Surfshark vs CyberGhost (2026): Prices, Devices and Refunds

Surfshark and CyberGhost are low-cost services from two large VPN groups, Nord Security and Kape Technologies. On verified data, their headline prices are thirty cents a month apart. They differ much more in other ways.

CyberGhost prints its renewal price on the buy page, gives you 45 days to change your mind and documents more streaming services. Surfshark allows unlimited devices and includes obfuscation, multi-hop and post-quantum encryption. It does not say what you will pay after the first term.

Our scores for the two, shown above, are close. The table above comes from both providers’ data records. The sections below explain the rows that separate them.

Pricing today

CyberGhost sells one VPN tier. On 5 November 2026 its buy page carried an “Early Access Deal: Save up to 83%” label. It replaced the Halloween deal we saw on 31 October. It listed the “2 Years + 4 Months” plan at $2.19 a month, billed $61.32 for the first 28 months. That plan renews at $61.32 a year, or $5.11 a month after the first term. The 6-month plan costs $6.99 a month, or $41.94, and renews at $41.94 every six months. The monthly plan costs $12.99.

CyberGhost offers these add-ons:

• a dedicated IP, which is an address only you use, from $5 a month
• a Security Suite for Windows from $4.50 a month
• a password manager
• ID Guard

You can pay by card, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay or Amazon Pay. No cryptocurrency option is listed for the United States.

We loaded Surfshark’s pricing page the same day. Its “Black Friday deal” badge sat on the One plan only. Its Starter and One tiers cost the same: $2.49 a month for 27 months, or $67.23. One+ cost $3.99 a month, or $107.73.

The 12-month and monthly prices load in the browser, not in the page text. Our data layer reads them from the plan data built into the pricing page. The 1-year Starter plan comes with three extra months: $44.85 for 15 months, or $2.99 a month. The monthly plan costs $18.95.

Surfshark accepts cards, PayPal, Google Pay, Apple Pay and cryptocurrency. You cannot pay with cryptocurrency on phones or tablets.

CyberGhost states its renewal price, and Surfshark does not. CyberGhost’s page gives the renewal as $61.32 a year. So two years and four months plus one renewal cost $122.64 for 40 months. Surfshark’s page says only that “upon renewal, you will be charged the applicable renewal price”. It adds that the two-year plan is billed once and then annually, but gives no figure.

That is why the table shows no renewal total for Surfshark. We cannot calculate a three-year cost from official data. Our methodology gives full points to a renewal price that is stated and does not rise. An unstated renewal earns half the points.

Refund windows differ too. CyberGhost gives 45 days on plans of six months or longer, and 14 days on the monthly plan. Surfshark gives 30 days on the initial purchase, with one refund per service. It excludes prepaid and gift-card payments, Alternative ID and the anonymous dedicated IP. It pays cryptocurrency refunds in the same coin.

Neither has a free tier, but both offer free trials. CyberGhost gives 24 hours on desktop without a card. Its Android and iOS apps give 3 and 7 days, and both need a payment method. Surfshark offers a 7-day trial on its 12- and 24-month plans. The trial is limited to three devices and converts to a paid plan. Our best VPN free trials page compares the terms.

Privacy and audits

CyberGhost S.R.L. is registered in Bucharest, Romania. That is outside the 5, 9 and 14 Eyes alliances, which are groups of countries that share intelligence. It names Kape Technologies PLC as its ultimate holding company.

Surfshark B.V. is registered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, which is a 9 Eyes member. It merged under one holding company with Nord Security in 2022. It still operates separately from NordVPN.

Our methodology scores the Romanian jurisdiction higher. That is the main reason CyberGhost’s privacy row edges ahead of Surfshark’s. It does so even though Surfshark accepts cryptocurrency and CyberGhost does not.

Both have Deloitte ISAE 3000 no-logs assurance reports from within the last two years. In these reports, an outside auditor checks whether a company does what its policy says.

CyberGhost’s reports are by Deloitte Audit Romania. They were announced on 22 September 2022, 6 March 2024 and 8 December 2025. They cover the no-logs policy, server network, incident management and dedicated-IP token system. The 2025 report is published on CyberGhost’s site.

Surfshark’s two Deloitte reports date from 25 January 2023 and 16 June 2025. The second covers standard, static and multiport servers and the deployment process. Users can read it in their account.

Surfshark also has a longer technical record:

• a Cure53 audit of the Dausos protocol in February and March 2026, with no critical or high findings in the protocol itself
• SecuRing penetration tests of its infrastructure in December 2025, and of its apps and extensions in early 2025
• Cure53 reviews of its servers in 2021 and its browser extensions in 2018

No technical app audit of CyberGhost appears in our data.

What each keeps is similar. CyberGhost’s policy was updated on 18 March 2024. It lists IP addresses, browsing history, DNS queries and connection times as never logged.

Surfshark’s policy was updated on 12 October 2026. It says Surfshark keeps:

• account data: email, encrypted password and registration date
• billing data: partial card number, expiry and payer country
• aggregated diagnostics

It also says connection details held for a short time on a server are deleted within 15 minutes of the session ending.

Both run every server in RAM, so a restart wipes the data. Both publish transparency reports, which list the requests for user data they receive. Surfshark’s quarterly report for July to September 2026 lists 23 government inquiries. It lists no warrants, national security letters or gag orders. Neither maintains a warrant canary, a notice a company takes down if it receives a secret government order. Neither has a documented incident.

Security and protocols

Surfshark has more security features. A protocol is the method a VPN uses to build its encrypted connection. Surfshark offers WireGuard, OpenVPN and IKEv2, plus Dausos, its own protocol. Dausos uses AEGIS-256X2. When we verified, it was available only in the macOS app.

Post-quantum encryption is designed to resist attacks by future quantum computers. Surfshark has post-quantum protection on by default for WireGuard and Dausos. It also documents:

• obfuscated servers, which hide the fact that you are using a VPN, and NoBorders mode
• Dynamic MultiHop, a multi-hop feature that sends traffic through two servers
• Rotating IP and Everlink
• CleanWeb ad and tracker blocking
• a kill switch with soft and strict modes on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS

A kill switch blocks your internet if the VPN connection drops. Split tunneling lets you choose which apps or websites use the VPN and which do not. Surfshark calls its version Bypasser. On Windows, Bypasser takes apps, websites and IP addresses. It also works on macOS, Android and iOS, and Android has a Reverse Bypasser too. Surfshark does not support port forwarding, which it confirmed in a blog post of 9 September 2026.

CyberGhost offers OpenVPN, WireGuard and IKEv2 with AES-256. It has an automatic kill switch in its desktop, iOS and Android apps. Its split tunneling is per-app selection on Android and website “Exceptions” on Windows. It adds a Content Blocker and a dedicated IP add-on. Obfuscation, multi-hop, port forwarding and post-quantum encryption are not documented on any official page we loaded.

On IPv6, CyberGhost has the clearer position. IPv6 is the newer type of internet address. CyberGhost documents that IPv6 is switched off automatically, with built-in leak protection. Surfshark’s security page says IPv6 leaks are blocked. But its help center says Surfshark does not support IPv6 and recommends disabling it on the device.

Neither offers port forwarding. Port forwarding opens a port so that other computers can connect to yours. Torrent users who need an open port should look at Private Internet Access.

Streaming claims

CyberGhost’s streaming pages name eleven services supported by its streaming-optimized servers. They are Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, HBO Max, BBC iPlayer, YouTube TV, Paramount+, Hulu, Peacock, Crunchyroll and DAZN. Surfshark’s “VPN for streaming” page lists seven: Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, BBC iPlayer, HBO Max, Hulu and Crunchyroll. It adds a note that results may vary and platform terms apply.

A smart DNS service changes the location that streaming services see, on devices that cannot run a VPN app. Neither has a usable smart DNS any more. Surfshark discontinued SmartDNS on 2 February 2026. CyberGhost’s help center says its Smart DNS is no longer compatible with streaming services.

We have not yet tested streaming access for either provider. Treat the counts as claims. Use the refund window as your test period: 45 days at CyberGhost and 30 at Surfshark.

Apps and devices

Surfshark publishes native apps for:

• Windows, macOS and Linux
• Android and iOS
• Fire TV, including Vega OS
• Android TV and Google TV
• Apple TV, on tvOS 17 and later

It also has Chrome, Firefox and Edge extensions and manual router setup. Samsung Tizen and LG webOS televisions have no native app. Simultaneous connections are unlimited.

CyberGhost covers Windows 10 and later, macOS 10.13 and later, and Linux from the command line. It also covers Android 7 and later, iOS 15 and later, Android TV and Fire TV. It has Chrome and Firefox extensions and DD-WRT router setup, and allows seven connections. Apple TV, Samsung and LG smart TVs, Roku and consoles are supported only through the Smart DNS, which no longer streams.

Neither publishes app source code. On the network rows, CyberGhost lists 9,600 servers in 100 countries and 125 locations. Surfshark lists 4,500 or more servers in 100 countries and 130 or more locations. Both use virtual locations, which give you an address in one country from a server in another. CyberGhost says it owns its NoSpy and colocated servers and rents the rest from data centers. Surfshark does not say who owns its hardware.

Support and refunds

Both run 24/7 live chat, email support and a help center. We have not yet measured response times for either.

CyberGhost refunds within 45 days on plans of six months or longer, and within 14 days on the monthly plan. Surfshark refunds within 30 days of the initial purchase, with the exclusions listed above. Both exclude purchases made through app stores, which Apple and Google refund under their own rules.

Alternatives

If you want Surfshark’s features from the same group with a stated renewal price, read NordVPN vs Surfshark and NordVPN vs CyberGhost.

If you want CyberGhost’s pricing model with unlimited devices and port forwarding, read PIA vs Surfshark. Private Internet Access (PIA) is CyberGhost’s US sibling. Proton VPN vs Surfshark adds a free tier and open-source apps to the mix.

Every pair is listed on the comparison hub. Our best VPN for streaming page ranks the field on documented streaming support.

Which should you buy?

Buy CyberGhost if:

• you want to know exactly what the renewal costs
• you want 45 days to test it
• you watch the television services it names
• you prefer a Romanian company outside the alliances to a Dutch one inside them

In return, you accept seven devices, no obfuscation or multi-hop and no Apple TV app. You also accept no cryptocurrency payment for US customers and no technical app audit.

Buy Surfshark if:

• you have more than seven devices
• you travel through networks that block VPNs
• you want post-quantum encryption without touching a setting
• you use a Mac or iPhone and want split tunneling there
• you own an Apple TV

The downsides start with the renewal price. Surfshark does not state it, and the plan bills annually after 27 months. It also has a 9 Eyes jurisdiction and a discontinued smart DNS, and its own pages contradict each other on IPv6.

Whichever you choose, write down the renewal date. You already know CyberGhost’s renewal price. Surfshark will charge whatever its page says on that day.

How we compared them

Every row in the table comes from the two providers’ data records. We checked those records against their official pricing, feature, server, policy and audit pages on 5 November 2026. Scores come from our published methodology, with speed left out until our lab measures it. Both providers have affiliate programs, and that does not change any row.

Read the full CyberGhost review and Surfshark review for the detail behind each line. The CyberGhost pricing page and Surfshark pricing page list every plan and its price history.