The review
Surfshark’s selling point is that it does not count your devices. Laptop, phone, tablet, work machine, partner’s phone, the router in the flat — one subscription covers all of it, and nobody else on this page does that.
The second reason to look at it is quieter but more useful. Independent testing puts it at 640 megabits on OpenVPN, against NordVPN’s 110. Most of the time you will use WireGuard and never notice. But hotel networks, conference wifi and corporate firewalls frequently block WireGuard while letting OpenVPN through on port 443, and that is exactly when a VPN either works or does not.
Then the problem. Surfshark does not publish what it charges after the first term. We looked at the pricing page, the terms of service and the support site; the number is in none of them, and you only meet it on a payment screen you have to click through to reach. Outside reporting puts the renewal near triple the headline. Add that its dedicated IP is excluded from refunds by name, cannot be moved after purchase and cannot be doubled up, and that its parent company also owns NordVPN, and the picture is of a good product sold in a way we would rather it were not.
What works
- Unlimited devices, the only one here without a count
- 640 Mbps on OpenVPN, which survives restrictive networks
- Cheapest up front of the five
- Audited by Deloitte, Cure53 and SecuRing, most recently 2026
- Slightly better reviewed than NordVPN on every measure
What does not
- Will not publish its renewal price anywhere at all
- The dedicated IP cannot be refunded, moved or duplicated
- Netherlands, a Nine Eyes country
- Same parent company as NordVPN, so not a true second option