Surfshark VPN Review

Whether you're still trying to figure out if you need a VPN or already researching the best VPN services, there are many factors to consider when selecting the right one. In this Surfshark VPN review, we examine how the company's security features, pricing, customer service and accessibility stack up against the competition.

Read on to find out if Surfshark VPN is suitable for your online privacy needs.

Best VPN for gaming

Established in 2018, Surfshark quickly became one of the market's leading virtual private networking services. The VPN boasts an impressive 3,200 servers in 100 countries scattered across the globe, consistently delivering low ping and latency numbers on most of its servers. Moreover, the VPN is available on a wide range of platforms, including Xbox and Playstation.

Although its monthly plans skew towards the pricier side, Surfshark offers a strong selection of features and glowing customer reviews praising its reliability and excellent customer service. And while many other VPN services allow users to connect only a few devices at once, Surfshark supports unlimited simultaneous VPN connections on a single account.

Surfshark VPN pros and cons

Pros explained

Servers in 100+ countries

One of Surfshark's major advantages is its global coverage. It offers access to more than 3,400 servers in over 100 countries, allowing users to easily switch their virtual location and access content from all over the world. This also minimizes the impact of sudden bursts in traffic on your VPN connection.

Unlimited simultaneous connections

Surfshark allows customers to simultaneously connect an unlimited number of devices to their VPN account. This can help cut down costs significantly for households with many devices or users.

Low price for longer-term plans

Surfshark offers some of the most competitively-priced plans when users commit to its 12- or 24-month plans. These plans decrease the monthly cost by up to 82% compared to its month-to-month pricing.

Cons explained

Expensive month-to-month plans

Although its long-term plans offer significant savings, Surfshark's month-to-month plans are more expensive than those of nearly all its top competitors. This includes popular services like NordVPN, Express VPN and CyberGhost VPN.

Surfshark VPN plans

Surfshark offers three VPN service plans: Surfshark Starter, Surfshark One and Surfshark One+. They all include unlimited simultaneous connections and come with a 30-day money-back guarantee, but differ in their features and price point. You can pay for these plans on a monthly, 12-month or 24-month basis.

The following sections examine each of these service packages in greater detail.

Surfshark Starter

This is the most basic of Surfshark's three plans. It provides access to all the standard features users can expect to find in a robust VPN service, plus several advanced security features. This includes:

• Tracking and ad blockers

• Private DNS & leak protection

• A kill switch, which automatically disconnects your device if the VPN connection drops

• Camouflage mode, which ensures your internet provider can’t tell that you’re using a VPN

• A double VPN option that routes your traffic through two different VPN servers for additional security

• Full access to its 3,200+ servers spread across 100 countries

• The ability to switch between three different VPN protocols to balance speed and security

• 24/7 customer support

• Split tunneling (only available on Android and Windows devices), which allows you to route specific apps and websites through the VPN while others keep using your regular internet connection

Surfshark One

Surfshark One is the company's mid-level plan. It includes everything in the Starter package plus the following features:

• An advanced incognito mode for search engines known as Surfshark Search

• 24/7 antivirus, spyware and malware protection with a database that's updated every three hours

• Webcam protection that monitors and protects your device's camera from unauthorized access

• Real-time identity breach alerts (email addresses, credit cards or personal IDs)

• Quarterly or yearly personal data protection reports

Surfshark One+

Surfshark One+ is Surfshark's premium plan. It includes all of the features from the Starter and One plans, as well as the following:

• Data removal from company databases
• Data removal from people search sites

It's important to note that these data removal services can only be carried out against companies based in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom or Europe.

Surfshark VPN pricing

Surfshark's plans can be paid for on a month-to-month, 12-month or 24-month basis. Its 24-month subscription plans come with two free months of service for a total length of 26 months. The following table lists the different Surfshark VPN prices for each plan and subscription duration.

Surfshark also offers a dedicated IP address as an add-on. This feature provides you with an IP address associated with your VPN account that only you can access (as opposed to the shared IP addresses you get with the regular plans). The dedicated IP address service costs an additional $3.75 per month.

Surfshark VPN's financial stability

None of the major business credit rating agencies (Fitch, Moody's and Standard & Poor's) have issued any ratings for Surfshark. This makes it difficult to assess the company's current financial stability accurately.

That said, the company merged with Nord Security (another VPN provider) in 2022, resulting in a $100 million funding round and an estimated valuation of $1.6 billion. While this doesn't definitively prove the company's financial stability, it demonstrates large investors' willingness to put faith in the company.

Surfshark VPN accessibility

Availability

With thousands of servers spread across 100 countries, Surfshark boasts one of the most spread-out VPN server networks in terms of location variety. This network provides users access to a wide range of online content and services from around the world.

Contact information

Surfshark provides two main ways to contact their customer service team: live chat and email. Both support options are available 24/7, so you can always get help with any issue or query.

You can contact email support by filling out a contact form on the support page of its website or directly at support@surfshark.com. Its live chat feature is also available through the company's website.

User experience

Surfshark provides mobile and desktop applications for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, Firestick and iOS, as well as extensions for several popular browsers (e.g., Chrome, Firefox, Edge). Its applications boast a user-friendly interface, allowing you to connect to your desired server in just a few clicks.

The software also allows users to configure their connection settings based on their preferences and security needs. Aside from the main interface, Surfshark's website features a robust help center that provides users with tutorials and articles on its features and services. It also provides troubleshooting guides in case you get stuck.

Surfshark VPN customer satisfaction

Customer reviews of Surfshark are largely positive, with many users praising its user interface, high speeds and connection reliability. Negative reviews largely revolve around difficulties canceling the service and customers' subscriptions being auto-renewed.

Although negative reviews only make up a small percentage of Surfshark's total customer reviews, the company quickly and consistently responds to customer complaints.

How we evaluated Surfshark VPN

To evaluate Surfshark VPN, we looked at several factors ranging from features offered and server location availability to price and customer support. The following are the most important criteria we used to assess the service.

• Security: We looked at Surfshark's security and encryption protocols to ensure they align with current industry standards.

• Features offered: We considered Surfshark's features, such as a kill switch, split tunneling and a dedicated IP address.

• Server coverage: We looked at the total number of servers and server locations available through Surfshark to understand its scope.

• Price: We examined the cost of Surfshark's plans and compared them to other available VPNs.

• Customer support: We evaluated the number of customer support options available and their hours of operation.

• Customer reviews: We read through customer reviews to get a better idea of people's overall experience with the service.

Summary of Money's Surfshark VPN review

Regularly featured in expert roundups as one of the top VPN options on the market, Surfshark is an excellent choice for anyone looking for a secure, feature-rich VPN service.

While some users may be deterred by the expensive price tag of its month-to-month service plan, the company's competitive pricing for its longer-term subscriptions makes for an excellent value given its features. Its high number of servers, which enable fast, reliable connections, and availability on consoles make it an excellent choice for gamers.

As one of the few major VPNs to offer unlimited simultaneous device connections, Surfshark is also an especially attractive option for families or businesses that want to secure multiple devices at once without having to purchase multiple subscriptions.