Surfshark vs Hide.me: the bigger toolkit or the policy that logs less
Surfshark scores 5.30 and Hide.me 3.97 out of 10. Surfshark leads overall; the table shows where each one is stronger.
Surfshark vs Hide.me
| What we compare | Surfshark | Hide.me |
|---|---|---|
| Our score | 5.30 (better) | 3.97 |
| Privacy and jurisdiction | 4.4 | 5.0 (better) |
| Security and protocols | 6.1 (better) | 2.5 |
| Price and fair terms | 5.7 (better) | 5.4 |
| Censorship bypass | 1.9 | 1.9 |
| Network and streaming | 7.2 (better) | 3.1 |
| Platforms and support | 9.0 (better) | 5.7 |
| Cheapest price, € a month | €2.14 (better) | €2.69 |
| Renewal vs first term | — | 1.0× |
| Refund window, days | 30 | 30 |
| Free plan | — | Yes (better) |
| Independent no-logs audit | Yes | Yes |
| Kill switch | Yes | Yes |
| WireGuard | Yes | Yes |
| Obfuscation | Yes | Yes |
| Crypto payments | Yes | Yes |
| Jurisdiction | Netherlands (9 Eyes) | Malaysia |
| Platforms supported | 12 (better) | 9 |
Surfshark finishes ahead on VPNRadarLab, 5.30 to 3.97 of 10, taking four of six scored areas: security and protocols, price and terms, network, and apps and support. Hide.me keeps privacy to itself, and censorship bypass ends level. Choose Surfshark for the fuller toolkit and cheaper entry; choose Hide.me for its logging terms, free tier and a renewal that never rises.
What Surfshark's lead rests on
Surfshark documents much more of its own infrastructure: RAM-only servers, two-factor sign-in, Dynamic MultiHop double-VPN routes at no extra cost, plus Deloitte and Cure53 reviews. Hide.me leaves most of that blank on its pages, and a scoring system that counts published facts awards nothing for silence. Its kill switch ships disabled, so a dropped tunnel on café Wi-Fi can leak your real address until you enable it manually. Both support WireGuard, OpenVPN and IKEv2; Hide.me adds SSTP and SoftEther.
The area Hide.me wins: what each policy records
Surfshark's privacy policy holds the connection IP and session times for up to 15 minutes after a session, and its Dutch base places it in the 9 Eyes alliance. Hide.me states it keeps no connection logs and no timestamps matching incoming and outgoing IPs. Surfshark recovers ground through a transparency report and named auditors; Hide.me mentions audits but names nobody who ran them. Surfshark B.V. sits in Amsterdam (KvK 81967985); Hide.me belongs to eVenture Limited, registration LL09685, on Labuan in Malaysia. Details are on our Hide.me safety page.
A level score on networks that block VPNs
Each provider offers a single disguise feature: NoBorders (Android, iOS, macOS, Windows) at Surfshark, StealthGuard with SoftEther at Hide.me. Neither publishes VLESS Reality, Trojan, Shadowsocks or Hysteria2, the protocols that usually survive heavy filtering. A mildly restrictive campus network may accept either; under strict national censorship, expect trouble with both.
Three Surfshark tiers, one Hide.me Premium: first bill and renewal
| Plan | Term | Total | Per month | Renews at |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Surfshark Starter | 27 months | $67.23 | $2.49 | not published |
| Surfshark One | 27 months | $67.23 | $2.49 | not published |
| Surfshark One+ | 27 months | $121.23 | $4.49 | not published |
| Hide.me Premium 24+2 | 26 months | €69.99 | €2.69 | same price, same length |
| Hide.me Premium 1 month | 1 month | €11.99 | €11.99 | same price, same length |
Converted on the site, Surfshark's cheapest plan lands at €2.14 a month against Hide.me's €2.69, and the trial plus self-service cancelling keep the price area on Surfshark's side. Hide.me's Pricing Guarantee copies every renewal from the first bill, while Surfshark never prints its renewal figure: a few weeks before the 27 months end, look the amount up in your account, since the second invoice may differ.
Week-long trial or a free tier, and the refund terms
Surfshark grants a 7-day trial on 12- and 24-month plans, but it demands a card, PayPal or Apple Pay and bills automatically unless you cancel. Hide.me skips the trial and instead runs a permanent free tier: unlimited data, 8 locations, one device, capped speeds, no payment method requested. Both refund within 30 days; Surfshark lists exceptions such as recurring payments and gift or prepaid cards on its refund page, while Hide.me leaves its conditions unpublished. Both accept cards, PayPal, Apple Pay and crypto; Hide.me adds SEPA, SOFORT and bank transfer plus nine coins from BTC to USDC.
Households, home servers and routers: which service fits the job
Families get no device ceiling at Surfshark under fair usage, along with router and smart TV apps, so one router install covers the console and the Fire TV. Hide.me stops at ten devices on Premium, yet Premium includes a fixed IP and dynamic port forwarding, exactly what reaching a home media server or seeding torrents properly requires. Surfshark answers chat around the clock and blocks ads and trackers in-app; Hide.me points users to Telegram, Discord and a community forum instead of a 24/7 chat promise.
Surfshark and Hide.me: questions readers ask
Is Surfshark faster or better for streaming than Hide.me?
Unknown. VPNRadarLab scores what providers publish rather than measuring speeds, and no streaming service is named by either company.
Which one is better for torrenting?
Surfshark marks dedicated P2P servers. Hide.me offers port forwarding, useful for seeding, but publishes no torrenting policy.
What is the downside of Surfshark?
The 15-minute connection IP window, the Netherlands' 9 Eyes membership and a renewal price it never publishes.
The short pick
- Big household, router install, blocker included: Surfshark.
- Home server, fixed IP, open ports: Hide.me Premium.
- No budget at all: the Hide.me free tier.