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Surfshark Review 2022

Headquartered in the British Virgin Islands and founded in 2018, Surfshark may be a newcomer, but it stands as an all-rounder, which competes with the likes of NordVPN and ExpressVPN. Starting at a low $2.49/mo, it is perfect for all your VPN needs.

With a network of 3,200+ servers in 65+ countries, Surfshark easily unblocks American Netflix in Canada, while granting access to 16+ different Netflix libraries. You even have support for p2p/file sharing and Surfshark is compatible with all BitTorrent clients.

Their headquarters in BVI is also away from the Fine, Nine, and Fourteen Eyes alliances, which means users do not have to worry about mandatory data retention or mass surveillance laws, which could demand the VPN to store logs!

Pricing: How Much Does Surfshark Cost?

If you want to get Surfshark, you have three premium plans available; monthly (starting at $11.95), bi-yearly ($6.49/mo), and 2-years (as low as $2.49/mo). If we talk about the monthly plan, Surfshark matches the costs of most VPNs in the marketplace.

Similarly, if you opt for a subscription of a longer duration, the provider offers discounts. For instance, if you opt for the 6-months plan, you receive an amazing 50% discount. This reduces the per month costs to $6.49, which totals to $38.94 for 6-months.

If you want to receive the best value, I recommend the 2-year plan. It gives you an amazing discount of 81%, which reduces the monthly costs to a minimal $2.49. As a result, you only pay $59.76 for 24-months, which is quite reasonable to say the least.

Free Trial/Refund Guarantee

Surfshark offers a 30-day money-back guarantee on all plans listed above. If you are not satisfied with the service, you can easily ask for a refund, before 30-days. You can do this by contacting the live chat support and mentioning the reason for account cancellation.

The provider even offers a 7-day free trial on iOS and Android devices. Once you install the app, you will be required to select a plan, enter a valid email address, and payment details. Once verified, the 7-day free trial will get activated.

Payment Methods

For purchasing a subscription, Surfshark supports various payment methods. Among these include credit cards like Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, along with other options like PayPal, Google Play, Apple Pay, and Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin!

Jurisdiction: Where is Surfshark Located?

Surfshark has its headquarters in the privacy-friendly, British Virgin Islands, which is a small country that tends to be completely independent in the governance of its internal/external affairs, despite coming under the purview of the British Monarchy.

Since BVI is away from the prying eyes of the 5, 9, and 14 Eyes Alliances, it gives Surfshark a competitive edge over other providers. Users need not worry about invasive data retention and mass surveillance laws that could require the VPN to store logs!

Security: Is Surfshark Safe and Reliable?

Yes, Surfshark is a completely secure and reliable VPN, which you can trust. It’s location, features, encryption, and log-free servers deliver the safest experience online, whether that be for streaming, torrenting, gaming, or browsing the internet.

Logging Information

Prospects of Surfshark will be pleased to hear that the VPN does not store any connectivity/activity logs like browsing/downloading history, connection timestamps, network traffic, session info, used bandwidth, VPN servers, and incoming/outgoing traffic.

This can be verified through the renowned web security service firm and top auditing companies for VPNs, Cure53, which conducted a comprehensive audit of Surfshark and its applications. As expected, Surfshark aced the assessments of storing zero logs.

Protocols and Encryption

Surfshark provides users with support for a number of different protocols. These include PPTP, Shadowsocks, IKEv2, and OpenVPN. By default, the Windows application implements the OpenVPN protocol, whereas Mac/iOS devices utilize the IKEv2 protocol.

The BVI-based provider has even recently added the “WireGuard” protocol, which is UDP-optimized and has built-in stealth features to create an experience that boosts your privacy and anonymity online while enhancing VPN performance.

As far as encryption is concerned, Surfshark uses a variation of AES-256-CBC and AES-256-GCM ciphers. You can change them in all apps according to your security preferences, which is a great option for security-geeks who want customization options.

Servers: How Many Servers Does Surfshark Have?

One of the most crucial factors that can affect any VPN’s credibility in the marketplace is the strength of their network infrastructure. Initially, Surfshark only had 800+ servers in 50+ countries, but these numbers have grown over the years.

Until the start of 2021, Surfshark raised the count to 1,040+ servers in 60+ countries, and as of October, they now have more than 1,700 servers in 63+ countries worldwide. This shows that the VPN continues to expand its network, which works great in their favor!

P2p/File Sharing (Torrenting)

Surfshark is one of the best choices for indulging in p2p/file sharing, as the provider offers an optimized list of servers for downloading torrents. You can obtain this from their live chat support team that is incredibly proactive and will give you a response within a few seconds!

Streaming: Does Surfshark Unblock American Netflix and other VoDs?

Yes, Surfshark has the ability to unblock American Netflix and over 16 other libraries. The provider is strong enough to bypass VPN blocking technologies like DPI attacks, DNS hijacking, DNS poisoning, IP filtering, and blackholing of VPN servers.

In fact, their unblocking capabilities are not only limited to Netflix. By using Surfshark, you can also access international and local libraries of BBC iPlayer, Prime Video, Disney Plus, HBO GO, Hulu, Hotstar, Voot, and various other streaming services.

How to Get American Netflix via Surfshark?

Surfshark offers amazing support for Netflix through a list of optimized servers. Recommended choices: Los Angeles, Latham, Miami, Boston, & Detroit. Follow the steps below to learn how to unblock American Netflix in Canada or elsewhere using Surfshark. 

1. Visit our Surfshark affiliate link.
2. Click on the “Get VPN for Netflix” button.
3. Choose a plan that best suits your needs.
4. Complete the payment checkout process.
5. Return to the Surfshark homepage.
6. Click on the “Apps” tab and download the relevant app.
7. Launch the Surfshark app and enter credentials.
8. Connect to a recommend server in the US.
9. Open Netflix and enjoy the American library!

Speed: How Fast is Surfshark Really?

To get a better idea about the performance offered by Surfshark, I performed a speed test analysis on 5 different servers. On average, the VPN delivers 87.86 Mbps in downloads and 86.94 Mbps in uploads on a 100 Mbps connection:

Compatibility: Can I Use Surfshark on All Devices?

Surfshark offers users amazing native apps compatibility You have dedicated clients for Windows, Android, Mac, iOS, and even Firestick. For Apple TVs, Xbox, and PlayStation, Surfshark even provides a preconfigured router for easy VPN connectivity!

Trustworthiness: What Do Users Say About Surfshark?

In order to get an unbiased opinion about Surfshark, it is always a good idea to analyze what users are saying regarding the service. One of the best places to get user-perspectives is to check out Trustpilot and Reddit.

Trustpilot Score

From a total of 4,734 user reviews, Surfshark gets a remarkable 4.3-star rating on Trustpilot. Over 65% of users have given Surfshark an “excellent” rating, whereas only 7% of users have rated the service as “bad”.

Reddit Raves and Rants

Most reviews of Surfshark on Reddit were positive with a few exceptions. Most people appreciate the low cost of the service, coupled with user-friendly applications, fast server speeds, and ability to unblock Netflix, as you can see below:

Surfshark Customer Support

Surfshark has one of the best and most active support teams in the industry. In addition to offering a troubleshooting guide, a search bar, FAQs, users have the option of receiving support via 24/7 live chat, which provides easy solutions for most problems.

Surfshark Alternatives

Surfshark is a budget-friendly newcomer that defies all odds to offer remarkable privacy/anonymity online, smooth unblocking of VoDs, and safe downloading of torrents. However, if you are looking for alternatives, check out the list below.

• PureVPN
• NordVPN
• ExpressVPN
• IPVanish

Is Surfshark Recommended?

Yes, Surfshark is definitely recommended to users who are in search of an inexpensive, all-rounder. Based in the British Virgin Islands, Surfshark is away from internet enemy jurisdictions that impose data retention and mass surveillance laws.

With over 3,200+ servers in 65+ countries, users receive amazing speeds and features whether that be for unblocking websites like American Netflix in Canada or engaging in p2p/file sharing to download pirated content.

The best part of all: you can get a plan for as low as $2.21/month on a 2-year subscription. You even have a free 7-day trial on iOS and Android devices, while all other plans are backed by a risk-free, 30-day money-back guarantee!