Surfshark VPN review (2026): a cheap VPN with no device limit

What Surfshark VPN is in 2026

Surfshark launched its VPN in 2018 and has grown into a set of privacy products sold from one account: the VPN, an ad blocker, an identity alias tool, antivirus, breach alerts and a data removal service called Incogni. The contracting company is Surfshark B.V. in Amsterdam, with offices in Vilnius, Kaunas, Warsaw and Berlin and more than 500 staff. In 2022 Surfshark and Nord Security, the company behind NordVPN, merged under one holding company. Surfshark says the two still run independently, and they sell separate apps on separate networks.

The network is now 4,500+ servers in 100 countries and 130+ locations. Every server runs from RAM rather than hard drives, so a reboot wipes what was on it, and Surfshark says its network uses 10 Gbps ports.

Surfshark's biggest difference from ExpressVPN and CyberGhost is the device rule. One subscription covers as many devices as you install it on, with no cap on how many connect at once. ExpressVPN allows 10 to 14 depending on the plan, and CyberGhost allows 7. For a family with phones, laptops, a smart TV and a games console, that rule alone can decide the purchase.

Setting up Surfshark

You buy a plan on the website, create an account with your email address and download the app for each device. Surfshark has apps for Windows (including a separate installer for ARM processors), macOS, Linux, iOS and Android, extensions for Chrome, Firefox and Edge, and apps for Fire TV, Apple TV and Android TV. For a Nintendo Switch, Xbox, PlayStation, Quest headset, Apple Vision Pro, Chromebook or Raspberry Pi, the download page links to setup guides. Routers need a manual setup, which then covers every device on your home network.

If you would rather test it first, the 7-day free trial is open to first-time users on the 1-year and 2-year plans. You still enter card, PayPal or Apple Pay details at the start, and Surfshark charges you when the 7 days end. The trial covers 3 devices, and some account settings, such as changing your email or two-factor settings, stay locked until you pay. Because the 30-day money-back guarantee starts from that first payment, you get 37 days in total to decide.

Once installed, the apps have a Quick-connect button for the fastest or a preferred location and an auto-connect setting that starts the VPN when you go online. Most of the features in this review sit in the app's settings and are off until you turn them on.

Plans: Starter, One and One+

Surfshark sells three plans, each for 1 month, 1 year or 2 years.

Starter is the VPN on its own, plus CleanWeb and Alternative ID. Every VPN feature in this review comes with Starter, including unlimited devices.

One adds Surfshark Antivirus and Alert, along with the other tools Surfshark groups under One. Antivirus runs on Windows 10 or later (not Windows on ARM), macOS 11 Big Sur or later and 64-bit Android 10 or later. Alert tells you when your email addresses, ID numbers or card details appear in a data leak.

One+ adds Incogni, which sends removal requests to 420+ data brokers that collect and sell personal details, and identity theft coverage of up to $1M for new One+ customers in the US outside New York State.

The pricing page is confusing here. Its three plan cards list the same items, but the plan data behind the page and the Antivirus page both show that Antivirus and Alert come only with One and One+. If you buy for antivirus, make sure you pick One.

Privacy, logging and audits

Surfshark says it keeps no usage logs, meaning no record of the websites you visit, the files you download or the apps you use. It does keep your email address, an encrypted password, basic billing details and your order history, plus what its no-logs page calls minimal information about your connection to its servers.

Deloitte issued assurance reports on that policy under the ISAE 3000 standard in 2023 and again in 2025, and Cure53 ran Surfshark's first independent audit in 2018. RAM-only servers support the same claim, since they keep nothing once they restart.

Surfshark also publishes a quarterly transparency report. For July to September 2026 it lists 309,186 DMCA requests and 23 inquiries from government institutions, with no national security letters, gag orders or warrants. Surfshark says none of the requests led it to disclose data about users' online activity. That wording covers browsing activity, so read it alongside the list of account data above.

On jurisdiction, older reviews (including Woofresh's 2019 review) placed Surfshark in the British Virgin Islands. Today you contract with Surfshark B.V. in the Netherlands, which Surfshark says does not require companies to store or report user data, though its terms of service are still governed by British Virgin Islands law.

Protocols and encryption

Surfshark lists four protocols. WireGuard is the main one, and Surfshark says it adds post-quantum protection by default on macOS, Android and Linux, which guards against attackers who record traffic now and try to decrypt it with future quantum computers. That protection does not apply to manual WireGuard configurations. Dausos is Surfshark's own protocol, with AEGIS-256X2 encryption and post-quantum protection, and for now it is only in the macOS app. OpenVPN stays for routers and manual setups. IKEv2 has gone from the Windows app, though you can still set it up through Windows' own VPN settings.

Surfshark names AES-256-GCM and ChaCha20 as its other ciphers but does not say which protocol uses which. In practice you can leave the app on its automatic choice unless a router or a work network forces OpenVPN.

The features you will use

A few settings matter to most people.

CleanWeb blocks ads, trackers and known malware sites while the VPN is connected, in the apps for Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Fire TV and Apple TV. The browser extensions do more in the browser: they block video ads and cookie consent pop-ups and work without the VPN switched on. Every plan includes it.

Bypasser is Surfshark's split tunneling. On Windows, macOS and Android you can pick apps that skip the VPN, and on all four main platforms you can add websites that do the same, so your bank or a local delivery app sees your real connection. Windows also accepts IP addresses. Reverse Bypasser flips this and sends only the apps you choose through the VPN, which is handy if you only want a torrent client or one browser protected.

The Kill Switch cuts your internet if the VPN drops, on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS and Android. Its strict mode blocks the internet whenever the VPN is off, even if you switched it off yourself, which suits anyone who would rather lose the connection than leak it. Surfshark's Everlink feature also tries to restore a dropped connection on its own.

Pause VPN turns the VPN off for 5 minutes, 30 minutes or 2 hours and then switches it back on, so a site that blocks VPNs does not leave you unprotected for the rest of the day. On Android, GPS override makes apps that read your GPS location see the location of your VPN server.

Restricted networks and extra privacy tools

NoBorders is meant for networks that try to block VPNs, from a school or office firewall to a country that censors the internet. The app switches it on when it detects a restriction and shows servers that tend to work there; you can also turn it on yourself under Settings, Advanced. Obfuscated servers make your VPN traffic harder for your internet provider to recognize.

For heavy state censorship, such as in China, Surfshark makes fewer promises than a specialist. Astrill VPN is built around its own StealthVPN and OpenWeb protocols for those networks, at a much higher price. We did not test either service inside a censored country.

Surfshark also has several tools that go beyond a basic VPN:

• Multi Hop sends your traffic through two servers in different countries, from preset pairs or a pair you choose, on iOS, macOS, Android, Windows and Linux. Surfshark warns that it usually slows you down.
• Rotating IP changes your IP address about every five minutes inside the location you picked, without dropping the connection, on Windows, Android, iOS and macOS.
• Alternative ID gives you a generated name and email address for sign-ups, so spam and leaks land on the alias. It comes with every plan. A US phone number for receiving calls and texts costs $2.29 a month extra and is non-refundable.
• Dedicated IP gives you an address no other customer uses, which helps with sites that block shared VPN addresses. Surfshark lists it from $3.75 a month in 15 cities across 12 countries, including New York, Los Angeles, London and Tokyo. You cannot change the city after you buy it.

Streaming, torrenting and gaming

Surfshark's use-case pages name Netflix, Disney Plus, HBO Max, BBC iPlayer, Hulu, Crunchyroll and Twitch among the services people use it with, and the server list marks P2P servers by location. It does not name specific Netflix libraries, and streaming services change what they block from month to month. The old Woofresh review counted more than 30 Netflix libraries in 2019; we have not repeated that test, so treat the 30-day guarantee as your test period for the services you care about.

For gaming, Surfshark has setup guides for Nintendo Switch, Xbox and PlayStation, and the apps for Fire TV, Apple TV and Android TV mean a living room can share the same account as everyone's phones, with no device count to worry about.

Pricing and value

Prices below are in US dollars before tax, as Surfshark's pricing page loads them for US visitors on November 4, 2026.

The 2-year plans are where Surfshark looks cheap: Starter and One both cost $67.23 for the first 27 months, about $2.49 a month, and One+ costs $107.73, about $3.99 a month. The 1-year plans cost $44.85 for 15 months on Starter or One and $104.85 on One+. Paying monthly costs $18.95 for Starter, $19.95 for One and $22.85 for One+.

Two things change the sums. First, the long plans renew yearly at Surfshark's standard prices: $79 a year for Starter, $99 for One and $119 for One+. Surfshark emails you 30 days before a long plan renews, and its terms say it may test different prices on different visitors. Second, One is labeled a Black Friday deal right now, which is why it costs the same as Starter on the 2-year plan. While that lasts, One is the better buy, because you get Antivirus and Alert for nothing extra.

Over three years, a Starter customer who buys the 2-year deal pays $67.23 and then $79 for the next year, about $146 for 39 months of service. That is still cheap for a VPN with no device limit, but the first price is not what you will pay forever.

The money-back guarantee covers 30 days from your first purchase, once per service. Renewals are not refunded, and neither are payments by prepaid or gift card, Alternative Number or anonymous Dedicated IP purchases. Crypto payments are refunded in the same coin at the exchange rate on the day of the refund.

Support

Surfshark's homepage promises 24/7 support, and its teams page lists 24/7 live chat and email. The Help Center has a "Chat with us" button, a request form and guides on setup, connection and speed problems, streaming, billing and two-factor sign-in. You can also email [email protected]. There is no phone line.

Businesses can buy Surfshark for teams from five licenses, with an admin panel and per-user pricing that starts from $5.90 a month on a 1-year plan for Starter. Dedicated IP is not available on the teams plans.

Surfshark vs ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN sells three plans, Basic, Advanced and Express Pro, that allow 10, 12 and 14 devices at once. For a single person or a couple, that is plenty, and ExpressVPN also gives new users a 30-day money-back guarantee. Surfshark's advantage is the missing device cap and a lower first-term price, which matter most to a large household or someone with many gadgets. Choose ExpressVPN if you want a fixed device count and you are happy within its limits; choose Surfshark if you keep adding devices or want the cheapest first two years.

Surfshark vs CyberGhost

CyberGhost VPN allows 7 connections at once and gives the longest refund window of the three: 45 days on its 6-month and 2-year plans, and 14 days on the monthly plan. Surfshark gives 30 days, plus the 7-day trial on longer plans. Pick CyberGhost if you want more time to change your mind and 7 devices is enough. Pick Surfshark if you need more than 7 devices, or want ad blocking, split tunneling and Multi Hop on every plan.

If you want a VPN that costs nothing at all, neither fits; Windscribe VPN has a free plan you can keep using without paying.

Pricing and value

Checked November 4, 2026, in US dollars before tax. Starter: $18.95 a month, $44.85 for the first 15 months or $67.23 for the first 27 months, then $79 a year. One: $19.95 a month, $44.85 for 15 months or $67.23 for 27 months, then $99 a year. One+: $22.85 a month, $104.85 for 15 months or $107.73 for 27 months, then $119 a year. Add-ons: Alternative Number $2.29 a month, Dedicated IP from $3.75 a month. A 7-day free trial is available on the 1-year and 2-year plans, and every plan has a 30-day money-back guarantee on the first purchase.

Who should buy it

Buy Surfshark if you want to protect a whole household on one account, including TVs and consoles, without counting devices. It also suits people who want an ad blocker and split tunneling built into the VPN, and anyone who wants antivirus and breach alerts from the same account while One costs the same as Starter.

Who should skip it

Skip it if you need a VPN that works reliably in China or similar countries (Astrill VPN is built for that), if you want a free plan (Windscribe VPN), or if you want the longest refund window (CyberGhost VPN gives 45 days on its longer plans). If you will stay for years and hate renewal price rises, compare the renewal rates, not the first-term price.