In this video, I put Surfshark vs Proton VPN through a real head-to-head test across eight categories: company background/jurisdiction, features, speed, streaming + torrenting, security, privacy/logging, and overall value. I’m not interested in marketing claims—I ran the numbers, checked the server architecture, and read the fine print so you don’t have to. We also talked about the trust layer first, because a VPN is useless if the company behind it can’t be trusted with your data. On the testing side, Surfshark consistently came out ahead where it matters for most people: features (Nexus, IP Rotator, dynamic multihop, CleanWeb, and RAM-only servers), speeds on US servers, and streaming/torrenting (15+ Netflix libraries and P2P on every server). Proton VPN did have a strong showing in the UK speed test and it has solid security fundamentals, but it didn’t win a single paid-tier category in my results. My verdict: Surfshark is the clear winner for 2026 if you want the best mix of speed, privacy confidence, streaming performance, and value—while Proton remains a respectable option, especially if you care about its ecosystem and free tier.