Surfshark built its name as a VPN. The antivirus came later, bundled into the Surfshark One plan, and it does not get nearly as much attention as the VPN does. After installing it on a Windows machine, running the scans, reviewing the May to June 2025 AV-TEST results, and putting the live chat support through a real technical question, I found a product that earns more credit than it typically gets, with a couple of limitations that are worth knowing about before you commit. Read on for the full breakdown.
Pros and Cons
- Perfect protection score two months running
- Real-time and web protection always on
- Flexible scan scheduling by day and time
- Webcam protection blocks unauthorized camera access
- Negligible background impact on daily performance
- Bundled VPN, breach monitoring, and private search
- Exclusions apply across all scan types
- Human live chat support connects in minutes
- No firewall included at any plan tier
- App install slowdown above industry average
- Antivirus capped at five devices only
Rating Breakdown
I evaluated Surfshark Antivirus across six parameters using a consistent methodology applied across all the antivirus reviews on this site. The scores reflect hands-on testing, independent AV-TEST lab data from May to June 2025, and a real customer support interaction. Each parameter is scored out of 10.
| Parameter | Score | Why this score |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | 8.5/10 | Competitive value as part of the Surfshark One bundle, with a 30-day money-back guarantee and flexible payment options including cryptocurrency. |
| Security Features | 8.0/10 | Real-time protection, web protection, webcam blocking, heuristic detection, scheduled scans, and cloud-assisted database updates every three hours make for a solid core package. The absence of a firewall and parental controls at any plan tier is the main gap relative to competitors at a similar price. |
| Protection | 9.0/10 | A perfect 6/6 protection score from AV-TEST in May and June 2025, with 99% detection against zero-day threats and 100% detection of widespread malware across both months. |
| Performance | 7.5/10 | Background impact is effectively negligible during normal use. The application install slowdown of 28% on a standard PC and 32% on a high-end machine both sit meaningfully above the industry averages of 13% and 20% respectively. |
| Ease of Use | 9.0/10 | Installation takes under two minutes with no confusing steps. The antivirus dashboard is clean and well laid out, with real-time status, scan controls, and all settings accessible from a single screen. |
| Customer Support | 9.5/10 | The AI correctly answered the first part of my technical question instantly. Human escalation connected within approximately one minute, which is fast. The Help Center is well structured but light on antivirus-specific content compared to VPN documentation. |
| Overall | 8.5/10 | Surfshark Antivirus is a capable, well-designed product that delivers strong independent lab scores, a clean user experience, and genuine value as part of the One bundle. The missing firewall and above-average application install slowdown are the two limitations worth weighing before committing. |
1. Plans and Pricing – 2026
Surfshark’s antivirus is not available as a standalone product. It is included in the Surfshark One and Surfshark One+ plans only.
The entry-level Starter plan covers the VPN but does not include antivirus protection, so if that is why you are here, One is the minimum tier you need.
| Plan Tier | 2-Year Plan (per month) | 1-Year Plan (per month) | Monthly Billing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Surfshark Starter | $1.99 / mo | $3.19 / mo | $15.45 / mo |
| Surfshark One | $2.49 / mo | $3.39 / mo | $17.95 / mo |
| Surfshark One+ | $4.19 / mo | $6.29 / mo | $20.85 / mo |
Free trial
Surfshark offers a free trial for new users. Device connections are limited to three during the trial period.
If you plan to test the antivirus across multiple devices from the start, keep in mind that the full five-device allowance only kicks in once you move to a paid plan.
Money-back guarantee
All plans come with a 30-day money-back guarantee, which applies to your first purchase only. If you subscribe, test the product, and decide it is not right for you, you have 30 days from the initial purchase date to request a full refund.
A few details worth knowing before you subscribe:
- The guarantee applies only to subscriptions purchased directly through Surfshark or via authorized billing partners (Paddle, Google Play, or Cleverbridge). Purchases made through other channels are not covered.
- Once a subscription has renewed, it is no longer eligible for a refund under this policy. The 30-day window applies to the first billing period only.
- Some add-ons, including anonymous Dedicated IP and Alternative ID services, are non-refundable even within the 30-day window.
- Refund requests must be submitted through Surfshark’s live chat support. Once approved, refunds typically process within a few business days, though the exact timing depends on your payment method and bank.
If you purchased through the Apple App Store or Amazon Appstore, refunds are handled directly by those platforms rather than Surfshark. Google Play purchases made within 48 hours can be refunded through Google Play support directly; after that window, Surfshark’s support team can assist.
Payment methods
Surfshark accepts a wider range of payment methods than most antivirus providers:
- Credit and debit cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover)
- PayPal
- Google Pay
- Apple Pay
- Cryptocurrency
Cryptocurrency is worth noting if purchase privacy is a priority for you, though it cannot be used on mobile devices and does not support auto-renewal. Additional regional payment options may appear at checkout depending on your location.
2. Features
| Feature | What it does |
|---|---|
| Real-time protection | Continuously monitors vulnerable areas of your device and blocks threats as they appear, without any manual input. |
| Web protection | Checks websites in real time and stops malicious files from downloading to your device before they reach it. |
| Quick scan | Scans the locations most commonly targeted by malware. Typically completes in one to two minutes. |
| Full scan | Works through every file on the device. Comprehensive but takes significantly longer, around 40 minutes on a standard machine. |
| Scheduled scan | Set recurring quick or full scans for specific days and times. Quick and full scans run on independent schedules. |
| Targeted scan | Drag and drop individual files or folders directly into the app for an on-demand scan without running a full sweep. |
| External storage scan | Scans external hard drives, USB drives, and network drives, either on connection or as part of a scheduled scan. |
| Heuristic detection | Identifies new and unknown threats by analyzing suspicious code patterns, not just known malware signatures. |
| Virus database and Cloud protect | The malware database updates every three hours and at the start of every scan. Suspicious files are also analyzed via Surfshark’s cloud without affecting device performance. |
| Webcam protection (Beta) | Blocks untrusted applications from accessing your camera. A Trusted app list lets you whitelist any app that legitimately needs access. |
| Quarantine | Automatically isolates detected threats rather than deleting them immediately. Quarantined files can be reviewed and restored or removed, with an option to auto-delete after 60 days. |
| Exclusions list | Add specific files or folders you want the scanner to skip, useful for trusted files that trigger false positives. |
What is not included
Surfshark’s antivirus focuses on core protection rather than a broad set of security-suite features. It does not include a built-in firewall, parental controls, a password manager, vulnerability scanning, or system optimization tools. If you want those extras, Norton 360 or Bitdefender are examples of more feature-rich options.
3. In-House Testing Results
To evaluate Surfshark Antivirus’s protection, I reviewed the most recent results published by AV-TEST, the independent testing institute that continuously evaluates antivirus software under real-world conditions.
The most current published data covers Surfshark Antivirus versions 5.15 and 5.16 running on Windows 10 Professional (64-bit), tested during May and June 2025.
How AV-TEST works
AV-TEST scores every product across three categories, each worth a maximum of 6 points. Protection measures how effectively the software detects and blocks real threats. Performance measures how much it slows down everyday system tasks.
Usability measures false positives, meaning how often the software incorrectly flags safe files or websites as dangerous. A perfect score is 18 out of 18. Products scoring 16 or above receive the AV-TEST Certified award. Products scoring 17.5 or above also receive the Top Product award.
Protection
AV-TEST tested Surfshark against two threat types: zero-day malware, which covers brand new attacks not yet cataloged in signature databases, and widespread malware, which covers threats actively circulating in the previous four weeks.
| What was tested | May | June |
|---|---|---|
| Real-world protection against 0-day malware (401 samples) | 99% | 99% |
| Detection of widespread malware, last 4 weeks (19,213 samples) | 100% | 100% |
| Protection score | 6/6 | 6/6 |
Both months delivered a perfect protection score. Blocking 99% of zero-day threats is a strong result given these are the attacks that signature-based detection alone struggles with most.
Source: AV-TEST, May to June 2025. Results available at av-test.org.
The 100% detection rate on widespread malware across both months confirms the engine is keeping its database current and functioning correctly.
Performance
This category measures how much Surfshark slows down everyday tasks while running in the background. Lower numbers are better.
| Task measured | Standard PC | High-end PC |
|---|---|---|
| Slower when launching popular websites | 34% | 26% |
| Slower when downloading frequently-used apps | 0% | 1% |
| Slower when launching standard software | 7% | 5% |
| Slower when installing applications | 28% | 32% |
| Slower when copying files locally | 2% | 2% |
| Performance score | 5.5/6 | 5.5/6 |
Most figures are low enough that you would not notice them in normal use. The one result worth flagging is the slowdown during application installs, at 28% on a standard PC and 32% on a high-end machine.
Both figures sit above the industry averages of 13% and 20% respectively, and the fact that the high-end PC performs worse here suggests this is driven by scan thoroughness rather than processing power.
Source: AV-TEST, May to June 2025. Results available at av-test.org.
Website loading also registered 34% slower on a standard PC against an industry average of 32%, a marginal difference in absolute terms but worth noting.
Usability
This category tracks false positives: how often Surfshark incorrectly identifies safe content as a threat.
| What was tested | May | June |
|---|---|---|
| False warnings when visiting websites (500 samples) | 0 | 0 |
| False detections during system scan (881,177 samples) | 0 | 0 |
| Usability score | 5.5/6 | 5.5/6 |
Surfshark returned zero false positives on website visits and zero false detections across a sample set of more than 881,000 files in both months. The 5.5 rather than a full 6 reflects some false warnings recorded in the legitimate software installation category during testing, though none appeared in the primary scan and browsing categories.
Source: AV-TEST, May to June 2025. Results available at av-test.org.
Overall AV-TEST result
Surfshark scored 17 out of 18 in the May to June 2025 test, earning the AV-TEST Certified award.
For context, this is a step down from the June 2024 result, where Surfshark scored 17.5 out of 18 and earned the Top Product award. The performance category, specifically the application installation slowdown, accounts for the difference between the two periods. Protection remained perfect in both.
4. Impact on PC Performance
The honest answer is that Surfshark’s day-to-day background impact is negligible. When real-time protection is running and no scan is active, the software stays out of your way. The performance cost only becomes noticeable during active scans, and even then, it depends on which scan type you run.
The AV-TEST May to June 2025 performance results provide the clearest independent picture of how Surfshark affects everyday tasks.
| Task measured | Standard PC | Industry average | High-end PC | Industry average |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slower when launching popular websites | 34% | 32% | 26% | 22% |
| Slower when downloading frequently-used apps | 0% | 1% | 1% | 1% |
| Slower when launching standard software | 7% | 0% | 5% | 5% |
| Slower when copying files locally | 2% | 1% | 2% | 1% |
| Slower when installing applications | 28% | 13% | 32% | 20% |
| AV-TEST Performance score | 5.5/6 | |||
Source: AV-TEST, May to June 2025. Results available at av-test.org.
Most of these figures are low enough that you would not notice them. A 2% slowdown when copying files or a 7% slowdown when launching software is imperceptible in practice.
The figure worth paying attention to is application installs. At 28% slower on a standard PC and 32% on a high-end machine, Surfshark sits noticeably above the industry averages of 13% and 20% in both cases.
If you regularly install software, you will likely notice a slight delay while Surfshark scans incoming files. Scheduling major installs outside of periods when a full scan is also running is the simplest way to avoid stacking those two loads at the same time.
The one offset to that is scan weight on the device itself. In independent testing and hands-on use reported by other reviewers, full scans completed around 640,000 files in roughly 40 minutes with no noticeable impact on other applications running in parallel.
Quick scans typically finish in one to two minutes. The AV-TEST performance score of 5.5 out of 6 reflects the installation slowdown as the primary drag, not background operation.
Getting Started with Surfshark
One thing worth knowing before you start: Surfshark’s antivirus is not a standalone product. It’s bundled into the Surfshark One and One+ plans, which means getting the antivirus also gets you the full VPN, CleanWeb, and the rest of Surfshark’s security suite under a single subscription.
Finding the antivirus and selecting a plan
I started at surfshark.com and navigated to the antivirus page through the Products menu.
The page describes the antivirus as background protection against viruses and malware and makes it clear up front that it comes as part of the Surfshark One bundle, not as a standalone purchase.
A single “Get Surfshark” button takes you directly to the pricing page.
On the pricing page, three plans are available:
- Starter: VPN and Alternative ID only. No antivirus.
- One: Adds antivirus and breach monitoring on top of everything in Starter.
- One+: Adds data broker removal on top of everything in One.
The antivirus is included in One and One+, but not Starter, so One is the minimum plan you need if antivirus protection is the reason you are here. I selected One and moved to checkout.
The 24-month billing cycle is where the real value sits. All 24-month plans currently include three extra months at no additional cost, making the effective subscription period 27 months. The pricing widget on this page will show you the current rates.
Checkout
The checkout screen is clean and transparent. It asks for an email address up front, with the option to continue using Google or Apple instead of creating a separate account. Surfshark states clearly on this screen that it will not share your email address with third parties.
One thing I noticed immediately: a coupon code field sits directly in the order summary panel on the right side of the screen. If you have a discount code, enter it here before completing payment. It takes a few seconds and can reduce the total without any extra steps.
Payment options are among the most flexible I have seen across any security product I have reviewed:
- PayPal
- Credit and debit cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover)
- Apple Pay
- Google Pay
- Cryptocurrency
Cryptocurrency is worth noting if purchase privacy matters to you, though it does not support auto-renewal.
The order summary includes a note about billing terms that is worth reading before you click through. The initial 27-month period is charged once at signup.
After that, the subscription renews annually at the then-applicable renewal rate, and Surfshark commits to notifying you by email before any renewal charge applies.
After completing payment, Surfshark directed me to the download page automatically.
Installation
Dedicated apps are available for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, and Linux, along with browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox, and Edge. I downloaded the Windows installer from the post-payment download page.
The installation took under two minutes.
Opening the installer brought up a straightforward setup window, and clicking through the standard prompts completed the process with no bundled extras, no hidden checkboxes, and nothing unusual to watch out for. The app placed a shortcut on the desktop and launched directly into the login screen.
On iOS and Android, the app is available directly from the App Store and Google Play, so there is no need to return to the website on mobile.
The dashboard and connecting for the first time
After logging in, the antivirus section is accessible from the left sidebar, identifiable by the bug icon. Clicking into it splits the screen into two panels that stay visible at the same time.
The right panel gives you a live status overview at a glance.
Below that, a Quarantine section shows the number of files currently isolated, with an arrow to review them directly.
Two scan buttons sit at the bottom of this panel: Full scan and Quick scan. There is also a drag-and-drop target for scanning a specific file or folder on demand without running a full scan, which is a practical touch for quickly checking a downloaded file you are unsure about.
The left panel is where the settings live, and it is organized into five clear sections:
- Real-time protection: Enabled by default. Runs continuously and checks vulnerable areas of the device at all times.
- Web protection: Also enabled by default. Checks websites and intercepts threats before anything is downloaded to the device.
- Scheduled scans: Separate schedules for quick scans and full scans, each with their own toggle and an edit icon to adjust the day and time. I had a quick scan set to run six days a week and a full scan scheduled every Wednesday, both toggled on.
- Webcam protection (Beta): Blocks untrusted apps from accessing the camera. A Trusted app list sits below the toggle for whitelisting any application that legitimately needs camera access.
- Virus database and Cloud protect: An expandable section covering how the threat database is maintained and updated.
- Exclusions list: Partially visible at the bottom of the panel, this is where you can add files or folders you want the scanner to skip.
The status panel on the right updates in real time, so you always have a current read on scan activity, quarantine status, and when the last device scan ran, without navigating away from the main antivirus view.
Settings worth configuring after first install
Three antivirus-specific settings are worth enabling or checking immediately after you are in:
- Real-time protection: Confirm it is toggled on in the Antivirus section. This is the always-on layer that scans files as you open or download them, and it should be the first thing you verify before anything else.
- Scheduled scans: Set these up on day one rather than relying on memory. Surfshark lets you configure separate schedules for quick scans and full scans, each with their own day-and-time settings. You can run a quick scan six days a week at a set time and reserve the full scan for a quieter day, which is more flexible than most antivirus schedulers that only let you pick a single recurring time.
- Webcam protection: Found within the Antivirus section and currently in beta, this blocks untrusted apps from accessing your camera. A Trusted app list sits below the toggle for whitelisting anything that legitimately needs camera access. It is worth enabling, but keep in mind the beta status means occasional issues are possible.
One additional step worth taking inside the Quarantine settings: Surfshark lets you configure quarantined files to delete automatically after 60 days. Enabling this means you are not accumulating isolated files indefinitely without reviewing them.
Verdict on the setup experience
Getting from the pricing page to a running, configured installation took me under ten minutes, and none of it required any technical knowledge. The checkout process is transparent about billing terms, offers more payment flexibility than most security products at this price point, and the coupon code field in the order summary is a small but practical detail that most providers leave out.
The dashboard rewards a few minutes of exploration after first install. The antivirus, VPN, and privacy tools all sit within the same sidebar rather than being spread across separate applications, which makes the One bundle feel like a coherent product rather than a collection of parts.
For a first-time user, being able to confirm that real-time protection is active, a scan schedule is set, and webcam protection is on, all from the same screen, makes it easy to walk away confident that the setup is actually complete.
6. Customer Support
Surfshark offers three support routes: 24/7 live chat, ticket submission by email, and a self-service Help Center. There is no phone support.
Testing the live chat
I opened the live chat on May 20, 2026, at 2:27 PM and submitted a two-part technical question after entering my name and email:
“If I add a folder to the exclusions list, does that exclusion apply across all scan types, including real-time protection and scheduled scans, or only to manual scans I run myself? And if a file gets quarantined, can I restore it to its original location, or does restoring it move it somewhere else on the device?”
First response: AI
The chat opened with Sharkbot AI, powered by nexos.ai, which responded within seconds. It answered Part 1 cleanly and confidently: folder exclusions apply across all scan types, including real-time protection, scheduled scans, and manual scans. That is a complete and useful answer.
Part 2 was a different story. The AI acknowledged it could not find specific information on where quarantined files are restored to, and offered to walk me through the restoration process if I provided my operating system. Useful as a fallback, but it was not what I asked.
Escalating to a human
I requested a human agent. The AI confirmed one would join within a minute, and Holden Blackstone from the support team connected shortly after.
I asked the follow-up question directly: does a restored quarantine file go back to its original location, and does the answer differ between Windows and macOS?
Holden took a moment to check, then came back with two responses. First, that quarantined files are encrypted and can only be restored through the Antivirus dashboard in the Surfshark app. Second, that restored files do go back to their original location on the device. Both of those are useful answers.
The Windows vs macOS part of the question was not addressed. Whether the restoration behavior differs between platforms was left unanswered, which is the same gap the AI left open.
Live chat summary
| Detail | |
|---|---|
| Chat initiated | 2:27 PM, May 20, 2026 |
| First response | Instant (AI) |
| Human connected | Within approximately one minute of request |
| Part 1 answered | Yes, fully and accurately (AI) |
| Part 2 answered | Partially. Confirmed files restore to original location. Platform difference not addressed. |
| Human or bot | Both. AI first, human on escalation. |
The Help Center
The Help Center at support.surfshark.com is organized into six topic areas across the homepage:
- Getting started: First steps, setup and installation, manual setup guides
- Fix an issue: Speed issues, connection issues, streaming issues
- Billing: Refund and cancellation, invoices, billing FAQ
- My Account: Two-factor authentication, email and password, account FAQ
- Surfschool: Educational articles covering Surfshark VPN, protocols, and features
- Surfshark One: Guides specific to the bundled suite, including how to install the antivirus on macOS and how to use Surfshark Search
The structure is logical and easy to navigate. The homepage also surfaces a Common Topics section with five frequently needed articles, including how to cancel auto-renewal and what the refund policy covers.
These are exactly the questions most users have before and shortly after subscribing, and putting them on the front page rather than requiring a search is a sensible call.
Article quality
I opened the article on Dausos, Surfshark’s proprietary VPN protocol, to assess documentation depth. It is a strong example of how the Help Center handles complex topics. The article opens with a plain-English explanation of how the protocol works, moves into its key capabilities and benefits, and then provides a numbered step-by-step guide with screenshots for each stage of the setup process.
A troubleshooting section follows at the bottom, covering the most common issues and what to try before contacting support. Related articles are listed at the end.
The structure is well thought through. Each section has a clear heading, the screenshots are current and match the actual interface, and there is a “Can’t find what you need?” bar at the bottom of every article linking directly to live chat or ticket submission.
You are never more than one click from a human if the article does not solve your problem.
The one gap worth noting is that the Help Center skews heavily toward VPN content. The Surfshark One section is present but comparatively thin, with only three articles surfaced on the homepage, and dedicated antivirus troubleshooting guides are harder to find than their VPN equivalents.
Support channels summary
| Channel | Available | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Live chat | 24/7 | AI first, human escalation available. Human joined within approximately one minute of request. |
| Ticket/email | Always | Available via the Help Center contact form |
| Help Center | Always | Six topic areas, well structured, strong article quality |
| Phone | Not available | No phone support offered |
Verdict on support
The live chat works well in practice. The AI handled Part 1 of my question accurately and without hesitation, and the human escalation was genuinely fast, with Holden joining in roughly a minute rather than the typical multi-minute queue experience.
The confirmation that quarantined files restore to their original location is the kind of specific answer that matters to a user deciding whether to trust the quarantine system.
The limitation is the same one that appeared twice across both the AI and human responses: the platform-specific element of my question, whether restoration behavior differs between Windows and macOS, went unanswered by both. A complete answer would have addressed it directly or confirmed that the behavior is consistent across platforms.
The Help Center is well organized, and the article quality is high, with proper screenshots, troubleshooting guidance, and a clear path to live chat if self-service does not resolve the issue. The relatively thin antivirus-specific content compared to VPN documentation is the only structural gap worth noting, and one that is likely to fill out as the product matures.
Is Surfshark Antivirus Worth It?
Surfshark Antivirus is worth it if you are already considering Surfshark’s ecosystem or want antivirus protection bundled with a VPN under a single subscription. The AV-TEST results are strong, the interface is one of the cleanest in the category, and the Surfshark One bundle delivers genuine value compared to buying equivalent tools separately.
If you are shopping purely for antivirus and have no interest in the VPN or the bundled extras, you will be paying for features you may not need, and a standalone product like TotalAV gives you more flexibility at a comparable price. Surfshark also lacks a firewall at every plan tier, which matters if that is a requirement for your setup.
For most users who want solid, independently verified protection that stays out of the way and does not slow the machine down, Surfshark Antivirus does the job well.
