Surfshark vs CyberGhost VPN: unlimited devices and stealth, or Romania and longer refunds

Surfshark scores 5.30 of 10 against CyberGhost VPN's 4.18 and leads five of the six scored areas, so it is the safer all-round buy. CyberGhost stays the pick for privacy terms, the lowest first bill and a longer refund window on half-year and longer plans. VPNRadarLab scores published documents only: no speed or streaming tests run for this comparison.

Why Surfshark's audit does not win it the privacy area

A Deloitte team has verified Surfshark's no-logs promise, the heaviest single privacy item in scoring, yet the area still goes to CyberGhost. Surfshark's policy says the servers store the connection IP with your user ID and timestamps for up to 15 minutes after each session, and the company, Surfshark B.V., sits in Amsterdam inside the 9 Eyes alliance. CyberGhost's policy claims no connection IP and no session times at all, and CyberGhost S.R.L., owned by Kape Technologies PLC, answers to no Eyes group from Bucharest. The weak point for CyberGhost: it publishes no independent no-logs audit, so its lead rests on trust in its own text. Both publish transparency reports, neither keeps a warrant canary, and both demand an email at sign-up. The full logging picture sits on the Surfshark safety page.

RAM-only servers, MultiHop and NoBorders: where Surfshark pulls ahead

Kill switch, WireGuard, OpenVPN and IKEv2 are on both lists, plus a security audit on record each. Surfshark adds RAM-only servers, two-factor sign-in, and Dynamic MultiHop double-VPN routing at no extra cost; CyberGhost does not publish any of those three. On bypass the gap widens. Behind a hotel firewall that drops VPN handshakes, Surfshark's NoBorders obfuscation mode (Android, iOS, macOS, Windows) gives you something to switch on. CyberGhost publishes no stealth mode at all, which leaves its bypass score at zero, and even Surfshark's stays low since neither service offers VLESS, Trojan, Shadowsocks or Hysteria2.

Twelve platforms each, so what lifts Surfshark's apps score

The platform lists match line by line: Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Android TV, Fire TV, Apple TV, smart TVs, routers, consoles, browser extensions. The difference is what the apps do. Split tunnelling (Bypasser) keeps banking apps outside the tunnel, the ad and tracker blocker cleans pages, and 24/7 live chat answers when you travel. CyberGhost publishes none of those three. Surfshark has extensions for Chrome, Firefox and Edge, while CyberGhost's Chrome and Firefox extensions work as proxies. Households feel the connection rule: unlimited devices under fair usage for Surfshark, a hard cap of seven on CyberGhost.

Server count against 10 Gbps ports

CyberGhost lists roughly twice as many servers (9,600 across 125+ locations) as Surfshark's 4,500+, both spread over 100 countries with P2P and dedicated-IP options. Fewer machines at 10 Gbps ports is what tips the network score toward Surfshark. Neither provider names Netflix, BBC iPlayer or Disney+ in its claims, so streaming bonuses score for nobody here.

Plan prices: a cheaper CyberGhost start, an unknown Surfshark renewal

CyberGhost is cheaper in euros at the start too: €1.71 a month against €2.14 for Surfshark. The damage comes later. CyberGhost's yearly renewal of $51.74 works out near $4.31 a month, more than double its intro rate, and that jump is the main reason its price score sinks to 3.6. Surfshark keeps its renewal figure off the page entirely, so your second bill is unknown; set a reminder weeks before the 27 months run out and check the rate. Plan-by-plan numbers live on the CyberGhost pricing page.

Trial, refund windows and ways to pay

CyberGhost refunds for 45 days on plans of six months or longer and 14 days on monthly ones. Surfshark sticks to 30 days from the first purchase, and the guarantee does not cover recurring payments, gift or prepaid cards or some resellers. The 7-day free trial exists only on 12- and 24-month Surfshark plans and requires a card, PayPal or Apple Pay, charged automatically if you forget to cancel. Crypto at checkout: Surfshark takes it through Coingate; CyberGhost names Bitcoin via BitPay in its privacy policy but not at checkout. Both renew automatically by default and let you cancel from the account or by email.

Surfshark or CyberGhost: reader questions

Does VPNRadarLab measure speed or Netflix access?

No. We score what each provider publishes; speed and streaming tests are outside this comparison.

Can I torrent on both?

Yes, each marks dedicated P2P servers.

How many devices can I connect?

Unlimited within fair usage on Surfshark (the trial allows 3), seven on CyberGhost.

The pick by situation

• Household with many devices, travel through censored networks: Surfshark.
• Lowest entry cost and the longest refund window: CyberGhost, on a half-year or longer plan.
• Stricter logging terms and a jurisdiction outside the Eyes alliances: CyberGhost, accepting that no auditor has checked its claims.