Both VPNs, tested the same way, on the same WireGuard protocol, continuously. Live head-to-head across 128 directly-compared locations (of 142 locations measured here) — real measured speeds, not marketing claims.
Faster average download across 128 directly-compared locations. 199391 total tests and counting.
As of 21 October 2026, across 128 directly-compared locations tested identically on WireGuard, Surfshark recorded the faster average download in 41 and NordVPN in 87 — from 199391 independent, continuously-updated speed tests measured by VPNSpeedTest (vpnspeeddata.com). These are datacentre/server-side conditions showing each VPN's speed ceiling, not a home-broadband guarantee; their value is the like-for-like comparison. How we test → Why our numbers differ from other reviews →
Tested by the VPNSpeedTest team · automated, vendor-independent measurement · data as of 21 October 2026 · about us
| Location | Surfshark | NordVPN | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Down | Up | Ping | Down | Up | Ping | |
| Albania - Tirana | 1729.7 | 1465.2 | 52.3 | 2025.6 | 1293.1 | 50.4 |
| Algeria - Algiers | 1713.6 | 1399.4 | 48.2 | 1945.8 | 1717.8 | 48.3 |
| Andorra - Andorra la Vella | 1757.6 | 1591.8 | 30.8 | 2043.4 | 1789.4 | 29.1 |
| Argentina - Buenos Aires | 998.9 | 470.5 | 214.6 | 955.8 | 413.5 | 213.6 |
| Armenia - Yerevan | 1656.1 | 1378.8 | 77.1 | 1920.6 | 1565.0 | 76.3 |
| Australia - Adelaide | 492.0 | 239.1 | 305.9 | 724.9 | 289.6 | 308.3 |
| Australia - Brisbane | 526.3 | 290.2 | 286.9 | 885.9 | 337.5 | 262.8 |
| Australia - Melbourne | 559.5 | 294.5 | 280.0 | 866.4 | 321.6 | 276.5 |
| Australia - Perth | 533.1 | 281.4 | 283.7 | 990.4 | 415.2 | 212.7 |
| Australia - Sydney | 525.4 | 287.0 | 275.0 | 885.1 | 334.2 | 257.7 |
| Austria - Vienna | 1894.7 | 1624.0 | 30.5 | 1435.0 | 885.8 | 33.9 |
| Azerbaijan - Baku | 1523.4 | 1044.9 | 126.7 | 376.6 | 1551.1 | 80.8 |
| Bahamas - Nassau | 1393.4 | 808.6 | 109.2 | 1540.5 | 797.7 | 107.9 |
| Bangladesh - Dhaka | 938.5 | 424.8 | 257.5 | 994.9 | 460.9 | 210.3 |
| Belgium - Antwerp | 1793.9 | 1115.2 | 27.4 | — | — | — |
| Belgium - Brussels | 1910.2 | 1034.3 | 21.1 | 1461.4 | 884.4 | 27.1 |
| Belize - Belmopan | 1522.2 | 800.3 | 126.3 | 1547.9 | 790.5 | 126.3 |
| Bhutan - Thimphu | 798.4 | 340.2 | 343.8 | 1013.8 | 442.7 | 239.5 |
| Bolivia - Sucre | 996.1 | 451.4 | 218.8 | — | — | — |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina - Sarajevo | 1752.7 | 1474.3 | 47.8 | 1678.5 | 1362.8 | 56.7 |
| Brazil - Sao Paulo | 931.9 | 429.0 | 189.7 | 1019.5 | 477.7 | 186.2 |
| Brunei - Bandar Seri Begawan | 930.0 | 375.4 | 263.2 | 1189.1 | 546.4 | 190.5 |
| Bulgaria - Sofia | 1821.7 | 1437.0 | 50.9 | 2015.1 | 1625.0 | 48.0 |
| Cambodia - Phnom Penh | 918.2 | 396.8 | 258.8 | 1193.1 | 547.6 | 185.0 |
| Canada - Montreal | 1303.6 | 862.8 | 91.5 | 1328.2 | 916.6 | 93.3 |
| Canada - Toronto | 1534.8 | 980.8 | 88.1 | 1441.0 | 968.5 | 88.9 |
| Canada - Vancouver | 1158.4 | 641.4 | 140.4 | 1322.9 | 630.0 | 142.8 |
| Chile - Santiago | 980.0 | 471.8 | 190.3 | 1048.7 | 448.9 | 190.7 |
| Colombia - Bogota | 1155.8 | 565.8 | 160.1 | 1090.0 | 576.1 | 155.8 |
| Costa Rica - San Jose | 1209.3 | 580.6 | 224.2 | 1494.9 | 767.3 | 145.8 |
| Croatia - Zagreb | 1876.3 | 957.6 | 41.2 | 2131.6 | 1854.8 | 39.4 |
| Cyprus - Nicosia | 1549.5 | 410.0 | 68.2 | 1289.8 | 258.8 | 66.8 |
| Czech Republic - Prague | 1914.4 | 1666.5 | 31.0 | 2067.8 | 1613.7 | 24.5 |
| Denmark - Copenhagen | 1976.5 | 1221.8 | 28.1 | 1521.8 | 772.6 | 27.7 |
| Ecuador - Quito | 1195.4 | 590.7 | 165.5 | 1248.2 | 592.5 | 163.1 |
| Egypt - Cairo | 1539.4 | 1301.5 | 60.2 | 1819.6 | 1624.0 | 58.5 |
| Estonia - Tallinn | 1795.5 | 1468.1 | 43.9 | 1893.5 | 1372.7 | 39.5 |
| Finland - Helsinki | 1847.5 | 1547.7 | 49.1 | 2045.7 | 835.7 | 47.0 |
| France - Bordeaux | 1928.0 | 1538.4 | 36.6 | 2107.2 | 1944.2 | 30.6 |
| France - Marseille | 1708.0 | 1215.4 | 71.7 | 2014.8 | 1893.2 | 23.0 |
| France - Paris | 1920.3 | 1566.2 | 18.2 | 1575.7 | 1441.9 | 20.1 |
| Georgia - Tbilisi | 730.8 | 566.9 | 74.0 | 802.5 | 571.6 | 72.8 |
| Germany - Berlin | 1840.5 | 1711.9 | 30.3 | 1622.2 | 1532.7 | 27.0 |
| Germany - Frankfurt | 1878.1 | 1637.1 | 24.3 | 2316.9 | 2010.7 | 21.1 |
| Ghana - Accra | 823.4 | 674.5 | 169.6 | 935.9 | 831.5 | 119.6 |
| Greece - Athens | 1653.8 | 1289.0 | 60.1 | 1924.4 | 1320.9 | 59.1 |
| Greenland - Nuuk | 1791.2 | 1469.6 | 71.3 | 2113.9 | 1640.1 | 70.8 |
| Hong Kong - Hong Kong | 963.7 | 424.2 | 205.2 | 1019.4 | 440.2 | 198.9 |
| Hungary - Budapest | 1902.8 | 1604.2 | 36.5 | 1379.8 | 1449.2 | 35.8 |
| Iceland - Reykjavik | 1840.2 | 1422.6 | 94.1 | 2033.6 | 1502.6 | 99.2 |
| India - Mumbai | 1596.1 | 342.0 | 147.9 | 1150.7 | 491.7 | 219.6 |
| India - New Delhi | 1631.4 | 625.8 | 162.5 | — | — | — |
| Indonesia - Jakarta | 231.4 | 225.4 | 182.2 | 1050.8 | 502.2 | 178.5 |
| Ireland - Dublin | 1914.0 | 1586.9 | 18.5 | 1508.0 | 864.7 | 17.1 |
| Isle of Man - Douglas | 1840.9 | 1239.0 | 82.2 | 2078.2 | 1916.2 | 15.3 |
| Israel - Tel Aviv | 1221.2 | 921.3 | 67.4 | 1207.5 | 800.3 | 67.0 |
| Italy - Milan | 1906.4 | 1634.6 | 34.1 | 1496.0 | 1506.7 | 36.2 |
| Italy - Rome | 1910.4 | 1646.7 | 46.5 | 2002.3 | 1869.9 | 37.3 |
| Japan - Tokyo | 876.2 | 340.6 | 244.3 | 965.3 | 332.6 | 245.3 |
| Kazakhstan - Oral | 965.5 | 763.6 | 95.5 | — | — | — |
| Laos - Vientiane | 922.5 | 392.6 | 268.7 | 1173.8 | 519.1 | 252.8 |
| Latvia - Riga | 1329.1 | 986.2 | 44.0 | 2028.3 | 1737.0 | 44.0 |
| Liechtenstein - Vaduz | 1744.9 | 1140.0 | 127.9 | 2084.1 | 1733.3 | 27.0 |
| Lithuania - Vilnius | 1887.4 | 1562.8 | 41.1 | 1958.5 | 1491.8 | 42.6 |
| Luxembourg - Steinfort | 1704.8 | 1381.8 | 65.2 | — | — | — |
| Macau - Macau | 940.6 | 396.2 | 221.9 | — | — | — |
| Malaysia - Kuala Lumpur | 290.5 | 252.0 | 206.7 | 929.4 | 416.8 | 207.5 |
| Malta - Valletta | 1936.9 | 1522.5 | 66.9 | 1441.1 | 1296.5 | 50.1 |
| Mexico - Queretaro | 1234.5 | 643.0 | 146.3 | — | — | — |
| Moldova - Chisinau | 1739.0 | 1382.0 | 57.1 | 2027.1 | 825.0 | 53.2 |
| Monaco - Monaco | 1915.9 | 1433.9 | 112.7 | 1496.2 | 1298.1 | 32.6 |
| Mongolia - Ulaanbaatar | 995.7 | 439.7 | 245.8 | 1204.5 | 528.2 | 242.1 |
| Montenegro - Podgorica | 1821.5 | 1533.4 | 51.4 | 1878.8 | 1617.2 | 55.7 |
| Morocco - Rabat | 1787.4 | 1446.5 | 46.9 | 2010.4 | 1675.3 | 40.5 |
| Myanmar - Naypyidaw | 988.0 | 452.8 | 236.6 | 1243.9 | 542.7 | 198.2 |
| Nepal - Kathmandu | 963.9 | 427.4 | 294.4 | 1144.5 | 529.6 | 234.8 |
| Netherlands - Amsterdam | 1715.9 | 1143.0 | 16.3 | 1476.6 | 788.6 | 14.1 |
| New Zealand - Auckland | 788.2 | 318.7 | 279.3 | 701.2 | 312.0 | 284.0 |
| Nigeria - Lagos | 1053.6 | 797.5 | 109.7 | 1226.3 | 813.1 | 108.0 |
| North Macedonia - Skopje | 923.2 | 899.8 | 55.3 | 2021.6 | 1317.2 | 44.8 |
| Norway - Oslo | 1926.6 | 1675.7 | 34.1 | 1492.1 | 1340.7 | 36.7 |
| Pakistan - Karachi | 995.2 | 431.7 | 308.4 | 1111.0 | 495.2 | 244.9 |
| Panama - Panama City | 1228.2 | 587.4 | 176.6 | 1557.1 | 763.9 | 147.1 |
| Paraguay - Asuncion | 914.8 | 388.0 | 208.6 | 1001.0 | 411.3 | 250.3 |
| Peru - Lima | 1163.6 | 556.9 | 161.7 | 1163.4 | 545.6 | 164.5 |
| Philippines - Manila | 798.1 | 366.0 | 244.3 | 1167.5 | 521.3 | 191.6 |
| Poland - Gdansk | 1218.5 | 807.9 | 36.5 | — | — | — |
| Poland - Warsaw | 1886.6 | 1402.2 | 34.0 | 1716.8 | 1552.8 | 36.2 |
| Portugal - Lisbon | 1888.4 | 1493.8 | 42.3 | 1477.3 | 1506.7 | 41.7 |
| Portugal - Porto | 1905.9 | 1421.9 | 38.1 | — | — | — |
| Puerto Rico - San Juan | 1229.4 | 577.1 | 212.0 | 1577.6 | 757.1 | 128.9 |
| Romania - Bucharest | 1811.0 | 1320.3 | 49.3 | 1948.9 | 1494.5 | 47.6 |
| Saudi Arabia - Riyadh | 1823.8 | 1396.5 | 89.2 | — | — | — |
| Serbia - Belgrade | 1841.3 | 1596.4 | 41.7 | 2119.8 | 1879.7 | 36.1 |
| Singapore - Singapore | 1064.8 | 519.1 | 177.6 | 1232.2 | 542.9 | 165.5 |
| Slovakia - Bratislava | 1885.2 | 1669.1 | 36.4 | 2075.1 | 1833.9 | 37.1 |
| Slovenia - Ljubljana | 1855.5 | 1489.4 | 43.3 | 1445.3 | 1421.9 | 42.4 |
| South Africa - Johannesburg | 1070.8 | 453.0 | 179.0 | 1095.6 | 420.9 | 184.3 |
| South Korea - Seoul | 371.2 | 322.4 | 242.9 | 882.1 | 391.0 | 231.9 |
| Spain - Barcelona | 1461.3 | 1374.3 | 39.6 | 1256.4 | 931.2 | 35.5 |
| Spain - Madrid | 1913.4 | 1639.0 | 30.1 | 2049.8 | 1902.5 | 29.9 |
| Spain - Valencia | 1730.7 | 1256.8 | 42.5 | — | — | — |
| Sri Lanka - Colombo | 964.7 | 532.5 | 195.6 | 1016.6 | 527.5 | 196.9 |
| Sweden - Stockholm | 1900.9 | 1569.9 | 37.7 | 1511.8 | 787.7 | 36.7 |
| Switzerland - Zurich | 1915.9 | 1577.7 | 28.5 | 1490.7 | 1117.0 | 30.4 |
| Taiwan - Taipei | 328.5 | 296.6 | 225.6 | 953.8 | 405.8 | 219.3 |
| Thailand - Bangkok | 273.5 | 219.6 | 188.3 | 965.2 | 444.3 | 187.9 |
| Turkey - Istanbul | 1771.7 | 1244.3 | 54.8 | 1846.8 | 1375.6 | 55.3 |
| UAE - Dubai | 435.0 | 347.0 | 138.5 | 1194.7 | 495.7 | 134.6 |
| Ukraine - Kyiv | 1830.1 | 1382.2 | 46.9 | 1751.6 | 1472.8 | 46.4 |
| United Kingdom - Edinburgh | 1894.5 | 1169.0 | 31.3 | 1411.9 | 1147.7 | 30.9 |
| United Kingdom - Glasgow | 1890.6 | 949.7 | 28.0 | 1380.1 | 1453.0 | 34.2 |
| United Kingdom - London | 1988.1 | 1580.9 | 16.7 | 2106.5 | 1859.2 | 7.5 |
| United Kingdom - Manchester | 1854.9 | 1225.7 | 22.0 | 2056.5 | 1849.7 | 13.3 |
| United States - Ashburn | 1471.9 | 991.6 | 85.0 | 1233.4 | 882.2 | 82.2 |
| United States - Atlanta | 1527.6 | 902.7 | 96.0 | 1288.1 | 894.4 | 95.9 |
| United States - Bend | 1295.4 | 621.8 | 142.3 | — | — | — |
| United States - Boston | 1499.5 | 1021.0 | 86.8 | 1481.0 | 1025.3 | 83.2 |
| United States - Buffalo | 1472.3 | 823.6 | 97.8 | 1568.1 | 942.0 | 107.6 |
| United States - Charlotte | 1489.2 | 706.4 | 109.8 | 1603.2 | 871.0 | 101.8 |
| United States - Chicago | 1418.4 | 842.3 | 105.3 | 1266.3 | 903.4 | 94.3 |
| United States - Dallas | 1445.6 | 733.9 | 117.8 | 1258.9 | 700.1 | 119.5 |
| United States - Denver | 1353.3 | 616.2 | 117.7 | 1477.9 | 742.7 | 117.7 |
| United States - Detroit | 1497.5 | 453.7 | 99.4 | 1262.1 | 907.3 | 100.4 |
| United States - Houston | 1350.9 | 777.2 | 113.5 | 1570.9 | 659.0 | 109.1 |
| United States - Kansas City | 1295.4 | 722.3 | 104.8 | 1607.9 | 834.9 | 102.6 |
| United States - Las Vegas | 1239.8 | 600.4 | 154.6 | 1109.4 | 581.7 | 155.1 |
| United States - Latham | 1455.8 | 1053.7 | 82.2 | — | — | — |
| United States - Los Angeles | 1229.9 | 578.2 | 149.8 | 1123.2 | 584.5 | 149.4 |
| United States - Miami | 1468.7 | 807.3 | 108.5 | 1573.2 | 810.7 | 107.9 |
| United States - Nashville | 1504.1 | 821.8 | 119.3 | 1607.6 | 830.1 | 114.0 |
| United States - New York | 1540.3 | 1054.6 | 90.9 | 1235.2 | 1090.1 | 76.9 |
| United States - Omaha | 1500.5 | 812.3 | 109.4 | 1555.7 | 812.1 | 107.6 |
| United States - Phoenix | 1320.3 | 605.6 | 139.8 | 1322.2 | 566.2 | 144.2 |
| United States - Salt Lake City | 1390.8 | 707.0 | 129.8 | 1474.6 | 708.4 | 127.1 |
| United States - San Francisco | 1197.6 | 608.7 | 147.8 | 1370.1 | 569.4 | 142.9 |
| United States - San Jose | 1286.1 | 584.0 | 144.6 | — | — | — |
| United States - Seattle | 1284.3 | 637.4 | 139.3 | 1352.7 | 613.1 | 140.0 |
| Uruguay - Montevideo | 893.4 | 454.8 | 211.9 | 1036.4 | 469.1 | 225.5 |
| Uzbekistan - Tashkent | 1843.6 | 978.8 | 117.7 | 2052.0 | 505.0 | 119.4 |
| Venezuela - Caracas | 1147.1 | 574.1 | 195.6 | 1434.1 | 735.7 | 138.2 |
| Vietnam - Ho Chi Minh City | 952.2 | 401.9 | 245.9 | 782.5 | 340.9 | 221.7 |
Down/Up in Mbps, Ping in ms. "—" means we don't yet have data for that provider in this location. NordVPN serves the lowest-load server per city, so its exact server varies between tests.
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We run identical, automated speed tests against both Surfshark and NordVPN using the WireGuard protocol (NordLynx on Nord's side), connecting to the recommended server in each city and measuring download, upload, ping, and jitter. Because both providers are tested the same way at the same cadence, the numbers above are directly comparable — unlike one-off screenshots taken under different conditions.
Speed isn't the only thing that matters when choosing a VPN, but it's the one most review sites fake. Use the live scoreboard above to see which provider currently wins more locations on download speed, then dig into the per-location table to find the best option for the regions you actually connect to.
Want the deep dive on each? Read our Surfshark review and NordVPN review, both backed by the same continuous data.