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Surfshark and FastestVPN both sell themselves on value, and they define it differently. Surfshark offers unlimited devices for $67.23 over its first 27 months, then a reported $79 a year. FastestVPN offers a lifetime plan, reported at $23 to $40, with ten devices and port forwarding included.
Over four years the lifetime plan is far cheaper, provided the company is still there. Surfshark has two Deloitte audits and belongs to a large, well-documented group; FastestVPN has an audit from 2023 and thinly documented ownership. That is the whole comparison in miniature.
Surfshark vs FastestVPN: The Short Answer
Choose Surfshark for a household and for verified privacy. It rates 4.6 in our Surfshark review, sets no device limit and has two published Deloitte reports. It has no port forwarding.
Choose FastestVPN for the lowest possible cost and for seeding. It rates 3.7 in our FastestVPN review, includes port forwarding, and sells a lifetime plan that lasts as long as the company does.
Over four years, Surfshark Starter costs $225.23; the lifetime plan costs its one-off price. The difference is what you pay for audits, scale and a company likely to outlast the plan.
Price: Subscription Against Lifetime
Surfshark Starter costs $67.23 for its first 27 months. After that, reviewers report $79 a year, though Surfshark publishes renewals on a separate billing page, by location, and reserves the right to test them. Our Surfshark price page explains where to find the figure.
FastestVPN’s lifetime plan has been reported at $23, $35 and $40 within about a year, so treat any single figure as a promotion. At $35 it costs about half of Surfshark’s first bill, and nothing after.
⚠️ A lifetime plan is a bet on survival. If the company closes, the service ends and there may be no recourse, as our lifetime VPN guide explains. FastestVPN has operated since 2017, which is evidence rather than a guarantee.
Privacy and Audits
Surfshark has two no-logs assurance reports by Deloitte, from 2023 and 2025, and operates from the Netherlands, a Nine Eyes member. It belongs to Nord Security, which also owns NordVPN, as our ownership guide sets out.
FastestVPN was audited once, by Altius IT in 2023, and sits in the Cayman Islands, outside the intelligence alliances. The jurisdiction is a genuine advantage; the single, ageing report is not. Our audit tracker compares both records.
| Provider | No-logs audits | Auditor | Jurisdiction |
|---|---|---|---|
| NordVPN | 6 | PwC, Deloitte | Panama |
| Surfshark | 2 | Deloitte | Netherlands (9 Eyes) |
| ExpressVPN | 3 | KPMG (28 security reports in total) | British Virgin Islands, Kape-owned |
| CyberGhost | 3 | Deloitte | Romania, Kape-owned |
| PureVPN | 4 | KPMG | BVI, operated from Pakistan |
| IPVanish | 2 | Leviathan, Schellman | United States (Five Eyes), Ziff Davis-owned |
| Windscribe | 1 | Packetlabs, production infrastructure | Canada (Five Eyes); Greek case dismissed, no data to give |
| Proton VPN | 5 | Securitum | Switzerland, moving infrastructure to EU |
| Private Internet Access | 3 | Deloitte | United States (Five Eyes), Kape-owned |
| Mullvad | 10+ | Cure53, Assured AB | Sweden (14 Eyes) |
| TunnelBear | Annual since 2017 | Cure53 | Canada (Five Eyes), US parent |
| Norton VPN | 2 | VerSprite | United States (Five Eyes) |
| Hotspot Shield | 0 | protocol audited, policy not | United States (Five Eyes) |
| AirVPN | 0 | none — the client is open source instead | Italy (14 Eyes) |
| IVPN | 8, annual since inception | Cure53 | Gibraltar (status disputed) |
| Hide.me | 1 modern, in 2024 | Securitum, though one source names Altius IT | Malaysia (outside the alliances) |
| PrivadoVPN | 0 | none in six years of operation | Iceland (moved from Switzerland, 2026) |
| TorGuard | 0 | none; settled a lawsuit without disclosing records | United States (Five Eyes) |
| FastestVPN | 1, in 2023 | Altius IT | Cayman Islands (outside the alliances) |
| StrongVPN | 0 | none in over two decades | United States (Five Eyes), Ziff Davis-owned |
| VyprVPN | 1, in 2018 | Leviathan Security, before the 2023 sale | United States (Five Eyes), Certida-owned since 2023 |
| PrivateVPN | 0 | none; support says there is nothing to audit | Sweden (14 Eyes), ownership disputed |
| ZoogVPN | 0 | none; support describes one as planned | Greece (outside the alliances), run from Ukraine |
| Malwarebytes Privacy VPN | 1, in 2026 | X41 D-Sec, white-box over two months | United States (Five Eyes), runs AzireVPN infrastructure |
| Astrill | 0 | — | Disputed: Seychelles or Liechtenstein |
Devices and Network
Surfshark sets no limit on simultaneous connections, which suits a family or a shared house. FastestVPN allows ten, with reports of fifteen on its higher lifetime tier. Our multi-device guide compares the options.
The networks differ in scale. FastestVPN runs around 800 servers in roughly 49 countries, and our review found popular locations can congest. CNET measured a 21% average download loss with Surfshark; FastestVPN is not in our speed table, and reviewers call its speed respectable nearby and unremarkable at distance.
Torrenting and Streaming
Port forwarding is FastestVPN’s clearest advantage. It includes it, while Surfshark does not offer it at all. For seeding and private trackers that matters, as our port forwarding guide explains.
Surfshark allows P2P on every server, including in the United States, which is enough for ordinary downloading. Our torrenting guide covers who needs more.
Streaming works on both, according to published reviews. Surfshark opened the major Netflix libraries in 2026 tests, as our Surfshark and Netflix page records, and reviewers report FastestVPN working across major platforms.
What Each One Lacks
Surfshark lacks port forwarding and a printed renewal. Its renewal sits on a separate billing page, listed by location, and reviewers’ $79 figure is the best public estimate. A dedicated IP costs extra, in 20 locations.
FastestVPN lacks a recent audit, a large network and full split tunnelling. Its only report dates from 2023, its network is a fraction of Surfshark’s, and split tunnelling is missing on iOS and macOS. Its ownership is also less documented than Nord Security’s.
Neither is a speed leader. Surfshark’s 21% loss in CNET’s figures is respectable, and FastestVPN’s name is marketing rather than measurement, as our fastest VPN page explains.
Which One
Surfshark for a household with many devices, for audited privacy, and for anyone who would rather pay a renewal than bet on a company’s survival.
FastestVPN for the lowest long-term cost and for seeding torrents, bought as money spent rather than a contract. NordVPN against FastestVPN and FastestVPN against PureVPN set it against two more rivals.
How We Research
Surfshark’s first-term price comes from its pricing page, read on 25 September 2026, and its reported renewal from Security.org and VPNOverview. Our Surfshark review and tables supplied its audits, devices, speed and P2P policy. FastestVPN’s lifetime price range, audit, network and features come from our FastestVPN review, which names the sources behind each figure. We do not run our own tests. Our full approach lives on the About Us page.
Surfshark vs FastestVPN FAQ
For households and verified privacy, yes. Surfshark rates 4.6 against FastestVPN’s 3.7 in our reviews, with no device limit and two Deloitte reports. FastestVPN’s advantages are its lifetime plan and included port forwarding.
FastestVPN, if its lifetime plan lasts. It has been reported at $23 to $40, once. Surfshark Starter costs $67.23 for 27 months, then a reported $79 a year, or $225.23 over four years.
No. FastestVPN includes it, which helps with seeding torrents. Surfshark does allow P2P on every server.
Surfshark sets no limit. FastestVPN allows ten, with reports of fifteen on its higher lifetime tier.
Once, by Altius IT in 2023. Surfshark has two no-logs assurance reports by Deloitte, from 2023 and 2025.
The Verdict
The safer value is Surfshark; the cheaper gamble is FastestVPN. Surfshark gives unlimited devices and audits at a low subscription price. FastestVPN gives a lifetime plan and port forwarding, backed by one ageing audit and a company you are betting will last.
For most households, Surfshark is the better buy. If seeding or a one-off price matters more, FastestVPN is a credible choice, as long as you treat the lifetime plan as spent money.