CyberGhost vs Surfshark (2026): Which Is Better?
CyberGhost is actually the cheaper of these two on the long plan — $1.99 against $2.49 — and scores higher on our published rubric, 9.1 against 8.8, on the strength of its Deloitte audit and a quarterly transparency report. Surfshark's case is unlimited devices against CyberGhost's seven, and obfuscation for filtered networks, which CyberGhost has none of at all. CyberGhost's refund window is the longest on this site — 45 days against Surfshark's 30, though it drops to 14 on the monthly plan. We have not measured speed or streaming for either.
Who wins each category
- Privacy & securityCyberGhostCyberGhost 9.5 · Surfshark 8.3
- SpeedTieCyberGhost 0.0 · Surfshark 0.0
- StreamingTieCyberGhost 0.0 · Surfshark 0.0
- Apps & easeSurfsharkCyberGhost 8.1 · Surfshark 9.4
- ValueCyberGhostCyberGhost 9.4 · Surfshark 9.0
Sub-scores are provisional for CyberGhost and Surfshark — published audits, jurisdiction and public record rather than our own measurement; see the review; 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, so you're not guessing which one to try
- The cheaper long-plan price and the higher published score — 9.1 against 8.8
Choose Surfshark if…
- Unlimited devices against CyberGhost's seven
- You're on a network that filters VPN traffic — CyberGhost has no obfuscation at all
- You'd rather not pay more up front for a lower device limit
CyberGhost vs Surfshark: the numbers
 CyberGhost |  Surfshark | |
|---|---|---|
| Overall score | 9.1provisional — not tested by us | 8.8provisional — not tested by us |
| Rank · badge | Not ranked · Streaming servers | Not ranked · Unlimited devices |
| 2-year price / mo | $1.99 | $2.49 |
| 1-year price / mo | $6.99 | $3.19 |
| Monthly price | $12.99 | $16.45 |
| Renewal | Billed $51.74 for the first 26 months, then autorenews at $51.74 a year | Billed $67.23 for the first 27 months, then renews at $79.00 for a 1-year term. Surfshark does not put that figure on its pricing page — it is on a separate terms-of-service page, two clicks away |
| Money-back | 45 days | 30 days |
| Simultaneous devices | 7 | Unlimited |
| Avg download speed | Not tested by us | Not tested by us |
| 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 | $1.99 | $2.49 |
| Then renews at / mo | $4.31 (+117%) | $6.58 (+164%) |
| First term, up front | $47.76 | $59.76 |
| Total over 3 years | $99.48 | $138.72 |
| True cost / mo over 3 years | $2.76 | $3.85 |
| Money-back | 45 days — 45 days on the long plans but only 14 on the monthly one — we have not claimed one yet | 30 days — 30 days, published — we have not claimed one yet |
| Check CyberGhost price | Check Surfshark price |
CyberGhost is cheaper both ways — lower to start and $39.24 less across three years once the renewals are counted. 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
Neither VPN has been speed-tested by us yet, so there is nothing to chart here.
CyberGhost and Surfshark have not been through our speed rig yet, so there is no region-by-region chart for this pair. Speed figures other people have published are on the CyberGhost and Surfshark review, attributed to whoever measured them.
Streaming, service by service
| CyberGhost | Surfshark | |
|---|---|---|
| Unblocked | 0 of 0 reported (not tested by us) | 0 of 0 reported (not tested by us) |
| Netflix US | n/r | n/r |
| Netflix UK | n/r | n/r |
| Netflix JP | n/r | n/r |
| Netflix CA | n/r | n/r |
| Netflix AU | n/r | n/r |
| Prime Video | n/r | n/r |
| Disney+ | n/r | n/r |
| Hulu | n/r | n/r |
| Max | n/r | n/r |
| Paramount+ | n/r | n/r |
| Peacock | n/r | n/r |
| BBC iPlayer | n/r | n/r |
| ITVX | n/r | n/r |
| DAZN | n/r | n/r |
| n/r — no published result found | n/r — no published result found |
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?
By our published score, CyberGhost is actually ahead — 9.1 against 8.8 — and cheaper on the long plan too. Surfshark's case is unlimited devices and obfuscation, which CyberGhost doesn't offer at all — a real gap if you're on a network that filters VPN traffic.
Why does CyberGhost have no obfuscation?
It simply doesn't offer it — the only one of the ten we rate without it. The consequence is specific: on a network that blocks VPN traffic, such as a campus firewall or a national filter, an ordinary connection fails and there's 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?
We have not tested this. CyberGhost's advantage is process, not a measured result: its servers are labelled by streaming service, so you're not guessing which one to try. For a household running several services at once, Surfshark's unlimited device count is probably the bigger factor either way.
We may earn a commission when you buy through links on this page. Scores and the winner are decided by the scoring rubric before any commercial consideration. Disclosure