Quick Overview
| Factors | NordVPN | Surfshark |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | $3.49/mo | $1.99/mo |
| Speed | 24.91 Mbps | 27.91 Mbps |
| Server Network | 5,000+ servers 55+ countries | 1,000+ servers 61+ countries |
| Logging | No logs policy | No logs policy |
| Netflix Unblocking | Supported | Supported |
| Torrenting/P2P | Supported | Supported |
| Jurisdiction | Panama | British Virgins Islands |
| Customer Support | Live chat, tutorials, knowledgebase | Live chat, tutorials, knowledgebase |
| Encryption | AES-256 bit | AES-256 bit |
| Website | nordvpn.com | surfshark.com |
Winner: Surfshark
Surfshark is the winner in this contest due to:
- Faster speeds: 27.91 Mbps
- Cheaper price
- Proven performance
- Consistent Netflix support across the world
For more comparisons, check a comprehensive VPN comparison chart that we prepared at VPNRanks.
NordVPN vs Surfshark: Detailed Comparison
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.
To determine the better VPN out of these, I performed a detailed comparison between Surfshark and NordVPN. In this comparison, I analyzed attributes of both providers and compared their relative strengths and weakness.
Following is the detailed comparison of both providers:
Pricing
Result: Surfshark is cheaper than NordVPN
| NordVPN | Surfshark |
|---|---|
| 1-month plan: $11.95/mo | 1 month plan: $11.95/mo |
| 1-year plan: $6.99/mo | 1-year plan: $3.75/mo |
| 2-year plan: $4.99/mo | 2-year plan: $1.99/mo |
| 3-year plan: $3.49/mo | 3-year plan: none |
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.
Payment methods
Result: Surfshark offers more payment methods than NordVPN
NordVPN and Surfshark also offer multiple payment options including cryptocurrency, which is excellent for making yourself more anonymous.
| NordVPN | Surfshark |
|---|---|
| Credit cards | Credit cards |
| Not accepted | PayPal |
| Bitcoin | Bitcoin |
| Not accepted | Google Play |
| Alipay | Not accepted |
Refund policy
Result: Both providers offer exactly a similar 30 days refund policy
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.
Speed test
Result: Surfshark is faster than NordVPN
| NordVPN | Surfshark |
|---|---|
| 24.91 Mbps | 27.91 Mbps |
The speed tests of both providers were performed on a 30 Mbps connection. NordVPN showed a speed of 24.91 Mbps, a drop of 16.96%. Whereas Surfshark gave a speed of 27.91 Mbps with just a drop of 6.96% only. Find more details in our Fastest VPN guide.
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 25.46 Mbps:
Surfshark Speed
Surfshark is no slouch itself when it comes to speed. On a US server, it clocked in a speed of 28.45 Mbps:
Servers
Result: Based on above comparison, NordVPN turns out to be a winner.
| NordVPN | Surfshark |
|---|---|
| 5,000+ 55+ countries | 1,000+ servers 61+ countries |
In terms of servers count, Surfshark would take years to beat NordVPN. The Panama based provider has a network of over 5,000 servers in 55+ countries.
In contrast, Surfshark has 1000+ servers in 61+ countries.
Logging Policy
Result: Both providers do not store logs
| NordVPN | Surfshark |
|---|---|
| Does not log IP address, timestamps, DNS, bandwidth, or traffic | Does not log IP address, timestamps, bandwidth, or traffic |
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.
Compatibility
Result: Both providers offer good performance and reliability
| NordVPN | Surfshark |
|---|---|
| Windows, Mac, Linux Android & iOS | Windows, Mac, Android & iOS |
| Routers, Smart TVs | Routers, Smart TVs |
| Chrome, FireFox | Chrome, Firefox |
| Gaming Consoles | Gaming Consoles |
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 | Surfshark |
|---|---|
| Live chat support | Live chat support |
| Setup tutorials | Setup tutorials |
| FAQs/Knowledgebase | FAQs/Knowledgebase |
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.
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.
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.
Jurisdiction
Result: Both providers are located in equally safe jurisdictions
| NordVPN | Surfshark |
|---|---|
| Panama (Safe) | BVI (Safe) |
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.
Security Features & Protocols
Result: Both providers possess strong security features
| NordVPN | Surfshark |
|---|---|
| Kill switch | Kill switch |
| DoubleVPN | MultiHop |
| CyberSec | CleanWeb |
| Onion over VPN | Not offered |
| Not offered | WhiteLister |
| 6 simultaneous connections | Unlimited simultaneous connections |
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.
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 | Surfshark |
|---|---|
| Anonymity 9/10 | Anonymity 9.5/10 |
| Reliability 8.5/10 | Reliability 9/10 |
| Features 9.5/10 | Features 9/10 |
| Performance 8.5/10 | Performance 9/10 |
| Support 9.5/10 | Support 9.5/10 |
| Value for money 9/10 | Value for money 9.5/10 |
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. Here is a guide which discusses best VPNs as per Reddit users. One Reddit follower recommended Surfshark to other users.
Furthermore, one user has appreciated NordVPN when it comes to unblocking Netflix and BBC iPlayer.
Final Verdict: Surfshark is the Winner
Based on better pricing, privacy-focused logging policy, faster download speeds, and overall strong performance Surfshark is the winner of this comparison against Surfshark.
However, NordVPN is not a lesser VPN by any means and is one of the leading brands in the whole industry.
So you can’t go wrong with either choice. Just make sure you know what you’re in for before you purchase one.
“Final Decision:
NordVPN has outdone Surfshark based on different factors mentioned above. Hence, I declare NordVPN a winner.”
Seriously bro?! Your score shows totally different with what you conclude. Bias?
Hello Adam,
Thank you for pointing this out. It was a mistake on our end. The score columns were wrongly interchanged during the write-up. It has been corrected now.
Thanks again!
This still doesn’t look like it makes sense. Surfshark is faster, cheaper, and has equivalent security features. The only argument made for Nordvpn is that Netflix use may cause buffering on surfshark, and Nordvpn has more servers (but more users, and this more traffic, so more servers doesn’t mean a better service….and these servers are in fewer countries than surfshark). Somehow your ratings are still skewed towards Nordvpn. Your “unbiased” conclusion still contradicts the majority of the information you provide in your write-up, causing me to doubt the review in its entirety. I now need to search for other comparisons and reviews to feel confident in a decision.
Hi Evan,
I cannot thank you enough for pointing this out. You are absolutely correct. Mistakes were made on our part. We have a lot of comparisons and reviews that require constant updating in light of recent test results and other factors. Surfshark has greatly improved since the past few months and while we have been updating information in all Surfshark-related articles accordingly including this one, the ratings columns were regretfully not properly updated here. Since it is the ratings alone (which needed updating) that decided the winner here, the conclusion was not adding up to the rest of the information provided. We are not biased towards any particular VPN in these comparisons and decide winners based on their comparative strengths alone.
The ratings have now been fixed and Surfshark is indeed the rightful winner in this contest, as you correctly pointed out. Thank you once again.