Alternatives

Best Surfshark alternatives in 2026

Data compiled by Toolradar Updated October 29, 2026 How we rate

Cite this list: Toolradar, best Surfshark alternatives 2026, toolradar.com/alternatives/surfshark

8 direct alternatives to Surfshark, compared on pricing, features, and best-for use cases. Pick the right replacement without the marketing fluff.

Quick answer

NordVPN is the top alternative to Surfshark on our list, followed by ExpressVPN and IPVanish.
2 of the 8 alternatives have a free plan, starting with Proton VPN.
Highest rated: ExpressVPN, 4.6 out of 5 from 291 ratings, Sep 2026.

Publications that cover the tools tracked here

8 alternatives
2 with a free plan

NordVPN
#1 Top pick
Online VPN service for privacy
Starting price
From $3.49 /mo
Cheapest paid plan, monthly, as of October 2026
4.0 /5 across G2, Capterra, SourceForge and more · 18,319 ratings, Sep 2026
Our take
Best overall
Read the review
ExpressVPN
#2
Secure your connection, access global content, and enjoy fast speeds
Starting price
From $3.49 /mo
Cheapest paid plan, monthly, as of October 2026
4.6 /5 across G2 and Capterra · 291 ratings, Sep 2026
Our take
Highest rated
Read the review
IPVanish
#3
Digital Security, Privacy, & Freedom with VPN, Secure Browser, and Cloud Storage.
Starting price
From $2.19 /mo
Cheapest paid plan, monthly, as of October 2026
4.1 /5 across SourceForge, Capterra and Trustpilot · 750 ratings, Sep 2026
Read the review

Surfshark vs 8 alternatives

Surfshark and its alternatives compared on starting price (cheapest paid plan, monthly, as of October 2026), free plan and average user rating.
Tool	Starting price (Oct 2026)	Free plan	Rating
Surfshark Compared tool	Price: $2.49/mo	Free plan: No	4.3 out of 5, from 923 ratings across Trustpilot, G2 and Capterra (923)
NordVPN	Price: $3.49/mo	Free plan: No	4.0 out of 5, from 18,319 ratings across G2, Capterra, SourceForge and more (18,319)
ExpressVPN	Price: $3.49/mo	Free plan: No	4.6 out of 5, from 291 ratings across G2 and Capterra (291)
IPVanish	Price: $2.19/mo	Free plan: No	4.1 out of 5, from 750 ratings across SourceForge, Capterra and Trustpilot (750)
Mullvad VPN	Price: $5/mo	Free plan: No	3.7 out of 5, from 154 ratings across G2, SourceForge and Trustpilot (154)
Private Internet Access	Price: $1.88/mo	Free plan: No	4.6 out of 5, from 38 ratings on SourceForge (38)
Proton VPN	Price: $6.99/mo	Free plan: Yes	4.3 out of 5, from 5 ratings on G2 (5)
CyberGhost VPN	Price: $2.03/mo	Free plan: No	n/a
Windscribe VPN	Price: Free	Free plan: Yes	n/a

Why people consider alternatives to Surfshark

Surfshark provides an all-in-one cybersecurity solution centered around a Virtual Private Network (VPN). It allows users to access the internet safely and privately, protecting their connection from data breaches, hacking attempts, and…

Teams most often switch away when one of these starts to bite:

Pricing at scale as usage or premium tiers add up.
Missing integrations with the rest of your stack.
Performance or scale limits as your needs grow.
A specific feature gap you have hit in vpn.

The 8 alternatives below cover the same core job (VPN) with different trade-offs.

See full Surfshark review Best vpn tools How we rank

Surfshark by the numbers

Toolradar data: Surfshark's entry paid plan ($2.49/mo, billed monthly) ranks #3 of 18 (joint) for price among the VPN tools with a verified entry price and no stated unit, where the median is $4.25/mo. It is listed as an alternative to 12 other tools on Toolradar, ranking #7 of 37 in VPN. As of Nov 2026.

#5 (joint) most-listed alternative in Privacy Management, out of 52 tools in Privacy Management. Source: Toolradar data, Nov 2026.

Surfshark compared with 37 VPN tools on Toolradar, as of Nov 2026
Metric	Surfshark	Peer median	Position (1 is best)
Entry paid plan	$2.49/mo, billed monthly	$4.25/mo	#3 of 18 (joint) tools with no stated price unit, verified price
Free plan	No	21 of 37 have one	n/a
Listed as an alternative to	12 tools	4	#7 of 37
User rating	4.3/5 (across the web, 923 ratings)	4.3/5	#12 of 27 (joint) tools with 20+ reviews
Compare-page visits, last 30 days	58 visits	45	#11 of 30 tools with 20+ compare-page visits

Visitors most often compare Surfshark with Proton VPN (last 30 days, Nov 2026).

Listed as an alternative to: #7 on 2026-10-16 to #7 on 2026-11-02 (rank among 37 tools, 1 is best).

Each position is counted among the tools that have data for that row, as noted under it. A lower entry price ranks higher; prices are read on vendor pages and compared only with tools priced on the same basis. All VPN data · How we compute this. Advertising and placement fees are not inputs to any position. Visit counts include visits from every source.

Cite this: Toolradar, “Surfshark by the numbers”, Nov 2026.

VPN leaderboards from Toolradar data

Toolradar ranks VPN tools on one measure at a time, only where at least 8 tools have data. As of Nov 2026.

CSV

Lowest entry price, plans with no stated unit

Cheapest standard paid plan per month (annual prices divided by 12), read on vendor pages and compared only with tools priced on the same basis.

Counted among 18 tools with no stated price unit, verified price.

Lowest entry price, plans with no stated unit, VPN tools on Toolradar, as of Nov 2026
#	Tool	Entry plan
1	CyberGhost VPN	$2.03/mo, billed monthly
2	IPVanish	$2.19/mo, billed monthly
3	Surfshark	$2.49/mo, billed monthly
3	ZoogVPN	$2.49/mo, billed monthly
5	Bitdefender	$2.50/mo, billed yearly

Most visited, last 30 days

Distinct visitor sessions on the tool's Toolradar page over the last 30 days, with bots excluded by our analytics. A session counts once however many times it reloads the page.

Counted among 8 tools with 50+ visits.

Most visited, last 30 days, VPN tools on Toolradar, as of Nov 2026
#	Tool	Visits
1	Proton VPN	1,427 visits
2	Hide.me	834 visits
3	Windscribe VPN	639 visits
4	Opera	619 visits
5	ZoogVPN	365 visits

A position exists only when at least 8 tools have data for that metric. 18 of 37 VPN tools have a verified price; the others publish none we could read (often "contact sales"). Advertising and placement fees are not inputs to any position. Visit counts include visits from every source. How we compute this. Cite this: Toolradar, “VPN leaderboards”, Nov 2026. Data licensed CC BY 4.0. All VPN statistics.

8 alternatives to Surfshark

Ranked by G2 and Capterra ratings, media mentions, and editor review, plus how directly they replace Surfshark.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best alternative to Surfshark?

Based on real-signal scoring (G2 and Capterra ratings, media mentions, and editorial review), the top alternatives to Surfshark are NordVPN, ExpressVPN, IPVanish. Each solves the same core job with different trade-offs on pricing, features, and integrations.

Is there a free alternative to Surfshark?

Yes. Windscribe VPN is 100% free (no paid upgrade path) (Fast, reliable, and effective VPN service for privacy, security, and unrestricted internet access). Freemium tools on this list offer a free tier with paid upgrades; they are not the same as fully free.

Why do people look for Surfshark alternatives?

Common reasons teams switch away from Surfshark: pricing that scales aggressively, missing integrations with the rest of their stack, performance or scale limits, or a specific feature gap in vpn. The alternatives on this page solve the same core problem with different trade-offs.

Side-by-side comparisons

In-depth comparison pages for Surfshark versus each alternative.

Surfshark vs NordVPN Surfshark vs ExpressVPN Surfshark vs IPVanish Surfshark vs Mullvad VPN Surfshark vs Private Internet Access Surfshark vs Proton VPN Surfshark vs CyberGhost VPN Surfshark vs Windscribe VPN

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Still considering Surfshark?

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Full Surfshark review Visit Surfshark

Top 3 alternatives to Surfshark

NordVPN

ExpressVPN

IPVanish