The market is full of different providers, all claiming to have the best service. However, a rising contender known as Surfshark has emerged, which is pretty cheap but promises a lot of security features. But how does it really compare to its more established rivals, including NordVPN, ExpressVPN, and CyberGhost?
Pricing and Value for Money
One of the best things about Surfshark is how affordable it is. During these times when most leading VPNs charge premium prices for their services, Surfshark ensures people enjoy leading features at very budget-friendly costs. For instance, its long-term subscription options tend to be a fraction of the price compared to competitors like ExpressVPN, which offers really good services but at a higher price. Additionally, Surfshark allows unlimited simultaneous connections with different devices, whereas most of its competitors are putting a limit on how many different devices you can connect with one account.
Competitive pricing combined with unlimited device connections makes Surfshark very attractive for users on a budget or families needing protection for several devices simultaneously. Its budget-friendly plans and wide range of supported devices give it a special edge in a highly competitive market. Some competitors might be marginally better regarding performance, but nobody beats Surfshark in value for money.
Security Features and Encryption
Regarding security, Surfshark is pretty much on par with its top rivals. Surfshark deploys the gold standard in cybersecurity: AES-256 encryption, meaning one’s data becomes encrypted and unreachable by any hacker. Much like NordVPN and ExpressVPN, Surfshark has some very high-level security, such as what’s called a kill switch, where one’s internet is disconnected if the VPN connection happens to drop so that one avoids data leakage.
Pouring icing on the cake, Surfshark throws in an ad and malware blocker called CleanWeb. This is a little above and beyond what many VPNs offer by default. Other competitors like CyberGhost do have the same range of security features. Either way, the balance between top-tier encryption and additional features like CleanWeb puts Surfshark in a very different position regarding all-around security.
Speed and Performance
While security is the most important, speed comes almost second when choosing a VPN. Surfshark performs well, but one must know that alternatives like NordVPN and ExpressVPN boast faster speeds. For instance, ExpressVPN often scores very high in maintaining speeds across various server locations while connecting to servers a bit farther away from one’s geographical location.
But Surfshark has remained good for general usage, content streaming, or torrenting. It boasts a lot of servers from all over the world, and most customers can easily access a fast and stable connection. It may not always outperform the fastest VPNs in real-speed tests, but Surfshark is fast enough for any ordinary user.
Streaming and Geo-Restrictions
For those looking to unblock streaming services, Surfshark works great. It can unblock major services like Netflix, Hulu, and BBC iPlayer. While ExpressVPN and NordVPN are frequently top listings of the best services in this respect, Surfshark provides a comparable experience with much more affordable pricing.
Unlike some competitors, Surfshark allows unlimited simultaneous connections. You can stream on as many devices as you like with no limits. This will especially be helpful when there are different preferences for streaming among family members or if a single user is traveling a lot and needs to keep accessing content from different regions.