Struggling to get the best speeds with Surfshark? Try these simple tweaks to unlock its full potential, because nobody likes a buffering video or a slow download.

When you’re online, especially if you’re streaming your favorite shows, gaming with friends, or downloading large files, speed is everything. A sluggish internet connection, even with a VPN, can turn an enjoyable experience into a frustrating one. That’s where Surfshark comes in, promising both top-tier security and impressive speeds. But how fast is Surfshark really, and what can you do to make sure you’re always getting the best possible performance?

I’ve looked into what makes Surfshark tick, digging into the latest speed test results and expert opinions to give you the real picture. The good news is, Surfshark generally gets high marks for speed and reliability, often landing among the fastest VPNs out there. Many sources, like TechRadar, have even hailed it as the “fastest VPN” in recent years. You’ll often see independent tests showing Surfshark maintaining speeds well over 950 Mbps when using its WireGuard protocol on a fast baseline connection, sometimes maxing out testing lines.

Of course, any VPN adds a little bit of overhead because your data has to travel through an extra server and gets encrypted along the way. Most premium VPNs, including Surfshark, usually result in a speed loss of around 10-30% compared to your connection without a VPN. For most daily activities, you probably won’t even notice this slight dip. For example, some tests show Surfshark typically causing only a 17-21% speed loss, which is pretty minimal in practical terms.

In this guide, we’re going to break down how VPN speed works, look at Surfshark’s performance numbers, and then dive into actionable steps you can take right now to boost your Surfshark VPN experience. We’ll cover everything from picking the right server to tweaking your settings, so you can enjoy a fast, secure, and interruption-free online life. Let’s get your Surfshark connection running at full throttle!

Table of Contents

Understanding VPN Speed: What’s Really Going On?

Before we talk about making Surfshark faster, it helps to understand why a VPN might slow down your internet in the first place. Think of your internet connection as a direct road from your home to a website. When you use a VPN, you’re essentially adding a detour through a secure tunnel. This detour involves a few extra steps:

Encryption: Your data gets scrambled encrypted before it leaves your device, making it unreadable to anyone trying to snoop. Then, it’s decrypted on the VPN server side. This process takes a tiny bit of time and computing power.
Rerouting: Your data travels to the VPN server, which could be across the street or across the world. After that, it goes to its final destination like a website and then back to the VPN server, and finally back to you. That extra travel distance, even if it’s just a few milliseconds, adds up.

Several factors play a huge role in how fast your VPN connection feels:

Distance to the Server: This is a big one. The further your data has to travel to and from the VPN server, the longer it takes. Connecting to a server in a different continent will almost always be slower than connecting to one in your own country or a neighboring one.
Server Load: Imagine a highway during rush hour versus the middle of the night. A VPN server packed with too many users will naturally be slower because its resources are stretched thin.
VPN Protocol: This is the set of rules your VPN uses to create that secure tunnel. Some protocols are designed for maximum security, while others prioritize speed, and some try to find a balance. We’ll get into this more later, but choosing the right one can make a huge difference.
Your Own Internet Speed: This might sound obvious, but a VPN can’t make your internet faster than what your internet service provider ISP gives you. If your base connection is 50 Mbps, a VPN won’t magically give you 500 Mbps. It can, however, prevent your ISP from throttling your speed if they detect data-heavy activities, which can make your connection feel faster.
Device and Hardware: The type of device you’re using a brand-new gaming PC versus an older phone and how you’re connecting wired Ethernet versus Wi-Fi can also impact performance.

Understanding these elements gives you a solid foundation for optimizing your Surfshark speeds.

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Is Surfshark Really Fast? Let’s Talk Numbers

how does Surfshark stack up in the speed department? Based on recent independent tests and user experiences, Surfshark is consistently ranked as one of the fastest VPNs available today. This isn’t just marketing hype. real-world testing shows it.

For instance, in tests conducted in 2025, Surfshark often registered impressive speeds, particularly when utilizing the WireGuard protocol. Some reviewers clocked it at over 950 Mbps on a 1 Gbps connection, essentially maxing out the test line. This means it can handle pretty much anything you throw at it – think smooth 4K streaming, lag-free online gaming, and quick torrent downloads.

Even with the inherent speed loss that comes with VPN encryption, Surfshark manages to keep it to a minimum. Over the past few years, its speed loss has typically been in the range of 17-21%. To put that into perspective, if your normal internet speed is 300 Mbps, you’d still be getting around 240-250 Mbps with Surfshark active, which is incredibly fast for most users. Another report from 2025 indicated an average download speed retention of 81% when using WireGuard.

Here’s a quick look at some reported average speeds and retention rates with WireGuard: Why Surfshark VPN is a Great Pick for New Zealand

Average Download Speed Retention: Around 81%.
Peak Download Speeds: Over 950 Mbps on a 1 Gbps connection.
Average Speed Loss: Around 17-21%.

Surfshark’s robust network of over 3,200 servers in 100 countries plays a huge role in this consistent performance. Many of these servers use 10Gbps ports, which helps manage traffic efficiently and reduce congestion, leading to a faster and more reliable experience.

While some individual user experiences on platforms like Reddit might occasionally report slower speeds which we’ll address how to fix, the overall consensus from expert reviews is that Surfshark is a high-speed VPN capable of delivering excellent performance for data-intensive activities. It’s a solid choice that balances speed with strong security.

How to Get the Absolute Fastest Speeds with Surfshark

Alright, let’s get down to business. If you’re a Surfshark user and want to squeeze every last drop of speed out of your connection, these tips are for you.

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1. Pick the Right Server: Location, Location, Location

Choosing your VPN server isn’t just about where you want to appear online. it’s crucial for speed.

Connect to Nearby Servers: This is usually your best bet for general browsing and maximum speed. The closer the server is to your physical location, the less “travel time” latency your data has, resulting in faster speeds. Surfshark often has a “Fastest server” or “Quick connect” option that does this automatically.
Check Server Load: Surfshark’s app often displays the current load or usage percentage for each server. A server with a lower load means fewer users are connected to it, so it has more bandwidth available, leading to faster speeds for you. If your closest server is showing high load, try a slightly further one with less traffic.
Experiment with Locations: Sometimes, a server that’s slightly further away might actually perform better than your absolute closest one due to network routing or lower congestion. Don’t be afraid to try a few different options in nearby cities or countries to find the sweet spot. For instance, some users in Florida found that a New York server delivered faster speeds than closer options.

2. Tweak Your VPN Protocol: It Makes a Huge Difference

The VPN protocol is like the engine of your VPN connection, and picking the right one is one of the most impactful things you can do for speed.

WireGuard: The Speed Champion: If you’re looking for raw speed, WireGuard is almost always the answer. It’s a modern, lightweight protocol designed for high performance and strong security. Most recent tests confirm WireGuard delivers Surfshark’s fastest speeds, often maxing out internet connections. You’ll find it available across most of Surfshark’s apps and servers. To switch, just go to Surfshark’s settings, find “VPN Settings” or similar, and select “Protocol.”
OpenVPN UDP vs. TCP: OpenVPN is a classic, highly secure, and open-source protocol. It comes in two flavors:
- UDP User Datagram Protocol: Generally faster than TCP because it prioritizes speed over guaranteed delivery of every single packet. This makes it good for streaming and gaming, though it might occasionally drop a packet usually unnoticeable. It’s the second-fastest option after WireGuard.
- TCP Transmission Control Protocol: More reliable because it ensures every data packet arrives in order, but this reliability comes at the cost of speed. If you’re having connection stability issues, TCP might help, but it will be slower.
IKEv2/IPSec: This protocol is often very fast, especially for mobile devices. It’s great at reconnecting quickly if you switch between Wi-Fi and mobile data networks. If WireGuard isn’t performing as expected on your phone, IKEv2 is a great alternative to try.

Stick with WireGuard for general use, and experiment with OpenVPN UDP or IKEv2 if you encounter specific issues or want to compare.

3. Check Your Own Internet Connection and Your Device!

Sometimes, the VPN isn’t the problem at all.

Basic Troubleshooting: Give your router a quick restart. This can clear up minor network glitches. Also, make sure your Wi-Fi signal is strong. If you’re far from your router, you’ll naturally experience slower speeds, VPN or no VPN.
Wired vs. Wireless: For the absolute best and most stable speeds, nothing beats an Ethernet cable. A wired connection to your router often outperforms Wi-Fi, especially for data-intensive tasks like gaming or 4K streaming. If you’re on a desktop or have the option, plug in!
Device Performance: An older or less powerful device might struggle to handle the encryption process as efficiently, leading to slower VPN speeds. Make sure your device isn’t bogged down by other demanding applications running in the background.

4. Utilize Surfshark’s Features for Speed

Surfshark offers a few clever features that can indirectly or directly boost your speed. Getting Your Enigma2 Box Connected: A Real-World Guide to Surfshark VPN

Bypasser Split Tunneling: This feature lets you choose which apps or websites use the VPN and which bypass it and connect directly to the internet. For example, if your banking app doesn’t work well with a VPN, or a streaming service is lagging, you can tell Surfshark to exclude just that app or site from the VPN tunnel. This means those specific applications run at your full, normal internet speed, while everything else stays protected by the VPN. It’s a fantastic way to customize your connection for optimal performance where it matters most.
CleanWeb: Surfshark’s CleanWeb feature blocks ads, trackers, and malware. While its primary goal is security and privacy, blocking these elements can actually make websites load faster because your browser doesn’t have to download all that extra, unwanted content.
FastTrack: This is a newer route optimization feature, building on Surfshark’s Nexus technology. FastTrack promises to route your traffic through an optimized path of servers rather than a single tunnel, potentially boosting speeds by up to 70%. Keep an eye out for this feature in your app, currently available in select locations like Seattle, Sydney, and Vancouver on macOS, with more coming.

5. Keep Your Surfshark App Updated

Always make sure your Surfshark application is running the latest version. Developers constantly release updates that include performance enhancements, bug fixes, and optimizations for speed and security. Running an outdated app might mean you’re missing out on the newest speed improvements.

Surfshark vs. The Competition: Is Surfshark Faster Than NordVPN?

When people talk about fast VPNs, Surfshark and NordVPN often come up in the same breath. They’re both top-tier services, but when it comes to raw speed, who wins?

Based on many recent independent tests from 2024 and 2025, NordVPN often holds a slight edge in peak speed tests. NordVPN’s proprietary NordLynx protocol, which is built on WireGuard, is consistently praised for its lightning-fast connections, sometimes matching or even slightly exceeding WireGuard’s performance on other VPNs like Surfshark. For instance, some tests show NordVPN retaining about 94% of base download speeds, compared to Surfshark’s 93%. Does Surfshark VPN Work in Egypt? Your Ultimate Guide to Staying Connected

However, the difference is often marginal in real-world use, and Surfshark is still considered “blazing fast” and highly competitive. While NordVPN might win a few benchmarks, Surfshark’s WireGuard implementation still delivers exceptional speeds that are more than adequate for 4K streaming, intense gaming, and large downloads.

Here’s a quick comparison of their overall offerings, especially concerning speed and network:

Server Network: NordVPN typically boasts a larger server count, with over 6,300 to 8,000+ servers across 111 to 126 countries. Surfshark has a robust network of 3,200+ servers in 100 countries. While a larger network can mean less congestion and potentially better speed distribution, Surfshark’s optimized 10Gbps servers often handle traffic efficiently.
Protocols: Both offer top protocols like WireGuard or NordLynx for NordVPN, OpenVPN, and IKEv2.
Value: Surfshark really shines when it comes to value, offering unlimited simultaneous device connections with a single subscription, whereas NordVPN typically limits connections to 10 devices. This can be a significant factor for households with many devices.

Ultimately, both are incredibly fast and reliable VPNs. If you’re truly looking for the absolute fastest peak speeds, NordVPN might nudge ahead in some specific scenarios. But for the vast majority of users, Surfshark provides a fantastic balance of speed, security, and affordability that makes any negligible speed difference practically unnoticeable.

Is Surfshark VPN Reliable? Beyond Just Speed

Speed is definitely important, but what good is a fast VPN if it’s constantly dropping your connection or compromising your privacy? Thankfully, Surfshark generally receives high marks for its overall reliability and security, making it a trustworthy choice.

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Here’s why Surfshark is considered reliable:

Consistent Performance: As we’ve discussed, Surfshark delivers consistent speeds across its network, especially with the WireGuard protocol. This means you can generally expect a stable connection without sudden, drastic slowdowns during your online activities.
Strong Security Features: Surfshark doesn’t cut corners on security. It uses industry-standard AES-256 encryption, which is incredibly robust and virtually uncrackable. It also includes essential features like:
- Kill Switch: This automatically disconnects your internet if the VPN connection drops, preventing your real IP address from being exposed.
- No-Logs Policy: Surfshark has a strict no-logs policy, meaning it doesn’t collect or store your online activity data. This policy has been independently audited, providing an extra layer of trust.
- Private DNS & Leak Protection: This ensures your DNS requests go through Surfshark’s encrypted servers, protecting against DNS leaks that could reveal your online activity.
- Camouflage Mode Obfuscation: This feature makes your VPN traffic look like regular internet traffic, which is super useful for bypassing strict network restrictions in certain regions.
Server Uptime and Network: With over 3,200 servers in 100 countries, Surfshark has a widely distributed network. This extensive network helps prevent overcrowding on individual servers, contributing to better stability and uptime.
Streaming and Torrenting: Surfshark is highly reliable for accessing geo-restricted content on streaming platforms like Netflix and for secure torrenting. Many servers are P2P-optimized, and its fast speeds ensure a smooth experience without buffering.
Unlimited Devices: The ability to connect an unlimited number of devices simultaneously to a single account is a huge reliability factor for many households. It means everyone can stay protected without having to juggle connections or worry about hitting a device limit.

While some users on Reddit occasionally report isolated incidents of slow speeds or connection issues, Surfshark’s support team is generally responsive and provides troubleshooting steps, often pointing to protocol changes or server switching as solutions. The key takeaway is that Surfshark is built for both speed and robust security, making it a reliable choice for protecting your online presence without sacrificing performance.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the fastest Surfshark server?

There isn’t one single “fastest Surfshark server” that applies to everyone, because speed depends heavily on your physical location, your base internet speed, and the server’s current load. However, generally, the fastest server will be one that is geographically closest to you and has a low server load. Surfshark’s app often has a “Fastest server” or “Quick connect” option that automatically connects you to what it determines is the best option for you. You can also check individual server loads within the app to pick a less congested one manually. It’s worth experimenting. sometimes a slightly more distant server with less traffic can outperform a closer, overloaded one.

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Does Surfshark slow down internet speed a lot?

Surfshark, like all VPNs, will inherently introduce some speed loss because your internet traffic is encrypted and rerouted through an additional server. However, this slowdown is usually minimal with Surfshark. Recent tests consistently show a speed loss in the range of 17-21% on average, and sometimes even less. For most everyday activities like browsing, streaming in HD, or even 4K, this reduction is often negligible and goes unnoticed. If you experience a significant drop e.g., more than 30-40%, it’s usually due to a specific configuration issue, an overloaded server, or your local network settings, which can often be fixed with the tips mentioned in this guide.

Is WireGuard the best protocol for speed with Surfshark?

Yes, WireGuard is overwhelmingly considered the best VPN protocol for speed when using Surfshark. It’s a modern, lightweight protocol specifically designed for high performance without compromising security. Speed tests frequently show WireGuard delivering Surfshark’s fastest results, often maxing out high-speed internet connections. If you’re looking to optimize your Surfshark speed, switching to WireGuard in your app settings should be your first step.

How can I check my Surfshark VPN speed?

You can check your Surfshark VPN speed using a few methods:

Built-in Speed Test Windows App: Surfshark’s Windows app often includes a built-in speed test. You can find this in Settings > VPN Settings > Speed Test. Disconnect from any server first, then run the test to see speeds for various servers.
Online Speed Test Websites: Disconnect from Surfshark and run a speed test e.g., Speedtest.net to get your baseline internet speed. Then, connect to a Surfshark server and run the test again. Compare the results to see the impact.
Monitor within the App: While not a full speed test, Surfshark apps sometimes show real-time connection speeds or data transfer rates, giving you an idea of performance.

Is Surfshark good for torrenting speed?

Yes, Surfshark is generally very good for torrenting speeds. It supports P2P traffic across all its servers, meaning you don’t have to search for specialized P2P servers. When combined with the WireGuard protocol, Surfshark delivers fast download speeds, allowing for quick and secure file transfers. Its strong security features, like a no-logs policy and kill switch, also ensure your torrenting activities remain private and protected. Unlocking ESPN+ with Surfshark VPN: Your Ultimate Streaming Playbook

Why is my Surfshark VPN so slow sometimes?

If your Surfshark VPN is slow, it could be due to several common reasons:

Distance to Server: Connecting to a server far from your physical location increases latency and slows down speeds.
Server Congestion: An overloaded server with too many users will have less bandwidth for everyone.
VPN Protocol: You might be using a slower protocol like OpenVPN TCP. Switching to WireGuard or OpenVPN UDP can significantly boost speed.
Local Network Issues: Your own internet connection might be slow, your Wi-Fi signal weak, or your router needs a restart.
Outdated App: An old version of the Surfshark app might not have the latest performance optimizations.
Conflicting Software: Other security software like antivirus or firewalls can sometimes interfere with VPN performance.

Try changing your server, switching to WireGuard, and checking your local network to resolve the issue.

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Finding the Fastest Surfshark VPN Connection: My Top Tips for Blazing Speeds