SurfEasy VPN Review

Cybersecurity is one of the hottest topics nowadays. We live in an age of increased surveillance, which makes protecting our privacy and human rights more difficult by the day. Luckily, as virtual private networks appeared, internet users got introduced to a new way of keeping their online activities private and personal information protected.

SurfEasy VPN is an excellent choice for privacy novices who want an easy-to-use, hassle-free, highly reliable VPN to meet their browsing, streaming, and torrenting needs. To learn more about this provider’s server network, privacy policy, and security features, keep reading our SurfEasy VPN review.

Overview

Operating for about a decade, SurfEasy VPN has quickly become a favorite among users. Once owned by Opera Software, this virtual private network service provider was purchased by NortonLifeLock in 2017. Today, it has over 2,000 fast servers in more than 30 countries. 

Its software solution was developed for all the major operating systems and devices, including Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS, and browser extensions, making it highly adaptable to various users’ needs and preferences. In addition to excellent device compatibility, this VPN also scores high in speed, ease of use, customer support, privacy, and security.

We’ve tested SurfEasy VPN and all features offered by this software solution. Here’s what we’ve found.

Features

SurfEasy may be a very basic VPN, but it doesn’t underperform when it comes to the average download speed, privacy, and security.

Servers and Performance

One of the most important things we check while reviewing VPN offers is the provider’s server network - the number of servers and their distribution around the globe. Why is this so important? Not only will how a VPN’s server infrastructure is organized affect your internet speed, but it’ll also be the deciding factor in accessing geoblocked content. 

At the time of writing this review, SurfEasy VPN had over 2,000 servers in more than 30 countries. The server locations include Australia, Canada, Brazil, Italy, Germany, Norway, Poland, Romania, Ukraine, Singapore, Spain, the UK, the US, and South Africa. 

Compared to some of the industry’s leaders, such as NordVPN whose network consists of 5,000-plus servers and a few providers with just over 1,000 servers, this VPN falls somewhere in the middle. Its diverse VPN server network can easily meet clients' needs who mostly use VPNs for browsing, torrenting, and streaming.  

SurfEasy VPN promises its clients access to local content even while they are away from home. We decided not to take its word for it and check the performance ourselves. 

Logging in to one of SurfEasy’s VPN servers in the UK granted us access to US Netflix; however, it failed with other streaming services, including BBC iPlayer, Disney+, and Amazon Prime Video. This isn’t an excellent result overall, but it’s still good news for users looking to get past Netflix’s VPN restrictions for an affordable price.

Speed

A VPN provider may boast thousands of servers in every country in the world, but such a wide network won’t do its users any good if it doesn’t offer a fast and stable internet connection. Considering that connection quality and network speed can greatly affect a user’s overall experience, we performed multiple tests on the SurfEasy VPN app and the client version. 

Note that you are unlikely to have many problems with VPNs decreasing your connection speeds if you use them primarily for browsing. However, if your internet connection isn’t that fast or you plan to use a VPN for HD streaming or torrenting, you may face issues with speed falloffs.

During our tests, this VPN showed excellent performance over short distances, with European servers reporting average speeds of 65 to 68 Mbps on our 75 Mbps test line. SurfEasy VPN connection speed on US servers reached 40 to 55 Mbps, which is still more than enough for most real-world situations. We repeated the tests from another European center with a mighty 500 Mbps. This time around, download speeds dropped to 120-130 Mbps, which is an excellent result.

Connections and Device Compatibility

Not only does SurfEasy perform very well in the connection speed department, but also it won’t disappoint you when it comes to device compatibility. Remember that hiding your location or IP address on your computer is just as important as browsing safely on your phone. 

That’s why you should download SurfEasy for Windows devices (PCs and laptops), Macs, iPads, iPhones, Android smartphones, and tablets and use it on Opera and Google Chrome.

Unlike some VPN providers that don’t limit the number of devices you can connect to the software solution within the confines of a single subscription, this VPN software supports up to five devices. On the plus side, there are no limits on how many times you can connect to the VPN on each of the five devices during the subscription term.

It’s important to note here that SurfEasy does not feature obfuscation tools that would keep VPN traffic and usage data undetected in countries like China. It also does not offer router support, so you can’t use it on consoles and streaming devices.

Streaming

As we’ve already mentioned in this review, accessing region-specific portfolios on streaming services is one of the most popular uses of VPNs. Why is this use of a virtual private network so widespread? The answer is simple - those living in the United States don’t have access to the same movie, series, and TV show libraries as those in Europe, and vice versa. 

During our tests, we had no problems unblocking one of the most popular streaming services - Netflix. Unblocking geospecific libraries worked like a charm with both UK and US servers. Your connection speed will decrease only slightly due to SurfEasy, so Netflix in HD isn’t off the table. 

On the downside, this VPN provider allows you to unblock Netflix, but that’s about it. We couldn’t access BBC iPlayer, Disney+, or Amazon Prime Video. 

Torrenting

Considering that it’s commonly used for illicit purposes, such as avoiding copyright laws to download your favorite TV shows, movies, or music albums, it’s no wonder that torrenting gets a bad reputation. 

But did you know that this technology has many legitimate uses? For example, large companies such as Twitter and Facebook use it internally to move massive files back and forth. 

Another common reason why internet users look for a good VPN is safe torrenting. Luckily, SurfEasy VPN lets you torrent out of harm's way as it offers P2P-ready servers and doesn’t leak any DNS or IP information. Keep in mind that not all of its servers are P2P so your torrenting speed may vary based on the proximity of the nearest one.

Privacy 

Complete privacy is what VPNs are all about. The core value of the best VPN service is keeping its users’ locations, IP addresses, and browsing histories safe from third parties such as governmental agencies, companies looking to sell your data, or the prying eyes of hackers. 

Still, VPN providers don’t make their own rules of data retention. They cannot venture outside the limits of local and international regulations. 

SurfEasy Inc. is based in Canada, a member of the Five Eyes, Nine Eyes, and 14 Eyes agreements. What this means for users is that government agencies can, under certain circumstances, access any records the VPN service provider decides to keep. 

As one of the best VPN solutions out there, SurfEasy has found a way to combat this significant drawback by implementing a strict no-logs policy. In other words, the provider won’t keep any information that can be tied to a particular user, such as the originating IP address and browsing or downloading activity. 

The only data Surfeasy.com holds onto is related to bandwidth, thus granting you a completely private internet environment. 

Security

In addition to being a no-logging VPN, SurfEasy has excellent all-around security systems in place that keep the users' privacy at the highest level. 

This VPN provider uses bank-grade encryption to ensure that users’ information is protected by the highest-quality encryption technology. In other words, all communication with it is shielded with 256-bit encryption, preventing third parties from tapping into these connections.

Additionally, while conducting our SurfEasy review, we checked whether this VPN provider had any IPv6 or DNS leaks. Note that various leak tests are available online for free, and we heartily recommend them for testing VPN solutions. As for SurfEasy, it passed all tests - we identified no leaks while using it.

This VPN also comes with a few security features that make it stand out from the competition. These include the one-click IP masking capability, which lets you change your location in a second, and the enhanced ad tracker blocking feature, which blocks advertisers’ tracking cookings, giving you a peaceful and private online experience. SurfEasy supports Tor, giving you access to the Onion Router network.

The only significant downside to the SurfEasy VPN client and app is that they don’t come with an automatic kill switch provided by many other VPNs, keeping your traffic safe should you experience a VPN connection failure. This means that if your VPN fails to connect, you may still access the internet and accidentally leak your information while the VPN connection is down.

VPN Protocol

SurfEasy uses the industry-standard, highly secure OpenVPN protocol with AES-256-GCM encryption.

User Experience

Getting started with this VPN is fairly easy. To open an account, all you have to do is provide your email address, choose a plan, and pay for the service using your credit card or PayPal account. After that, you’ll be able to download and install Surfeasy VPN for your Android, Windows, or iOS device.

Both the downloadable client and the app come with a clean interface with your current location displayed on a map, along with your status information and IP address. However, the software doesn’t let you scroll through the map or click on anything, as it’s just a static image. 

As far as settings go, you can enable and disable the ad-blocking feature and turn the Wi-Fi protection feature on and off. Overall, it’s a good choice for less demanding users, while those who would like to have the option to charge protocol, use a kill switch, or change DNS settings, should probably explore other options. 

If torrenting is your main goal, you can use the Windows client to choose a server that works better for torrenting than for just surfing. 

SurfEasy’s pricing options are limited to just two. Users can choose a monthly or annual subscription plan. The shorter-term solution will set you back $5.99 per month, while the annual option offers a much better value and comes at $29.88 per year. 

No matter which you decide to go for, you’ll get the same features. A single subscription supports five devices and doesn’t impose data limits. Note, however, that these prices are applicable only to the first term of your subscription and that the renewal prices are significantly higher, coming at $11.99 per month and $77.88 per year.

SurfEasy VPN has a free version, too. It comes with all of the aforementioned features, such as ad-tracker blocking and torrenting capability, but its bandwidth limit is set at 500 MB. 

Cancellation Policy

Both annual and monthly plans are automatically renewed when they expire. However, you can turn this functionality off or opt-out of the service anytime. To cancel your subscription, you can either log into your account or get in touch with the provider’s support agents via phone, email, or live chat. 

Money-Back Guarantee

Another reason why we think getting a VPN by SurfEasy is a wise choice is the provider’s no-questions-asked money-back guarantee. If the service fails to meet your expectations, you’ll be eligible for a full refund. All you have to do is reach out to the provider’s support team no later than 14 days from your initial payment. 

Support

If you have any questions or run into problems, the company's customer service staff will be there to help. The VPN service provider’s customer support team can be reached through the email support system. While some customer reviews complain of poor customer support, we found SurfEasy’s support agents helpful.

The Bottom Line

In conclusion, this is a nicely-packaged affordable VPN service targeted primarily at privacy novices who want a hassle-free and easy-to-use product with high uptime rates. 

While you can probably get better performance and more features from at least a few competitive providers, SurfEasy still won’t fail you when it comes to network speed, customer support, privacy, and security. If the main reasons you need a reliable VPN are to torrent and access Netflix, look no further than SurfEasy.