Surfshark vs. VPN Unlimited: Which VPN offers the best long-term value?

Surfshark and VPN Unlimited each offer good long-term value on virtual private networks (VPNs). Whether you want a VPN to stream global videos, browse overseas websites like a local, or strengthen your cybersecurity, those needs don’t go away at the end of the month.

While all the best VPNs reward customers who keep using their services, Surfshark and VPN Unlimited have particularly compelling offers when you sign on for a year or more.

Tiers and pricing

Surfshark’s annual plan is good but the two-year subscription is the best deal. Surfshark

Since we’re discussing long-term value, affordable pricing is essential. Surfshark’s shortest subscription is expensive. At $15.45 monthly, you’d pay more than $185 each year.

Fortunately, Surfshark offers much more affordable prices when you pay for one or two years in advance. The annual plan costs $48, and the price drops to $56 if you commit to two-years of service.

Surfshark adds four extra months for new subscribers, reducing the average monthly cost to $3 with an annual subscription and just $2 with a two-year plan.

Those prices make Surfshark one of the best VPN deals available. However, the four-month bonus is only for new subscribers.

VPN Unlimited’s annual subscription rates are reasonable but the lifetime plan offers long-term savings. VPN Unlimited

VPN Unlimited has a surprise in its price structure. You can subscribe monthly for $10, annually for $60, or pay a one-time fee of $200 to get a lifetime subscription and keep using the VPN forever.

The equivalent monthly cost for an annual subscription is $5, which is OK but not great. The average cost of VPN Unlimited’s lifetime plan drops every day you use the service.

In the first year, your average monthly cost is $16.67 but falls to $5 a third of the way into year four. Since you only pay once, your savings increases over time.

If you don’t want to pay at all, there are some very good free VPN services with only a few restrictions.

Features

Surfshark showed impressive speed when connected to a nearby server. Digital Trends

The best price in the world means nothing if you get poor speeds and limited features services. I’ve reviewed Surfshark and VPN Unlimited so I can share my experience with both to help you decide which has enough performance and options for your needs.

I found Surfshark to be the fastest, reaching 728Mbps download speed, which is quite fast for a VPN. My native speed without a VPN is 900Mbps, and most VPNs reduce that by more than half.

VPN performance is best when connecting to nearby servers, but Surfshark barely slowed when I chose servers in the U.K., France, and Germany. Download speeds averaged 620Mbps for those locations.

My VPN Unlimited connection to a nearby U.S. server was quite fast. Digital Trends

VPN Unlimited’s best speed was a fast 595Mbps for a U.S. server. Overseas connections were significantly slower. I measured 278Mbps for U.K., 205Mbps for France, but only 79Mbps for Germany.

While Surfshark was faster worldwide in my testing, download speeds can vary, and VPN Unlimited’s performance was good enough for streaming.

Latency was good for both VPNs, around 20 to 40 for local servers, 100+ for European countries, and 200+ for distant locations like Australia. I noticed VPN Unlimited took longer to connect, up to 30 seconds, while Surfshark was ready within five seconds.

Both VPNs offer advanced features like kill switches to stop unprotected internet use, split-tunneling to exclude select apps from the VPN for optimal speed, and more.

Support

Surfshark’s around-the-clock customer service was fast and helpful. Digital Trends

Surfshark offers quick, friendly live chat that’s available all day, every day. You start off with a well-informed AI chatbot, but can ask for a human at any time. In my testing, I was immediately connected to a live agent who provided personal assistance.

VPN Unlimited offers 24/7 email support. That usually means waiting 24 hours for a reply. However, I got an answer in just six minutes. That’s fast for email, but if there’s any back-and-forth required, the minutes add up and take much longer than a live chat.

Privacy and security

Both VPNs have privacy policies that state none of you personal data is shared or sold to third-party advertisers. Surfshark’s no-log policy has been verified by an independent auditor, but VPN Unlimited has not.

That could simply be a cost-savings measure, but it leaves some doubt about VPN Unlimited’s claim that your activity isn’t logged. With Surfshark, there’s a greater assurance of robust privacy.

Neither VPN service has suffered security breaches. With the ongoing threat of hackers, a clean record is impressive, and both have done a good job of maintaining good cybersecurity.

Which is the best long-term VPN?

Surfshark provides quicker connections, faster downloads, unlimited connections, and 24/7 live chat. It’s one of the best VPNs for streaming videos and unblocking global content.

VPN Unlimited has the potential to be the most affordable VPN ever. You can use it on five devices simultaneously so you don’t need to disconnect before switching between your phone and computer. If you buy the lifetime plan and use it for 17 years, the average monthly cost drops to less than a dollar.

However, you have to keep using it for many years to recover your initial investment. VPN Unlimited’s owner, KeepSolid, started in 2013. There’s no reason to expect an established company to disappear, but crowded servers and slowdowns could become an issue if too many people choose the lifetime plan.

You’d need to use VPN Unlimited’s $200 lifetime plan for over four years to beat the price of Surfshark’s $48 annual subscription and for more than seven years to beat its $56 two-year subscription.

Overall, Surfshark is my top pick for the best long-term VPN, but if neither sounds like the right solution, there are plenty more to choose from. It’s worth doing some research to find the best VPN for your particular needs.