Surfshark vs CyberGhost (2024): Which VPN Is Higher?

Surfshark and CyberGhost VPN are two of the strongest digital non-public community shoppers out in the present day. Whereas each VPNs provide quick speeds and huge server networks, there are a number of variations that may sway you from one to the opposite.

SEE: Cloud Safety Coverage (TechRepublic Premium)

On this article, we evaluate two high quality VPNs to see which one is finest for you and your group.

• Surfshark: Finest for small groups or companies with tighter budgets, significantly those who want limitless connections to cowl a number of units.
• CyberGhost VPN: Finest for particular person customers who prioritize streaming, torrenting or gaming for his or her VPN use.

Surfshark vs. CyberGhost VPN: Comparability

Surfshark vs. CyberGhost VPN: Pricing

Surfshark pricing

Surfshark divides its VPN choices into three tiers: Starter, One and One+. All three tiers have subscriptions for a one-month, one-year and two-year plan.

SEE: Surfshark vs. NordVPN: Which VPN Is Higher in 2024? (TechRepublic)

Starter is finest for customers trying to have primary VPN performance, with an included advert blocker and masked electronic mail generator. For a number of additional options, you may go for One,which provides on an antivirus, webcam safety and Surfshark’s real-time electronic mail breach alerts system.

Surfshark One+,its highest-tier plan, comes with all Surfshark One options whereas additionally together with knowledge elimination from each firm databases and folks search websites.

SEE: How one can Use Surfshark VPN (A Step-by-Step Information) (TechRepublic)

Personally, I really feel like Surfshark may have been the right finances possibility if it additionally supplied a free model together with its paid plans. Nevertheless, it does have a free trial by way of cellular and a 30-day money-back assure for all subscriptions, letting customers request for a refund in the event that they discover the VPN isn’t a match.

CyberGhost VPN pricing

In comparison with Surfshark, CyberGhost VPN has a extra easy pricing scheme categorized by contract size. Particularly, prospects can go for both a one-month, six-month or two-year contract with CyberGhost. On paper, CyberGhost and Surfshark each provide very inexpensive subscription plans, and also you’ll discover good worth in each.

I do favor having a one-year contract possibility as a substitute of CyberGhost’s six-month plan, simply to get the month-to-month worth decrease with out committing to that longer-term two-year plan. Nevertheless, this can be a matter of private choice and doubtless gained’t have an effect on you adversely.

One clear benefit CyberGhost VPN has over Surfshark is its free trial. Whereas Surfshark gives a seven-day free trial of its cellular app, CyberGhost VPN takes it a step additional by offering a 24-hour free trial of its desktop functions. CyberGhost additionally offers a 14-day or 45-day money-back assure on its subscription, relying on the contract size you select.

For extra on Surfshark and CyberGhost VPN, try our full Surfshark evaluation and full CyberGhost VPN evaluation.

Surfshark vs. CyberGhost VPN: Function comparability

Safety protocols and encryption

Winner: Tie

Surfshark and CyberGhost VPN each provide OpenVPN, WireGuard and IKEv2 VPN protocols. These protocols, in my view, present the perfect mixture of safety and reliability (OpenVPN, IKEv2), in addition to pace (WireGuard).

Each VPNs make the most of the trade normal AES-256 encryption algorithm. It is a nice signal, as AES-256 is well known as probably the most safe encryption protocol in safety in the present day.

VPN server community and places

Winner: CyberGhost VPN

For server networks, CyberGhost VPN wins out with its bigger general server fleet. Particularly, CyberGhost VPN reportedly has 8,000-11,000 servers unfold throughout 100 international locations and 126 places.

Whereas the server depend isn’t an specific quantity from CyberGhost themselves, many studies corroborate the identical vary. Consider, nonetheless, {that a} chunk of CyberGhost VPN servers are digital as a substitute of bodily servers.

Then again, Surfshark features a very respectable 3,200 servers — an precise quantity from Surfshark — from a diffusion of 100 international locations. Whereas CyberGhost’s fleet of servers is considerably bigger, most customers will discover Surfshark’s community to be fully serviceable for on a regular basis use.

One spotlight of CyberGhost is that it neatly categorizes servers which can be optimized for gaming, streaming or torrenting. I personally discover this characteristic extremely helpful because it helps reduce the seek for probably the most applicable server for a given scenario.

Each VPNs make the most of RAM-only servers as a substitute of laborious drive-based servers, guaranteeing all person knowledge might be simply wiped and isn’t at risk of being stolen by way of unauthorized entry to a bodily knowledge heart.

Third-party audits and unbiased testing

Winner: Surfshark

By way of unbiased testing, I give Surfshark the benefit for its clear publishing of its audit outcomes. Surfshark’s most up-to-date safety audit was in 2023, whereby Deloitte verified that Surfshark’s “IT methods and administration” had been all in accordance with its no-logs coverage.

Then again, CyberGhost VPN not too long ago shared that it underwent an audit report in 2024, additionally performed by Deloitte. Nevertheless, CyberGhost has opted to not share any excerpts or summaries of the Deloitte audit.

In response to CyberGhost, this was to make sure that “audit outcomes are usually not taken out of context or misunderstood” given the “in depth nature of the audit and the scope of Deloitte providers.” Nonetheless, the total report might be accessed from an official CyberGhost VPN account.

Whereas I perceive the place CyberGhost is coming from, I discover extra worth in Surfshark nonetheless publicly publishing at the very least a abstract of its audit findings. This reveals that, good or unhealthy, they’re dedicated to being 100% clear with each finish customers and the general public.

Regardless of this, I commend each suppliers for having their respective VPN shoppers independently audited within the first place.

Efficiency and pace

Winner: CyberGhost VPN

For VPN speeds, CyberGhost barely edges out Surfshark. In my expertise, each VPNs can present constantly quick and dependable speeds for many common workloads.

I used each VPNs for my day by day work, equivalent to shopping the web for analysis, utilizing Google Drive and Google Docs for writing and sometimes streaming 1080p YouTube movies. Each CyberGhost and Surfshark dealt with these duties and not using a hitch, irrespective of the server I used.

By way of pace assessments, that is the place CyberGhost VPN has a slight benefit. Throughout my testing, CyberGhost VPN recorded solely a 7.5% drop in pace for downloads and a 48.2% drop for uploads.

Comparatively, Surfshark’s obtain pace lower was really smaller, at solely 3.3%. Nevertheless, its add pace was 72% slower than with out the VPN related.

After all, many elements can have an effect on a VPN’s pace check efficiency, equivalent to your ISP, your location and the server used. However on this state of affairs, CyberGhost was in a position to present a much less excessive drop in pace in comparison with Surfshark.

Standout security measures

Winner: Surfshark

Should you’re on the lookout for extra security measures together with your VPN, I like to recommend Surfshark. It comes with its Dynamic MultiHop performance, which helps you to set entry and exit VPN server pairs for added safety; an IP rotator that routinely adjustments your IP handle after a time period; and different security measures.

Should you go for its mid-tier Surfshark One plan, you additionally get entry to built-in antivirus, webcam safety and real-time electronic mail breach alerts.

CyberGhost isn’t a pushover by any means, nonetheless, because it gives a Good Guidelines panel that lets customers automate totally different actions inside the VPN. For instance, you may set CyberGhost to routinely connect with a safe VPN server when it’s launched or routinely open an app as soon as CyberGhost is on.

CyberGhost additionally gives its NoSpy servers,which give extra safety as they’re absolutely owned and guarded by CyberGhost and are housed inside the firm’s Romanian headquarters.

In my view, nonetheless, Surfshark offers extra security measures and capabilities in comparison with CyberGhost VPN.

Ease of use

Winner: Tie

For ease of use and in-app expertise, it’s a tie. Each Surfshark and CyberGhost VPN include intuitive desktop functions which can be nice to make use of and take a look at.

I admire how Surfshark is ready to manage all of its options in a neat and arranged approach, particularly contemplating what number of extra safety providers it carries on its app, like its antivirus and breach scanner.

Then again, CyberGhost VPN has a distinguished on/off button for its app that’s user-friendly and makes the app much less intimidating.

I additionally actually like its categorization of servers for streaming, gaming and torrenting. This UI alternative is one thing I do know many customers will admire because it saves time and makes for a greater person expertise.

General, I feel most individuals can have zero hassle utilizing each Surfshark and CyberGhost VPN when it comes to usability, as each providers provide polished and well-designed functions.

Simultaneous machine connections

Winner: Surfshark

For machine connections, Surfshark beats CyberGhost VPN by permitting limitless simultaneous machine connections to CyberGhost’s most of seven units.

Personally, I discover this to be a giant value-add to Surfshark as this implies you may shield a number of units with only one subscription, and also you gained’t want to fret about paying for one more plan if you’ll want to add extra.

Whereas CyberGhost VPN’s seven-maximum simultaneous connections is a good quantity, Surfshark’s limitless machine restrict might be vital for small companies or groups that wish to take advantage of out of a single VPN subscription.

Surfshark execs and cons

Professionals

• Limitless simultaneous machine connections.
• Packs a wide range of security measures.
• Publicly out there safety audit outcomes.

Cons

• Free trial is cellular solely.
• No free model.

CyberGhost VPN execs and cons

Professionals

• Accessible 24-hour desktop free trial.
• Quick VPN pace and dependable connection.
• Large server community.

Cons

• Connects as much as seven units solely.
• Audit requires additional steps to entry.

Ought to your group use Surfshark or CyberGhost VPN?

If I had been to select a single winner for this comparability, my alternative could be Surfshark. It gives quick speeds, a large-enough 100-country server community, a set of security measures and limitless simultaneous machine connections.

For me personally, the limitless machine connections are a deciding issue. This makes their subscriptions much more of a bang-for-buck deal because you gained’t need to pay for an extra plan to guard extra units.

With this, I discover Surfshark to be finest for small groups or companies that need a high-quality and value-laden VPN at cheap costs.

That’s to not say that CyberGhost VPN isn’t a superb service — it’s. It has an intensive server community, gives the identical quick — if not higher — speeds and conveniently categorizes optimized VPN servers for streaming, torrenting and gaming.

I think about CyberGhost VPN to be finest for particular person customers who particularly want a VPN for these actions and don’t essentially want a ton of units to be related to a VPN service.

Methodology

My comparability of Surfshark and CyberGhost VPN concerned hands-on time with each VPNs and an in depth analysis of every service’s options, value and real-world efficiency.

To evaluate every product, each VPNs had been scored on every thing from their pricing to their server networks. Particularly, we took into consideration 5 most important pillars with their corresponding weights:

• Pricing (20%).
• Core VPN options (30%).
• Ease of use (15%).
• Buyer assist (30%).
• Professional evaluation (5%).

I additionally took into consideration real-world person testimonials and respected critiques to complement my evaluation of each merchandise. For pace and efficiency, I examined each VPNs on my private Home windows pc and ran them by Ookla’s public Speedtest. Lastly, I additionally accounted for a way every VPN may finest cater to numerous varieties of customers, use instances and firms.