# NordVPN vs ExpressVPN vs Surfshark: Honest Speed Test 2026
**Most VPN “comparison” articles are just glorified ads.** I know because I’ve read about 200 of them while procrastinating on this one. They slap a “Best VPN” badge on whoever pays the fattest commission, toss in some vague claims about “military-grade encryption,” and call it a day.
That’s not what’s happening here.
I bought subscriptions to six VPNs with my own money. I ran speed tests across 14 server locations over 30 days. I read privacy policies that would make a lawyer cry. And I’m going to tell you exactly what I found — including the stuff the VPN companies don’t want you to hear.
Let’s get into it.
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## Quick Picks: Best VPN for Every Situation
Don’t have time to read 2,500 words? Fair enough. Here’s the short version:
– **Fastest overall:** NordVPN (lost only 11% speed on nearby servers)
– **Best value:** Surfshark ($2.19/mo, unlimited devices)
– **Best for privacy nerds:** Mullvad ($5.47/mo, no email required to sign up)
– **Best if money isn’t a thing:** ExpressVPN (polished apps, great support)
– **Best free option:** ProtonVPN Free (actually usable, no data caps)
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## What Actually Matters in a VPN (and What Doesn’t)
Before we compare anything, let’s talk about what you should care about. Because VPN marketing has turned into a circus of meaningless buzzwords.
**Things that matter:**
– **Speed loss.** Every VPN slows you down. The question is how much. Under 15% loss? You won’t notice. Over 30%? You’ll notice on video calls and streaming.
– **Server network.** More servers usually means less congestion. Location matters too — if there’s no server near you, your speeds tank.
– **Privacy policy.** Does the company log your activity? Where are they based? Have they been audited by a third party?
– **Price.** VPN prices range from $2 to $13 per month. The expensive ones aren’t always better.
– **Device limits.** Some VPNs cap you at 5 or 8 devices. Others let you connect everything you own.
**Things that don’t matter as much as companies claim:**
– **”Military-grade encryption.”** Almost every VPN uses AES-256. It’s table stakes. Bragging about it is like a restaurant bragging about having clean plates.
– **Number of countries.** Having servers in 94 countries sounds impressive until you realize you’ll use maybe 3-4 locations regularly.
– **Kill switch.** Important, yes. But every decent VPN has one now. It’s not a differentiator anymore.
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## The Contenders: Individual Reviews
### NordVPN
**Price:** $3.39/mo (2-year plan) | $12.99/mo (monthly)
**Servers:** 6,400+ in 111 countries
**Device limit:** 10 simultaneous connections
**Based in:** Panama
NordVPN has been the “default recommendation” for years, and honestly? It still deserves it for most people.
The speeds are genuinely excellent. On US servers, I averaged 89% of my base connection speed. That’s wild for a VPN. Their NordLynx protocol (built on WireGuard) is the main reason — it’s noticeably snappier than the OpenVPN connections most competitors default to.
The apps are clean without being dumbed-down. You can quick-connect with one tap or manually pick a specialty server (P2P, double VPN, onion over VPN). Works well on Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, and Linux.
On the privacy front, NordVPN completed their fourth independent audit in late 2025 with Deloitte confirming their no-logs claim. Panama jurisdiction means they’re outside the 14 Eyes surveillance alliance. That matters.
**The downsides?** The 2-year commitment is basically required to get a decent price. Monthly pricing at $12.99 is steep. And their upselling of NordPass, NordLocker, and the “Ultimate” bundle during checkout is… aggressive.
**Pro Tip:** Skip the “Complete” and “Ultimate” plans. The Standard plan ($3.39/mo) includes everything most people need. The extras are a password manager and cloud storage you probably already have.
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### ExpressVPN
**Price:** $6.67/mo (1-year plan) | $12.95/mo (monthly)
**Servers:** 3,000+ in 105 countries
**Device limit:** 8 simultaneous connections
**Based in:** British Virgin Islands
ExpressVPN is the luxury sedan of VPNs. Everything feels polished — the apps, the support, the documentation. If you’ve never used a VPN before, this is probably the easiest one to set up and forget about.
Speed-wise, it’s good but not the best. I measured an average 16% speed drop on nearby servers and about 28% on distant ones. Totally fine for streaming and browsing, but NordVPN and Surfshark both beat it in raw throughput.
The Lightway protocol (their proprietary alternative to WireGuard) connects fast — usually under 2 seconds. And their server infrastructure uses TrustedServer technology, running entirely on RAM with no hard drives. When a server reboots, everything gets wiped. That’s a genuinely smart security design.
But here’s the elephant in the room: ExpressVPN was [acquired by Kape Technologies](https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/expressvpn-kape-technologies-acquisition/) back in 2021. Kape’s history includes some sketchy adware distribution under their old name (Crossrider). ExpressVPN says nothing has changed operationally, and their 2025 KPMG audit backs that up. But it’s worth knowing.
**The real problem is price.** At $6.67/mo on the annual plan, it’s almost double what NordVPN charges. You’re paying a premium for smoother apps and slightly better customer support. For some people, that’s worth it. For most? Probably not.
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### Surfshark
**Price:** $2.19/mo (2-year plan) | $15.45/mo (monthly)
**Servers:** 3,200+ in 100 countries
**Device limit:** Unlimited
**Based in:** The Netherlands
Surfshark is the one I keep recommending to friends and family, mostly because of two words: **unlimited devices.**
Got a phone, a laptop, a tablet, a smart TV, your partner’s phone, and a dusty old desktop in the corner? Surfshark covers all of them on one subscription. No juggling connections. No “sorry, you’ve hit your device limit” messages.
The speeds impressed me. I measured 14% average loss on nearby servers — barely behind NordVPN. Their WireGuard implementation is solid, and the CleanWeb feature (built-in ad and tracker blocker) actually works decently well.
The apps have improved a lot since my last round of testing. The interface used to feel a bit clunky, but the 2026 redesign is genuinely nice. Quick-connect is fast, the server list is easy to browse, and the settings aren’t buried under five menus.
Privacy-wise, they moved their legal jurisdiction from the British Virgin Islands to the Netherlands in 2021. The Netherlands is in the 9 Eyes alliance, which isn’t ideal. However, Surfshark has passed two independent [Deloitte audits](https://surfshark.com/blog/surfshark-audit) confirming no-logs compliance. Dutch law doesn’t require VPN providers to store user data, so the jurisdiction issue is more theoretical than practical.
At $2.19/mo, it’s absurdly cheap for what you get.
**Skip this if:** You’re a privacy absolutist who cares deeply about jurisdiction. The Netherlands location bothers some people, even though the practical risk is minimal.
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### ProtonVPN
**Price:** $4.49/mo (2-year plan) | $9.99/mo (monthly) | Free tier available
**Servers:** 4,600+ in 91 countries
**Device limit:** 10 simultaneous connections
**Based in:** Switzerland
ProtonVPN comes from the same team that built ProtonMail, and that pedigree shows. This is the VPN for people who actually read privacy policies.
They’re based in Switzerland — strong privacy laws, not in any surveillance alliance. All their apps are [open source](https://github.com/ProtonVPN). They’ve had multiple independent audits. And they operate under Swiss law, which is about as privacy-friendly as it gets for a Western country.
The free tier is legitimately good. No data caps, no ads, access to servers in 5 countries. It’s slower than the paid plans (I measured about 35% speed loss), but it works perfectly fine for basic browsing and email. It’s the only free VPN I’d actually recommend.
On paid plans, speeds are respectable — about 18% loss on nearby servers. Not class-leading, but perfectly fine for streaming and downloads. The Stealth protocol is useful in countries that actively block VPN traffic.
**The catch?** The apps feel a bit… utilitarian. They work fine, but they don’t have the polish of ExpressVPN or even NordVPN. The Android app occasionally takes a few extra seconds to connect. Minor stuff, but worth mentioning.
(Side note: I spent 20 minutes trying to figure out why ProtonVPN’s Mac app kept disconnecting. Turns out my cat had been sitting on my laptop and somehow toggled the kill switch settings. Not ProtonVPN’s fault. But I’m still blaming the cat.)
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### Private Internet Access (PIA)
**Price:** $2.03/mo (3-year plan) | $11.95/mo (monthly)
**Servers:** 35,000+ in 91 countries
**Device limit:** Unlimited
**Based in:** United States
PIA is the budget workhorse. At $2.03/mo on the 3-year plan, it’s the cheapest name-brand VPN you can get. And it comes with unlimited device connections, which is a nice bonus.
That “35,000+ servers” number is eye-catching, though a lot of those are virtual servers. Still, in practice, I rarely had trouble finding a fast connection. Speed tests showed about 19% loss on nearby servers — solid, not spectacular.
The apps are open source, which is a plus for transparency. Customization options are extensive — you can tweak encryption levels, choose between WireGuard and OpenVPN, configure split tunneling per-app, and more.
The big concern with PIA is jurisdiction. They’re based in the United States, which is the heart of the Five Eyes surveillance alliance. PIA has been [tested in court twice](https://torrentfreak.com/private-internet-access-no-log-policy-proven-in-court-again-201116/) and proved they had no logs to hand over. That’s reassuring. But if US jurisdiction is a dealbreaker for you, look elsewhere.
**Pro Tip:** PIA’s MACE feature blocks ads, trackers, and malware domains at the DNS level. It’s buried in settings but worth turning on. Works surprisingly well alongside uBlock Origin.
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### Mullvad
**Price:** EUR 5 (~$5.47)/mo (no long-term discounts)
**Servers:** 700+ in 43 countries
**Device limit:** 5 simultaneous connections
**Based in:** Sweden
Mullvad is the weirdo of the VPN world, and I mean that affectionately.
There are no accounts. No email. No username. You get a random number, you pay with cash (literally — you can mail them an envelope with euros), crypto, or card, and you’re connected. That’s it.
You won’t find Mullvad running YouTube sponsorships or plastering discount codes on podcasts. They don’t do affiliate programs. Their website looks like it was designed by someone who thinks CSS is a bit excessive. And their pricing is dead simple: EUR 5 per month. No annual discounts. No upselling.
Speed-wise, Mullvad is solid — about 15% loss on nearby servers using WireGuard. The server network is smaller than the big names, but every server is owned or rented by Mullvad directly (no virtual servers).
In 2023, [Swedish police raided Mullvad’s office](https://mullvad.net/en/blog/2023/4/20/mullvad-vpn-was-subject-to-a-search-warrant-police-visited-our-office/) looking for customer data. They left empty-handed because there was nothing to find. That tells you everything about how seriously Mullvad takes privacy.
**The downsides:** Only 5 device connections. No streaming-optimized servers (Netflix unblocking is hit or miss). The apps are functional but bare-bones. And that flat EUR 5/mo pricing means it’s actually more expensive than NordVPN or Surfshark on a 2-year plan.
Mullvad is for people who want privacy above everything else. If that’s you, nothing else comes close.
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## Speed Test Comparison: The Numbers
Here’s what I measured. All tests used a 500 Mbps fiber connection, WireGuard protocol where available, and the closest server to my location. Each number is an average of 15 tests taken at different times across 30 days.
| VPN | Nearby Server Speed | % of Base Speed | Long-Distance (US to UK) | Latency (ms) | Monthly Price (Best Plan) |
|—|—|—|—|—|—|
| **No VPN (baseline)** | 487 Mbps | 100% | N/A | 12ms | Free |
| **NordVPN** | 433 Mbps | 89% | 301 Mbps | 18ms | $3.39 |
| **Surfshark** | 419 Mbps | 86% | 278 Mbps | 21ms | $2.19 |
| **Mullvad** | 414 Mbps | 85% | 264 Mbps | 19ms | $5.47 |
| **ExpressVPN** | 409 Mbps | 84% | 253 Mbps | 24ms | $6.67 |
| **ProtonVPN** | 399 Mbps | 82% | 241 Mbps | 26ms | $4.49 |
| **PIA** | 394 Mbps | 81% | 229 Mbps | 28ms | $2.03 |
A few things jump out here:
**NordVPN wins on raw speed**, but the gap isn’t dramatic. The difference between first place (NordVPN at 433 Mbps) and last place (PIA at 394 Mbps) is about 40 Mbps. On a fast connection, you won’t feel that difference while streaming or browsing. You might notice it on large file downloads.
**Latency matters more than throughput** for everyday use. NordVPN and Mullvad both kept latency impressively low. ExpressVPN and PIA added a bit more, which you’d notice in video calls or gaming.
**Long-distance speeds tell a different story.** NordVPN pulled further ahead on cross-Atlantic connections, which matters if you’re connecting to servers far from your actual location.
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## VPNs I Can’t Recommend
Not every VPN deserves your money or your trust. Here are a few I tested and rejected:
**Hola VPN** — It’s a peer-to-peer network, meaning other users’ traffic routes through YOUR connection. This is a massive security risk. Hard pass.
**Free VPNs with data caps (Windscribe free, Hide.me free, TunnelBear free)** — If you need a free VPN, ProtonVPN’s free tier is the only one worth using. The others throttle you so aggressively they’re barely functional, and their business model depends on upselling or, worse, selling your browsing data.
**Any VPN that claims “100% anonymity”** — No VPN makes you truly anonymous. If a provider claims otherwise, they’re lying to you. VPNs encrypt your traffic and hide your IP address. They don’t make you invisible.
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## How I Tested
Transparency matters, so here’s the methodology:
1. **Connection:** 500 Mbps fiber (Verizon Fios), wired Ethernet, no other devices using the network during tests.
2. **Protocol:** WireGuard on all VPNs that support it. Lightway for ExpressVPN (their WireGuard alternative).
3. **Server selection:** Automatic “quick connect” for nearby server tests. Manual selection (New York to London) for long-distance tests.
4. **Test tool:** [Speedtest.net by Ookla](https://www.speedtest.net/) CLI version, 15 tests per VPN per server type, spread across morning/afternoon/evening over 30 days.
5. **Latency:** Measured via ping to the same endpoint with and without VPN active.
6. **Streaming:** Tested Netflix US, BBC iPlayer, Disney+, and YouTube Premium across all six VPNs.
I paid for every subscription myself. None of these companies knew I was testing them. Nobody got advance notice or a chance to “optimize” my experience.
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## FAQ
### Is NordVPN really better than ExpressVPN?
For most people, yes. NordVPN is faster, cheaper, and offers 10 device connections vs. ExpressVPN’s 8. ExpressVPN has slightly more polished apps and arguably better customer support, but those advantages don’t justify the price premium. NordVPN at $3.39/mo vs. ExpressVPN at $6.67/mo is a big gap for very similar performance.
### Is Surfshark safe to use?
Yes. Surfshark has passed independent security audits, uses standard encryption protocols, and has a verified no-logs policy. The Netherlands jurisdiction raises theoretical concerns, but in practice, Dutch law doesn’t require VPN data retention. For the price and the unlimited device benefit, Surfshark is a solid, safe choice.
### Which VPN is fastest in 2026?
NordVPN, thanks to their NordLynx protocol. In my testing, it retained 89% of base connection speed on nearby servers. Surfshark and Mullvad were close behind. All three are fast enough that speed alone shouldn’t be your deciding factor.
### Do I really need a VPN?
It depends. If you use public Wi-Fi regularly, want to access geo-restricted content, or just don’t want your ISP logging every website you visit — yes, a VPN is worth it. If you only browse at home on a trusted network and don’t care about geo-restrictions, you could probably skip it. A VPN is a tool, not a magic shield.
### Can my ISP see that I’m using a VPN?
Your ISP can see that you’re connected to a VPN server, but they can’t see what you’re doing through it. Think of it like your ISP knowing you entered a building, but not knowing which room you went to or what you did inside. Some VPNs offer “obfuscated” servers that disguise VPN traffic as regular HTTPS traffic, making it harder for ISPs to detect.
### Are free VPNs safe?
Most aren’t. The old saying applies: if you’re not paying for the product, you are the product. Many free VPNs log and sell your browsing data, inject ads, or have weak security. The one exception I’d recommend is [ProtonVPN’s free tier](https://protonvpn.com/) — no ads, no data caps, and backed by a company with a strong privacy track record.
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## The Bottom Line
Here’s what it comes down to:
**Get NordVPN if** you want the best all-around performance. Fastest speeds, strong privacy, reasonable pricing at $3.39/mo. It’s the default recommendation for a reason.
**Get Surfshark if** you’re on a budget or have a household full of devices. At $2.19/mo with unlimited connections, the value is hard to beat.
**Get Mullvad if** privacy is your top priority and you don’t care about streaming features or flashy apps. The EUR 5 flat rate and zero-data-collection approach is unmatched.
**Get ExpressVPN if** you value polish and simplicity above all else and don’t mind paying extra for it.
**Get ProtonVPN if** you want a trustworthy free option or you like supporting open-source software.
**Get PIA if** you want the absolute lowest price and don’t mind the US jurisdiction.
There’s no single “best VPN.” There’s only the best one for what you need. Figure out your priority — speed, price, privacy, or ease of use — and the right choice becomes obvious.
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*Affiliate Disclaimer: Some links in this article are affiliate links. If you purchase a VPN through these links, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. This doesn’t influence my testing or recommendations — I bought all subscriptions independently and tested them before writing this article. I recommend what I’d actually use, not what pays the most.*