Surfshark is loved by many, not only because it's probably one of the cheapest, but also because it is fast and easy to use.

They have app/software available for the expected major platforms: Windows, Linux (a command-line application), macOS, iOS and Android. It also has clients for Amazon's FireTV, and Chrome and Firefox browsers.

Characteristics

Number of servers and countries

• 3200+ servers
• 65 countries

Location & security

Surfshark VPN was first released in 2018 and it is now based in the Netherlands (they announced a major reorganisation and moving its headquarters out of the British Virgin Islands).

Surfshark is using a two-factor authentication, IKEv2/IPsec, OpenVPN UDP / TCP, L2TP and the popular and most respected Wireguard protocol. They have the usual strong encryption AES 256 GCM and a strict no-log policy with RAM-only servers. They use a kill switch functionnality to make sure your data is not exposed in case a connection with a VPN server is lost.

Unlike many other competitors, they also offer a the possibility of using MultiHop connections, where first you connect to hop #1, say, Italy, and then connect next to a server in the Netherlands. It adds another layer of protection, however it will also likely decrease speed. There are other options available such as "NoBorders" which can be useful for bypassing internet restrictions such as the Chinese Great Firewall

Surfshark has been independently audited by Cure53 in 2018 (link), but just for its browser extensions. However in 2019 they receive an official seal of approval granted by an independent IT-Security Institute AV-TEST

Cost

Surfshark VPN cost are:

• €10.99/month,
• €32.94 for 6 months subscription (discount 50%) or
• €52.81 for a 27 months subscription, including 3 months free (discount = 82%).

You will not that those prices will slightly vary depending on your country of payment as the VAT applied will be different, for instance 20% in the UK or France, 5% in the UAE or 0% in the US (most of the states). You will have also additional discount for students.

The 24-month subscriptions come with a 30-day money-back guarantee, but there is no mention of refunds or trials for the monthly or 6 month plans.

Number of devices using the VPN simultaneously

A single subscription can be used on an unlimited number of devices, regardless of platform (including virtual machines) and offers unlimited bandwidth, and unlimited P2P traffic (although it does not have specific servers for P2P). They have comprehensive tutorials to help setting up its VPN on other devices, including routers, servers, and sharing a connection from your PC to a games console.

You will note that there is also the possibility to configure the VPN to be used with all or only a selected number of apps (split tunnelling for Windows & Android). The split-tunnelling (also called whitelisting) car be useful for example if your bank does not work with VPNs or you want to access a personal network with no hassle.

How to pay?

Surfshark accepts payment via credit card, PayPal, Sofort, Google Pay, Amazon Pay & crypto

• Credit card: Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover
• PayPal
• Google Pay
• Amazon Pay
• Crypto currency: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and Dogecoin

Access to services

For those eager to access regionally blocked contents such as streaming TV, it might be disappointed as Surfshark has no specific servers designed for this purpose, and many of the major streaming services have Surfshark IP addresses blocked or blacklisted. But other reviews also say that they had no issue to stream using Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and BBC iPlayer.

However, as other VPNs, they are not 100% reliable on unblocking streaming contents and as they become populars, Netflix of other services can block their IP addresses generating issues for users trying to connect to a server that does no longer work (you then have the possibility to switch aroud servers to find one that does work)