Are you looking for an updated TorGuard vs Surfshark comparison?
While Surfshark is a great VPN for speeds, TorGuard is known for its ability to provide anonymous torrenting.
But how do these two VPNs compare in other aspects like streaming as well as advanced security features like malware blocking?
In this TorGuard vs Surfshark comparison, we are going to compare TorGuard with Surfshark along the lines of their connection speeds, streaming and torrenting support among other features.
I hope that by the end of this Surfshark vs TorGuard comparison you’ll be able to make a choice between either TorGuard or Surfshark.
So let’s get started.
Here is a quick summary.
TorGuard | Surfshark | |
Website | torguard.net | surfshark.com |
Servers | 3,000 | 1,040 |
Jurisdiction | United States | BVI |
Streaming | Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, iPlayer | Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, iPlayer |
Speed | 4.4/5 | 4.7/5 |
Torrenting | All servers | P2P servers |
Kill Switch | YES | YES |
Works in China? | YES | YES |
Devices | 8 | Unlimited |
Pricing | $ 5/month | $ 1.99/month |
About
TorGuard is a VPN company based in the United States that enables you to access the internet securely and download torrent files anonymously. Here is an in-depth TorGuard review.
Surfshark is a VPN company based in the British Virgin Islands that enables you to access the internet privately and securely at great speeds. Check out my detailed Surfshark review.
Server Collection
How does TorGuard compare with Surfshark in terms of their server arsenal?
The more servers a VPN has the easier it is for you to find a suitable server to connect to in the VPN apps.

TorGuard has 3,000 servers that are based in 50 different countries at the time of writing this TorGuard vs Surfshark comparison. Surfshark, on the other side, has fewer servers… around 1,040 servers that are spread over 61 different countries.

As you can see, while TorGuard has more servers in general, Surfshark has their fewer servers spread out to cover a larger geographical region than TorGuard.
So if you are looking for a VPN that has servers in more countries then I would, of course, recommend Surfshark.
Streaming
What about their abilities to unblock streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime?
The more streaming platforms a VPN is able to unblock, the better it is especially if you are looking for a VPN for the purposes of accessing geo-restricted entertainment content.
TorGuard fails at being able to stream content on all the popular streaming platforms using their normal shared server subscription.



In order to use TorGuard for streaming, you’ll first have to purchase a dedicated IP based in the country whose content library you want to unblock.
Surfshark, on the other hand, has great streaming capabilities as you’ll be able to watch your favorite Netflix shows in different countries using their servers based in those countries.
Apart from Netflix, Surfshark also unblocks Amazon Prime, Hulu and BBC iPlayer.
As you can see, Surfshark has better streaming capabilities out of the box than TorGuard. So I recommend Surfshark over TorGuard if you are looking for a VPN that unblocks more streaming platforms without purchasing a dedicated IP.
Speeds
It is acceptable across the board that your connection speeds will drop a little when you are on a VPN connection.
While this could be due to a number of other factors, the additional encryption and obfuscation that a VPN does to your traffic to make you invisible could be adding to this speed loss.
That being said, there are VPNs that will still maintain speeds that are close to your original speeds… even surpass it in case your ISP is throttling your speeds for certain sites.
How does TorGuard vs Surfshark speeds compare?

I tested the speeds of both TorGuard and Surfshark by connecting to three of their servers based in Hong Kong, the US and UK.
After that, I used speedtest.net to measure the download and upload speeds before and after connecting to these VPN servers.
TorGuard gave me an average download speed that was 87% of my initial speeds.

Surfshark, on the other hand, performed much better as it had download speeds that were 93% on average of the 3 servers that I connected to.
As you can see, Surfshark is a much faster VPN service than TorGuard. I would definitely recommend Surfshark over TorGuard if you are looking for a VPN with great connection speeds.
Torrenting
Downloading torrent files safely online starts by using a VPN to hide your real IP address.
By doing this you make it impossible that your torrent downloads could be traced back to your IP and used to identify you.

You don’t want to be found on the wrong side of the law, especially if you live in a country that frowns upon torrenting activities like Australia.
Let’s now compare Surfshark vs TorGuard in terms of their torrenting support.
TorGuard supports torrent downloads on all their servers.

So unlike others that only allow torrenting on certain dedicated P2P servers, you can start torrenting from any TorGuard server.
Surfshark on the other hand has dedicated servers for torrenting. labelled P2P servers. In order to start torrenting, you first need to connect to any of these P2P labelled servers.
In addition to that, since neither TorGuard nor Surfshark log your traffic, you’ll enjoy anonymous torrenting on both VPNs.
That being said, if you are looking for a VPN that is better suited for torrenting then I will recommend Surfshark as you’ll get to enjoy faster download speeds.
Privacy Policy
I already hinted that TorGuard and Surfshark are great for anonymity in the torrenting section above.
Let’s now take a bird’s eye look into their privacy policies to establish what each one has to offer in terms of true privacy online.
All VPNs that are big on privacy online will ensure that they never keep any kind logs that could be used to identify you or tie certain activities on their servers to you.
TorGuard, to begin with, is located in the United States which is not a great place to base a VPN company.

This is because, apart from the US being a founding member of the 14 eyes countries surveillance alliance, it also has laws that obligate VPN companies to comply in case the governments asks for user logs.
Having said that, TorGuard is committed to providing privacy online and states in their privacy policy that they do not keep logs.
Surfshark, on the flip side, is based in the BVI which is a privacy haven for a VPN company.
The BVI does not form part of the 14 eyes surveillance alliance of countries that spy on their citizens and share their personal information amongst themselves.
In addition to that, Surfshark is also big on privacy online and states in their policy that they do not keep logs of your IP address, connection timestamps or even bandwidth usage.

It, therefore, means that there are no logs on their servers that could be used to identify you.
However, I think TorGuard should also be as clear as Surfshark about the logs that they don’t keep… instead of just saying we do not log traffic which is rather vague.
I recommend Surfshark if you are looking for a VPN that is very transparent and honest about their zero logs policy.
Encryption and Data Protection
Which one between Surfshark and TorGuard will be able to provide you with secure internet access?
In order for your internet access to be secure, it should be impossible for anyone to see the data that you transmit.

But since hackers can always sniff your packets and see you data packets, you should make sure that your data is encrypted in such as way that it is impossible for the hacker to decrypt it and see the plain text information.
TorGuard supports two encryption algorithms that make your data packets impossible to decrypt, that include 128-bit and 256-bit encryptions.
Surfshark, on the other hand, only supports a 256-bit encryption algorithm in all their apps.

That being said, both these encryption technologies are secure even though 128-bit offers faster speeds while 256-bit offers better security.
TorGuard, in addition to these encryption technologies, supports OpenVPN, OpenConnect, L2TP/IPSec and IKEv2 vpn protocols.
Surfshark also supports OpenVPN, Shadowsocks and IKEv2 connection protocols.
Both VPNs guarantee secure internet access thanks to the tamper-proof technologies that they both use.
So if you are looking for a VPN that is great for secure internet access then I recommend either Surfshark or TorGuard.
Ad Blockers
In order to block ads and enjoy an ad-free browsing experience, you need a VPN that has an ad blocker.
With ad blockers, you can also block the tracking scripts that these websites install on your browsers that are used to build a profile of who you are and track you around.
No wonder an ad starts following you wherever you go around the web after you see it on one particular website…
Let’s now compare TorGuard vs Surfshark in terms of their ad blocking capabilities.
TorGuard and Surfshark both have an ad blocker in their applications that will block ads on most of the sites that you visit. These ad blockers are also able to block the tracking scripts from being installed on your browser so that these ad networks do not get to follow you around the web.

In addition to these ad blockers, they also have malware blockers that are capable of blocking known malware-infected websites before they can cause you any harm.
Either TorGuard or Surfshark is a great option if you are looking for a vpn for ad blockers.
Dedicated IPs
Once you connect to a VPN server, you’ll be assigned an IP address that is shared by many other people.
VPNs particularly do this to make it hard for anyone to trace back certain activities on this server to any particular individual..
That’s how you stay anonymous online.

That being said, there are some applications like your home security camera feed that cannot just be accessed by any other shared IP address. You need a dedicated IP that you can whitelist first before you can use it for secure remote access.

So do you get a dedicated IP with either Surfshark or TorGuard?
TorGuard has a dedicated IP premium addon that you can purchase separately if you want an IP that is unique to you and is not shared by anyone else.
Surfshark, on the other side, provides you with static IPs that enable you to connect to the internet using the same IP address.
While the static IP might still be shared, it enables you to always have the same IP as long as you choose that particular server to connect to the internet.
However, if you are looking for a real dedicated IP that is only used by you then I recommend TorGuard.
Kill Switch
Are you an anonymity freak that always wants to hide their IP?
While a VPN will do an excellent job of hiding your IP, it is only able to do this when you are connected to their VPN servers.

It means that if your internet connection drops and your VPN app disconnects from the server, your IP can easily be exposed if some other app accesses the internet without your VPN during this time.
So a kill switch comes to the rescue by ensuring that all internet access on your entire device is blocked anytime you disconnect from the VPN server, until you reconnent.

So other apps, like your torrent client, will have to pause their downloads until your VPN app reconnects.
This way, your actual IP never gets revealed on the internet which could easily be used to identify you… especially if you are downloading torrent files in a country that prohibits such activities.

TorGuard and Surfshark both have great automatic internet kill switches that once turned on will ensure that you are only able to access the internet through your VPN.
By ensuring that all your traffic is encrypted and channelled through your VPN tunnel, a kill switch leaves no room for error that could expose your IP.
Split Tunnelling
How would you like to be able to split your traffic so that while some are channelled through your vpn tunnel, others are routed as usual through your ISP?
Say for example that you have an application that runs backups in the background. This application would definitely be slowed down if your VPN causes huge drops in speeds.
In order to remedy this, you could whitelist your backup application in your split tunnel so that traffic through this application runs normally through your ISP.
This way it will be able to maximized on the full bandwidth that your ISP allocated you.
How does Surfshark vs TorGuard compare in terms of their split tunnelling capabilities?

TorGuard and Surfshark both have split tunnelling inbuilt into their apps, that will enable you to specify certain applications and exempt them from your VPN tunnel.
But you should know that applications in your split-tunnel do not enjoy the additional security and anonymity that a VPN provides.
This is because traffic on these apps is not encrypted by your VPN and so is visible to your ISP and government.
Either TorGuard or Surfshark is a great option if you are looking for a VPN with split tunnelling.
Works in China?
Are you thinking of using either Surfshark or TorGuard in China?
China blocks most VPNs because it doesn’t want you using a VPN to circumvent their content censorship… which is precisely what a VPN does
It is for this reason that all internet traffic in China passes through a firewall that has a deep packet inspection technology that is able to detect and block any VPN traffic.

So for a VPN to work, it needs to be able to make its traffic look like normal https traffic. This way it will be able to bypass the great firewall of China.
TorGuard and Surfshark are both able to obfuscate their traffic and make it undetectable by the DPI technology of the great firewall of China. So both Surfshark and TorGuard will be able to work in China and enable you to access censored content without being detected and blocked.
In order to use TorGuard in China, you need to connect using the OpenConnect protocol and activate the STunnel feature.

As for Surfshark, you’ll first need to activate the Camouflage mode in the app for you to be able to use it in internet restricted countries like China.
If you are looking for a VPN that you can carry with you to China then I recommend either TorGuard or Surfshark.
Pricing
As we near the end of this TorGuard vs Surfshark comparison, let’s look at their pricing plans to find the cheaper one overall.

Both TorGuard and Surfshark offer you the best discounts if you choose their longest subscription plans.

TorGuard has a 1-year plan that goes for $ 59.99/year, which is approximately $ 5/month, while Surfshark has a 2-year plan that sets you back $ 1.99/month.
As you can see, Surfshark is not only much cheaper, but also offers you longer subscription plans that save you the hassle of having to renew or create new accounts every year that comes.
If you are looking for a VPN that really fits the category of a cheap and budget friendly VPN then I definitely recommend Surfshark.
Payment Options
Let’s finish this Surfshark vs TorGuard comparison by looking at the payment methods that they both accept.

In order to not give as much identifying information as possible, always choose a VPN that supports anonymous payments like cryptocurrencies or gift cards.
It is because these payment methods, unlike credit cards, do you require your billing address.

Surfshark and TorGuard both accept PayPal, credit cards and crypto payments through currencies like Bitcoin. If you don’t want anyone to know who you are, signup with a disposable email address and then pay with some Bitcoins.
I recommend either Surfshark or TorGuard if you are looking for a vpn that supports cryptocurrency payments.
In Conclusion
I hope this TorGuard vs Surfshark comparison in 2021 has helped you learn about the pros and cons of these two VPN companies.
Are you now ready to make a choice between either TorGuard or Surfshark?
If you are looking for a dirty cheap VPN with very fast speeds, excellent streaming capabilities and has a strict zero-logs policy, then I recommend Surfshark.
However, if you are willing to pay more for a VPN with great torrenting support, works in China and provides dedicated IPs then I recommend TorGuard.
Have you ever used Surfshark or TorGuard before?
Please share your experience in the comments below.