Surfshark VPN Review 2026: Affordable Service with Its In-House Protocol

Surfshark’s infrastructure

The fleet is mostly composed of physical servers, augmented by a few virtual locations clearly identified in the app. The more than 4,500 servers now feature 10 Gb/s ports, while Surfshark is beginning to deploy capacities up to 100 Gb/s at highly demanded sites.

Under the hood, Surfshark runs on Nexus, a homegrown network architecture that links servers together and no longer confines VPN connections to a simple one-way traffic path between the device and a single node. It is on this base that several advanced features rely, such as MultiHop, rotative IP and Dynamic MultiHop. In short, the provider aims to distribute load more evenly across its network, alleviate local congestion and maintain more uniform performance from one server to another.

As with other providers, the use of a 100% RAM infrastructure is advantageous for privacy, since it reduces persistent traces that could be recovered on rebooted or seized hardware. This alone is not enough to guarantee a VPN’s reliability, but this choice fits into a broader approach, which also relies on Surfshark’s no-log policy and the regular publication of independent audits.

Is Surfshark free?

Surfshark is a paid service. However, it offers a seven-day free trial for its 12- or 24-month plans. Registration now goes through its website and requires a payment method. Once the trial is activated, the VPN can be used on multiple platforms, with a limit of three devices connected simultaneously during those seven days.

Across all platforms, Surfshark also applies a 30-day money-back guarantee. It allows a full refund if the offer does not suit you.

What prices does Surfshark charge?

Surfshark remains one of the most affordable VPNs on the market, while offering unlimited simultaneous connections.

Outside promotional periods, the standard prices are as follows:

• Starter: €2.49/month for 27 months, billed €67.23 (excl. tax) in one go.
• One: €2.99/month for 27 months, billed €80.73 (excl. tax) in one go.
• One+: €4.49/month for 27 months, billed €121.23 (excl. tax) in one go.

These subscriptions include an additional 20% VAT depending on your location. As is often the case, the monthly plan remains relatively expensive (€16.45 ex. tax per month for Starter), but the long-term plans significantly amortize the cost.

Surfshark provides apps for the main platforms—Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS—as well as extensions for Chrome and Firefox. The service also supports several home media devices, from Fire TV to Apple TV via Android TV, and offers router setup options to protect a broader range of connected devices, including Xbox and PlayStation consoles. The provider also supports less immediate usage with comprehensive documentation and capable technical support for more challenging installations.

In practice, the installation process is very standard. First, you create an account, choose a plan, download the app from Surfshark’s official site or the OS store, then log in with the credentials created at signup. Nothing particularly original, but a simple, fast and generally smooth process.

Interface and features

Organisation of the VPN client and web console

On desktop, Surfshark is among the easiest VPN clients to use. The main interface is organized into two distinct blocks. On the left, the list of locations and the various service sections. On the right, the connection module, which houses most of the essential information at a glance. Here you’ll find the assigned IP address, the active protocol, and the state of options like NoBorders and rotative IP. The quick-connect button can also be tied to a specific server, avoiding the need to navigate the location list each time.

The side column groups the different services accessible according to the chosen plan. Features such as Identity Alternative, data leak monitoring, antivirus protections against scams and other modules tied to Surfshark One and One+ are integrated directly there.

Regarding settings, Surfshark sticks to the essentials while leaving enough room to tailor the experience. Auto-launch, protocol choice, kill switch, auto-connect on untrusted Wi‑Fi networks, Bypasser to exclude certain apps from the VPN tunnel, web filter or anti-phishing for emails, the main options are well represented and generally easy to understand. Even when several advanced features are active in parallel, the interface maintains a readability that many competitors struggle to preserve.

Support

Technical support mainly relies on live chat, available 24/7, where conversations are in English. Email requests in French are generally handled within 24 hours via an internal translation system. In our tests, responses were clear and precise.

Surfshark: Speed test

For the purposes of this review, our speed tests were conducted on a MacBook Air (M1, 2020) with a fiber connection (advertised download speed: 1 Gb/s; advertised upload speed: 700 Mb/s).

To keep results as neutral as possible, we performed speed checks on nPerf three times a day (9:00, 13:00, 18:00) over three days, with and without VPN, using Dausos. For VPN measurements, we selected the servers automatically assigned by Surfshark in France, the United States, the United Kingdom and Japan.

These measurements also feed into our open data file, which aggregates results from the major VPNs tested by the editorial staff. They are also included in our VPN speed index to compare services under identical conditions across several destinations.

Surfshark for torrenting

To compare P2P performance, we measured the download times of a 6 GB ISO (Ubuntu 24.04) using qBittorrent, with and without VPN. We let the VPN select the best location and protocol. This method was followed for three consecutive days, each morning.

To obtain a coherent comparative chart, we expressed download times as percentages, to reflect the VPN’s impact on the original connection. In this setup, the lower the value, the better the service.

Despite very good speeds with WireGuard, Surfshark struggles to outperform the competition for P2P. The ISO download time is lengthened by about 40% compared to the baseline connection. That isn’t catastrophic in itself—after all, we never had trouble downloading the torrent file—but the speeds reported by the provider left us hoping for more.

Surfshark on iPhone or Android

Surfshark offers Android and iOS apps that are very similar to desktop clients in both layout and settings organization. You’ll find the kill switch, CleanWeb, Wi-Fi protection, NoBorders, MultiHop locations and rotative IP. Bypasser is also available on mobile, but its options vary by platform: not all Android features map identically to iOS.

Since August 2026, One and One+ subscriptions also provide protection against fraudulent SMS on iOS; on iOS, suspicious messages can be directed to junk; on Android, Surfshark flags them in its interface to help detect phishing attempts via SMS.

Other Surfshark features

Surfshark has gradually broadened its offering beyond VPN with its Surfshark One and One+ plans. First, there is an antivirus for Windows, macOS and Android, designed to detect and remove the most common threats, along with a module that monitors personal data leaks. You can save email addresses and other sensitive details to be alerted if they reappear in a compromised database.

The suite also includes Alternative ID, which lets you generate a secondary profile with a dedicated email address and, in compatible countries, an alternate phone number via Alternative Number. The goal is to use substitute contact details when you don’t want to share your real information with an online service.

Surfshark also adds a browser blocker aimed at family use in its One and One+ packages. The service operates at DNS level and allows filtering of several site categories at home, including adult content, violence, or certain social networks. Settings are managed from the account area, protected by two-factor authentication.

The anti-scam tools also cover SMS. Since August 2026, Android and iOS apps can analyze received messages to spot suspicious senders, phrasing or links. Surfshark claims it deletes the data used for the analysis once it is complete.

Similarly, the browser extension includes an anti-scam detector capable of analyzing email content, the sender and links in Gmail to identify phishing attempts. Surfshark states that this processing relies on an AI model hosted within its own infrastructure and that data is deleted once the analysis is finished.

Finally, the provider highlights Incogni, included with Surfshark One+, which allows you to request data deletions from numerous data brokers and marketing entities.

Surfshark for streaming (Netflix, Disney+, HBO)

As part of this review, Surfshark performed well for standard video use. With WireGuard, HD playback stayed stable on a fiber connection, with fast start-ups, smooth navigation between programs, and no noticeable degradation in image quality.

Do keep in mind that each streaming platform applies its own terms of use and can restrict or block VPN use. It is thus up to each user to ensure compliance with the rules in force on the services they access.