Read our 2024 Surfshark VPN review to learn if this popular VPN option is right for your needs and budget.
Summary:
Launched in 2018, Surfshark VPN promises fast speeds and offers innovative technology to protect users privacy when accessing the internet. Users get access to over 3,200 servers in more than 100 countries and can connect an unlimited amount of devices to their account.
You won’t find a dedicated IP address add-on with Surfshark, which may limit its usefulness for some remote workers and small business owners; however, you will have 24/7 customer support and some unique privacy features. It’s worth noting that a number of Surfshark customers complained in online reviews of difficulty in cancelling their subscription and opting out of auto-renewal.
Pros
- Offers split tunnelling and multi-hop features
- Unlimited simultaneously connected devices
- 30-day money back guarantee
Cons
- Expensive monthly plan
- No dedicated IP address add-on
- Some poor customer reviews
Table of Contents
Featured Partner Offers
1
NordVPN
Plan costs
$7.33 AUD per month or $87.95 for the first year
Number of Servers
5,500
Encryption
AES-256
2
Surfshark
Price
Starting From $3.07 AUD Per Month
Number of Servers
3000+
Encryption
AES with 256 -bit keys
3
Private Internet Access (PIA)
Dedicated IP address
Yes
Number of devices
Unlimited
Encryption
AES-256
Surfshark VPN At A Glance
As of 2022, Surfshark VPN has been based in the Netherlands, and has offices in Vilnius (Lithuania) and Warsaw (Poland). The original Surfshark— Surfshark Ltd—was established in the British Virgin Islands, but since October of 2021, new or renewed VPN contracts were with another company, Surfshark B.V., established in Amsterdam.
All plans offer a 30-day money-back guarantee, unlimited simultaneous devices and in-depth security features.
Surfshark’s cheapest offering, Surfshark Starter, starts at $3.19 AUD per month for two years and three months due to their current promotion. On a month-by-month basis, it would cost $23.29 AUD per month for Australian users.
Bypasser
Bypasser is Surfshark VPN’s split-tunnelling feature, allowing you to direct some of your internet traffic directly through an internet provider and some through a VPN so users can choose what they do and don’t wish to encrypt. Surfshark, for example, says this feature is ideal for mobile banking apps.
The feature is free—as opposed to a premium add-on—and it’s available on the Surfshark app.
MultiHop
This feature allows users to simultaneously connect to two different VPN servers. In most cases, Surfshark will connect you to servers located in different countries. The main benefit is so that users can add an additional layer of security by hiding their real location more reliably. Plus, Surfshark says that by doing so, you may be able to improve your internet speeds.
Privacy and Security
Surfshark VPN hides your real address and goes into what the company calls “camouflage mode”, hiding the fact that you’re using a VPN from your internet provider. The company doesn’t keep any activity logs, such as information on your browsing history and DNS queries.
Surfshark also uses AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) with 256-bit keys (aka AES-256-GCM) to encrypt your data, ensuring your data won’t be leaked. Its CleanWeb feature also blocks ads and malware, preventing phishing attempts. WireGuard is the default protocol on all of their apps, but users can also select OpenVPN or IKEv2/IPsec.
Other Benefits
Many privacy-conscious VPN users are stickers about how they pay for their VPN, and one of the advantages of Surfshark is they accept cryptocurrency as anonymous payment.
For customer support, you can reach out 24/7 via live chat or troubleshoot using Surfshark’s online guides.
How Surfshark VPN Stacks Up
Shopping around various VPN providers allows you to see what’s on offer and choose the plan that’s suited to your budget and privacy requirements. Private Internet Access and Nord VPN are two strong contenders offering VPN services at similar levels of sophistication, each with its own advantages and disadvantages.
Although Surfshark has a high monthly fee, it does offer an unlimited number of connected devices—including mobile phones. However, if you’re not looking to connect to more than a few devices, this isn’t much of an advantage.
If you’re interested in a dedicated IP address—useful for many small businesses and remote workers—you won’t find that with Surfshark. Both Nord VPN and PIA, however, offer a dedicated IP addresses.
Surfshark falls short in this particular comparison. Luckily, all three VPN services offer some version of a free trial (or a money-back guarantee) so you can test them out without being locked into a payment plan. As mentioned above, there have been a number of online reviews complaining about the inability to easily cancel a subscription or opt-out of auto-renewal.
Is Surfshark VPN Right for You or Your Business?
Surfshark VPN is primarily aimed at individuals, and it will serve you well if you want a VPN for personal use.
If you’re willing to forgo the dedicated IP address, Surfshark may work for some small business operations, too—especially considering that you can connect an unlimited amount of devices. Its split tunnelling feature is also useful if you want more control over what gets routed through the VPN and what connects directly to the internet.
However, if the dedicated IP address is a dealbreaker, you’ll need to look elsewhere. There are other options offering similar features at competitive prices.
Featured Partner Offers
1
NordVPN
Plan costs
$7.33 AUD per month or $87.95 for the first year
Number of Servers
5,500
Encryption
AES-256
2
Surfshark
Price
Starting From $3.07 AUD Per Month
Number of Servers
3000+
Encryption
AES with 256 -bit keys
3
Private Internet Access (PIA)
Dedicated IP address
Yes
Number of devices
Unlimited
Encryption
AES-256
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Is Surfshark a good VPN?
Surfshark is a great solution, especially for personal use. There are plenty of features that make it stand out, including multi-hop connections and split tunnelling. Unfortunately, Surfshark doesn’t offer a dedicated IP address, but even with that drawback it ranked in our assessment of the best VPN services.
Why do I need a VPN service?
There are many reasons to use a VPN, not the least of which is the ability to browse the internet securely and privately. For instance, users can protect their data, avoid malware attacks and keep online searches private. Many people also use a VPN to bypass geo-blocking restrictions, giving them the ability to access blocked websites, for instance.
What are the benefits of a dedicated IP address?
By default, most VPNs use shared IP addresses, where many users are associated with any given IP address. This isn’t a bad thing per se, but if one user acts nefariously, it could affect everyone associated with that IP address. For example, if someone is breaking Netflix’s terms of use, Netflix could blacklist the IP. Now no one on that IP can access Netflix.
The same goes for banking and other important websites. So the more important your work or business use for the VPN, the more important a dedicated IP address becomes. As its name suggests, a dedicated IP address grants you (and your account) access to a private IP address all to yourself, and you can skirt those shared IP issues entirely. This is just one of many benefits of using a VPN.
What goes into a VPN company’s transparency report?
A transparency report outlines the amount of legal requests for data a VPN company receives from different authorities. Ostensibly, the VPN does not comply. The point of this report is to show how a VPN company protects the digital privacy of its users.
How do I connect to a VPN?
The process for connecting to a VPN varies, depending on your device and operating system. Generally, you need to download the VPN’s app or software, enter your username and password and select a server. For more detailed instructions, check out the VPN’s website or contact customer service.
Why is my internet slower after I've set up my VPN?
Once your VPN is set up, don’t be alarmed if your internet connection is slower than it used to be. When you think about the high level of privacy and security a VPN has added, this is a minor drawback.
Is Surfshark VPN trustworthy?
Yes, Surfshark is extremely privacy-conscious, offering users AES-256 encryption, a kill switch, and cryptocurrency as anonymous payment, among other features.
Does Surfshark have good reviews?
Surfshark/’s customer reviews are hit-and-miss. On ProductReview, it has received only 1.3 stars out of 5 from 71 Australian customers. As this is a low number of submissions, it’s important to not let that deter you from trying the VPN and seeing if it works for you and your needs (especially considering there is a 30-day money back guarantee should you decide it’s not the best fit).
Contrarily, on Trustpilot, Surfshark has received a ranking of 4.4 stars from more than 22,000 reviews.
What is the Surfshark VPN discount?
At the time of writing, Surfshark is offering major discounts on its 12-month and 24-month plans. This includes the Surfshark Starter, Surfshark One, and Surfshark One+.
The discounts range from discounts of 73% to 86%, and also include an additional three months at that same cost on your plan. For up to date pricing on Australian plans, you can view the pricing list here.
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