Winner: Surfshark
NordVPN vs Surfshark: Head-to-Head 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.
Winner: Surfshark
Surfshark is the winner in this contest due to the fact that it offers better value for money:
- Decent speeds: 24.09 Mbps
- Cheaper price
- Proven performance
- Consistent Netflix support across the world
A Quick Comparison of NordVPN and Surfshark
This table is a quick summary of almost 9 important factors to help choose the most appropriate VPN according to your requirement. For more comparisons, you can check our comprehensive VPN comparison chart that we have prepared for better insights.
| Factors | NordVPN | Surfshark |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | $3.71/mo | $2.21/mo |
| Speed | 93.5 Mbps | 24.09 Mbps |
| Server Network | 5,000+ servers 59 countries | 1,700+ servers 63+ countries |
| Logging | Zero-logging | Zero-logging |
| Netflix Unblocking | Yes | Yes |
| Torrenting/P2P | Yes | Yes |
| 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 |
Detailed Comparison
To determine the better VPN out of these, I performed a detailed comparison between Surfshark and NordVPN. In this comparison, I analyzed the attributes of both providers and compared their relative strengths and weakness.
Following is the detailed comparison of both providers:
1. Pricing Plans
Result: Surfshark is cheaper than NordVPN
| Pricing Plans | NordVPN | Surfshark |
|---|---|---|
| 1-Month Plan | $11.95/mo | $11.95/mo |
| 1-Year Plan | $6.99/mo | $5.99/mo |
| 2-Year Plan | $3.71/mo | $2.21/mo |
| 3-Year Plan | No | No |
Surfshark has the primary USP of being a considerably cheap service, priced at $2.21/mo. However, NordVPN is itself a very reasonably priced VPN costing $3.71/mo if you subscribe to the 2-year plan.
2. Payment Methods
Result: Surfshark offers more payment methods than NordVPN
| Payment Methods | NordVPN | Surfshark |
|---|---|---|
| Credit cards | Yes | Yes |
| PayPal | No | Yes |
| Cryptocurrency | Yes | Yes |
| Amazon Pay | No | Yes |
| Google Pay | No | Yes |
NordVPN and Surfshark both offer multiple payment options including crypto currency, which is excellent for making yourself more anonymous.
Refund policy
Result: Both providers offer exactly a similar 30 days refund policy
Finally, both providers also offer a 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.
3. Speed Results
Result: NordVPN is faster than Surfshark
The speed tests of both providers were performed on a 100 Mbps connection. NordVPN showed a speed of 93.5 Mbps. Whereas Surfshark gave a speed of 24.09 Mbps 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 93.5 Mbps.
Surfshark Speed
Surfshark is no slouch itself when it comes to speed. On a US server, it clocked in the speed of 24.09 Mbps. That is slow compared to NordVPN, however, in general, it is still quite fast.
4. Servers in Countries
Result: Based on the above comparison, NordVPN turns out to be the winner.
| NordVPN | Surfshark |
|---|---|
| 5,000+ 59 countries | 1,700+ servers 63 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 59+ countries. In contrast, Surfshark has 1700+ servers in 63+ countries.
5. 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.
6. Device Compatibility
Result: Both providers offer good performance and reliability
| NordVPN | Surfshark | |
|---|---|---|
| Operating Systems/Apps | Windows, Mac, Linux, Android & iOS | Windows, Mac, Linux, Android & iOS |
| Browser Extensions | Chrome | Firefox | Chrome | Firefox |
| Smart TVs | Yes | Yes |
| Routers | Yes | Yes |
| Gaming Consoles | Yes | Yes |
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.
7. Customer Support
Result: Both providers have excellent customer support in place
| NordVPN | Surfshark | |
|---|---|---|
| Live Chat | Yes | Yes |
| Setup Tutorials | Yes | Yes |
| FAQs | Yes | Yes |
| Knowledge Base | Yes | Yes |
NordVPN resolves customer queries primarily through live chat, which is available round the clock every day of the week. Tutorials and knowledgebase for setups and other technical problems are also available on the 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.
8. 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. However, it all depends on your internet connection and your actual geographical location.
9. 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 user-friendly countries and have plenty of P2P-supported servers.
The AES-256 bit encryption and zero-logging stance of both companies ensure that you can safely download torrents without worrying about getting tracked down by authorities.
10. Jurisdiction
Result: Both providers are located in equally safe jurisdictions
| NordVPN | Surfshark | |
|---|---|---|
| Jurisdictions | Panama | British Virgin Island |
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 the 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.
11. Security Features
Result: Both providers possess strong security features
| NordVPN | Surfshark | |
|---|---|---|
| Kill Switch | Yes | Yes |
| Double VPN | Yes | No |
| CyberSec | Yes | No |
| Onion over VPN | Yes | No |
| Whitelister | No | Yes |
| Multi-Hop | No | Yes |
| CleanWeb | No | Yes |
| Simultaneous Connections | 6 | Unlimited |
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.
Overall Ratings: NordVPN and Surfshark
Result: NordVPN has outdone Surfshark based on the different factors mentioned above. Hence, I declare NordVPN a winner.
| Overall Ratings | NordVPN | Surfshark |
|---|---|---|
| Anonymity | 9/10 | 9.5/10 |
| Reliability | 8.5/10 | 9/10 |
| Features | 9.5/10 | 9/10 |
| Performance | 8.5/10 | 9/10 |
| Support | 9.5/10 | 9.5/10 |
| Value for Money | 9/10 | 9.5/10 |
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.
TrustScore: NordVPN vs Surfshark
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.
Reddit reviews: Surfshark vs NordVPN
Reddit is one of the most sought platforms to explore unbiased reviews about different VPNs. Here is a guide that discusses the best VPNs for Reddit users. One Reddit follower recommended Surfshark to other users.
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 NordVPN.
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.
Hi I have the opportunity to test both Nord and surfshark VPN and I am puzzled as to how you can say that surfshark is winner. First of all surfshark download speed is a mare fraction of Nordvpn. I have 100 meg download speed and when I am using surfshark I am only getting 39 meg compare 93 meg from Nordvpn. Nordvpn might be more expensive than surfshark but you can get a cheaper deal if you go for a longer plan. My only issue with Nordvpn is that they have gotten rid of the PayPal payment option.