Our latest Surfshark VPN test showed strong nearby performance in Sweden, where Surfshark retained 95.1% of our VPN-off download speed. UK performance remained good at 83.8% retention, while Germany, US East and Singapore showed progressively larger throughput reductions. Across all five tested VPN regions, our fixed-target stability probe recorded 0% packet loss.
We tested Surfshark using WireGuard across all five Private Proxy Guide core VPN regions. Surfshark performed especially well in Sweden, retaining 95.1% of our VPN-off download speed. UK performance remained strong at 83.8%, while Germany, US East and Singapore showed larger throughput reductions. The stability probe recorded 0% packet loss in every tested region.
What our Surfshark test showed
Surfshark’s strongest result was Sweden, where median download speed reached 89.81 Mbps against our 94.45 Mbps VPN-off baseline. That corresponds to 95.09% speed retention.
The UK also performed well at 83.83% retention. Germany was noticeably weaker at 62.99%, while US East and Singapore retained only 23.30% and 11.51% of baseline download throughput respectively.
Despite those long-distance speed reductions, tunnel stability remained consistent. All five VPN locations recorded 0% packet loss, no detected latency spikes and low stability jitter.
Surfshark speed test results
Our VPN-off baseline was 94.45 Mbps download, 94.58 Mbps upload and 9.12 ms latency. We performed five VPN-off baseline runs and three speed-test runs per Surfshark location. Median values are used for the reported results.
Download speed retained
Speed retention compares the median Surfshark download result with the 94.45 Mbps VPN-off baseline.
Quick interpretation
- Sweden: excellent, essentially near-baseline throughput.
- UK: strong result with 83.8% retained.
- Germany: a more substantial reduction than the other European routes.
- US East: large long-distance throughput reduction.
- Singapore: the lowest throughput in this Surfshark batch.
| Location | Download | Upload | Speed retained | Regional ping | Added latency | Ookla jitter |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sweden | 89.81 Mbps | 90.38 Mbps | 95.09% | 16.68 ms | +7.56 ms | 0.266 ms |
| United Kingdom | 79.18 Mbps | 78.54 Mbps | 83.83% | 27.20 ms | +18.08 ms | 0.269 ms |
| Germany | 59.49 Mbps | 59.56 Mbps | 62.99% | 35.12 ms | +26.00 ms | 2.185 ms |
| US East | 22.01 Mbps | 21.77 Mbps | 23.30% | 94.37 ms | +85.25 ms | 0.260 ms |
| Singapore | 10.87 Mbps | 10.57 Mbps | 11.51% | 190.36 ms | +181.24 ms | 0.182 ms |
Gaming latency and connection stability
For gaming-related testing, we separate regional latency from tunnel stability. Regional ping comes from the locked Ookla test endpoint for each location. A separate 50-packet fixed-target probe measures p95 latency, jitter, packet loss and latency spikes.
| Location | Regional ping | Stability median | p95 | Stability jitter | Packet loss | Spike rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sweden | 16.68 ms | 17 ms | 18 ms | 0.449 ms | 0% | 0% |
| United Kingdom | 27.20 ms | 27 ms | 27 ms | 0.000 ms | 0% | 0% |
| Germany | 35.12 ms | 35 ms | 35 ms | 0.469 ms | 0% | 0% |
| US East | 94.37 ms | 94 ms | 94 ms | 0.429 ms | 0% | 0% |
| Singapore | 190.36 ms | 190 ms | 190 ms | 0.224 ms | 0% | 0% |
Surfshark’s stability results were notably tight even on the long-distance routes. US East had a 94 ms median and 94 ms p95, while Singapore had a 190 ms median and 190 ms p95. No packet loss or latency spikes were detected in any tested region.
Connection time and location validation
The runner measures connection time by detecting the transition to the VPN public IP after the connection process begins. Every Surfshark test region returned the expected exit country.
| Location | Detected connect time | Expected country | Location validation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sweden | 3.17 s | SE | PASS |
| United Kingdom | 4.28 s | GB | PASS |
| Germany | 3.55 s | DE | PASS |
| US East | 5.19 s | US | PASS |
| Singapore | 6.13 s | SG | PASS |
Detected connection timing reflects the public-IP transition observed by the test runner and should not be interpreted as a universal connection time for every Surfshark device or network.
DNS leak testing
IPLeak.net DNS testing was enabled for this Surfshark batch. The runner first recorded the resolver visible with the VPN disconnected and then compared it with resolver IPs observed while connected to each Surfshark location.
| Location | DNS result | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| Sweden | PASS | No resolver IP seen during the VPN-off baseline was reused. |
| United Kingdom | PASS | No resolver IP seen during the VPN-off baseline was reused. |
| Germany | PASS | No resolver IP seen during the VPN-off baseline was reused. |
| US East | PASS | No resolver IP seen during the VPN-off baseline was reused. |
| Singapore | PASS | No resolver IP seen during the VPN-off baseline was reused. |
All five regions returned the automated classification PASS_NO_BASELINE_RESOLVER_REUSED. This test checks whether the VPN-off resolver is still visible; it does not by itself establish ownership of every DNS resolver involved.
IPv4, IPv6 and security observations
- IPv4 exit validation: PASS in all five Surfshark locations. The public IPv4 changed and the detected country matched the requested PPG region.
- IPv6: INCONCLUSIVE BASELINE. The baseline IPv6 endpoints could not be resolved, so this test batch cannot reliably establish baseline IPv6 availability or make a Pass/Fail claim about IPv6 handling.
- DNS resolver comparison: PASS across all five tested locations.
- BrowserLeaks: not enabled in this Surfshark batch.
- Kill switch: not tested in this batch.
Test evidence
The Surfshark test produced raw speed measurements, fixed-target stability data, DNS resolver evidence and automated screenshots for the baseline and all five VPN locations.
Raw screenshots and evidence may contain public IP addresses or environment-specific information and should be reviewed before public publication.
How we tested Surfshark
- Plan: Surfshark paid plan.
- Application: Surfshark 6.16.0 for Windows.
- Protocol: WireGuard.
- Baseline: 5 VPN-off Ookla runs.
- Core PPG regions: Sweden, United Kingdom, Germany, US East and Singapore.
- Core-region coverage: 5/5.
- Speed testing: 3 runs per VPN region, reported using medians.
- Regional Speedtest locking: enabled.
- Post-connect stabilization: 20 seconds.
- Gaming stability: 50 ICMP samples against the fixed stability target.
- IPLeak.net DNS test: enabled.
- Automatic screenshots: enabled.
- BrowserLeaks evidence: not enabled.
- Kill-switch test: not enabled.
Raw Surfshark speed-test runs
The summary tables above use median values. The individual measurements used to calculate those medians are available below.
Show all 20 individual speed-test runs
Baseline – VPN disconnected
| Run | Download | Upload | Ping | Jitter | Loss | Ookla server |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | 93.17 Mbps | 94.83 Mbps | 17.96 ms | 7.353 ms | 0% | Telenor Denmark, Søborg |
| #2 | 94.86 Mbps | 94.73 Mbps | 9.07 ms | 0.273 ms | 0% | Telenor Denmark, Søborg |
| #3 | 94.73 Mbps | 93.98 Mbps | 9.14 ms | 0.362 ms | 0% | Telenor Denmark, Søborg |
| #4 | 94.22 Mbps | 94.58 Mbps | 9.12 ms | 0.139 ms | 0% | Telenor Denmark, Søborg |
| #5 | 94.45 Mbps | 94.46 Mbps | 9.09 ms | 0.093 ms | 0% | Telenor Denmark, Søborg |
Sweden
| Run | Download | Upload | Ping | Jitter | Loss | Ookla server |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | 89.51 Mbps | 90.25 Mbps | 16.68 ms | 0.266 ms | 0% | Tele2 Sweden, Stockholm |
| #2 | 89.81 Mbps | 90.38 Mbps | 16.62 ms | 0.209 ms | 0% | Tele2 Sweden, Stockholm |
| #3 | 89.85 Mbps | 90.49 Mbps | 16.77 ms | 0.682 ms | 0% | Tele2 Sweden, Stockholm |
United Kingdom
| Run | Download | Upload | Ping | Jitter | Loss | Ookla server |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | 78.67 Mbps | 77.69 Mbps | 48.88 ms | 10.210 ms | 0% | Structured Communications, London |
| #2 | 79.18 Mbps | 79.18 Mbps | 27.11 ms | 0.101 ms | 0% | Structured Communications, London |
| #3 | 79.84 Mbps | 78.54 Mbps | 27.20 ms | 0.269 ms | 0% | Structured Communications, London |
Germany
| Run | Download | Upload | Ping | Jitter | Loss | Ookla server |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | 59.32 Mbps | 56.80 Mbps | 35.57 ms | 2.185 ms | 0% | 23M GmbH, Frankfurt am Main |
| #2 | 60.26 Mbps | 59.56 Mbps | 35.12 ms | 0.083 ms | 0% | 23M GmbH, Frankfurt am Main |
| #3 | 59.49 Mbps | 59.72 Mbps | 34.97 ms | 3.495 ms | 0% | 23M GmbH, Frankfurt am Main |
US East
| Run | Download | Upload | Ping | Jitter | Loss | Ookla server |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | 22.01 Mbps | 21.77 Mbps | 94.37 ms | 0.230 ms | 0% | Natural Wireless, New York, NY |
| #2 | 22.01 Mbps | 21.80 Mbps | 94.62 ms | 0.260 ms | 0% | Natural Wireless, New York, NY |
| #3 | 22.02 Mbps | 21.72 Mbps | 94.27 ms | 0.316 ms | 0% | Natural Wireless, New York, NY |
Singapore
| Run | Download | Upload | Ping | Jitter | Loss | Ookla server |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | 10.86 Mbps | 10.57 Mbps | 190.36 ms | 0.174 ms | 0% | Symphony Communication PCL, Singapore |
| #2 | 10.88 Mbps | 10.93 Mbps | 189.95 ms | 0.182 ms | 0% | Symphony Communication PCL, Singapore |
| #3 | 10.87 Mbps | 8.19 Mbps | 191.24 ms | 0.554 ms | 0% | Symphony Communication PCL, Singapore |
Surfshark test conclusion
Surfshark performed very well on our closest test route. Sweden retained 95.09% of baseline download speed, with 16.68 ms regional latency, an 18 ms stability p95 and 0% packet loss.
The UK also produced a strong result at 83.83% speed retention. Germany was less efficient in this batch at 62.99%, while the long-distance US East and Singapore routes retained 23.30% and 11.51% respectively.
One of Surfshark’s strongest characteristics in this test was consistency. All five core regions recorded 0% packet loss, no detected stability spikes and successful DNS resolver separation from the VPN-off baseline.
This dataset describes Surfshark’s standard paid Windows connection using WireGuard. It does not establish performance for MultiHop, Static IP, Dedicated IP, streaming unblocking, torrenting, specific game servers or kill-switch behavior because those were not separately tested in this batch.