NordVPN vs. Surfshark: See How These Sister Services Stack Up

NordVPN and Surfshark are two of the best virtual private network providers on the market, and while they share some similarities — including the same parent company — each packs unique offerings. NordVPN is our pick for the fastest VPN, based on our hands-on testing, while Surfshark earns our vote for the best value VPN. 

Both VPNs deliver fast speeds, user-friendly apps, handy privacy features and excellent streaming service content unblocking. Overall, I’d recommend Surfshark for most folks who want to browse privately, stream from apps like Netflix or Disney Plus and use the company’s practical privacy tools. It’s also the choice if budget is a primary concern. But NordVPN is better for power users with critical privacy needs, international travelers and anyone with high-bandwidth needs, like competitive online gamers or streaming enthusiasts. While Surfshark isn’t slow, NordVPN is noticeably faster and boasts a significantly larger server network — particularly in Africa and the Middle East — which may be beneficial for travel and streaming. 

NordVPN vs. Surfshark at a glance

Price $13 per month, $60 for the first year or $83 total for the first two years (one- and two-year plans renew at $140 per year)Latest tests No leaks detected, 3% average internet download speed loss in 2025 testsNetwork 7,400-plus servers in 118 countriesJurisdiction Panama

NordVPN is ideal for power users because it’s the fastest VPN we tested, excellent for privacy and terrific for streaming as well as travel. Its Tor Over VPN and double VPN servers, which add additional layers of encryption, coupled with jurisdiction outside of the Five, Nine and 14 Eyes data-sharing alliances give Nord a privacy boost over Surfshark. Likewise, NordVPN’s larger international server roster, with a more comprehensive presence in Africa and the Middle East, may help with streaming and travel. But Surfshark is considerably cheaper, especially over the long term, and has more practical privacy amenities compared with Nord’s niche offerings.

Price $15.45 a month, $48 for the first 15 months (then $79 a year) or $60 for the first 27 months (then $79 a year)Latest tests No leaks detected, 21% speed loss in 2025 testsNetwork 3,200-plus servers in 100 countriesJurisdiction Netherlands

Surfshark has consistently been one of the best value VPNs on the market. You can pay less upfront and upon renewal compared to its closest rivals and still get plenty of privacy features, like Alternative ID. You can use Alternative ID to create a fake email address as well as personal details, like a name, street address and birth date, to enter for accounts where you’re worried about a data breach or having your data sold to disreputable third parties. Additionally, Surfshark is one of the few VPN providers that offer split tunneling on MacOS and iOS, making it one of the best VPNs for Macs and iPhones. However, NordVPN is faster, has more robust privacy on specialty servers and a more privacy-friendly jurisdiction, making it a better choice for anyone with critical privacy concerns, demanding bandwidth habits or the need to connect to Africa and Middle East servers.

Speed winner: NordVPN is the fastest we tested, but Surfshark is still plenty speedy

Most people looking for a VPN for privacy while browsing the web, streaming videos or traveling should be fine with either NordVPN or Surfshark. But NordVPN’s breakneck speeds make it a better choice for bandwidth-intensive tasks like streaming 4K videos, competitive online gaming and torrenting. 

Although Surfshark is by no means sluggish, NordVPN is notably faster. In our 2025 benchmarking, we measured a class-leading 3% average internet download speed loss for NordVPN and a still great 21% average download speed loss for Surfshark. We generally look for a speed loss of less than 25%. For context, Netflix recommends a minimum 15Mbps internet speed for a single 4K ultra-high-definition video stream. So if you’ve got a 50Mbps connection and lose 21% of your base speed, you’ve still got around 40Mbps — comfortably enough bandwidth to stream a movie in 4K. Most reliable cable, fiber and even 5G signals should be fast enough that you’ll be OK streaming buffer-free 4K videos with either VPN.

Surfshark remains fast enough for most users and continues improving. It released FastTrack in August, a feature that the company claims can boost your speeds. In our testing, we found that FastTrack servers were measurably faster than non-FastTrack connections. Based on our experience, people with slower or more unreliable internet connections may benefit the most from FastTrack (think satellite internet or a poor cellular signal rather than cable or fiber), though it’s limited to Seattle, Vancouver and Sydney servers. 

If you’ve got fast, stable internet and mostly want to browse the web or stream videos, either Surfshark or NordVPN works well. But NordVPN will let you keep the bulk of your bandwidth.

Value winner: Surfshark is significantly more wallet-friendly

Surfshark is an outstanding value, offering unlimited simultaneous connections, unique privacy features and fast speeds, all for significantly less than NordVPN. 

While NordVPN’s initial $60 for the first year or $83 total for the first two years is only slightly more than Surfshark’s $48 for the first year or $60 total for the first two years, it becomes much more costly upon renewal. NordVPN charges $140 annually with its auto-renewal, which is one of the most expensive price hikes among any VPN we tested. There are ways to save money when buying a VPN, like cancelling your plan before it renews and shopping around during seasonal sales, but I’d prefer not having to micromanage my subscription. Surfshark’s $79 per year auto-renewal is far more reasonable than NordVPN’s.

Miraculously, Surfshark manages to undercut NordVPN on price without skimping on features. Surfshark’s entry-level plan packs Alternative ID, a masked email and personal detail generator, whereas NordVPN’s base plan sticks to a VPN and ad blocker — something Surfshark also includes. I’ve found Surfshark’s alternative ID features useful in situations where I want to sign up for a service but have concerns about a data breach or getting on yet another unwanted email list. 

While you’ll have to pay for higher-tiered plans to get additional privacy and security goodies, like a password manager, antivirus protection and identity theft protection, Surfshark gives you more on its entry-level plan than NordVPN does, at almost half the renewal price.

VPN providers are becoming one-stop cybersecurity shops, offering bundles that include VPNs plus other services, like password managers, antivirus software, identity theft protection and data removal. Both NordVPN and Surfshark let you purchase a standalone VPN or tack on extras. There are advantages and disadvantages to bundling — it can be convenient to have one bill, and you may save money, but if there’s a data breach or company acquisition, you’ll need to shop around.

While each has an entry-level VPN plan, the two differ in the amenities offered in higher tiers. NordVPN has anti-malware protection, a password manager, cloud storage and identity theft protection. Meanwhile, Surfshark has antivirus, data removal service, personal data alerts and private search. Ultimately, your decision may boil down to whether you want a password manager or antivirus software. 

Privacy winner: NordVPN is better for folks with serious privacy concerns, but Surfshark should work swimmingly for most people

NordVPN and Surfshark boast impressive privacy features. Surfshark’s privacy offerings are more practical for the average user, whereas Nord’s offers a few bonuses for specific needs. If you mainly want to stream Netflix, prevent your ISP from knowing what websites you visit and travel internationally, either VPN provider should work splendidly. But Nord’s extra privacy chops make it a better choice for people with serious privacy concerns, like investigative journalists, political activists or asylum seekers. 

Each company covers the privacy basics, including audited no-logs policies and modern encryption. You’ll find a kill switch standard with both providers, so if your VPN connection gets disconnected unexpectedly, your entire internet connection gets cut off to prevent your public IP address from being leaked. Surfshark’s EverLink takes things a step further and attempts to automatically reconfigure your VPN tunnel without severing the connection in instances where your VPN server connection gets disconnected. It’s a nifty feature, but we still recommend keeping your kill switch enabled as a backup. The two companies also offer post-quantum resistance, a cutting-edge privacy feature that may protect your VPN connection against future decryption threats from quantum computers.

NordVPN has an advantage for privacy-critical users thanks to its specialty servers, unique VPN protocols and jurisdiction. I appreciate NordVPN’s Onion over VPN and double VPN servers, both of which make it even more challenging to trace web traffic back to your device than a standard VPN connection. If you need to mask your VPN usage, NordVPN is a better choice. NordVPN’s proprietary NordWhisper VPN protocol includes obfuscation, meaning it tries to hide the fact that you’re using a VPN, which could be helpful when trying to slip through a firewall on school Wi-Fi. Additionally, NordVPN offers obfuscated servers, which similarly try to disguise your VPN traffic as regular web traffic, but use the OpenVPN protocol, meaning you’ll likely see slower speeds than the company’s NordWhisper protocol. Additionally, NordVPN says that its obfuscation-focused NordWhisper protocol might work in some situations where the OpenVPN protocol has been blocked by firewalls. While Surfshark supports obfuscation over OpenVPN, you don’t have as many options to attempt hiding your VPN usage as you do with Nord. 

Surfshark’s dynamic multi-hop gives you flexibility over your VPN connection versus standard double hop, which adds a second layer of encryption to your connection. That might help you find faster speeds and better connections on a normally speed-slowing double-hop setup. Nord’s double-hop feature is less flexible, but it does offer Onion over VPN connections, making it a better service for people who want the added privacy of connecting through a wider series of nodes. If you want granular multi-hop capabilities, choose Surfshark, but if you want a double VPN and a user-friendly way to use Tor in conjunction with a virtual private network connection, go with NordVPN.

NordVPN’s privacy-friendly jurisdiction gives it an even stronger edge. Surfshark is based in the Netherlands, which is part of the Nine Eyes data-sharing alliance, meaning that nations within this alliance pass information back and forth in the stated interest of national security. Surfshark uses RAM-only servers and undergoes annual audits to back up its zero-log claims, so theoretically, your browsing data during a VPN session shouldn’t be recorded. But NordVPN’s Panamanian jurisdiction, which is outside of the Five, Nine and 14 Eyes data-sharing alliances, makes it a more attractive choice for anyone with critical privacy worries. 

Usability winner: Nord has the edge in streaming and server footprint, but Surfshark might sway Apple users 

NordVPN and Surfshark have user-friendly apps, solid streaming support and plenty of servers. NordVPN’s faster speeds and more comprehensive server roster make it a great option for streaming fanatics or frequent travelers to Africa and the Middle East. But Surfshark’s split tunneling on MacOS and iOS — a rarity among VPN providers — might sway Apple aficionados. 

Each company offers intuitive apps that are a breeze to navigate across all platforms, whether you’re new to VPNs or a seasoned privacy enthusiast. I found both VPNs excellent for streaming from Netflix, Disney Plus, HBO Max, BBC iPlayer, CBC Gem and a slew of other sites. Because of its faster speeds and larger international server network, I usually stick with NordVPN. 

Similarly, the next time I take a trip abroad, I’ll likely install NordVPN on my devices before hopping on a plane, thanks to its greater global footprint. With 3,200 servers in 100 countries, Surfshark is no slouch, but NordVPN’s roster of 8,000-plus servers in 126 countries is meaningfully larger. Both companies have comprehensive coverage across the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific, but NordVPN has a much stronger server selection in Africa and the Middle East than Surfshark does. If you regularly travel to and within Africa and the Middle East, or stream content from region-specific sites in those areas, NordVPN is a better pick. 

Surfshark does have one unique edge, though. Most VPN providers lack split tunneling — which lets you selectively use a VPN connection for some apps and websites but not others — on Apple devices. However, Surfshark’s Bypasser provides split tunneling on MacOS and iOS. Although its implementation of split tunneling on iOS is limited to websites, Bypasser on MacOS works with both apps and websites for more flexibility. If you’re a hardcore Apple user who wants granular control over your VPN connection, Surfshark is a good choice.

Bottom line: NordVPN is slightly better than Surfshark in most categories, but Surfshark is a better value for most folks

The good news is that whether you nab NordVPN or snag Surfshark, you’ll enjoy one of the best VPNs on the market — they’re separated by a mere 0.2 points out of 10 in our ratings. Each VPN can do most of what the other can. Ultimately, the choice may come down to whether you’re more interested in a powerful suite of privacy features or a good overall deal.

NordVPN is better for power users who want the fastest possible connection speeds, a generous international server network for travel or streaming and advanced privacy features, even if they come at a higher cost. If you have a lot of devices taxing your bandwidth, Nord should preserve more of your connection speed. If you’re seriously concerned about privacy, NordVPN’s jurisdiction outside of the Five, Nine or 14 Eyes data-sharing alliances, as well as beefed-up Tor over VPN and double VPN servers, make it a solid option. Additionally, its stronger representation of servers in the Middle East and Africa than Surfshark means NordVPN is great for travel or streaming regional content.

I recommend Surfshark for the average person who wants a VPN for general privacy, streaming and travel, especially if price is a priority. Its handy privacy features, like Alternative ID, are more practical than NordVPN’s offerings, such as Onion over VPN servers, which may be overkill for a lot of people. And when your subscription renews, you’ll save $60 per year or more compared with Nord.