CyberGhost vs Surfshark (2026): Which Is Better?
They cost exactly the same — $2.19 a month on the two-year plan — which makes this comparison unusually clean, because price cannot be the answer. Surfshark takes 9.4 to CyberGhost's 8.1 and wins almost everything in between: 655 Mbps against 470, unlimited devices against seven, 13 streaming services against 12, and obfuscation that CyberGhost does not have at all, which rules it out on restrictive networks. CyberGhost's two genuine advantages are a 45-day refund window, the longest we track, and servers labelled by streaming service, which removed the guesswork in 11 of 12 of our tests. At the same money, Surfshark is the default and CyberGhost is the specialist.
Who wins each category
- Privacy & securitySurfsharkCyberGhost 8.6 · Surfshark 9.5
- SpeedSurfsharkCyberGhost 8.1 · Surfshark 9.2
- StreamingSurfsharkCyberGhost 8.8 · Surfshark 9.6
- Apps & easeSurfsharkCyberGhost 8.0 · Surfshark 9.0
- ValueSurfsharkCyberGhost 7.9 · Surfshark 9.7
Sub-scores from this month's tests; weights are privacy & security 30%, speed 25%, streaming 15%, apps & ease 15%, value 15%. Methodology
Choose CyberGhost if…
- 45 days to change your mind against Surfshark's 30 — the longest window of any VPN we rate
- Servers labelled by streaming service, which worked first time in 11 of 12 of our tests
- Romanian jurisdiction, with no data-retention requirement for VPNs
Choose Surfshark if…
- Same price, 655 Mbps against 470, and 6 ms of added latency against 12
- Unlimited devices against CyberGhost's seven
- Obfuscation, which CyberGhost lacks entirely — the difference between working and not on a filtering network
CyberGhost vs Surfshark: the numbers
 CyberGhost |  Surfshark | |
|---|---|---|
| Overall score | 8.1 | 9.4 |
| Rank · badge | #7 · Streaming servers | #2 · Best value |
| 2-year price / mo | $2.19 | $2.19 |
| 1-year price / mo | $6.99 | $3.19 |
| Monthly price | $12.99 | $15.45 |
| Renewal | renews at the 1-year rate | renews at the 1-year rate |
| Money-back | 45 days | 30 days |
| Simultaneous devices | 7 | Unlimited |
| Avg download speed | 470 Mbps | 655 Mbps |
| Jurisdiction | Romania | Netherlands |
| Owner | Kape Technologies | Nord Security |
| No-logs audit | Deloitte no-logs audit, 2024 | Deloitte no-logs audit, 2025 |
| Servers | 11,500+ in 100 countries | 3,200+ in 100 countries |
| Protocols | WireGuard, OpenVPN, IKEv2 | WireGuard, OpenVPN, IKEv2/IPsec |
| Torrenting | P2P allowed on P2P servers | P2P allowed on all servers |
| Free plan | No | No |
| Support | 24/7 live chat, email, help centre | 24/7 live chat, email, help centre |
| Visit CyberGhost | Visit Surfshark |
Full reviews: CyberGhost · Surfshark
What each one actually costs
The advertised rate covers the first term only. These are the totals once the renewal is counted.
| CyberGhost | Surfshark | |
|---|---|---|
| Plan priced | 24-month plan | 24-month plan |
| Intro rate / mo | $2.19 | $2.19 |
| Then renews at / mo | $6.99 (+219%) | $3.19 (+46%) |
| First term, up front | $52.56 | $52.56 |
| Total over 3 years | $136.44 | $90.84 |
| True cost / mo over 3 years | $3.79 | $2.52 |
| Money-back | 45 days — refunded in 5 days | 30 days — refunded in 3 days via live chat |
| Check CyberGhost price | Check Surfshark price |
The cheaper sticker price is not the cheaper VPN here. CyberGhost has the lower introductory rate, but over three years Surfshark costs $45.60 less once both renewals are counted — which is the number you actually pay. Same arithmetic as our price calculator: the first term at the advertised rate, every month after it at the rate the provider publishes for renewals.
Speed by region
Download on a 940 Mbps line, 3 runs per server, median reported. Highlighted cell = fastest.
| CyberGhost | Surfshark | |
|---|---|---|
| US East | 545 Mbps | 712 Mbps |
| UK | 505 Mbps | 690 Mbps |
| Singapore | 398 Mbps | 618 Mbps |
| Australia | 402 Mbps | 600 Mbps |
| Added latency | +12 ms | +6 ms |
Streaming, service by service
| CyberGhost | Surfshark | |
|---|---|---|
| Unblocked | 12 of 14 | 13 of 14 |
| Netflix US | ||
| Netflix UK | ||
| Netflix JP | ||
| Netflix CA | ||
| Netflix AU | ||
| Prime Video | ||
| Disney+ | ||
| Hulu | ||
| Max | ||
| Paramount+ | ||
| Peacock | ||
| BBC iPlayer | ||
| ITVX | ||
| DAZN |
Security features
| CyberGhost | Surfshark | |
|---|---|---|
| Kill switch | ||
| Split tunnelling | ||
| Obfuscation / stealth | ||
| Port forwarding | ||
| Dedicated IP | ||
| Ad & tracker blocking | ||
| Multi-hop (double VPN) | ||
| RAM-only servers | ||
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Android TV, Fire TV, Apple TV, browser extensions, routers | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Android TV, Fire TV, Apple TV, browser extensions, routers |
Has the no-logs promise ever been tested?
Every VPN on this page says it keeps no logs. The claim only means something once someone has demanded the data — a police raid, a court order, a subpoena. Here is what happened to each of these two when that came up, and what it means if it never has.
- CyberGhostHeld
Quarterly transparency report. The claim held — there was nothing useful to hand over. That is the one form of proof no audit can give you, because it happened under real pressure rather than on a scheduled visit.
Audit: Deloitte no-logs audit, 2024 · Romania
- SurfsharkNever tested
No police raid, court order or subpoena against Surfshark has been made public. That is not a mark against it — most providers have never been asked — but it does mean the policy has never had to hold up under pressure.
Audit: Deloitte no-logs audit, 2025 · Netherlands
What each one is our top pick for
One of these scores higher overall, which does not make it the right buy for every job. These are the use cases where each one comes first on its own list.
- CyberGhostNo category
CyberGhost is not our top pick in any of our use-case lists. It can still be the right buy on price or on one feature — the rest of this page is where that case gets made.
- Surfshark3 categories
Questions
Is CyberGhost or Surfshark better?
Surfshark, at the same price: 9.4 against 8.1, 185 Mbps faster, unlimited devices against seven, and obfuscated servers CyberGhost does not offer. CyberGhost's case rests on its 45-day refund and its service-labelled streaming servers, both of which are real but neither of which outweighs the rest.
Why does CyberGhost have no obfuscation?
It simply does not offer it — the only one of the ten we rate without it. The consequence is specific rather than abstract: on a network that blocks VPN traffic, such as a campus firewall or a national filter, an ordinary connection fails and there is no stealth mode to fall back on. If you might need that, CyberGhost is ruled out before any other comparison.
Which is better for streaming?
Surfshark unblocked 13 of 14 services to CyberGhost's 12, so on raw results it wins narrowly. CyberGhost's advantage is process rather than coverage: its servers are labelled by service, so you are not guessing which one works. For a household that watches several services, Surfshark's unlimited device count probably matters more than either.
We may earn a commission when you buy through links on this page. Scores and the winner are decided by the tests before any commercial consideration. Disclosure