Surfshark is a VPN that was introduced in 2018 and is located in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) Not only is it award-winning but it’s designed for providing safe and private browsing experiences anywhere worldwide. It’s actually a fairly new VPN in the marketplace but also one of the most effective VPNs that money can buy. And it’s a VPN service that has quickly acquired more than 3200 servers in 65 countries and over 160 locations in just a few short years. Owned by Surfshark Ltd., the company has employees in eight countries.
While compiling info for our Surfshark VPN Review 2021, we found it to be quite an interesting VPN because it’s full of features and will run just about everywhere in the world. It also offers one of the very best introductory VPN deals around value-wise. It’s also one of the top VPNs for getting entertainment really fast and without having to jump through hoops to get it. It also has one amazing combination to offer users. Namely, it unlocks Netflix with super-fast speeds, making for a smooth watching experience.
Surfshark Pros & Cons
All VPNs available today have some Pros and some Cons, so here are the Surfshark Pros & Cons that we found:
Pros-
1. Surfshark never stores or sells your data- The company respects your privacy and is fully committed to never processing any of its users’ online activity data. They don’t collect bandwidth use, browsing history, connection time stamps, IP addresses, session information, or any other similar data.
2. All you need is one subscription- It covers every single tech gadget in your home, so you can use the same VPN account for every device you own. There isn’t any connection limit.
3. Surfshark’s WireGuard protocol gives you excellent speeds.
4. You can cancel your Surfshark VPN account any time you wish but you won’t receive a refund for the service period’s unused portion.
5. Customer Support is available 24/7 via phone plus live chat and the website also has a huge knowledge base filled with FAQs, general info, amazing tutorials, and even answers to billing-related questions.
Cons-
1. A rather weak social media presence,
2. Erratic P2P behavior,
3. Speed may be fast enough for the majority of users, but not the fastest from among all of the VPNs we tested.
4. The privacy policy is rather low on details.
5. It doesn’t offer split tunneling on iOS.
6. Apple product apps tend to be weaker than some other VPNs on the market.
Surfshark Price
The Surfshark VPN subscription prices include $12.95 per month (the average price of other services we reviewed was $9.96 per month). The six-month plan runs $6.49 per month (a total of $38.94). However, you can currently save a whopping 81 percent by signing up for 24 months at $2.49 per month payable at $59.76 now, and then it’s paid annually after the initial 24 months. The wide range of payment methods accepted includes:
- All major credit cards
- Amazon Pay
- Bitcoin
- Ethereum
- Google Pay
- PayPal
Last but not least, in addition to the low VPN subscription prices, you can also get Surfshark for free, just go to the free trial page on their site, click on the hard-to-miss red ‘Start FREE Trial’ button, then continue by sign up for your account. Choose your plan (options are single month, 12 months, and 24 months).
Surfshark features
(1.) Tempting introductory prices,
(2.) Excellent streaming performance,
(3.) A polished interface (can put more costly providers to shame),
(4.) Unlimited device policy,
(5.) Surfshark hides your IP address easily.
(6.) It has a smart feature known as a kill switch,
(7.) It also has a feature that allows you to change your location.
(8.) Surfshark offers a 100% money-back guarantee, so you don’t need to worry about losing money in that you find Surfshark not to be a good fit for you.
(9.) You can watch Netflix on Surfshark and stream your favorite movies and TV shows.
(10.) You can watch Surfshark on your Smart TV.
(11.) Surfshark servers in the US work perfectly with Amazon Prime Video in HD quality with no restrictions.
(12.) Some other popular streaming sites that can be unlocked with Surfshark include:
- 15+ Netflix libraries
- BBC iPlayer
- DAZN.
- Disney+
- HBO Now
- Hotstar
- Hulu
Surfshark Speed
Surfshark users don’t experience any bandwidth, data, or speed limitations. However, you might find that you’re experiencing slow response time (ping) and slower speeds when using a VPN compared to those without a VPN. In fact, your speeds with Surfshark could be decreased by 20 to 30 percent just as with any other VPN. Why? Because apps (such as file sharing clients, anti-virus, or other VPNs) could be using the very same resource tools on your computer that Surfshark requires at the same time. This could have the potential for slowing down your VPN connection. If you simply disable those particular apps (temporarily), it could help your Surfshark speed.
Surfshark Security/Encryption
Surfshark is an excellent VPN when it comes to online security with its AES-256-bit encryption. It also offers a kill switch, split tunneling, and headquarters that are outside of the Five Eyes Alliance (FVEY is an intelligence alliance made up of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK, and the US that monitors electronic communications of not just foreign governments but those of private citizens as well).
Surfshark uses virtual servers because it leads to getting better connection speeds and covering more locations. Their physical servers will be connecting you to a virtual location. For example, when you’re connecting to a virtual location in Germany, the physical server could be located in France.
How you’ll know if it’s working is fairly easy. When your Surfshark VPN is on, simply check if it’s working by looking for the icons on your dock, menu bar, or toolbar. You can also check the status by going to Settings > VPN on your device.
Final Thoughts The key takeaways we’d like to highlight again are Surfshark’s consistent speeds, Surfshark Security/Encryption, great VPN subscription prices, seamless Netflix streaming, and WireGuard protocol. Some users could have some other requirements, but, when it comes to privacy and basic everyday performance, Surfshark is doing VPN quite well.
