Surfshark vs NordVPN: Which VPN Wins in 2026?

At first glance, Surfshark and NordVPN look much alike. Both offer fast speeds, plenty of server locations, and no-logs policies. Yet the same could be said for numerous other VPN services – which isn’t particularly helpful when you’re trying to find your next VPN.

That’s why we’re comparing the two VPNs’ offerings side-by-side so that even the most nuanced differences become clear. In fact, it’s these very differences that are likely to influence your decision as to which VPN – Surfshark or NordVPN – is best for you.

Surfshark vs NordVPN: Quick Comparison Overview

Trying to decide between Surfshark and NordVPN? Here’s a quick side-by-side look at what they have to offer:

Pricing and Plans: Surfshark vs NordVPN

Surfshark offers three subscription tiers while NordVPN has four so the question of which VPN offers the best value depends on what you’re looking for.

If it’s a short-term, no-commitment plan you’re after, NordVPN is the better value at $12.99 versus $15.45 for Surfshark. For the best possible value and lowest monthly price, Surfshark wins out at just $2.49/month compared to NordVPN at $3.49/month.

Speed and Streaming Performance: Surfshark vs NordVPN

Based on our latest speed tests, there’s very little to separate the speeds of Surfshark and NordVPN. With NordVPN, our baseline connection was 251 Mbps and speed loss was less than 10% when connecting to US east coast servers (228 Mbps) and just 3.58% via our nearest server location (242 Mbps). Even for servers further afield in Asia, we still had speeds of 197 Mbps. Impressive stuff!

For Surfshark, benchmark speeds measured 249 Mbps. As with NordVPN, we had the best results when connecting to the closest possible server. At 242 Mbps, this represented slowdown of just 2.81%. At 218 Mbps, US East servers weren’t quite as fast as those of NordVPN though US West Coast performance was slightly better (206 Mbps compared to 201 Mbps for NordVPN).

Our extensive performance testing with both VPNs confirms that, provided you have a solid base connection, you can expect fast, consistent speeds. Naturally, the closer the server to your location, the better the speeds are likely to be. In our streaming tests, we didn’t encounter any lag or buffering even when streaming in 4K.

Server Coverage and Specialty Servers: Surfshark vs NordVPN

Surfshark’s 4,500 servers across 100 locations is more than most VPNs. If you need a fast nearby server or to unblock geo-restricted content, there’s a good chance Surfshark’s network will let you do this. Yet, at 9,000 servers and covering 181 locations, NordVPN’s larger server network provides even greater flexibility.

Rest assured that, whichever VPN you choose, you’ll have no shortage of server locations to choose from in countries including the US, Canada, UK, and Australia. However, if you need strong coverage in Africa or the Caribbean, NordVPN is your best bet as it’s the only one with servers in countries like Barbados, Chad, Fiji, or Togo.

All Surfshark and NordVPN servers run on RAM-only so data is wiped after every server reboot, preventing long-term storage. They’re also all 10 Gbps servers, reducing the risk of overcrowding so can better handle streaming, gaming, and torrenting.

As for specialty servers, Surfshark offers MultiHop which routes traffic via two locations for an extra layer of encryption. NordVPN has this too (called “Double VPN”), but also offers Onion Over VPN which routes traffic via the Tor network for added anonymity.

Security and Privacy: Surfshark vs NordVPN

Surfshark and NordVPN offer all of the essentials to keep your data safe. This starts with ChaCha20 encryption (via WireGuard or NordVPN’s WireGuard-based NordLynx protocol) or 256-bit AES through the OpenVPN protocol.

In both cases, you’re protected by a built-in kill switch which, should your VPN connection drop, steps in to cut your internet traffic so your data isn’t exposed. We tested these kill switches and they performed exactly as they should.

As part of our testing, we also examined Surfshark and NordVPN servers for DNS and IP leak tests. The good news is we saw only what we were supposed to see: our VPN IP address, a location matching the VPN server, and DNS servers belonging to the VPN.

Surfshark and NordVPN operate no-logs policies and have multiple independent audits under their belts to prove it. Indeed, the two VPNs were most recently audited by Deloitte in 2025.

While NordVPN operates out of Panama – which has no mandatory data retention laws – Surfshark is headquartered in the Netherlands, a Nine Eyes member. Still, its no-logs policy means it won’t have identifying data to share even if requested.

Features and Apps: Surfshark vs NordVPN

NordVPN recently gave its desktop and mobile apps a facelift, making finding the perfect server faster than ever, bringing them in line with those of Surfshark. Their respective apps are sleek, uncluttered, and a real selling point.

First-time VPN users will appreciate the two VPNs’ straightforward settings pages whose features are clearly explained. Yet power users won’t feel out of place thanks to the many in-app features.

Surfshark has a built-in ad and tracker blocker, CleanWeb, which worked well in testing with only the occasional ad slipping through in our testing. NordVPN’s equivalent, Threat Protection Pro, is designed to scan for malware.

Both VPNs offer split tunneling, letting you choose which apps and websites can bypass the VPN connection. With Surfshark, this is available on all desktop and mobile apps but NordVPN’s split tunneling is limited to Windows and Android.

Between its Alert (data breach monitoring), Search (private search engine) and Alternative ID, which lets you spoof personal details to protect your real information, Surfshark offers layered privacy protection. Notably, Surfshark One and One+ plans also include Surfshark Antivirus to make it more of an all-in-one security suite.

NordVPN may not have these features (aside from dark web monitoring), but stands out with a few unique features of its own in NordPass, a password manager, NordLocker cloud storage, and Meshnet, which provides a secure way to connect devices even if they’re across different networks.

Surfshark has an unlimited connection allowance whereas NordVPN limits you to 10 devices. That’s still plenty enough for most people but it’s worth keeping in mind if you have a lot of devices or plan to share with family.

Surfshark vs NordVPN: Which VPN Should You Choose?

Based on my hands-on usage as well as our battery of tests, Surfshark and NordVPN are two of the best VPNs on the market. In hands-on testing, Surfshark matched much of what NordVPN offers while staying considerably cheaper, making it one of the best alternatives to NordVPN currently available. If you’re looking for a great VPN at the lowest possible price, Surfshark’s two year plans are hard to beat. Yet NordVPN’s larger server network and Panama jurisdiction give it the edge and make it my winner in this VPN comparison.

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or read our full NordVPN review.

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