Exclusive deal: Get Surfshark's unlimited VPN connections for over two years at just $1.78 per month

Save 11%

Surfshark Starter | Two-year subscription + four months free: was $1.99 now $1.78 at get.surfshark.net

For a short time you can save a few dollars on an already-cheap Surfshark Starter sub, which gives you unlimited device connections and some other useful features like its CleanWeb ad and malware blocker.

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If like me you've been wary of the increasingly dystopian way the digital world seems to be heading over recent years, you've probably also considered getting a VPN to help keep your activity, data, and identity a little more private online. There are a fair few options and most of them share roughly the same features—so how to choose?

Well, low cost is an obvious plus, and in that regard Surfshark's leading the pack with a $1.89 per month cost for 24 months, but you can get an exclusive four months extra free with us, making it just $1.78 per month. Surfshark was already quite a bit cheaper than most VPN subscriptions at just $1.99 per month, so the extra knocked off is more of a slight clincher than anything else, but a clincher nonetheless.

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Given the low overall cost, it's usually worth going for a 1–2 year sub on cheap VPNs, and that's certainly the case here, not least because you're getting four extra months tacked onto the end rather than the usual three, for a total of 28 months of coverage for $49.84 total. That is, provided you nab this deal by April 19, as after then it drops back to the regular extra three.

One of the main benefits of Surfshark, apart from being the best cheap VPN for gaming, is that it allows for service on unlimited devices—say, for your own different devices plus those of family members. You also get a network-level ad and malware blocker, and a feature called Alt ID, which essentially gives you a fake digital persona and masked email address to further protect your privacy and increase security.

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Local VPN network performance

Local speed test (Dublin)Local latency test (Dublin)

Surfshark

1615

CyberGhost

674

Norton VPN

1752

Proton VPN

1521

05001,0001,5002,000

Download (Mbps)

Local speed test (Dublin) Data

Product	Value
Surfshark	1615
CyberGhost	674
Norton VPN	1752
Proton VPN	1521

Latency (ms)

Jitter

Surfshark

21.7

2.3

CyberGhost

12.6

3.7

Proton VPN

14.2

5.2

07.51522.530

Local latency test (Dublin) Data

Product	Value
Surfshark	21.7 Latency (ms), 2.3 Jitter
CyberGhost	12.6 Latency (ms), 3.7 Jitter
Norton VPN	N/A
Proton VPN	14.2 Latency (ms), 5.2 Jitter

We use a cloud PC based in Dublin and we perform two speed tests for each VPN. The first is to the nearest server to the cloud PC for each VPN, i.e. a Dublin server. The second batch is a transatlantic connection to the US from Dublin. We then take several data points for each and use a median average to get our final numbers.

Long-range performance

Long-range speed test (Dublin - US)Long-range latency test (Dublin - US)

Surfshark

355

CyberGhost

406

Norton VPN

739

Proton VPN

1242

03757501,1251,500

Download (Mbps)

Long-range speed test (Dublin - US) Data

Product	Value
Surfshark	355
CyberGhost	406
Norton VPN	739
Proton VPN	1242

Latency (ms)

Jitter

Surfshark

171

27.5

CyberGhost

78

2.8

Proton VPN

90.6

28.3

050100150200

Long-range latency test (Dublin - US) Data

Product	Value
Surfshark	171 Latency (ms), 27.5 Jitter
CyberGhost	78 Latency (ms), 2.8 Jitter
Norton VPN	N/A
Proton VPN	90.6 Latency (ms), 28.3 Jitter

We use a cloud PC based in Dublin and we perform two speed tests for each VPN. The first is to the nearest server to the cloud PC for each VPN, i.e. a Dublin server. The second batch is a transatlantic connection to the US from Dublin. We then take several data points for each and use a median average to get our final numbers.

It might not be traditionally thought of as useful for gaming, but a VPN can help with privacy there, too. It can sometimes help with bad routing and might help with ISP throttling if you're one of the unlucky ones facing that, but probably the biggest benefit is just that extra peace of mind that you're much less able to be doxxed when your privacy's hidden by a VPN. Just don't use it to get around region restrictions, as that's something that runs the risk of a ban.

At any rate, though, PC gamers don't tend to only play games, and for everything else, a VPN adds that extra layer of privacy to your online doings. Considering how sneaky sites and services can be these days in their relentless guzzling up of our data and tracking of our digital movements, it's worth considering.

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