ExpressVPN vs Surfshark (2026)
Prices and features refreshed September 2026. Speed figures are from our April 2026 lab tests. Privacy, streaming, price, and who each VPN is actually suited for.
8.6
ExpressVPN
9
Surfshark
Quick verdict
Surfshark wins overall (9/10 vs 8.6/10)
On current 2-year base plans, Surfshark Starter is $2.49/month and ExpressVPN Basic is $2.99/month, so the old gap where ExpressVPN cost several times more has mostly closed. ExpressVPN's Lightway protocol is still faster in our lab tests, and Surfshark still covers unlimited devices.
Score breakdown
Full feature comparison
| Feature | ExpressVPN8.6/10 | Surfshark9/10 |
|---|---|---|
| Our Score | 8.6 | 9 |
| Monthly Price | $2.99/mo | $2.49/mo |
| Servers | 3,000+ | 4,500+ |
| Countries | 113 | 100 |
| Simultaneous Devices | 10 | Unlimited |
| Speed (tested) | 755 Mbps (98%) | 695 Mbps (91%) |
| No-Logs Policy | ||
| Independently Audited | ||
| Kill Switch | ||
| Ad Blocker | ||
| Streaming | ||
| Torrenting / P2P | ||
| Port Forwarding | ||
| Obfuscation | ||
| Double VPN | ||
| RAM-Only Servers | ||
| Jurisdiction | British Virgin Islands | Netherlands (EU jurisdiction) |
| Money-Back Guarantee | 30 days | 30 days |
Who should choose which
Choose ExpressVPN if:
You need Surfshark for households with many devices (unlimited connections) or want to save substantially on a long-term plan without sacrificing streaming reliability.
Full ExpressVPN review →Choose Surfshark if:
You need ExpressVPN if you travel frequently to restrictive countries, depend on consistently fast connections for work, or want the most mature router app in the category.
Full Surfshark review →