ExpressVPN vs. Surfshark: Two of CNET’s Favorite VPNs Compared

ExpressVPN and Surfshark are two heavyweights and sit comfortably among CNET’s top VPN picks thanks to their exceptional all-around performance and privacy protections. I use both ExpressVPN and Surfshark regularly and can tell you that each is excellent at what it does — but also that each one does things very differently. That’s good, because there are distinctions between ExpressVPN and Surfshark that can make it easier to decide between the two based on your specific needs. In a perfect world, I’d recommend you get both. But I know that’s not always a realistic option, so I’ll help you make an informed decision. 

ExpressVPN has the edge with privacy, transparency, speed, usability and streaming. Surfshark isn’t far behind when it comes to speed, usability and streaming, but has some catching up to do in terms of transparency. ExpressVPN is an excellent choice for users with critical privacy needs because it does the basics extremely well, delivers forward-thinking privacy initiatives and is based in a privacy-friendly jurisdiction, whereas Surfshark’s 14-Eyes jurisdiction may be a deal-breaker for privacy-critical users. But Surfshark undercuts most competitors — including ExpressVPN — on price, while offering unique privacy features and benefits like unlimited simultaneous connections, which many other VPNs don’t offer.

I put both ExpressVPN and Surfshark through the same rigorous testing methodology, and can confidently recommend each one as a solid all-around option. But I’d go with ExpressVPN for heightened privacy and streaming, and Surfshark for budget-conscious casual users who want a premium VPN experience at a cheaper price.  

ExpressVPN vs. Surfshark compared

Price $13 per month, $100 for the first 15 months (then $117 per year) or $140 for the first 28 months (then $150 per year)Latest Tests No DNS leaks detected, 18% speed loss in 2025 testsNetwork 3,000 plus servers in 105 countriesJurisdiction British Virgin Islands

ExpressVPN is CNET’s Editors’ Choice Best Overall VPN because it excels at virtually everything it does and is continuously innovating and setting the standard for what a VPN should be doing. The company effortlessly blends cutting-edge privacy with supreme usability and performance, making it an excellent choice for experienced, privacy-focused VPN users as well as complete beginners. You get fast speeds, exceptional streaming capabilities and the easiest VPN app to use, but you’ll pay a premium for the service. 

ExpressVPN is one of my top recommendations for VPN users with critical privacy needs because of its cutting-edge privacy protections, extreme transparency and privacy-friendly jurisdiction in the British Virgin Islands. For a deep dive into ExpressVPN’s privacy and transparency efforts, look through its impressively extensive Trust Center, where you’ll find information on its security strategies, third-party audits, transparency reports and more. ExpressVPN keeps your data private with a choice of VPN protocols, including the speedy and secure Lightway, time-tested OpenVPN and mobile-oriented IKEv2, with either AES 256-bit or ChaCha20 encryption, depending on your protocol. In preparation for potential future threats like hacking from quantum computers, ExpressVPN was one of the first VPNs to implement post-quantum encryption, which is engaged by default on the Lightway protocol. 

ExpressVPN is an excellent choice for casual users who want to access geographically restricted content from their favorite streaming services. During my latest tests, ExpressVPN effortlessly unblocked content on popular streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Disney Plus and HBO Max across desktop, mobile and streaming devices like Apple TV and Fire TV Stick. In our latest speed tests, we measured an 18% overall speed loss, which makes ExpressVPN one of the fastest VPNs available and a great option for streaming smoothly in 4K. Also, ExpressVPN’s vast network of 11,500-plus servers in 105 countries can theoretically give you access to tons of international streaming content from all over the world. The company has historically been very cagey about disclosing its exact server number and doesn’t publish it anywhere, but its new mobile app lists the number of endpoints available in each country.

ExpressVPN costs $13 per month, which is pretty much the standard monthly rate for a VPN subscription. But pricing for longer-term plans is expensive at $100 for the first 15 months (then $117 per year) or $140 for the first 28 months (then $140 per year). All plans include a 30-day money-back guarantee.

61% off with 2yr plan (+4 free months)

Price $15.45 a month, $48 for the first 15 months (then $79 a year) or $60 for the first 27 months (then $79 a year)Latest tests No leaks detected, 21% speed loss in 2025 testsNetwork 3,200-plus servers in 100 countriesJurisdiction Netherlands

Surfshark is a solid value VPN for casual users who want a premium experience with some cool extras for a price that won’t break the bank. Despite a high renewal price hike on its longer-term subscription plans, Surfshark remains one of the most budget-friendly VPNs. It’s an excellent all-around VPN that’s fast, good for streaming, user-friendly and includes a handful of helpful privacy features you won’t find anywhere else.

Surfshark has the privacy basics down as well, with solid encryption, a kill switch, DNS leak protection, a RAM-only server infrastructure and an audited no-logs policy. Additionally, the company consistently demonstrates an innovative, outside-the-box approach to privacy. While it’s not a trailblazer in areas like transparency or post-quantum encryption and only recently began publishing transparency reports for insight into data requests from law enforcement or government entities, Surfshark has a habit of dropping unique privacy features you never even knew you needed. For instance, the company’s Alternative ID lets you generate a fake persona to use in situations like signing up for accounts on untrusted websites or trying to avoid spam. Dynamic MultiHop lets you create your own double VPN by choosing the two VPN servers yourself, a feature most other VPN don’t have. Rotating IP automatically changes your IP address to make it harder to track you online. Surfshark’s brand-new Everlink “self-healing” server infrastructure can keep you connected even in the event of an unexpected server failure.

During my latest tests, Surfshark’s streaming performance was largely excellent, aside from a few minor issues. I was able to unblock geo-restricted content on streaming services like Netflix, Disney Plus, HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video and Hulu across most devices. The only hiccups I ran into were when Netflix thumbnails took ages to load on my Mac while connected to Surfshark’s servers and when Hulu detected my Surfshark connection on my Fire TV Stick and blocked access to its content. 

Surfshark’s apps are easy to use across all major platforms, including Windows, MacOS, Linux, ChromeOS, Android, iOS, Apple TV, Fire TV Stick and Android TV. You can set the VPN up on a compatible router for whole-network coverage to use with devices like Rokus or gaming consoles that don’t natively support VPN apps. Its unlimited simultaneous connection allowance is great for large households or anyone with lots of devices.

Surfshark’s monthly subscription is one of the most expensive in the industry at $15.45 per month. But its longer-term subscription plans are a lot easier on the wallet. The yearly plan costs $48 for the first 15 months and renews at $79 per year, whereas the two-year plan costs $60 for the first 27 months and renews at the same $79 annual rate. All subscription plans are backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee.

86% off (+ 3 extra months)

Speed winner: ExpressVPN edges Surfshark by a hair

ExpressVPN and Surfshark are two of the fastest VPNs based on our latest speed tests. We measured an 18% average speed loss with ExpressVPN and 21% with Surfshark. All VPNs will slow your connection to a certain degree, sometimes by 50% or more, but we consider a VPN that cuts your speeds by less than 25% “fast” — and both ExpressVPN and Surfshark sit below that threshold.

If you want the fastest speeds possible with both providers, use Lightway with ExpressVPN and WireGuard with Surfshark. They’re both lightweight VPN protocols built for speed, so you likely won’t notice a difference in performance whether you’re just browsing the internet or streaming movies in 4K. Surfshark has delivered consistently fast speeds in our tests over the past few years, whereas ExpressVPN’s speed performance has fluctuated a fair amount over the same time. However, earlier this year, ExpressVPN cleared up some bottlenecks on Windows and introduced Lightway Turbo (which can boost speeds by running traffic through multiple tunnels simultaneously), which helped significantly improve its speed performance.  

Value winner: Surfshark delivers a ton of value, despite a recent renewal price increase

ExpressVPN is one of the most expensive VPNs available, but it’s worth it for many users because of how solid an option it is for both casual and critical use cases. Surfshark is much easier on the wallet and includes some unique privacy features not offered by ExpressVPN, but it lags a little in a few key areas like streaming as well as privacy and transparency. Both offer a good value at their respective prices, but Surfshark takes the edge with its budget-friendly prices and more flexible tiered subscription plans. 

ExpressVPN’s monthly plan costs $13 per month, the yearly plan goes for $100 for the first 15 months and renews at $117 per year, while the two-year plan is $140 for the first 28 months and renews at $140. The monthly plan includes the VPN, Keys password manager and a dark web monitoring service, which is part of ExpressVPN’s new suite of Identity Defender tools. The yearly plan includes everything in the monthly plan and adds coverage up to $1 million in identity theft insurance and a credit scanner, while the two-year plan adds a monthly credit report and data removal services. 

Surfshark, on the other hand, delivers a lot of value for casual users on long-term subscription plans. Surfshark’s monthly plan costs $15.45, which is unnecessarily expensive and not something I’d recommend purchasing under any circumstances. If you only need a VPN for a month, you’re much better off with ExpressVPN at $13, Proton VPN at $10 or even Mullvad at $5. Surfshark’s Starter plan, yearly and two-year plans offer tremendous value, though. The yearly plan costs $48 for the first 15 months and renews at $79 annually and the two-year plan costs $60 for the first 27 months and $79 annually thereafter. At that price, you’ll get Surfshark’s Alternative ID personal detail generator alongside a VPN on the entry-level Starter plan.

Part of my issue with ExpressVPN’s pricing structure is that the company jacked up its prices when it rolled out ID protection features, without adding too much value. Identity theft insurance can be convenient to have, but there are free resources available in the event your identity gets stolen. Also, paying extra for access to a monthly credit report makes little sense when you can access free credit reports every week from each of the three national credit reporting agencies. 

ExpressVPN makes you pay extra for these features, whether you want them or not, and the lack of flexibility diminishes ExpressVPN’s overall value. With its current pricing structure, ExpressVPN risks pricing out a core segment of people who simply want to use the service for streaming geo-restricted content. Company representatives have told me that an overhauled tiered pricing structure is in the works, so I’m hopeful that will help boost ExpressVPN’s overall value. 

Surfshark doesn’t offer a password manager like ExpressVPN does, but it does offer tiered subscription plans that include additional services like antivirus, data leak alerts, secure search and data removal. The top-tier plan that includes all of those services costs $20.65 per month, $91 for the first 15 months (then $119 annually) or $108 for the first 27 months (then $119 annually). That’s just $2 more per year than ExpressVPN charges on its yearly plan and $21 cheaper than its two-year plan, so if you find those extra services useful, you may find Surfshark a better value overall regardless of which subscription tier you choose.            

Privacy and security winner: ExpressVPN’s privacy and transparency are nearly unmatched 

If you’re a journalist, whistleblower, activist or anyone else with critical online privacy needs, I recommend choosing ExpressVPN over Surfshark because of its forward-thinking privacy initiatives. If you’re fine with general privacy protections or want access to unique features, Surfshark is an excellent choice. ExpressVPN has long been a standard bearer in the industry when it comes to privacy and transparency, while Surfshark (although still solid) is still playing catch-up in a few ways when it comes to things like independent audits and implementing post-quantum protections.

ExpressVPN consistently demonstrates that it’s willing to push the boundaries and go above and beyond what most other VPNs deliver. Both ExpressVPN and Surfshark operate RAM-only server infrastructures, but ExpressVPN’s TrustedServer technology takes it a step further by reinstalling the entire software stack upon reboot in addition to wiping the server clean. This helps ensure no data is left on a hard disk while minimizing the risk of misconfiguration when a server is rebooted. ExpressVPN was also one of the first providers, alongside Mullvad, to implement post-quantum encryption to protect against future threats from quantum computers. ExpressVPN has since integrated ML-KEM into its Lightway protocol to keep up with the latest NIST post-quantum encryption standards. Surfshark is currently working on implementing a post-quantum layer on WireGuard, which company representatives told me would be rolling out to iOS and MacOS soon, followed by Windows and Android.

Surfshark just published its latest independent audit, its fourth overall and first since 2022. Deloitte’s audit report is accessible to Surfshark users online through their user account portal. By comparison, ExpressVPN has published 22 independent audits since 2018, far outpacing Surfshark and the rest of the competition. I also like how ExpressVPN makes its full audit reports accessible to the general public, rather than only to paying users who’ve submitted personal data for the privilege. It’s emblematic of ExpressVPN’s commitment to extreme transparency. Although independent audits don’t paint a full picture, they’re still important trust signals, and when done at such a steady clip, can be even more compelling. All of ExpressVPN’s audit reports are available to peruse through its extensive Trust Center, which also contains a wealth of information about the company’s security practices, innovations, biannual transparency reports, privacy initiatives and more.

In addition to no-logging policies, both ExpressVPN and Surfshark employ secure AES 256-bit and ChaCha20 encryption standards, along with critical privacy protections like a kill switch and DNS leak protection. ExpressVPN is headquartered in the British Virgin Islands, a privacy-friendly jurisdiction outside of the Five, Nine and 14-Eyes data-sharing alliances. Surfshark is based in the Netherlands, which is part of the alliance and may therefore pose an issue for users with critical privacy needs because countries with intelligence-sharing agreements may comply with international requests for user information.

Both VPNs offer features that automatically change your IP address during your connection, but each provider’s feature operates slightly differently. ExpressVPN’s IPShuffle feature automatically changes your IP address for every site you visit and works in the background, whereas Surfshark’s IP Rotator automatically changes your IP address every few minutes and must be manually enabled by the user in the app. Either way, both implementations are designed to make it even more difficult for an adversary to track you online.

Surfshark delivers a few extra privacy features that ExpressVPN doesn’t. Surfshark’s Dynamic MultiHop feature lets you select any two server locations from its network to tunnel through, encrypting your traffic twice instead of just once and adding an extra layer of privacy. Alternative ID is another feature I really like from Surfshark. With Alternative ID, you can generate a whole fake persona, complete with full name, email address, physical address and birthdate to use on websites where you don’t want to share your personal information. 

A brand-new feature called Everlink, which Surfshark calls a “self-healing server infrastructure,” also helps the provider stand out from the pack. Essentially, Everlink works to automatically and seamlessly reconfigure the VPN tunnel in the event of a server failure or server maintenance. This can help ensure more reliable connections while mitigating the risk of your traffic being exposed in case the server you’re connected to fails. While Everlink could theoretically eliminate the need for a traditional kill switch, I’d recommend having Surfshark’s kill switch employed at all times, regardless, for an extra layer of privacy.     

Usability winner: ExpressVPN is the easiest VPN to use across platforms

ExpressVPN’s apps are the simplest to use on virtually any platform, making the service an excellent choice for beginners. The apps are easy to navigate and deliver a consistent experience across most platforms — although ExpressVPN’s Apple TV app is laid out a bit differently. Either way, none of ExpressVPN’s apps require any learning curve whatsoever, so even if you’ve never used a VPN before, you’ll have no trouble getting started. 

Surfshark is also incredibly easy to use across platforms, but its apps require just a little more getting used to than ExpressVPN’s because of its busier interface. That said, I like how you can easily access your recently used locations, fastest servers, closest country, static IP servers and multihop connections, right from the home screen. I also like how Surfshark allows you to pause your connection instead of disconnecting outright. This lets you temporarily jump off the VPN connection without the risk of forgetting to reconnect later on.

ExpressVPN and Surfshark each offer apps for Windows, MacOS, Linux, Chromebook, Android, iOS, Fire TV, Android TV and Apple TV. I particularly like ExpressVPN’s updated iOS and Android apps, which include a few helpful additions that make it easier to navigate to recommended server locations and toggle settings like protocol selection and advanced protection features. 

Both VPNs also work on routers, but ExpressVPN offers an unbeatable router app that makes it super easy to use the service on its own Aircove or other compatible router for whole network coverage or use on devices like Roku streaming devices that don’t natively support VPN apps. 

Both providers are also excellent choices for streaming geographically restricted content from around the world. However, ExpressVPN has an edge due to its flawless unblocking performance and its intuitive router app. During my latest streaming tests, ExpressVPN was able to unblock everything I tried on popular streaming services like Netflix, Disney Plus, Hulu, HBO Max and Amazon Prime Video — across all platforms I tested. Surfshark also performed admirably, but I ran into issues with Netflix sluggishly loading thumbnails when connected to the VPN on my Mac. And Hulu detected Surfshark and blocked access to its content when I tried to stream on my Fire TV Stick — although it worked to unblock Hulu on other platforms. 

With ExpressVPN, you’ll have access to a vast global network of 11,500-plus servers across 105 countries, which is larger than Surfshark’s 3,200-plus servers across 100 countries. However, with Surfshark, you can connect an unlimited number of devices simultaneously, while ExpressVPN limits you to eight simultaneous connections, making Surfshark a better choice for large households or people with many devices.    

Bottom line

If you’re still undecided, know that whether you choose ExpressVPN or Surfshark, you’re getting one of the best VPNs available. Both VPNs are excellent all-around services that deliver strong privacy, fast speeds and top-notch usability. Which one you ultimately go with may come down to your budget, your privacy needs or your streaming requirements.

For users with critical privacy needs, I recommend ExpressVPN because of its forward-thinking privacy protections, extreme transparency and privacy-friendly jurisdiction. I also recommend ExpressVPN for people who like to stream tons of international content because of the extensive reach of its server network paired with its outstanding unblocking capabilities. If you’re on a budget, I recommend Surfshark because the pricing on its long-term plans is much easier on the wallet than ExpressVPN’s prices — and you still get a solid, premium VPN experience even though you’re paying considerably less. Surfshark is also an excellent choice if you want cool extra features like Alternative ID or Dynamic MultiHop.