Surfshark Review 2025: Unlimited Device VPN Worth $2.19/Month?

Bottom Line Up Front

What Makes Surfshark Different (And Why I Initially Doubted It)

When a VPN service advertises unlimited device connections at bargain prices, my first instinct is skepticism. There's usually a catch... maybe the speeds are terrible, or the "unlimited" claim has asterisks the size of Texas. I signed up for Surfshark expecting to write a takedown piece about overpromising and underdelivering.

That's not what happened. Surfshark is legitimately unlimited, and I tested this thoroughly. My household has two laptops, three phones, two tablets, a Fire TV Stick, a PlayStation 5, and a desktop PC. I connected all of them simultaneously and ran speed tests, streamed 4K content, and even had my son playing Fortnite while my daughter watched Netflix. Everything worked without disconnections or the kind of crawling speeds you'd expect from network congestion.

The real differentiator here isn't just unlimited devices, it's that Surfshark includes features typically reserved for premium tiers at other VPN companies. CleanWeb blocks ads and trackers. MultiHop routes you through two servers instead of one. There's even GPS spoofing on Android, which I didn't expect to care about until I used it while traveling.

Performance Breakdown

Here's how Surfshark performed across six key categories during our testing period:

Speed Tests: Fast Enough, Not the Fastest

Let's talk about the obvious thing first: Surfshark isn't the speed champion. If you're comparing raw numbers against ExpressVPN or even NordVPN, Surfshark comes in third. But context matters.

I ran dozens of speed tests from my home in Richmond, Kentucky over three weeks. I tested at different times of day and on different servers. My baseline internet speed is 500 Mbps down, which is fairly standard for modern cable broadband.

The takeaway: On nearby US servers, Surfshark maintained 80 to 85% of my base speed, which is excellent. European servers dropped to 70 to 75%, which is good. The real pain point was Asia-Pacific servers, where speeds sometimes felt sluggish, particularly in the evenings when server load was presumably higher.

For practical purposes, though, these speeds are more than adequate. I streamed The Mandalorian in 4K without buffering. I downloaded a 25GB game from Steam in about 8 minutes on the New York server. Video calls on Zoom were crystal clear. Unless you're pushing truly massive files or playing competitive FPS games where every millisecond matters, you won't feel limited by what Surfshark offers.

The CleanWeb Feature Deserves Its Own Section

I'm going to be honest: I didn't expect Surfshark's built-in ad blocker to be useful. Most VPN companies throw in half-baked features to pad their marketing materials, and I assumed CleanWeb would be another checkbox feature that doesn't actually work.

I was wrong. CleanWeb is legitimately good.

I tested it against my usual browser setup (uBlock Origin on Firefox) and was impressed by how much CleanWeb caught. Major ad networks were blocked consistently. YouTube ads disappeared. Those annoying cookie consent pop-ups that plague European websites were mostly eliminated, which alone made browsing significantly more pleasant.

The malware blocking also works as advertised. I deliberately navigated to some known malicious domains (using a test VM, not my actual computer) and CleanWeb successfully blocked access with warning screens. Obviously, this shouldn't be your only line of defense against malware, but it's a solid additional layer.

What surprised me most was the performance impact, or rather, the lack of one. Some ad blockers slow down page loads because they're processing every element. CleanWeb operates at the DNS level, so blocking happens before content even reaches your device. Websites actually loaded faster with CleanWeb enabled because they weren't downloading ad scripts and trackers.

Unlimited Devices: Actually Unlimited

Security and Privacy Are Solid, With One Thing to Consider

Surfshark uses AES-256 encryption, which is the industry standard. It's essentially unbreakable with current technology. The apps support WireGuard, IKEv2, and OpenVPN protocols. I mostly used WireGuard because it offers the best balance of speed and security. I never had a connection drop or leak during testing.

The no-logs policy has been independently audited twice, once by Cure53 and once by Deloitte. Both audits confirmed that Surfshark doesn't keep logs of your browsing activity, connection times, or IP addresses. This is crucial for a VPN provider, and the fact that they've submitted to multiple third-party audits gives me confidence in their claims.

The kill switch works reliably. I tested it by forcibly disconnecting my internet connection while connected to Surfshark, and the kill switch immediately blocked all traffic until the VPN reconnected. No data leaked to my ISP during the disconnection window.

The caveat: Surfshark is based in the Netherlands, which is part of the Nine Eyes intelligence alliance. This means the Dutch government could theoretically compel Surfshark to start logging data. However, since Surfshark doesn't keep logs in the first place, there would be nothing to hand over. Still, if you're extremely privacy-focused, you might prefer a provider based in a jurisdiction like the British Virgin Islands (ExpressVPN) or Panama (NordVPN).

For most users, this jurisdiction thing is more theory than reality. Unless you're a journalist in a hostile country or doing things that would attract government attention, Surfshark's privacy protections are more than adequate.

Streaming Works With Everything I Tested

VPN companies play an endless cat-and-mouse game with streaming services. Netflix is especially aggressive about blocking VPN traffic. So when VPN companies claim they work with Netflix, I always test it myself rather than taking their word for it.

Over three weeks, I accessed Netflix US, Netflix UK, Netflix Japan, Disney+, Hulu, HBO Max, and BBC iPlayer. Every single service worked. I didn't see a proxy error message once. Video quality was consistently excellent. I streamed in 4K without buffering on my LG OLED TV.

The key is knowing which servers to use. Surfshark's app doesn't label servers as "streaming optimized," but connecting to major city servers like New York, Los Angeles, or London consistently worked for unblocking geo-restricted content. Smaller city servers were hit or miss.

One nice thing: The unlimited connections meant my wife could watch British cooking shows on BBC iPlayer upstairs while I watched The Last of Us on HBO Max downstairs. Both streams ran smoothly without interfering with each other.

What Works and What Doesn't

Pricing Makes This a No-Brainer

This is where Surfshark absolutely destroys the competition. The monthly price is actually higher than some competitors at $15.45, which seems weird for a "budget" VPN. But the long-term plans are where the value becomes absurd.

Let me put this in perspective: ExpressVPN costs $8.99/month on their Pro annual plan with 8 device connections. NordVPN costs around $4.49/month on their best plan with 10 devices. Surfshark costs $2.19/month with unlimited devices.

For a family of four with multiple devices each, you're looking at protecting 15 to 20 devices for less than the cost of two coffees per month. The math here is almost absurd. Even if Surfshark were 20% slower than ExpressVPN (which it is), you're paying 26% of the price. That's exceptional value.

The Apps Are Simple and Get the Job Done

Surfshark's apps won't win any design awards, but they work fine. The Windows app can feel a bit sluggish when opening or switching servers. You'll notice a half-second lag that more polished apps like ExpressVPN don't have. It's not a dealbreaker, but it's there if you're frequently switching between servers.

The mobile apps are actually better than the desktop versions. The Android app is especially well done, with GPS spoofing that worked perfectly during testing. The iOS app is clean and simple, though it lacks some features available on Android like split tunneling.

One thing I really liked: The server list doesn't overwhelm you with 100+ cities. Surfshark shows you countries and regions, with a favorites feature that lets you pin your most-used servers to the top. This makes daily use way faster than scrolling through massive server lists.

Three Weeks of Daily Use

Numbers on a speed test are one thing. Actual daily use is another. I used Surfshark as my main VPN for three weeks, running it constantly on my work laptop while also having it active on my family's devices.

The connection stability was excellent. I never had unexpected disconnections, even during 8-hour workdays. Video calls on Zoom and Google Meet were clear. No robotic audio like you sometimes get with VPNs. I could download game updates on Steam while my kids streamed Disney+ without either activity slowing down the other.

The one frustrating moment came when I needed to connect to a server in Singapore for work. The connection kept timing out, and when it finally connected, speeds were barely 50 Mbps. Switching to a Tokyo server solved the problem, but it showed me that server performance can be inconsistent in Asia-Pacific regions.

CleanWeb became one of those features I didn't know I needed until I had it. Browsing news sites without being hit by autoplaying videos and intrusive ads was genuinely pleasant. When I occasionally turned off Surfshark, I was immediately reminded how terrible the modern web is without ad blocking.

Who Should Buy Surfshark (And Who Shouldn't)

Buy Surfshark if:

• You have a family with multiple devices and don't want to pay for multiple VPN subscriptions
• You want solid security and privacy without paying premium prices
• You're tired of ads and trackers slowing down your browsing
• You need reliable streaming access to Netflix and other platforms
• You want good VPN performance without paying ExpressVPN prices

Skip Surfshark if:

• You need absolute maximum speeds for competitive gaming or massive daily downloads
• You frequently connect to servers in Asia-Pacific and need consistent performance
• You're extremely privacy-focused and the Netherlands jurisdiction bothers you
• You want the most polished, responsive apps regardless of cost

After three weeks of daily use, I'm keeping my Surfshark subscription. The value is just too good to pass up. I'm getting unlimited device protection, excellent streaming access, effective ad blocking, and strong security for about $50 per year. That's less than most people spend on coffee in a single week.

Yes, ExpressVPN is faster. Yes, NordVPN has more servers. But for the vast majority of users who just want reliable privacy protection and streaming access without overthinking it, Surfshark hits the sweet spot of features, performance, and price.

Having unlimited devices completely changes how you think about VPN costs. Instead of rationing which devices get protection, you just connect everything.

Look, I've tested a lot of VPNs. Surfshark gives you about 85% of what the expensive options offer for a quarter of the price. That's a trade most people should take.