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Surfshark Full Review: Excellent value for money
Last Updated by Moh'd on
February 16, 2021
Surfshark offers an enormous range of premium VPN features with a very competitive price of $2.49 per month. It's genuinely excellent value for money if you're on a budget. Also, you can test out Surfshark yourself for free for 30 days with a money-back guarantee.
Quick Stats
This thorough review will discuss Surfshark features, abilities, security protocols, and customer support. We want to highlight their server coverage and speed, security measures, and subscription plans.
Surfshark & Streaming
Surfshark is an excellent choice when it comes to unblocking streaming platforms. It can easily access popular platforms like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max, Kodi, and Disney+. It also unblocks DAZN, BBC iPlayer, ESPN+, NBC Sports YouTube TV, Sling TV, fuboTV, Yle, and Abema TV. However, you have to note that not every server unblocks the earlier mentioned streaming platforms on the first attempt. You have to change servers several times to establish a working connection. When it comes to Netflix, not many VPNs can overcome Netflix's firewalls; however, it unblocks their geo-restricted content in most countries, making it one of the best VPNs for streaming.
Surfshark & Torrenting
Surfshark has excellent server speeds and robust security measures for torrenting but compared to other VPN providers such as NordVPN, your torrenting experience won't be as smooth and easy. That being said, it's still a good choice for torrenting that allow P2P sharing, and many of its servers are optimized and designed for fast torrenting. Surfshark is compatible with P2P service providers such as; BitTorrent and uTorrent, and Popcorn Time.
If you are looking for an excellent VPN for torrenting, we would recommend NordVPN, as it has hundreds of P2P-optimized servers; you'll get both fast speeds and strong encryption; however, NordVPN subscription plans are pricier than Surfshark.
Security and Privacy
Surfshark provides AES 256-bit encryption, which secures all traffic sent through its servers. This type of encryption is used by governments and militaries worldwide to protect their private data and sensitive information. Most typical VPNs offer the traditional OpenVPN and IKEv2 security protocols; however, they also offer WireGuard and Shadowsocks protocols.
| IKEv2 | OpenVPN | WireGuard | Shadowsocks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Platform | Windows,macOS, iOS, Linux, FreeBSD, and BlackBerry devices | All platforms | All platforms | All platforms |
| Security and encryption | IPSec encryption | AES encryption (most secure) | ChaCha 20 for symmetric encryption with Poly1305 for message authentication | SOCKS5, Best for Obfuscationin high censorship countries. Relatively less secure than other protocols. |
| Firewall | UDP ports 500 and 4500, and ESP IP Protocol 50 | Uses 443 port (hard to block) | The port can be freely selected from the high ports range. If no port is specified, WireGuard uses51820/UDP | Uses multiple TCP ports |
| Speed | Generally fast (faster than OpenVPN) | Generally fast (faster than Shadowsocks) | Faster Available Protocol out there | Slowest in this list |
You would be surprised by the number of security and privacy features that Surfshark offers, for example, The MultiHop feature, which encrypts your traffic data twice by steering it through two different servers instead of just one. The extra server routing creates an extra layer of privacy that makes it almost impossible for third parties to trail your real location.
More of the same, Whitelister feature for split tunneling allows you to choose specific websites and apps to bypass the VPN connection, which means that in the same session, you can choose which apps go through the VPNs and which would go without. This is super helpful if you want to use the VPN to hide your online banking information. At the same time, you don't want the VPN to change your location and change your Netflix content by moving you to a different geographical location. The downside of this great feature is that Whitelister only available on the Windows and Android apps. If you're a Mac user and want to enjoy this feature, ExpressVPN is your ideal choice.
The icing on the cake is that Surfshark runs all its server network on Random-access memory (RAM) memory. This means that any of your traffic data is totally wiped out with every session and every server reboot. Even this sounds like a really essential function and a must-have feature in all VPNs, however; you'd be surprised to know that most VPNs on the market operate their servers on standard hard drives, which keep your data until it's manually erased from the drives. This would arise a severe security threat if someone were to hack or seize the VPN company's servers.
It gets even better; Surfshark offers a kill switch if your connection ever drops; the kill switch blocks all internet traffic until you've safely reconnected to the VPN server. This feature works on all major platforms such as; Android, iPhone, Windows, and Mac.
Surfshark also offers many security and privacy features such as; Camouflage Mode, which hides the fact that you're using a VPN by masking your encrypted internet traffic, GPS Spoofing Feature, which automatically updates your device's location to match the server location you're connected to. Lastly, Surfshark offers a CleanWeb Feature that Blocks Ads, Malware, and Trackers.
When it comes to privacy, Surfshark offers a strict No-Logs Policy, which ensures that your browsing history, IP address, and other identifiers are never tracked, saved, or shared with any third-parties. Also, the company's headquarters are located in the British Virgin Islands (BVI), which is outside the jurisdiction of the 5/9/14 Eyes Alliance.
Surfshark Servers and Locations
Surfshark has a decent server network of more than 3200 servers in 65 countries. While it's nothing compared to Private Internet Access (20,000+ servers) and CyberGhost's (+6,400 servers). The Majority of Surfshark's servers are located in the US, which eases unblocking streaming platforms such as; Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Hulu. Moreover, Surfshark also has servers in several other countries and regions worldwide, such as; Russia, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East and Africa.
Compatibility and Extensions
Surfshark works on all major operating systems such as; Android, iOS, Windows, Mac, Linux, and Amazon Fire TV. As well, Surfshark offers browser extensions for both Chrome and Firefox. The cherry on the cake is that Surfshark's desktop apps are available in 14 different languages, including English, French, German, Japanese, and Korean, which even the top VPNs on the market like NordVPN doesn't offer for their desktop clients. They provide an unlimited number of device connections per a single subscription plan, enabling you to share a single subscription between friends and family.
Surfshark Customer Support
Surfshark's customer service is pretty impressive as they have a 24/7 live chat support team which are responsive, friendly, and very professional. Furthermore, you can also contact Surfshark on their ticket request system, which is too fast and informative.
Pricing & Payment
Surfshark has several subscription plans which differ in lengths and price. The best plan at the moment is $2.21 for two years' commitment. No matter which plan you choose you'll have access to all the same premium features. If you're worried about the long commitment, there's a 7-day free trial if you download their application from Google Play or the Apple Store and a 30-day, money-back guarantee on their plans.
When it comes to payment methods, Surfshark offers a wide range of payment options, including; credit cards, Amazon Pay, and PayPal. You can also pay through cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin Ripple, and Ethereum.
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Final words
The excellent server speeds, plentiful security, and responsive customer support make Surfshark the right VPN choice, especially since you can connect an unlimited number of devices on a single account. That being said, we must point out that Surfshark falls behind the other top VPN providers like NordVPN and ExpressVPN, and the main reason is its lack of consistency and accessibility.