon you’ll ever hit NordVPN’s restrict, so this isn’t essentially the bonus you may assume it’s.

Importantly, Surfshark’s no-logs coverage has been independently audited. Deloitte confirmed in January 2023 that the corporate sticks by its coverage, so there’s no want to easily take the corporate’s phrase for it any longer.

Options & apps

Limitless connections

3200 servers in 100 nations

Blocks adverts + trackers

Nexus (with Dynamic Multi-Hop)

Surfshark ticks loads of containers and provides quite a bit options past the core VPN service. However to be clear, these don’t embody Alert, Search or Antivirus, three further options you possibly can pay individually for once you take out a Surfshark subscription. The bundle is known as Surfshark One, however right here we’re trying solely on the VPN service.

There are Surfshark apps for a lot of gadgets together with the principle 4 – Home windows, Mac, Android and iPhone / iPad – plus Linux (Ubuntu or Debian) and Amazon Fireplace TV and Android TV apps, which each use sensible DNS to unblock streaming companies, reasonably than the VPN service. You can even set up the Android app on a Chromebook that helps Android apps.

In April 2024, the corporate additionally launched a devoted VPN app for Apple TV.

There are over 3200 servers throughout 100 nations (35 greater than once we final checked). Each server runs fully in RAM and doesn’t write any information to exhausting drives. That’s higher for privateness, because it means no information persists if a server was seized by authorities. That is one factor that was verified within the no-logs audit.

Mathilde Vicente / Foundry

A few of these servers are digital, which implies they’re not bodily positioned of their named nation, however will provide you with an IP tackle that may place you – just about – in that nation and digital servers are clearly marked with a V within the listing.

The apps themselves are gentle and clean-looking, and make it easy to pick out a location and connect with it.

There are three lists: Places, Static IP and MultiHop. Whether or not or not there’s a person server or group of servers at every location, there isn’t a method to see: once you click on on a location you’re related to it routinely. Within the Home windows app there’s no method to see how busy every location is, nor the ping you possibly can anticipate, however on iOS you possibly can see how busy a location is.

No matter which app you utilize, Surfshark opts to not have a separate listing for streaming companies. Luckily, this doesn’t matter in any respect as you’ll see once we get to Surfshark’s efficiency shortly.

In case you’re questioning, Static IP is a not the identical as devoted IP, an add-on that sure different VPNs provide. It’s a choice of servers that everybody can use. If you join to those servers, you get the identical IP tackle each time, which will help if it’s essential use a service that requires you to register an IP tackle as a way to use it.

They’re obtainable within the US, UK, Japan, Germany and Singapore.

Jim Martin / Foundry

The MultiHop listing features a listing of pre-defined routes that your connection can take by way of two servers, similar to Netherlands > US – Dallas. This provides further safety and higher masking of your true location as a result of even when an internet site have been capable of establish your IP tackle from the second server, it’s nearly inconceivable to hint this again to the primary server and – finally – to your actual IP tackle and site.

Not too long ago, this characteristic has been expanded because of Surfshark’s Nexus. It is a elementary change in how its VPN service operates. As an alternative of the standard, and easy – route out of your machine to a server after which to an internet site or different on-line service, Nexus is successfully a mesh community of all Surfshark’s servers.

Now, you possibly can create your personal MultiHop connections, choosing an ‘exit level’ – the identical factor as selecting a server in most VPN apps and an ‘entry level’. It’s not the simplest idea to clarify, which is the place this diagram is available in:

Nexus brings different advantages, similar to common IP tackle modifications (a characteristic sure different VPNs already provide). That is already in Surfshark’s apps known as Rotating IP.

Kill swap, cut up tunnelling & extra

Dig deeper into the apps’ settings and also you’ll discover loads of different options.

CleanWeb blocks adverts and as many trackers as it will possibly whilst you browse web sites, whereas Bypasser (obtainable on Home windows and Android) allows you to enable particular apps and web sites to bypass the VPN. That is known as cut up tunnelling by different VPN companies and might be helpful in the event you don’t need video games or data-heavy apps to run by way of the VPN.

It isn’t obtainable on Macs, iPhones or iPads, although.

The Kill Change is out there on iOS and macOS in addition to Home windows and Android. It was once a plain on/off swap, however now you get the choice (in Home windows a minimum of) to decide on tender or strict.

Jim Martin / Foundry

GPS spoofing is a characteristic distinctive to Surfshark and provides one more layer of safety. It’s discovered solely within the Android app, however ‘spoofing’ the GPS location to match the VPN server location is one other device within the toolbox that may assist to beat regional blocks.

GPS spoofing is a characteristic distinctive to Surfshark and provides one more layer of safety.

Simply be aware that this doesn’t work with location-based video games similar to Pokémon GO.

Lastly, there are the browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox and Edge. These, as with many from different VPN companies, are confusingly marketed as VPNs. In truth, they use proxy servers (as a result of an internet browser can’t set up a VPN connection).

Some measures are used, similar to HTTPS, to guard your privateness and safety, however they don’t encrypt all of your information as a VPN does. We requested Surfshark, together with different VPN companies, to make it clear that these extensions aren’t a part of the VPN service, however regardless of saying it could achieve this, has not.

Surfshark One

Surfshark provides further options which aren’t a part of the VPN service: the One package deal prices further on prime of your VPN subscription.

The primary is Alert. That is an ID safety service the place you possibly can enter e-mail addresses, credit score / debit card numbers and social safety numbers and Surfshark will monitor them and notify you if any are ever leaked in an information breach.

Search, which is a bit like DuckDuckGo in that it allows you to search the net in privateness, and with no adverts. As no filtering occurs, you’ll see solely natural outcomes. Not too long ago this has been improved and is much much less clunky than it was once.

Word that once you use this, Surfshark will document the aggregated variety of carried out searches. It gained’t retailer what you seek for or any web sites you go to, although.

The newest addition is Antivirus. With conventional safety corporations similar to Norton, Bitdefender and McAfee all including VPNs to their suites, VPN corporations at the moment are including malware safety. However on the time of writing, not one of the principal check labs have revealed outcomes on whether or not Surfshark’s safety is as much as scratch.

Privateness & jurisdication

If you wish to allow 2FA to guard your Surfshark account, you are able to do so by way of the web site or within the settings part of the app. There are two strategies of getting a code: Google Authenticator or e-mail.

Undoubtedly, this does add a little bit of inconvenience every time you wish to log in, however since that occurs fairly sometimes, it’s nicely value enabling because it helps to forestall anybody else signing into your Surfshark account.

However what in regards to the privateness of the service itself? Surfshark was once registered within the British Virgin Islands, which is exterior of the jurisdiction of the 14-eyes – nations which share intelligence with one another.

Pretty not too long ago, however earlier than it was purchased by Nord, Surfshark switched to the Netherlands, citing “its favorable enterprise, financial and political setting, in addition to no-logs-friendly authorized jurisdiction”.

Though a 9-eyes nation, the truth that a court docket struck down its necessary information retention coverage in 2015 implies that Surfshark can proceed to function its no-logs coverage as earlier than.

It collects your e-mail tackle and billing data once you arrange an account, and its Privateness Coverage states “We don’t gather any details about what you do on-line (your visited IP addresses, shopping historical past, session data, used bandwidth, connection time stamps, community site visitors or every other comparable data).”

“Our servers do retailer details about your connection to a specific VPN server (consumer ID and connection time stamps), BUT this data is routinely deleted inside quarter-hour after termination of your session. And be assured that no data is saved in regards to the web sites you go to.”

So, total, the change in jurisdication isn’t a problem.

And as we’ve lined, the no-logs coverage has been audited, which provides numerous reassurance.

Efficiency & unblocking

Relating to testing a VPN’s efficiency there are lots of elements and variables concerned. And since WireGuard allows such excessive speeds, you want a really quick web connection to check it.

We used a synchronous gigabit connection in San Francisco, which on the time of testing was reporting these speeds:

Jim Martin / Foundry

When related to varied servers world wide, utilizing WireGuard, Surfshark managed the next speeds. Clockwise from top-left, these are New York, London, Dubai and Tokyo.

Jim Martin / Foundry

These are spectacular numbers. Lots of Surfshark’s rivals – together with those who price extra – are nowhere close to as quick. They usually’re sooner than numerous house broadband connections, that means you’ll discover little to no slowdown in any respect.

Connection occasions are comparatively swift and, as soon as related, we discovered they have been dependable, too. There’s extra excellent news, too. We discovered no IP or DNS leaks whereas testing the service.

Lots of Surfshark’s rivals – together with those who price extra – are nowhere close to as quick

The one niggle, which is strictly that and never a deal-breaker, is that Surfshark doesn’t help IPv6. This implies it is going to block all IPv6 site visitors and power your gadgets to make use of IPv4. Surfshark beforehand mentioned it could add IPv6 help in 2021, nevertheless it didn’t occur as a result of its priorities shifted. As of January 2023, there’s nonetheless no phrase on when this might be carried out. For extra, see does it matter in case your VPN doesn’t help IPv6?

Unblocking

As for getting round regional blocks and accessing content material with Surfshark, we have been glad to search out it unblocked BBC iPlayer and ITV Hub when related to a UK server. Initially, iPlayer gave us the standard error, however opening an incognito tab in Chrome sorted the issue.

Mathilde Vicente / Foundry

It’s additionally capable of unblock 15 Netflix areas and plenty of different companies similar to Disney+ and Amazon Prime (however keep in mind you possibly can solely unblock the area your Amazon account is ready to). Total, Surfshark is a good selection for streaming video.

Help

Each time we’ve tried the 24/7 on-line chat, a consultant has replied inside a minute and has been capable of reply our questions rapidly and effectively with a pleasant and cheerful perspective. Simply be aware that chat is out there on Surfshark’s web site, not within the apps, and you need to scroll to the underside on the help web page to search out the “Chat with us” button.

Value & plans

Surfshark, like all VPN companies, provides large reductions in the event you join a 12 months or extra. On the time of writing, it was providing 86% off its one-month subscription value once you join a two-year subscription.

See Surfshark plans.

That prices £54.76/$64.78, which works out as £2.28/$2.68 per thirty days – and also you get three months further free, a complete of 27 months. The costs right here embody VAT (UK) and gross sales tax (US), which is why they’re increased than the costs proven on Surfshark’s web site, which don’t.

Sadly, as with NordVPN, there’s a nasty shock when the subscription renews: roughly the identical quantity is then billed yearly, making it twice as costly.

We’d counsel cancelling the subscription earlier than it renews and getting one other VPN deal.

If you would like the additional options in Surfshark One, they price £2.96/$3.29 per thirty days

There’s no free trial however a 30-day a refund assure provides a method to strive Surfshark and get a refund in the event you’re not glad with the service. Fee choices embody bank card, PayPal and Google Pay in addition to cryptocurrency choices for many who wish to pay anonymously. All cost strategies say they are often refunded, even crypto.

Verdict

We’ve all the time mentioned that Surfshark provides nice worth, and that’s nonetheless true in 2024 because the service is markedly higher than it was when it launched in 2018.

With new options similar to Dynamic MultiHop and Rotating IP that goes together with it, plus nice speeds, succesful unblocking, plus the actual fact there’s no restrict to the variety of gadgets you should utilize with the VPN service, there’s little to complain about.

Simply keep in mind that some options aren’t obtainable in some apps and we’d actually like Surfshark to make it so much clearer that the browser extensions don’t provide VPN safety.

Nevertheless, for the overwhelming majority of people that simply desire a VPN for unblocking and a few further privateness on-line, Surfshark is a superb selection.

For options to Surfshark, see our suggestions of the most effective VPNs.

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