If you’re shopping for the best VPN, and NordVPN are two names you’re sure to come across. Both have strong advertising campaigns: NordVPN dominates everything from YouTube videos to TV, and Surfshark is no slouch either.
In this article, we will try to look beyond the marketing and find out which of the two is the best VPN for you.
Which VPN is better Surfshark or NordVPN
Features of Surfshark vs. NordVPN
We start our comparison by looking at the features that Surfshark and NordVPN offer. The basics are there for both, meaning you can select a server in any number of countries and connect to it through a secure tunnel. (That’s a simplified explanation of how VPNs work.) We haven’t had any major issues using either service, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any differences either.
Security and encryption
The biggest difference between NordVPN and Surfshark when it comes to security is the default VPN protocol each maintains. NordVPN defaults to NordLynx, which is a proprietary protocol based on Wireguard, a state-of-the-art protocol that guarantees speed and security. Surfshark, on the other hand, defaults to IKEv2/IPsec, which is fast but has some security flaws.
In both cases, you can switch between the default protocol to something like OpenVPN, which is generally considered reliable, but we think it’s a knock against Surfshark for it to set a questionable protocol as standard.
However, that’s all for the bad news. Both services offer a lot of cool security features that should help keep you safe, ranging from the standard, like a kill switch, to more advanced options, like multi-hop connections.
The result is that both VPNs will keep you safe while you’re online, although we recommend switching between protocols when using Surfshark. Other than that, when we tested the VPNs, they both passed every security test we ran.
Server count and speed
Speaking of tests, we also ran speed tests on both NordVPN and Surfshark, and weren’t particularly impressed with either. As we explain in our article comparing NordVPN vs. ExpressVPN, NordVPN speeds come down to whether or not you get a good server. If so, it’s fast as lightning. Otherwise, it slows down to a slow pace.
RELATED :
Surfshark is more consistent, but its speeds can only be described as average, typically only offering about half the speed of what NordVPN’s fastest servers can offer. While embracing the notion of slow and steady may be good advice in many other areas of life, it’s unnecessary when it comes to VPNs, as there are so many other services out there that offer speed and reliability.
The advantage is that if you just need a VPN to stay safe online, both services will have you covered with a server nearby. Both networks are extensive: NordVPN has over 5,000 servers in 60 countries, while Surfshark has 3,200 in 65 countries. With such a wide network, you’re sure to find a server a few hundred miles away, especially if you’re in Europe or North America.
Netflix and other streaming services
If you’re looking to use NordVPN or Surfshark to access Netflix libraries in other countries, prepare to be disappointed. A recent Netflix crackdown has made it difficult to watch Netflix with any VPN, but some have fared much better than others. ExpressVPN, for example, still manages it on some of their servers.
RELATED
We’ve heard that NordVPN does relatively well with Netflix, but after testing several servers, we had no luck. However, seeing how many servers there are and the reliability of our sources, we’re willing to half-heartedly support it.
Surfshark, however, seems to be struggling a lot with Netflix’s new VPN detection system, one that it didn’t handle all that well even before the update, so you might want to give it a go if entertainment is the main reason why. the one that is recorded. for a VPN.
torrent
Another important use of VPNs is torrenting, which both Surfshark and NordVPN can handle. NordVPN even has a whole set of servers especially for P2P traffic. While we’re not sure if it matters if you have special servers or not, we think it’s a nice touch.
Surfshark seems to have advertised special servers in the past, but no longer does. We assume this means that you can use any server for P2P activities. In the end, though, all that matters is that you have a good connection speed and a working kill switch. If you want to download torrents, either service will do.
Get past censorship
The last feature we’d like to go over is heavily hyped by Surfshark, namely the ability to bypass China’s internet lockdowns. This feature is called NoBorders, and we’re not exactly sure how it’s supposed to work: According to Surfshark, they’re special servers meant to bypass censorship.
That’s quite interesting, since, as far as we know, pretty much any server can get past a censorship block as long as its IP isn’t monitored by the Chinese government. While we won’t go so far as to say that you shouldn’t use Surfshark for this purpose, we do find this type of advertising a bit misleading. You don’t need special skills to get past censorship blocks.
Overall, the feature packages of our two contenders are very similar, at least on paper. However, in practice, NordVPN is inching its way thanks to better speeds and better access to Netflix. However, there is a price to pay for that, as you will see in our next round.
Price
When it comes to pricing, NordVPN vs Surfshark proves an interesting option: Surfshark may offer less impressive features, but it’s much cheaper at $2.49 per month on the two-year plan.
NordVPN may have better features in some areas, but at $3.30 per month when you sign up for two years it’s also much more expensive.
On top of that, there’s another thing to keep in mind: When you renew NordVPN, you’ll pay $322 for the two-year plan, since the initial payment is just a promotion. Surfshark, on the other hand, simply changes the initial $60 into an annual payment after the first two years. Although both providers mislead you, Surfshark’s isn’t too bad.
When it comes to value, Surfshark is probably the best option if all you need is a little extra security and nothing more. However, if you want the full package, NordVPN is the better option of the two and is well worth the extra 80 cents per month.
Interface
When it comes to ease of use, there’s a lot to be said for both services. We’ve always liked NordVPN’s approach with its interactive map that lets you select a server by clicking on a country or selecting one from a list on the left of the screen.
Settings are equally well laid out, with a nice menu that gives you a clear idea of where things can be found. Generally, playing around with settings is pretty easy with NordVPN, and it generally explains what things are and what they’re for.
Surfshark’s main interface is just as good as NordVPN’s. You may not have the map, but in everyday use it’s just as easy to connect to a server and get started. However, connection times to the server are a bit slow.
The settings menu isn’t that great: it’s much more basic than NordVPN’s, and there’s also less explanation. While you could argue that it makes Surfshark easier to use because there are fewer options, we prefer it when our software is a bit more tweakable.
When it comes to ease of use, both are great, but we slightly prefer NordVPN because it has a better settings menu and connection speeds.
Privacy
When it comes to privacy, both Surfshark and NordVPN seem . They both claim to keep no logs, never share information, and everything else we’ve come to expect from VPNs.
However, as we’ve discussed before, all you can do is take a service on their word that they’re not sharing or selling data, it’s virtually impossible to prove or enforce: Surfshark is based in the British Virgin Islands and NordVPN is based in the British Virgin Islands. headquarters in Panama. As both services are happy to tell you, this means they’re away from FBI orders requesting user data, but also from regulatory oversight.
That said, it is a solid and comprehensive document. We like its attention to detail, with our favorite feature being the huge table of the types of data it handles, what is stored, what is shared, and with whom. Very few vendors of any kind fully inform customers of this, and we greatly appreciate it.
NordVPN, on the other hand, is much more concise. Instead of a table, your privacy policy goes through the data types in a list, which works just as well, we suppose, but doesn’t give the same overview. One advantage that NordVPN has over Surfshark is that it undergoes regular security audits of its performance, whereas Surfshark only has security audits for its server architecture.
The verdict
Making the choice between NordVPN and Surfshark depends on what you need it for. If you need a cheap VPN for added security, Surfshark is the best option, despite its average speeds.
If you need a VPN to do a little more, like access Netflix and other streaming services, then NordVPN is the best option, at least for the initial two years.
After that, NordVPN just gets too expensive for what you get, and we recommend looking for another VPN when your first subscription runs out.
In addition to discovering which VPN is better Surfshark or NordVPN, below you can see more related topics from related to this article:
Facebook Comments
Disqus