Surfshark Review 2021 – It’s Affordable, But Is it Safe and Fast?

Surfshark VPN is no longer the new kid on the block. I’ve seen this British Virgin Island-based VPN grow from just 100 to 3200+ servers in a little over a year. Some of these servers even make Surfshark accessible in China.

There’s a lot to love about Surfshark. To start, Surfshark is a secure VPN offering strong encryption, speed, unblocking ability, privacy, and much more for just $2.49/mo .

Surfshark guarantees that it maintains no logs of privacy-sensitive information of users, claiming that Cure53’s independent audit is legitimate. It is also safe to use and offers amazing security features, as I also tested and verified its policy.

Overall the results were impressive – Surfshark is a great VPN service that has a lot to offer and is super affordable too. 

However, there is still a little room for improvement, if we talk about speeds and server networks, considering its server coverage is smaller than most VPNs. I would recommend ExpressVPN if you want global server coverage and fast speeds.

Surfshark Features – July 2021 Update

Number of servers	3200
Server locations	65
Number of IP Address	3,200+
Encryption	AES-256 Bit
Does it keep logs	No Logs
Number of devices per subscription	Unlimited Devices
Does it include a kill switch?	Yes
Price	$2.49/mo

Streaming – Is Surfshark good for streaming? ⭐9.0

Yes, Surfshark VPN is one of the best choices available for streaming. This is seriously impressive, considering that most VPNs nowadays cannot get past the firewalls and VPN-blocking technologies implemented by popular streaming services.

I tested Surfshark with streaming services such as Netflix, BBC iPlayer, and Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video and found them working flawlessly.

Netflix	Hotstar
Hulu	The CW
Amazon Prime Video	Crave
BBC iPlayer	Crunchyroll
Disney+	Voot
HBO Go	Peacock TV
HBO Now	Stan
HBO Max	Fubo TV
Vudu	Foxtel
CBS	SHOWTIME
Sky TV	Channel 4
ESPN	DAZN

Does Surfshark work with Netflix?

Before accessing Netflix or any other streaming content with a VPN, we recommend that you clear your browser cache, cookies, and history one time.

Apart from Netflix, other popular streaming services, which include BBC iPlayer, Hulu, and Disney Plus, are also accessible in 1080p HD quality. I could also stream geo-restricted BBC iPlayer content using Kodi Addon with the UK server (Manchester was faster than London).

I had no issue unblocking sites with Surfshark. However, it did act up when I tried to unblock Hotstar. I had to change several servers and it finally unblocked on my 7th attempt. During testing, the speeds were extremely slow and there was alot of buffering. It could be due to the distance, but the video kept buffering and it was unwatchable.

Surfshark also offers something scarce these days with many VPN providers. While I was testing different websites with its servers, I noticed that if I enabled its CleanWeb adblocker feature, it would stop all those annoying ads from popping up. It made my streaming and browsing experience very smooth.

Speed – How fast is Surfshark for Online Activities? ⭐8.5

Downloading speed is one area where Surfshark needs to improve. Despite offering 3200+ servers in 63 countries, I found Surfshark to deliver burdened down downloading speeds on most servers that I tested with my 100 Mbps connection in my speed tests. We checked three things in speed tests:

• Download speed is the speed at which you receive data from the server. It is important to load pages, streaming and more.
• Upload speed is how fast you are sending data to the server, for example, during social media, sending emails, video calling and more.
• Ping is the time it takes for the data to travel. It is measured in milliseconds. Lower pings mean  low latency and high responsiveness. It is important for gaming.

But on the other hand, I can’t complain about its uploading speeds. While Surfshark struggled to exceed the 25 Mpbs downloading speed mark, it managed to deliver uploading speeds in the upper 80s to the 90s range.

First, I checked my connection speed without connecting to Surfshark as a basis for speed comparison for other locations. The tests were run from Madrid, Spain. I ran these tests on my Windows 10 laptop.

Speed without VPN (Madrid, Spain)

Download Speed (Mbps)	80.24
Upload Speed (Mbps)	98.3
Pings (ms)	12

Local Servers Speed

Using Surfshark’s “Fastest Server” option I connected to a server in Valencia in Spain and experienced a slight slowdown in speeds.

Valencia (Spain):

Download Speed (Mbps)	68.09  (15% decrease)
Upload Speed (Mbps)	92.6  (5.7% decrease)
Pings (ms)	29

It’s normal to experience a slight decrease in your speed when you connect to a VPN. But somehow, Surfshark kept giving very high upload speeds and very low download speeds as I experienced a 15 percent decrease in download speeds.

Portugal (Lisbon): 

Download Speed (Mbps)	38.05  (52.5% decrease)
Upload Speed (Mbps)	93.07  (5.3% decrease)
Pings (ms)	43

Next, I tried Lisbon – Portugal server that was not too far from my actual location and got somewhat similar results – low download speed and very high upload speeds with lower pings.

Even with very slow speeds, it didn’t affect the performance as I prepared myself for. For example, I could stream Netflix without any major buffering or lags, and browsing was also fast. So, with local servers, you won’t have any problems with Surfshark.

Long Distance Server Speed

Next up, we tested Surfshark’s speed on long-distance servers. I did expect some speed loss because naturally, my data had to travel to the server that was at a long distance from my actual location.

First, I started with US servers. It took me 18 seconds to establish the connection with the US – New York server. The download speed that I managed to get on the U.S New York server was 24.09 Mbps, and the upload speed was 87.5 Mbps. While I had no complaint about the upload speed, downloading speeds could have been better.

United States (New York): 

Download Speed (Mbps)	24.09 (69% decrease)
Upload Speed (Mbps)	87.5  (11% decrease)
Pings (ms)	251

United States (Los Angeles): 

Download Speed (Mbps)	25.17 (68% decrease)
Upload Speed (Mbps)	89.23  (10.3% decrease)
Pings (ms)	184

I also decided to test the Australia server speed as it’s very far away in comparison to my actual location (15,700 km from Spain). I had similar results with low pings.

Australia (Perth): 

Download Speed (Mbps)	25 (68% decrease)
Upload Speed (Mbps)	93.25  (5.1% decrease)
Pings (ms)	132

Australia (Melbourne): 

Download Speed (Mbps)	25.81 (66% decrease)
Upload Speed (Mbps)	93.42  (5 % decrease)
Pings (ms)	197

Just check out the table below for an overview:

Server location	Download speed	Upload speed	Pings
Australia – Perth	25 Mbps	93.25 Mbps	132 ms
Canada – Montreal	25.17 Mbps	92.09 Mbps	265 ms
Germany – Frankfurt	25.67 Mbps	92.5 Mbps	117 ms
Hong Kong	25.67 Mbps	93.25 Mbps	264 ms
India	25 Mbps	93 Mbps	211 ms
Italy – Milan	25.67 Mbps	95.67 Mbps	263 ms
The United Kingdom – London	25.5 Mbps	91.09 Mbps	139 ms
The United States – New York	24.09 Mbps	87.5 Mbps	251 ms
United Arab Emirates	24.92 Mbps	91.75	234 ms

While Surfshark managed to offer slow downloading speeds in my speed test, I could still download large torrent files quickly and watch Netflix in HD quality. You can check out my complete guide on the Surfshark speed test for more in-depth speed test results.

Is Surfshark fast enough for Gaming?

Surfshark is a good option for gaming, but the speeds can be inconsistent sometimes as can be seen above. Also, during testing, some servers gave me error messages and took a long time to load. When I used the “Fastest Server” features, the speeds were not that great, as compared to the manual selection of servers that were closer to my actual location. For example, on long-distance servers like Australia, I experienced noticeable lags.

I tested Surfshark on the basis of download speed, upload speed, and ping on different servers.

• Download speed is how fast you receive data. Fast download speed will give you more time to respond when the other player attacks you.
• Upload speed is how fast you send data. Fast upload speed means you will have more time to attack the other player.
• Ping is also called latency. It measures how much time it takes for the data to reach its destination. The higher the pings, the more lag you will have during gaming.

For smooth gaming, it’s best to have a download speed of at least 15 Mbps, upload speed of at least 1 Mbps, and the lowest pings possible. At first I used its Fastest Server feature and it connected me to its Spain. After loading Overwatch, it connected me to its Europe game server. When the game first loaded, it was laggy, but after a few minutes in, it ran pretty smoothly and I was able to play it without interruptions.

I then tried connecting to Surfshark’s Singapore server to test its performance. It gave a decent speed (36.21 Mbps) considering its was a long-distance server. However, during testing, Surfshark reduced pings when I tried its Singapore server. 

However, on Australian servers, I experienced connectivity issues as I was unable to load the game. I tried multiple times, and received the following error message, and even after waiting 10 minutes, it wouldn’t load.

 Game Server Connection Failed… Retrying.  

This error could be due to an issue with the game at the time, but it worked perfectly fine on other servers like Singapore. I could easily play Overwatch on the long-distance server ( I tested the Singapore server as it gave me the lowest pings at 48 ms).  You can also try other servers like the US and Canada, but speeds fluctuate a lot on North American servers so you might experience some connectivity problems.

I tested gaming speed on the Singapore server because I wanted to test servers in Asia as they have always given me high download speeds and lower pings – a perfect combo for gaming. Honestly, I would personally recommend using ExpressVPN for gaming because it offers better speeds (you can check our ExpressVPN speed test results), and it has more server locations (94+ countries).

Surfshark Server Network

Surfshark has over 3200 servers in 65 locations. It is not bad, but if you compare it with other VPNs like Private Internet Access (which has over 35,550 servers in 77 locations) then this isn’t a huge network. Also, if you want global coverage, then you can also go for ExpressVPN that has 3000 servers in 94 countries and over 160 cities.

Most of Surfshark’s servers are located in the United States, spread out in 24 cities. Meaning, Surfshark is a great option for users who want to unblock American streaming sites and bypass geo-blocks. Apart from the US, Surfshark also has a big server network in Europe with multiple servers in all major countries like the UK, France, Germany, Spain, and France.

Surfshark also offers physical servers in countries with heavy internet restrictions and censorship like Russia, Turkey, and Vietnam. Most VPNs dont offer servers in these locations, so if you live in one of these locations, you can use Surfshark to surf the web freely by connecting to an international server.

Virtual Server Locations

Surfshark also has virtual servers in multiple locations including Chile, Argentina, and Costa Rica. It is mostly available in countries where it has become difficult for VPNs to provide their services due to restrictions and political instability. When you connect to one of these virtual servers, it actually connects you to a physical server that is located outside the region. It not only gives you more options but also boosts your speeds.

Each virtual location in Surfshark’s app is marked with a ‘v.’ However, keep in mind that virtual locations might result in higher pings because to establish the connection, your data has to travel to a physical server that is outside your region. During testing, it took me some time to connect to the Chile server.

Surfshark’s Static IP Address

Surfshark also offers static servers that give you the same IP address every time you connect. These servers are located in 5 countries: Singapore, Germany, Japan, the US, and the UK. This is very convenient when you instantly want a connection and dont want to complete the CAPTCHA code every time you log in to your banking apps. I tested the same static IP server and was asked to confirm my identity during the first login attempt on my banking app.

What’s best is that these static IP servers are P2P friendly so you can torrent, and also choose from MultiHop servers for extra protection.

Security – How secure is Surfshark? ⭐10.0

Surfshark VPN is one of the most secure VPNs in the industry. It offers the best encryption, VPN protocols, and additional features. If you go through the features list of Surfshark, you’ll see that this provider offers unbreakable AES 256-bit encryption, leak protection, Kill Switch, secure protocols, along with additional features to keep you safe and secure.

Surfshark Encryption

Surfshark relies on AES-256, Advanced Encryption Standard (sometimes also referred to as Rijndael algorithm), to encrypt all the data that goes through the network to and from your device. This is the same encryption standard that the United States uses. This encryption standard is responsible for providing you DNS and IPv6 leak protection so that neither your Internet Service Provider nor any third party entity can see your personal activity or data.

AES 256-bit encryption is the best in industry and is used by governments and the military to protect their data. Therefore, you can bet that with Surfshark, your ISP will not be able to see your online activities.

Surfshark RAM-Only servers

Unlike other premium VPNs Surfshark has 100% RAM only servers that are diskless and automatically wipe all the data the moment you switch off the VPN. This is the best feature a VPN can offer because it prevents breaches, and attacks from third-parties. Thus giving you an additional layer of privacy.

Surfshark VPN Protocols

Taking about protocols, currently, it offers five different protocols for VPN connection which is very useful in case Surfshark displays connection issues.

• IKEv2: This protocol tends to work best when you connect to a nearby server. During testing, it also gave decent speeds on long distance servers as well. It comes with an auto connect feature which makes it a great choice for mobile phone users. IKEv2 is available on Windows, iOS, Android, macOS, and FireTV Surfshark apps.
• OpenVPN: OpenVPN is a popular choice among security professionals because it is one of the most secure protocols available. It has two versions, UDP and TCP. UDP is faster and ideal for gaming, streaming and video calls. TCP, on the other hand, is a bit slower.
• Shadowsocks: Shadowsocks is a proxy that is ideal for people living in heavily-censored countries like China, UAE and Egypt. You will not be able to use IKEv2 in these countries, so Shadowsocks is a great backup protocol.
• WireGuard: WireGuard was first released in 2016, and similar to OpenVPN, it is also Open Source. It uses state-of-the-art cryptographic technology, which makes it faster to deeply, more stable, and 4 times faster than OpenVPN. Surfshark offer this protocols for Windows, Mac, Android and iOS device application only.

While OpenVPN would be a preferred choice for speed and reliability, and one can say it is the top choice for selecting the connection protocol, WireGuard is slowly advancing toward becoming the next big thing.

It is expected that more and more VPN providers will switch to WireGuard connection protocol in the future. For a more in-depth comparison, do check out our Wireguard vs. OpenVPN comparison.

OpenVPN protocol is used to transmit data, transmit data from the US, and compare it with WireGuard, the latest technology and is incorporated by Surfshark for transmitting data is faster.

I tested speeds on these protocols to see which one was faster. During testing, OpenVPN (UDP) gave extremely slow speeds as compared to IKEv2 and WireGuard. 

On OpenVPN, my average speed was 46% slower than IKEv2. Meaning, if you have heavy internet usage, its best to choose IKEv2 as it was the fastest. You can also select the automatic protocol option and Surfshark will automatically choose the best protocol based on your need.

The dedicated desktop app of Surfshark packs in four VPN protocols, IKEv2, Shadowsocks, WireGuard, and OpenVPN, with a TCP and UDP variation. Speaking of OpenVPN, the iOS app of Surfshark VPN now supports the OpenVPN protocol.

Surfshark has also added Shadowsocks protocol in the Windows and Android apps and can be manually configured on Mac and iOS devices. It is an encrypted proxy that is created for users residing in countries with a high level of censorship and internet restrictions like China, Egypt, and the UAE. It acts as a backup in case the OpenVPN stops working.

The IKEv2 protocol is, although fast and offers excellent smartphone compatibility, isn’t the safe protocol out there. In fact, there is evidence of the NSA actively exploiting this protocol. On the other hand, OpenVPN is the industry benchmark and the safest protocol currently used by VPN providers.

Surfshark Leak Test Results

I tested 10 Surfshark servers (the UK, US, France, and Italy) and found no DNS, IP or WebRTC leak. 

DNS leak protection is mandatory as it ensures that your data is being routed via Surfshark’s DNS servers instead of your Internet Service Provider’s DNS servers. Similarly, IPv6 leak protection ensures that the network’s IPv6 is not leaking your real location.

Surfshark offers private DNS and IP leak protection on all its servers when using IPv4 stack. It is the most common type of IP, while IPv6 is the newer format. We also checked through customer support and they confirmed that Surfshark doesn’t support IPv6, so you could experience some leaks. But during testing we experienced no leaks. 

You can disable IPv6 on your devices, but it might cause some apps to not work properly. This is very crucial as Surfshark is a top VPN, because with premium VPNs like ExpressVPN or NordVPN you don’t have to worry about IPv6 or IPv4. 

Before I can trust my privacy with Surfshark, I decided to take some leak tests using IPleak.net. Here’s how Surfshark performed in my leak test:

I was satisfied with the results as neither my DNS nor IPv6 was leaking after connecting to Surfshark. I recommend checking your connection to make sure it is secure.

Surfshark Automatic Kill Switch

Surfshark VPN also comes with a built-in Kill Switch feature that prevents IP leaks if your VPN service suddenly stops working. This feature is so smart; it automatically kills your internet whenever you lose connecting with the VPN server. In case of any VPN connectivity issues, it will deactivate your internet connection and reactivate it automatically. This way no information will be leaked in case of any sudden connection drops.

I tested out this feature by downloading a torrent file and then disconnecting from the VPN server midway. As soon as I disconnected from the VPN server, Surfshark automatically disabled my internet connection. The automatic kill switch feature is available in Surfshark’s browser extensions and also all other apps.

Surfshark’s Multihop Feature

With Surfshark’s Multihop feature, you can establish a VPN chain and take IP masking to the next level. For instance, you can connect to Surfshark’s servers in Germany and the United Kingdom simultaneously and virtually appear in two different locations. It sends you traffic through two server locations instead of one which is amazing.

However, MultiHop servers slowed down my speeds significantly. That’s natural as your traffic passes through 2 servers that are in 2 locations.

This feature can add an extra layer of security to combat advance online surveillance. In terms of performance, I found the Multihop feature to be not all that slow. Despite being connected to two different servers, I didn’t notice too much of a speed drop. 

NoBorders

No border is a Surfshark feature designed for countries with strict regulations against VPN usage and heavy online censorship (think China, for example). As soon as the NoBorder feature detects the situation mentioned above, it will present you with a special list of servers that you can connect to.

Surfshark Camouflage Mode

This mode makes your encrypted traffic look like regular traffic under deep packet inspection (DPI) so that nobody can see you’re using a VPN. It is a convenient feature to use if you connect behind a strict firewall or an Internet Service Provide that restricts VPN usage.

Basically, Camouflage mode makes your VPN traffic look like normal traffic, so you can surf the internet undetected and it also helps avoid VPN bans. This is really helpful when using public Wi-Fi like in libraries and cafes, where some sites are blocked. I tested on a public Wi-Fi in a library and it instantly unblocked Netflix and Disney + without any hiccups.

You dont have to manually enable the Camouflage mode as it is automatically enabled when you connect to the OpenVPN protocol. OpenVPN is available on Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, and Linux.

Surfshark 2FA

Surfshark also offers a 2FA feature, also known as Two-Factor Authentication. It adds an additional layer of security to your Surfshark account. To enable 2FA on Surfshark, you will have to open its official site on your browser and log in using your credentials. After that go to “Account Settings” and click on “Turn on 2FA.” After that, you can either set it up with your email id, or authentication apps like Google Authenticator.

I chose the Google Authenticator method because it is super private and is also recommended by Surfshark. All you have to do is download the Google Authenticator app from Google Play Store or App Store if you are using an iOS device. Just scan the QR code and it will register your site. Now, every time you log in, you will need to enter the code from the authenticator app. But remember the code is only valid for 30 seconds, after that it generates a newer one.

Surfshark VPN CleanWeb

CleanWeb is a built-in feature of Surfshark VPN that blocks ads, trackers, and malware. I particularly love this feature because it actively blocks annoying advertisements.

Here’s a screenshot of Surfshark’s CleanWeb feature in action:

To enable the CleanWeb feature on Surfshark’s extension, simply click on the feature and enable it. It comes in handy as you won’t have to see intrusive ads when browsing online anymore.  It also detects malicious websites and phishing scams to protect your device.

Surfshark GPS Spoofing

Apps and websites use GPS to locate users instead of using IP addresses. This way advertisers target you with ads. However, it is an issue when it comes to the online privacy of users and unfortunately, a VPN is not enough. But, Surfshark has solved this problem by offering a GPS Spoofing feature.

This feature hides both your IP address and GPS location making it look like you are physically located in the same place as the server location. Therefore, no apps can track your whereabouts. However, this feature is only available on Android. To enable it, you can select the “Override GPS Location” feature under the advanced settings.

I tested this feature by connecting to its Chicago server. After enabling the feature, I went to Google Maps and it showed my location near Willis Tower in Chicago when physically I was in Spain. However, you cannot use it on games like Pokemon Go, because then it won’t be able to load any PokeStops, and the game needs your location.

In-App Features of Surfshark ⭐10.0

Apart from security features, Surfshark also offers tons of cool in-app features for its users. Here are some notable ones:

Surfshark WhiteLister Feature

As the name suggests, Whitelister is a split tunneling feature that allows you to custom exclude specific apps or websites from connecting via a VPN.

This feature is great if you prefer securing certain sensitive apps and websites while excluding other apps that you might use for streaming and general browsing.

One way Surfshark’s Whitelister feature stands out is that it can be used in a reverse manner. For instance, instead of just excluding apps or websites, you can even add apps or websites that you want to protect with the VPN.

To test out this feature, I added my browser to the list, and the Whitelister feature worked exactly as advertised.

Device Invisibility

With Surfshark, you can also make your VPN-enabled devices invisible to other devices that are on the same network. This feature offers an extra layer of privacy and is best when you are using public Wi-Fi and dont want to visible to others. Unfortunately, this feature is only available in Surfshark apps for Windows and Android. To enable the feature, simply go to Settings > Advanced > and turn on the Invisible to devices feature. 

Surfshark Privacy Beyond VPN

Surfshark also offers a bundle add-on package called Privacy Beyond VPN that comes with 2 additional features and an extra cost of $0.99 per month in addition to the basic subscription cost. These features are:

• Surfshark Search is a private search engine that does not contain any ads or trackers like Google. You can browse and surf the web without feeling like someone is tracking all your clicks. It is very similar to DuckDuckGo, but with no ads.
• Surfshark Alert gives users immediate notifications in case their personal information is leaked. In case there’s a breach, you get an instant notification.

Surfshark’s Free Trust DNS

Surfshark also offers a free Trust DNS app that lets you change your DNS address for free. What’s best is that you can choose from 100+ public DNS servers and access websites that are blocked at the DNS level and even hide your online activity from your ISP. It is only available on Android and iOS apps.

If you want to connect to the public DNS server, you can easily do that with Surfshark’s app, but we recommend using Surfshark’s VPN server. One reason is that DNS proxy doesn’t offer the same level of protection and privacy as a VPN because it doesn’t encrypt your traffic and your IP address is visible. Second, you might not be able to unblock geo-restricted sites like Netflix because these servers are blacklisted.

Your Privacy and Surfshark  ⭐10.0

In this heading, we will be looking directly into the relationship between your privacy and Surshark, how Surshark honors it, and what is a Warrant Canary.

Does Surfshark keep logs?

No, Surfshark doesn’t keep logs and strictly follows the concept of no data logging. If you go through Surfshark’s privacy policy, the provider mentions that it does not log the following information:

• IP addresses
• Browsing history
• Session information
• Used bandwidth
• Connection timestamps
• Network traffic and other similar data

This is seriously impressive because Surfshark only collects emails, encrypted passwords, billing information, and order history. This is pretty standard and cannot pose a threat to user privacy. Surfshark also won the Security Software Company of the Year Award at the 17th Annual 2021 Cybersecurity Global Excellence awards held on June 1.

If you are still doubting how much serious they are about protecting the user’s personal information and data, then you will be blown about the fact that they are using the servers with volatile (RAM) memory. The advantage of using a volatile (RAM) memory server is that as soon as it is shut down, all the data and information on it will be deleted as compared to the servers working on hard drives.

Surfshark Jurisdiction

Surfshark is headquartered in the British Virgin Islands, which, as we’ve discussed earlier, is a jurisdiction with no mandatory data retention laws. This is one of the most ideal locations for VPNs to be based in, as other famous VPNs like ExpressVPN is also based in BVI.

The British Virgin Islands is located outside the 5 Eyes, 9 Eyes, and 14 Eyes Alliance – a group of countries sharing surveillance intelligence between one another. Not only are they a decentralized organization, but they are also transparent when it comes to disclosing their office locations. One of their representatives confirmed that they have offices in Germany, Cyprus, and the United Kingdom and employees working remotely from Finland, China, Lithuania, India, Netherlands, Ukraine, Philippines, and the US.

Surfshark Warrant Canary

If you don’t know, a warrant canary is basically a small document informing customers of National Security Letters, Gag Orders, and Warrants that the provider has received to date.

Impressively, Surfshark has not received any subpoena or orders to disclose customer information as of February 26, 2021:

0 National Security letters;
0 Gag orders;
0 Warrants from a government organization.

Independent Security Audit by Cure53

To make their service more transparent and secure, Surfshark recently carried out an independent audit of its service through a German cybersecurity organization called Cure53. The company tested the Chrome and Firefox browser extensions and there were no major security or privacy issues according to the audit report.

The initiative taken by Surfshark is highly commendable as not every VPN service submits its apps for autonomous inspection. However, no audit has been conducted on Surfshark’s logging policy or the VPN app itself. This is somewhat disappointing, as premium VPNs like ExpressVPN have been audited numerous times including their logging and privacy policies.

Therefore, having third-party audits of logging policy is common among top premium VPN services. There is no issue with Surfshark’s privacy policy but an audit is needed as proof of their claims. If you want to use an audited and a VPN with a verified no logs policy, there are multiple options out there.

Is Surfshark Good for Torrenting?

Yes, Surfshark is a fast, safe, and overall good solution for torrenting. Although Surfshark doesn’t specify which servers are P2P optimized, but if you are not connected to a P2P server, when you open a torrent client like uTorrent, it automatically connects you to the best server for torrenting. Therefore, with Surfshark you don’t have to manually connect to an optimized server.

I wanted to test this feature myself, so I connected to Italy server (not optimized for P2P) and ran leak tests using IPleak.net and saw that my IP and DNS locations was set to Milan, Italy. After opening uTottent, I checked my IP and DNS locations again, and found that my IP was still the same, but my DNS was set to the Netherlands, which is optimized for P2P.

However, I did notice that this automatic server switch game me slower download speeds as compared to when I manually selected P2P servers. For example, on local P2P optimized servers, my average speed was 4.1 Mbps and the file downloaded within 12 minutes. On Italy server, my speed was 2.5 Mbps and it took 23 minutes for the file to downlead.

With security features such as 256-bit encryption, a strict no-logs policy, and leak protection, Surfshark allows you to safely download torrents from anywhere in the world using its dedicated P2P servers.

Surfshark also has an amazing feature for users who are very keen on torrenting. It offers whitelist capabilities through its “Whitelister” feature. This feature allows the user to single out your torrent client, enabling it to channel the traffic through the VPN. In contrast, your other internet traffic is channeled through an internet service provider network.

If we talk about speeds, Surfshark really impressed me with its overall decent connection speeds. I managed to download an average-sized torrent file relatively quickly without abrupt connection drops or speed fluctuations during my testing. However, my I usually use ExpressVPN for torrenting because it not only offers fast speeds, but also offers SOCKS5 proxy that boosts download speeds. 

Does Surfshark work in China?

Yes, Surfshark is among the very few VPNs working in mainland China. In fact, its servers in Hong Kong managed to unblock pretty much any Chinese content I tried to access.

Surfshark manages to do this because it uses a mix of both physical and virtual servers. This way, even if Surfshark VPN doesn’t offer a physical server in Albania, for instance, its virtual server location can still give you access to all regional content available in Albania. This is exactly how Surfshark’s Hong Kong server compensates for the nonexistent Chinese server.

If you are having issues downloading Surfshark in China, you can set it up manually which works all the time. Customer support is also available in case you need help setting it up on your device. Surfshark also works in other countries with internet restrictions like Saudi Arabia, Russia, and the UAE.

Surfshark uses NoBorders Mode and Camouflage Mode that are made for bypassing the Great Firewall of China. The Camouflage Mode hides your VPN traffic and makes it look like normal traffic so you can bypass VPN blocks imposed by ISPs.

Similarly, the NoBorders Mode detects VPN blocking technology and firewalls and helps select obfuscated servers so you can get unrestricted access to the internet. On top of that, you can also use the Shadowsocks proxy to bypass heavy censorship and restrictions in China.

Surfshark User Experience ⭐10.0

Surfshark app is really easy to use. It is clean with a lot of white space and the layout is simple as everything is within reach after a few clicks. You dont have to dig deep into the app for advanced settings. It features a somewhat similar app across all platforms including Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android. Meaning, you dont have to spend time getting used to different versions. Even its browser extension is very simple and lightweight.

Another great thing about Surfshark’s app is that it has a little description below each feature for those who are new to VPNs. It is helpful for understanding the feature and what it does. Similarly, Surfshark’s app is available in 15 languages including German, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and Spanish.

There were few things that bugged me. For example, whenever I used the auto-connect feature, I experienced slow speeds, and when I connected to a server of my choice manually, the speed was perfect. Just like CyberGhost, Surfshark can also include a list of optimized servers for P2P, Gaming, MultiHop, and more so the user can choose one based on his needs instead of going on a wild goose chase.

Similarly, at first, I could not find server information like ping time, server load, and more. After contacting customer support, I found out that to view individual server information you need to disconnect from the VPN. This is very helpful as you can choose the fastest server with lower pings.

Unlimited Simultaneous Device Connections

Surfshark is one of the few premium VPNs that allow you to connect as many devices as you want with a single surfshark subscription. This is a great value for money because most VPNs restrict device connection between 5-10. This feature makes it a great choice for large families.

What’s best about Surfshark is that you can connect different kinds of devices with it at the same time and you will not experience any effect on the performance – making it one of the best VPN for multiple devices in 2021.

I tested the performance by configuring Surfshark on my router and connected it with my laptop, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, and desktop computer. I did not see any change in the performance.

You can also check out the IPVanish full review as it also offers unlimited simultaneous connections, just like Surfshark.

Compatibility – Is Surfshark Compatible with My Device?  ⭐9.0

Since Surfshark is compatible with all major operating systems, you should have no issue installing it on your device.

Surfshark VPN can be used with Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, and many other mainstream devices. Speaking of other devices, I easily managed to download and setup Surfshark on FireStick in a matter of minutes. Also, with its extensive refund policy, Surfshark is no doubt the best VPN for FireStick.

Setting up Surfshark on Kodi was also easy too. I just had to run it in the background before launching Kodi. And if you’re wondering, yes, you can easily set up Surfshark on Roku devices and routers as well.

Here’s a complete list of Surfshark compatible devices: