Surfshark VPN Review: Feature-rich service at an attractive price

Since Surfshark is located in the British Virgin Islands, local laws do not require the provider to log many VPN-related activities, and this is not the case. This policy is comparable to that of ExpressVPN, which is in the same jurisdiction.

You will find a full breakdown of the logging policy in the  SurfShark VPN   overview on the FAQ page, but in a nutshell, the service does not collect IP addresses, activity history, location history of VPN servers, bandwidth usage, session information, or timestamps.

All that's recorded is email and billing information, as well as some anonymous statistics. For example, this can include crash reports, statistics and performance data, and other similar statistics.

Surfshark VPN Review: Feature-rich service at an attractive price

VPN is a technology that allows you to create a secure user connection to a network organized between several computers. It is used, among other things, to bypass restrictions, and also helps maintain privacy on the network.

In simple words, this is a secure connection between the user and the server. The information is encrypted and is not accessible to anyone outside this network.

Surfshark  Best VPN   is a fun service to work with, packed with features, works almost everywhere, and offers one of the best deals. The network has 1,700 servers located in an impressive 160 locations in 63 countries.

The service is strong on technical issues, including strong AES-256-GCM encryption, support for Wire Guard, OpenVPN and IKEv2, Shadowsocks to help you bypass VPN blockers, no logs policy, and a kill switch to protect you if your connection drops.

Surfshark Subscription Options

24 month plan - $ 2.49 per month ($ 59.76 total cost)

There is real depth here. Android apps can see through most VPNs asking for your physical location, but not Surfshark - the GPS Spoofing feature allows it to return the coordinates of your chosen VPN server.

New features since our last review include Surfshark after ExpressVPN and NordVPN in their move to 100% diskless servers, significantly limiting the ability for attackers to compromise or extract information from the network.

App-related enhancements include Wire Guard support in mobile apps, an automatic protocol option if you prefer the app to make the decision, and various small but welcome connectivity-related settings (you can now manually configure iOS connectivity from within the app .)

Plans and prices

As you'll learn from SurfShark VPN's review and Surfshark's dedicated pricing and deals guide, the monthly service plan is more expensive than some at $ 12.95, and paying six months in advance still brings the cost down to only $ 6.49. But the 12 months + 12 months free plan looks like the real deal for $ 2.49.

Packages and prices

• Surfshark 24 months: $ 2.49 / mo
• Surfshark 6 months: $ 6.49 / mo
• Surfshark 1 month: $ 12.95 / mo

How easy is it to install Surfshark?

Installing and connecting to Surfshark for the first time is a very simple procedure. To launch the VPN, all we had to do was click the connect button. After that, a notification appeared on the desktop that we are connected. After selection, the interface displays the IP address.

How secure is Surfshark?

Surfshark has a built-in Whitelister panel. It allows you to whitelist applications, IP addresses and websites. They can be redirected over VPN. This process is similar to tunneling, and if you find that the VPN is interfering with an app or site, whitelisting should fix the problem.

You can also set up a whitelist so that only the apps and sites you select are routed through Surfshark. We tried it out and it worked great. We were pleased to see this feature in the desktop app - many VPN providers only offer it to mobile users.

Ads, malicious content, and web trackers are blocked using Surfshark's CleanWeb feature. However, we tried it, and we were not particularly impressed with the result. Using a dedicated tool like uBlock Origin allows you to block more content and have better control over activities.

There is an option that allows you to automatically activate the VPN when Windows starts, and you can also switch between different protocols depending on your security requirements.

One of the most important safety features of Surfshark is the emergency stop switch. This allows you to automatically disconnect from the Internet if your  VPN connection   is dropped. And we had a couple of problems with that.

First, there is no middle ground. The kill switch shuts down the internet completely if you are not connected to a VPN. In other words, you cannot use the Internet at all unless Surfshark is running. The best option for security would be to terminate the connection only if it is lost during a VPN browsing session. This is the standard method used by VPN providers to allow the user to continue browsing without activating the VPN.

Does Surfshark keep logs?

Since Surfshark is located in the British Virgin Islands, local laws do not require the provider to log many VPN-related activities, and this is not the case. This policy is comparable to that of ExpressVPN, which is in the same jurisdiction.

You will find a full breakdown of the logging policy in the  SurfShark VPN   overview on the FAQ page, but in a nutshell, the service does not collect IP addresses, activity history, location history of VPN servers, bandwidth usage, session information, or timestamps.

All that's recorded is email and billing information, as well as some anonymous statistics. For example, this can include crash reports, statistics and performance data, and other similar statistics.

Application (Windows)

The Windows client interface is more versatile than most others, adapting as a responsive website when its window is resized. At least the client looks just like any other VPN app, with a Connect button, status information, and a list of locations. But expand or expand the client window and it reformats to display the new panels and options.

It's easy to connect. Click a button, desktop notifications will inform you when Surfshark is connected and disconnected, and the interface refreshes to reflect your new virtual location and IP address.

The Static IP List allows you to connect to locations in Germany, Japan, Singapore, the UK, and the US and get a fixed IP address from each one (that is, your IP address will be from the country of your choice, but it will be the same each time). This is very handy if you need to connect to a network with a restricted (IP) address while using a VPN.

The MultiHop tab will route your traffic through two VPN servers, ensuring that even if the egress server is compromised, an attacker still doesn't get your real IP address. There are 15 routes available where the first server is your initial connection.

This may be more useful if you are using Surfshark for only one or two tasks, perhaps torrent downloading; configure your torrent client to connect via VPN, and everything else will use your regular connection. Surfshark's CleanWeb feature blocks ads, trackers, and malicious links.

App (Android)

The Android app also offers additional features: a choice of encryption methods (AES – 256 – GGM or Chacha20Poly1305 perhaps gives you better speed). This is an option to use small packages to improve performance with some mobile networks and the ability to automatically connect to a VPN.

And if any of this doesn't work as expected, you can submit bug reports, raise or view tickets from within the app (no need to open a browser and waste time searching for the desired area of ​​the support site).

App (iOS)

It's the same with the Surfshark iOS app: the look is very similar and you still get a shutdown switch, protocol choices (OpenVPN, IKEv2, Wire Guard), and more. This is an impressive setup, especially for the end of the iOS range, which is often shrunk in terms of features when compared to other platforms.

How Good Are Surfshark Desktop Apps?

In terms of versatility, the interface turned out to be more flexible than we expected and adapted as we experimented with size. Before resizing, the application displays a Connect button, information about the current state of the server, and a menu containing the locations of the servers. While the list of locations does not explicitly show lag, there are icons that indicate the best choice. There is a Favorites tab, a convenient way to save the places you use the most.

Surfshark's static IP list allows you to connect to servers in Singapore, UK, Japan, USA and Germany, so you can have a fixed IP address from any country of your choice every time you connect.

Interestingly, Surfshark includes NoBorders mode. This smart technology should allow you to log into VPNs in countries and jurisdictions where they are generally prohibited - great for Chinese VPNs.

As we mentioned earlier in our  SurfShark VPN   review, the Windows client also includes MultiHop, Whitelister, and a kill switch. You will find the same functionality in the Mac app too.

While there were some minor improvements to the Windows app, we were impressed with its functionality and very easy to use.

How Good Are Surfshark's Mobile Apps?

As a mobile resource and the  Best VPN   for the job, Surfshark is impressive. Some VPN providers seem to regard mobile apps as secondary, but Surfshark's iPhone VPN and Android VPN are highly functional and advanced.

From an aesthetic point of view, the apps are very clean and easy to use. Little touches like dark mode (pictured on iOS above) make it versatile and enjoyable to use.

Mobile users can take advantage of multiple support protocols including OpenVPN / IVEv2, WireGuard, and Shadowsocks, as well as the same emergency switch you'll find on the desktop version.

On top of that, the Surfshark Android app allows you to optimize mobile performance, automatically connect to a VPN in specific scenarios, and choose from multiple encryption methods - AES-256-GGM or Chacha20Poly1305.

Final verdict

Budget VPNs don't have to be feature-free, and Surfshark is proof of that - it's absolutely packed with advanced features, but you can sign up for half the price of some of the competition.

Overall, Surfshark is a VPN with good performance, and there are only rare cases where this performance drops. The speed depends on the location and the servers you are using.

Surfshark is a powerful service and a (initially) low-cost VPN with many advanced features. There are some issues too, but the service has seen some major improvements over the past year and deserves to be on your VPN list.