NordVPN vs Surfshark: What's the Best VPN in 2025?
There are hundreds of review articles online, all talking about Nord VPN vs Surfshark VPN, and you have read most of them.
We know you’re hunting for a straight answer, and we’ve got you. Over the past few weeks, we sifted through dozens of independent speed tests and security audits, streaming trials, and real-user VPN reviews to find out whether NordVPN or Surfshark truly deserves the “best VPN in 2025” badge.
In this article, we will present all our findings on Surfshark and Nord VPN price comparison, their take on security and privacy, speed and server coverage, customer support, and more.
Ready to get your questions answered? Let’s dive in.
NordVPN vs Surfshark at a Glance: Best VPN 2025 Specs Table
First, here’s a snapshot of what you should expect to see:
Pricing & Plan Differences: Surfshark VPN vs NordVPN
Let’s start with one of the most important metrics: the price.
SurfShark VPN Pricing
Surfshark prices vary according to your budget. There are three price tiers: starter, one, and plus. Each tier offers three different pricing plans based on the commitment's length. Here’s what we mean:
| Plan | Price, billed annually (no-commitment) | Price, billed annually (12-mo commitment)* | Price, billed annually (24-mo commitment)* | Includes |
| Starter | $15.45/mo | $3.19/mo | $2.19/mo | VPN, Alternative ID |
| One | $17.95/mo | $3.39/mo | $2.69/mo | Starter features plus Antivirus, Alert, Search |
| Plus | $20.65/mo | $6.09/mo | $4.29/mo | Feature plus a Data-removal tool |
* Both the 12- and 24-month Surfshark VPN deals come with 3 extra months free, which extends your subscription while keeping the monthly rate shown above.
All Surfshark VPN pricing tiers allow the connection of unlimited devices, which is Surfshark’s biggest value if you need a VPN for your whole household to use at the same time.
The catch? Renewal. These prices are for first-time Surfshark VPN users. After your first commitment ends, all prices suddenly increase.
The 24-month plan, for example, renews at roughly double the rate you see above. This is something Surfshark confirms in the small print and via live chat.
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NordVPN Pricing
NordVPN offers four tiers based on how many features you want, and each of them is offered at three different prices, based on your commitment choice:
| Plan | Price, billed monthly (no-commitment) | Price, billed annually (12-mo commitment) | Price, billed annually (24-mo commitment) | What you get |
| Basic | $12.99/mo | $4.99/mo | $3.39/mo | Full VPN + Threat Protection Lite |
| Plus | $13.99/mo | $5.99/mo | $4.39/mo | Basic features plus NordPass password manager + full Threat Protection Pro |
| Complete | $14.99/mo | $6.99/mo | $5.39/mo | Plus tier plus 1 TB encrypted cloud storage (NordLocker) |
| Prime | $17.99/mo | $9.99/mo | $8.39/mo | Complete tier plus cyber-insurance / identity-protection bundle (region-dependent) |
All Nord VPN deals allow up to 10 simultaneous devices, unlike Surfshark’s unlimited device allowance. The renewal prices are similar to Surfshark. All Nord VPN deals renew at roughly double the rates you see above after your commitment ends.
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Security & Encryption: How Safe Did We Feel?
When we checked security, we looked for three things: strong ciphers, leak protection, and extra tools that make everyday browsing safer.
Surfshark VPN
Surfshark VPN utilizes AES-256 and ChaCha20 encryption and sets WireGuard as the default protocol, which is the same combo most labs now recommend for speed and safety. Tests from last year showed the Surfshark VPN kill switch cuts the internet instantly on both Windows and Android, so your real IP never slips out during a reconnect
We also checked Surfshark extensions. Their CleanWeb 2.0 blocker stopped ad trackers and several malware links in a recent test, so shady pop-ups never reached the browser.
For tougher networks, we also checked Surfshark’s Camouflage and NoBorders modes. Surfshark VPN reviews and user guides confirm they hide VPN traffic well enough to bypass most firewalls and geo-blocks.
Bottom line: Surfshark covers all the basics (strong ciphers, a kill switch that works, tracker blocking) and adds stealth modes that help when being stuck behind strict filters.
START NAVIGATING SAFELY WITH SURFSHARK
H3: NordVPN
NordVPN's safety matches Surfshark's on core encryption. It also uses AES-256 and ChaCha20, and offers WireGuard under the name NordLynx. However, Nord VPN also adds a couple of privacy extras: Double VPN and Onion-over-VPN. The former sends your traffic through two servers, while the latter sends it through Tor network to provide an extra layer of protection.
Even while doing these, Nord VPN speed stays high. Multiple speed charts from 2025 still place NordLynx at the top of the list, even with the two-layer stronger encryption.
Nord offers Threat Protection as an extra feature. Tests from January 2025 showed that Nord VPN’s threat protection blocked 93% of phishing pages with zero false alarms.
Finally, Nord VPN reviews ran DNS, IPv6, and WebRTC leak checks across all major platforms and reported clean results, helped by Nord’s always-on kill switch.
Bottom line: NordVPN equals Surfshark on the fundamentals, and goes further with double-hop modes and a class-leading phishing blocker. If you want the extra privacy tools built in, Nord has the edge.
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Privacy & Logging: No-Logs Claims Under the Microscope
Even iron-clad encryption is pointless if a provider quietly records what you do. So we dug into each company’s take on privacy and logging.
How does Surfshark VPN in terms of privacy?
Surfshark’s no-logs promise was first tested by Deloitte in January 2023, when auditors confirmed that no identifying data is written to disk or forwarded to third parties. Surfshark says a follow-up review is scheduled for late 2025 to keep that stamp current.
To make the audit mean something in practice, Surfshark migrated 100% of its fleet to RAM-only servers. This means that if a node is powered off, everything in memory disappears. It also offers a Rotating IP feature that changes your exit address every few minutes, which makes long-term tracking far harder.
The one drawback is jurisdiction: Surfshark is established in the Netherlands, a country within the 14-Eyes intelligence pact. In theory, that makes legal demands easier. However, Surfshark's RAM-only servers and an audited no-logs policy ensure that there’s simply nothing to seize in the first place.
NordVPN: the most private VPN
NordVPN has gone through five separate no-logs audits, the latest completed by Deloitte in February 2025, again verifying that user activity isn’t stored or shared. Nord’s corporate base is in Panama, which keeps it outside EU- and US-led data-sharing treaties, adding a legal protection layer on top of the technical one.
Like Surfshark, Nord also has been running a fully diskless (RAM-only) network since 2020. Every reboot wipes the operating system and any transient logs, so even a captured server reveals nothing.
Nord also regularly publishes a public privacy statement and has upgraded its old warrant canary into detailed monthly transparency reports that list every government or DMCA request it receives. None have ever produced usable data.
The only smear on Nord’s privacy stance was a single third-party data center breach back in 2018. No user data leaked, but the company responded by dropping the supplier, launching the RAM-only servers, and kick-starting its long audit streak.
Speed & Server Network: Where Can You Connect, and How Fast?
We went through the latest public speed tests and streaming reviews to see how each VPN performs both close to home and on long-distance server connections.
Testing Surfshark VPN speeds
Recent independent tests that used Surfshark’s default WireGuard set-up showed average download speeds of about 72 megabits per second on a 100 Mb line when connected to a nearby server. This is roughly a 25% drop from the raw line but still more than fast enough for HD streams.
When the connection was switched to an across-seas server, the delay climbed to about 120 milliseconds.
To translate this to a real-life example, the picture stayed smooth and the commentary stayed in sync. At busy evening hours speeds dipped by an additional 5-8%, yet none of the tests showed Surfshark being throttled or forced to change servers.
The Surfshark VPN network is now around 3,200 servers in 100 countries, with only a few small Pacific nations remaining blank spots.
NordVPN speed
NordVPN's WireGuard version (NordLynx) is averaging above 90 megabits per second on local links. When switched to a long-distance server, it still managed to record only a small drop. Reviewers were able to watch 4K football without buffering, which takes a lot more bandwidth than regular browsing.
Even on Nord’s special double-privacy servers (Double hop and Onion-over), the speeds only fell by 10% or so. Weekend business didn’t make a difference either.
Nord has a larger server network compared to SurfShark, with over 7,400 servers across 118 countries, which includes countries like Kenya, Iceland, and Egypt, which SurfShark doesn’t cover yet.
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Customer Support: Who Helped Us Faster?
Even the best VPN hits problems. That’s just the reality. So, we tracked how quickly each provider solves problems when things go sideways.
Surfshark's live chat has mixed results. Some reviewers were impressed with Surfshark’s near-instant response times, managing to connect to a human agent under 10 seconds on every attempt. While others logged up to 3 minutes of wait time during peak hours.
Email support naturally takes longer, but still delivers. Recent data shows SurfShark's help team responds to emails in about 12 hours with actual solutions rather than generic templates. In addition,
Surfshark’s knowledge base displays over 500 help articles, which very effectively aid users who are looking for solutions.
NordVPN's support system, on the other hand, feels more refined overall. Chat agents consistently responded in under 60 seconds across multiple 2025 tests, with one tester documenting a particularly impressive solution for a server connection issue that lasted only 30 seconds.
But Nord offers more than just great quality customer support. It has in-app diagnostics that realize you are having problems before you even open a ticket. In cases like this, a chatbot reaches out to you with suggestions on how to troubleshoot and tells you which server to connect to while it is forwarding you to a human agent.
Nord’s email support also significantly outpaces Surfshark. Testers reported that they received detailed responses averaging just 6 hours, accompanied by screenshots and custom troubleshooting steps tailored to their specific issues.
Conclusion: Which is the Best VPN in 2025?
Here’s the final verdict of Surfshark vs Nord VPN: If you need unlimited devices on a tight budget, Surfshark wins. If you value raw speed and wider server choice, NordVPN wins.
Surfshark VPN’s cheapest starter plan offers top value by covering your whole household and all your devices, especially if you've got tablets, phones, and smart TVs all needing anti-virus protection at the same time.
Nord VPN’s extra 4,500 servers and consistently faster speeds will make a real difference for you if you're streaming 4K or gaming competitively. The privacy extras like double VPN and Onion routing also make Nord the pick for those who want every possible safeguard built in.
Consider what matters to you the most and pick with confidence!
NAVIGATE SAFELY WITHOUT BREAKING THE BANK: TRY NORD VPN NOW
FAQs
What is the best VPN for pc?
Both NordVPN and Surfshark rank among the best VPN for Windows with full-featured desktop apps. NordVPN edges ahead for PC users thanks to its superior speeds and advanced privacy tools.
Is Surfshark cheaper than NordVPN in 2025?
Yes, Surfshark's basic plan starts at $2.19/month versus Nord's $3.39/month. That's a 35% difference, plus Surfshark covers unlimited devices while Nord caps you at 10.
Which VPN is faster for gaming and live sports streams?
NordVPN wins with NordLynx, averaging 90+ Mbps on nearby servers with minimal ping spikes. Surfshark's 72 Mbps average still handles HD fine, but you'll notice Nord's advantage on 4K streams and competitive gaming.
Do NordVPN or Surfshark keep any logs of my activity?
Neither keeps activity logs. Both passed independent Deloitte audits confirming this. They run RAM-only servers that physically can't store data after reboots, making both equally trustworthy for privacy.
Can I use either VPN on unlimited devices?
Only Surfshark offers truly unlimited simultaneous connections. NordVPN restricts you to 10 devices at once, though that's still generous for most households.
Which one unblocks Netflix, DAZN, and betting sites most reliably?
Both solve major platforms reliably, but Nord has a larger server network and gives more backup options when specific IPs get blocked.