Proton VPN and Surfshark are both credible, well-tested VPNs. On the metrics most comparisons lead with, speed, server count, protocol support, they overlap so heavily that neither pulls decisively ahead.
The real differences sit somewhere narrower: a small set of specific, mutually exclusive capabilities. Whether any of them matter to you depends entirely on what you’re trying to do. This isn’t a scorecard. It’s a filter.
Quick verdict: who should choose which
Choose Proton VPN if you need:
- Ordinary inbound port forwarding
- Standing, permanent free access
- Stronger Linux routing and forwarding workflows
Choose Surfshark if you need:
- More than 10 simultaneous device connections
- A purchasable Dedicated IP
- Today’s broader macOS bypass workflow
The Linux and macOS points matter to a narrower group of readers than the four requirements above them. They’re genuine differences, not equal-weight wins.
If none of this applies to you, there’s no defensible universal winner between these two products. Keep reading. The next sections explain why, and what the choice actually turns on for you.
Quick comparison
| If you care about… | Better fit | Why | Main trade-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inbound port forwarding | Proton VPN | The only one of the two that offers it | Gives up Surfshark’s device flexibility and Dedicated IP |
| More than 10 devices | Surfshark | Published unlimited entitlement vs Proton’s 10-device paid cap | Gives up port forwarding and standing free access |
| A purchasable Dedicated IP | Surfshark | Established consumer add-on; no Proton VPN Plus equivalent established | Extra cost, stronger account and email linkability |
| Standing free access | Proton VPN | The only permanent free tier between the two | Free tier is capped at one device |
| Linux routing and forwarding | Proton VPN | Native split routing plus paid forwarding | Narrower benefit, mainly relevant to Linux workflows |
| Current macOS bypass workflow | Surfshark | Broader app and website bypass today | Windows level parity remains unresolved |
| iOS app level routing | Neither | No true app level split tunneling on either platform | — |
| Two hop routing | Both, differently | Secure Core vs Dynamic MultiHop, different designs | No ranking without a stated threat model |
Where they actually overlap
Before getting into the differences, it’s worth being honest about where these two look alike.
Both post strong results in current independent testing, though the two rely on different methodologies, so the numbers aren’t directly comparable. Neither has a clear, sustained speed advantage worth building a decision around.
Both currently work across major streaming services, based on test bounded evidence. That can shift by service, by date and by route, so treat any streaming claim, including this one, as a snapshot rather than a permanent fact.
Price varies by route, term length, currency and active promotion for both providers, and Surfshark’s Dedicated IP add-on carries its own separate cost. Exact renewal price equivalence between the two isn’t established.
Server and country footprint, general P2P support, broad platform coverage and protocol support all overlap broadly enough that none of them functions as a deciding factor on its own.
This overlap is exactly why a feature count comparison would mislead you. The differences that actually matter are more specific than any of this.
The four differences that actually decide this comparison
If any one of the first three applies to you, your choice is already made. Nothing later in this article should change it.
If you need port forwarding
Proton VPN supports ordinary inbound port forwarding on paid plans. It’s dynamic and server assigned rather than a fixed, permanently persistent port, and it matters most for self hosting or certain P2P and server setups.
Surfshark does not support ordinary inbound VPN tunnel port forwarding. Nothing in its current lineup substitutes for it, not Dedicated IP, not Static IP.
If this is something you actually need, Proton VPN is the only option between the two.
If you need more than 10 devices
Proton’s paid plans cap simultaneous connections at 10. Surfshark publishes an unlimited entitlement, subject to normal account, resale and abuse restrictions.
This only matters if you genuinely exceed 10 devices at once, a household running several phones, laptops, tablets and streaming boxes at the same time, for example. Below that threshold, it isn’t a meaningful advantage either way.
If you need a Dedicated IP
Surfshark sells a consumer Dedicated IP as a paid add-on, on top of a base subscription. No equivalent consumer Dedicated IP was established for Proton VPN Plus in the current evidence. Proton’s dedicated infrastructure lives in a separate business tier that isn’t a substitute here.
A Dedicated IP is genuinely useful for readers who need a consistent, exclusive IP address, but it’s worth being clear eyed about the trade. By Surfshark’s own framing, an exclusive Dedicated IP is more closely associated with your account and email than shared IP use is. It isn’t a privacy upgrade. It’s a convenience trade-off.
It’s also a distinct thing from Static IP, and from port forwarding. Don’t treat the three as interchangeable.
If you want standing free access
Proton VPN offers a free tier that’s a permanent product, not a trial, capped at one device, with none of the paid tier’s other capabilities carried over.
Surfshark has no standing free tier. What it offers instead is a seven day qualifying trial and a 30 day refund window on paid plans, both time limited, and neither the same thing as free access.
If ongoing free use, rather than a trial period, is what you’re after, Proton VPN is the only one of the two that provides it.
If none of these apply to you
If you don’t need port forwarding, don’t need more than 10 devices, don’t need a Dedicated IP and don’t need standing free access, the comparison moves into narrower territory: which platform you use, and how much weight you put on architecture and evidence differences that don’t resolve to a clear winner.
Platform matters more than the checklist suggests
On Linux, the difference is real
Proton VPN offers native split routing on Linux, along with paid port forwarding on supported plans, a stronger and more established implementation than Surfshark currently offers on the same platform.
Surfshark’s Linux lineup includes MultiHop, Static IP and Dedicated IP, but current Surfshark Bypasser support is not established on Linux the way it is elsewhere.
If Linux routing and forwarding depth genuinely matters to your workflow, this favors Proton VPN, but it’s a platform specific advantage, not a general capability claim.
On macOS, the difference runs the other way
Proton’s macOS implementation is currently experimental, exclusion only, limited to WebKit based bypass and restricted to WireGuard and Stealth.
Surfshark’s macOS bypass covers both apps and websites and is currently more developed. Whether it achieves full inverse routing parity with its Windows implementation remains unresolved, so treat this as broader today, not complete.
On iOS, neither offers what “split tunneling” implies
Proton VPN currently has no split tunneling on iOS. Surfshark offers a website only bypass. Neither provides the general, app level split tunneling the term usually implies on other platforms.
If you’re specifically shopping for iOS split tunneling, the category label doesn’t mean the same thing here that it might mean elsewhere.
Where the comparison stops being decisive
Below platform workflow, the remaining differences are real, but none of them is decisive without a threat model or priority only you can supply.
Secure Core vs Dynamic MultiHop
Both providers offer a form of two hop routing that satisfies a general “route through more than one server” requirement, but the architectures aren’t equivalent.
Proton describes Secure Core as a controlled, hardened core entry design. Surfshark’s Dynamic MultiHop is built around configurable entry and exit geography instead.
Neither is established as more secure in the abstract. Which one serves you better depends on what you’re trying to protect against, and that isn’t something this comparison can determine for you.
Obfuscation
Proton offers Stealth, which is platform bounded. Surfshark offers Camouflage Mode, tied to OpenVPN, and NoBorders as a separate feature.
There’s no established universal winner for bypassing censorship or network restrictions. Effectiveness depends heavily on the specific network involved.
No-logs evidence
Proton VPN has a recurring history of Securitum no logs engagements, though the full scope and exclusions of the most recent 2026 review aren’t completely available. Proton’s apps are also open source, which establishes code transparency rather than proof of what’s actually running on a given server.
Surfshark’s most recent no logs assurance comes from Deloitte in 2025, with the detailed report access bounded rather than fully public. Cure53 and SecuRing engagements exist as separate, earlier evidence.
These are different evidence classes, with different scopes and different access levels, not a count you can add up. More audits doesn’t mean more secure, and neither provider’s evidence settles the comparison outright.
What ecosystem are you actually joining?
Proton’s account ecosystem extends into Mail, Drive, Pass and Calendar, a broader set of privacy focused communication and storage tools under one login.
Surfshark’s extends into Antivirus, Alert, Search, Alternative ID and, depending on plan, Incogni related services, a security and identity monitoring bundle instead.
This is a question about what else you’re choosing to place under the same provider relationship, not a feature count contest. It doesn’t establish that either provider’s backend or data handling is linked across products.
Pricing: why there’s no honest “cheaper” answer yet
Pricing for both providers varies by route, term length, currency, active promotions and any bundled extras, which makes a single, universal comparison unreliable.
Surfshark currently advertises lower looking headline pricing on some long term routes. Whether that holds up on a genuinely equivalent basis, same term, same currency, same promotional conditions, same renewal price, isn’t established here. Surfshark’s Dedicated IP add-on carries its own separate cost on top of a base plan, and Proton’s Free tier is a distinct commercial product, not a discount version of either paid plan.
If price is the deciding factor for you, check current, equivalent term pricing directly before deciding. It isn’t something this comparison can settle in the abstract.
So, which should you choose?
Choose Proton VPN if:
- You need ordinary inbound port forwarding
- You want standing, permanent free access
- You rely on Linux routing or forwarding workflows
Choose Surfshark if:
- You need more than 10 simultaneous device connections
- You want a purchasable Dedicated IP
- You need today’s broader macOS bypass workflow
If none of those applies to you, the evidence here doesn’t support pretending one provider is universally better. The remaining differences, architecture, obfuscation, assurance evidence, ecosystem direction, genuinely depend on your own threat model and priorities, not on anything this comparison can resolve for you. That isn’t a dodge. It’s what the evidence actually shows.
The STACK View
Comparisons like this usually get flattened into a checklist: does it have split tunneling, yes or no. That framing hides more than it reveals.
“Split tunneling,” “Dedicated IP” and “two-hop routing” aren’t fixed technical objects that either exist or don’t. Each one describes something materially different depending on which provider, which platform and which product layer you’re actually looking at. No ordinary consumer Proton VPN Plus Dedicated IP product was established here. Proton’s dedicated infrastructure sits in a separate business tier, while Surfshark sells its Dedicated IP as a consumer add-on. Surfshark’s split tunneling on iOS answers a narrower question than the same label answers on Windows. Secure Core and Dynamic MultiHop both call themselves two-hop routing while emphasizing different parts of the design, and which one matters more depends on the reader’s own threat model.
A checklist comparison would make these two providers look closer than the evidence supports, because it treats matching labels as matching capabilities. They aren’t. The real work of choosing between them is figuring out which specific version of each feature you actually need, not whether the feature appears on a spec sheet.
FAQs
Is Proton VPN better than Surfshark? Neither is universally better. Proton VPN is the better fit if you need port forwarding, standing free access or stronger Linux routing. Surfshark is the better fit if you need more than 10 devices, a Dedicated IP or the current macOS bypass workflow. Outside those requirements, the evidence doesn’t support a universal winner.
Does Surfshark support port forwarding? Surfshark does not support ordinary inbound VPN-tunnel port forwarding. Proton VPN offers paid, dynamic inbound port forwarding instead.
Which supports more devices, Proton VPN or Surfshark? Surfshark publishes an unlimited simultaneous device entitlement, subject to normal account and abuse restrictions. Proton VPN’s paid plans cap simultaneous connections at 10.
Does Proton VPN or Surfshark have a Dedicated IP? Surfshark offers a purchasable consumer Dedicated IP as a paid add-on. No Proton VPN Plus consumer equivalent was established in the current evidence.
Is Proton VPN Free better than Surfshark’s trial? They’re different products. Proton VPN Free is a standing, permanent free tier limited to one device. Surfshark has no permanent free tier. It offers a seven-day qualifying trial and a 30-day refund window instead.
Which is better for privacy, Proton VPN or Surfshark? Both have credible but different no-logs evidence, Proton’s recurring Securitum engagements against Surfshark’s 2025 Deloitte assurance, with different scopes and access levels. Neither is established as clearly stronger on the available evidence.
Continue your research
A head-to-head comparison can tell you which VPN fits this particular decision. It cannot tell you everything worth knowing about the companies, systems and trade-offs behind them.
Go deeper on Proton VPN
- Proton VPN Review
- Is Proton VPN Worth It?
- Is Proton VPN Private?
- Is Proton VPN Safe?
- Who Owns Proton VPN?
- Proton Unlimited Features
Keep comparing
If neither side of this comparison quite fits, keep narrowing the decision: