Surfshark review for crypto users
Last reviewed 2026-08-26
Ownership disclosure
Surfshark is the cheap end of the audited tier, and the one service here that puts no cap at all on simultaneous devices, so a household runs on a single subscription.
Deloitte has verified the no-logs claim, most recently in an engagement announced in June 2025, examining the server configurations behind the policy rather than the wording of the policy itself. Before that, Cure53 audited the infrastructure and browser extensions. The servers run from RAM. What is missing is any real-world test: no seizure, subpoena or court case has publicly challenged the claim.
The ownership question deserves a straight answer. Surfshark and Nord Security completed a merger in February 2022, and Surfshark's own announcement says the two groups "continue to operate as autonomous companies relying on separate infrastructures and different product development plans". Both statements are true at once: the brands share a corporate parent and do not share servers. For a reader picking two providers for redundancy, the parent is the part that matters.
Crypto payment goes through CoinGate and covers bitcoin plus several other coins. The refund clause is the weak point: Surfshark's terms refund a crypto purchase in the same cryptocurrency but calculate it "based on the rate of exchange at the moment of refund", so a rise in the bitcoin price between purchase and refund means fewer coins come back. An email address is required to create the account.
- Owned by
- Nord Security
- Jurisdiction
- Netherlands
- Eyes alliance
- Nine Eyes member
- Price
- Roughly $2.49 per month on the two-year Starter term for the first billing period, rising on renewal; monthly billing costs several times that.
- Money-back
- 30 days (Applies to the initial purchase only, and excludes prepaid or gift-card payments, anonymous Dedicated IP and Alternative ID add-ons.)
- Free tier
- None
- Protocols
- WireGuard, OpenVPN, IKEv2
- Servers
- Vendor states more than 4,500 servers across 100 countries, all upgraded to 10Gbps ports
- Pay with crypto
- bitcoin, litecoin, ethereum, bitcoin cash, dogecoin
The evidence for the no-logs claim
A no-logs policy is a sentence on a website until someone checks. This is what has actually been checked for Surfshark, dated, with the primary source for each item.
Independent audits
Paying with bitcoin
Coins accepted
bitcoin, litecoin, ethereum, bitcoin cash, dogecoin
Processor
CoinGate
Anonymous signup
No
An email address is required to create the account, and a crypto wallet is needed to complete the CoinGate checkout.
The refund sentence that governs a crypto purchase, from Surfshark's own policy:
“For payments made in cryptocurrency, the equivalent amount in US Dollars is refunded in the same cryptocurrency (based on the rate of exchange at the moment of refund).” refund policy
What it does for a bitcoin user
- No limit on simultaneous device connections, unlike every other service here
- Deloitte has verified the no-logs claim, most recently in 2025
- Merged into the Nord Security group in February 2022, on separate infrastructure
- Netherlands base, inside the Nine Eyes alliance
What it will not do: bypass KYC, hide on-chain activity, or make a geo-blocked exchange usable. Presenting a false location to an exchange breaches its terms of service and is how accounts get frozen with the balance inside. Details in the VPN guide.
Pros and cons
What works
- Unlimited devices on a single subscription, which no rival here matches
- Repeated Deloitte assurance on the no-logs configuration
- Accepts a wide spread of coins through CoinGate
- Among the lowest introductory prices of the audited services
What to watch
- Crypto refunds are calculated at the exchange rate on the refund date, so a price rise costs you coins
- The Netherlands sits inside the Nine Eyes alliance
- Shares a corporate parent with NordVPN, which is also reviewed here
- No seizure or court case has ever tested the no-logs claim in public
Frequently asked questions
Is Surfshark owned by NordVPN?
They are sibling brands rather than one owning the other. Surfshark and Nord Security completed a merger in February 2022, and both say they keep separate infrastructure and independent product development.
What happens to a bitcoin payment if I want a refund?
Surfshark refunds crypto purchases in the same cryptocurrency, but calculates the amount from the exchange rate at the moment of the refund, so a rising bitcoin price means you receive fewer coins than you sent.
How many devices can I use at once?
There is no limit. Every Surfshark plan allows unlimited simultaneous connections, which is the main practical advantage it holds over the other services reviewed here.
Has Surfshark's no-logs claim been independently checked?
Yes, by Deloitte, which examined the server configurations behind the policy, most recently in an engagement announced in June 2025. No court case or seizure has tested it.