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Surfshark vs Proton VPN – the best Black Friday VPN deals head to head

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These are the two best deals I've found – but which one should you pick?

Surfshark and Proton VPN logos, split by a neon line
(Image credit: Future / Nano Banana)
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I've covered a lot of Black Friday VPN deals in the past couple of weeks. Some VPNs are slashing prices, others are throwing in extra months for free, and yet more are adding extra tools on top of their regular plans.

However, for my money, there are two absolute standouts: Surfshark and Proton VPN.

Surfshark has discounted its Surfshark One plan, which adds its award-winning antivirus onto its fully fledged VPN subscription. The asking price is $2.19 per month, paid up front as $59 for 27 months of cover. Considering standalone antivirus often costs more than that, this is a stellar deal – if you need antivirus, that is.

Proton VPN, on the other hand, has a few different options. The first is its Proton VPN Plus plan. This is the regular, unlimited VPN, which is at its lowest ever price – $2.49 per month, again paid up front as $59, this time for 24 months of cover.

Surfshark's deal

Surfshark One | 2 years + 3 months freeWas: $2.49 per monthNow: $2.19 per month at Surfshark🔒 Unlimited installs and data🦠 Avira-backed antivirus📱 Intuitive, accessible apps❌ Slower speeds on long-distance connections $2.19 per month$1.99 per month

Surfshark One | 2 years + 3 months free
Was: $2.49 per month
Now: $2.19 per month at Surfshark
Surfshark is great value all year round, but this early Black Friday deal is the best I've ever seen. It's on the One plan, which includes fully functional antivirus alongside the VPN.

You get:

🔒 Unlimited installs and data
🦠 Avira-backed antivirus
📱 Intuitive, accessible apps
❌ Slower speeds on long-distance connections

At $2.19 per month, over the course of 2 years, Surfshark One costs just $6 more than Surfshark's basic plan – excellent value considering dedicated antivirus software can cost more than that every month. This deal saves a decent $8 compared to regular price, and there's also a 30-day refund period so you can make sure it works well for you. Surfshark Starter is also available for $1.99 per month if you don't need antivirus.

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Proton's deals

Proton VPN | 2 yearsWas: $3.59 per monthNow: $2.49 per month at Proton VPN 🔐 World-renowned privacy credentials📺 Excellent streaming performance🚀 The fastest VPN speeds we've tested❌ Beginners may find apps too complex$2.49 per month

Proton VPN | 2 years
Was: $3.59 per month
Now: $2.49 per month at Proton VPN
Proton VPN is one of the most well-respected privacy providers around, but one thing it's not known for is being cheap. However, this early Black Friday deal from Proton is the cheapest I've ever seen it – knocking a whopping $26 off your overall spend.

You get:

🔐 World-renowned privacy credentials
📺 Excellent streaming performance
🚀 The fastest VPN speeds we've tested
❌ Beginners may find apps too complex

This is exclusive to Tom's Guide, and you won't find it cheaper anywhere else. It starts at $2.49 per month ($59.76 all-in) – and again, there's a 30-day refund period.

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Proton Unlimited | 12 months Was:$12.99 per monthNow: $6.49 per month at Proton✨ VPN, Mail, Drive, Pass, & Calendar🔑 End-to-end encryption for all apps🔒 A privacy-focused ecosystem to rival Google❌ Expensive if you don't want every product$6.49 per month

Proton Unlimited | 12 months
Was: $12.99 per month
Now: $6.49 per month at Proton
When it comes to privacy suites, Proton Unlimited can't be beaten, and there's a massive 50% off this Black Friday.

You get:

✨ VPN, Mail, Drive, Pass, & Calendar
🔑 End-to-end encryption for all apps
🔒 A privacy-focused ecosystem to rival Google
❌ Expensive if you don't want every product

A one-year Proton Unlimited plan costs $6.49 per month ($77.88 up front). You can try it risk free with Proton's 30-day money-back guarantee.

View Deal

Price: Surfshark

This one's easy – Surfshark's deal is cheaper than Proton VPN – and if we're comparing Surfshark One with Proton VPN Plus, Surfshark also gives you more for your money. Although Proton VPN is excellent, so is Surfshark, and the latter throws in antivirus for free.

In terms of total outlay, both are very similar at around $59. However, Surfshark's subscription is for 27 months, while Proton VPN's is 24 months, making your cash go marginally further

Be aware that the price for both providers increases if you let them auto-renew – but Surfshark is certainly more guilty of this.

Jump back to Surfshark's deal ^

Privacy: Proton VPN

Proton VPN is widely known to be one of the most private and secure VPNs, and the Proton Unlimited bundle is the icing on the cake. Proton VPN itself has undergone tons of independent audits, and offers loads of extra features that experts can use to tailor their privacy experience – like port forwarding, and the obfuscated Stealth protocol.

Unlimited can almost entirely replace the Google ecosystem, and by doing so, you're keeping your data safe from one of the most data-hungry companies in the world. That can only be a good thing.

This all makes Surfshark sound like it's not private – which is absolutely false. Surfshark has had all the essentials audited to prove it's doing what it say, and its encryption is just as strong as Proton VPN's. However, it just can't match the 360-degree privacy Proton Unlimited offers.

Jump back to Proton VPN's deals ^

Ease of use: Surfshark

Surfshark's whole brand is based around making privacy accessible to anyone – whether they're a hardened Tor user, or someone who barely ever uses their smartphone.

The apps are really clearly laid out, and despite the fact that Surfshark now offers a lot more than just a basic VPN, everything is neatly arranged in the left-hand toolbar.

On the contrary, Proton VPN's apps are quite busy, and the extra features that make it so popular with advanced users aren't laid out in a way that makes it approachable by newbies. Also, I've found that despite the app refresh going live on Windows, iOS and Android, the Mac app has been left in the dust, languishing with the old interface.

If you wants the easiest VPN to use, go with Surfshark.

Jump back to Surfshark's deal ^

Speed: Proton VPN

In our Proton VPN review, the Swiss-based VPN proved to be the most reliably fast VPN we've ever tested, with excellent speeds on both short-distance and long-distance connections.

Surfshark actually topped out at a higher speed that Proton VPN in the same tests on short-distance connections, but faltered when it came to connecting to servers thousands of miles away. This might not sound surprising, but Proton VPN barely slowed down at all in the same situation – and that's why we rank it so highly for speeds.

Jump back to Proton VPN's deals ^

Streaming: Tie

In our latest round of streaming testing, both Proton VPN and Surfshark fared incredibly well. They both flawlessly unblocked a wide range of Netflix libraries – including UK, US< Canada, Japan, and Australia – as well as Amazon Prime Video, BBC iPlayer, and other regional streaming sites.

Both did have a couple of hiccups.

A select few YouTube channels have very strict VPN blocks – the Formula 1 channel, for instance – and they can be near-impossible to watch when both a) not logged in, and b) using a VPN. Proton VPN had some issues, and Surfshark was unable to unblock it entirely. Bear in mind, though, that this is a very niche case.

It was a similar story with Disney Plus – while Surfshark had no issues, Proton VPN did have a few issues, before finally getting access.

However, for the vast majority of streaming sites, both Surfshark and Proton VPN performed incredibly well.

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Verdict

There are some key areas in which Surfshark and Proton VPN excel, and others where they fall behind a little.

Surfshark is the perfect choice for people who are new to VPNs, and want a simple but super secure VPN that makes things easy. If you know you won't need to fiddle with the settings, Surfshark is your best bet. It's also a slightly better deal, thanks to the added antivirus.

Proton VPN certainly isn't tricky to use, but it's better suited to those who are comfortable using a range of software on their devices. It's also more reliably quick no matter where you connect, and if you want to upgrade to the Proton Unlimited plan, it's far more comprehensive.

Jump back to Surfshark's deal ^

Jump back to Proton VPN's deals ^

For more discounts, check out our Black Friday deals live blog.

Shop today's best Black Friday deals

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Disclaimer

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

Mo Harber-Lamond
Mo Harber-Lamond
VPN Editor

Mo has been rigorously testing, reviewing, and analyzing VPN services at Tom’s Guide for more than five years. He heads up the three-person Tom's Guide VPN team, and is passionate about accessibility: he believes that online privacy should be an option that’s available to everyone. NordVPN and ExpressVPN are the products he uses most on a daily basis, but he experiments weekly with all the top services, evaluating their privacy features, connection speeds across various protocols, and server reliability – among other things – so that he can make confident VPN recommendations that are backed by data. To see his latest advice, head over to Tom’s Guide’s best VPN and best free VPN guides.

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