Private Internet Access vs Surfshark

Private Internet Access and Surfshark both list 98 countries. 15 countries are listed only by Private Internet Access, and 2 only by Surfshark.¹

What our measurements show

98 countries are in both lists. Our measurements confirm the listed country for Private Internet Access in 50 of them and for Surfshark in 50. In the rest, no location has been measured yet, or the measurement does not allow a conclusion.
For 1 of Private Internet Access's 215 measured locations, the server is outside the listed country. Measurements on two days showed this, and Private Internet Access's list does not mark any of them as virtual.
At 41 of Private Internet Access's measured locations, the server is outside the listed country. Private Internet Access's own list marks each one as virtual.
For 1 of Surfshark's 142 measured locations, the server is outside the listed country. Measurements on two days showed this, and Surfshark's list does not mark any of them as virtual.
At 15 of Surfshark's measured locations, the server is outside the listed country. Surfshark's own list marks each one as virtual.
Both lists mark virtual locations: 45 % of Private Internet Access's locations and 33 % of Surfshark's.
In 20 of the 98 countries both list, servers of both providers are in the same network, for example M247 Europe SRL in the United Arab Emirates. In those countries, switching to the other provider does not get you a different network.
On a first visit, Private Internet Access's home page loads 4 advertising or analytics services and Surfshark's loads 6, before anything is clicked.

From our own data: the server lists we read, our measurements, and our check of each home page. Apps, speed, and streaming are not tested.²

Private Internet Access
Surfshark

Metric	Private Internet Access	Surfshark
Countries	113	100
Countries not listed only as virtual	51	54
Locations	215	142
Servers listed	545	142
Marked as virtual	45 %	33 %
Measured	215	142
Matches the country	102	69
Server outside the country	42	16
Networks	20	20
Locations in shared networks	95 %	55 %
In Fourteen Eyes countries	47 %	39 %
Third-party services loaded	9	8
Advertising or analytics services among them	4	6
Lowest price per month	$2.03	$2.49
Per month after the initial term	$2.19	$8.25
Server list source	the list the provider's own published tools read	a public list the provider does not document

A dash: not in the list, or not collected yet.³

Country by country

Each row is a country that both providers list. In each of them, at least one provider has a measured location or both use the same network. The status comes from our own measurement of the server address each provider publishes. “Within … km” means the server is at most that far from the listed country.

Country	Private Internet Access	Surfshark	Same network⁴
Albania	matches the country within 49 km	no conclusion possible	no shared network
Algeria	virtual, as stated	no conclusion possible	no shared network
Andorra	server outside the country	no conclusion possible	no shared network
Argentina	matches the country matches the country within 36 km 2 locations	virtual, as stated	no shared network
Armenia	virtual, as stated	no conclusion possible	no shared network
Australia	matches the country no conclusion possible matches the country no conclusion possible matches the country matches the country no conclusion possible within 33 km 7 locations	no conclusion possible no conclusion possible matches the country no conclusion possible matches the country within 29 km 5 locations	no shared network
Austria	matches the country matches the country within 45 km 2 locations	matches the country within 74 km	Datacamp Limited
Azerbaijan	no conclusion possible	no conclusion possible	no shared network
Bahamas	matches the country within 907 km	no conclusion possible	no shared network
Bangladesh	virtual, as stated	virtual, as stated	no shared network
Belgium	matches the country matches the country within 22 km 2 locations	matches the country matches the country within 10 km 2 locations	Datacamp Limited
Bhutan	virtual, as stated	no conclusion possible	no shared network
Bolivia	virtual, as stated	no conclusion possible	no shared network
Bosnia & Herzegovina	no conclusion possible	no conclusion possible	no shared network
Brazil	matches the country matches the country within 62 km 2 locations	matches the country within 31 km	no shared network
Brunei	virtual, as stated	no conclusion possible	no shared network
Bulgaria	matches the country within 40 km	matches the country within 37 km	Datacamp Limited
Cambodia	virtual, as stated	no conclusion possible	no shared network
Canada	matches the country matches the country matches the country matches the country no conclusion possible within 18 km 5 locations	matches the country matches the country no conclusion possible within 37 km 3 locations	Datacamp Limited
Chile	matches the country matches the country within 78 km 2 locations	matches the country within 182 km	no shared network
Colombia	matches the country within 62 km	matches the country within 43 km	Datacamp Limited
Costa Rica	no conclusion possible	no conclusion possible	no shared network
Croatia	matches the country within 5 km	matches the country within 5 km	Datacamp Limited
Cyprus	no conclusion possible	no conclusion possible	no shared network
Czechia	matches the country within 55 km	matches the country within 61 km	no shared network
Denmark	matches the country matches the country within 124 km 2 locations	matches the country within 24 km	no shared network
Ecuador	virtual, as stated	no conclusion possible	no shared network
Egypt	virtual, as stated	virtual, as stated	no shared network
Estonia	matches the country within 603 km	no conclusion possible	no shared network
Finland	matches the country matches the country within 952 km 2 locations	matches the country within 66 km	no shared network
France	matches the country matches the country within 748 km 2 locations	no conclusion possible no conclusion possible matches the country within 420 km 3 locations	no shared network
Georgia	no conclusion possible	no conclusion possible	no shared network
Germany	matches the country no conclusion possible no conclusion possible within 358 km 3 locations	matches the country matches the country within 333 km 2 locations	Datacamp Limited
Ghana	virtual, as stated	no conclusion possible	no shared network
Greece	matches the country within 95 km	matches the country within 95 km	Datacamp Limited
Greenland	virtual, as stated	virtual, as stated	no shared network
Hong Kong SAR China	virtual, as stated	matches the country within 28 km	no shared network
Hungary	matches the country matches the country within 32 km 2 locations	matches the country within 34 km	Datacamp Limited
Iceland	no conclusion possible	no conclusion possible	no shared network
India	virtual, as stated	virtual, as stated virtual, as stated 2 locations	no shared network
Indonesia	matches the country within 110 km	matches the country within 49 km	no shared network
Ireland	matches the country within 146 km	matches the country within 51 km	Datacamp Limited
Isle of Man	no conclusion possible	no conclusion possible	no shared network
Israel	matches the country matches the country within 11 km 2 locations	matches the country within 122 km	Datacamp Limited
Italy	matches the country matches the country matches the country within 29 km 3 locations	matches the country matches the country within 19 km 2 locations	no shared network
Japan	matches the country matches the country within 26 km 2 locations	matches the country within 28 km	no shared network
Kazakhstan	no conclusion possible	no conclusion possible	no shared network
Laos	virtual, as stated	no conclusion possible	no shared network
Latvia	matches the country within 67 km	matches the country within 99 km	no shared network
Liechtenstein	no conclusion possible	no conclusion possible	no shared network
Lithuania	matches the country matches the country within 25 km 2 locations	matches the country within 30 km	no shared network
Luxembourg	matches the country matches the country within 182 km 2 locations	matches the country within 770 km	no shared network
Macao SAR China	virtual, as stated	matches the country within 53 km	no shared network
Malaysia	matches the country within 531 km	matches the country within 385 km	no shared network
Malta	virtual, as stated	no conclusion possible	no shared network
Mexico	matches the country matches the country within 95 km 2 locations	matches the country within 49 km	Latitude.sh
Moldova	matches the country within 29 km	matches the country within 807 km	no shared network
Monaco	no conclusion possible	no conclusion possible	no shared network
Mongolia	virtual, as stated	virtual, as stated	no shared network
Montenegro	virtual, as stated	no conclusion possible	no shared network
Morocco	no conclusion possible	no conclusion possible	no shared network
Myanmar (Burma)	virtual, as stated	virtual, as stated	no shared network
Nepal	virtual, as stated	virtual, as stated	no shared network
Netherlands	matches the country matches the country within 34 km 2 locations	matches the country within 82 km	no shared network
New Zealand	matches the country no conclusion possible within 36 km 2 locations	matches the country within 21 km	no shared network
Nigeria	virtual, as stated	matches the country within 14 km	no shared network
North Macedonia	matches the country within 23 km	no conclusion possible	no shared network
Norway	no conclusion possible	matches the country within 52 km	no shared network
Pakistan	virtual, as stated	virtual, as stated	no shared network
Panama	no conclusion possible	no conclusion possible	no shared network
Peru	virtual, as stated	matches the country within 29 km	no shared network
Philippines	virtual, as stated	no conclusion possible	no shared network
Poland	matches the country matches the country within 93 km 2 locations	matches the country matches the country within 88 km 2 locations	no shared network
Portugal	matches the country no conclusion possible within 37 km 2 locations	matches the country matches the country within 234 km 2 locations	no shared network
Puerto Rico	virtual, as stated	no conclusion possible	no shared network
Romania	no conclusion possible matches the country within 871 km 2 locations	no conclusion possible	Datacamp Limited
Saudi Arabia	virtual, as stated	virtual, as stated	no shared network
Serbia	matches the country matches the country within 9 km 2 locations	matches the country within 42 km	M247 Europe SRL
Singapore	matches the country matches the country within 76 km 2 locations	matches the country within 99 km	no shared network
Slovakia	matches the country matches the country within 47 km 2 locations	matches the country within 140 km	no shared network
Slovenia	matches the country within 68 km	matches the country within 10 km	no shared network
South Africa	matches the country matches the country within 29 km 2 locations	matches the country within 101 km	Datacamp Limited
South Korea	matches the country matches the country within 100 km 2 locations	matches the country within 112 km	no shared network
Spain	matches the country matches the country matches the country within 41 km 3 locations	matches the country matches the country matches the country within 40 km 3 locations	Datacamp Limited
Sri Lanka	virtual, as stated	virtual, as stated	no shared network
Sweden	matches the country matches the country within 21 km 2 locations	matches the country within 20 km	no shared network
Switzerland	matches the country matches the country within 15 km 2 locations	matches the country within 19 km	Datacamp Limited
Taiwan	matches the country matches the country within 23 km 2 locations	matches the country within 13 km	no shared network
Thailand	virtual, as stated	server outside the country	no shared network
Türkiye	virtual, as stated	matches the country within 291 km	no shared network
Ukraine	no conclusion possible	matches the country within 19 km	no shared network
United Arab Emirates	matches the country within 13 km	no finding	M247 Europe SRL
United Kingdom	matches the country matches the country matches the country matches the country matches the country within 134 km 5 locations	matches the country no conclusion possible matches the country matches the country within 214 km 4 locations	M247 Europe SRL
United States	matches the country no conclusion possible matches the country no conclusion possible no conclusion possible no conclusion possible no conclusion possible no conclusion possible no conclusion possible no conclusion possible no conclusion possible matches the country no conclusion possible no conclusion possible no conclusion possible no conclusion possible matches the country no conclusion possible no conclusion possible no conclusion possible matches the country no conclusion possible no conclusion possible matches the country no conclusion possible matches the country no conclusion possible matches the country no conclusion possible no conclusion possible no conclusion possible no conclusion possible matches the country no conclusion possible no conclusion possible no conclusion possible no conclusion possible matches the country matches the country matches the country matches the country no conclusion possible no conclusion possible no conclusion possible matches the country no conclusion possible no conclusion possible no conclusion possible no conclusion possible no conclusion possible no conclusion possible no conclusion possible matches the country no conclusion possible no conclusion possible no conclusion possible within 46 km 56 locations	no conclusion possible no conclusion possible no conclusion possible no conclusion possible matches the country matches the country no conclusion possible no conclusion possible no conclusion possible no conclusion possible no conclusion possible matches the country matches the country matches the country matches the country no conclusion possible matches the country matches the country no conclusion possible matches the country no conclusion possible no conclusion possible no conclusion possible no conclusion possible within 21 km 24 locations	Clouvider Limited, Datacamp Limited, M247 Europe SRL
Uruguay	virtual, as stated	virtual, as stated	no shared network
Uzbekistan	virtual, as stated	virtual, as stated	no shared network
Venezuela	virtual, as stated	no conclusion possible	no shared network
Vietnam	virtual, as stated	no conclusion possible	no shared network

Countries listed by both providers or by only one of them

Countries listed by Private Internet Access or Surfshark

listed by both: 98 (85 %)
only Private Internet Access: 15 (13 %)
only Surfshark: 2 (2 %)

only Private Internet Access (15)

only Surfshark (2)

Networks both use

4 networks host locations from both Private Internet Access and Surfshark.⁴

Clouvider Limited
Datacamp Limited
Latitude.sh
M247 Europe SRL

Private Internet Access or Surfshark: questions and answers

Which is better, Private Internet Access or Surfshark?

This site does not pick a winner: which one fits depends on what matters to you. Private Internet Access lists 113 countries, Surfshark lists 100. Private Internet Access's pricing page promises a refund within 30 days, Surfshark's within 30 days. Private Internet Access is based in the United States, Surfshark in the Netherlands.

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Which is cheaper, Private Internet Access or Surfshark?

Both state prices in the same currency: Private Internet Access starts at $2.03 and Surfshark at $2.49 per month for the initial term. After the initial term, Private Internet Access costs $2.19 and Surfshark $8.25 per month.

VPN prices compared