Today we are comparing two VPN’s in this article in which one is the oldest and one is a relatively new VPN service. Yes, we are discussing ExpressVPN vs Surfshark VPN similarities and detailed comparison. If you’ve been searching for both the services similar features and differences, this article will help you to analyze them in detail.
Why we all need VPN
VPN isn’t designed for a particular kind of users. It is for everyone who uses all Internet-related services. The use of VPN’s in recent years increase enormously and they improved the features as well.
When it comes to maintaining online privacy VPN’s gained top position. These services offer encryption protocols, zero-logging policies and DNS leak protection to users. They block the leakage of your personal information to anyone who analyzes your online activities.
It is hard to pick a good VPN service from a list of 300+ VPN services. Most of them are free and some are paid services. Here are some important qualities we look at a good VPN service.
What to look in a good VPN service?
- Fast speed: Watching, working or anything related to the Internet on a slow and sluggish speed is worst. A VPN must have reliable speed in order to handle downloads, streaming content and surfing the net.
- Supported platforms: Nowadays everyone using multiple devices in their houses. So a good VPN service must offer app clients for multiple platforms including routers and consoles.
- Servers: When a VPN service has more servers around the globe, it works with good speed, and more IP addresses availability.
- Zero-logging policy: Before going to make a purchase always check the VPN service whether they follow Zero log policy or not. If they leak your data, there is no point of buying and using that VPN service.
There are many free and paid VPN services available online. Most people go over a free VPN service than a paid one.
Here we need to strictly answer one question. What a free provider gain? If they are doing business what they getting by giving you a free service.
The bitter truth is, they are collecting your personal information and selling it to the third-parties. So there is no meaning of using a free VPN to protect your online privacy.
Without VPN service, websites and services collect your data and with free VPN service, the free VPN provider collects your data. This is the difference and yes, it is a shocking fact.
We don’t advise using a free VPN service and we already have written a detailed article why you shouldn’t use free VPN service and reasons.
Before going to start the article, take a quick look at the features and similarities in the below table.
ExpressVPN vs Surfshark VPN comparisons
Features |
ExpressVPN |
Surfshark VPN |
| 1M/6M/1year/2Years | $12.95/$9.99/$8.32/Per month price (annual plan) | $11.95/-/$5.99/$1.99 Per month price (annual plan) |
| Located In | The British Virgin Islands | The British Virgin Islands |
| Countries | 94 | 50 |
| Number of Servers | 1500+ | 800+ |
| Encryption | 256-bit AES | AES-256 |
| Protocols | PPTP, L2TP/IPSec, SSTP, OpenVPN | OpenVPN; IKEv2 |
| Log Policy | No logs | No logs |
| Simultaneous Connections | 3 | Unlimited |
| Kill Switch | Yes | Yes |
| Torrents allowance | Yes | Yes |
| Smart DNS | No | No |
| DNS Leak Protection | Yes | Yes |
| Dedicated IP | No | No |
| Ad-blocker | No | Yes |
| Platforms support | Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Linux, Blackberry, Router, Chromebook, Kindle Fire, Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Playstation, Xbox, Apple TV, Nintendo Switch, Amazon Fire TV, Samsung Smart TV, and manual setup tutorials for Chromecast, Roku, and Nvidia Shield. | Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, Chrome, Firefox, Fire TV, Xbox, and PlayStation. |
ExpressVPN
ExpressVPN is constantly ranking top in all our VPN related articles and we are recommending our users to use the service. The server’s network of this service is very huge and it has located in 1500+ server locations across the world. It is created to provide secure online sessions to users by implementing strong protocols in their servers. You can choose any one of the 1500+ servers to anonymize your online activity.
Speed is the most happening factor for ExpressVPN. It has incredible speeds in any location of the world by taking the help of 2,000 servers located in 94 countries. ExpressVPN is the most suitable VPN service for unblocking Netflix and other blocked services around the globe. It is a known fact that many VPN services are blocked by Netflix servers to stop accessing the service from a blocked location. ExpressVPN is never been in the blocked VPN servers list and provides an ultra-fast experience while watching 4K videos on Netflix.
ExpressVPN protects user online activity by a robust 256-bit AES encryption which impossible for third parties to access or spy on your online activity.
Surfshark VPN
Surfshark is a new name in the VPN industry with attractive pricing and features. It is pretty easy to use and have enough security protocols to anonymize your online activity. The company is very strict about its security protocols and it is located in the British Virgin Islands by staying away from the 14 eyes. 5 eyes, 9 eyes, and 14 eyes are the surveillance regions around the globe which collects data from the companies who are under their jurisdiction.
With unlimited devices support and strict no-log policy, Surfshark is the second-best VPN service we recommend. It is optimized for watching Netflix by taking advantage of huge servers list. Everything is straightforward from installation to usability. Surfshark has dedicated app clients for all popular platforms including Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS, Chrome, Firefox, Xbox and PlayStation.
It has many features apart from security protocols. Surfshark has CleanWeb feature with stops all the annoying ads coming while using the Internet or apps. It is also useful for stopping phishing attempts using ads. Surfshark comes with unlimited devices support. It means if you have many devices in your home or office, you can connect them all to Surfshark at a time without any restriction.
Conclusion
The selection of the VPN service purely depends on your requirements. Both the companies are well reputed and we reviewed both the services on thetechhacker.
In our finidings, we found both the companies are very strict about maintaining user privacy. ExpressVPN and Surfshark are using strict protocols to anonymize online activity and comes with various value-added features. Coming to usability, both VPNs are extremely easy to use, fast, affordable, and secure.
ExpressVPN is great for speed and rarely blocked by Netflix. Whereas Surfshark is new in service, however, it is managing to increase the number of servers to increase the speed and more IP addresses to ditch the content censorship.
Coming to the price point, ExpressVPN is a bit extra when compared to Surfshark. But when you start using the service you feel no regret.
We feel ExpressVPN got 4.5 points out of 5 and whereas Surfshark earned 4.1. Clearly, the winner is ExpressVPN.
Let us know your valuable comment about the ExpressVPN vs Surfshark VPN comparison.