ExpressVPN vs Surfshark: Which provider is best?

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Both ExpressVPN and Surfshark are in the upper echelons of the best VPN services right now, and appear in simply about every rundown on every website. Yet, when it comes down to information technology, which will win out in ExpressVPN vs Surfshark?

Both based in the British Virgin Islands, neither firm is subjected to 5 or xiv Eyes surveillance, and y'all can expect expert logging practices from both thanks to this. However, that's where the similarities end – the target markets for both are quite unlike, then here we'll be testing which is best for the majority.

Before diving into the battle proper nosotros'll quickly run down the specs on paper. And so you can place your bets on ExpressVPN vs Surfshark before we pit the two confronting each other in all the areas that thing.

ExpressVPN vs Surfshark at a glance

ExpressVPN vs Surfshark – specs on paper
	ExpressVPN	Surfshark
Number of servers:	iii,000+	iii,200+
Server countries:	94	65
Maximum simultaneous connections:	5	Unlimited
Coin dorsum guarantee:	30 days	xxx days
Lowest monthly cost:	$6.67	$2.49

ExpressVPN vs Surfshark: Which is more affordable?

Allow's face it, price is a big factor for near people – so we'll open with some numbers.

ExpressVPN kicks off at $12.95 for a single month, and drops to $nine.99 a month on a half dozen-calendar month program – pretty average prices, and nothing to shout near. If you sign upwards for a 12-month plan and have advantage of the exclusive Tom's Guide offering which volition bag you three months gratis, you'll exist paying a pretty reasonable $6.67 a month.

If yous go for a rolling monthly plan with Surfshark, you'll be paying the aforementioned as ExpressVPN, $12.95. Commit for vi months and yous'll start saving, though, as the price drops to merely $6.49. The existent bargains commencement when you commit for a yr – taking the free 12 months that comes with that plan into account, the monthly price is dropped to simply $2.49 a month.

Although Surfshark used to be even cheaper, information technology'south nevertheless a serious deal, and every bit our tiptop-rated cheap VPN there's no way it can't win this circular. Yet, information technology's worth noting that Surfshark'due south prices do increase subsequently the initial period, while ExpressVPN'south stay the same. It nonetheless works out better value, though.

ExpressVPN vs Surfshark: Which is faster?

Beyond price, connection speed is one of the biggest factors when choosing a VPN.

Nosotros test all our VPNs on our superfast 1Gbps US and Great britain connections to get a good idea of what top performance we can wait from each service.

Limited delivered speeds topping out at 580Mbps when using the LightWay protocol, which is fantabulous. Surfshark topped out at 475Mbps when using WireGuard, which is good, but non almost course-leading. However, any typical user not studying the numbers would exist hard-pushed to tell the deviation in-employ.

Using OpenVPN on the same connection, ExpressVPN topped out at an impressive 300Mbps, while Surfshark lingered at around 140Mbps. That's a clear deviation.

In truth, neither ExpressVPN nor Surfshark are market leaders when it comes to connection speeds, simply if you've got a regular connectedness of around 100Mbps, both will practise just fine. If you're really looking for maximum speeds, though, ExpressVPN is the clear choice.

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ExpressVPN vs Surfshark: Which is more secure?

Although Surfshark is a cheap service, information technology wouldn't exist as popular every bit it is without some serious privacy and security tools. Information technology runs a private DNS on every 1 of its servers – meaning your traffic never has to become through a tertiary political party'due south hands, plus a wide choice of protocols, a kill switch and MultiHop.

ExpressVPN, even so, features all of these (except Multihop, which is only about the only characteristic not included) aslope fully audited servers and privacy & no-logging policies.

Unfortunately, a full contained audit is something Surfshark is yet to undertake – while its browser extensions have been audited by Cure53, this doesn't requite us whatever information about client source code, servers, or privacy policies. And so, on that basis, nosotros're going to have pronounce Express as the more secure VPN.

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ExpressVPN vs Surfshark: Which is better for Netflix?

Before Netflix inverse its VPN blocking tech, both services were but most flawless when it came to unblocking Netflix, featuring on our Netflix VPN, iPlayer VPN and streaming VPN guides. Still, things have inverse since mid-2021.

ExpressVPN struggled for a short while, simply now it's able to unblock US, Uk, Canadian and Australian libraries reliably. And, if you're having trouble, a quick message to the support team can betoken you in the direction of a working server.

Surfshark, however, has had a rougher time. At present, information technology tin can only access US Netflix, and even then, you may find some errors. We used the Atlanta server and had success at the time of writing, but this is liable to change.

So, correct now, ExpressVPN is by far the superior VPN for use with Netflix. We hope to see improvements across the lath in terms of unblocking, but currently Surfshark is struggling – along with many, many other providers.

ExpressVPN vs Surfshark: Which is amend for torrenting?

Ane of the most pop reasons to go is VPN is for protection when torrenting, and again, both services provide neat solutions.

Both providers have a kill switch (excellent if yous're planning on downloading big files and don't want to risk a dropped connection), divide tunneling to separate traffic, and good connection speeds.

Nonetheless, what sets them apart is the fact that every single ane of ExpressVPN's 3,000+ servers is optimized for P2P, meaning that whichever server you cull (peradventure there'southward one you that y'all observe consistently gives you the best speeds) will be able to exist used for torrenting.

While Surfshark is a serviceable torrenting VPN and can certainly get the job done, it'south non quite as tailor-made for sharing P2P as Express. It starts off with a similar number of servers, simply not every one of them is P2P compatible. While the app can automatically detect torrenting traffic and will switch you to a suitable server, this does hateful you'll have a smaller selection of servers, which might result in slower speeds.

While both do piece of work very well, ExpressVPN is simply better suited to sharing P2P.

ExpressVPN vs Surfshark: Which has better apps?

One of the well-nigh of import features of a VPN, the apps' interfaces and ease of utilise tin can brand a huge difference to the end user, and seeing equally both VPNs feature on our Burn Stick VPN and Android VPN guides, both impress.

Surfshark'due south desktop client and mobile apps are the image of simplicity, with very few options on the opening screen except for your selected server and an on/off button. That's really useful for experts and newbies alike, every bit it makes getting upwards and running a breeze. However, Express is no different, with a elementary, attractive pattern over every platform.

Neither skimps on features behind the scenes too much, either – and all of them are easily accessible with but a tap or two. ExpressVPN does, however, avowal a few more options to play effectually with. For many that's probably not a huge bonus, but for advanced users Limited'south apps will testify more than useful when it comes to customization.

ExpressVPN vs Surfshark: Which has amend back up?

ExpressVPN has long delivered the gold standard of VPN support, and that doesn't look similar changing any time shortly. With a huge knowledgebase of articles plus almost instantaneous 24/7 alive-chat support, there'southward really nothing we can fault.

Surfshark also provides a smashing back up service, but its assistance articles are a niggling thin on the basis compared to Limited. In the vast majority of cases you'll be able to find what you need, but Limited'due south depth and latitude of content really stands out.

ExpressVPN vs Surfshark: Last verdict

Mo is VPN Editor at Tom's Guide. Day-to-twenty-four hours he oversees VPN, privacy, and cybersecurity content, and also undertakes contained testing of VPN services to ensure his recommendations are accurate and up to appointment. When he'south not getting stuck into the nitty-gritty settings of a VPN y'all've never heard of, you'll find him working on his Peugeot 205 GTi or watching Peep Show instead of finally putting upward those shelves.

Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/features/expressvpn-vs-surfshark-which-provider-is-best

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ExpressVPN vs Surfshark: Which provider is best?