NordVPN VS Surfshark Comparison

UPDATED Mar. 2024
Table Of Contents+
This website features affiliate links. For purchases made via these links, we earn commissions that allow us to keep producing helpful content. To find out more click here. Close

Surfshark and NordVPN are two VPN companies that are considered by both users and experts to be among the best in the business. How to decide which provider to subscribe for? You need to compare them carefully, bearing in mind your own particular needs and what you need a VPN for in the first place.

Surfshark
Best For Avid Streamers
VS
NordVPN
Best For General Users

Highlights

Surfshark
Surfshark is at the very top of the VPN market thanks to its bank-grade encryption, strict zero-logging policy, excellent speed, and impressive feature suite. It works with some of the most popular streaming services.
  • 800+ servers
  • AES-256 cypher
  • Internet killswitch
  • Zero-knowledge DNS
NordVPN
NordVPN has some of the best speeds in the VPN business and plenty of attractive features to offer to its clients, including an excellent security suite and various dedicated servers in more than 60 countries across the globe.
  • Double encryption
  • P2P-friendly
  • Netflix servers
  • 5,100+ servers

Compare Prices

Company
1 Month
3 Months
6 Months
1 Year
2 Years
Surfshark
1 Month
$11.95
3 Months
/
6 Months
/
1 Year
$5.99
2 Years
$1.99
NordVPN
1 Month
$11.95
3 Months
/
6 Months
/
1 Year
$6.99
2 Years
$3.99
* The prices shown represent the cost of one month within different subscriptions. To see all available plans and pricing options, check individual reviews.

Compare Features

Surfshark
Based In
British Virgin Ilands
Number Of Servers
500+
Number Of Countries
50
Protocols
OpenVPN; IKEv2
Encryption
AES-256
Simultaneous Connections
unlimited
Logs Policy
no logs
Dedicated IP
Killswitch
DNS Leak Protection
Allows Torrenting
Torrenting Servers
SmartDNS
NordVPN
Based In
Panama
Number Of Servers
3557
Number Of Countries
61
Protocols
OpenVPN, PPTP, L2TP and IPSec
Encryption
256-bit AES (double encryption)
Simultaneous Connections
6
Logs Policy
no logs
Dedicated IP
Killswitch
DNS Leak Protection
Allows Torrenting
Torrenting Servers
SmartDNS

Supported Devices

Surfshark
Windows
OS X
Android
iOS
Router
NordVPN
Windows
OS X
Linux
Android
iOS
Router

Compare Ratings

Surfshark
FINAL RATING
9.9/10
Anonymity
Reliability
Performance
Features
Support
Value For Money
NordVPN
FINAL RATING
9.8/10
Anonymity
Reliability
Performance
Features
Support
Value For Money

Compare User Reviews

Surfshark
  • Submitted By Gavin Miller on 01/08/2020
    This is a perfect vpn from people like myself who use it for streaming, and gaming and for torrents. Streaming speed has been the fastest out of all the vpns I’ve tried so far. Other and eaqualiy important feature, at least for me, is that you can completely mask your IP address by jumping from one server to another. However, it really slows your internet so I suggest you do it only when necessary.
  • Submitted By Harley Andrade on 12/20/2019
    The first time I came across surfshark I’ve read that it only has an app for android, however by the time I was deciding on what to buy they’ve already transitioned to Windows and IOS and after I’ve read its awesome review it was a no brainer. I went fro one year subscription straight away which is $5.99 per month for one year and so far I’ve been very pleased with everything.
  • Submitted By J. Bennet on 12/02/2019
    I got a Surfshark subscription during Black Friday, so obviously I'm quite happy with the price. I mainly needed it to unblock Netflix and Disney+ so I read some reviews (including this one) before buying it to make sure. I did have some downtime on Disney+, but when I contacted their customer support, they gave me and exact SLA of when it will be fixed and added a free week to my subscription. I'd say it was handled very well.
  • Submitted By SJ on 11/20/2019
    Yes, Surfshark is affordable, but service is patchy. I wanted Surfshark to connect to a certain website, and all VPNs in a certain location fail to "geolocate" to that location. I contacted Surfshark within the 30 days warranty period and customer support failed to fix the problem or refund my money as requested. Customer support is no good. If they refund my money or fix the problem, I will update this review. Until then....avoid Surfshark.
NordVPN
  • Submitted By Yaretzi Peterson on 12/04/2019
    Usually, I stick to what I know and nordVPN happens to be just one of the examples of a reliable company that always delivers what’s promised. I really didn’t want to waste time or money on trying out some unknown brand and possibly ending up with a bad product. But what made me choose Nord yet again is that I use multiple brand devices and platforms for my job and Nord supports every one of them… it was really a no brainer.
  • Submitted By Al Gonzalez on 11/29/2019
    I moved from ExpressVpn to Nord to save money and got the 1 year deal. Initially Nord has good performance in the first three-four months. Then there servers started disconnecting frequently sometimes the servers would stop working and you had to reconnect to a new one. This can be inconvenient if do stream or download a lot. After the security fallout with Nord where they had one of their servers hacked for almost an year, more Nord servers started having issues such as a missing password or otherwise you couldn't connect to them. The US servers were alright but they can sometimes stop working after a period of time. Express never had this problem. I spent nearly a month in one of their servers. With Nord you'd be hard pressed to stick with the same server for a day or two. Overall Nord is okay. The Kill Switch works. I did checks with Ipeaks both on my computer and phone Ive seen no DNS leaks so far. Comes with anti-adware/malware and it works. Autoconnect on phone is like the kill switch. Has potential overall to recover from the embarrassing security gaffe but Nords biggest challenge will be server stability. This seems to be a problem with a lot of new name and affordable vpns. Nord been in the game for a while but longevity of servers is very important. Hope they get their game together or otherwise might have to go back to Express or an equally good alternative.
  • Submitted By Magnus on 10/26/2019
    Since the beginning of October, NordVPN does not work in Hangzhou AT ALL! I can't vouch for other cities. Their support team is polite but useless. They conceded they needed to *invent* a new protocol to get their VPN to work here. Even though a refund was requested by me within 30 days (for a renewal--they were great for a year!), they refused to answer my request and kept stalling my support ticket. I'm still awaiting my refund. USE THEM AT YOUR PERIL IF YOU LIVE IN CHINA! Caveat emptor!!
  • Submitted By Sammi on 09/17/2019
    Love these guys even after having it for 2 years. Super fast and makes me feel safer online.

Winner

Surfshark is a new VPN service that already started making waves on the market thanks to its amazing speed and generous features. Read all about this promising service in our dedicated Surfshark review.

* All the prices on this website are subject to change without notice. While we put a great deal of effort into making sure that all the prices are accurate, one or more products may have outdated prices. Please visit the specific product’s official website for exact prices.