Surfshark VPN Review 2023: Features, Pricing And More

The Netherlands-based cybersecurity company, Surfshark VPN, has decided to shut down its physical servers in India in the aftermath of the Government of India’s order to VPN companies to store consumers’ personal data in case of cybercrimes. The CERT-In, under the Indian Department Information Technology, has asked all VPN service providers operating in the country to store users’ information—names, email IDs, contact numbers, IP addresses, etc—for a period of five years. However, such a verdict hasn’t gone well for many VPN service providers like Surfshark, which said following the regulation would breach the privacy cover they provide to Indian consumers and hence decided to step back.

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Surfshark

3.2

Our ratings take into account a product's cost, features, ease of use, customer service and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.

Starting Price

INR 955.59 per month

Free Version

Available for subscribers

Customer Support

24/7

Buy Now

At 81% Off via Surfshark's Website

Starting Price

INR 955.59 per month

Free Version

Available for subscribers

Customer Support

24/7

Why We Picked It

In a world where hackers try every method to access your personal data by snooping into your online devices and accounts, Surfshark VPN acts like a shield to your cyberspace. Its high-grade encryption protocols make it a lot difficult for your Internet service providers (ISPs) and third parties to track your online activities.

Here’s everything you need to know to decide if Surfshark is the right solution that fits your personal and business needs and budget.

Pros & Cons

• All plans come with VPN split tunneling and multi-hop features
• Unlimited simultaneously connected devices
• 30-day money back guarantee

• No dedicated IP address add-ons
• Priced comparatively at high rates

Nevertheless, Surfshark assures its Indian consumers that the government’s verdict will not affect its operations. After the data law comes to power, the company has announced plans to introduce virtual servers, which will be located in Singapore and London, for Indian users to use its VPN service to secure their cyberspace. In this comprehensive Surfshark VPN review, we evaluate this popular solution’s features, pricing, device coverage, and potential drawbacks.

A virtual private network (VPN) uses an encrypted connection to add a layer of privacy to protect your identity from internet service providers (ISP) and third parties while accessing the internet. Therefore, VPN prevents your ISPs from snooping into your connection, thereby making your browsing private, hiding your IP (Internet Protocol) address to ensure that your online activities are not tracked.

Surfshark VPN uses high-grade OpenVPN, IKEv2, and WireGuard encryption protocols to provide you with completely secure online cybersecurity. Whether you’re browsing the internet at home or using public WiFi on your PC or mobile device, Surfshark VPN hides your IP address and the incoming and outgoing data to prevent companies, hackers, or bots from tracking your online activities. It also protects your online transactions while connecting on public Wi-Fi. You can also unblock websites or apps that are geo-restricted in your country by connecting to one of its over 3,200 VPN servers located in more than 95 countries.

Features

• MultiHop: The MultiHop feature of Surfshark routes your traffic through two servers instead of one, thereby providing better security. However, you may face some lagging speed due to traffic traveling longer distances. Surfshark says that for fast speed, connecting to a regular server that’s close to your region is the best.
• VPN split tunneling (Bypasser): Surfshark’s Bypasser helps you choose which websites you want to run on a VPN server and the rest to use the IPS’s server as usual. However, the speed has to be tested as it is always different for every customer.

Privacy

Surfshark VPN operates under a strict “no logs” policy. This online privacy tool uses high-grade encryption protocols that run on its proprietary RAM-only servers, which do not store your online personal data. Its advanced encryption standard (AES) with 256-bit keys (aka AES-256) will ensure that your IP address is completely hidden and you are fully in a “camouflage mode”, making tracking and snooping your online activities a lot harder. In addition, you will also be provided with the CleanWeb feature that blocks malicious Ads, malware, and phishing attempts.

Speed

With over 3,200 servers, Surfshark VPN boasts of providing a consistently fast connection. According to Surfshark, each server has a maximum throughput of 1 gbps, and an average speed drop across different servers can be expected between 15% and 30%. That said, to speed up your VPN connection, you may have to try connecting to servers from nearby countries with the least server load. Also, changing your VPN protocol can relatively improve the speed.

Related: Best VPN services of 2022

Surfshark VPN has easy-to-use features and can be connected to unlimited devices at a time — be it Windows and macOS computers and laptops as well as Android or iOS tablets and smartphones, and some smart TVs like Amazon Firestick. For an additional INR 117.58 per month, you can have access to Surfshark Antivirus, Alert and Search. Surfshark Antivirus detects viruses and malicious software in real-time for all your devices. Alert informs you if there has been a breach on your personal database, including credit or debit cards and email, while Surfshark Search helps you browse the internet without any ads or logs.

With 24/7 support via live chat, the customer support (not a bot) will help you troubleshoot any issues you face while using Surfshark VPN.

Surfshark VPN can be very useful for individuals, especially those professionals who are working-from-home and require a secure cybersecurity connection. It will serve well for businesses too given that it supports unlimited devices per plan. Also, it provides features like CleanWeb that blocks malicious Ads, malware, and phishing attempts.

With an extra payment, you may as well avail of a separate antivirus plan to protect your devices. However, if you’re looking for a dedicated IP address, Surfshark may not be the right option for you or your business. Nonetheless, there are plenty of other VPN service providers offering similar features as well as dedicated IP addresses at affordable rates.