By the VPNTruth Editorial TeamPublished Last updated
Two of the biggest names in VPNs — both owned by the same parent company. We compared them on independent speed benchmarks, published audits, streaming support and price. Here's the honest verdict.
🏆 Our Winner: NordVPN
Faster speeds, more advanced features, and a longer security track record
✔ 30-day money-back guarantee✔ No logs policy✔ Servers in 224 locations
If you're in a hurry, here's where the published evidence points:
4.5 / 5 — our score
Surfshark is also owned by Nord Security — our comparison remains independent
We compared both VPNs across five key areas, drawing on independent test data and each provider's published audits.
On CyberInsider's 1000 Mbps test line, NordLynx recorded 903 Mbps in Seattle and 658 Mbps in London — ahead of Surfshark at every published location. On the older OpenVPN protocol the gap widens to 200–270 Mbps against 70–90 Mbps.
Uses WireGuard and recorded 752 Mbps in Seattle and 556 Mbps in London on the same benchmark — genuinely fast, and closer to NordVPN than ExpressVPN managed, but behind at every location. The two were tested on different dates.
AES-256 encryption, NordLynx and OpenVPN, kill switch, Threat Protection Pro™. No-logs claim assessed six times by PwC and Deloitte between 2018 and 2025, most recently under ISAE 3000 (Revised) — though only the 2022 report is readable without an account. RAM-only servers. Longer security track record.
AES-256 encryption, WireGuard, kill switch, CleanWeb. Publishes an independent no-logs audit; we have not verified its scope or date to the standard we apply to NordVPN above. RAM-only servers. Strong security but a shorter track record than NordVPN.
Advertises support for Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Disney+ and HBO Max, and is consistently rated among the more reliable options by independent review sites — useful for reaching your home subscriptions while traveling.
Advertises the same major platforms and is rated comparably by independent reviewers — genuinely neck-and-neck with NordVPN here. Streaming access is contested and changes constantly, so neither can guarantee a given service.
Competitively priced with excellent value on longer plans. Covers 10 devices. Strong feature set for the price.
Cheaper entry price than NordVPN AND unlimited simultaneous devices — unbeatable value for large households or many devices.
Clean, polished apps with map-based server selection. Beginner friendly with advanced options available.
Also very user-friendly with a clean interface. Slightly less polished than NordVPN but easy for beginners.
Source: CyberInsider (independent VPN testing site) · · 1,000 Mbps baseline, US lab, official clients, NordVPN on WireGuard · NordVPN figures
Source: CyberInsider (independent VPN testing site) · · 1,000 Mbps baseline, US lab, official clients, Surfshark on WireGuard · Surfshark figures
Every major feature compared side by side.
| Feature | NordVPN 🏆 | Surfshark |
|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | Check site for current pricing | Check site for current pricing |
| Simultaneous Devices | 10 | Unlimited |
| Server Network | Servers across 224 locations | 3,200+ servers in 100 countries |
| Protocol | NordLynx (WireGuard) | WireGuard |
| No-Logs Audits | 6 assurance engagements, 2018–2025 (1 publicly readable) | Published; scope and dates not verified by us |
| RAM-Only Servers | ✔ | ✔ |
| Kill Switch | ✔ | ✔ |
| Split Tunneling | ✔(not on iOS) | ✔ |
| Ad Blocker | ✔Threat Protection Pro™ | ✔CleanWeb |
| Streaming | ✔Excellent | ✔Excellent |
| Torrenting | ✔P2P servers | ✔P2P servers |
| Money-Back Guarantee | 30 days | 30 days |
| Browser Extensions | ✔ | ✔ |
| Router Support | ✔ | ✔ |
We do not run a speed lab. These are the most recent published figures from CyberInsider, an independent testing site, measured against a 1,000 Mbps baseline.
| Server location | NordVPN | Surfshark |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle | 903 Mbps | 752 Mbps |
| Los Angeles | 868 Mbps | 653 Mbps |
| New York | 825 Mbps | 637 Mbps |
| London, UK | 658 Mbps | 556 Mbps |
Across the full test set, NordVPN averaged a 18.6% drop from the 1000 Mbps baseline.
Source: CyberInsider (independent VPN testing site) · · 1,000 Mbps baseline, US lab, official clients, NordVPN on WireGuard
Source: CyberInsider (independent VPN testing site) · · 1,000 Mbps baseline, US lab, official clients, Surfshark on WireGuard
Providers were tested on different dates, so treat these as indicative of relative standing rather than a single simultaneous head-to-head run.
The honest strengths and weaknesses of each VPN.
NordVPN wins on speed, features, server count, and proven track record. Surfshark is the better pick if you need unlimited devices or the lowest entry price — it's exceptional value. But for the best overall VPN, NordVPN takes it. Since both are owned by Nord Security, you're in safe hands either way.
Get NordVPN — Winner →The overall score is the average of the four sub-scores below. Each one says what it is based on — a cited independent measurement, or our own assessment.
Fastest of the three VPNs at all 4 locations CyberInsider published, with a 18.6% average drop from a 1,000 Mbps baseline. West Coast Labs separately measured 15.2% faster downloads than competing VPNs across seven regions.
No-logs claim assessed in 6 independent assurance engagements — PwC (2018, 2020) and Deloitte (2022–2025) — plus RAM-only server infrastructure and a pass on all 8 of West Coast Labs' leak protection tests. Held below 4.8 because only the 2022 report is readable without a NordVPN account, and each engagement is point-in-time rather than continuous.
Advertises support for the major platforms and is rated reliable by independent reviewers. We have not verified per-service access ourselves, and no VPN can guarantee it — platforms actively block VPN traffic.
Covers 10 devices and undercuts ExpressVPN on longer plans, though Surfshark offers unlimited devices at a lower entry price. Our assessment of the feature set against what competitors charge.
This is our editorial verdict, not an average of reader ratings — we do not collect those, and we do not publish a review count we cannot substantiate.
VPNTruth is an editorial site, not a test lab. We read the independent testing, check it against what providers claim, and tell you where the numbers came from.
We do not operate a speed-test lab, and we do not publish numbers we did not measure. Speed figures on this site come from CyberInsider, an independent VPN testing site, measured against a 1000 Mbps baseline, and from West Coast Labs, an independent, AMTSO-compliant test lab. Every figure carries its source and test date so you can check it yourself.
When a provider claims an independent security audit, we check who performed it, what scope it covered, and how recent it is. An audit from several years ago against a narrow scope is much weaker evidence than a recent full-product one, and we say so rather than repeating the marketing line.
A benchmark is a measurement; "best for beginners" is an opinion. We attribute the first and own the second. Where we rate something without data behind it — ease of use, quality of support, how a feature set fits a use case — we present it as our assessment, not as a test result.
VPN pricing, server counts, feature names and streaming support all move constantly. We re-check the claims on each page when we update it and move the "last updated" date accordingly. Where a figure has aged past the point we would rely on it, we replace it or remove it.
VPN pricing changes constantly and regional offers differ, so any figure here would be stale or wrong for many readers. We link to each provider's live pricing page instead of printing a number.
We have not run our own speed benchmarks, timed support response, or verified streaming access on a per-service basis. Where this site previously implied otherwise, that was wrong and has been corrected. If you spot a claim that is not backed by a named source, tell us and we will fix or remove it.
Sources we rely on
Source: CyberInsider (independent VPN testing site) · · 1,000 Mbps baseline, US lab, official clients, NordVPN on WireGuard · Speed benchmarks
Source: West Coast Labs (independent, AMTSO-compliant test lab) · · Seven regions, testing conducted June–August 2024, measured against competing VPNs · Security and performance audit
We earn a commission if you buy through our links, and that never changes a ranking or a score. Read our editorial policyfor how we handle this, or tell usif you think we have something wrong.
Quick answers to the most common questions about these two VPNs.
On the independent testing we cite, NordVPN is our pick for speed and feature breadth. Surfshark costs less to get into and covers unlimited devices, so read the comparison before deciding.
30-day money-back guarantee. No questions asked.
Need unlimited devices or the lowest price? Surfshark is a great alternative — and also part of the Nord Security family.
Disclosure: This page contains affiliate links to NordVPN. Our comparison is based on independent testing. Both NordVPN and Surfshark are owned by Nord Security.
Editorial team, VPNTruth
An independent review site covering VPNs and privacy tools. We are not owned by, employed by, or operated on behalf of any provider we write about.
We synthesise published testing from independent labs and testing sites — CyberInsider and West Coast Labs among them — and check provider claims against their published audits. We do not run our own speed lab, and we cite the source and test date for every figure.
Affiliate commissions, paid by the provider when you buy through our links. You pay the same price either way. Commission rates play no part in how we rank or score anything.
Edited by Andrius Vaitiekunas.
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