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Emma Sky
03 Mar 2026
Proton VPN is the right choice for handling sensitive data, with advanced security features. Surfshark is a convenient option for its unlimited simultaneous connections protection in a single subscription.
Nowadays, selecting the best VPN is not just about hiding your IP address. It is an essential practice for security while traveling abroad. Proton VPN and Surfshark are both leading VPNs. These are privacy-friendly, offer premium security features, and secure the apps.
Whether you are traveling abroad to study, work, or visit for leisure, you should take solid, secure steps to protect your connection when using public networks. Hotels and airports' Wi-Fi connections are generally safe, but for peace of mind, it is ideal to use Proton VPN or Surfshark.
Proton VPN vs Surfshark: both offer excellent services, but choosing between these is tricky. To find which one stands out, I will compare Surfshark and Proton VPN. I will confirm how these hold up on 4G/5G cellular data, security, and restricted networks in countries like China, the UAE, and Turkey.
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Before going through the details, here is a quick verdict to help you make a decision.
Verdict: Proton VPN is the perfect choice to ensure privacy and security. Surfshark is perfectly suited for everyday travel convenience.
Proton AG operates the Proton VPN; the company’s headquarters is located in Geneva, Switzerland. There is an international surveillance-sharing agreement between countries such as the US, UK, Australia, and Canada called the 4 Eyes Intelligence Alliance.
Switzerland is in the 14 Eye Free Zone due to its independent privacy laws. Swiss law is among the strictest regarding data privacy. Similarly, Swiss courts have protected Proton and strictly denied it permission to share users' data with foreign governments.
Compared to other VPN providers, Proton’s infrastructure prioritizes privacy. The following are the core features of Proton’s infrastructure.
Surfshark is based in the Netherlands and operates under Nord Security. The country is a member of the Nine Eyes alliance. Surfshark merged with Nord Security in 2022; the company owns NordVPN. This merger doesn’t involve a privacy violation, but it raises privacy concerns.
When multiple VPN services are managed by a single company, it creates uncertainty among users about decision-making. Sometimes services become centralized, which may affect long-term privacy and transparency.
Surfshark stands out for maintaining a verified no-logs policy, confirming that the company does not store users’ browsing activity. But the major difference comes from legal jurisdiction. Both Surfshark and Proton VPN are the best in offering security features like AES-256 encryption and a kill switch. Proton VPN has strict country-based privacy laws, which make it a strong choice for those who handle sensitive data.
Takeaway: Proton passes the trust and jurisdiction tests for privacy-focused users. Surfshark's privacy is more than adequate for travelers and digital nomads.
If you are traveling by train in Japan with an eSIM or a roaming SIM in your device, the phone switches between cellular towers every few minutes. It led to disconnecting from the VPN, and the reconnection speed slowed.
Proton VPN and Surfshark work on the WireGuard protocol, which is considered the fastest VPN protocol available. WireGuard is an open-source VPN protocol that is simpler and faster. It offers secure, lightweight connections that operate within the kernel space.
WireGuard instantly reconnects signals after a drop and handles connections when you're traveling. WireGuard is a significant upgrade and shift from traditional protocols like OpenVPN or IKEv2.
Proton VPN was built on VPN Accelerator technology. According to the company's statement, it can help boost speeds by up to 400% on high-latency connections. It works best when your device connects to a Proton server far from your location, especially during travel. VPN Accelerator processes the data and reduces CPU bottlenecks.
Surfshark uses a different approach from Proton VPN. It primarily focuses on ensuring their apps are lightweight and responsive. The Surfshark apps are well-optimized, offering fast server switching for Android and iOS. Surfshark is perfect for keeping your banking app secure while streaming local content.
For travelers, the major concern is battery drainage. The apps consume background resources. Surfshark has a lighter mobile app, which generally reduces battery drain compared to Proton.
Proton VPN and Surfshark are solid for cellular and eSIM performance. Proton has the best speed consistency on long-distance, and Surfshark wins on app efficiency.
Generally, standard VPNs are detected and blocked in restricted countries like China, the UAE, Russia, Turkey, or Iran. To address such situations, Proton VPN and Surfshark have built tools to mitigate deep packet inspection (DPI).
To improve the connection in VPN-restricted countries, Surfshark uses the NoBorders mode feature. It is ideal for international travellers. When Surfshark detects that you're connecting from a restrictive network, it activates NoBorders mode.
The mode routes your traffic through servers designed to bypass censorship. NoBorders mode is automatically active; users don’t have to manually set it up in settings. Surfshark supports the Shadowsocks protocol, which is effective for bypassing the Firewall of China.
Like Surfshark, Proton uses the Stealth protocol to deal with censorship. Stealth disguises the VPN traffic so it appears as regular HTTPS web traffic. This feature of the VPN makes it difficult for government-level DPI to identify and block.
Stealth requires manual setup.
Stealth work in China and the UAE, where many other VPNs fail.
Bottom line: Surfshark is a more effortless option for casual travelers. Proton's Stealth protocol performs well in restrictive environments.
Generally, travelers use VPNs to access their home streaming libraries. The content on different platforms varies by country. For example, BBC iPlayer is UK-only and Hulu is US-only.
As Surfshark bypasses the censorship, it also performs well in bypassing geo-blocks for streaming. Its server is fully optimized for bypassing regional content restrictions. Similarly, it has reported to be effective for unblocking Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Disney+, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video.
Surfshark blocks the ads and improves the experience on slower network connections.
Compared to Surfshark, Proton VPN is less consistent at unblocking streaming services. The VPN's free plan doesn't support this use case. Users report that Proton's servers get flagged by streaming platforms and require manual switching.
Choosing the best VPN between Surfshark and Proton depends on your priority, whether you are looking for the vast ecosystem of devices, high privacy, or a zero-cost connection.
Surfshark is a perfect choice for families and digital nomads, with support for laptops, tablets, phones, and e-readers. It is an ideal option that breaks the industry standard of limiting connections.
Unlike Surfshark, Proton VPN offers the freemium pricing model. But you will experience the limited features in the free plan.
Overall, Surfshark is the best for multi-device protection. Similarly, Proton VPN is ideal for unmatched security and high speed.
VPN protects your data and prevents unauthorized access. It protects your data, not the mode that gives you a connection. If you're relying on airport Wi-Fi or hotel hotspots, you are dealing with a layer of friction.
An eSIM card is the latest technology that provides a data connection upon arrival in your destination country. It helps you get effortless network access without hunting for a physical SIM card, roaming for data, or connecting to unauthorized public Wi-Fi networks.
You can buy the eSIMCard global travel data plans. A global carrier offers data-only and data, voice, and text eSIMs. The carrier stands out for its user-centered services and offers instant QR code eSIM activation. You can buy the eSIM for your destination and activate it on your phone.
You can activate your travel eSIM for local 4G/5G data, then enable Surfshark or Proton VPN to encrypt your connection. eSIM is the reliable option for connectivity and VPN for security. The combination of these helps travelers and nomads get a secure and stable connection.
Proton vs Surfshark: which is better depends on your priorities. Both of these are optimized for different priorities. If you handle sensitive data, such as a journalist, lawyer, activist, or remote worker, Proton VPN is the right choice. It offers Swiss jurisdiction, Secure Core servers, and the Stealth protocol with a slightly higher price and more manual configuration requirements.
If you want to stream Netflix from home and bypass censorship in restricted countries, Surfshark is a convenient option. Its unlimited simultaneous connections make it a perfect choice for travelers and nomads.
No, Proton VPN is operated by Proton AG, which is an independent Swiss company. Surfshark is owned by Nord Security, the same parent company as NordVPN.
Yes, VPN drains battery due to the constant data encryption, but it varies by protocol. WireGuard is significantly more battery-efficient. Surfshark's light mobile app uses slightly less battery.
Proton VPN is the better choice for torrenting, as it supports port forwarding, which lets your device accept incoming connections. Surfshark does not support port forwarding.
4.9
Highly Rated
Based on 500,000+ customer reviews
Trusted worldwide
Over 1 million travelers across the globe have trusted us
Travel Friendly
No swaps, global connectivity ensured
With eSIM Card, you can save 100% on roaming fees
