NordVPN vs Surfshark

NordVPN or Surfshark? Which service is better?

NordVPN is the winner in this contest against Surfshark.

NordVPN is a veteran VPN service with a continuously expanding customer base, whereas Surfshark only surfaced in the VPN industry in 2018. Nonetheless, Surfshark has quickly become a highly valued VPN that is now counted among the best in the industry.

In this review, I will compare attributes of both NordVPN and Surfshark to gauge their relative strengths and weakness.

For more comparisons, check a comprehensive VPN comparison chart that we prepared at VPNRanks.

Jurisdiction

Result: Both providers are located in equally safe jurisdictions

NordVPN is located in Panama, which is a country with privacy-friendly laws. With no mandatory data retention laws in the country, NordVPN is under no obligation to store logs of your activity, IP address, or other personally identifiable information.

Surfshark, for its part, is located in British Virgin Islands, which is another country where ISPs and VPNs aren’t bound by any data retention laws.

Therefore, both providers are in safe jurisdictions.

Logging Policy

Result: Both providers do not store logs

Surfshark follows zero logging policy in true letter and spirit. Similarly, NordVPN guarantees against any form of user information or activity logging.

In fact, both of these providers are two of the most trustworthy VPNs in the industry as far as logging policy is concerned.

Pricing, payment methods, and refund policy

Result: Surfshark is cheaper than NordVPN 

Surfshark has the primary USP of being a considerably cheap service, priced at $1.99/mo. However, NordVPN is itself a very reasonably priced VPN costing $3.49/mo if you subscribe to the 3-year plan.

NordVPN and Surfshark also offer multiple payment options including cryptocurrency, which is excellent for making yourself more anonymous.

Finally, both providers also offer 30-day money back guarantee. As such, Surfshark and NordVPN are very similar as far as payment, pricing, and refunds are considered. However, Surfshark has a slight edge courtesy of its cheaper price.

Servers

Result: Based on above comparison, NordVPN turns out to be a winner.

In terms of servers count, Surfshark would take years to beat NordVPN. The Panama based provider has a network of over 5,500 servers in 60+ countries.

In contrast, Surfshark has 800+ servers in 50+ countries.

Speed Test

Result: NordVPN is faster than Surfshark

The speed tests of both providers were performed on a 30 Mbps connection.

NordVPN Speed

NordVPN is one of the fastest VPN services and offers consistent speed across its server network. On a US server, it delivered a speed of 28.45 Mbps:

Surfshark Speed

Surfshark is no slouch itself when it comes to speed. On a US server, it clocked in a speed of 25.46 Mbps:

Performance and Reliability

Reuslt: Both providers offer good performance and reliability

NordVPN offers well-designed apps that work smoothly for all the purposes a VPN is used for, from privacy to streaming. It offers good connectivity and only takes a few seconds to establish connection with any server in its network.

Surfshark also offers highly responsive apps which are efficient at forming quick connections with servers. Dropping connections is not a problem that you have to worry about at all with Surfshark.

Compatibility

Result: Both providers offer good performance and reliability

Both NordVPN and Surfshark are compatible with different platforms and devices. You can use dedicated apps of these VPNs for multiple devices including Windows, Mac, Android, Linux, Android, iOS, routers and others.

Customer Support

Result: Both providers have excellent customer support in place

NordVPN resolves customer queries primarily through live chat, which is available round the clock all days of the week. Tutorials and knowledgebase for setups and other technical problems are also available on NordVPN official website.

Surfshark also provides 24/7 live chat support. The customer support representatives are capable of answering your complaints or queries without wasting your time.

Torrenting / P2P

Result: Both providers offer strong protection for torrenting activities.

You can choose either NordVPN or Surfshark to download your favorite torrents securely and anonymously. Interestingly, both VPN services operate from users friendly countries and have plenty of P2P-supported servers.

The AES-256 bit encryption and zero-logging stance of both companies ensures that you can safely download torrents without worrying about getting tracked down by authorities.

Netflix Streaming

Result: Both providers can unblock US Netflix with good efficiency

Fortunately, you can avail Surfshark or NordVPN both to accomplish your Netflix media streaming cravings. Both providers are top recommended Netflix VPNs due to their efficient Netflix unblocking.

However, NordVPN allows you to access Netflix US media library in one go. Sadly, users may face buffering issues while accessing Netflix content through Surfshark.

Security Features & Protocols

Result: Both providers possess strong security features

For tunneling protocols, Surfshark uses IKEv2 and OpenVPN protocols, which are also the exact two protocols offered by NordVPN. However, both providers are rich with security features as shown in the table above.

Since each VPN consists of quite valuable proprietary features of their own, this round is a tie.

In order to compare NordVPN features with other providers, check out the following comparisons:

• NordVPN vs PIA VPN
• NordVPN vs ExpressVPN

Unique Selling Proposition

In terms of unique selling proposition, I would rate Surfshark quite highly. This is because the provider has an immaculate multi-login advantage. The said feature allows you to use the service on number of devices.

NordVPN has a superb server network that aids you to select your desired server from anywhere and is good for pretty much every purpose that a VPN has use for.

NordVPN and Surfshark Ratings

Result: NordVPN has outdone Surfshark based on different factors mentioned above. Hence, I declare NordVPN a winner.

When I reviewed Surfshark and NordVPN in detail, I was able to rate them based on different factors. I considered factors like performance, anonymity, compatibility, features and so on.

NordVPN vs Surfshark Trustpilot Reviews

Trustpilot is a top-notch customer review site that delivers updated and unbiased reviews about different products and services.

You can explore the resource to find relevant feedback about Surfshark and NordVPN hassle-free.

As per the viewpoint of one Surfshark user, you could trust its impressive customer support that solves your problems timely.

Surprisingly, NordVPN users have given mixed reviews about the private network provider. Some users did not like its confusing payment mechanism. But, few subscribers appreciated the brand overall.

Surfshark vs NordVPN Reddit Reviews

Reddit is one of the most sought platforms to explore unbiased reviews about different VPNs. One Reddit follower recommended Surfshark to other users.

Furthermore, one user has appreciated NordVPN when it comes to unblocking Netflix and BBC iPlayer.

Alternative of Surfshark and NordVPN

• Surfshark vs Windscribe
• Surfshark vs PIA
• Surfshark vs PureVPN

Looking for more?

Check this guide and compare VPN services for your choice.

Final Verdict

Based on these features like pricing, logging policy, server network and others, NordVPN is the winner of this comparison against Surfshark.

However, Surfshark is not a lesser VPN by any means. For its price, it is one of the best valued VPNs currently in the industry.

So you can’t go wrong with either choice. Just make sure you know what you’re in for before you purchase one.