TechRadar Reviews

Ulefone RugKing 5 Pro: 30-second review

UleFone has a rugged phone for everyone, or so it seems. The newest addition to the RugKing series is the 5 Pro, a low-cost option available for around $220.

Its calling card is a 20,000mAh battery that Ulefone rates at 110 hours of endurance, which, in practice, translates to several days of real use before you need to hunt a power station or a wall socket. The trade-off is a 629g frame that is genuinely large and heavy. Though anyone who regularly carries tools, kit bags, or works outdoors will probably not find that a dealbreaker.

Beyond the battery, the RugKing 5 Pro earns its moniker through dual IP68 and IP69K certification alongside MIL-STD-810H compliance. It can be submerged, jet-washed, and dropped onto hard surfaces and, allegedly, remain functional.

The addition of a 20MP infrared night-vision camera and a 976-lumen flood flashlight also makes this phone suitable for camping adventures and emergency situations.

Where this design falls short is in processing power and connectivity: the Unisoc T7250 chipset is functional rather than fast, 5G is absent, and the camera maxes out at 1080p video. For the right buyer at the right price, though, those limitations are entirely manageable if they don’t expect too much.

With the cost of memory and storage rapidly increasing, it's likely we’ll see more of these hardware-curated designs, but this isn’t something we’d be inclined to label as one of the best rugged phones around.

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)Ulefone RugKing 5 Pro: price and availability

• How much does it cost? $270/£205/€235
• When is it out? Available now
• Where can you get it? You can get it directly from UleFone or via many online retailers .

As with many rugged phones, the cheapest place to buy this typically isn’t the maker, and the RugKing 5 Pro is no exception.

Direct from UleFone, the price of this phone is $269.99/£201.59/€231,26, depending on where you are based. You can check the site by clicking here.

At the time of writing, it isn’t available via Amazon.com, but I did find this phone for £229.99 on Amazon.co.uk, which seems a significant hike for next-day delivery.

The cheapest option is AliExpress, where the prices are $226.19 (£214.40 / €244.84), making that source the cheapest choice for Americans, but more expensive than the maker pricing for Europeans.

Almost wherever you source this, it isn’t an expensive phone, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t cheaper alternatives.

For less than this phone, the Blackview BL7000 is a great choice, as it features a 50 megapixel main camera with a Samsung JN1 sensor that performs surprisingly well, runs on a Dimensity 6300 chip, and offers 5G connectivity. And, it can be found for $200.

The downside of the BL7000 is that it only offers 7500 mAh of battery, and most of the competitor devices around this cost have 10,000 mAh or less.

But, if battery capacity isn’t a priority, I’d look at the Blackview BL7000, Blackview Fort 1, Ulefone Armor X16 Pro 5G, DOOGEE Blade 10 Ultra or OUKITEL G3. Some of these have 5G, others have better cameras.

And, if you want the same battery with a better SoC, the Blackview Oscal Tank 1 is a good choice.

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

• Value score: 4/5

Ulefone RugKing 5 Pro: Specs

Display

6.78-inch IPS LCD, 1080 x 2460 (FHD+), 396ppi, 910 nits peak brightness

Processor

Unisoc T7250 octa-core (2x Cortex-A75 @ 1.8GHz, 6x Cortex-A55 @ 1.6GHz)

GPU

ARM Mali-G57 MP1 @ 850MHz

RAM

8GB (with extended virtual RAM support)

Storage

256GB internal + microSD expansion (dedicated slot)

Operating System

Android 16

Rear Cameras

64MP main (OmniVision OV64B) + 20MP infrared night vision (Sony sensor, 2x IR LEDs)

Front Camera

16MP (Samsung CMOS sensor)

Video

1080p max (no 4K)

Battery

20,000mAh Li-Polymer (non-removable)

Charging

33W wired fast charge; 6W wired reverse charging

Wireless Charging

Not supported

Connectivity

4G LTE (no 5G), dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC, FM radio, USB-C 2.0 (OTG)

Biometrics

Side-mounted fingerprint sensor

Durability

IP68, IP69K, MIL-STD-810H (2m drop rated)

Display Protection

Corning Gorilla Glass 3

Flashlight

976-lumen flood flashlight

Expansion Port

uSmart side-mounted accessory port

SIM

Dual Nano-SIM + dedicated microSD tray

Headphone Jack

None (USB-C adapter required)

Dimensions

179 x 85 x 26.5mm

Weight

629g

Colours

Black

Ulefone RugKing 5 Pro: Design

• Not pocket-friendly
• Odd button arrangement
• No wireless charging

The RugKing 5 Pro does not pretend to be subtle. Measuring 179 x 85 x 26.5mm and weighing 629g, it falls into a category that goes well beyond oversized and approaches a handheld piece of equipment.

Ulefone has clad the chassis in a polycarbonate and aluminium combination, using rubberised corner guards to absorb impact energy, a formula the company has refined across many generations of its rugged line.

The overall aesthetic follows a well-established Ulefone template: metal banding along the sides, pronounced corner protection, and a carbon fibre texture finish on the back panel. The rear camera module is described as visually distinctive, with a clean arrangement housing the main sensor, the infrared night vision camera, and the two IR illuminator LEDs.

A 976-lumen camping flashlight sits separately on the body and is a practical addition for field use, not an afterthought.

Where the RugKing 5 Pro diverges from most rugged designs is in the button layout, which is a curious combination of conventional and unexpected.

The power button, which doubles as a fingerprint reader, and the volume rocker sit on the right side. On the left, there are two user-programmable shortcut buttons and the SIM tray.

The SIM tray itself accepts two Nano-SIM cards plus a microSD card on a dedicated slot, so you are not forced to sacrifice expandable storage to run dual SIMs, which is a sensible decision for a working phone.

What’s odd is the placement of the user-definable buttons, which, if you have two, are often close together. Here, one of them is where you might expect it for using a talk-to-speak function, but the other is low on the left-hand side. This lower button is remarkably easy to accidentally press while holding the phone, and by default, it activates the camping light, annoyingly.

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

The display bezels are reported to be thick by current standards, which is a cosmetic compromise that is difficult to avoid given the structural requirements of the surround. Corning Gorilla Glass 3 is the chosen screen protection, which is not the latest generation but remains practically resilient against the kind of incidental scratching that comes with field use.

The 6.78-inch IPS panel runs at FHD+ resolution, which works out at 1080 x 2460 pixels and a pixel density of 396ppi. Text and images are sharp at normal viewing distances, and colour reproduction is described in third-party assessments as accurate.

The headline display specification is its peak brightness of 910 nits, which is designed to keep the screen legible under direct sunlight. For a phone explicitly marketed at outdoor workers and adventurers, the brightness of this display is an important feature rather than a marketing exercise.

Ulefone has added both Glove Mode and Water Lock Mode to the software. The former keeps the touchscreen responsive when the user is wearing work gloves, which is a well-understood requirement for tradespeople. Water Lock Mode disables touchscreen input to prevent false touches from rain or spray, while keeping the display visible. This is particularly useful for navigation in wet conditions.

Overall, aside from the odd placement of the second custom button, there isn’t much wrong with the external design of the RugKing 5 Pro.

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

Design score: 4/5

Ulefone RugKing 5 Pro: Hardware

• Unisoc T7250
• AI subscriptions
• 2000 mAh battery

I’m not a huge fan of the Unisoc SoCs, but it's hard to ignore how many phone makers are gravitating to using them, presumably due to cost.

The Unisoc T7250 is an octa-core design built around two Cortex-A75 performance cores running at 1.8GHz, backed by six Cortex-A55 efficiency cores at 1.6GHz. The GPU is an ARM Mali-G57 MP1 operating at 850MHz. Benchmark figures place the AnTuTu score at approximately 256,822, with Geekbench 6 returning around 441 in single-core and 1,426 in multi-core testing.

Those numbers put this firmly in the budget-to-mid-range territory, well behind current flagship processors. For everyday tasks such as navigation, communication, document viewing, and running field-specific applications, the T7250 is serviceable. Where it will show its limits is in graphics-heavy gaming or any processor-intensive creative work.

The 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage are enough for most purposes, but hardly generous. Thankfully, the microSD expansion slot provides additional headroom without compromising the dual-SIM capability.

Android 16 is the operating system, which is notable and puts this phone ahead of many rivals in terms of software currency. Ulefone has also included a suite of AI productivity features, although I’m reasonably sure that it doesn’t offer inherent AI processing powers.

The AI functionality on offer is cloud-based and requires a subscription; I’d avoid it like the plague.

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

Of greater use is the 20,000 mAh battery, which is enough to keep this relatively low-power device running for at least four days or more. The only caveat to the large battery capacity is that the maximum recharge wattage is 33W.

Even with the provided 33W PSU, the RugKing 5 Pro took an inordinate amount of time to recharge, especially when it was down to the last 10%. This isn’t a phone you want to find that didn’t charge before you are about to leave on a long journey.

A 6W wired reverse charging function turns the phone into a portable power bank, allowing it to top up other devices such as earbuds, a smartwatch, or a colleague's handset via the USB-C port. Wireless charging is not supported.

Returning to the SoC, one critical limitation of this design is that it doesn’t support 5G comms, only 4G LTE, 3G and 2G. Equally, the Wi-Fi is dual-band, covering 2.4GHz and 5GHz networks. Bluetooth 5.2 handles peripheral connectivity. NFC is present for contactless payments and device pairing, which is practically useful even in industrial contexts. FM radio is included.

The takeaway from this hardware platform is that this isn’t for anyone with special performance requirements, unless those are to run for an impressive length of time on its ample battery capacity.

• Hardware score: 3/5

Ulefone RugKing 5 Pro: Cameras

• 64MP and 20MP on the rear
• 16MP on the front
• Three cameras in total

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

The UleFone RugKing 5 Pro has three cameras:

Rear camera: 64MP Omnivision OV64B40 Sensor, 20MP Sony IMX350(Night Vision)
Front camera: 16MP Samsung S5K3P8 SP

The RugKing 5 Pro features a dual-rear-camera setup, which, on paper, appears suitable for capturing video and still images while away from home.

The primary shooter is a 64MP sensor from OmniVision, the OV64B, which handles standard photography. The secondary camera, the veritable Sony IMX350, is the more interesting of the two: a 20MP infrared night vision unit paired with two IR LEDs.

The night vision system allows the phone to capture usable imagery in complete darkness by using IR illumination rather than visible light. This has obvious utility for anyone working in poor lighting, conducting inspections, or exploring environments after dark.

The 16MP front camera uses a Samsung CMOS sensor and is aimed at video calling and documentation, which seems adequate for those jobs.

What’s harder to comprehend is why the Omnivision OV64B40, a 64MP sensor, only captures 1080p video, the same resolution as the 16MP front-facing Samsung sensor.

There is no 4K, or even 2K, capability, which may be a straightforward limitation of the SoC and sensor combination. For a phone at this price point and with this emphasis, that might be seen as an acceptable trade-off, though it is worth noting if the buyer has media production requirements or just expects something better from a 64MP sensor.

For basic image capture, the cameras on this phone are acceptable, but if you want to document a location or journey, I’d pick something that can at least record video at 1080p or higher.

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)Ulefone RugKing 5 Pro Camera samplesMark PickavanceMark PickavanceMark PickavanceMark PickavanceMark PickavanceMark PickavanceMark PickavanceMark PickavanceMark PickavanceMark PickavanceMark PickavanceMark PickavanceMark Pickavance

• Camera score: 3.5/5

Ulefone RugKing 5 Pro: Performance

• Battery-efficient SoC
• Dire CPU and GPU results

Phone

UleFone RugKing 5 Pro

Blackview Oscal Tank 1

SoC

Unisoc T7250

MediaTek Dimensity 7050

GPU

ARM Mali-G57

ARM Mali‑G68 MC4

NPU

N/A

MediaTek NPU 550

Memory

8GB/256GB

12GB/256GB

Weight

629g

640g

Battery

20000

20000

Geekbench

Single

441

920

Multi

1424

2466

OpenCL

734

2471

Vulkan

718

3036

PCMark

3.0 Score

8550

11684

Battery

37h 7m

33h 57m

Charge 30

%

15

13

Passmark

Score

6096

6861

CPU

3042

5285

3DMark

Slingshot OGL

1842

5293

Slingshot Ex. OGL

1247

4150

Slingshot Ex. Vulkan

1264

3940

Wildlife

579

2232

Nomad Lite

66

266

For this comparison, I went with another rugged design that offered a 20000 mAh battery that’s close in price to the RugKing 5 Pro; the Blackview Oscal Tank 1.

What’s slightly shocking about these results is how much more powerful the MediaTek Dimensity 7050 is when compared to the Unisoc T7250. Often, it's double the performance, especially when the benchmark requires any GPU support. What makes this deficit even more worrying is that the Dimensity 7050 is a rebranding of an older MediaTek SoC, the Dimensity 1080, a 6nm chip first launched in 2022.

A modern 4nm SoC, such as the Dimensity 7300, would have a GeekBench single-core score of over 1,000 and a multi-core score between 2,500 and 3,000. And, a Wildlife score of nearly 3,200.

To say that the Unisoc T7250 is underwhelming is an understatement. However, being a slug has one virtue, and it's that it makes the 20000 mAh battery last a long time.

In fact, when testing, the benchmark had an issue for some reason and stopped with 35% of the battery capacity still available, so it would have achieved more than 40 hours had that not happened.

The flipside of that coin, and this goes for both phones, is how slowly it recharges. Filling the 20000 mAh capacity from zero could easily take six hours or more, so don’t forget to plug it in before bed.

In short, those looking for CPU or GPU performance need to look elsewhere, but battery life is exceptional because it runs at these levels.

• Performance score: 3/5

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)Ulefone RugKing 5 Pro: Final verdict

There are some good things about this phone, especially its battery life, but they are overshadowed to some extent by the subpar SoC, video capture resolution, and a slow-charging battery.

All that said, given the price of this device, are those things an issue? That depends on exactly what the buyer is anticipating using the RugKing 5 Pro for.

If it’s a basic phone that takes over from the daily driver when the owner goes onto a building site, into the jungle or into a wet or dusty environment, then there is a place for it.

My concern is that it won’t take long to find the limitations of this device, and perhaps spending another $50 or more might have avoided those issues from the outset.

But, if all you want is a modern Android platform on hardware that’s abuse-resistant, then the RugKing 5 Pro is an option. But I’d check other phones in its price range for something that’s lighter and uses a more impressive platform.

Should I buy a Ulefone RugKing 5 Pro?Ulefone Armor Pad 5 Ultra Score Card

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Value

Inexpensive for a phone with 20000 mAh battery

4/5

Design

Heavy and thick, with an annoying button layout

4/5

Hardware

Underwhelming SoC, but large battery and decent screen

3/5

Camera

Reasonable for still photography, but only 1080p video

3.5/5

Performance

Slow SoCs and GPU combination, but excellent battery life

3/5

Overall

Cheap, but the performance is lacklustre

3.5/5

Buy it if...

You need a phone for outdoors
The water and dust resistance on this phone is sufficient for extreme weather conditions and even being immersed. But it is heavy, has awkwardly placed buttons, and is unsuitable for small hands.

You need extended battery life
The 20000 mAh battery in this phone can keep it working for a week or more. Just make sure to fully charge it before leaving civilisation.

Don't buy it if...

You need a daily driver
If weight and size matter to you, then give this a miss. At 629g and 26.5mm deep, this is not a pocketable device by any reasonable definition.

You need 4K video
The best video resolution on offer is only 1080p, which is disappointing. It’s better at still images, but there are rugged phones available with much better cameras than this one.View Deal

Also Consider

Blackview Oscal Tank 1
Another inexpensive phone with a 20000 mAh. But in this case, it comes with a superior SoC platform and a better camera cluster than the RugKing 5 Pro. Therefore, you get 4K video recording on both rear and front sensors, and you also get an SoC that supports 5G comms.

Read my full Blackview Oscal Tank 1 review View Deal

Ulefone Armour Mini 20 Pro
A practical, 5G rugged design with an inbuilt camping light, night vision camera, but with less battery than the Tank X, and fewer features. This makes the phone easily pocketable and usable like a normal phone.

Read our full Ulefone Armor Mini 20 Pro review

For more ruggedized devices, we've reviewed the best rugged tablets, the best rugged laptops, and the best rugged hard drives

If you’re a large business or enterprise-grade business looking for the best data recovery software, Ontrack EasyRecovery can be a good choice. With more than 40 years of experience, the platform claims a million customers with 120 petabytes of recovered data.

However, instead of taking the provider’s word for it, we’ve put Ontrack EasyRecovery through tests of our own to see if it lives up to its reputation. Read on as we discuss Ontrack EasyRecovery in detail, including its best features, pricing, installation, and in-use experience.

Ontrack EasyRecovery: Plans and pricing

Ontrack EasyRecovery does not offer a unified pricing page where you can view the prices of the different products at a glance. You’ll have to manually click on the “Buy Now” button on various product pages to actually see how much the products cost, which can be a bit of a buzzkill.

That said, we found the pricing pretty competitive and at par with other data recovery software around. For example, its Home version costs $59.99 for a year for Windows and $69.99 for Mac. Similarly, the Professional version costs $99.99, while the Premium plan comes at $129.99. The Technician version costs $199 and covers 3 devices, and lastly, the Toolkit costs $299 for up to three machines.

(Image credit: Ontrack EasyRecovery)

Although Ontrack EasyRecovery offers a free plan, it is one of the most limited versions we have seen across the board. You can recover up to 1GB of data, but with an upper cap of 25MB per file. This makes it impossible to recover any file more than 25MB using the free version.

Ontrack EasyRecovery: Features

On the face of it, Ontrack EasyRecovery may not appear as feature-rich as some competing data recovery tools. However, it stands out as one of the few platforms designed to meet the needs of enterprise-grade users as well as government organizations. This level of adoption speaks volumes about its reliability and advanced recovery capabilities.

(Image credit: Future)

EasyRecovery is available for both Windows and Mac and supports FAT, NTFS, or exFAT file systems, as well as HFS, HFS+, and APFS formatted drives. The best part about it is that you can save the results of your scan and resume the recovery process later.

The provider offers various products catering to a wide range of users – from home users trying to recover deleted, trashed, or virus-infected files to professional users recovering multiple data loss events. EasyRecovery can create disk images, which lets you work on a copy of the drive instead of risking further damage to the original.

Additionally, you can also monitor hard drive health and recover data from CDs and DVDs. There’s also a Premium version, which can repair corrupt photos and videos and clone HDDs and SSDs, enabling seamless migration or backup of entire drives.

Moving up, the Enterprise version is an on-premise technician plan, which can rebuild broken RAIDs and volumes and create virtual RAIDs. This comes in handy in complex scenarios where RAID configurations are broken or disks are missing.

Lastly, there's the Technician version, which offers licenses for commercial use and works on Windows, Mac, and Linux (only this version) devices.

Scanning

The provider offers two scanning modes: full scan and deep scan. However, the actual scanning process is pretty slow. It took me more than half an hour to scan a 500 GB external hard disk with a quick scan. A deep scan can take 4 to 5 hours, depending on the scan location and complexity of file types.

(Image credit: Future)

On average, data recovery software consumes around 8 to 15% of CPU processing power while actively scanning for lost files. However, on my Windows 11 system, EasyRecovery averaged just 3 to 4% CPU usage during the scan.

(Image credit: Future)

While this is impressively low for a typically resource-intensive process, it also raises some concerns about performance. In practice, the lighter CPU footprint appeared to come at the cost of scan depth and overall effectiveness, since the scans were not able to detect certain deleted files from the drive.

Ontrack EasyRecovery: Installation and in-use experience

The interface is modern and quickly navigable. It is easy to go over, and you can find your way to the first scan within a couple of minutes without any hassle. There’s also a handy preview mode, which you can turn on to preview the files being scanned.

However, it appeared more of a cosmetic feature during our tests, since you cannot actually click or recover anything until the scan has finally been completed.

(Image credit: Future)

The left panel shows you the files being scanned in a tree view and file type view, along with the deleted list. However, none of these lists will populate until the scan completes. Comparatively, tools like Wondershare Recoverit and EaseUS let you recover files while the scan is running in the background.

(Image credit: Future)

That said, EasyRecovery offers a handy preview feature where you can preview the files before recovering them. However, it may not work if the files were deleted a long time ago or have been corrupted beyond repair.

Ontrack EasyRecovery: How we tested

We sourced Mozart's album from the Internet Archive, which contains 101 MB of data and 22 files, including 13 JPGs, 4 PNGs, 2 MP3s, and 2 FLAC files, to test data recovery capabilities across various formats. However, since EasyRecovery caps the per-file recovery limit at just 25 MB, we adopted a different approach to test it out.

We scanned our external 1.3 TB NTFS hard drive after copying and deleting certain PDF files and images on it, each within the prescribed limit. After the initial scan was done, we clicked on the file and hit recover. Within a minute, the files appeared in our destination folder with their contents intact.

Ontrack EasyRecovery: Support

Upon visiting the Ontrack website, we couldn’t find a traditional “Support” section. However, the “Contact Us” page is fairly comprehensive, offering multiple options including general inquiries, technical support, job status tracking, and even emergency services. Users can get in touch with Ontrack specialists directly via the contact form or by calling them.

There’s also a dedicated option to track ongoing recovery jobs through a client portal, along with 24/7 emergency services for time-sensitive situations. While the platform does cover some general FAQs on its site, there isn’t much detailed guidance on performing specific recovery tasks. That said, the availability of direct human support and round-the-clock assistance helps bridge that gap for most users.

(Image credit: Ontrack EasyRecovery)Ontrack EasyRecovery: The competition

Arcserve UDP and MiniTool Data Recovery are two popular alternatives to Ontrack EasyRecovery. Both come with comprehensive file recovery options for events such as accidental deletion, virus attack, and disk failure. Arcserve is more geared toward business clients, and it is great at data recovery in environments that use large volumes of data. It is also very effective at minimizing data loss when it comes to cloud applications.

MiniTool is designed more for at-home or small-business use than it is for corporate settings, and the highest tier plan is, in fact, called Personal Ultimate, with a pricing scheme that changes with the duration of your license and not with any additional features or functionality.

Of the three, Arcserve is the best option for enterprise-grade data recovery, while MiniTool can only be used in private or home settings and EasyRecovery provides a great middle-ground for individuals and small or medium-sized businesses.

Ontrack EasyRecovery: Final verdict

Despite its slow scanning process, Ontrack EasyRecovery is very good at its core function, which is finding and recovering lost files. It is one of the few platforms that offers enterprise-grade software for large organizations as well as governments. It can recover data from PCs, RAID volumes, HDDs, SSDs, and even supports Linux systems on higher-tier plans. It is beginner-friendly and easy to navigate with a handy preview feature.

However, its free plan is very limited, as it allows recovering files up to a maximum size of 25MB only, which makes it practically unusable for serious data recovery testing. Overall, if you’re looking for a dependable, no-frills recovery tool backed by strong industry credibility, EasyRecovery is a solid choice.

We've listed the best data recovery service.

DM Disk Editor and Data Recovery Software (DMDE) is a popular name among data recovery loyalists. It’s not as flashy as some other modern tools, but those in the data recovery domain often swear by DMDE’s reliable recovery features.

In this article, we’ve put DMDE to the test to see if all the community chatter about this oldish-looking data recovery software is worth it. Read on till the end as we discuss DMDE’s performance, interface, pricing, and our final verdict based on in-house tests.

DMDE: Plans & pricing

(Image credit: DMDE)

DMDE has one of the most generous free plans we have seen across the board. Its free version allows you to recover up to 4,000 files from a selected directory per request, without any limit on the number of requests you can make.

This means you can potentially use DMDE for free forever if you have the time to recover each directory individually, with a hard upper cap of 4,000 files per directory. However, this usually involves a lot of time and organizational headaches, which is why you should consider one of its extremely affordable paid plans.

You can get started with its Express plan, which costs $9.95 per month or $20 per year. This is ideal for individual users who want to recover a few files every now and then. Alternatively, you can opt for the Standard plan, which costs $48 for a perpetual license. This is recommended for regular home users and small businesses with personal recovery needs.

Lastly, there’s the Professional plan, which costs $95 for a single OS family and $133 for multi-OS. This plan is designed for medium and large enterprises, with several professional features such as read support for E01 disk image files, log support to resume disk copying, DMA mode support in DOS, and I/O handler script customization.

DMDE: Key features

DMDE supports a wide range of operating systems, including Windows, macOS, Linux, and even DOS, along with a host of file systems such as FAT12, FAT16, FAT32, exFAT, NTFS, HFS+, HFSX, Ext2, Ext3, Ext4, and so on. And if that’s not enough, you can provide DMDE with a custom file type, and the platform can recognize signature patterns to find and recover similar files from your desired location.

Besides this, DMDE is very good at detecting and restoring lost partitions, even after a complete partition wipeout. It can recover boot sectors and partition headers and works with both legacy and modern partition styles, which is very useful if you are trying to restore old systems.

However, it’s DMDE’s RAID reconstructor that sets it apart from other recovery software on the market. Its RAID module allows you to build a virtual RAID from either individual disks or disk images, while supporting RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 4, RAID 5, RAID 6, delayed parity, custom striping, JBOD/spanned disks, along with automatic detection of RAID configurations.

(Image credit: Future)

This lets you recover data even when the original RAID is broken or inaccessible, without needing to rebuild it physically. Since everything is done virtually, your source disks remain safe throughout the process.

Scanning

I was impressed by the number of scanning options DMDE offers. For starters, there are quick and deep scan options that you can choose based on your recovery needs. Besides this, before each scan begins, you can preset various parameters. For example, you can choose which area of the disk to scan or whether you want to scan raw file signatures.

(Image credit: Future)

DMDE’s quick scan is much faster than some other recovery software. However, given its lackluster interface, you won’t see a prominent scanning status bar – only a small battery-style bar. That said, if the scan takes longer than expected, you can save the scans to load later. You also have the option to view the files being scanned by clicking the ‘Open Volume’ option at the bottom.

Once you see the deleted file you want to recover, select the small checkbox on the left and click ‘Recover’. You’ll again see some advanced selection options, where you’ll need to choose the recovery destination and filter out results based on file size, last modified date, and IDs.

(Image credit: Future)

Once you hit ‘Recover’, the files will appear in your chosen destination within a matter of minutes. However, do note that in the free edition, files can be processed from the active panel only. So, you’ll need to open a subdirectory in the active panel before you can recover any files.

DMDE: Installation and in-use

Installing DMDE is a piece of cake – a simple click of the free download button on its website will install the application on your system. Follow the prompts to complete installation, and it will automatically launch on completion.

(Image credit: Future)

Unlike most data recovery software, which welcomes you with a homepage or dashboard, DMDE is pretty vanilla. All you’ll see is a disk selection window, where you’ll need to select the disk you want to scan or choose other features you want to access.

Now, the first thing that struck me was how old the interface looked. DMDE seems to be stuck in the ’90s, and using it feels like you’re cranking up an old motorcycle on a new highway. Needless to say, there’s a steep learning curve involved. You’ll have to fiddle with tiny menu options to find what you’re looking for.

Thankfully, there are ample resources on its website that guide you through the process. Even then, it can take you a few days to get the hang of this oldish-looking software.

DMDE: How we tested 

I installed the free version of DMDE on my Windows 11 system, with 16GB of RAM and a 12th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-12500H processor. To test DMDE’s versatility, I downloaded Mozart's album from the Internet Archive, which consisted of 22 files – 13 JPG files, 4 PNG files, 2 MP3 files, 2 FLAC files, and 1 torrent file.

I copied this folder onto a 1.36 TB NTFS hard drive and connected it to my Windows 11 system. I then deleted this folder and emptied the Recycle Bin. After this, I ran a quick scan with DMDE. I clicked ‘Open Volume’ while the scan was still running and found the said Mozart folder. I opened the folder to select the files I wanted to recover and clicked ‘Recover’, and within a minute, the files appeared in my chosen destination in perfect condition.

DMDE: Support

(Image credit: DMDE)

Additionally, there’s a FAQ section that covers common issues and usage questions. While it’s not as detailed as we would like, it still gets the job done for most basic queries.

(Image credit: DMDE)DMDE: Final verdict

DMDE is one of the most value-for-money data recovery software solutions we have tested. At an annual cost of $20, you get advanced scanning features that support all common and even customizable file formats across systems like Windows, macOS, Linux, and DOS.

Not only can you recover lost partitions, but DMDE’s RAID reconstructor also allows you to build a virtual RAID while automatically detecting RAID configurations. Its quick scan is fairly fast and allows you to recover files while the scan is still in progress. You also have the option to save scans and resume them at a later date.

The only downside to DMDE is its outdated interface and steep learning curve. You’ll have to find your way around the menus and hidden settings. However, once you get past that, DMDE is a reliable recovery tool that rewards patience with powerful results.

Samsung Galaxy A57 two-minute review

According to sales figures, Samsung's budget-friendly A-series phones generally sell better than their pricier S-series siblings (aka the best Samsung phones). So, while the Galaxy S26 Ultra is the brand's newest flashy flagship, a good deal more buyers are probably considering the Samsung Galaxy A57 instead.

For those not versed in the Samsung taxonomy, here's a quick recap: 'A' = cheap, '5' denotes the place in the lineup (it goes 0-5), and '7' is the generation (this is the 2026 model). That's all to say that the Galaxy A57 is the brand's most advanced mid-ranger of 2026, succeeding the Galaxy A56.

Like the S26 family, this is an iterative upgrade, bringing spec tweaks and a new (but familiar) roster of colors, rather than any truly significant changes. Mind you, a price hike makes those same specs look a little bit less appealing this year, given that you're paying extra for them.

The largely unchanged specs list means you're getting similar highs and lows to last year's model. The A57's display is one standout feature, with the bright, bold screen a blessing for your Prime Video binge or commute-based gaming sessions.

Samsung's software is another treat; One UI largely avoids the problems that befall OS packages on many other mid-range phones, and there's much less feature-bloat here than you'll find on the Galaxy S-series phones.

The perks return, but so do the pitfalls. The A57's Exynos processor is simply no good for gaming, and I'd recommend doing your photo editing on a computer, too. For that matter, pictures taken on the A57 aren't up to snuff, which is a surprise given Samsung's usual pedigree in the field.

If you want a phone that just works, without drowning you in AI or automation features, you'll like the Galaxy A57. It won't suit avid photographers, gamers, or people who want a bit more out of their mobile, but it's a reliable workhorse for the average buyer. Its battery life is also solid, and the slightly shrunk frame will fit in your hands a little better than most large-screen phones.

Galaxy A-series phones are understandably popular, but with the price hike, this latest model is a tad harder to recommend than normal. It's definitely worth picking up if you find a solid discount, but with competitors from Nothing, Google, and various Chinese brands offering more for less right now, Samsung's top-end mid-range phone feels a little less valuable than it should.

Samsung Galaxy A57 review: price and availability

(Image credit: Future)

• Released on April 10, 2026
• Starts at $549 / £529 / AU$749, but for different variants
• Price hike over Galaxy A56

The Samsung Galaxy A57 was announced on March 25, 2026, alongside the more affordable A37. It went on sale several weeks later, on April 10.

There are three variants of the phone, with availability changing by region. The only model everyone gets costs $609 / £529 / AU$849, and that’s for 8GB RAM and 256GB storage. A cheaper model with only 128GB storage is available in the US and Australia, for $549 / AU$749, while Brits get a super-charged 12GB RAM and 512GB storage model for £699. I tested the 8GB / 256GB model for this review.

For ease of viewing, here are those prices in table form:

Samsung Galaxy A57 pricing

US

UK

AU

8GB / 128GB

$549

N/A

AU$749

8GB / 256GB

$609

£529

AU$849

12GB / 512GB

N/A

£699

N/A

No matter where you live, one thing’s for certain: the A57 has seen a significant price hike versus the Galaxy A56. That model started at $499 / £499 / AU$699 — again for different variants, which the table below details — meaning buyers of the new phone will have to shell out much more than they would have for last year’s model.

Given that the A56 wasn't particularly competitive in terms of price, either, an even higher price tag for the A57 will understandably give buyers pause.

Samsung Galaxy A56 pricing

US

UK

AU

8GB / 128GB

$499

N/A

AU$699

8GB / 256GB

$549

£499

AU$799

Samsung Galaxy A57 review: specsSamsung Galaxy A57 specs

Dimensions:

161.5 x 76.8 x 6.9 mm

Weight:

179g

Screen:

6.7-inch FHD (1080 x 2340) 120Hz AMOLED

Chipset:

Exynos 1680

RAM:

8/12GB

Storage:

128/256/512GB

OS:

Android 16, OneUI 8.5

Primary camera:

50MP, f/1.8

Ultra-wide camera:

12MP, f/2.2

Macro camera

5MP, f/2.4

Front camera:

12MP, f/2.2

Audio:

Stereo speakers

Battery:

5,000mAh

Charging:

45W wired

Colors:

Awesome Navy, Awesome Gray, Awesome Icyblue, Awesome Lilac

Samsung Galaxy A57 review: design

(Image credit: Future)

• Thin and light phone
• Some neat design touches that improve comfort
• Four color options, all sadly lifeless

To some degree, the Samsung Galaxy A57 has inherited a trait from the ill-fated Galaxy S25 Edge: thinness. The phone’s training regimen has seen it shrink to 6.9mm thick, which is thinner than anything else in Samsung’s roster beyond the Edge.

This doesn’t result in a massive overhaul of the Galaxy A’s hand-feel, not with the height and width still stretching the hand, but it’s a nice touch that makes the device look a little more svelte.

There’s clearly also been some weight loss, with the Galaxy A57 tipping the scales to 179g; again, this is a spec beaten only by Samsung’s year-old lean machine.

Samsung has toned down the fun of its A-series color options over the past few years, and it’s no different this time around. I tested the ‘Awesome’ Icyblue (scare quotes my own), and there’s also Awesome Navy, Awesome Lilac, and Awesome Gray (now that’s what I call an oxymoron). So that’s blue, blue, nearly-blue, and gray.

On the right edge of the A57, the power button is within easy thumb reach, and the volume rocker is only a small stretch higher. I appreciated that the phone’s edge slowly curves up just ahead of the power button, which meant it was simple to naturally find the button with my thumb without needing to look.

The A57 has a triple-camera rear module on the back, which looks identical to those of the last few A-series generations, and it doesn’t stick out too far, so the phone didn’t wobble much when I put it flat on a table.

The Galaxy A57 also has an IP68 certification, which means it’s safe against ingress from small particles, and can survive submersion in water of up to 1.5m for up to 30 minutes (that may sound specific, but it’s what the ‘8’ stands for). When a phone has IP68, you can rest assured that it’s safe for all everyday functions.

• Design score: 4 / 5

Samsung Galaxy A57 review: display

(Image credit: Future)

• 6.7 inches, 1080 x 2340 resolution
• 120Hz refresh rate, 1,900 nits max brightness
• Super AMOLED Plus gives display punch

The Samsung Galaxy A57 gets a 6.7-inch display, with a thin bezel that's broken up only by a small punch-hole for the front-facing camera.

Like the A56’s panel, it has a 1080 x 2340 resolution and hits a 120Hz refresh rate, so it’ll handle anything Netflix or your chosen mobile game can throw at it.

Colors are bright and vibrant, thanks in part to two upgrades over the previous model: a higher max brightness (1,900 nits) and the use of a Super AMOLED Plus panel, which offers a wider color gamut. It’s been said before, and it’s truer than ever now: it’s hard to find a better screen on a mid-range phone than on a Galaxy A-series device.

The A57 also has what Samsung calls Vision Booster, a feature that turns brightness and vibrancy up to 11 when the device recognizes that you’re watching content outdoors (as in, grappling with the shiny, reflective sunlight on the display). I didn’t have an A56 to test it against, and it’s not a feature that you can manually toggle, but I never had a problem using the A57 while outdoors.

A fingerprint sensor embedded under the phone's display worked well in my experience, never failing to recognize my thumb.

• Display score: 4.5 / 5

Samsung Galaxy A57 review: software

(Image credit: Future)

• Android 16 with One UI 8.5
• Six years of OS updates
• Software is cleaner and simpler than rivals'

Out of the box, the Galaxy A57 runs Android 16, the latest version of Android at the time of its release, with Samsung pledging six major Android updates to the phone.

This isn’t stock Android but One UI 8.5, which the Samsung Galaxy S26 also runs on, except here you get a tuned-down version of that same software.

Some may miss the flagship phone’s various premium features (you don't get generative AI tools like Drawing Assist, for instance), but I actually preferred the Galaxy A57's interface: you don't get inundated with AI features, random reminders, and gimmicky tools that do little.

One feature you do get is an upgraded version of Circle to Search. If you press and hold the home button, you can circle anything on screen and Google search it. The selling point of this feature is that it gives you the ability to find the outfits of people you see online — a pretty niche use case, it must be said — but I found Circle to Search pretty useful for searching for actors I recognized, settings in videos that I wanted to locate, and sports teams that I didn't recognize by their uniforms.

A common feature of mid-range smartphones is bloatware, but the Galaxy A57 is pristine and clean out of the box. You get barely any unwanted pre-installed apps (I can overlook Netflix and Spotify, given how ubiquitous they are), and there are barely any Samsung apps pre-installed either.

I’m a fan of the look of One UI, and it offers loads of customization options. You can bend the wallpaper, color palette, and icons to your will, and add Samsung-made widgets and tools that change how you use the phone.

I like to set up Modes on Galaxy phones, which let me quickly change various settings at the tap of a button. For example, I can design a Game mode, which mutes notifications and boosts screen and performance power, or set up a Sleep mode, which automatically turns on my alarm and switches the display to an eye-friendly grayscale. To easily switch these Modes on and off, I can plonk a carousel on my home page. It's pretty impressive stuff.

• Software score: 4 / 5

Samsung Galaxy A57 review: cameras

(Image credit: Future)

• 50MP main, 12MP ultra-wide, and 5MP macro cameras
• Cameras lack some vibrancy and optimization
• A range of useful camera features

Samsung has been using the same camera setup on its A50-series for years now (the A53 was the last model with a different main sensor), and in 2026, it's starting to show show its age. It’s simply not competitive compared to other similar-priced phones.

The main camera is a 50MP f/1.8 unit, which is joined by a 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide lens and a 5MP f/2.4 macro lens. Around the front, there's a 12MP f/2.2 selfie snapper.

In anything shy of blinding sunshine or studio lighting, the Galaxy A57 struggled to capture an adequate level of vibrancy or color detail — for instance, in the camera samples below, you’ll see foliage that looks desaturated and lacks dynamic range. An upgraded ISP (Image Signal Processing) chip was cited as an upgrade with this phone, but it's not made a significant improvement.

Get some strong sunlight, and some colors do seep through, but you can’t control how sunny it is outside, and besides, sunshine didn't always fix the problem. Other phones do well to edit photos to pull out the contrast and boost the saturation if needs be, and I was surprised by how light-touch (read: ineffectual) the Galaxy A57 could be.

For some praise, I'll point to the auxiliary lenses. I was impressed by how consistent the color was between lenses — I often find ultra-wides lack the color of their main siblings — and the lack of distortion on the wide lens. The macro was a little finicky at finding focus on close subjects, but it's definitely more useful than many others I've tested (though it doesn't come close to making up for the lack of a dedicated zoom camera).

Selfies on the Galaxy A57 were a little better, offering some contrast that will make social media pictures look postable, though, as you can see in the pictures below, Portrait mode struggled with fluffy strands of hair.

The A57 offers you a reasonable range of expected camera modes, including Night and Samsung's stalwart Food, and there's also the A-series-exclusive Fun mode, which basically offers you Snapchat filters on your camera app. Single Take isn't available by default, but you can enable it via the Camera Assistant app in the Samsung Store.

Video recording hits 60fps at 1080p or 30fps at 4K, with a slow-mo app that doesn't reveal its framerate.

Once you've taken a photo, you can use a few tools to brush it up in the Gallery app. There's no built-in chatbot to AI slopify your pictures like in the S26 series, and instead, you get Object Eraser and a remaster tool, which auto-applies edits. The latter's actually pretty good, and I found it reliable for adding some zest to the default pictures that otherwise lacked it.

• Camera score: 3.5 / 5

Samsung Galaxy A57 camera samplesThis morning picture, taken at sunrise, was captured using the 1x camera.FutureThis view was captured on the ultra-wide camera, to contrast the futher shots.FutureThis view was captured using the main camera, to compare its field of view.FutureThis shot was captured at 2x zoom, using the main lens with digital cropping.FutureThis macro shot shows details you can capture using the lens.FutureWith sufficient light, the A57 performed okay, although it still couldn't adequately capture the zingy colors of a toy like this.FutureAt close distances, the A57 could focus well when not in macro mode.FutureThis selfie was taken in standard mode, to contrast the Portrait mode shot next.FutureThis selfie was taken in Portrait mode, to contrast the standard pic previously.FutureEven in the glorious light of sunrise, the A57 struggled with dynamic range and color.FutureSamsung Galaxy A57 review: performance and audio

(Image credit: Future)

• Samsung's Exynos 1680 chip + 8GB RAM (for most)
• Fine for everyday use, not for gaming
• Bluetooth 6.0 for audio

Samsung’s Galaxy A-series phones have never won awards for their blazing-fast performance — plenty of Chinese mobiles at this price point can run rings around them — and the Galaxy A57 is no different.

The phone has an Exynos 1680 chipset, made by Samsung itself, paired with 8GB RAM in most versions.

Geekbench 6 multi-core benchmark tests returned scores in the 4,400s. That’s a step above the 3,900s we saw in the A56, but less than half of what the S26 Ultra returned, and a big step below similar-priced alternatives I’ve tested recently, like the 8,600-scoring Poco X8 Pro Max. Unfortunately, every 3DMark test I ran crashed, which wasn't necessarily the fault of the phone (sometimes, new devices just don’t like benchmarking software), but it did mean I wasn’t able to dig much further into the A57's numbered performance…

… until I started actually playing games.

The A57 could handle well-optimized games like Call of Duty: Mobile, but only on lower graphics settings. Try to match the display quality with some resolution or graphics effects, and the handset would suffer. It would also heat up a little during longer gaming sessions, which is not something you'll encounter with most Snapdragon-powered phones, for instance.

So, the Galaxy A57 is no performance wunderkind, even if you can play certain titles with compromises. But if you're not a gamer, you can ignore all that, as the phone has all the performance credentials necessary for non-intensive everyday tasks like scrolling and streaming. If I weren't an avid gamer, I'd probably deem the Galaxy A57 powerful enough for me.

Audio-wise, you’re looking at support for Bluetooth 6.0, with the built-in stereo speakers about as passable as on any other phone at this price point. And no, there’s no 3.5mm jack, so you’ll have to use the USB-C port for wired audio.

• Performance score: 3.5 / 5

Samsung Galaxy A57 review: battery life

(Image credit: Future)

• Average-sized 5,000mAh battery
• Single day of use per charge
• 45W charging powers the phone in roughly 90 mins

The Samsung Galaxy A57 has a 5,000mAh battery, which is the same size battery as you'll find in the A56, as well as the flagship Galaxy S26 Ultra.

A capacity like this is, in most phones, shorthand for ‘all-day battery life’. That’s no different with the Galaxy A57 — I could use the device as much as I wanted, without worrying that it’d run out of juice.

You won’t get two days of battery life, though — not unless you don’t use your phone very much. For average use, you’ll get about a day and a half all in.

The A57 powers at 45W, so it’s not particularly fast, and with a compatible charger, you’ll get from empty to full in about an hour and a half. When the handset’s plugged in, it’ll tell you how long it’ll take to power up at its current speed, which is a really useful quality of life feature that I appreciated.

• Battery score: 3.5 / 5

Samsung Galaxy A57 review: value

(Image credit: Future)

Samsung's Galaxy A-series phones are reliable and have some great traits, but they don't offer as impressive value for money as their competitors. Bear in mind that A57 isn't cheap; at its price, it's firmly in the 'mid-range' category.

Many rivals at a similar price point will offer you one or two incredible specs along with a few average ones, like a huge battery, incredibly fast charging, a top-end processor, or a telephoto zoom camera. If you wanted the A57's specs from another brand, you'd probably find them for much less money.

Samsung does nothing to sweeten the deal, and so it's hard to argue that the A57 offers particularly exciting value for money. But as reliability and longevity go, there aren't many 'safer' all-round options than this one.

• Value score: 3.5 / 5

Should you buy the Samsung Galaxy A57?Samsung Galaxy A57 scorecard

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Value

It's just not priced in a competitive way. Sorry, Samsung.

3.5 / 5

Design

It may come in some pretty ugly colors, but the thin and light phone belies some pretty neat design features.

4 / 5

Display

The A57 has a good-looking screen that works well outdoors.

4.5 / 5

Software

The interface is clean, with no unnecessary extra apps or tools, and you get plenty of software support.

4 / 5

Camera

I was surprised how dull pictures looked, though some modes offer a little bit of fun.

3 / 5

Performance

The Exynos 1680 chipset doesn't cut it for advanced gaming, but the phone's fine for everyday use.

3.5 / 5

Battery

The 5,000mAh battery and 45W charging are roughly average for a mid-priced phone.

3.5 / 5

Buy it if...

You need something lightweight
The A57 is one of the lightest and thinnest phones I've ever seen, and it'll be svelte even if you clad it in a case.

You watch a lot of videos
The phone's great-looking display is a treat for people who spend a lot of time looking at social media or streaming services.

You don't want to pay for annoying features that you'll ignore
Samsung has stripped out the S-series' AI guff to deliver a clean, easy-to-use interface.

Don't buy it if...

You need a great camera phone
There are some useful modes, but the optimization just isn't there for good-looking pictures.

You need lots of performance power
If you need a phone that'll blast through PUBG or CoD: Mobile with ease, this isn't the one for you.

Samsung Galaxy A57 review: Also consider

Interested in the Samsung Galaxy A57 but want to know what else is out there? Here are some other mid-range gems you may want to consider.

Google Pixel 10a
Like the Galaxy A-series, the Pixel A-series offers cut-priced versions of flagships. The Pixel 10a is small and comes in fun colors, with a price slightly below the A57.

Read our full Google Pixel 10a review

iPhone 17e
Apple's own flagship-alternative is much smaller and only has one camera, but it runs faster and is your most affordable ticket to iOS.

Read our full iPhone 17e review

Nothing Phone (4a) Pro
Nothing's mid-range powerhouse undercuts the Galaxy, yet offers you a telephoto camera, a bigger display, and much more processing power. You just have to get over its divisive design.

Read our full Nothing Phone (4a) Pro review

Samsung Galaxy A57

Google Pixel 10a

iPhone 17e

Nothing Phone (4a) Pro

Starting price (at launch):

$549.99 / £529 / AU$749

$499 / £499 / AU$849

$599 / £599 / AU$999

$499 / £499 (about AU$1,000)

Dimensions:

161.5 x 76.8 x 6.9 mm

154.7 x 73.3 x 8.9 mm

146.7 x 71.5 x 7.8 mm

163.7 x 76.6 x 8 mm

Weight:

179g

185g

169g

210g

OS (at launch):

One UI 8.5, Android 16

Android 16

iOS 26

Nothing OS 4.1, Android 16

Screen Size:

6.7-inch

6.3-inch

6.1-inch

6.83-inch

Resolution:

2340 x 1080

2424 x 1080

2532 x 1170

2800 x 1260

CPU:

Exynos 1680

Google Tensor G4

A19 Bionic

Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 4

RAM:

8GB / 12GB

8GB

Not specified

8GB / 12GB

Storage (from):

128GB / 256GB / 512GB

128GB / 256GB

256GB / 512GB

128GB / 256GB

Battery:

5,000mAh

5,100mAh

4,005mAh

5,080mAh

Rear Cameras:

50MP main, 12MP ultra-wide, 5MP macro

48MP main, 13MP ultra-wide

48MP

50MP wide, 50MP periscope telephoto, 8MP ultra-wide

Front camera:

12MP

13MP

12MP

32MP

How I tested the Samsung Galaxy A57

(Image credit: Future)

• Review test period = 2 weeks
• Testing included = Everyday usage, including web browsing, social media, photography, video calling, gaming, streaming video, music playback
• Tools used = Geekbench 6, 3D Mark, native Android stats

I tested the Samsung Galaxy A57 for just over two weeks before writing this review, after receiving a test sample from Samsung.

In part, testing was done experientially: I used it as I would any other smartphone, which included taking it on holiday to take pictures, conducting video calls, and streaming music and movies. I also put it through a barrage of 'lab-style' tests like benchmarks on Geekbench and 3D Mark, as well as through battery tests.

I've been reviewing smartphones for TechRadar since early 2019, and in that time have tested all manner of mobiles, including past Samsung Galaxy devices and plenty of other mid-range and affordable Androids.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed April 2026

Looking for the best data recovery software? There are hundreds of applications on the market that claim to bring back your lost data, but not all of them might work for you. This is why we’ve put in the effort to find only the best data recovery platforms that actually work.

In this article, we’ll be reviewing Auslogics File Recovery. Available only for Windows, it can help you recover deleted files, even from reallocated disks, and search multiple drives simultaneously. So, is this the hard drive data recovery software you need? Our Auslogics File Recovery review will help you decide.

Auslogics File Recovery: Plans and pricing

(Image credit: Auslogics File Recovery)

Auslogics File Recovery is one of the most affordable data recovery software options on the market, costing just $18.87 per year for three PC licenses. This comes down to around $6 to recover your data on each PC.

However, my biggest complaint with Auslogics is that it has a very limited free plan, which only lets you recover lost applications. You cannot search for or restore images, videos, audio, or documents with the free plan.

In comparison, peers like EaseUS, Wondershare Recoverit, and Stellar Data Recovery allow limited recovery of various file types even on their free versions. But there's a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can try the complete Auslogics package risk-free before committing.

Auslogics File Recovery: Features

Auslogics goes beyond the traditional functionalities of a data recovery software, offering several other add-ons for comprehensive system upkeep and recovery. For starters, the software supports all major file types, including NTFS, FAT16, FAT32, and exFAT, on devices such as hard drives, memory cards, and USB storage devices. That said, it cannot recover data from CDs or DVDs.

Even if you have lost a disk partition on your drive, Auslogics' partition recovery feature allows you to scan and restore files from reallocated disks. There's also a pretty useful disk image tool, which allows you to make an exact copy of your drive with all the information on it, including deleted information. This freezes the current state of your drive, allowing you to work safely without risking total disk failure.

Another useful feature is the Wipe Free Space utility, which permanently removes previously deleted files so that they cannot be recovered at a later stage. When you usually delete files on a system, they aren't completely erased. The system marks that space as available, while the actual data sits there until new data overwrites it.

(Image credit: Future)

Auslogics’ Wipe Free Space overwrites the free space with random data, thereby erasing traces of previously deleted files. This can come in handy when you've deleted sensitive information or while selling or donating your hard drive.

Scanning

Auslogics’ scanning is fairly quick. We “quick” scanned 400GB of data on our Windows 11 Intel Core i5 system, which it was able to complete within 7 to 10 minutes. Once the scan is done, you can sort results based on file type and date, and also view them in three modes – list, detailed, and preview.

(Image credit: Future)

However, you can only view the deleted files once the scan is complete. This means that even if you’re trying to recover a small application, you'll have to wait for the entire deep scan to finish, which can take up to two to three hours depending on your disk size.

That said, what I like the most about Auslogics is that it allows you to customize various search criteria before starting the scan for more accurate results.

(Image credit: Future)

For instance, if you remember exactly when the deleted files were last modified or accessed, you can specify that time and date range in the settings.

(Image credit: Future)

Similarly, you can also search by specific file names or choose to skip zero file size and temporary system files. There is also an option to perform a deep scan.

Auslogics File Recovery: Installation and in-use

Installing Auslogics is pretty simple. You will find the free download button on the homepage. Just click on that to start the download and install the file once it completes. The main interface is well designed, with a window divided into three panes. Although it isn’t as modern as EaseUS or Stellar, it is surely an upgrade over DMDE’s old-school interface.

(Image credit: Future)

On the left-hand side, you will see various tools that Auslogics offers, whereas at the center, there is an option to select which items you want to scan.

There is a very handy in-built reports utility that shows you system metrics such as CPU usage, disk and network speeds, and memory consumption at a glance. You can also hit the create system report button to create a pretty detailed report with information like operating system, installed programs, partitions, CPU and cache properties, power management functions, and a whole lot more.

(Image credit: Future)

Instead of digging through multiple Windows settings, you get all critical system insights in one place, saving time and simplifying diagnostics.

Auslogics File Recovery: How we tested

We have tested several data recovery software, and in doing so, we usually download Mozart's album from the Internet Archive, copy them onto an external hard disk, and then delete them to test out the software's capabilities. This album contains a mix of various file types: PNG, JPG, MP3, and torrent.

However, since Auslogics only allows recovering software, we followed a slightly different approach. We scanned our entire Windows 11 system to look for deleted applications. The scan ran for a good 7-10 minutes, after which it pulled up a list of lost software. We randomly clicked on an application and hit restore, which Auslogics was able to do successfully.

Auslogics File Recovery: Support

The company’s website has fairly detailed answers to commonly asked questions, so that’s a good place to start if you run into issues with the software.

(Image credit: Auslogics File Recovery)

You can also submit your queries directly through the “Contact Us” section, which allows you to raise tech support requests as well as media, business, or partnership-related inquiries. This provides a straightforward way to reach the team for more specific concerns that may not be covered in standard support resources. However, there's no live chat or phone option.

Auslogics File Recovery: Final verdict

Auslogics is one of the most affordable data recovery software options you can get, costing less than $10 per PC for an entire year. However, this doesn’t mean that the product compromises on features. You get utilities like partition recovery, which lets you restore files from unallocated spaces, and a disk imaging tool that helps you save failing hard drives by allowing you to create an exact copy.

The software supports various common file types, such as FAT16/32 and exFAT. There is also a handy built-in reports feature that lets you pull complete system information with just a click. The installation is straightforward, and the user experience has been designed with beginners in mind. That said, it is only available for Windows systems, and its free plan does not allow you to recover images, videos, documents, or audio files.

Wondershare is one of the big names when it comes to creative tools and PC utilities. So, it’s no wonder that its Wondershare Recoverit excels as one of the best data recovery software.

It has a superb interface, and behind that you’ll find a robust set of features that can recover photos and video – and, if you’re happy to pay for higher levels, you’ll benefit from video repair options and bootable recovery tools too. There's even support for recovering from NAS and Linux devices depending on the version you buy.

We've put the software to the test to see if it can recover data to the extent it claims. Read on till the end for the full review, along with pros, cons, interface, and user experience.

Wondershare Recoverit: Plans & pricing

(Image credit: Wondershare Recoverit)

Wondershare Recoverit plans start at $59.99 for its monthly subscription, with the annual plan costing $99.99 and the lifetime perpetual costing $129.99. Although this might sound steep for some users, each of these plans covers two PCs, which means you are effectively paying only half to recover data on a single PC.

This is a big advantage over platforms like EaseUS, which offer the same pricing structure but only for a single license. Plus, just like EaseUS, the only difference between these plans is the licensing duration – all other features stay uniform under each plan.

Overall, Recoverit is an affordable data recovery option, especially if you want to recover data from more than one device. You can also bag an extra 10% discount via a code that keeps flashing on the pricing page.

There’s also a free plan you can use to test out Recoverit’s capabilities. However, you can only recover 500MB of data with it, which is much less than what EaseUS (2GB) and Stellar Data Recovery (1GB) offer.

Wondershare Recoverit: Features

Recoverit is one of the few data recovery tools that supports Linux, besides Windows, Mac, and NAS devices. You can recover more than 1,000+ file formats, including photos, videos, and documents, from SD cards, external drives, crashed computers, HDDs, SSDs, GoPro devices, cameras, the Recycle Bin, and much more.

I found Wondershare Recoverit pretty good at recovering fragmented media on my disk. Unlike other tools that rely on signature-based recovery, Recoverit uses advanced machine learning algorithms for pattern-based reconstruction, which allows it to reconstruct missing pixels, corrupted headers, and broken frames.

Besides this, Recoverit has a dedicated video repair engine where you can upload a sample video from the same device, allowing the software to learn its encoding structure and rebuild the corrupted video based on that pattern.

While the provider claims it uses AI for its reconstruction process, saying so would be an overstatement. That said, Recoverit is more advanced with its repair-driven recovery approach, which integrates a multi-stage repair mechanism, but calling it AI-based is not the right approach.

Scanning

One thing that impressed me was Recoverit’s fast scanning speeds. You simply need to select a drive location and hit the scan button to start the process. Much like EaseUS, Recoverit also initially runs a quick scan followed by a deep scan, but at a much faster pace. I was able to scan 640GB of data within 2 hours, whereas Stellar took more than 5 hours for the same.

(Image credit: Future)

The best part is that you can view deleted files while the scan is still ongoing, allowing you to recover them as well. This is better than Stellar Data Recovery, where you have to wait for the entire scanning process to complete before you can recover anything.

Recoverit was also very light on CPU resources, consuming just 6% to 8% of processing power on average, which is very low for a data processing application.

Wondershare Recoverit: Installation and in-use experience

Much like other data recovery software we have tested, Recoverit is also pretty easy to install. You’ll find the free download button on its website, and with just a single click, the installation process is underway.

(Image credit: Future)

However, in my testing, Recoverit takes slightly longer to install compared to EaseUS and Stellar. That said, the in-use and navigation experience is better than both applications.

The interface is pretty sleek and modern, with a dark theme. You'll see all your scannable devices in the central pane. All you have to do is select a drive location to start the scan. I noticed that scanning internal drives was much quicker than external hard disks.

(Image credit: Future)

A handy feature that Recoverit offers is AI-based file detection, where you will see a small banner during the scan in which its engine helps pick certain files for you to recover. While this is a feature different from competitors, I did not find it adding much utility to the process.

Once you select the file and click on recover, you'll need to choose the recovery location, and your files will be recovered almost instantly. However, one complaint is that Recoverit tries to push users towards its paid subscriptions after each scan, which can be pretty irritating after a point.

The biggest drawback, however, is that you must complete the recovery immediately after the scan is done. If you head back to the home page, your current scan results are lost, and you'll have to start from scratch. It would have been better if the free plan offered a feature to save scans for later use.

Wondershare Recoverit: How we tested

To evaluate performance, I began by installing the free version of Wondershare Recoverit on a Windows 11 machine equipped with 16GB RAM and a 12th Gen Intel Core i5-12500H processor.

For the recovery test, I sourced a Mozart album from the Internet Archive, containing 22 files across multiple formats: 13 JPGs, 4 PNGs, 2 MP3s, 2 FLAC files, and a torrent file. This dataset was transferred to a 1.36 TB NTFS hard drive connected to the system.

After confirming the files were accessible, I permanently deleted the folder and cleared the Recycle Bin to simulate a real-world data loss scenario. I then initiated a scan using Wondershare Recoverit.

With a quick scanning process, Recoverit successfully identified and recovered the entire dataset without any missing files, demonstrating reliable recovery performance under controlled conditions.

Wondershare Recoverit: Photo recovery

As you've seen, the user can easily see images and other files that Recoverit has found during the scanning process. You're also able to instantly start restoration just by clicking in a damaged file – perfect if you can already spot the photos you need. Results are filterable with a broader range of variables than on most other apps, so it’s easier to find your lost images, and you’ll get warned if your disk or drive has any issues.

It’s very easy to use, and Wondershare’s app delivers thorough, in-depth scanning results. This is no surprise when you consider that Wondershare uses 35 data recovery patents to get the job done.

We’ve only got minor issues with scans using this app: In our latest review we were only performing quick scans in a small virtual drive, so results were displayed in seconds. Still, in previous reviews we found scans of larger drives are not particularly fast, especially if you deploy a deep scan.

Photo previews aren’t very well-supported. That’s irritating if you want to look at files before committing to restoration. This is also crucial if you're simply installing Wondershare Recoverit to check if it can detect your missing files before paying for a subscription. As we mentioned, the free version of the app also refused to restore any files for us, even those well below the promised 100 MB quota.

Still, there are many impressive aspects to Recoverit beyond the interface. It’s been verified to work with more than 2,000 different devices, including PC and Mac drives and SSDs, USB memory sticks, SD cards, cameras and external hard drives – it’ll hunt down photos on virtually anything. It also supports more than 1,000 different file formats, which is extensive. Photographers will be pleased to see RAW, PSD and CRW files among all of the key mainstream formats.

This app works with formatted drives, raw disks, partitions, and drives with invalid partition tables or excessive fragmentation. It works on Windows and Mac, too. Support is also excellent: it’s available 24 hours per day, and it’s free.

There are loads of extra features available, although some are only included at higher payment tiers. You’re able to create bootable disks and USB drives to recover photography from crashed PCs, and there’s also video repair, scanning and fragment merging on offer. Sadly, those video repair options don’t extend to photographs.

If you do want video repair, you can select "Enhanced Recovery" from within the Utility. This will only work for drives though : you can't choose specific folders. The utility also only supports the more common video formats like MP4, MOV and AVI. There's a feedback option if you want to request more obscure formats like Theora (OGV).

If the files you've recovered are corrupted, you can also try to repair them with Wondershare's Repairit. This is available as a desktop app, online and via e-mail as a service.

Wondershare Recoverit: Final verdict

Wondershare Recoverit is an affordable data recovery platform that uses advanced machine learning algorithms to find and recover lost data files. It supports more than 1,000+ file formats across various devices, including cameras, external hard drives, and USB sticks.

We found it to be one of the best platforms to recover and reconstruct lost media files, thanks to its pattern-based, repair-driven recovery approach. While most data recovery platforms offer a single license at an average of $65 to $80, the Recoverit license for two PCs starts at $59.99.

The interface is just right for beginners, and the installation process is seamless. However, the free plan only allows 500 MB of data recovery, which isn't sufficient for most users. In our testing with the free tier, we also didn't find an option to save scans, which means you'll have to re-scan the drive if you want to recover files multiple times.

We've tested the best free file recovery software.

In this Stellar Data Recovery review, we’ve examined every aspect of one of the best data recovery software programs in the world. Stellar Data Recovery is a popular data restoration application, around for more than two decades now.

It claims to help you recover lost or deleted files across various formats and devices. However, has the application evolved enough to fit modern data recovery needs? We’ve carried out detailed testing of the Stellar Data Recovery platform, highlighting its best features, pricing, installation and hands-on experience.

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Stellar Data Recovery: Plans & pricing

(Image credit: Stellar Data Recovery)

You get three plans to choose from, starting with the Standard plan costing $59.99 per year. This is the base plan, which allows you to recover lost, formatted, and deleted data from any storage media.

After this is the Professional plan at $89.99 per year, which also facilitates lost partition recovery, data recovery from unbootable systems, RAW hard drives, and damaged optical disks beyond basic recovery in the Standard plan.

The highest-tier plan is the Premium one, costing $99.99 per year, which, in addition to everything in the Professional plan, also allows you to repair corrupt videos and photos and extract thumbnails of images. All three plans can also be bought for a lifetime, costing $99, $149, and $199, respectively.

Besides this, you also get a limited free plan you can use to try out the product before committing to a purchase. It lets you recover 1GB of data, which is less than what EaseUS allows (2GB).

Stellar Data Recovery: Features

(Image credit: Stellar)

Stellar offers data recovery apps for Windows, Mac, iPhone, and Android – Linux is not supported yet. It supports a wide range of devices such as hard drives, SSDs, USB sticks, SD cards, external drives, and more.

However, I didn't find its supported file systems on its official product page. Only after digging into its documentation did we find that Stellar supports APFS, HFS+, HFS, along with NTFS, FAT (including FAT16 and FAT32), and exFAT.

Stellar also supports custom file types, allowing you to add raw file formats. You can upload a few files of the same format, and the software detects the file structure and extracts signature patterns to find similar files in your desired location. Alternatively, you can manually define the file extension, header, and footer, which allows Stellar to scan their binary structure and find byte patterns.

(Image credit: Future)

Saying that Stellar offers forensic-level data recovery would be an overkill. However, it does try to get close to such software through its byte-to-byte disk backup and restoration, which it calls disk imaging and recovery. This allows you to generate an image of an entire or a specific range of the hard disk, partition, or volume to recover data from it.

Instead of working directly on the storage device or drive, Stellar lets you perform recovery operations on this image file, reducing the risk of further damage. This comes in handy in case of failing hard drives and prevents permanent data loss.

Additionally, you can also scan encrypted storage as well as FileVault on Macs. Simply provide the password to unlock the drive for recovery.

Scanning

Stellar gives you two options: quick scan and deep scan, with a dedicated toggle button that you can select before starting the process. I chose the quick scan mode to scan an external NVMe hard disk, which took more than 25 minutes to complete, which is way longer than some competitors. As the scan goes on, you can see the list of all folders on your disk, as well as a dedicated file list that divides the data based on file type.

(Image credit: Future)

However, you cannot view the list of deleted items until the scan is complete, which is a bit disappointing. Competitors like EaseUS allow you to recover data while the scan is being run in the background. With Stellar, you have to wait until the scan is complete to be able to recover data.

That said, one good thing about Stellar is that it allows you to pause scans and resume them later. This comes in handy when you are scanning a bulky disk or working on an extended data recovery project.

(Image credit: Future)

Also, the software doesn’t consume a lot of CPU resources. The usage averaged 7-10% while the scans were running, which is pretty modest for a data recovery app.

Stellar Data Recovery: Installation and in-use experience

Installing Stellar is pretty simple. You'll find the free download button on its main website. Click on it and install the .exe file that downloads. Hit “Next” a few times and then click on “Finish” once the installation process is done. The whole process takes about 3 to 5 minutes, and the app launches as soon as installation is done.

(Image credit: Future)

The main interface is pretty modern, where you will find a list of all connected devices, physical disks, and common location addresses for you to recover data from. Since we had hooked up our external hard drive, we selected that location and ran a quick scan, which was a slow process as iterated above.

(Image credit: Future)

Now, the “pause” and “stop” features offered by Stellar are a bit buggy. If you click on “pause”, there is no way for you to go back to the main screen and scan any other drive. You must complete one particular scan first.

And if you click on “stop”, you will have to re-scan the whole drive from scratch the next time. Even if you want to recover a small 10 MB file, you will have to wait for the entire scanning process to complete before you can do that.

There’s also a bit of a learning curve involved with the software, which isn't ideal for beginners.

Stellar Data Recovery: How we tested

I first installed the free version of EaseUS on my Windows 11 system, with 16GB of RAM and a 12th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-12500H processor.

To test Stellar’s data recovery capability, I first downloaded an album of Mozart's music from the Internet Archive, which consisted of 22 files – 13 JPG files, 4 PNG files, 2 MP3 files, 2 FLAC files, and 1 torrent file. I copied this folder onto a 1.36 TB NTFS hard drive and connected it to my Windows 11 system.

I then deleted this folder and emptied the Recycle Bin. After this, I ran a scan with Stellar to find and recover the folder. Although the scan took longer than expected, Stellar was able to recover all the files in question.

Stellar Data Recovery: Support

Stellar Data Recovery users have access to phone, live chat, and online ticket support. Phone support is available worldwide, but only in English. We tested the live chat briefly and were connected with a friendly, knowledgeable agent within a minute.

There are also a few different self-help options available. The FAQ section provides simple answers to common questions, and the comprehensive knowledge base contains excellent step by step instructions on how to perform basic tasks like data recovery as well as helpful information like which file formats are supported by preview.

Stellar Data Recovery: The competition

There are numerous alternatives to Stellar Data Recovery which could better fit your needs. For example, the Ashampoo Undeleter is significantly cheaper (just $14.99 for a lifetime license) and is great for simple file recovery.

Data Rescue 5 is a more expensive alternative (starting at a $99 one-off payment for five recovery drives), but it comes with a selection of powerful features comparable to those of Stellar Data Recovery.

Stellar Data Recovery: Final verdict

Overall, Stellar does a pretty good job at its core function, which is recovering deleted or lost files. While the app experience is a bit buggy and scans take longer than expected, Stellar still offers decent value for money, considering you can get an annual plan for $59.99.

Features like disk imaging and recovery, which facilitate byte-to-byte disk backup and recovery, and the ability to pause and resume scans are an absolute win. The software is also not heavy on your computing resources, allowing you to go about your work while scans run in the background. All in all, Stellar Data Recovery stands as a reliable and well-rounded data recovery solution.

Check out the best free data recovery software and the best data recovery services.

How we tested Surfshark

There are two parts to our Surfshark review testing: lab testing and real world user experience. We do this to combine objectivity and subjectivity in our VPN reviews.

When I talk about “we” in this review, I’m referring to how Surfshark has performed in our VPN lab testing, as undertaken by TechRadar’s VPN Technical Editor, Mike Williams.

When I say that “I” did something in this review, I’m referring to me, Dan Sung, Editor in Chief of VPN at TechRadar, and I’m offering real world examples and insights from what I’ve learned using this product over many months.

Read more about our Surfshark testing methodology below▼

Surfshark review scores

Below is a breakdown of our Surfshark review scores for each category of testing. Click on the links in the Comments column for a deeper read on our thoughts.

Category

Score

Comments

Total

85 / 100

Excellent value with plenty of feature choice. One of the best value VPNs available. Read more ▼

Price plans & value

10 / 10

Surfshark is the best cheap VPN available. Choose the Surfshark One tier, which includes a full antivirus product, for the best value price plan. Read more ▼

Features

10 / 10

Surfshark’s Alternative ID fake profile feature is one of many useful in-app products in this very well put together VPN. Read more ▼

Server network

9 / 10

Surfshark is slightly lower on server locations than some but its global reach is excellent and the Nexus infrastructure brings huge network benefits. Read more ▼

Read all of Surfshark's review scores ▼

Privacy

9 / 10

Surfshark has very high standards of privacy and extensive privacy features. This is only slightly tarnished by its choice of jurisdiction. Read more ▼

Security

9 / 10

Surfshark scores well for security thanks to its built-in antivirus and its near-flawless kill switch. Its PQE could be more developed though. Read more ▼

Speed

8 / 10

Still the fastest VPN at full tilt but the connection is less consistent than others, and speeds are more average using distant servers. Read more ▼

Unblocking streams

7 / 10

Surfshark unblocks Netflix libraries, Disney Plus, Prime Video and BBC iPlayer but it struggles with some niche streaming services where rival VPNs don't. Read more ▼

P2P & Torrenting

4 / 5

Torrenting is solid and seamless with Surfshark but there's no help from the company itself on how to do it. There's no port forwarding either. Read more ▼

Apps & Compatibility

5 / 5

Surfshark has excellent apps covering all modern platforms. Its iOS app is uncommonly good; iPhone users should definitely consider Surfshark. Read more ▼

Usability

4 / 5

Surfshark is easy on the eye and a pleasure to use. Any quibbles we have on the kill switch toggle are really very minor. Read more ▼

Accessibility

2 / 5

Surfshark is a reasonable choice for partially sighted users but there are better VPNs for accessibility. Language support is average and keyboard-only access is poor. Read more ▼

Customer support

4 / 5

Surfshark has excellent customer service. Its support site is one of the best out there its live chat and email channels bring timely solutions. Read more ▼

Track record

4 / 5

Surfshark has a clean record for data breaches. It passed a no-logs audit in 2025 but that ought to be repeated annually, and we'd like apps and infrastructure audits, too. Read more ▼

Surfshark price plans

• Surfshark starts at $1.99 per month and is the best cheap VPN.
• Surfshark One is the best value of the three plans.
• Surfshark is the only premium VPN company with a 7-day free trial.

Surfshark normally starts at $1.99 per month, which is an excellent price for a top VPN, but there are actually three different Surfshark plans to choose from – Starter, One and One+.

This week, Surfshark is offering TechRadar readers exclusive access to its lowest-ever price. That means you can pick up a 2-year deal for just $1.78 a month, bringing the total cost for 28 months protection to less than $50.

You can sign up for just 1 month, 1 year or 2 years. Obviously, the longer you commit to, the cheaper the price you can get.

Whichever you choose, you get unlimited device connections, i.e. you can install a Surfshark app on as many different devices as you like on a single Surfshark account. There is a fair usage policy you can read on this but you'll be fine with 10-15, or even more devices, unless they’re all on, constantly, and downloading all the time.

Read more about Surfshark's price plans ▼

Even so, this unlimited connections policy is rare among the top VPNs and, for many, a good reason to choose it if you find the 10 device connections of NordVPN, ExpressVPN and Proton VPN, for example, not enough for your needs.

Like all VPNs, though, you do have to pay the total price for the entire length of and Surfshark plan upfront. The graph below is a good comparison of the total cost of each of the best VPN services we recommend at TechRadar.

Do be warned that unlike all other VPN companies (apart from NordVPN) Surfshark adds local tax to its advertised prices at checkout. So, if you’re in the UK, for example, you’ll have to pay VAT on top. And, of course, remember that these prices will fluctuate over the year.

Total price of each Surfshark plan (without tax)

Surfshark Starter

Surfshark One

Surfshark One+

1-month total price

$15.45

$17.95

$20.85

1-year total price

$47.85

$50.85

$94.35

2-year total price

$53.73

$67.23

$113.13

Surfshark is considerably cheaper than its biggest rivals. NordVPN’s cheapest 2-year plan is about 50% more expensive than Surfshark's. ExpressVPN Basic is nearly twice the price!

The table above shows the total prices for each Surfshark tier and plan length.

What sticks out to us from these totals are two things. First, the 1-month prices are terrible. Given Surfshark has a 7-day free trial, we’d advise you to sign up for a week instead and decide in that time if you want to commit for longer. Then, either go for the one or two-year plan.

The second, and more obvious, point on value is that the two-year plans are pretty tempting. You get the second year of Surfshark Starter, for example, for less than $10. That’s pretty compelling at that band, but arguably, it’s not quite as good for Surfshark One with the extra year only effectively half-price.

Per month cost of the three Surfshark plans

Surfshark Starter

Surfshark One

Surfshark One+

1-month price

$15.45/month

$17.95/month

$20.85/month

1-year price

$3.19/month

$3.39/month

$6.29/month

2-year price

$1.99/month

$2.49/month

$4.19/month

In other words, there's little point in going for 1-year Starter plan when the 2-year version isn't much more, but there's a decent argument for only shelling out for 12 months of Surfshark One.

If you’re looking for a real value proposition, though, it’s in the difference between Surfshark Starter and Surfshark One on the 1-year contract – just a couple of bucks, really which feels like a real no-brainer. There’s no point in going for the 1-year Starter when you can pick up Surfshark’s antivirus and ID breach alerts with the One plan instead.

Above is a table of the price per month for each Surfshark plan which is a slightly easier way to appreciate the value offer of each one.

There are cheaper VPNs out there – PrivadoVPN ($1.11) is a good option – but Surshark is an undeniable pound-for-pound sweet spot for price and features.

Score: 10/10

Features: What can Surfshark do?

• Alternative ID is a superb email and postal address protection tool.
• Surfshark is one of very few VPNs with a full antivirus included.
• ID breach alerts didn't spot my leaked credit card information.

Don’t be fooled by the price. Surfshark Starter is a very well stocked bundle.

Alongside the VPN product itself, the most significant feature is CleanWeb. It’s a catch-all name for Surfshark’s advert and cookie consent pop-up blocking system which aims to allow you to surf the web in relative peace.

I've used similar systems from competitors, like NordVPN’s Threat Protection and Proton VPN’s NetShield. You can read more about CleanWeb in the Privacy section of this review.

Margarito Philip Leland – my Surfshark Alternative ID profile. Easy to edit. Ready to copy and paste. Available on all Surfshark plans. (Image credit: Future Publishing)

Alternative ID is an important feature to pay attention to. Other VPN providers, such as Proton VPN, offer fake email addresses that will front for your own while still allowing emails to get through.

Read more about Surfshark's features ▼

You get a randomly generated email address – to use to fill out online forms, or give to people you don’t like, or whatever your need – and it automatically forwards any mail it receives to your real email address. You then cut it off and generate another email alias when you’re done with receiving whatever marketing mail it’s now attracted.

Proton offers this too but Surfshark takes it further.

Alternative ID is, in fact, a broader ID. It’s a name, postal address, email and even phone number (US only) to plug in online and stop scammers, spammers, and everyone else seeing your real details.

Right now, for example, I’m Margarito Philip Leland of 21 North 28th Ave East, Duluth, Minnesota, DOB 07/26/2005. Don’t bother trying to contact me because I’ll have ditched this ID by the time you're reading this article.

Surfshark Starter

Surfshark One

Surfshark One+

VPN

✅

✅

✅

Ad blocker

✅

✅

✅

Cookie pop-up blocker

✅

✅

✅

Alternative ID

✅

✅

✅

Search

❌

✅

✅

Web content blocker

❌

✅

✅

ID breach alerts

❌

✅

✅

Antivirus

❌

✅

✅

Email scam checker

❌

✅

✅

Incogni data removal

❌

❌

✅

Identity theft coverage

❌

❌

✅

I had a go at manually editing my Alternative ID persona. There are 10 email domains to choose from with options from the US, France, South Korea and Armenia, but I found I could write anything I wanted as the first part of the address.

For postal mail, the options I got were Australia, Brazil, Denmark, Germany Portugal and the US. Name and DOB can both be anything you want.

It's a great feature for signing up to services, giving to online stores and registering with news websites without having to worry about the spam. There's a handy quick-copy area on the homepage of the Surfshark app too which made filling in online forms all the faster. There's really very little not to love about it.

The only sad part is that the Alt number part is only in beta right now. It’s also only available in the States and you can’t use it to receive SMS verification codes, sadly, either. Still, I look forward to testing it out once it arrives in Europe.

Surfshark One

If you’re after antivirus too, then it’s time to step up to Surfshark One. PIA and Norton are the only other VPNs we recommend to have a full antivirus built-in along with the VPN.

NordVPN's Threat Protection Pro does have some AV features but it won't scan any apps and files you download, install, and use in real-time – and put a halt to any funny business before it’s too late – like Surfshark will.

The Surfshark antivirus ran daily scans of my entire device when I enabled it, and you can set to have it done at any time of day of your choosing. For obvious reasons, I opted for the dead of night.

You can toggle off either of these scans, and you can even opt out of scans of your storage drives, too.

None of these put our mobile battery life under any particular noticeable stress. With the real-time protection only kicking in when we installed apps and our daily scan set to nighttime when the phone was plugged in anyway, the extra processes were never a burden.

The clean look and feel of Surfshark Search – no sponsored links, no ads, just the search results you're looking for. Available with Surfshark One and One+. (Image credit: Future Publishing)

You can select to exclude certain apps if they keep pulling up false positives but it wasn't something I found I needed to do.

Surfshark One allows you to take the CleanWeb theme a little further with the Web Content Blocker tool, launched in October 2025. Still in beta, it still worked like a charm when I tried it.

It's very similar to Windscribe's content blocker. You choose from a list of eight different kinds of questionable content and decide what you don't want to be accessible through your browser. That includes adult sites, gambling, tobacco and vaping, hate and profanity, and others, as well as sites hosting phishing, scams, and malware.

What's really nice is that I was able to use it as a way of blocking access to these sites on my kids' phones without having to get involved with the often expensive and generally not particularly parental control apps.

That works because Web Content Blocker can be set up differently for each device you have and because you get unlimited devices connected to a single Surfshark account. I also really like that you don't have to have the VPN on to have Web Content Blocker activated, because I don't want the VPN masking my kids' browsing habits from me either.

The menu of content you can prevent access to with Surfshark's new web content blocker tool. (Image credit: Future Publishing)

Surfshark also launched Email Scam Checking for One (and One+) plans at a similar time. The tool uses AI to scan your emails for signs of a scam and flags any concerns found. Right now, it's only available for Gmail, but Surfshark is planning to extend support for the tool in future.

Lastly, and definitely not least, is Surfshark’s own private search engine. It's a super-clean, advert and sponsored results-free experience. Apart from the fact that it didn’t rank TechRadar very high for the term ‘Surfshark review’, I loved using it.

you can search without seeing a single ad, with no cookies or trackers, and Surfshark promises that it won't store anything about your search habits

You can choose any search location you like from a list of about 40 different countries without seeing a single ad, with no cookies or trackers, and Surfshark promises that it won't store anything about your search habits. ‘The real incognito mode’ is how it describes itself. I found it useful for comparing prices of clothing between the US and UK.

It’s actually quite refreshing and a bit of a reminder of what search looked like back in the day. It’s pretty amazing to realise what all of Google’s small changes have done to its experience over time, in comparison, but that’s a discussion for another place.

Honestly, it would take a bit of a push for me to use Surfshark's search all the time – it's hard to break the habit of the last 25 years – but with tabs for Web, Images and Videos only and gloriously uncluttered results, I'll certainly make the effort every now and then.

ID breach alerts

Alerts is a section unto itself in the Surfshark app. It's available in Surfshark One and One+ but I wanted to draw special attention to it because of something that happened while I was writing this review. More on that in a moment

Alerts (or 'ID breach alerts' as you'll find it called in the literature) scans the internet for any data breaches featuring your email addresses, credit card numbers and ID numbers too. It felt a bit strange handing over my info to Surfshark so that it could run those checks but the company promises that it doesn’t retain it.

Now, here's the interesting thing: chance had it that I was the victim of an attempted scam as I was writing this very section. I got a phone call from someone very convincingly pretending to be my credit card provider. They knew my card details, my name, my home address and clearly my phone number too.

They knew my card details, my name, my home address and clearly my phone number too.

They claimed to be from the fraud department and were questioning two transactions apparently made on my card in the UAE for around 27,000 Dirhams, and was I aware of them? Clearly I was not. So, the well spoken operator said they would then refund the amount to my account.

He asked me to open the app where I'd see a request for the refund. I opened the app. There was a request. But it was not for a refund. It was to make a payment of 27,000 Dirhams, about £5000.

"Press Confirm," they said.

"This is asking me to confirm a payment," I replied.

"No, this is the refund. Press confirm."

"No. It says 'payment'. I don't trust you."

They hung up.

I froze my card. I contacted my issuer and, I'm still shaking a bit at how close I just came to being defrauded. With stories about different UK retail stores getting hacked popping up every week, perhaps it's of little surprise.

My compromised credit card showing as 'no leaks found' according to the Surfshark Alert credit card monitoring system. Not a feature that's worked for me. Available with Surfshark One and One+. (Image credit: Future Publishing)

I'm also a little bit scared about my details too, and I'm pretty glad I'm writing reviews about products like Surfshark and that I've got the tools to help deal with this.

So, with that in mind, I put this particular bank card's details into Surfshark's credit card monitoring system. Sadly, Surfshark Alerts said No Leaks Found after scanning for a breach of this information. Hopefully, it will register it as exposed in the coming months but it's been a few weeks and I've seen no change yet.

It doesn't mean that Alerts doesn't work. It's very possible that my information was hacked and not exposed on the internet. It's just a pity that Alerts wasn't able to help in this instance.

If you're looking for a VPN for a very complete set of privacy and security features, then Surfshark is a great option

Alerts did a lot better with my email address. When I put in my general junky email, used for online forms and shops and such – where was Alternative ID when I needed it years ago – I was unsurprised to see 25 leak alerts. Thanks Adobe, DuoLingo, Last.fm, Houzz, Kickstarter MyFitnessPal and a bunch of other sites and services that are lucky I don’t have time to name and shame.

Surfshark detailed what was leaked of mine in each breach and then makes recommendations of what to do next. Probably a good idea to do what it says but, quite honestly, with 25 breaches do deal with, there just isn't enough time in the day. Hopefully, I'll be able to lower that number with every update of this page.

Surfshark One+

Top of the Surfshark price plan tree is Surfshark One+ which adds the Incogni which is designed to prevent the misuse of your personal data online.

If Alerts is your data health examination, then Incogni aims to be the cure. It's a data removal service which is currently only available in the US, UK, Canada, EU and Switzerland because of legal reasons. Those reasons are that, in those regions, data brokers are legally required to remove your details from their records when asked. And that’s what Incogni does on your behalf.

I’ve definitely noticed getting less spam in that time

I’ve actually been lucky enough to use Incogni on a long-term test now for over two years and apart from the odd email report, there’s not much visible that actually happens. I’ve definitely noticed getting less spam in that time but part of that has also been down to being more careful what I sign up for and whether I’m using my real ID or not.

Ultimately, it’s really difficult to evaluate and I wish I could give better advice here given that it's over 60% extra on top of the Surfshark One price.

Thankfully, you can also get up to $1 million in identity theft coverage if you get a One+ plan in the US. A bit like Incogni, it's difficult to tangibly assess the benefits of this without having my identity stolen, but it certainly adds value to the plan, given the massive price jump from a One plan.

While the effectiveness of all of Surfshark's tools is not crystal clear, it's obvious by looking at the VPN feature comparison table that customers get lots of them to use, more so than most other VPN service providers.

If you're looking for a VPN for a very complete set of privacy and security features, then Surfshark is a great option, and at an excellent price point too.

Score: 10/10

Server network and locations

• 100 countries with servers, 142 server locations, over 4,500 total servers.
• Very few servers in Africa but that's similar to other VPNs.
• FastTrack technology to bring higher network speeds in coming months.

Surfshark doesn’t cover quite as many countries (100) and locations (142) as the server network market leader NordVPN (135 countries and 211 locations), but it still gets top marks in this department.

That’s because its global spread is well chosen. It largely keeps up with just as many server countries in the traditionally less well-covered continents of Asia, South America and Oceania as most of its rival VPNs.

In fact, the European server network is as robust as the rest of the pack, too. It’s only Africa and the Middle East where, like ExpressVPN, it's noticeably shorter than NordVPN and Proton VPN.

Server list on the Surfshark Windows app. Plenty of US server locations available. (Image credit: Future)

Surfshark's 34 North America server locations are fine, just short of Proton's 35. But recent improvements to other VPNs mean its far below the likes of NordVPN (74) and ExpressVPN (71).

Read more about Surfshark's server network ▼

Surfshark states on its server list that some of the locations are virtual, and that’s refreshing given that other VPNs hide that. We spot checked the actual likely location of 25 servers on Surfshark’s list. It was accurate in all but one case where the company had accidentally marked Peru down as a virtual server when it really is based in Lima. If there are to be mistakes, then we’re certainly glad that they’re false positive ones.

Sever networks are about more than just quantity, though. Surfshark uses RAM-only servers which brings important benefits that we discuss in the Privacy section.

That's more or less a VPN industry standard but where Surfshark elevates itself is with how it connects those servers together. It's developed a holistic use of all of those pathways in what it calls its Nexus network infrastructure. It connects users to the entire network rather than the single VPN server they're choosing.

Through that system Surfshark can offer a fair few benefits, not least of which is FastTrack smart routing technology which aims to speed up connection by choosing the most time efficient pathways through the network.

It uses globally distributed probes which monitor the Surfshark network in real-time. They keep track of capacity and performance. That way the FastTrack system can figure out how to route VPN traffic to ensure that users get the fastest possible connections while still taking them to the end-point server that they've selected, and with an appropriate IP address.

FastTrack launched in August, 2025. Right now, it's only available on macOS and only when connecting to the Seattle, Vancouver or Sydney servers but Surfshark claims it's made up to 70% speed improvements for customers. We look forward to the company rolling it out across the board soon.

Something a little closer to home for those in Europe is the arrival of Surfshark's first 100 Gbps servers as unveiled in Amsterdam in October 2025. That's a 10 times improvement in server bandwidth designed to cope for the modern demands of 4K streaming, gaming, VR, and remote work.

It's certainly a good headline but, cynicism aside, it's an excellent sign. Surfshark has been a market leader when it comes to investing in the future of its server network in 2025.

Everlink, released in June, 2025, is another network quality boost from Surfshark. It's a patented backup system for your VPN connection. The idea is that if the VPN drops, your app doesn’t disconnect immediately. Instead, Everlink automatically connects you to a new and working server.

It might take a few seconds and, if you happen to be browsing at the time, it’s possible you’ll find a web page that doesn't download properly. But, for the most part, Surfshark says you won’t even notice anything.

We don’t have a test for Everlink yet, but it sounds promising. Dropped connections aren’t just a usability hassle, they also risk data and IP leaks. If Everlink can reduce unexpected disconnections, then that’s very good privacy news.

The other big benefits of Nexus, and its flexible, multi-server pathways, are Surfshark's rotating IP tech, new multi-IP tech, and its excellent MultiHop system. You can read more about those in the Privacy section.

For now, suffice to say that Surfshark's server network is cutting-edge and, from everything we've seen, we're only expecting improvements over the next 12 months.

Score: 9/10

Privacy

• Super clear, user-friendly privacy policy; no-logs system.
• Top privacy features: Camouflage Mode, MultiHop & Rotating IP.
• Subject to possible 'Nine Eyes' international information sharing agreement.

Surfshark operates using a no-logs system. Its servers do record some information to check user access (encrypted credentials, timestamps and billing information) but it’s lost around 15 minutes after each user session. It never stores anything to do with traffic data such as destination IPs, DNS queries, data transferred, downloaded files or browsing history.

This is exactly how a secure VPN should operate and, having read through Surfshark’s privacy policy, we’re satisfied that there’s nothing else amiss here either. Surfshark uses standard good practice all the way.

As privacy policies go, it’s actually incredibly user friendly and worth taking a look at for yourself. It’s organised into a set of easily digestible questions and answers rather than swathes of contract-style legalese.

Surfshark doesn’t have its own, proprietary obfuscation technology like Proton VPN’s Stealth protocol. So, if it’s vital that you’re not spotted using a VPN, Surfshark probably isn’t the best option.

Read more about Surfshark's privacy credentials ▼

Nonetheless, it still offers ‘Camouflage Mode’ which kicks into action whenever you choose OpenVPN. The company says that it hides your traffic to bypass content filters. OpenVPN also means you’ll be on Surfshark’s dedicated Obfuscated Servers which are designed to make it particularly hard for your ISP to see that you’re connected to a VPN.

You can use the OpenVPN protocol in both UDP and TCP form. The former is better when high speeds are important (streaming, gaming or VoIP) and TCP is good for the kind of reliability you need when web browsing, emailing or during P2P file transfer.

If you’d rather err on the side of speed, then just stick with Surfshark's default option of WireGuard. IKEv2 is also a choice on Android, Mac and iOS but not Windows.

Like most of the best VPNs, Surfshark uses RAM-only servers with no hard drives or SSDs where it could store data. That makes it both faster and safer, from the user's point of view.

Any time RAM-only servers are switched off, any data stored on them temporarily is lost. So, if those servers are seized, then the parties taking ownership of them get nothing but the hardware in their hands. Equally, changes from a malicious software attacks could be undone by Surfshark simply turning the servers off and on again – an IT help centre’s dream.

The effect here is that no user data is logged or kept in any way, so you can rest assure that your online activities are kept utterly private by Surfshark.

Surfshark received a number of user complaints when it changed its legal jurisdiction from the British Virgin Islands to the Netherlands, given that the Dutch are part of the Nine Eyes international information sharing agreement but given there are no logs to share, it's hard to see that there’s any real disadvantage here. Don't let it put you off unless you really feel like you need that double layer of protection.

no user data is logged or kept in any way, so you can rest assure that your online activities are kept utterly private by Surfshark

Surfshark has some interesting options for the privacy-conscious when it comes to server connection. Normally, you connect to a server and it assigns you a random IP address until you disconnect and then a different one next time. But you can choose to maintain a static IP instead. This means that it remains the same throughout your session.

Now, in terms of privacy that’s maybe not great. It leaves more browsing behaviour connected to a single IP that a third party could trace from start to finish and therefore have a clearer picture about what a single user is doing. Keep up that browsing behaviour pattern long enough and they might even be able to figure out who you are.

At the same time, a static IP can be useful. There are web services that work by white listing IP addresses. A static IP that’s known and accepted will make it easier to access them wherever you are. It might remove a layer of authentication each time you access.

In general, though, static IPs aren’t a great idea for VPN traffic because it makes it easier to track you. So, we’d recommend enable the Rotating IP option, even if that makes for more CAPTCHAs.

That said, if you do often get blocked trying to access a certain site, and then find a Surfshark server that works, you might want add that location as a favourite and use it as a static IP.

Rotating IPs makes it harder for a website or web service to track you in its logs. In a single, long session, you’ll appear as multiple visitors. So, this is a definite boost to Surfshark’s privacy credentials. Only ExpressVPN offers something similar with its ShuffleIP.

Multihop (available on all Surfshark plans) is fully customisable. Create a connection to travel through any pair of Surfshark servers to help maximize privacy. (Image credit: Future Publishing)

Quite the opposite to a static IP, then, the system automatically connects you via a different IP address after 2-10 minutes – and all without the real world experience of a disconnection. (Streaming was a little more glitchy when using IP rotation, though, so do consider switching it off if you run into problems.)

You get a little status message letting you know when your next IP rotation will be and what address you’re assigned, although, actually, in practice, the timing was often quicker than stated. And, when we checked with WhatIsMyIPAddress.com, the address reported by Surfshark was accurate every single time.

So, how does Surfshark manage to switch your IP without dropping the connection? That's down to its Nexus network infrastructure (see Server Network section), ensuring that there's always a server somewhere along the path to provide online access while the IP on the destination server is switched.

The other excellent privacy application of the Nexus structure is Surfshark’s brilliantly flexible MultiHop VPN system, which is one of the very best out there.

The joined up nature of the Nexus-powered servers means that, unlike other VPNs, you can create your own double jump server pathways between almost any locations available, instead of the small handful of pre-programmed routing options that most other VPN providers offer.

That allows users to design custom, faster MultiHop connections, with start and end point servers which aren’t too far away from you and from one another.

In fact, you can even choose Fastest Location or Nearest Country within the MultiHop menu for the Nexus system to make the best suggestion for you. We particularly like that you can see latency speeds next to the options on the list so that you can really aim for maximal performance.

We checked to see the kind of effect you can expect when using two servers per connection like this. Using a pathway of two servers nearby (in our case, two different Ireland server locations) produced speeds very similar a single hop transatlantic connection which we benchmarked at 391Mbps. It was only once we started picking huge journeys, around the word for the first hop and then back all the way for the second, that we noticed speeds dipping.

Surfshark also launched Multi IP for Mac users in November 2025. This slightly differs from rotating IP, in that it gives you a new IP for every new website or session you start, but consequently serves the same goal of retaining a connection while reducing the ability of third parties to track what you do. Similarly, it also offers slightly less robust protection than a multihop connection. Regardless, it's a super handy feature for Mac users if you're looking to remain secure without risking sacrificing speed.

Of course, there’s no need to sacrifice speed on all your apps and services if you use Surfshark’s split-tunnel feature, Bypasser. It works on all four major platforms and allowed us to pick both individual apps and websites to either specifically exclude or include from the VPN tunnel.

This is a great way of working if you want to use Surfshark for something specific like torrenting, or if you want to watch your local streaming service without confusing it into thinking that you’re trying to tune in from somewhere else.

The only real privacy feature absent from the Surfshark roster is Tor Over VPN. We could still use the Tor browser manually after connecting to Surfshark on our Windows laptop but it’s not built into the app. If Tor's added layer of online anonymity is a feature you need, then you’ll want to use Proton VPN or NordVPN instead.

Unlike other VPNs, you can create your own double jump server pathways between almost any locations

Surfshark’s CleanWeb function takes care of your search by stripping out as many trackers and ads as possible. There’s a bit of a slow down when it comes to page load time but the results are well worth it.

It took all of the cookie consent requests out of our browsing as we read the football pages of the UK and European news sites. And the grey blocks where adverts used to be were certainly less distracting than all the sticky videos and other images that usually get in the way.

If you want to go the whole hog, though, try Surfshark’s very own in-app private search, available on Surfshark One and One+ plans. More details on that in the Features section above.

Score: 9/10

Security

• Excellent kill switch available on all major platforms.
• Decent phishing and malware protection boosted by a browser extension.
• Post-quantum encryption not available on all platforms

Surfshark's choice of VPN encryption, and it's platter of security features, give us plenty of reasons for confidence. It doesn't hit the same heights as the other top VPNs in all of our results below but then it's a fraction of the price of most of them and our tests are pretty exacting.

Surfshark’s AES-256-GCM and ChaCha20 encryption algorithms are pretty standard, solid stuff when it comes to incredibly hard to crack encoding of your internet traffic.

The company uses 2048-bit RSA encryption keys which is easily enough safeguarding. Proton VPN takes things a little further with 4096-bit keys just in case you have extreme security demands.

Kill switch warning on the Surfshark Windows app explaining how kill switches work. (Image credit: Future)

A more pressing for issue for Surfshark is its post-quantum encryption (PQE) credentials. It deserves increasing attention as quantum computers, and their extreme number crunching powers, arrive on the scene.

Read more about Surfshark's security credentials ▼

Surfshark doesn’t have a huge amount to say about PQE on its website, just that “Surfshark has implemented post-quantum protection on top of the WireGuard protocol”.

Not wanting to remain behind the curve as we head into 2026, Surfshark recently announced that post-quantum cryptography (PQC) has been integrated into the WireGuard protocol for more devices.

The measure will enhance user security when it comes to quantum computing threats, like breaches and "harvest now, decrypt later" attacks, and is enabled by default on most platforms. These include Mac, Linux, and Android.

Although iOS and Windows are two big omissions from that list, getting them covered, too, should be the next step in Surfshark's plan of post-quantum protection.

This is nothing out of the ordinary currently. PQE technology in VPNs is still very much in the embryonic stage.

Only ExpressVPN has gone further in its 1200-word blog post about its implementation of PQE in its Lightway protocol.

Surfshark recently announced that post-quantum cryptography (PQC) has been integrated into the WireGuard protocol

Until then, there’s still plenty to keep you safe with Surfshark.

Auto-connect is a handy feature that prevents accidental leaks of your real IP address. It's a great privacy-boosted, and we really like Surfshark's version of it.

Once activated, it automatically connected using the VPN on any network that I specifically didn't mark as Trusted. I didn't want it to auto-connect on my home Wi-Fi, for example, where I want to choose what my ISP does and doesn't see, depending on what apps and services I'm accessing.

What I really like is that I can also choose which VPN server I want Surfshark to auto-connect to. I set it to auto-connect the 'Fastest connection' preset no matter what.

Auto-connect looks and works the same across iOS, Windows and Mac. The only exception is on Android which also allows you to use it on mobile networks too – great for privacy on the go.

The gold standard for IP leak safety, though, is the VPN kill switch and Surfshark’s got full marks in our tests. There’s a kill switch on all platforms, as we would expect.

It comes in two forms: Soft Mode, which blocks your internet access if the VPN unexpectedly drops; and Strict Mode which simply blocks any internet access unless the VPN is connected in the first place.

Strict Mode is the more secure option, certainly, but I found that it slowed my speeds a little. I also encountered more CAPTCHAs and blocked websites during my day-to-day browsing, as well as issues with apps that aren't compatible with the VPN.

Soft Mode is the better option for most people, especially as Surfshark's kill switch performs well by itself.

Surfshark is one of the only VPNs with a full antivirus built in. This is the desktop version. It's available on Surfshark One and One+. (Image credit: Future Publishing)

We tried breaking the VPN connection in a few different ways – turning the router on and off, walking out of range of a Wi-Fi hotspot, stopping services, closing processes and more – and Surfshark blocked the internet every time.

The only difference between Surfshark and the very best in this department, NordVPN, is that Surfshark didn’t always manage to recover the application and reconnect every time. NordVPN’s activated the switch, spotted the precise problem, resolved it, and then got us up and running again without us really noticing that anything had happened.

Surfshark still performed far better than most VPNs, and correctly blocked our internet in every test, though, and that’s what most matters for security.

Surfshark’s CleanWeb feature helps out for security, as well as its ad blocking and cookie consent pop-up blocking features we mentioned in the Privacy section. It cuts out phishing and malware websites too.

We tested CleanWeb with 50 up-to-date URLs for each, from the very newest phishing and malware sites sourced on the day of testing itself.

Surfshark's effectiveness for blocking sites that host phishing attacks is a little subpar, blocking only 48%. It's around half as effective as ExpressVPN (76%) and Proton VPN (88%), and a long way behind NordVPN (92%).

It's also adequate forad blocking, blocking 44% of ads, and if you use the Surfshark browser extension (available on Firefox, Chrome, and Edge) alongside your platform app, you'll maximize its chances of succeeding.

Surprisingly, ExpressVPN and Proton VPN didn't manage to detect and block access to any of the latest malware hosting sites in our last lab test. So, even the fact that Surfshark score 28% is actually a pretty strong result.

What's more, CleanWeb is available with all Surfshark plans, which start as low as $1.99 per month. NordVPN's high scores come courtesy with Threat Protection Pro technology which is not included in its entry level tier. To get the benefits of Threat Protection Pro, you'd need to pay a minimum of $3.89 per month – nearly double the price.

Also, bear in mind that the bar we set for the test above is a high one. The figures above would be considerably higher if we tested CleanWeb, and the others, against threats that were even just two days old. Nonetheless, the biggest names in antivirus, such as Norton, Bitdefender, and Avira deliver results to the same tests that are up above 90%.

So, is Surfshark’s CleanWeb a replacement for the very best dedicated AV? Not quite, but it’s well worth using and, like most of Surfshark's features, a bargain. More to the point, it will protect users against most of the nasties out there. So, do switch it on if you have it.

Score: 9/10

Speed

• Among the fastest WireGuard VPNs to local servers.
• OpenVPN speeds are good too, and long-distance performance has improved.
• Surfshark has considerably higher latency and jitter than other top VPNs.

Previously rated as the fastest VPN available, Surfshark has taken a bit of a dip in our latest round of speed testing but still has a strong claim to that title.

What’s more, we still think Surfshark is a good performer in the gran scheme of things. Anyone looking for a fast VPN should not be put off.

We’ve recently broadened our VPN lab speed testing process. We take even more data points than before and have increased our maximum speed capacity from 1 Gbps up to 10 Gbps.

Read more about Surfshark's speed ▼

Surfshark's fastest protocol, WireGuard – available on all Surfshark apps – clocked the second-fastest download speed when we connected to the nearest server to our lab's speed rig. At a median average of 1021 Mbps, it's fractionally bested by NordVPN's NordLynx, which achieved 1249 Mbps

Over long distance (Europe to the US) Surfshark looked much better than previously, though. Its 935 Mbps score is considerably higher than the competition. That's something to consider if you're set to be accessing far-flung servers on a regular basis.

We were pleased to see download speeds are good with the more privacy-focused OpenVPN protocol on Surfshark, achieving 825 Mbps. This is also more than NordVPN's mere 688 Mbps.

However, Surfshark's speed claims take a further knock when you consider overall performance. For almost all distances and protocols, we recorded latency and jitter rates than were pretty much twice as bad as the other top VPNs.

In real terms, that means we would expect higher levels of lag than usual when gaming and more buffering than most when streaming, the latter of which was certainly true in my home streaming experience. (More on that in the Streaming section just below.)

High jitter can lead to poor quality real-time applications, although I didn't notice any problems when I used Surfshark during WhatsApp voice calls or when video conferencing on Google Meet for work.

All in all, though, it's a mixed picture and not quite what we were hoping for.

A VPN engineer once said to me that, beyond certain speeds, it's really latency that's more important when considering VPN performance. If that's true, then Surfshark's fast download data feels a bit hollow.

Of course, speed testing is only ever a snapshot of a moment, with little regard for comparative server network conditions. All the same, despite the headline figures, we'd hope for a better show from Surfshark next time.

Score: 8/10

Unblocking streaming services

• Surfshark unblocks Netflix libraries, and other services, but with major inconsistency.
• Struggles to unblock US-only YouTube content from other countries.
• CleanWeb needs disabling to stream ad-funded streaming services.

Surfshark isn’t quite in the same league as NordVPN when it comes to unblocking streaming services but it’s mostly a good choice on this front.

Like NordVPN, and most of the best VPN services, all of Surfshark’s servers are optimzed for streaming. I didn’t need to waste any time trying to find lists of streaming servers. I just found the country I wanted and connected to any server on the list.

We tested Surfshark to see if it could unblock Netflix in five different locations and it struggled. It took several attempts to access the US library, and failed entirely in the UK and Australia. That said, we had no issues in Canada or Japan.

Amazon US/UK

Disney+ US/UK

YouTube US

NordVPN

✅

✅

❌

Surfshark

❌

❌

❌

ExpressVPN

❌

✅

✅

Proton VPN

✅

❌

❌

Read more about Surfshark's streaming service unblocking ▼

We also found that Surfshark servers couldn't be used to unblock Amazon Prime Video in the US or Australia, Canada, or Japan, no matter how we tried, though the UK was fine. This is a change from our last test when Surfshark saw success with this service.

YouTube US is one that none of our VPN services managed to unblock this time. We choose a licensed US-geo-locked test video and we weren't able to stream it from the UK with Surfshark or any of the others. This is worth considering if you tend to watch YouTube more than any other platform, although most videos tend not to be geo-specific.

Peacock was another US service Surfshark struggled with. While it would access the site successfully, the stream would then drop out on several instances during a one to two hour watching session. This is something we never experienced with other providers.

Surfshark proved useful at unblocking all of the free streaming services we tried in the UK and Australia, though. It has a cross next to ITV in the table below because Surfshark didn't manage to unblock it at the first attempt but, again, it did succeed after a server switch.

Surfshark had previously had similar issues when trying to access 10Play in Australia but there were no troubles in this round of tests.

BBC iPlayer

ITV

Channel 4

TVNZ Plus

NordVPN Plus

✅

✅

✅

✅

Surfshark

✅

✅

✅

✅

ExpressVPN

✅

✅

✅

✅

Proton VPN

✅

❌

❌

❌

It's worth noting that you may need to disable CleanWeb when trying to watch shows on ad-funded streaming services such as Channel 4 and ITV. CleanWeb's built-in ad-blocker, and the streamer's need to serve reels of ads before and between the programming, don't work well together and cause things to grind to a halt.

The only downside, of course, is that it does leave you without web-based malware blocking for a time. So, make sure you're watching a trusted service. And make sure to turn CleanWeb back on after.

When we tested Proton VPN we found the same problem but the significant difference there is that we could turn off just the ad-blocking of NetShield while leaving the malware protection running. We also didn’t have to disconnect and reconnect to change the setting, unlike with CleanWeb.

Ultimately, if you're not prepared to tinker – and why should you – then NordVPN is the best streaming VPN but let Surfshark's results in this department put you off. It's still good for unblocking streams.

Score: 7/10

P2P and torrenting

• Torrenting supported at all of Surfsharks server locations.
• Search for P2P optimized servers for best performance.
• No port forwarding.

Surfshark works well for torrenting thanks to its high download speeds and reliable privacy.

I opted for the OpenVPN protocol using TCP to be doubly sure my ISP wouldn't be able to see what I was up to. Sure enough, I've had no nasty letters through the post.

Using uTorrent, I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary as I chose a selection of different file sizes to download. Knowing that Surfshark performs significantly better over short connection distances (see Speed section) I made sure to choose the closest server possible.

All of Surfshark’s locations support torrenting but only some are optimised for P2P use and they’re not so easy to find as with Proton VPN or NordVPN, both which have P2P filters on their server choice lists in the apps.

We figured out that you can type ‘P2P’ into the search field of the server location list with Surfshark and the system will narrow to include only the torrenting optimized servers, but even then it’s very hard to tell that that’s what you’re looking at. There’s nothing in the knowledge base or help sections about it. How most people are supposed to discover this is a bit of a mystery.

The actual torrenting experience, though, once connected, is very similar to any of the top VPNs. My connection speed was limited more by the number and quality of peers for the file I tried to download.

Like many VPNs these days, Surfshark does not support port forwarding for reasons of security – understandable given that’s a VPN’s prime function. You can read Surfshark’s take on it here.

The article even suggests a way you can set up port forwarding manually but, if that’s really something you want that much, then you’re best off choosing Proton VPN which supports the feature directly in its apps.

Score: 4/5

Compatibility

• Surfshark is compatible with all modern platforms.
• Exceptionally large feature set available for iPhone users.
• Use browser extensions for maximum privacy.

Surfshark does a good job of keeping consistency in look, feel, and functionality across its suite of apps. In fact, it scores better than most top VPN vendors with almost all of its features supported on mobile as well as desktop.

iPhone users should take particular notice. Surfshark’s iOS app is exceptionally well stocked compared to the normally underpowered versions peddled by most VPN companies. Split tunneling, auto connect, and use of all three of Surfshark’s VPN protocols are present and correct on both major mobile operating systems.

Like all the very top VPNs, Surfshark is compatible with every modern platform you’d care to mention. There are apps for the likes of Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV and Linux as well as the usual big four of Windows, Mac, Android and iOS.

Features available on iPhone

Surfshark

NordVPN

ExpressVPN

Proton VPN

Kill switch

✅

✅ (automatic)

✅

✅

Autoconnect

✅

✅

❌

❌

Split tunneling

✅ (websites only)

❌

❌

❌

Protocols

WireGuard, OpenVPN, IKEv2

NordLynx, OpenVPN

Lightway, OpenVPN, IKEv2

WireGuard, Stealth

Malware blocking

✅

❌

✅

✅

GPS spoofing

❌

❌

❌

❌

Custom DNS

❌

❌

❌

❌

Read more about Surfshark's compatibility ▼

There are also Chrome, Edge and Firefox browser extensions and these are more important than you might think.

We’d recommend using Surfshark from within your browser to get the most out of the CleanWeb phishing, advert and malware blocking abilities of your VPN, for example. It’ll keep you a little safer online even if the VPN itself is turned off. See the Security section for more details.

But, there's more. Surfshark's browser extensions can mask your real location better than using just using your device's VPN app alone. That's because some websites can ask your browser its country-level location. That’s not something that’s related to your IP address.

We found we got fewer CAPTCHAs when we tried it. Searching Google for VPN-related terms often digs up request for bicycles, buses and road crossing identifications but it was a rare event with Surfshark's Chrome extension on.

We’d recommend using Surfshark from within your browser to get the most out of the CleanWeb phishing, advert and malware blocking abilities of your VPN

The browser extension doubles down on protecting your real location with its ‘Block WebRTC’ feature too. WebRTC (Web Real-Time Communications) is another internet technology which can be used by websites to find your real IP address. Surfshark’s browser extension should stop any red flags by making sure WebRTC doesn’t run on your device.

Putting a VPN onto your router is never a piece of cake but, like most good VPNs, it is possible with Surfshark. It requires a manual installation of the software but, beginners, be not afraid – there is an excellent post on the Surfshark blog of how to get this done, and a supporting article with information for specific routers, protocols (WireGuard/OpenVPN/IKEv3 and firmware (OpenWRT / OPNsense / TP-Link).

Surfshark does a good job of maintaining all of its apps with regular updates to many of them throughout the year.

We took a look at the number of updates that the big VPN providers made to their iOS apps between January and December 2025 for an indicator of how well they support their software. iOS apps are often the least well maintained.

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} #fv-chart-1765979335374-rw1ncji75 .fv-x-axis-label-space:not(.fv-grouped-x-axis .fv-x-axis-label-space) { display: none !important; } #fv-chart-1765979335374-rw1ncji75 .fv-x-axis-chart-space { padding-right: 0 !important; } #fv-chart-1765979335374-rw1ncji75 .fv-benchmark-title { font-size: 16px !important; } #fv-chart-1765979335374-rw1ncji75 .fv-logo { width: 60px !important; max-width: 60px !important; } #fv-chart-1765979335374-rw1ncji75 .fv-carousel-nav-btn { padding: 6px 8px !important; font-size: 11px !important; } #fv-chart-1765979335374-rw1ncji75 .fv-y-axis-title { padding-left: 5% !important; /* (30/600) for mobile view */ } #fv-chart-1765979335374-rw1ncji75.fv-contains-line-chart .fv-footer-content { margin-left: -1rem !important; margin-right: -1rem !important; } } { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Dataset", "name": "iOS app updates in 2025", "description": "This is the number of updates the iOS apps of each of these VPNs has had in 2025", "creator": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "TechRadar", "logo": "https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/dAwPEozB9GMMhAngdFJTHb.png" }, "isAccessibleForFree": true, "dateCreated": "2025-12-17T13:48:55.374Z", "citation": "Surfshark's apps are well cared for by the development team. The real outliers here are CyberGhost and PIA, neither of which appear to be putting much into app development right now.", "keywords": [ "NordVPN", "Surfshark", "ExpressVPN", "Proton VPN", "PureVPN", "Mullvad", "IPVanish", "Windscribe", "CyberGhost", "Private Internet Access", "iOS app updates", "benchmark", "comparison", "performance", "review", "TechRadar" ], "measurementTechnique": "Performance Benchmarking", "variableMeasured": [ { "@type": "PropertyValue", "name": "NordVPN – iOS app updates", "value": 23, "unitText": "number" }, { "@type": "PropertyValue", "name": "Surfshark – iOS app updates", "value": 21, "unitText": "number" }, { "@type": "PropertyValue", "name": "ExpressVPN – iOS app updates", "value": 25, "unitText": "number" }, { "@type": "PropertyValue", "name": "Proton VPN – iOS app updates", "value": 22, "unitText": "number" }, { "@type": "PropertyValue", "name": "PureVPN – iOS app updates", "value": 18, "unitText": "number" }, { "@type": "PropertyValue", "name": "Mullvad – iOS app updates", "value": 9, "unitText": "number" }, { "@type": "PropertyValue", "name": "IPVanish – iOS app updates", "value": 10, "unitText": "number" }, { "@type": "PropertyValue", "name": "Windscribe – iOS app updates", "value": 11, "unitText": "number" }, { "@type": "PropertyValue", "name": "CyberGhost – iOS app updates", "value": 0, "unitText": "number" }, { "@type": "PropertyValue", "name": "Private Internet Access – iOS app updates", "value": 3, "unitText": "number" } ]} iOS app updates in 2025

This is the number of updates the iOS apps of each of these VPNs has had in 2025

iOS app updates NordVPN 23 Surfshark 21 ExpressVPN 25 Proton VPN 22 PureVPN 18 Mullvad 9 IPVanish 10 Windscribe 11 CyberGhost 0 Private Internet Access 3 iOS app updates Data ProductValue (number) NordVPN 23 Surfshark 21 ExpressVPN 25 Proton VPN 22 PureVPN 18 Mullvad 9 IPVanish 10 Windscribe 11 CyberGhost 0 Private Internet Access 3 Surfshark's apps are well cared for by the development team. The real outliers here are CyberGhost and PIA, neither of which appear to be putting much into app development right now. 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Looking at the table above, Surfshark is certainly one of the better companies for this with it pretty much on a par with other top VPNs Proton VPN, NordVPN and ExpressVPN.

The overall story for us here is that Surfshark has done a really good job, and we’re confident that it will continue to do so on whatever platform you wish to use.

Score: 5/5

Usability

• Make sure to disable the auto-renew function on set-up.
• Clear and consistent UX across all major Surfshark apps.
• Kill switch mode should be clearer on the UI.

After signing up for a Surshark account (don’t forget to take advantage of the Surfshark 7-day free trial while it’s here), the Surfshark online dashboard is a good place to start.

There’s a handy set-up guide to make sure you get the best of all the features – connecting to the VPN, setting up Antivirus, data leak alerts, Surfshark’s search and how to use Alternative ID. All well worth your time.

It’s also a good place to download your apps and extensions. The Download apps panel is surprisingly complete. There are QR codes to scan and buttons both of which offer direct links to the relevant app stores for smart TVs, browser extensions and Linux as well as the big four laptop, phone and tablet apps. You can even pick up the Android APK for any side-loading you might need to do.

Read more about Surfshark's usability ▼

The only thing to watch out for is that we got a little confused by the Windows app installer. It said “Welcome to Surshark One Security Suite Setup Wizard”, when we’d only purchased Surfsharker Starter originally. Sadly, it wasn’t a free upgrade. Ignore it. That’s how the standard installer lookers.

You can access the help center, view the length left of your subscription and, of course, upgrade to a dedicated IP address and an Alternative ID phone number while you're there, should you wish.

Switch off auto-renew and avoid a nasty price hike

Our top tip of all, though, is to head immediately to the Payments tab in the Your Subscriptions section of the My Account menu where you can switch off auto-renew and avoid a nasty price hike once the term of your original subscription ends. Ignore this at your peril, or face paying about twice what you did originally per month on a 12-month contract.

If you do get stung by Surfshark’s auto-renewal, though, don’t panic. The company cares about its reputation and its customers. A little sweet talk to the customer support within a week and you’re highly likely to get a refund.

User Experience

The Surfshark user experience is pretty much identical across the range. There are differences – Android has a home tab, Windows and iOS don’t, for example – but the look and feel is consistent and all the features and settings are in very similar places.

Like all good VPN apps, there are short explainers next to most of the settings and that’s important because it’s by far and away the easiest way to learn about the product. Only Proton VPN stands out as superior on this front with an info button that opens up some really clear pop-up explainers, that are as easy to understand as they are to dismiss.

There’s no map on any Surfshark app. All server locations are listed in alphabetical order and that’s perfectly sensible and easy to navigate. There’s also a search bar to stop you having to scroll to the bottom for UK, US and everything else that’s useful down there.

You can even search for the kind of server you want, instead of the location. Type in ‘P2P’ if you want one for torrenting, for example. We typed in ‘Frank’ and got not only the main Frankfurt server but also a list of those with static IPs as well as the preset MultiHop route of Frankfurt via the GB-London server.

Surfshark home page running on Android. It's a very clear interface easy access to VPN server selection and connection. There is tabbed access to the settings and product features at the bottom. (Image credit: Future Publishing)

If that’s not fast enough for you, there are connection shortcuts with buttons for your recently used servers, your fastest available connection and your nearest country too. There are also stars next to each server in the list so that you can favourite ones that you like or use most often.

We prefer the tabbed layout on the Windows app compared to the mobile versions but then that’s not a huge surprise given that there’s more space to play with on a laptop screen. The tabs make a bit more sense on a computer (VPN, Alternative ID, Alerts, Antivirus, Search and Settings). It’s quick access to pretty much everything you need right there.

Compare that to the four tabs on Android – Home, Products, News, Settings. News doesn’t really offer much but head to Products and you’ll find a list of the same tabbed sections as on the Windows app. In other words, access to the same areas is one step removed. It’s not a big deal and it still works fine.

The desktop apps are still actually quite small – more than the budget mobile port look and feel of cheaper VPNs like Hide.me, Windscribe and PrivadoVPN but nothing like the luxury of space you get with NordVPN, Proton VPN or ExpressVPN.

We don’t really mind that. It’s still attractive, tidy and maybe a massive VPN software windows is exactly the kind of getting-in-the-way that VPNs shouldn’t do. It’s also kind of fitting of Surfshark’s more reasonable price point.

Surfshark's desktop application is not a full screen desktop experience but I don't have a problem with that. It's neat, tidy, easy to use and doesn't get in the way of your other apps and files. (Image credit: Future Publishing)

It’s also a misnomer to think that its size means less complexity. The Surfshark Windows app has 23 buttons, icons and other areas where you can click something. NordVPN’s Windows app also has 23. Proton VPN comes in at a similar 19.

If you want something really stripped back but still nicely put together, then go for ExpressVPN with its 13 – but then that does mean fewer functions at your fingertips. It depends on what you’d rather trade off.

Probably the only part of the Windows UX that we find a bit odd is the VPN home page itself, or, more specifically, the information that’s on there. There’s data on connection time, VPN IP address, up and download data so far, what protocol you’re using and whether or not CleanWeb is on.

It’ll also tell you when the kill switch is enabled, but, the strange part is that it says nothing about the kill switch at all when it’s off – and that’s exactly when you need to know about the kill switch: when it’s not protecting you!

Oddly, Android users can tell if it’s off because it’s displayed as a toggle rather than the word On or Off.

Is it a problem? Well, potentially but you can avoid it by making sure your kill switch is activated by default. Otherwise, it would be a concern if your real IP was leaking and you didn’t know about it.

That aside, we really have no complaints to make about how Surshark has put its apps together. They’re easy on the eye and generally a pleasure to use.

Score: 4/5

Accessibility

• Middling accessibility score for the Surfshark website.
• Average language support.
• Extremely poor for keyboard-only use.

Surfshark's accessibility credentials are so-so, at best with both the website and number of languages available in-app about average. Keyboard support is really quite poor but Siri voice commands for VPN functionality save the day for iOS users.

We used AccessibilityChecker to scan Surfshark’s home page and it came out with a score of 23%. It’s only a single page but it’s a good indicator of what to expect across its website.

That’s a long way behind the likes of Mullvad (95%) and NordVPN (65%), but in the same ballpark as providers like Proton VPN (35%), ExpressVPN (32%) and Private Internet Access (10%).

The audit report showed that Surfshark’s website passed all navigation tests. It was deemed to also have increasing issues surrounding screen reader support.

Read more about Surfshark's accessibility ▼

Equally, the site uses an appropriate color scheme, and text with strong contrast, even though it didn’t match color contrast standards across a few elements.

There’s clearly room for improvement here, but this isn’t a bad score. If you’re partially sighted, then, there are better options out there than Surfshark.

Looking at Surfshark’s desktop apps, we found that the Windows application supports 13 languages including common options such as English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Japanese, Korean and Chinese (Simplified and Traditional.)

There are 13 languages supported on Surfshark. Not as many as other VPNs and a few key options missing. (Image credit: Future Publishing)

But it’s missing others – Arabic, Norwegian, Swedish, Turkish – and many VPNs provide more. Norton VPN supports 26 languages, for instance, and Proton VPN has 28. So, if you would rather have a VPN that talks your native tongue, you might find more luck elsewhere.

Next we tried ditching our mouse. If a user can’t operate a mouse, they should be able to access every feature of the app from the keyboard. Sadly, Surfshark has extremely poor keyboard support.

Pressing Tab allowed us to move around the window, but in many cases the app didn’t highlight the current element (the button, the list, or whatever else we were accessing), leaving us with no idea where we were.

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Language options available in the Windows apps of each of these VPNs.

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Even when we could see we had reached an important element, like the location list, it turned out not to be optimized for keyboard use.

For example, PIA’s Windows app allowed us to scroll up and down to highlight a country, and connected as soon as we hit Enter. That’s easy and intuitive, we figured it out right away.

With Surfshark, we could browse up and down the location list with the keyboard, but hitting Enter did nothing. Experimenting, hitting Tab and then Enter allowed us to connect some of the time, but we regularly got lost and had to use our mouse to start again.

Overall, if you need keyboard support then Surfshark’s Windows app isn’t a good choice. Check out PIA instead.

Score: 2/5

Customer support

• Surfshark has 24/7 live chat, email and site customer support.
• Handy and easy to use on-site knowledge base.
• Email support will reply with a solution within 24-hours.

Surfshark offers customer support via a support site, live chat (24/7) and email (24/7).

We test VPN support sites by searching for common technical terms and issues, and exploring what comes up. Surfshark’s support site scores well for its vast number of articles.

When we searched for ‘DNS’, for instance, the site gave us 120 results including plenty of useful guides. That compares to 60 for ExpressVPN, and only 5 for Hotspot Shield (and only one of those was useful for setup or troubleshooting).

The only subject area almost completely absent was P2P and torrenting but perhaps for obvious thorny legal reasons.

Read more about Surfshark customer support ▼

All the help articles we read were well written, clear, nicely laid-out and very, very non-threatening.

Most Surfshark support users won't need the search, though, because the site is very well organised.

It displays links to its most important articles on the front page, grouped into topics such as ‘Getting Started’, ‘Fixing Issues’, ‘Billing’ and ‘Account’. It’s likely that many visitors will find the article they need in a couple of clicks.

We noticed that some of the support articles were a little out-of-date. Screenshots didn’t always match the latest version of the app, for instance. But that’s not unusual with VPNs that have a large number of articles, and we didn’t spot any guides where this genuinely had a significant negative result, like telling us to take an action which was no longer possible, for instance.

More to the point, all the articles we read were well written, clear, nicely laid-out and very, very non-threatening. Most people will feel confident of following the advice of this resource and rightly so.

Surfshark’s live chat appears to be well staffed. We were able to talk to helpful agents within a couple of minutes of opening a session. Getting some information about how to set the VPN up for P2P seemed like a good idea and the online agent did not let us down.

Surfshark’s live chat appears to be well staffed, and we were able to talk to helpful agents within a couple of minutes.

They said that all of their servers were fit to use for P2P, they suggested OpenVPN, with UDP for better speeds, and to make sure we had the kill switch on. All pretty sage stuff. And the whole chat took less than 5 minutes once we’d gone through a couple of layers of AI bot automation.

Email support isn’t as speedy. Proton VPN replied to a test question in minutes during its last review; Surfshark says it will reply in 24 hours, and our 21-hour wait suggests that’s about right.

Our reply was short, but friendly, accurate, and with an invitation to keep asking if we needed more help, and that earns a thumbs up from us.

Score: 4/5

User reviews

Like all user reviews, you should take Surfshark's scores on the Trustpilot and the mobile app stores with a pinch of salt, but they do paint the picture of a VPN that you can trust.

Across Google Play and the Apple App Store, it holds ratings on par with the very top VPNs. It's 4.3/5 Trustpilot rating is based on over 27,000 reviews. Around 9% of those are 1-star reviews.

Read them, and you'll most likely find that they're complaints over the auto-renewal system that most VPNs use, and it's easy to make sure that you don't become one of those statistics. You can turn auto-renew off from any point after signing up. Please do it.

Google Play

App Store

Trustpilot

NordVPN

4.6

4.7

4.2

Windscribe

4.6

4.6

4.7

Surfshark

4.6

4.7

4.3

Proton VPN

4.6

4.6

2.0

ExpressVPN

4.7

4.7

4.0

Track record: can you trust Surfshark?

• Surfshark has never suffered any hacks or data leaks.
• Apps, logging policy and server infrastructure has all been audited.
• We'd like to see audits undertaken on an annual basis.

Surfshark has not had to suffer the ignominy of any major hacks or bugs that have gone public, and the NIST Vulnerability Database doesn’t have a single item with the keyword 'Surfshark'. That’s quite unusual.

Proton VPN has three old bugs in the database; ExpressVPN has three; NordVPN also has three old vulnerabilities (all from 2018.) Surfshark does have the advantage of being the youngest of all of these VPNs, though, launched, as it was, in 2018. For the record, Proton VPN is only one year older.

It’s a positive sign that hackers and security researchers haven’t found any major issues in Surfshark’s apps.

The biggest uproar was when the company decided to switch its legal HQ from the British Virgin Islands to the Netherlands.

Surfshark did cause controversy when it added a ‘fake news detector’ feature to its browser extension. The idea was to highlight sources of misinformation, but the feature falsely flagged too many legitimate sites. It also raised a few eyebrows for privacy issues with the idea that this automated feature would decide, on its own, whether a particular source was trustworthy or not. Surfshark removed the feature in 2022 and the company hasn’t tried anything similar since.

Read more about Surfshark's track record▼

For sure, the biggest uproar, though, was when the company decided to switch its legal HQ from the British Virgin Islands to the Netherlands, as we mentioned in the Privacy section of this review.

Audited, but not as well or regularly as Proton VPN

Surfshark has had all the significant parts of its processes and infrastructure audited by third parties over the years but it could do with ramping up the frequency.

Surfshark had its no-logs policy reviewed by Deloitte in 2022. The report was released in January 2023 and agreed that Surfshark’s claims matched its real-life user data procedures. More recently its no-logs claims were audited in June, 2025, and, again, everything was found to be ship shape. (The full report is available to Surfshark users.)

It’s good to see any VPN provider have the courage to put itself through a public audit, but we'd like to see Surfshark do this a little more regularly.

Proton VPN has a no-logs audit every year, and Surfshark needs to do something similar. We’d like to see regular audits of the apps, too.

Thankfully, Surfshark has had another infrastructure audit now as of the start of 2026. Conducted by SecuRing, the testing wasn't as intensive as other audits we've seen, but found no major concerns.

It’s good to see any VPN provider have the courage to put itself through a public audit, but this can’t be a one-off event.

So, while it's not doing quite as much as other top VPNs in this regard, there's not a great deal to flaw Surfshark on here either.

Score: 4/5

Final verdict

(Image credit: Future / Gemini)

Surfshark is an excellent VPN. We rate it as the second best VPN for overall use. We also rate it as the best cheap VPN available.

We recommend the Surfshark Starter plan (from $1.99 per month) or Surfshark One (from $2.29 per month) which comes with antivirus built in. Both offer a 7-day free trial.

Surfshark is an excellent VPN. We rate it as the second best VPN for overall use. We also rate it as the best cheap VPN available.

We recommend the Surfshark Starter plan (from $1.99 per month) or Surfshark One (from $2.29 per month) which comes with antivirus built in. Both offer a 7-day free trial.

Who should use Surfshark?

✅ Anyone looking for cheap VPN: You can get two years of service for less than $70 total and there's a 7-day free trial which means you can try it out for nothing.

✅ People who want an antivirus product with their VPN: Surfshark is one of the few VPNs with a full antivirus system. None of NordVPN, Proton VPN nor ExpressVPN offer this. Make sure to sign up to Surfshark One or One+ for antivirus.

✅ P2P users looking for a good torrenting VPN: Surfshark gave us fast speeds when torrenting and is very easy to use.

Surfshark One – get the 7-day free trial

We rate Surfshark One as the best Surfshark plan. It's only a few dollars more than Starter and brings some worthwhile benefits:

✅ Full antivirus
✅ Data leak alerts
✅ Ad-free Surfshark search engine

Best of all, there's currently a 7-day free trial of Surfshark.View Deal

Who should try a different VPN instead?

❌ Streamers: Surfshark can certainly unblock most streaming services from abroad but it can be a little fiddly for some important ones like Disney Plus and ITV. NordVPN is better for streaming.

1. NordVPN – from $2.99 per month
The best VPN overall and best for streaming
If watching geo-blocked streaming services is the main reason you want a VPN, then NordVPN is a better choice than Surfshark. It's our #1 rated VPN overall and unblocked every streaming service in our tests at the first attempt. It's easy to use and excellent at everything else too. The only downside is that it's more expensive than Surfshark but you get what you pay for. Try it for yourself with a 30-day money-back guarantee.View Deal

Surfshark FAQsDoes Surfshark have a free trial?

Yes, a free 7-day trial is available to new users signing up to 1 and 2-year contracts for any of Surfshark's plans.

Is Surfshark VPN owned by China?

No. Surfshark was founded in 2018 by Vytautas Kaziukonis. It has offices in Lithuania and Poland, where the company remains today. Surfshark was registered in the British Virgin Islands until 2021 when its legal home was switched to the Netherlands.

Surfshark merged with NordVPN in 2022. The company offices are on the same campus in Vilnius, Lithuania, but remain separate from one another.

Is Surfshark VPN trusted?

Yes. Surfshark operates according to secure and trustworthy VPN practices. It uses a RAM-only server network and has an audited no-logs policy to prove that it does not collect of store user data. Surfshark has never had a hack or data leak. You can read more about this in the Track Record section of this review.

Is Surfshark blocked by Netflix?

No. We were able to access five different global Netflix libraries. These were Japan, USA, Canada, UK and Australia. Surfshark was able to unblock Netflix in these locations at the first time of trying – so without switching to any different servers and without changing any settings. (Read more about it in the Streaming section of this review.) We recommend Surfshark as a good VPN for watching Netflix wherever you go.

What are the downsides of Surfshark?

Even though Surfshark is excellent for unblocking Netflix streams, it's not quite as great for streaming as some other VPNs, such as NordVPN and ExpressVPN.

Is Surfshark legal in the US?

Yes. Surfshark is legal to use in the US and in all other locations where VPN use is not banned. VPN bans exist in countries such as Russia, China, Iran, Turkey, India, Saudi Arabia and a few other places. Find out more about where VPNs are banned.

Surfshark testing methodology

I’ve tested and written about VPNs for over five years. I’ve had Surfshark installed on my Windows PC and my mobile phone during that time along with nine other VPNs. Of those, Surfshark is my go-to VPN for my phone even when I'm not reviewing it.

I like the Android app and I particularly like having my Alternative ID at hand to copy into registration fields when I’m signing up for new sites and services. You can read my thoughts on Alternative ID in the Features section.

I use Surfshark most days and I update this review with my thoughts on the service and new Surfshark features each month. The latest this time is the Web Content Blocker tool which you can read about in the Features section too.

Our VPN test lab is where we put all VPNs through the same battery of tests to ensure a level playing field. Mike has been lab testing VPNs for over 11 years and has developed TechRadar’s VPN testing methodology over that time.

Read more our Surfshark testing methodology ▼

Each VPN is put through full lab testing every six months. As with all the VPNs, Surfshark has been tested for speed, ad-blocking, anti-phasing and malware, streaming service unblocking, local IP address leaks and the server network has been spot-checked to confirm that the VPN server locations are accurate.

As well as this, Surfshark’s privacy and security credentials have been checked in-lab by reading through the company’s privacy policy in detail and by looking through VPN configuration files and monitoring connection logs to ensure that each VPN protocol will operate appropriately.

Surfshark is my go-to VPN for my mobile phone even when I'm not reviewing it.

I have subjectively user tested the rest of Surfshark’s in-app privacy and security features on my own devices in real-world situations – on my mobile connection, on public Wi-Fi and on my home network too. These include Search, Autoconnect, Alert, and Alternative ID. You can read our findings in the Privacy and Security sections.

As with all of our VPN lab tests, Surfshark’s speed testing took place on our cloud PC set-up over a 10 Gbps line. We took 10 measurements from two different server locations (Dublin and Los Angeles) and recorded both local and transatlantic VPN connection speeds. We did this on both WireGuard (for a measure of the fastest speeds) and on OpenVPN (for those who wish to use a more secure connection).

Surfshark apps running on the four major operating systems in the TechRadar VPN lab. (Image credit: Future)

Our final scores are a median average of each set of 10 to avoid any skew from outlier data points. As with all VPN speed testing, it only provides a snapshot in time but, in our experience, it’s representative of average performance.

I’ve added my real-world user experience of Surfshark's speed performance to Mike’s results. You can read about both in the Speed section of this review

Mike tested Surfshark’s CleanWeb tool (anti-phishing and anti-malware) by exposing it to the 100 latest phishing and malware websites and seeing what percentage of these it could detect and block. You can see results in the Security section where I’ve added my thoughts on what it’s like to browse websites using CleanWeb, whether it makes a difference to the number of ads seen on pages, and whether it was able to reduce cookie consent pop-ups.

To test streaming service unblocking, Mike built a tool to sequentially run through a series of streaming platforms, as accessed from a different set of global locations. These include Netflix access to content libraries in Japan, the US, UK, Australia and Canada, access to Prime Video, Disney Plus, and local free streaming services such as BBC iPlayer, ITV, Channel 4, 10Play, 9Now and more.

The streaming tool checks whether or not Surfshark is able to access these services from abroad. If it fails, we try to access these services using different servers or by making tweaks to Surfshark’s set-up. For us, there’s a big difference in usability between a VPN that we need to tweak and one which will offer access first time.

Surfshark has been tested for speed, ad-blocking, anti-phasing and malware, streaming service unblocking, local IP address leaks and the server network has been spot-checked

I do a lot of streaming from abroad using VPNs – particularly with services such as Peacock, Sling and FuboTV. I regularly use Surfshark on my Windows PC for this. You can read my thoughts about Surfshark’s streaming quality and consistency, as well as Mike’s lab results, in the Streaming section of this review.

Finally, and certainly not least for the lab testing, is kill switches. This is arguably the most important feature we test in the lab. Mike sets up software to record the reported IP address of his test devices and switches on the VPN. He then performs a series of ways to break the VPN’s operation and checks that the kill switch kicks in without registering any leaks of the lab’s actual IP address.

The last port of call in our Surfshark testing was to test out its customer support. Mike puts his VPN knowledge to some pretty fiendish use and approaches live chat and email support with a complicated but not impossible technical query. You can see how Surfshark did in our Customer Support section.

Do take a look at our VPN lab testing methodology for a more detailed idea of Mike’s process.

This review has been fact checked across the VPN team, as well as with information provided by Surfshark. We update this review each month to include any new Surfshark features, or information about the product, to make sure that what you’re reading is 100% up to date and as you would find the product if you downloaded and used it today.

If you notice anything in your experience of using Surfshark that does not tally with what you read on this page, please let us know in the comments, or by emailing us direct, and we will endeavour to provide you with product support information or include corrections and warnings to other users, depending on which is appropriate.

If you’re a small business looking for a reliable data backup and data recovery software, CrashPlan might be what you’re looking for. It allows you to take periodic backups of all system files with unlimited storage, with an option to recover data if you end up accidentally deleting it from your system.

In this article, we’ll discuss the various features CrashPlan offers, along with its pricing, installation, and in-use experience. Stick around till the end to find out if CrashPlan is what you’re looking for.

 CrashPlan: Plans and pricing

(Image credit: CrashPlan)

For small businesses, CrashPlan’s pricing starts at $8/user/month for up to 249 employees. The platform also offers longer-term plans, with its annual cost at $88/user/year and $158/user for a two-year period.

There's also a Microsoft 365 plan which lets you back up Exchange Online, SharePoint, and OneDrive, with pooled cloud storage of 50 GB, costing $4/user/month, or $44/user/year, or $79/user for two years. You can also get additional storage at a cost of $1/month for 100 GB.

The best thing about CrashPlan is that it offers a fully functional 14-day free trial with access to all features it has to offer, including unlimited storage. This allows you to test out the software before purchasing a subscription.

CrashPlan: Features

CrashPlan is primarily a backup solution that lets you take periodic backups of important files and drives on operating systems such as Windows, Mac, and Linux.

CrashPlan uses a time-based versioning system that saves multiple versions of files as they are updated, based on preset time intervals such as 15 minutes, 60 minutes, daily, weekly, or monthly. This allows you to get a more granular history for recent edits, along with all versions stored in backup archives.

(Image credit: Future)

Data recovery is only an additional feature offered by the platform, which works very differently from other data recovery software we have seen.

The likes of EaseUS and Stellar Data Recovery scan for file system metadata to look for files that may have been deleted but not removed from memory. This is possible only if the data has not yet been overwritten. The longer the time elapsed from the point of deletion, the more difficult the recovery becomes.

(Image credit: Future)

However, CrashPlan adopts a very different approach. It first lets you back up files from your system to remote cloud storage and then allows you to download data from that storage even if you have deleted the original files on your system. So this works as long as the data exists in the backup. However, one major downside to this is that there is a hard upper cap limit of 90 days for restoration.

CrashPlan: Installation and in-use experience

CrashPlan is fairly easy to install – you will find a free download button on its website for that. I found the interface to be pretty clean and modern, with a bit of a learning curve involved. There are a fair deal of settings you need to play with to strike the perfect balance between backup and productivity.

(Image credit: Future)

For example, there's an exclusive ‘Backup Sets’ option, which lets you configure which files, locations, and drives you want to be backed up regularly. You can also choose the backup schedule, either keeping it up to date at all times or running backups only at specified times. Besides this, there's also an option to exclude certain files from the backup selection.

(Image credit: Future)

Under the ‘Usage’ Settings section, you'll find other preferences, such as sending alerts when devices are not backed up for a certain number of days or logging you out after a certain period of inactivity. This option is set at 15 minutes by default, which I found to be quite low. We recommend setting it at least 60 minutes so that you don't have to log in repeatedly.

Overall, the in-use experience is pretty good and intuitive with zero lags. That said, you might need a bit of time to get a hang of the platform. There are tons of user guides and YouTube videos to help you around.

CrashPlan: Efficiency 

One of the biggest advantages to CrashPlan is that not only can you set the software to continuously back up files from your computer to the cloud, but also schedule periodic transfers, seamlessly incorporating the application into your workflow.

(Image credit: CrashPlan)

It’s also worth noting that CrashPlan gives you the option to throttle your file transfers to save bandwidth. This setting is sensitive to when your computer is idle, so it’s easy to have the bulk of your uploads take place overnight.

CrashPlan: Support 

If you’re having trouble figuring out how to recover deleted files, you can get in touch with CrashPlan’s support team by live chat, email, or phone. Phone and chat support are only available during normal US business hours Monday to Friday.

Email help is available 24/7, although you may wait several hours for an answer if you send a request during the middle of the night in the US.

For questions about the software and data restoration, CrashPlan also has an extensive online documentation library. Most of the help articles come with walkthrough videos, which is helpful when you’re first learning the software.

How we tested CrashPlan's performance

To test out CrashPlan's capabilities, we signed up for their 14-day free trial and installed the application on our Windows 11 system with a 12th Gen Intel i5 processor. We then chose an MP4 file of around 840 GB to back up on the cloud server. The whole process took 10 minutes.

After this, we went ahead and deleted the file from our system and emptied the Recycle Bin. Then, we restored the same file from the cloud server, which took another 10 minutes or so. The file was not damaged and was restored with all its contents intact.

We repeated the same process with some other files and folders, and each time, CrashPlan was able to restore the files perfectly.

CrashPlan: Final verdict

CrashPlan is a data backup software first, with recovery as an ancillary feature. It is ideal if you are a small business that wants to regularly back up sensitive business data and recover it in case of accidental loss. However, recovery only works for 90 days, beyond which the files may be permanently lost.

The pricing is fairly affordable compared to other backup software, with a modern and sleek interface. However, there is a bit of a learning curve involved, and it would take a few days to get a hang of the platform.

If you're only looking for a dedicated data recovery option, platforms like EaseUS, Wondershare Recoverit, and Stellar Data Recovery might be better options.

If you’re looking for a data recovery tool, especially for your Mac device, Disk Drill can be a good choice. Its deep KEXT-level Mac scans work even on newer versions, along with a very robust Windows, Android, and iOS platform.

Disk Drill's website boasts that any lost data file type can be recovered, from almost any data loss scenario you can think of. But does Disk Drill rediscover the deleted data you're expecting? We’ve put Disk Drill to the ultimate test to find out.

(Image credit: Disk Drill)Disk Drill: Plans and pricing

Disk Drill's pricing is slightly on the higher side, especially its one-year subscription, which costs $89 per year. In comparison, EaseUS costs $69.95/year. That said, you can install Disk Drill on up to three devices, whereas EaseUS offers only a single-device license.

However, you get the best value with Disk Drill if you get its lifetime license, which costs only $149. The prices also remain the same for both platforms: Windows and Mac.

Disk Drill: Features

The best thing about Disk Drill is that it is very inclusive in nature, since it supports both Windows and macOS, and a wide variety of file systems such as FAT16, FAT32, exFAT, HFS, APFS, EXT 2/3/4, and RAW disks.

The application can recognize around 400 file signatures on a host of devices such as SSDs and HDDs, USB flash drives, NAS devices, software RAID arrays, smartphones, and memory cards. This is by far one of the widest coverage ranges offered by any data recovery software.

(Image credit: Future)

Besides simple data recovery, Disk Drill also offers a byte-by-byte backup option, which allows you to clone each sector of your device one by one while dealing with failing hard drives. You also get several ancillary tools, such as SMART monitoring, which checks your device health, and a built-in disk cleanup tool that looks for useless files on your drives.

I really loved its Advanced Camera Recovery feature, which makes it easy to restore fragmented and lost video footage from devices such as drones, DVRs, or cameras. There's also a nifty recovery chance calculator, so that you can check the probability of a file being successfully recovered before attempting to do so.

(Image credit: Future)

Data recovery software usually requires direct access to storage devices to properly scan and recover data. However, this is not possible on newer macOS versions with T2 and Apple Silicon M1 to M5 chips.

This is where Disk Drill comes in handy. It deploys its own kernel extension, known as a KEXT, which allows it to cooperate with the macOS kernel and bypass standard OS-level limitations to access internal drives. Since Apple has been slowly phasing out KEXTs, Disk Drill’s ability to perform deep macOS scans is a significant advantage.

Scanning

The scanning speed with Disk Drill depends on the type of drive you are scanning. If it’s an external hard disk, it can take more than 10 hours to scan 1TB of data, which is way more than other platforms we’ve tested. However, internal drive scans are pretty quick – I was able to scan around 600GB of data within a matter of five minutes.

While the scan is in progress, you can review items that have already been found, including deleted files. This allows you to start the recovery process even before the entire scan finishes.

(Image credit: Future)

You will see a color-coded dashboard that segregates each scan into various file types such as pictures, videos, audio, documents, archives, and so on. There’s also an option to view the files in a standard tree view, just like the file explorer on your PC. You can simply click on any one of them to view scan results and recover them.

However, one issue with Disk Drill is that it doesn’t allow you to save scans. If you head back to the homepage before recovering anything, you’ll have to run the scan all over again.

Installation and in-use experience

While Disk Drill is easy to install, compared to other software we have reviewed before, the process took longer than expected, and the application requires a system reboot before you can start using it. In comparison, other software we have tested launches directly upon completion of installation.

(Image credit: Future)

That said, the interface itself is pretty modern and sleek, with a pitch-black design. On the homepage, you will find a side panel that allows you to access all software features, including data recovery and extra tools.

Once you finish a scan, you’ll see two options at the top: Recover All or Review Lost Data. The Review option lets you look for the exact files and folders you want to restore in an easy-to-view, tree-style format. You also have the option to filter results based on file type, size, date modified, and recovery chances.

(Image credit: Future)

Simply check the box next to the file you want to recover and click ‘Recover’ at the bottom right of your screen. Once you choose a destination, the file is recovered within a matter of a few minutes.

The whole process is seamless and pretty beginner-friendly. We didn’t face any lags or unusual delays throughout the process.

Disk Drill: How we tested

To test Disk Drill thoroughly, I installed the free version of the software on my Windows 11 system with 16GB of RAM and a 12th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-12500H processor. Then, I downloaded an album of Mozart's music from the Internet Archive. This consisted of 22 files – 13 JPG files, 4 PNG files, 2 MP3 files, 2 FLAC files, and 1 torrent file.

I transferred the folder to a 1.36 TB NTFS hard drive and connected it to my Windows 11 system, after which I deleted it and emptied the Recycle Bin. Then, I ran a scan with Disk Drill, and within a matter of minutes, it found the deleted folder. I simply clicked on it and hit Recover, and all 22 files were recovered in our chosen destination within a few seconds. I repeated this test with local drives on my PC, and the results were similar.

Disk Drill: Support

Disk Drill is easy to use and it's fast. But what happens when you run into problems?

To help you out, a comprehensive selection of tutorials is provided on the website, covering everything from recovering data from specific device types, platforms, and file types. If these documents don't solve your problem, the detailed Lost file recovery university (Disk Drill's knowledge base) almost certainly will.

(Image credit: Disk Drill)

As readers have seen, we were particularly impressed by the knowledge base suggesting that users try to use their own OS built-in utilities to recover data before buying Disk Drill. The support section also provides balanced reviews of other data recovery tools. We particularly recommend the 'Understanding' section of the Knowledge Base, which contains some tutorials on basic subjects like how to recover just one lost file, as well as providing an overview of all Disk Drill features.

Failing that, a live chat service is available, and you can also get in touch with Disk Drill on Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, and LinkedIn.

Disk Drill: Final verdict

Disk Drill for Windows has lived under the shadow of the macOS “original” for quite some time, but based on our testing, this seems unfair. Disk Drill delivers an impressive data recovery experience, supported by features like deep macOS scanning via KEXT, byte-by-byte backups, and a host of free drive maintenance tools.

Its complete collection of features across platforms and scenarios is impressive, including the ability to mount and read previously unmountable virtual hard drives and recover data from them within a comparatively short timeframe.

Disk Drill spotted all the deleted test files and recovered them quickly, reinforcing its reliability as a recovery tool worth considering. The performance is a bit mixed, with external drive scans turning out to be slower than most of its peers. That said, its interface is a clear winner, thanks to its visually appealing and well-segregated scan results.

Pricing for the PRO version isn’t ideal for home users, although there are discounts for users of existing tools, as well as students and charities. While the pricing is on the higher side, the software delivers good value for those looking for a reliable data recovery option and who prioritize usability over cost.

• Also check out our complete list of the best data recovery software

EaseUS is one of the biggest names in the world of data recovery software, and its Data Recovery Wizard has been around since 2005. After such a long time, you'd hope it's a top option for reliable data recovery. Is it?

Its set of features certainly suggests that it'll get the job done. It claims that it can help you recover lost or deleted files and folders from 2,000+ device types in 1,000+ formats. It can hunt through conventional hard disks and even damaged operating systems, and it supports more file and device types than virtually every rival. It's even got a generous free version alongside powerful paid options.

To find out whether these are simply claims or if EaseUS can actually bring back deleted system data, we’ve put the platform to the test in this detailed review.

(Image credit: EaseUS)EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard: Plans & pricing

EaseUS's pricing tiers are pretty straightforward. You can choose the one-month plan at $69.95 or the one-year plan at $99.95, with the latter being the better choice. Alternatively, you can purchase the lifetime upgrade for $149.95.

There’s also a free version available on its website, which allows you to recover up to 2GB of data at no cost.

Pro tip: If you’re purchasing the lifetime plan, don’t click “buy now” instantly – wait a couple of minutes, and a 20-30% discount coupon may appear.

We also like that all plans offer the same features and differ only in duration. You can also save 20-30% through bundled plans that combine Data Recovery Wizard with EaseUS Todo Backup and iPhone utilities.

EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard: Features

EaseUS supports 2,000+ storage devices, including USB flash drives, memory cards, cameras, and external hard drives, along with 1,000+ file types such as photos, emails, archives, documents, and videos.

During our testing, we were able to recover JPG, PNG, MP3, and torrent files. The software also handles multiple data loss scenarios, including deletion, formatting, OS crashes, virus attacks, and inaccessible or RAW partitions.

You don’t need to stay in front of your screen during scans – EaseUS allows automatic recovery of scanned files to a selected location. It also allows you to preview files before restoring them, helping ensure you recover the correct files.

Scanning

EaseUS offers two scanning modes: quick scan and deep scan. When you select a drive and hit the scan button, the quick scan mode kicks in first, where the software reads the drive's file directory and master files to find files that were recently deleted and whose directory entry is intact with no data overwritten. This is very quick, often lasting a few seconds or a minute.

(Image credit: Future)

After this, EaseUS enters deep scan mode, where the entire drive is scanned for known file signatures, header-footer patterns, and specific binary codes. Deep scan comes in handy for older files that were lost accidentally or corrupted over time.

During my test, I noticed EaseUS was consuming 1 to 2% of CPU power at rest. However, as soon as we hit scan on the software, the CPU usage jumped to 7 to 8%, often reaching 10% at times.

(Image credit: Future)

This level of CPU usage is pretty acceptable and normal for a workload-heavy software such as a data recovery tool. I was able to comfortably browse the internet and stream videos without experiencing any performance lags while EaseUS scanned the drive in the background.

Installation and in-use experience

The installation experience of the EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard is pretty seamless. All you have to do is visit its official website and find the free trial button on its homepage, available for both Windows and Mac.

Click on it to download your free version and then double-click the installed file to launch the installer. Wait 3-5 minutes for the installation process to complete, after which you will see the EaseUS home dashboard.

The interface is modern and sleek, with a central pane showing you all your internal and external drives. Searching for lost data is simple, even if you are a complete beginner to data recovery tools.

(Image credit: Future)

Click on the drive from where the data was deleted and hit the “Search for Lost Data” button in the bottom right corner. EaseUS will then perform a complete drive scan to look for existing as well as deleted files. Besides scanning complete drives, you can also search for specific types of files such as pictures, videos, documents, or audio.

One good thing about EaseUS is that it lets you recover files as soon as you see them pop up while the scan is still running. Click on the file you want to recover and tap the “Recover” button in the bottom right.

(Image credit: Future)

You will then have to choose a destination path where you want to save the recovered file. As soon as you click “Save”, a new File Explorer window will open with your recovered file. All of this happens while the scan is still ongoing in the background.

After we recovered an MP3 file of 3.70MB, our free allowance was reduced to just 508.30MB, which was pretty shocking. It's possible that the 2GB limit might apply to the size of the drive being scanned instead of the amount of data recovered.

How we tested

We first installed the free version of EaseUS on our Windows 11 system, with 16GB of RAM and a 12th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-12500H processor.

To test EaseUS's data recovery capability, we downloaded an album of Mozart's music from the Internet Archive. This consisted of 22 files – 13 JPG files, 4 PNG files, 2 MP3 files, 2 FLAC files, and 1 torrent file. We copied this folder onto a 1.36 TB NTFS hard drive and connected it to our Windows 11 system.

We then deleted this folder and emptied the Recycle Bin. After this, we ran a scan with EaseUS, and within a matter of seconds, it found the deleted folder. We simply clicked on it and hit recover, and all 22 files were recovered in our chosen destination within a few seconds.

I also tried to recover the same set of files from the local drive on my system, which EaseUS did comfortably. We noticed that the scanning process is much faster on a local disk than on an externally connected drive, likely due to the higher data transfer speeds and lower latency associated with internal storage interfaces.

EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard: Support

(Image credit: EaseUS)

EaseUS offers a fairly comprehensive customer support system, accessible directly from its Support Center. From the dropdown menu, you can quickly navigate to options like Support Center, Download, Chat Support, Pre-Sales Inquiry, Premium Service, and even Manual Recovery Service for advanced cases.

There’s also a handy search bar that lets you instantly look up guides, licensing help, or troubleshooting queries without digging through menus.

For more urgent issues, EaseUS provides direct access to human support. You can reach out via email, call their support number, or use live chat to speak with a representative. This makes it easy to get real-time assistance, whether you're dealing with technical problems or pre-sales questions.

EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard: Final verdict

EaseUS is an all-round data recovery software that allows you to get back your data in various loss case scenarios, such as deletions, virus infections, or accidental OS crashes. Along with two scanning modes – quick scan and deep scan – the process is fairly quick, with low CPU utilization at around 7 to 8%.

The interface is modern and very easy to use, even for beginners. The pricing is fair and at par with industry standards, although cheaper options exist. There’s a handy 2GB free data recovery option, which lets you test out the platform before getting a subscription.

DJI Lito X1 and Lito 1: One-minute review

DJI's Lito series represents the company's latest bid to own the entry-level camera drone market — and with the Lito X1 and the more affordable Lito 1, it's made a compelling case. Both are compact folding drones in the same pocket-friendly mould as DJI's Mini series, weighing under 250g and earning a C0/UK0 class designation that means you can fly them almost anywhere, including over people.

Out in the field, the Lito models impress on almost every front. Flight performance is smooth and stable; I flew in challenging coastal conditions in the UK and the drones held their own, and despite an 81dB noise rating, both models are surprisingly unobtrusive in the air.

Battery life is a high point too, with up to 36 minutes on a charge comfortably outpacing DJI's Neo 2 and other entry-level rivals. What really sets the Lito apart at this price, though, is its obstacle sensing: full omnidirectional coverage comes as standard on both models, while the X1 adds forward-facing LiDAR for even sharper hazard detection — a significant upgrade over the downward-only sensor on the DJI Mini 4K.

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The DJI Lito X1 drone is well equipped and specced for the asking price. And its sister drone, the Lito 1, is even cheaper. (Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen)

On the camera front, both drones punch above their weight. The Lito X1's 1/1.3-inch sensor captures 10-bit 4K 60fps footage with D-Log M support and 14 stops of dynamic range, giving videographers real room to work in post. The Lito 1's 1/2-inch sensor is no slouch either, though it lacks that dynamic range, and isn't as comfortable in lower-light situations.

I'd recommend most buyers stretch to the X1; the small premium over the Lito 1 also gets you LiDAR, 10-bit shooting and 42GB of built-in storage, which is a lot of extras for a modest price jump. Neither drone is perfect: the digital zoom gets noticeably soft at its tightest setting, the X1 has a default tendency to overexpose, and neither camera can rotate to shoot vertical video natively.

At £299 / AU$539 for the Lito 1 and £369 / AU$619 for the Lito X1, DJI has priced this series aggressively. The X1 in particular offers a spec sheet that rivals far pricier drones, making it one of the best-value camera drones available right now. US buyers should note that, like other recent DJI products, the Lito series isn't officially available stateside and can only be sourced through grey market channels. For everyone else, it's an easy recommendation from me.

DJI Lito X1 and Lito 1: Price and release date

• Launched on April 23 2026
• Lito 1 priced from £299 / AU$539, Lito X1 from £369 / AU$619
• Fly More Combo bundles available for both drones

The Lito series was introduced worldwide on April 23 2026, and is available to order now from DJI's website and other retailers – except in the United States where, as with all recent DJI products, there are no plans to bring it to retailers (although buyers may be able to acquire it through certain retailers on the grey market).

As mentioned above, there are two models available at launch: the barebones Lito 1, and the more premium Lito X1. These are priced at £299 / AU$539 and £369 / AU$619 respectively, and are also available in Fly More Combos for £429 / AU$779 and £599 / AU$1,069. The Lito 1 Fly More Combo comes with two additional batteries, a three-battery charging cradle, an RC-N3 controller, and a carrying bag; the Lito X1 features the same, but swaps the RC-N3 controller for the touchscreen-equipped RC 2 model.

The RC 2 controller and battery charging cradle are included in the Lito X1 Fly More Combo, alongside a small but well-designed sling bag. (Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen)

The Litos are slotting in right at the bottom of DJI's drone range, alongside models like the Mini 4K, Neo 2 and Flip. In fact, I suspect the Mini 4K is about to be phased out in favor of the Lito, as the Lito is superior in every major respect, but the Neo 2 and Flip will remain, as they offer something a little different.

Is the Lito good value? Yes, in short — it's the same price as the Flip and more expensive than the Neo 2, but offers better battery life than both (significantly so, compared to the Neo 2) and better obstacle sensing than the Flip. In fact, the Lito X1 offers similar specs to the Mini 4 Pro (another drone that I believe may be on the way out of DJI's lineup) at a significantly lower price.

• Price score: 5/5

DJI Lito X1 and DJI Lito: SpecsDJI Lito 1 and Lito X1 specs

DJI Lito X1

DJI Lito 1

Camera:

48MP 1/1.3-inch CMOS sensor

48MP 1/2-inch CMOS sensor

Video resolution:

4K

4K

Frame rates:

60, 50, 48, 30, 25, 24fps

60, 50, 48, 30, 25, 24fps

Flight modes:

Cine, Normal, Sport

Cine, Normal, Sport

Storage:

42GB internal, microSD card slot

microSD card slot

Battery:

2590mAh, up to 36 minutes flight time

2590mAh, up to 36 minutes flight time

Charger type:

USB-C / Battery Charging Hub

USB-C / Battery Charging Hub

Weight:

249g / 8.8oz (approx.)

249g / 8.8oz (approx.)

Dimensions:

149 x 94 x 62mm (folded)

149 x 94 x 62mm (folded)

DJI Lito X1: Design and build quality

• Folding sub-250g body, similar to Mini series
• Labelled UK0 / C0 class
• 42GB of internal storage (X1 model only) plus microSD slot

The Lito X1 and Lito 1 are virtually identical in design, with the only real physical difference being a (very) slight variation in the color of their plastic bodies. If not for that, and the product name displayed on their prop arms, the two drones would be impossible to tell apart.

The folding design is reminiscent of DJI's Mini series, and like those drones, the Lito weighs under 250g. As a result it's classed C0 in Europe and UK0 in the United Kingdom, meaning it can be flown almost anywhere, as well as close to and above "uninvolved" people. Additionally, the Lito's folding design means it's one of the few drones out there that I could genuinely say is pocket-sized – although we're talking trenchcoat pocket rather than jeans pocket here.

(Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen)

As with most of its drones, DJI supplies the Lito with a plastic cap to protect the camera and gimbal when they're not in use, but no carry case by default — you'll have to upgrade to the Fly More Combo if you want a bag.

In general, the drone is well built, despite its weight. The plastic used for the body is sturdy, with built-in feet/landing gear to prevent the sensors getting damaged when it's sitting on a surface; the propellers, however, are largely unprotected, so some care is required when handling.

The battery slides in and out from the back, which is also where you'll find the USB-C port and microSD slot. The USB port can be used for charging and data transfer, while the microSD slot supports storage. The Lito X1 also includes 42GB of built-in storage space, which can be supplemented with microSD if required, but you'll need a microSD card for the Lito 1.

(Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen)

The RC 2 and RC-N3 controllers supplied with the Lito are tried and tested models that we've covered in previous DJI drone reviews. Suffice to say they're solidly built and comfortable in the hand, and the RC 2 has a very impressive built-in touchscreen.

• Design score: 5/5

DJI Lito X1: Features and flight performance

• QuickTransfer uses Wi-Fi 6 to move files quickly to a mobile device
• Both Lito 1 and Lito X1 offer omnidirectional obstacle avoidance, plus LiDAR on Lito X1
• Up to 36 minutes of flight time per battery

The Lito X1 includes a front-facing LiDAR sensor to help map complex environments and avoid collisions, even in low-light conditions (Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen)

• Flight performance score: 5/5

DJI Lito X1: Image and video quality

• Lito X1 has 1/1.3-inch sensor, while Lito 1 has 1/2-inch sensor
• Lito X1 supports 10-bit video and D-log M color profile
• Both drones shoot JPEG and DNG photos at 12MP and 48MP

Most of DJI's drones now record 4K video — even the bargain-basement original DJI Neo — but the Lito X1 and Lito 1 offer a better flavor of 4K than the existing entry-level Mini 4K model's 4K 30fps footage, captured from a 1/2.3-inch sensor. The Lito 1 records 8-bit 4K 60fps video from a slightly larger 1/2-inch sensor (presumably the same one that's in the DJI Neo 2), while the Lito X1 records 10-bit 4K 60fps video using a 1/1.3-inch sensor (which I suspect is the same as the one in the DJI Flip, Mini 4 Pro and Avata 2). Both use a 3-axis gimbal to steady the camera as they shoot.

The Lito X1 also supports the flat D-log M color profile, offering a dynamic range of up to 14 stops when graded in post-production — something that's sure to appeal to demanding aerial videographers who enjoy tweaking their own footage to perfection. You can see both straight-from-the-camera and graded footage in my sample video above, and further down there's another video showcasing the Lito 1's camera which, while certainly a step down from the X1's, is no slouch itself, especially in good lighting.

I'm impressed with the results from both cameras, both video and 12MP/48MP stills (which can be captured in raw DNG as well as JPEG); the Lito X1 is especially noteworthy.

Future | Sam KieldsenFuture | Sam KieldsenFuture | Sam Kieldsen

That being said, these are still entry-level models, and they can't match results from the likes of the DJI Mini 5 Pro or Air 3S. This is especially true when you attempt to 'zoom' in, which is where the sensors' small sizes shows their limitations. You can see examples in my videos, but the digital zooms on both Litos are somewhat disappointing. I also felt that the X1 had a tendency to overexpose its video by default, but even if this isn't tweaked in a future firmware update it's something the user can fix by adjusting the EV.

Overall, it's fair to say that the cameras on the Lito X1 and Lito 1 are really solid by entry-level standards, and a step up over what we've seen on the Mini 4K.

• Image and video quality score: 4.5/5

DJI Lito X1: Testing scorecardDJI Lito X1

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Price

Both models are great value for their performance and camera quality.

5/5

Design

The folding quadcopter design is a classic for a reason.

5/5

Features and flight

Packed with safety features and a breeze to fly.

5/5

Image and video quality

Strong by entry-level standards, particularly on the X1 model.

4.5/5

Should I buy the DJI Lito X1/Lito 1?Buy it if...

You want a superb entry-level option
With 10-bit 4K 60fps video and LiDAR sensor, the Lito X1 is a huge step up over the Mini 4K, and our favorite new beginner drone.

You need longer battery life
With up to 36 minutes of flight time per battery, the Lito beats DJI's other entry-level drones for stamina.

Don't buy it if...

You want the cheapest good drone
DJI's tiny Neo 2 is even cheaper, and it offers similar image quality to the Lito 1. Its battery life is only half as long, however.

You need the best image quality
The Lito X1 has an excellent camera by entry-level standards, but you'll need a Mini 5 Pro, Air 3S or Mavic for sharp zoomed-in shots.

DJI Lito X1: also consider

DJI Mini 5 Pro

Both small and mighty, the Mini 5 Pro is the current ultralight king. Despite being the same size and weight as the Lito, this drone's 1-inch camera sensor makes it a much better performer for pixel peepers. You'll have to pay for that image quality bump, though – it's around three times the price of the Lito 1.

Read our in-depth DJI Mini 5 Pro review

DJI Neo 2

Even more affordable and lightweight than the Lito, the Neo 2 looks like a toy. But, while it's a ton of fun, it's a seriously impressive flyer, able to track fast-moving subjects while dodging obstacles and fly without a controller. It's upgradeable too, and can be turned into an FPV or long-range flyer with ease.

Read our in-depth DJI Neo 2 review

(Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen)How I tested the DJI Lito X1 and Lito 1

• I tested all flight modes and control methods
• I captured both videos and photos
• I tested the drones' tracking and safety features

About a week before the official launch, DJI sent me both the Lito X1 Fly More Combo and the basic Lito 1 package (including the RC-N3 controller) to test. That gave me a few days to take both drones out and about for real-world flight and camera tests in a range of conditions.

I flew in both windy and calm weather, and was able to test the two drones' cameras in low-light conditions. I tested not only manual flight, but autonomous modes like Spotlight, ActiveTrack and MasterShots, as well as assessing how DJI's battery-life and object-avoidance claims held up to real-world conditions.

After flying, I edited together the videos you see above using DaVinci Resolve 20, including using LUTs and color correction for the D-log M footage I captured with the Lito X1. I also tweaked the DNG raw still photographs I took with both drones using Adobe Lightroom.

• First reviewed: April 2026
• Read more about how we test

Light spoilers follow for Stranger Things: Tales From 85 episodes 1 to 10, which are all out now on Netflix.

Stranger Things is in a, well, strange place right now. One of Netflix's biggest success stories, it's been watched by millions of people worldwide and won numerous awards since it debuted in 2016. Yet, thanks to the main show's incredibly polarizing fifth and final season, there's a tangible sense that the supernatural sci-fi horror franchise might have run its course.

The arrival of Stranger Things: Tales From 85, an animated show viewed as both a spin-off and canonical interquel starring the main show's cast, then, is most curious. Netflix is one for one on the well-received offshoot front, with its prequel stage play The First Shadow garnering universal praise since its 2023 West End debut, although the launch event for that project came amid fervent fan anticipation for Stranger Things season 5's upcoming launch.

The question now, then, is does Tales From 85 further prove that Stranger Things has staying power in an era where viewers' attentions quickly turn to the next big thing? Having watched all 10 episodes, I'm inclined to say "just about" — but only if it swiftly moves on from the Hawkins setting and young cast that made it a pop-culture phenomenon in the first place.

Snowed under

Stranger Things' latest spin-off begins just after New Year's Day 1985 (Image credit: Netflix)

Set between the main show's second and third seasons, Tales From 85 reunites us with Eleven, Mike, and company as they get caught up in a new mystery amid wintry conditions in their home town.

Indeed, despite Eleven closing the rift to the alternate dimension dubbed the Upside Down in its parent show's season 2 finale, the introduction of mutated flora and fauna in Tales From 85 sees the core six — Eleven, Mike, Dustin, Will, Lucas, and Max — embark on a new quest to find out what's going on. Cue a hijinks- and mishaps-laced investigation that sees the group uncover more nefarious sci-fi malpractice, and combat a monstrous new threat with ties to the aforementioned parallel realm.

Tales From 85 is a return to the enjoyable albeit dangerous adventures of seasons 1 and 2

The first positive thing to note about this Netflix offering is that we get to see the kids be, well, kids again. Gone are the world-ending stakes — for the most part, anyway — of the main show's latter seasons and, in their place, is a return to the enjoyable albeit dangerous adventures of seasons 1 and 2.

Call me nostalgic, but I think many will agree that Stranger Things was at its best in those early installments. However, despite its timeline proximity to them, there was no guarantee that Tales From 85 would recapture the charm and entertainment factor of those seasons. Thankfully, it not only does a great job on that front, but is also able to really lean into the absurdity and slapstick nature of the group's misadventures in a more exaggerated fashion through the animated medium.

Tales From 85 introduces us some new creatures with ties to the Upside Down (Image credit: Netflix)

Something that Tales From 85 struggles to replicate, though, is its parent show's horror and high-stakes peril.

Sure, its animated aesthetic allows it to be far more artistic on the creature-creation front, which gives rise to a fresh Monster of the Week-style narrative that's disappointingly discarded as the plot progresses. Early episodes also include a couple of instances that, in spite of Tales From 85's Saturday-morning cartoon vibe, indicate that it hasn't fully lost sight of Stranger Things' nightmarish tonality.

Tales From 85's ability to build nail-biting tension and generate credible scares is completely nullified

Armed with a PG rating, though, Tales From 85 is neither as gruesome nor as hair-raisingly effective as the 15 age-classified primary show. Okay, it doesn't need to be stomach-churning, but it does have to put its characters in serious peril to elicit some sort of reaction from viewers — and that's where its timeline position becomes a curse rather than a blessing.

Indeed, with the individuals that I named earlier surviving up to the show's final season, Tales From 85's ability to build nail-biting tension and generate credible scares is completely nullified by their already-established plot armor. Save for the three new characters that this spin-off introduces, then, it's hard to care about anything happening to this series' key cast.

The kids are alright

Stranger Things' core group aren't voiced by the main show's young superstars (Image credit: Netflix)

If those factors are sources of disappointment, the same can't be said of the voice cast.

That might sound weird to say, especially in light of Tales From 85 showrunner Eric Robles telling me why the main show's cast didn't return to voice their characters. Nevertheless, there's surprisingly very little in the way of uncanny valley effects here. In fact, some of Tales From 85's cast have been so successful in replicating the vocal inflection and tonality of the actors who appeared in the main show, it's difficult to detect any clear difference between them.

By and large, Tales From 85's cast do a solid job of impersonating their main show counterparts

Okay, that's not always the case — for example, the voice actor behind Jim Hopper sounds nothing like David Harbour, which is an immediate immersion killer — but, by and large, the others do a solid job of impersonating their main-show counterparts. Special mention to Braxton Quinney and Jolie Hoang-Rappaport, whose near-perfect imitations of Gaten Matarazzo's Dustin and Sadie Sink's Max will convince you that the latter duo actually reprise their roles in this animated offshoot.

Don't worry, the Steve-Dustin bromance is alive and well in Tales From 85 (Image credit: Netflix)

It would be remiss of me not to also highlight how effortlessly this cast recreate the camaraderie within the core group. In some ways, it's far harder to develop and refine that chemistry from the solitary confinement of a recording booth, so kudos to Tales From 85's youthful stars for reproducing the individual and collective bonds forged among the live-action group.

With so much emphasis placed on said gang, however, there's little room for Stranger Things' adults and older teens to be involved.

Some, including Hopper and Nancy, are lightly sprinkled throughout. Meanwhile, Steve has what's akin to a guest-starring role in episode 4, a chapter that sees one of modern TV era's best bromances — i.e., the one between him and Dustin — delightfully take center stage once more. However, if you were hoping to sees the likes of Joyce and Jonathan, or expected anyone else have substantial roles to play, you'll be sorely disappointed.

The demogorgon in the room

Nikki's (left) addition to the cast upends Stranger Things' lore (Image credit: Netflix)

All the issues I've outlined so far, though, pale in comparison to the retroactive impact that Tales From 85 has on the wider Stranger Things universe.

Take new-kid character Nikki, for example. Best described as a diluted cross between fan favorites Robin and Eddie, she's a talkative and inventive punk rocker who injects freshness and an unlikely dynamism to the main collective.

I couldn't shake the belief that Tales From 85 would have worked better as a standalone tale

The problem is that her addition — and, for that matter, Tales From 85's entire story — creates a canonical paradox. It's a huge criticism that I not only fully understand, but one that I also feel is entirely justified on the part of aggrieved sections of the fanbase.

I recognize the argument made by Robles that Tales From 85's events couldn't be referenced in Stranger Things' later seasons because, as an idea, the former didn't exist until after the latter's race had nearly been run. However, given the additional lore that Tales From 85 adds to the mix and, far more importantly, the eyebrow-raising implications of its ending, it feels like a major oversight for this show to be set in Hawkins and involve the main show's core cast.

Mrs Baxter is one of three new characters you'll see in this Stranger Things interquel (Image credit: Netflix)

There are other drawbacks. Relationship issues that arise in Stranger Things 3 are similarly covered here, which makes for trite melodrama and an unimaginative storytelling re-tread. Contrived plot devices also give off the sense that Tales From 85 is trying to force the issue narratively rather than naturally plot out its course. Furthermore, establishing Will as a more self-assured individual at this point on the timeline is a bizarre creative choice at best and, at worst, an egregious retconning of his character arc at this point on the Stranger Things timeline.

It's for these reasons that, with each passing episode, I couldn't shake the belief that Tales From 85 would have worked better as a standalone tale. In my view, focusing on an entirely new cast in a completely different location, albeit one still situated in the Stranger Things universe, would have navigated these troubles with ease.

My verdict

Stranger Things: Tales From 85 is a benign and oft-times unnecessary expansion of the franchise's primary storyline.

If you're able to look past the canonicity of it all, and are really craving some more Stranger Things content, it's an occasionally fun addendum that also captures the spirit of the original show's early seasons, and includes plenty of in-universe and wider 80s references. With episodes lasting between 25 and 30 minutes, it's a nostalgia-fueled early-morning TV contender that's ripe to stream while you munch on some sugar-filled cereal.

In the end, though, the key questions I kept returning to throughout Tales From 85, though, were: Does it do enough to justify its existence? And does it wash away the bad aftertaste of its parent show's divisive final season?

Sadly, the answer to both questions is a resounding no. Continuing with the food theme, it's a light-afternoon snack not unlike an Eggo. Sure, it'll satiate you for a while but, ultimately, it'll leave you feeling unsatisfied.

"Not great, but okay for binging on a sick day" is how a random Reddit comment described the first season of Running Point shortly after it launched on Netflix. Frankly, it's not exactly the praise you'd hope for if you were the one releasing a new TV show into the world, but I think it's generous.

I'll be honest: I knew next to nothing about the Kate Hudson-led show before I knew I'd be covering Running Point season 2. It had Hudson. It had basketball. I assumed it was a comedy. Now that I've seen both seasons, I'm pining for these days of ignorant bliss.

I hate to be a Debbie Downer on anything, let alone the fact that it has Hudson in it (I absolutely adore her). But Running Point season 2 is dire, thanks to its lack of laughs, unsufferable characters, and generally uninteresting or unnecessary storylines.

Netflix often has the cheek to cancel genuinely thought-provoking, boundary-pushing, creative work, yet continues projects like this that should definitely have been stopped after their first season. Who is Running Point's core audience, their purpose? And more importantly... what is the point?

Running Point season 2 is laughless, mundane and worthy of a million eye rolls

After the team recovers from the previous season's scandal, Isla (Hudson) is now a recognized, high-scrutiny leader trying to prove she's not just holding the seat for her brother Cam (Justin Theroux). Meanwhile, works quietly behind the scenes to undermine Isla, using her mistakes as leverage to plot his comeback.

That tiny little paragraph is the most interesting take on what happens that you can possibly get. In a world where terrible men defying it all to succeed in business, pleasure, and just life in general is shoved down our throats, watching Isla's brothers continuously undermine and override her with garbage ideas is about as fun as a dental filling.

When you're not wanting to punch 99.9% of characters shown in the series, you're keeping a straight face. This isn't a case of laughs not landing, more that they're not there in the first place. Sure, Running Point season 2 is certainly easy to watch. But at what cost?

Brenda Song steals the show in an otherwise sinking ship

Kate Hudson and Brenda Song. (Image credit: Netflix)

The friendship between Isla and Ali (Brenda Song) is almost ruined for good for very petty reasons, but the move highlights how Song is the strongest link in an otherwise feeble chain. She's briefly freed from the shackles of the LA Waves, and it's clear that there's a lot of untapped potential in her character.

But as the besties reconcile once again, the promise of season 2's first potentially interesting story is immediately taken away. We don't really care about the team's locker room love triangle, Cam's return, or the arrival of wayward coach Norm (Ray Romano), so consider all hope lost.

What's most disappointing is how Hudson comes across in the leading role. Instead of being dynamic, hilarious, or infectiously charming — all things we know Hudson is in real life — Isla is white noise in the middle of the non-existent drama. Beautifully dressed white noise, all the same.

Unsurprisingly, you shouldn't waste your time on Running Point season 2 unless you are genuinely so sick that you've got a doctor's note excusing you from work (and full consciousness). If that's you, well... at least there's an exceptional cameo from Lisa Rinna.

How we tested ExpressVPN

Commissioning Editor, River Hart, wrote this ExpressVPN review. I have five years of experience researching and writing about VPNs, including ExpressVPN.

I have ExpressVPN installed on my iPhone and Android mobile devices, a Windows (Lenovo) laptop, and on my Chrome browser. I use it to broaden my streaming horizons and unblock US-based streaming services, like HBO Max and Hulu, and monitor ExpressVPN's streaming capabilities.

I primarily use ExpressVPN while connected to public Wi-Fi hotspots – particularly during lengthy train commutes. I keep Advanced Protection on when I'm using ExpressVPN on my phone, too, so display ads and pop-ups don't eat away at my mobile data. I also use ExpressVPN Keys to identify and regenerate weak passwords, and rely on it to store my updated credentials.

Read more about our ExpressVPN testing methodology▼

ExpressVPN review scores

We've included a breakdown of our ExpressVPN review scores below, sorted by testing category. For more information, click the links in the Comments section.

Category

Score

Comments

Total

82 / 100

Easy to use and built around a core of robust privacy (with a proven track record), ExpressVPN is well worth investing in. Read more ▼

Price plans & value

7 / 10

The new pricing structure makes ExpressVPN more affordable, but it's still pricier than the other top-rated VPNs. The premium 'Pro' plan offers little value but Basic and Advanced are solid. Read more ▼

Features

7 / 10

ExpressVPN's basic features are solid, but it lacks the diversity offered by other top-rated VPNs. Read more ▼

Server network

9 / 10

ExpressVPN has a broad global network of servers with a focus of coverage in the US and Europe. For the most part, it correctly labels all of its virtual servers and their actual location. Read more ▼

Read all of ExpressVPN's review scores ▼

Privacy

9 / 10

ExpressVPN is based in the British Virgin Islands, and isn't required to collect or store user logs by law. TrustedServer technology also ensures that user data well protected. Read more ▼

Security

9 / 10

ExpressVPN's encryption is solid, and its early adoption of PQE is highly commendable. The kill switch could do more to warn users that the internet has been cut. Read more ▼

Speed

8 / 10

Lightway Turbo is one of the quickest protocols we've tested, but only works with Windows. The original Lightway protocol sits in the middle of the pack owing to recent performance dips. Read more ▼

Unblocking streams

9 / 10

ExpressVPN works well with most streaming platforms and accesses content on the first time of asking. It can unblock Netflix, iPlayer and most global services. We did have to retry using different servers when accessing some smaller region-specific sites. Read more ▼

P2P & Torrenting

4 / 5

All servers support torrenting. ExpressVPN's solid download speeds mean that the P2P experience is generally smooth. However, there is no support for port forwarding. Read more ▼

Apps & Compatibility

5 / 5

Apps are available for all platforms, including Linux, smart TVs, consoles, and browsers. The iOS version is missing a few features, but nothing significant. Read more ▼

Usability

5 / 5

ExpressVPN's stripped-back approach to UI means that its apps are intuitive, even to users who have no prior experience with VPNs. Read more ▼

Accessibility

3 / 5

Although ExpressVPN's home page scored low in our accessibility tests, its apps are available in a dozen languages, and keyboard support is excellent. Read more ▼

Customer support

4 / 5

24/7 live chat, email, and on-site support are available to help troubleshoot issues. Agents are knowledgeable and friendly, and not afraid to tackle techy questions. Read more ▼

Track record

3 / 5

ExpressVPN has drawn concern in the past because of its ties to Crossrider and Kape Technology, but its rapid approach to solving a recent DNS leak issue is encouraging. Read more ▼

ExpressVPN price plans

• ExpressVPN price plans start at $3.49 per month.
• ExpressVPN Advanced is the best value – little significant in value to Pro.
• A free 7-day trial is available to Android and iOS users.

You can pick up an ExpressVPN subscription for as little as $3.49 per month.

ExpressVPN offers three plan types: Basic, Advanced, and Pro. Users can choose among 1-month, 1-year, and 2-year subscription lengths, too.

Pick a long-term commitment, and you'll save more money in the end. This is why we generally recommend opting for the 2-year plan. Below, we've compared all of ExpressVPN's plans and prices, so you can see where the value is.

If you really want to get your money's worth from ExpressVPN, it's well worth considering the jump from a Basic two-year plan to an Advanced two-year plan.

For one dollar more each month, you get an increased allowance of simultaneous connections (from 10 to 12), access to the built-in password manager, ExpressVPN Keys, expanded access to ExpressMailGuard, and access to some of IdentityDefender's tools.

For an extra $2/month (or $3 if jumping from Basic), you gain 2 further simultaneous connections (14 in total), a dedicated IP, increased MailGuard access, the full suite of Identity Defender tools, and, finally, ExpressAI.

Read more about ExpressVPN's price plans ▼

Despite the September 2025 pricing restructure, ExpressVPN remains one of the more costly options on the market.

ExpressVPN's cheapest two-year Basic plan (at $3.49) is almost twice as expensive as Surfshark ($1.99). It's also more expensive than NordVPN's two-year plan, NordVPN Basic ($3.39).

ExpressVPN is a good, polished service, but you should carefully consider whether it's the right VPN for your needs given the higher price tag.

ExpressVPN per month price

ExpressVPN Basic

ExpressVPN Advanced

ExpressVPN Pro

1-month price

$12.99/month

$13.99/month

$19.99/month

1-year price

$4.99/month

$5.99/month

$8.99/month

2-year price

$3.49/month

$4.49/month

$7.49/month

Keep in mind that these prices will vary throughout the year (especially during the Black Friday/holiday season).

As you can see, ExpressVPN's 1-month-only prices are steep. This is par for the course across all of our best VPNs. The only real benefit of signing up for a month is that you won't be tied into a long-term commitment. That's useful if you're just trialling ExpressVPN, but it's a costly way to do it.

If you can, we'd recommend checking out ExpressVPN via its iOS or Android 7-day VPN free trial, then upgrading to a one or two-year plan if you want to continue using it.

The two-year ExpressVPN plans offer the biggest potential for savings and throw in an additional four months of coverage for free. Remember that you'll need to pay for the entire subscription up front, though.

Score: 7/10

Features: What can ExpressVPN do?

• ExpressVPN's main VPN features are secure and reliable.
• Advanced and Pro plans offer the best access to ExpressVPN's new features.
• Pro plan adds ExpressAI and a dedicated IP, but at a price jump.

ExpressVPN Basic is exactly that – basic. There aren't a lot of features and tools included in this subscription tier, so you're really just paying for the core VPN product and a handful of straightforward extras, and that's fine. Luckily, the "VPN" part of ExpressVPN is secure and reliable (as we'll expand on later in our Security section).

However, a Basic plan does grant users access to the proprietary Lightway VPN protocol and ExpressVPN's implementation of post-quantum protection. This ensures that your data and browsing sessions are kept safe from attacks by regular and quantum computers (which are capable of cracking ordinary, non-quantum encryption).

(Image credit: ExpressVPN )

Included in the Basic plan is a "Lite" version of ExpressVPN's Advanced Protection toolkit. It's a bit barebones, but we certainly appreciate that even a stripped-back version is available at this price point.

Read more about ExpressVPN's features ▼

Advanced Protection Lite won't block trackers or adult sites (you'll need to upgrade to an Advanced or Pro plan for that), but it will block ads and malicious sites, so you don't have to worry about annoying pop-ups or accidentally landing on an untrustworthy site while you do your day-to-day browsing.

The Advanced Protection features are currently available for Android, iOS, Windows, Mac, and Linux. Apple TV users can check out the Threat Manager tracker blocker and ad blocker. Also, anyone with an Aircove VPN router will be glad to hear that Advanced Protection features are readily available and applied automatically to any device that connects to the router (smart TVs and appliances included).

Advanced Protection is similar to NordVPN's Threat Protection and Proton VPN's NetShield tool, and we'll dig into the full-fat version of Advanced Protection in the Privacy section later on.

There's equally a stripped-back version of ExpressVPN's new MailGuard functions. You can only use 2 alias email domains and send 25 emails per month, but for individual users sending only a few emails, this'll be more than enough.

ExpressVPN Basic

ExpressVPN Advanced

ExpressVPN Pro

VPN

✅

✅

✅

Simultaneous connections

10

12

14

Advanced protection ad blocker

✅ (LITE version)

✅

✅

Advanced protection tracker blocker

❌

✅

✅

ExpressMailGuard

✅ (limited)

✅(less limited)

✅

ExpressKeys

❌

✅

✅

Identity Defender

❌

✅(Limited)

✅

ExpressAI

❌

❌

✅

eSIM

❌

✅ (3 days)

✅ (5 days)

Dedicated IP

❌

❌

✅

ExpressVPN Advanced

If you want to get the most out of ExpressVPN's Advanced Protection, an Advanced (or Pro) plan is the way to go. In addition to blocking ads and malicious sites, the enhanced version of this toolkit will also block trackers. This prevents sites and services from keeping tabs on (and potentially sharing) your online activity, and can block adult sites, too.

This expanded utility is useful, especially if you're looking for a VPN with some form of parental controls, but NordVPN and Surfshark both offer a little extra with built-in antivirus features. In fact, a Surfshark One plan gives users access to a full-blown AV tool.

Before enabling Advanced Protection, know that you'll only be able to use the feature when connected to ExpressVPN via the Lightway protocol.

This won't be a problem for most users – after all, Lightway is based on the speedy, secure WireGuard protocol, which serves as a reliable everyday option for browsing, streaming, and gaming.

For anyone who prefers OpenVPN (thanks to its long-standing reputation for privacy), you'll need to switch protocols when you want to use the Advanced Protection suite.

Next up is ExpressVPN's very own password manager: ExpressVPN Keys. It's included in all Advanced and Pro plans, and built directly into the Android and iOS apps. It's also available as a Chrome extension if you'd rather access it via your browser.

(Image credit: ExpressVPN )

Keys is equipped with a good amount of core password manager features. It can import existing passwords from other browsers and password managers, it'll let you know if any of your current passwords aren't as secure as they could be (which is your cue to swap them out for stronger ones), and it can save and sync passwords across all of your devices.

Keys generates new passwords on demand via a simple pop-up that appears during the password creation phase of sign-up. It's a simple bit of UI where you can regenerate passwords as many times as you want, use a sliding bar to adjust the complexity of the password (which affects how long it'd take a bad actor to crack it), and add capitals, numbers, and symbols into the mix. Keys can also fill in login forms automatically when you revisit a site you've logged into previously.

Much like the overall ExpressVPN product itself, Keys nails the basics, but offers relatively little in the way of extras. For starters, it doesn't support passkeys, doesn't support secure password sharing, and isn't as configurable as other password managers.

One of the biggest and most consistent gripes about Keys is its autofill inconsistency. Users on Reddit have raised issues about the autofill not working at all. The problem seems especially prevalent on the Safari browser. We put it to the test on iOS to see if we could recreate the issue.

As on desktop, generating and storing passwords was easy enough, and the autofill feature worked like a charm for the most part. When tapping into the password field on a login page, we saw an option at the bottom of the screen, above the keyboard, for Keys to autofill the field. We used this to log into our Netflix, X, Instagram, and Amazon accounts without any hiccups.

While we had a stress-free experience, it's possible that, with continued use, we'd run into the same autofill issues other users have reported. It's certainly something we'll be monitoring as we continue to use the tool.

Collate these issues, and, sadly, you'll begin to understand why Keys has a rating of 2.3 on the Chrome Web Store.

It's not all doom and gloom, though, and we did notice a few unusual positives when putting Keys through its paces.

Much like the overall ExpressVPN product itself, Keys nails the basics, but offers relatively little in the way of extras.

Firstly, ExpressVPN had the Keys app audited back in 2022 by Cure53, underscoring a commitment to transparency that we can only commend, and confirming the app's trustworthiness. We're also glad to see that you can continue using Keys for free even if you cancel your ExpressVPN subscription.

All in all, we're glad that Keys is included as part of the ExpressVPN Advanced and Pro plans. Plus, it's nice and easy to use, which is great news for folks who want to take their first steps with a relatively straightforward password manager that does exactly what it says on the tin (generates, manages, and safely stores your login credentials).

If you've got more experience with password managers, or want something that offers more customizability and extra features, you'll be better off with a specialist product, like Dashlane.

Advanced plans also introduce two more of ExpressVPN's new features — Identity Defender and MailGuard.

While you get a limited version of the latter with a Basic, plan, Advanced plans get 6 domains (5 of which can be dedicated), 50 emails per day, 5 rule automations, increased bandwidth, and loads more.

It's an effective solution for protecting your emails, and, while it's certainly more advanced than Surfshark's Alternative ID, it's not as well integrated, being a web solution rather than in-app.

Identity Defender is another great addition. For Advanced plan users, it includes Dark Web Monitoring, ID theft insurance, ID alerts, credit scanning, and data removal. It's a solid competitor to the equivalents from NordVPN and others.

Finally, ExpressVPN Advanced users get an eSIM (embedded SIM) that allows them to connect to a cellular network without needing a physical SIM card.

eSims connect to local carriers when you travel abroad, which generally means better network quality and lower rates. Advanced users get 3 days of unlimited daily data included in their plan – but you'll need to make sure that your device is compatible with eSims before you plan to rely on it during your next vacation.

ExpressVPN Pro

The leap from Advanced to Pro plan has thankfully expanded somewhat due to the arrival of ExpressVPN's new features.

If you do shell out for ExpressVPN's most premium subscription, you'll have access to everything included in the Basic and Advanced plans. This includes the full version of Advanced Protection and the Keys password manager – though Pro users don't get any extra functionality.

You also get full access to ExpressMailGuard, including unlimited shared aliases and unlimited bandwidth. Plus, Identity Defender gains the ability to monitor threats to data surrounding your home, car, retirement accounts, criminal records, and more.

Pro users also get 5 days of unlimited daily data included in their free eSIM bundle, as well as a dedicated IP address.

Dedicated IP addresses are unique to the user. It's not assigned to anyone else – unlike the dynamic IP addresses we use more regularly, which can be shared by multiple devices at once. The dedicated IP address is the same, stays the same each time you connect to it, and is tied to a VPN location in one of 22 countries.

With a dedicated IP, you won't be held responsible for what other people get up to when sharing a dynamic IP. If you're using a shared IP address, and someone else using that IP address goes on to send spam or get up to something illegal, the address could be blocked by pages, sites, and apps as a result – restricting your access, too, even though you weren't party to any mischief.

The benefits of a Pro plan will probably only appeal to a select group of users, and that's not a bad thing.

So, with a dedicated IP address that's yours alone and influenced solely by your browsing habits, it means less chance of encountering blocks, bans, and even CAPTCHAs.

The benefits of a Pro plan will probably only appeal to a select group of users, and that's not a bad thing. The new ExpressVPN pricing structure is similar to NordVPN's, and we appreciate that both VPNs give users the option to pay for the tools that they'll actually use.

Score: 7/10

Server network and locations

• ExpressVPN has servers in 108 countries – not bad but behind the best.
• ExpressVPN's server locations are heavily focused on Europe and the US.
• Virtual servers are (mostly) labelled correctly.

ExpressVPN's server coverage is broad, although it's some way behind the very best VPNs.

ExpressVPN has servers in 108 countries compared to NordVPN's 135 countries, it also no longer beats NordVPN in terms of total locations, with servers in 188 locations compared to NordVPN's coverage in 209. While this is a notable margin, it'll still be more than enough for most people.

As is often the case with today's leading VPNs, ExpressVPN's server coverage is among the strongest in Europe and North America, with 58 and 71 locations respectively. This is more than NordVPN's 54 in Europe, but not quite as many as NordVPN's 74 in North America right now.

Read more about ExpressVPN's server network ▼

ExpressVPN hasn't declared how many servers it has in total. This might seem like a glaring omission but, as NordVPN once claimed, the overall number of servers shouldn't be more important than the reliability, speed, and bandwidth of those servers. After all, a huge pool of servers isn't any good if they all slow your browsing to a crawl.

Back in 2019, ExpressVPN unveiled TrustedServer, the system by which it runs and manages its server network. TrustedServer allows this network to run entirely in RAM with no hard drive. This means that, if some misconfiguration occurred that meant sensitive information was left on a file in local storage, it'll be lost as soon as the server is rebooted (which happens at least daily).

Nothing is even written to a hard drive and left vulnerable to third-party attacks (like hacks and backdoors), minimizing the risk to your (potentially sensitive) data.

ExpressVPN does use virtual servers, stating that while the majority of physical servers and their registered IP addresses are based in the same country, it's not the case for a small number of countries.

ExpressVPN claims that this is because it's sometimes "impossible" to find servers in those areas that meet their exacting standards – hence the need for virtual servers.

(Image credit: ExpressVPN )

These virtual servers are labelled. ExpressVPN tells you that its Kenya servers aren't based in Kenya, for instance, and also tells you the country where they're actually hosted (Germany, in this case).

We decided to see for ourselves whether ExpressVPN's information was correct. We tested a sample of 25 virtual locations to see if the country where ExpressVPN claimed these servers were actually hosted was the truth.

The good news is that the majority of our results matched ExpressVPN's assertions. The virtual India server that ExpressVPN claims to be hosted in Singapore, for example, really does seem to be located in Singapore.

The only issue we spotted during our testing was ExpressVPN's use of Dallas as a general data centre for various island nations.

We like to see virtual servers hosted as close as possible to their advertised locations, and it's hard to see why ExpressVPN would default to using Dallas for locations that are sometimes 1,100+ miles away in actuality.

Score: 9/10

Privacy

• Solid no-logs policy.
• Lightway Turbo protocol only available on Windows.
• No multi-hop and no support for the Tor network available.

ExpressVPN abides by a strict no-logs policy.

This means that the ExpressVPN servers only log a small amount of information about your sessions – including the dates (but not the exact times) of your connections, the location of the server you connected to (but not the server IP), and the total amount of data transferred during the session. ExpressVPN also makes a note of the apps you've activated and their versions.

ExpressVPN claims that this information is recorded to troubleshoot technical issues, provide technical support, and identify users abusing the VPN.

So, for example, if one individual is pushing more traffic than thousands of other users combined, subsequently affecting the quality of the service for everyone else, ExpressVPN might get in touch with that individual (and ask for an explanation).

This isn't all that unusual in the world of VPNs, though, and most services have a clause in the small print that states that they can and will do the same thing.

Take NordVPN, for example. Its terms state that users must not "take any action that imposes or may impose an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on our infrastructure".

Read more about ExpressVPN's privacy credentials ▼

ExpressVPN doesn't log your source IP, the time you connected to a server, the specific server you chose, your DNS queries, browsing history, or network traffic. This is exactly what we like to see, and this limited session logging can't link you to any of the actions you take online.

If you want to learn more about the data that ExpressVPN does (and doesn't) collect, you'll want to head on over to the privacy policy. It's not light reading by any means, but after we combed through it, we're confident that there are no glaring red flags or areas of concern.

The ExpressVPN team has done its best to make the technical jargon as digestible as possible, and it's certainly one of the more parsable policies we've come across. Navigating through it is pretty simple, too, thanks to the table of contents at the top of the page.

Unlike Proton VPN, which has its very own proprietary obfuscation technology in the form of its Stealth protocol, ExpressVPN has no equivalent. This means that if you'd rather your VPN traffic/usage wasn't discoverable, you'll want to choose another VPN.

Lightway isn't used by default, so you'll need to remember to switch over to it when you need an extra layer of security.

However, ExpressVPN does claim that its proprietary Lightway protocol is the only VPN protocol built from the ground up to support obfuscation, though it's not the protocol's primary use case.

Also, Lightway isn't used by default, so you'll need to remember to switch over to it when you need an extra layer of security (like in countries with digital censorship and/or VPN bans).

The Lightway protocol was released back in 2020 and was "inspired" by WireGuard, with the aim of creating something even faster and more capable. It's safe to say that ExpressVPN succeeded.

Lightway is wickedly fast, in its Turbo form, at least, and we'll dig into that in our Speed section). It also offers post-quantum encryption, and is the only significant custom protocol created by a VPN that's open source.

Lightway is available in UDP and TCP forms, with the former generally considered to be the quicker option – and the one you'll want to pick for streaming and gaming. TCP tends to be more reliable, however, and a good everyday option for anyone who doesn't need to maximize their online performance.

Just like ExpressVPN's general privacy policy, you can peruse Lightway's code yourself (on GitHub). The same can't be said for NordVPN's proprietary protocol, NordLynx, which is closed-source, meaning that nobody outside the company can comb through its code.

(Image credit: ExpressVPN)

The newest iteration of Lightway is Lightway Turbo – an enhanced version of Lightway UDP. It's currently only available on the ExpressVPN Windows app and uses the app to open and send traffic through multiple channels. This means ExpressVPN can use more of the device's CPU cores, improving performance, making it significantly faster than the regular version of Lightway.

In addition to Lightway and Lightway Turbo, WireGuard is available, enhanced by ExpressVPN's post-quantum protection. Users can opt for OpenVPN, in both TCP and UDP forms, too, as well as IKEv2 (though it's only accessible to Mac and iOS devices).

ExpressVPN's TrustedServer network management system (described in the Server Network section) has considerable bonuses for privacy, too.

You might've heard other VPNs, like NordVPN, Surfshark, and Mullvad, talking about their own RAM-only servers, but TrustedServer goes a step further. It ensures that every server in the ExpressVPN fleet is running the same software with the same configuration, and this solves multiple problems.

For a start, all ExpressVPN servers automatically get software updates and security patches at the same time. So, if a hacker did manage to compromise a server and install some of their own code, the next server reboot would replace it with the standard ExpressVPN server setup within a few hours.

ExpressVPN is registered in the British Virgin Islands (BVI). As far as VPN jurisdictions go, this is pretty positive, as there are no data retention laws in the BVI. This means that ExpressVPN is not required by law to log any user data.

You might've heard other VPNs, like NordVPN, Surfshark, and Mullvad, talking about their own RAM-only servers, but TrustedServer goes a step further.

ExpressVPN next standout privacy feature is ShuffleIP. When you connect to a VPN, you'll usually be assigned a random IP address until you disconnect from the server, and a different IP address the next time you connect. ShuffleIP does things differently – it changes your IP address each time you access a new website.

The benefit of this frequent switching means that it's much harder for third parties to track you across an internet session or connect your activity to a specific VPN server. After all, you'll look like you're connecting to the internet from a totally different place each time you load a new site.

ShuffleIP is enabled automatically, so there's no need to toggle it on or off. We're happy to report that, during our hands-on testing, ShuffleIP worked as intended. Our IP address changed completely between checking our email account and opening X to check our DMs, with no impact on the overall performance.

However, there are a few limitations to keep in mind. ShuffleIP isn't compatible with all ExpressVPN servers, and there's currently no way to tell which servers do or don't support the tool. This isn't ideal, and we'd like to see ExpressVPN implement some sort of UI that indicates the server locations that are ShuffleIP-compatible.

Unlike NordVPN, Surfshark, and Proton VPN, ExpressVPN has no multi-hop or double VPN feature. Multi-hop works like a regular VPN connection, but instead of routing your traffic through just one VPN server, it's routed through two or more, with each connection adding another layer of encryption.

ExpressVPN has actively chosen not to offer this feature. It claims that this is because it doesn't want to add extra complexity to user connections, or slow them down, and that each ExpressVPN server is engineered to offer the same kind of security that you'd expect from a multihop connection, thanks to a combination of its TrustedServer technology, no-logs policy, and ShuffleIP.

One classic VPN feature that ExpressVPN does offer, however, is split-tunnelling.

(Image credit: ExpressVPN )

We were able to build two types of lists – one with the apps that don't use the VPN tunnel, and one with the apps that do use the tunnel. That way, you can choose which apps benefit from VPN encryption and geo-spoofing, and which ones you can access via your regular internet connection.

This comes in handy if you want to check out local streaming services without a VPN server making it seem like you're halfway around the world. You could also use split tunnelling to take advantage of the Lightway protocol, by only routing the apps that require a high performance through the VPN tunnel.

However, because split tunnelling isn't compatible with Lightway Turbo, you might see slower speeds anyway, as you'll have to use the regular Lightway iteration.

Split tunnelling is available on Windows and Android, and previously was only accessible to older versions of Mac devices. In January 2026, however, ExpressVPN rolled out a bumper upgrade to its MacOS app - and improved split tunnelling is part of the package.

iOS misses out on split tunnelling entirely, which is par for the course, as other top-rated VPNs, like NordVPN, similarly lack split tunnelling on iOS.

Another feature that ExpressVPN is lacking is support for Tor over VPN. In fact, ExpressVPN has no integrated support for Tor at all, unlike NordVPN and Surfshark.

This might disappoint users looking to really supercharge their online security and anonymity.

Tor over VPN conceals the fact that the user is using the Tor network at all, as their ISP will only see that they're connected to a VPN server, and similarly hides the original IP from Tor entry nodes, further boosting anonymity. And, of course, when using Tor over VPN, the user has access to the Tor network (even if a school or work network administrator has blocked it).

It is still possible to use the regular Tor browser once you've connected to an ExpressVPN server, though.

Score: 9/10

Security

• Excellent AES-256-GCM and ChaCha20 encryption.
• Early adopter of post-quantum protection.
• Advanced Protection blocker is short on malware and phishing sites.

ExpressVPN uses AES-256-GCM and ChaCha20 encryption, which is as strong a setup as we've seen from any provider.

We're also glad to see 4096-bit RSA key and SHA-512 HMAC authentication. This is a step up from Surfshark's 2048-bit RSA encryption keys, and should appease even the most security-conscious users.

Some VPNs promise the world when it comes to security, though, and don't actually deliver. To find out if ExpressVPN's encryption setup is really as solid as it claims, we connected to a server using OpenVPN and saw that our Windows app connected using AES-256-GCM – just as promised.

Read more about ExpressVPN's security credentials ▼

One of the biggest threats to VPN encryption is Q Day – a day in the future when quantum computers will be able to crack our current best-in-class encryption standards.

ExpressVPN isn't waiting for this to happen, though. Like other VPNs (including NordVPN and Mullvad), it has implemented post-quantum encryption, and was actually one of the first providers to do so back in October 2023.

This post-quantum encryption is offered by default and implemented in the Lightway protocol. A lengthy blog post goes into more detail, explaining that the post-quantum support was initially added by using the Kyber encryption standard, recommended by NIST.

This was only step one of the post-quantum project, however, as ExpressVPN continues to keep up with encryption developments. When NIST announced a new gold standard, ML-KEM, ExpressVPN implemented that, too.

To put this into perspective, while most VPNs haven't added any post-quantum protection to their products, ExpressVPN has now implemented protection and announced a big update – and all in a relatively short timeframe.

It's an impressive trail to blaze in the VPN sphere and, in August 2025, ExpressVPN even introduced a post-quantum WireGuard protocol that uses ML-KEM-based encryption.

ExpressVPN's auto-connect feature is more basic, however, and the Windows and Mac editions are pretty barebones. Still, it did the job it is intended to do by automatically connecting us to the last VPN server we joined when we launched our devices.

(Image credit: ExpressVPN)

The Android version of auto-connect has an extra feature. It connected us to the last location on launch, and also automatically joined the server whenever we connected to an internet network that wasn't marked as trusted.

This is an especially useful tool to have on a mobile device, especially if you regularly rely on public Wi-Fi hotspots (which can be hotbeds of cybercriminal activity thanks to their unsecured nature).

Sadly, like split tunnelling, auto-connect is not available on iOS devices. ExpressVPN's kill switch is available on all platforms, though.

(Image credit: ExpressVPN )

ExpressVPN deserves a lot of credit for providing a kill switch on every platform. More importantly, though, the ExpressVPN kill switch delivered excellent results during our hands-on testing.

We used various methods to do this: turning our router on and off, leaving the range of a Wi-Fi hotspot, and even force-closing processes on our devices. Then, we watched our internet access and the app to see what happened.

The kill switch activated, blocked our internet, and prevented IP address leaks in every instance. We couldn't trip it up or get it to fail at any point, which is fantastic. This means that users can rest assured that their traffic won't ever be routed without protection.

Our one concern is that the apps didn't always do a great job of telling us that the kill switch had kicked in or that our internet access had been cut or restored. Not being notified about the kill switch activating can get confusing, quick, as it could leave users wondering why their internet suddenly appears to be down with no warning.

We also encountered a situation where the ExpressVPN app didn't reconnect after the kill switch cut and subsequently restored internet access. Resolving this was simple enough, as we just connected to a server manually, but a kill switch feature should handle this by itself.

The kill switch activated, blocked our internet, and prevented IP address leaks in every instance.

Bear in mind, however, that our testing methods are pretty extreme, and the ExpressVPN apps likely aren't written to recognize the kinds of failures we were throwing at it.

We can't imagine that you'll encounter these problems in your real-life usage. We still consider the ExpressVPN kill switch to be one of the best we've ever tested, because it delivers where it matters, blocking your internet access when the VPN tunnel fails.

As mentioned in the Features section, part of ExpressVPN's Advanced Protection is an ad-blocker, which effectively removes display ads from our browsing session.

When we tested the ad-blocker, it did an excellent job, removing 87% of ads, which is only a fraction behind Proton VPN at 88%.

That's not all, though. Advanced Protection also blocks trackers, malicious sites, and phishing attempts.

We put the last of theses to the test after collecting 50 brand-new malware-hosting and phishing pages, then attempted to access them on a system protected by ExpressVPN's Advanced Protection suite.

As outlined in the table below, ExpressVPN sits in the middle of the pack in terms of effectiveness. It blocked 84% of phishing sites, which is decent, but also a massive jump from the 76% protection rate we saw the last time we tested it.

The malware results are more disappointing. ExpressVPN blocked only 16% of the 50 malware links we threw at it. Still, as it blocked none last time, it's somehow an improvement.

All in all, ExpressVPN's results are an important reminder that a VPN can't match specialist antivirus apps. These standalone apps often beat 90% in our malware and phishing tests, after all, so they're a safer bet for reliable protection.

Score: 9/10

Speed

• Lightway Turbo speeds are excellent – but it's only for Windows users.
• Regular Lightway continues to perform below par.
• Chart-topping OpenVPN results.

ExpressVPN is a very fast VPN service, but not all the time, and not to everyone.

Its Lightway Turbo VPN protocol performs exceptionally well. Our most recent round of VPN lab speed testing clocked it in with download speeds at 1177 Mbps when connecting between our Dublin lab location and the nearest ExpressVPN server.

That puts it on a par with NordVPN (1249 Mbps) and just faster than Surfshark (1021 Mbps).

Where Lightway Turbo really excels, though, is over long distance connections. Download speeds hardly dropped at all when we connected from Dublin to a server in the US and saw 1117 Mbps downloads. No VPN came close to this in our latest rounds of testing, making ExpressVPN top dog if you're needing to connect over long distances.

That's a terrific overall performance for ExpressVPN but there are two significant caveats to keep in mind: Lightway Turbo is only available on the ExpressVPN Windows app, and it won't work with every website, app, and game. We also found that, despite its overall speeds, it was slow to actually connect to a server.

Read more about ExpressVPN's speed ▼

As for non-Windows users on ExpressVPN, they're stuck with the regular Lightway protocol, WireGuard or OpenVPN. Lightway is not as quick as the Turbo version, nor even as speedy as the last time we tested it.

In fact, in the main, Lightway gave the lowest performance of our top VPNs in our most recent speed tests with just 428 Mbps over a local connection and 265 Mbps to the US.

In fact, according to our results, non-Windows ExpressVPN users would be better off with WireGuard for download speeds. This achieved 967 Mbps with local testing and 699 Mbps connecting across the Atlantic.

Thankfully, it's not all bad news away from Windows. ExpressVPN offers some of the best OpenVPN performance around and that's important for people looking for a privacy-first protocol as their daily workhorse.

ExpressVPN was comfortably the top performer over OpenVPN in our most recent tests. In fact, ExpressVPN's OpenVPN speeds averaged significantly better than both of its Lightway protocol over long and short distance connections, achieving 1038 Mbps and 703 Mbps respectively. If you're not on Windows, OpenVPN seems the most sensible choice right now.

It's also important to praise ExpressVPN for its low latency and jitter rates in general, particularly compared to Surfshark, and that bodes well for activities that require a consistently quick connection – like gaming and streaming.

The overall picture for ExpressVPN's speed is something of a mixed bag, then, and it really depends on your set-up as to whether it's going to be a fast VPN for you or not.

We'd certainly encourage Windows users to choose ExpressVPN, as well as anyone who insists on working with OpenVPN. Outside of those use cases, one of NordVPN, Surfshark or Proton VPN is probably a better choice.

Score: 8/10

Unblocking streaming services

• ExpressVPN unblocks all regional Netflix libraries.
• Excellent for local free streaming services around the world.
• Some struggles with US streaming services, such as YouTube and Prime.

ExpressVPN is, and has always been a very good VPN for unblocking streaming services. It has a near-flawless track record and was only beaten by NordVPN, which we name as the best VPN for streaming, in our most recent streaming test.

ExpressVPN, like NordVPN and Surfshark, doesn't have optimized servers for streaming. Instead, all of its servers can handle HD and 4K content, which means you'll spend less time looking for a small set of dedicated servers and can instead just connect to any server in the location of your choice.

First, we tested ExpressVPN with Netflix to see whether it could unblock the US, UK, Australia, Canada, and Japan versions of the site. ExpressVPN was somewhat successful here, only struggling with the Australian and Japanese libraries despite attempting to connect via three different locations in each.

We also encountered some roadblocks when pitting ExpressVPN against some of the tougher US streaming services to unblock such as Prime Video. Again, this result came after trying it across locations in New York, Chicago, and San Francisco.

Read more about ExpressVPN's streaming service unblocking ▼

When it comes to the free local streaming services in the UK and Australia, though, ExpressVPN worked like a charm first time, every time. It had no problems with BBC iPlayer, ITV, C4, 9Now, or 10Play at all. Only NordVPN can match that.

BBC iPlayer

ITV

Channel 4

TVNZ Plus

NordVPN

✅

✅

✅

✅

Surfshark

✅

✅

✅

✅

ExpressVPN

✅

✅

✅

✅

Proton VPN

✅

❌

❌

❌

The significant takeaway, then is that ExpressVPN is a reliable streaming VPN –particularly when trying to unblock some of the free platforms around the world – but you might need to do some server hopping to access some of the tougher streaming service out there.

Do remember that customer service is a good option to shortcut solutions like this. Stream unblocking is something of a moveable feast and they tend to know the best servers to use ay any particular moment.

Score: 9/10

P2P and torrenting

• All servers support P2P activity but no port forwarding avaialble.
• Lightway Turbo protocol ensures quick downloads where available.
• Almost no online help or advice around torrenting.

ExpressVPN supports torrenting on all of its servers. That means users can choose the server closest to them to maximize the performance of their P2P traffic rather than picking from just a handful of torrenting-friendly locations in a tiny list.

ExpressVPN doesn't make a big fuss about its torrenting compatibility – though few VPNs do. Besides a brief mention of protecting IP addresses when using P2P on the home page, we couldn't find a single support article that even mentions P2P or torrenting, let alone anything that delves into more detail about server support or troubleshooting advice.

It's a shame, really, because ExpressVPN is an excellent torrenting VPN. The experience was just as smooth as the other top VPNs we tested, and ExpressVPN played nicely with our uTorrent client without causing issues.

Plus, thanks to Lightway Turbo, we didn't have any problem with sluggish downloads – though it is worth remembering that your P2P connection speeds are more likely to be impacted by peer quality.

ExpressVPN doesn't support port forwarding, claiming that it poses too many security risks. Other VPNs, like NordVPN and Surfshark, echo this sentiment, and you'll need to look elsewhere for a VPN that does implement the feature (like PIA and Proton VPN).

If you'd rather stick with ExpressVPN, there's a detailed 5,000-word blog post that'll walk you through the benefits and risks of port forwarding, as well as how you can set it up on common router types.

Score: 4/5

Compatibility

• Apps for all major platforms, smart TVs, consoles, etc.
• Great feature parity across apps.
• Powerful Chrome browser extension is more than a proxy.

ExpressVPN apps have a recognisable look and feel across all platforms. We think they do a great job of balancing readability, simplicity, and a little creative flair thanks to a splash of color.

This consistency applies to ExpressVPN's functionality, too. Almost all of its features are present across its apps, although the iOS app has a few significant omissions: split tunnelling and auto-connect.

Features available on iOS app

ExpressVPN

NordVPN

Surfshark

Proton VPN

Kill switch

✅

✅

✅

✅

Autoconnect

✅

✅

✅

❌

Split tunneling

✅

✅

✅

✅

Protocols

Lightway, Lightway Turbo, OpenVPN, WireGuard

NordLynx, NordWhipser, OpenVPN

WireGuard, OpenVPN, IKEv2

WireGuard, OpenVPN

Malware blocking

✅

✅

✅

✅

GPS spoofing

❌

❌

✅

❌

Custom DNS

❌

✅

❌

✅

Read more about ExpressVPN's compatibility ▼

ExpressVPN has apps for all modern platforms you can imagine – which is exactly what we expect from one of today's leading VPNs. This includes apps for the usual suspects, like Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS, as well as Linux support with a full GUI.

ExpressVPN is also compatible with Android TV, Samsung TV, Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch, and there are plenty of setup guides and tutorials that can walk you through the installation process.

Most recently, ExpressVPN announced a dedicated app for the Meta Quest VR headset. It becomes the first VPN with a dedicated app for the platform.

When it comes to browser extensions, ExpressVPN supports Chrome and Firefox, though the Chrome version gets the lion's share of features.

Throughout our testing, we noticed that ExpressVPN's browser extensions are unlike the others we've vetted. A browser extension usually works as a stand-alone product that uses proxies to change the user's IP address.

You tap on the VPN icon by the address bar, select a server, and connect to it. It seems to work just like connecting to a VPN app, but the protection only applies to your browser. Traffic from other apps and from your system itself is unaffected.

We were also glad to see that ExpressVPN's browser extension has a "Spoof your location" feature.

ExpressVPN's browser extension can do things differently. While an update in February meant it can now act as an independent proxy, it can also serve as a remote control for the regular app (which will need to be installed on the device beforehand).

We get the same icon by the address bar, and it's the same process of picking and connecting to a VPN server, but something different happens behind the scenes. The browser extension sends a message to the full VPN app telling it to connect to the location we choose.

The benefit of this way of doing things is that it's easier to use the VPN from within a browser. If you find yourself locked out of content because you're in the "wrong" country, for example, you don't have to find and launch the main VPN app and choose a new location from there. Instead, you control the VPN from inside the browser.

Plus, the method of using proxies to connect just isn't as secure as this alternative approach. Proxies offer less protection compared to a full VPN, and their protection is limited to what happens within the browser. It's the kind of thing you'd always need to be aware of. With ExpressVPN, you have more peace of mind (and privacy).

We were also glad to see that ExpressVPN's browser extension has a "Spoof your location" feature. Websites can ask your browser for your country-level location, and because this isn't related to your IP address, your browser can often give your real location away.

The spoofing feature ensures that, if your browser is asked to provide your location, ExpressVPN will return the location of the server you've connected to. The website will see that the IP address and browser location match, which can result in fewer CAPTCHAs and other hassles.

The easiest (but potentially most costly) way to use ExpressVPN on a router is to purchase one of its very own Aircove routers

A similar tool is the "Block WebRTC" feature. WebRTC (Web Real-Time Communications) can also be used by sites to determine your real IP address. If the site sees that the WebRTC address doesn't match the IP address, it can block your access. ExpressVPN's Block WebRTC feature blocks this backdoor access to prevent this eventuality.

Installing a VPN on a router takes time, patience, and know-how. It's the same with ExpressVPN.

There are three ways to get ExpressVPN working on a router. The first is to install it yourself, manually, and configure it to support the VPN. This is the only type of router support offered by most VPNs, and ExpressVPN has listed examples of the process here.

Alternatively, you can replace the firmware of the router (the code that controls the screens and features) with ExpressVPN's custom firmware. Most routers treat VPNs as a minor extra feature that is tucked away in a menu, but ExpressVPN’s firmware is built from the ground up with VPNs in mind, making them as easy to use as possible.

Finally, the easiest (but potentially most costly) way to use ExpressVPN on a router is to purchase one of its very own Aircove routers – and there are home and travel versions available via Amazon. Prices range from $145 to $190, depending on the router model and where you live, so it's a significant investment. However, if you'd rather not tackle manual configuration, it could be worth it.

Soon, the latter of these options will be the only option available, as ExpressVPN is winding down broader router support in favor of moving people to its Aircove devices. While this is a hugely frustrating decision for people currently using ExpressVPN with their router, it does make some sense given the massively increased functionality that Aircove brings for ExpressVPN's features.

We investigated how many updates big VPN providers made to their iOS apps between January and December 2025. This gives us a clearer picture of how well they support their software, as iOS apps often receive the least amount of updates.

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The number of updates the iOS apps of each of these VPNs had in 2025

iOS app updates NordVPN 23 Surfshark 21 ExpressVPN 25 Proton VPN 22 PureVPN 18 Mullvad 9 IPVanish 10 Windscribe 11 CyberGhost 0 Private Internet Access 3 iOS app updates Data ProductValue (number) NordVPN 23 Surfshark 21 ExpressVPN 25 Proton VPN 22 PureVPN 18 Mullvad 9 IPVanish 10 Windscribe 11 CyberGhost 0 Private Internet Access 3 ExpressVPN is very much on par with the rest of our recommended VPNs for keeping up with app development. 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'' : captionOverrides[activeChartId]; } else if (singleCaptionOverrideValue !== null) { captionContent = singleCaptionOverrideValue; } else { captionContent = globalCaption; } captionEl.innerHTML = captionContent; var captionContainer = captionEl.closest('.fv-footer-content'); if (captionContainer) { var hasContent = captionContent && captionContent.trim() !== ''; var shouldShow = hasContent || (captionContainer.parentElement && captionContainer.parentElement.querySelector('.fv-logo')); if (captionContainer.parentElement) captionContainer.parentElement.style.display = shouldShow ? 'flex' : 'none'; captionContainer.style.display = hasContent ? 'block' : 'none'; } } var dropdown = chartWrapper.querySelector('.fv-dropdown'); if (dropdown) dropdown.value = index; var carouselTitle = chartWrapper.querySelector('.fv-carousel-title-controls .fv-benchmark-title'); if (carouselTitle) carouselTitle.innerHTML = chartInfo[index].title; var counter = chartWrapper.querySelector('.fv-carousel-counter'); if (counter) counter.textContent = (index + 1) + ' of ' + charts.length; } var dropdown = chartWrapper.querySelector('.fv-dropdown'); if (dropdown) dropdown.addEventListener('change', function(e) { showChart(parseInt(e.target.value)) }); var prevBtn = chartWrapper.querySelector('.fv-carousel-nav-btn.prev'); if (prevBtn) prevBtn.addEventListener('click', function() { showChart((currentChartIndex - 1 + charts.length) % charts.length) }); var nextBtn = chartWrapper.querySelector('.fv-carousel-nav-btn.next'); if (nextBtn) nextBtn.addEventListener('click', function() { showChart((currentChartIndex + 1) % charts.length) }); } chartWrapper.querySelectorAll('.riv-line-legend').forEach(function(legend) { var chartId = legend.dataset.chart; var chart = document.getElementById(chartId); // Uses page-unique ID if (!chart) return; var lines = chart.querySelectorAll('.riv-line-path'); var dots = chart.querySelectorAll('.riv-dot'); legend.querySelectorAll('.riv-legend-item').forEach(function(item) { var productName = item.dataset.product; var line = chart.querySelector('.riv-line-path[data-product="' + productName + '"]'); var productDots = chart.querySelectorAll('.riv-dot[data-product="' + productName + '"]'); var highlight = function() { if (legend.querySelector('.isolated')) return; lines.forEach(function(l) { l.style.opacity = '0.3' }); dots.forEach(function(d) { d.style.opacity = '0.3' }); if (line) line.style.opacity = '1'; productDots.forEach(function(d) { d.style.opacity = '1' }); }; var clearHighlight = function() { if (legend.querySelector('.isolated')) return; lines.forEach(function(l) { l.style.opacity = '1' }); dots.forEach(function(d) { d.style.opacity = '1' }); }; var toggleIsolate = function() { var isIsolated = item.classList.contains('isolated'); legend.querySelectorAll('.riv-legend-item').forEach(function(i) { i.classList.remove('isolated') }); if (isIsolated) { lines.forEach(function(l) { l.style.opacity = '1' }); dots.forEach(function(d) { d.style.opacity = '1' }); } else { item.classList.add('isolated'); lines.forEach(function(l) { l.style.opacity = '0.3' }); dots.forEach(function(d) { d.style.opacity = '0.3' }); if (line) line.style.opacity = '1'; productDots.forEach(function(d) { d.style.opacity = '1' }); } }; item.addEventListener('mouseenter', highlight); item.addEventListener('focus', highlight); item.addEventListener('mouseleave', clearHighlight); item.addEventListener('blur', clearHighlight); item.addEventListener('click', toggleIsolate); item.addEventListener('keydown', function(e) { if (e.key === 'Enter' || e.key === ' ') { e.preventDefault(); toggleIsolate(); } }); }); }); } if (document.readyState === 'loading') { document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', initialize); } else { initialize(); } function sendMessageToParentWindow(typeOfMessage, message = null) { let url = (window.location.ancestorOrigins && window.location.ancestorOrigins.length > 0) ? window.location.ancestorOrigins[0] : '*'; window.parent.postMessage({ analytics: { ...message } }, url); } sendMessageToParentWindow('analytics', { type: "fv-loaded", timestamp: new Date().toISOString() }); })();

ExpressVPN sits at the head of the crowd in the table above, with 25 updates. That's very much in keeping with our other recommended VPNs and well beyond the chasing pack.

Considering ExpressVPN's proactive approach to auditing and implementing new features, this level of iOS TLC isn't surprising, but it's still great to see.

Score: 5/5

Usability

• Apps (and extra products) can be downloaded from the account dashboard.
• Installation takes a few clicks – and an activation code.
• Simple and clean app UI.

Once you've picked and paid for an ExpressVPN plan, you'll want to head to the account dashboard. Pop in your credentials when prompted, and you're almost good to go. The next step is to input the verification code that was emailed to you.

Once you have access to the dashboard, you can download the VPN for whichever device you're using. They're all contained in a handy UI panel, front and center, and this is also where you'll find the VPN activation code you'll need later.

From the dashboard, you can also reach out to support via live chat, and there's a handy indication of wait times. There's also a link to the support center, where you'll find setup guides and tutorials that are well worth exploring if you're having trouble.

Finally, access to the Keys password manager and Identity Defender is also found on the dashboard.

Read more about ExpressVPN's usability ▼

While you're here, it's also worth visiting the Subscription tab to see whether automatic renewal is enabled. Following the spate of legal actions levelled at major VPN providers (including ExpressVPN), alleging that their auto-renewal practices are unlawful, it's well worth checking, as VPNs have historically not made auto-renewal that obvious.

Once you're done with the dashboard, don't close it, because you'll need the activation code we mentioned earlier after you install the VPN app on your device and log in.

After you've punched in your credentials, you'll be asked for the code, so be sure to copy and paste it before exiting out of the dashboard. Alternatively, you can sign in via an email sign-in link.

User experience

ExpressVPN's apps look and feel the same across all platforms – and that's a good thing. There's a core idea here of being the VPN that "just works", and when apps are similar, buttons are (more or less) in the same place, features have the same name, and you don't have to master each platform separately. Learn one, and you've learned them all.

ExpressVPN frequently updates and finetunes its UI experience, too. Most recently, it ditched its super simple approach in favor of more information and instant access to key settings. Regardless, its iconic, huge 'Connect' button remains, just now with a greater amount to view around it.

However, the app remains simple compared to the majority of other VPNs . The NordVPN Windows app dashboard has 23 buttons, icons, and other clickable elements. Surfshark has 23, and Proton VPN has 19. ExpressVPN, on the other hand, has 13. This perfectly encapsulates ExpressVPN's "less-is-more" approach to its UI, even with more being progressively added.

(Image credit: ExpressVPN )

It's worth remembering, though, that unlike many of these alternatives, ExpressVPN doesn't have any specialized servers at all. So there are no tabs for P2P activity, Tor over VPN, or streaming picks.

The simplicity continues into ExpressVPN's settings. Not only is this now easily accessed from the home screen, but you'll quickly find options contained under their own submenus. For instance, if you want to switch your protocol, something also now present on loading in, it's as simple as tapping the submenu and selecting the box next to your protocol of choice.

All in all, the desktop version of the app was our favorite. It not only offers a less cluttered feel, but also retains quick access to settings, protocols, and all of ExpressVPN's new features - should you use them.

The mobile app does a good job of this too given screen size limitations. It's super intuitive to navigate, gives you more quick access than ever before, and retains the classic one-click-connection feel that ExpressVPN has always had.

Score: 5/5

Accessibility

• ExpressVPN homepage scores well for screen reader support.
• Command-line tool allows voice commands.
• Keyboard navigation worse due to new layout.

We used Accessibility Check to scan the ExpressVPN home page and point out accessibility issues. It scored 44%, which is pretty disappointing, and far lower than the likes of Mullvad (95%) and NordVPN (65%). However, it did outperform CyberGhost (17%) and PrivadoVPN (10%).

ExpressVPN passed AccessibilityChecker’s visual and navigation tests, and continues to struggle with screen readers.

This is a tough test that very few VPNs score well in, and we only tested a single page to get a general feel for its accessibility credentials.

Read more about ExpressVPN's accessibility ▼

ExpressVPN doesn't have any specialist accessibility features, and the desktop apps are missing a common automation feature that'd allow users to automatically connect whenever there's access to public Wi-Fi.

However, the ExpressVPN Windows app does have one excellent bonus feature: a command-line tool called ExpressVPN.CLI.exe.

The app is extremely smart, and can be used to connect to any location, disconnect, change your protocol, and other key settings.

It takes a little command line knowledge to set this up, but even if you’re a total newbie, you can still learn everything you need in an hour or so.

When you’re ready, you can set up scripts to connect to ExpressVPN, disconnect, automatically launch or close apps, and then run those scripts via Windows voice access or whatever other app launcher you prefer.

(Image credit: ExpressVPN)

The Windows ExpressVPN app supports 17 languages, which is decent. Proton VPN has it pegged, offering 28, but most providers have around 10 to 20. ExpressVPN still outperforms NordVPN (13 languages), CyberGhost (12), and IPVanish (8).

ExpressVPN offers common options, like English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Russian, and Spanish. Some are missing from the list, though, most notably Chinese (Simplified and Traditional) and Arabic.

We then put ExpressVPN's keyboard support to the test. It's a key element of any deep dive into accessibility. After all, if a user can't operate a mouse, they should still be able to access every feature of the app via the keyboard.

Using standard Windows keypresses like Tab, Enter, and keypress, we try and move around the app, browse lists, select buttons, and otherwise play around.

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Language options available in the Windows apps of each VPN.

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Previously, ExpressVPN's old design had enabled it to have excellent keyboard support. Now, its increased number of home screen areas mean performing more complex tasks is near impossible. So you can connect and disconnect, without being able to choose the location, you can find the settings menu, but tweaking them becomes problematic.

Most top VPNs face similar issues here, so we can't mark it down hugely. That said, it's an unfortunate step backwards considering just how well it had previously performed in this area.

Score: 3/5

Customer support

• 24/7 live chat and chatbot support, as well as email and on-site channels.
• Live chat agents respond promptly with tailored advice.
• Support articles are well-written and easy to follow.

You can reach out to ExpressVPN customer support via the site, 24/7 live chat, or email.

We also put customer support to the test by running different searches in the Support section of a VPN provider's site, and seeing the articles it returns.

ExpressVPN has a huge number of articles covering all sorts of issues. When we searched for "DNS", for example, the support site returned 64 articles covering DNS leaks, router setup guides, operating system setup tutorials, and more.

Read more about ExpressVPN's customer support ▼

Although that's only roughly half of the amount we found on Surfshark's support site, at 120. ExpressVPN, though, does far better than the 5 articles we discovered when plugging "DNS" into Hotspot Shield's site. Plus, only one of these contained any useful troubleshooting advice.

ExpressVPN has a distinct lack of articles covering torrenting and P2P, however, though this isn't all that surprising. It's a minefield of a topic – legally speaking.

The support site is well organized and easy to navigate. Popular topics are listed at the top of the page, so you can jump right into a setup guide or troubleshoot common issues, and popular articles are listed right underneath. These link directly to useful pages like how to find the ExpressVPN activation code and how to cancel a subscription.

The articles themselves are easy to read and follow. Set up guides make liberal use of annotated screenshots and use short, simple instructions to guide users through everything from installation to setting ExpressVPN up on a router.

Some of the setup pages can be rather long, however, so it'd be great to see more navigation elements on the page.

Some of the setup pages can be rather long, however, so it'd be great to see more navigation elements on the page. There is a contents table at the top, but scrolling all the way up to find is a minor annoyance.

When we explored ExpressVPN's live chat, we were first greeted by a chatbot and the usual generic questions. It's capable of guiding customers through the initial troubleshooting process and providing simple solutions.

When we told it that our VPN was slow, for instance, it asked us if we were using Wi-Fi. When we said yes, it suggested that we use Ethernet instead. It won't work for everyone, but it's a possibility that some customers won't have thought to try.

The chatbot is loaded with a surprising amount of information and gave intelligent advice during our "conversation". So, even if you have no plans to chat with it yourself, it's good to know that your first port of call when contacting support isn't a totally useless barrier between you and a real person. Plus, the more people the chatbot can help, the more time real human support agents have to troubleshoot issues.

If you've exhausted the chatbot's advice, or want to skip straight to an agent, you don't have to endure a complicated process to do so. Just clicking the "Transfer to an agent" button does exactly that – and when we tried it for ourselves, we only waited a few minutes before a connection was established.

Unlike other support teams, where it can feel as though they're just waiting to pounce on keywords and funnel you towards generic solutions, ExpressVPN agents took the time to listen to us.

We had a great experience with our agent. Unlike other provider support teams, where it can feel as though they're just waiting to pounce on keywords and funnel you towards generic solutions ("have you turned it on and off again?"), ExpressVPN agents clearly took the time to listen to our queries.

We asked our agent how to set up the VPN in order to play online games with friends in the US. The agent suggested that, if we didn't know where the game server was physically located, our best bet was to join a server close to our home base, unless we needed a US IP address ourselves.

The entire conversation took just under 10 minutes, the agent was friendly and clearly knowledgeable about the product, and we were happy with the exchange overall.

Score: 4/5

User reviews

• Trustpilot reviews have increased slightly.
• Complaints mostly stem from billing and support problems.
• Android rating has soared, possibly down to removing bot reviews.

While user reviews on Trustpilot and mobile app stores can provide a valuable insight into the reputation of a VPN amongst its users, it's important to remember that they're not totally infallible.

ExpressVPN currently holds a Trustpilot rating of 4.1, which marks a slight increase from the 4.0 we saw when we last checked in on the service. It's only a small rise, but ExpressVPN still lags behind Surfshark (4.4) and NordVPN (4.2).

Around 7% of ExpressVPN's reviews are one-star reviews, often focusing on billing and support problems. We suspect that some of these may not reflect real issues.

Read more about ExpressVPN's user reviews ▼

A few users claimed that there were long gaps between support agent replies, for example, which could mean that ExpressVPN's agents are expected to cover a lot of customers at any one time, and one review rated ExpressVPN poorly because they couldn't connect in China.

ExpressVPN is bound to receive some targeted criticism because of its prominent position in the VPN market, but we've seen a big drop in investment in Kape VPNs, with relatively few development or new features. This could be causing hiccups with long support times and unsatisfied customers.

On the other hand, ExpressVPN's Android app rocketed up from a 4.4 rating to a 4.7 since May 2025.

We're not certain what has prompted this surge. The percentage of one-star ratings dropped from 10% to 5%. If this happened naturally, it would require ExpressVPN to have doubled its number of ratings in the last five months, without a single one being a one-star review.

It's possible that ExpressVPN was targeted by bots, and that these bots were eventually detected and removed by Google. Since most of the bot reviews were one-star, this caused ExpressVPN’s rating to soar, but this is only conjecture.

Whatever the truth is, we don't believe that it changes much, and the real story here is that today's top providers are as close to "neck and neck" as it gets.

Google Play

App Store

Trustpilot

ExpressVPN

4.7

4.7

4.1

NordVPN

4.6

4.7

4.2

Surfshark

4.6

4.7

4.4

Proton

4.7

4.6

2.1

Windscribe

4.6

4.6

4.7

Track record: can you trust ExpressVPN?

• Owner, Kape Technologies, has distanced itself from Crossrider
• A major DNS leak was discovered in 2024, active since 2022
• The leak was resolved quickly with a fix that was later audited

We've often seen articles that claim ExpressVPN's owner, Kape Technologies, was responsible for creating malware under its previous name, Crossrider. The reality is more complicated.

Crossrider was a development platform that could be used to create browser extensions. The Wayback Machine archive of its site details this.

Some bad actors used the platform to create adware and other malicious applications. They were low-level, though, as Crossrider just wasn't capable of creating ransomware or anything truly destructive.

Still, there is discussion about whether Crossrider could have done more to stop the bad actors.

We're not sure. Crossrider did have ethical issues, like including features that allowed extensions to inject ads into web pages, but that's still not malware. Crossrider changed its name and direction years ago, too, leaving the brand behind.

Read more about ExpressVPN's track record▼

In February 2024, ExpressVPN revealed that a reviewer had discovered a DNS leak in its Windows app that had been active since May 2022.

This meant that DNS requests sent from the user device weren't directed through the tunnel and instead used the regular connection. Because of this, the user's ISP, or whoever ran the network they used, may have been able to log the websites they accessed.

It was bad news, and not just because it invalidated one of the primary reasons to invest in a VPN in the first place (to conceal your browsing history from third parties). The leak had also been happening for years without anyone noticing.

ExpressVPN did point out mitigating factors. The issue only affected Windows machines, for instance, when split tunnelling was enabled.

ExpressVPN also responded quickly when it became aware of the DNS leak

ExpressVPN also responded quickly when it became aware of the issue. It removed split tunnelling from the Windows apps to ensure users couldn't be affected and, within six days, the larger problem was troubleshooted and a fix had been developed. Split tunnelling also returned in short order.

ExpressVPN commissioned an independent audit to confirm its success, reporting mostly positive results (another issue was found and fixed) in an April blog post.

Another controversy arose when former US military intelligence officer Daniel Gericke joined ExpressVPN as its CIO.

In 2021, the US Justice Department revealed that Gericke previously worked for a company that provided hacking services for the UAE.

This included creating "zero-click exploits to illegally obtain and use access credentials for online accounts issued by U.S. companies, and to obtain unauthorized access to computers, like mobile phones, around the world, including in the United States".

Gericke and two others later signed a Deferred Prosecution Agreement which ‘restricts their future activities and employment and requires the payment of $1,685,000 in penalties’.

More recently, ExpressVPN has found itself in hot water with the Indian authorities. Indian streaming site JioStar has claimed ExpressVPN is a "knowing facilitator and inducer" of online piracy, and has reported the provider to the Noida Cyber Crime Police Station.

Audits

ExpressVPN (and its various technologies) has undergone a huge number of audits.

The most recent of these took place in June 2025, by KPMG, and combed through ExpressVPN's no-logs policy. The audit confirmed that ExpressVPN abides by the claims in its privacy policy, and doesn't log or store identifiable data.

If a VPN invites an audit at all, it's usually just to verify the no-logs policy. It's a good place to start, and ExpressVPN does these too, but it consistently goes further.

It has separate audits for its Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, and Linux apps, its browser extension, Aircove router, Keys password manager, and more. In fact, ExpressVPN's custom Lightway protocol has been the subject of four separate audits.

Unlike some providers, ExpressVPN doesn't congratulate itself with a "we did great" blog post that contains just a few cherry-picked lines from the auditor's conclusion. ExpressVPN always makes the full report available online for anyone who is interested.

Score: 3/5

Final verdict

ExpressVPN is a great VPN and ranks third in our shortlist of the best VPNs overall. We also consider it the best VPN for beginners.

The ExpressVPN Basic plan offers the best value for money, at $3.49 per month. The 2-year ExpressVPN Pro plan ($7.49 per month) comes with extras, including 5 days of unlimited eSIM data and a dedicated IP. A 7-day free trial is available for iOS and Android via the App Store or Google Play Store.

Who should use ExpressVPN?

✅ Anyone new to VPNs: Thanks to an intuitive UI (that spans all platforms/gadgets) and a simple installation process, ExpressVPN is an ideal choice for anyone's first VPN.

✅ People who prioritize their digital privacy: ExpressVPN has an extensive and successful auditing history, covering its logging policy, apps, and even its proprietary Lightway protocol.

✅ Streamers and gamers: ExpressVPN's speedy Lightway protocol ensured a smooth and buffer-free experience for us when testing streaming platforms and online games.

ExpressVPN: $4.49/month

We think that ExpressVPN's Advanced plan is the best overall package, and it's only a dollar more expensive than the Basic subscription. Users get:

✅ Advanced Protection (tracker and ad blocking)
✅ ExpressVPN Keys password manager
✅ 3 days of unlimited eSIM data

There's even a 7-day free trial for iOS and Android, as well as a standard 30-day money-back guarantee.View Deal

Who should try a different VPN instead?

❌ Bargain hunters: ExpressVPN recently restructured its pricing model, introducing new tiers, but monthly prices are still more expensive than competitors like Surfshark and NordVPN.

NordVPN – from $2.99 per month
The best VPN overall and best for streaming
If you want a VPN and an all-in-one security suite, NordVPN has more to offer than ExpressVPN. Its Threat Protection Pro toolkit is designed to block ads, trackers, phishing attempts, and malicious URLs – and is included in all Plus and Ultimate plans. A more basic version, Threat Protection, comes with Basic plans. NordVPN also excelled at streaming, partially thanks to its excellent speeds, and is nice and easy to use. See how NordVPN compares to ExpressVPN with a 30-day money-back guarantee.View Deal

ExpressVPN FAQsDoes ExpressVPN have a free trial?

Yes, ExpressVPN has a 7-day free trial available for iOS and Android, accessible through the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.

ExpressVPN testing methodology

In this review, whenever I say that “I” did something or had a specific opinion, I’m drawing on my firsthand experience with the product.

On the other hand, when I say “we”, it refers to the TechRadar VPN team and how ExpressVPN held up in our lab testing. This testing was performed by Mike Williams, Technical Editor, who has built his own VPN testing software and methodology over a span of 11 years in the VPN industry.

Mike subjected ExpressVPN to the same lab conditions that we apply to all of the VPNs we stress test and review at TechRadar. The testing process involves standardized speed testing in conditions that are optimal for VPN performance, ensuring that the kill switch isn’t causing IP address leaks, and manually checking the VPN protocols. For more information about Mike’s process, head on over to our lab testing methodology explainer.

You can also take a look at our author biographies to get a better idea of our experience in the VPN field.

The TechRadar VPN team has fact-checked this ExpressVPN review, which also contains information from the provider itself, and we update the review each month.

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Dali Sonik 1: Two-minute review

Dali’s new Sonik series of speakers is the Danish brand’s re-introduction to the global hi-fi market — and these, the Dali Sonik 1, are a set of versatile, broad-appeal passive bookshelf speakers aimed squarely at the entry-level audio enthusiast. They enter a saturated market at this size and price, rubbing shoulders with about every major speaker brand you can name; still, they stand apart and more than hold their own.

Clever driver and cone designs, refined from Dali speakers past, provide a surprising quality of sound, from clear and distortion-free articulation to smooth, natural-sounding mids and highs. Everything shines through these, but vocals benefit perhaps the most.

Transient performance is nothing short of delicious, and the low end is surprisingly supple for the size of the units (helped along by some very enthusiastic bass reflex ports). There’s a chance that the Sonik 1 are a little over-eager with respect to high end, but it’s marginal — and minimal against the robustness and throat on display in denser mixes.

Being a curmudgeonly sort, I tried my best not to love these speakers at first listen. I failed. It’s love. From the clear attention to detail shown in their design and build to the stunningly versatile sound performance, the Dali Sonik 1 are an overperforming pair of almost-budget bookshelfs. And definitely among the best stereo speakers on the market.

(Image credit: Future / James Grimshaw)Dali Sonik 1 review: Price & release date

• Released February, 2026
• Priced $900 / £449.99 / AU$849

Do you ever feel like the Scandinavians just do it better? From my distant and semi-ignorant perch in deepest West Yorkshire, in the UK, I can’t help but feel like it’s true. Whether its education, taxation, or straight-up happiness, the concept of Nordic exceptionalism is very real indeed – and we’ve got even more proof right here in the land of domestic hi-fi audio, thanks to the landmark Danish audiophile loudspeaker industry frontrunner, Dali. Which stands for, er, Danish Audiophile Loudspeaker Industries.

Dali has been designing speakers from the ground up since the early 80s, and has established a well-earned reputation in that time. Its speakers touch every point of the hi-fi market, from budget-friendly fare to audiophilic bucket-list bookshelfs and beyond. Its roster of speakers is broad, deep and a little intimidating to reckon with — which is, in part, why it came out with this in February 2026: the Sonik series of passive speakers.

The Sonik series is Dali’s full and formal self-introduction to a global audience, taking everything it’s learned in its 40-ish years of loudspeaker development and cramming the best into a budget-spanning set of new flagships. There are seven different sets in the Sonik series, a comprehensive spread encompassing standmount, floorstanding and home cinema-friendly models. Whatever it is you want or need, chances are you’ll find it here.

Of these, the Dali Sonik 1 are proudly the smallest and cheapest of the bunch: a set of bookshelf standmounts that are dinkier than they look, and also much more powerful than that deceptive dinkiness would suggest. At $900 / £449.99 / AU$849, these aren’t the cheapest bookshelf speakers money can buy (especially in the US!), but they’re more or less in direct competition with entry-level bookshelf fare from practically every other hi-fi brand going; from Klipsch’s RP-600Ms to KEF’s Q1 Metas to Bowers and Wilkins’ 607 S3s to umpteen other austere offerings.

It’s a tough crowd, but one that Dali’s been quietly besting in a few key areas for a long time. In this competitive loudspeaker arena, will Nordic exceptionalism prove itself again?

(Image credit: Future / James Grimshaw)Dali Sonik 1 review: Specs

Type

Bookshelf

Active or passive?

Passive

Bi-wirable

No

Woofer

5.25-inch Clarity Cone wood fiber; SMC driver

Tweeter

29mm soft dome

Impedance

6 ohms

Dimensions

274 × 162 × 231mm

Dali Sonik 1 review: Features

• Small-format bookshelf speakers with two-way crossover
• Patented cone design for smoother mids
• Remarkably low distortion, via proprietary driver composition

The Dali Sonik 1 are a pair of passive bookshelf speakers, with a two-way crossover involving a 29mm soft-dome tweeter and a 5.25-inch woofer, and a ported bass reflex chassis. They’re single-wire connectable, as opposed to bi-wirable; unless you have grand and arcane plans of driving tweeters and woofers separately, I don’t consider this in any way a shortcoming — and if you actually do have such plans, you are surely looking in the wrong price range.

Being passive, the Sonik 1’s features are almost entirely found in their clever composition, which hides some smart proprietary bits and pieces behind those optional magnetic cloth grilles. For instance, the whole Sonik series, Sonik 1 included, benefits from Dali’s trademarked Clarity Cone technology (taken from the Kore range that came before), wherein the speaker cones are made using a proprietary paper/wood-fiber blend, said to improve mid-range smoothness among other things.

There’s another trademarked feature, too, in the “SMC” (Soft Magnetic Composite)-assisted magnet systems that constitute the driver. Dali’s patented composite sits in the voice coil, significantly reducing distortion in the process. Collectively, these in-house divinations deign to create a fulsome, highly natural-sounding set of standmounts.

The Sonik 1 are the smallest of the Sonik series, and quite slender even for their size. It’s a small surprise settling them in to their respective homes and having some room to spare — but still, there’s a sense that they’re certain to punch above their weight class as soon as you take them out of the box.

Speaking of which, there’s not much here in the way of box candy (no speaker cables, either). That said, they do ship with two sets of stick-on rubber feet: small, squashy black ones for standing them on your shelf of choice, and some thick, translucent ones for sticking on the back if you intend to wall-mount them. I’m not one for wall-mounting them just yet, but I was nonetheless touched that Dali elected to send clear stand-offs so as not to cause unsightly shadows if you do hang them.

That particularly small-beers inclusion is, for me, a perfect crystallization of Dali’s approach with the Sonik 1, and a reflection of its journey to this point. Small things, offered without ceremony, that add up to a thoughtful and gratifying whole.

• Features score: 5/5

(Image credit: Future / James Grimshaw)Dali Sonik 1 review: Sound quality

• Smooth, dulcet vocal reproduction
• Deep, reflex-assisted bass
• Transparent treble and tactile transients

Dali talks a big talk about the natural sound of the Sonik series. As someone that also works on the other side of the mixing desk from time to time, it’s hard to describe what makes something sound ‘natural’ as anything other than a neutral approach to representing exactly what was recorded. Hi-fi devices are not typically designed to do this, either; they’re designed to flatter. They accentuate the bits that gratify us, giving us more to grab onto than a flat-response set of monitors would dare to. And yet...

To reach for a sense beyond natural, the Sonik 1 do some marvelous things, from delicate treatment of higher highs to a round, robust treatment of reedier sounds. It’s the voices, really, that shine, with no undue thanks to those Clarity Cone woofers; my household’s vinyl copy of Mitski’s Nothing Is Happening To Me has been on heavy rotation, and rendered in disturbingly effective heartbreaky three-dimensionality each and every time, since I installed the Sonik 1 pair.

Cats is a long, soft-silk ribbon, pulled deftly through my left ear and out the right. If I Leave’s brief crescendo of deep-gritted guitars and chest-voice urgency is a weighty presence in the room. B-side opener and second single, I’ll Change For You, is an honest-to-god tearjerker with thanks to an exceptionally tangible rendering of that stunning lead line – Mitski’s voice honestly feeling as if it floats forward through the mix, drifting airily on its own delusive train of thought. Brain-scratchingly good stuff.

Spinning the 10th anniversary repress of Adult Jazz’s Gist Is, I got a real feel for the Sonik 1’s handling of space. The richness of that midrange lends itself to roomy sounds, in which Gist Is, a patchwork of heres and theres, readily revels. Sparse, clever instrumental arrangements are articulated with fullness — illustrating some tactile transient responsiveness just as much as a natural, earnestly flattering representation of timbre.

The cheeky-swung drums on opener Hum are a bright, effervescent presence; cymbal crashes and open hats fizz in Am Gone. Slow-burner Spook is a highlight, rendering powerful dynamic shifts and slow-developing ambiences with a sense of unbothered expertise. Palm-muted guitars spike through like football cleats through turf, and legato lead lines skate sharply across the crescendo as if on six feet of ice.

Dali commits to harnessing low end wherever and however it can, leading to some extremely impressive bass performance from speakers that have neither the stature nor the right. There’s a little weight missing, and the bass reflex port is doing a lot of heavy lifting to replace it (aided, no doubt, by the sub-optimal listening position in which the Sonik 1 lived for most of my testing), but even without that telltale pumpy bluster, there’s a lot to love about the structure of the heft they possess.

If I were to find anything to complain about with the Dali Sonik 1, it would end up being a slight high-end over-presence. The treatment of trebly sources is delicate, considered and even fastidious, but sometimes, to the point of clear preference over other elements of a mix. This is emphasized further by that slight lack in the low end, countered by an eager bass reflex.

But here’s the thing: I feel like I’m reaching. Putting on one of the more chaotic records in my vinyl collection — My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless — I’m greeted with unexpected clarity and cohesion. Everything’s resolved as it was, is and should be, from brain-swallowing yet still-punchy lows to screeching uber-compressed wall-of-guitar highs. It’s a high-performing pair, through and through.

• Sound quality score: 5/5

(Image credit: Future / James Grimshaw)Dali Sonik 1 review: Design

• High attention to detail
• Clever attachable grille
• Cool, understated looks

Dali’s full-spectrum approach to design and manufacture means the same care and attention is given to the development of each product in their roster, as gamely demonstrated by the quality on display with the Sonik 1.

There’s attention to detail wherever you look, be it the chunky brass terminals at the rear or the tastefully radiused face-plates at the front. Really, these are tasteful-looking through and through. The pair under review are the natural oak variant version, but you can also pick these up in white, black ash or walnut. With mine, a cream front face is gamely disrupted by bold black driver surrounds, accentuating the presence of that cool burgundy woofer cone.

The included cloth grilles are a mottled off-white, and attachable (as is becoming increasingly common) with magnets; this leaves a smooth face on the speakers, and makes for a posh-feeling set overall. With the grilles on, the Dali Sonik 1 become coolly understated; they fade amenably into the figurative milieu of your living room, and shine all the more prominently on their acoustical merits.

• Design score: 5/5

(Image credit: Future / James Grimshaw)Dali Sonik 1 review: Value

• A familiar price for entry-level audiophile fare
• Incredible performance for budget
• Impossible not to like

Generally speaking, and whichever way you slice it, $900 / £449.99 / AU$849 is a lot of money to ask someone to pay for something. But it’s the de facto floor price (excepting that tariff-y US-import price) for something good in the audiophile hi-fi space. When big numbers get bandied around for confoundingly clever loudspeakers further up the chain, it’s easy to lose sight of the real ask here for the average consumer.

Every brand that puts out an entry-level artefact of posh loudspeaker design at this price, then, has to be able to justify it. And most of the heavy hitters do, pulling down top-flight innovations to an affordable price and walking the walk on sound quality (Bowers and Wilkins’ 607 S3 being a chief competitor and major example). And just as most of the heavy hitters do, so too does Dali.

The Sonik 1 are as smart a pair of bookshelf speakers as you could ask for. They’re deeply versatile, deep-sounding despite their stature, and delightful to listen to. The frequency response reflects a hyper-natural richness, without overrepresenting anything too nakedly. They fill small and medium spaces capably, handle loud signals with minimal distortion, and deliver gratifying performance from wherever you sit or stand.

These speakers are an excellent example of what investing in hi-fi can actually mean for someone. The articulation and fidelity on display is demonstrably far, far better than cheaper fare you come across. The Sonik 1 may be the entry-level pair in a large family of new broad-appeal loudspeakers, but they’re as refined as you could ever want in a mid-range listening setup. They look the part, yes, but they feel the part, too.

To be blunt, I went into this review with a harshly critical eye. It was softened instantly, by a self-assured set of speakers that elevated my home hi-fi without ceremony. Dali is doing some incredible work reinstating the importance of attention to detail, of pride in a product, via a seamlessly well put together set of speakers that actually exceed their expectations.

• Value score: 5/5

(Image credit: Future / James Grimshaw)Dali Sonik 1 review: scorecard

Comment

Rating

Features

A 29mm soft dome tweeter and a 5.25-inch woofer with a proprietary driver and cone design, plus a diminutive footprint.

5/5

Sound quality

Speakers that have no right sounding how they do. Full articulation, with impressive clarity of vocals; rich and robust low end; dynamics handled naturally.

5/5

Design

Understatedly gorgeous, with a seamlessness that reflects build quality as well as aesthetic nice-ness.

5/5

Value

Even though the cheaper end of the spectrum for 'decent' hi-fi passives is quite pricey, they represent nothing but value for money.

5/5

Should you buy the Dali Sonik 1?Buy them if...

You want capable, versatile performers
The Dali Sonik 1 are broad-appeal bookshelfs, with a decidedly ‘natural’ sound profile. They work well wherever you put them, whatever you put through them and whatever volume you like (within reason). They’re low distortion, high fidelity and hard to flap!

You like crooners
Voices are articulated with astonishing accuracy and presence, alongside strings and reedy things. Your heartbreaking Americana records will never sound better below $1000 (just).

Don't buy them if...

You’re a bass-hunter
The low end is certainly remarkable with the Dali Sonik 1, but that’s with respect to their size. They rely (sometimes overly) on their thick, pumpy bass reflex ports to build out the subby stuff, so you may want to size up if that's your bag.

The price makes you think twice
Nothing’s worth stretching a budget hard for, and the Dali Sonik 1 are no different. Dali has cheaper, more accessible bookshelfs that offer tantalizing glimpses at the very same quality on display here — if money is an object, consider going for the Kupid instead.

Dali Sonik 1 review: Also consider

Dali Sonik 1

Bowers & Wilkins 607 S3

Kanto Ren

Price

$349.99 / £279.99 (approx AU$570)

$369.99 / £329.99 / AU$449

$599 / £599 (around AU$1,199)

Type

Passive bookshelf

Passive bookshelf

Passive bookshelf

Bi-wirable?

No

Yes

No

Woofer

5.25-inch Clarity Cone wood fiber; SMC driver

130mm Continuum mid/bass driver

114mm wood-fiber/paper mid/bass driver

Tweeter

29mm soft dome

25mm titanium double-dome

26mm soft dome

Impedance

6 ohms

8 ohms

4 ohms

Dimensions

274 × 162 × 231mm

300 x 165 x 207mm

245 x 150 x 198mm

Bowers & Wilkins 607 S3
The Bowers & Wilkins 607 S3 are the vaunted speaker brand’s new flagship for entry-level audiophilia, and an excellent set of passive bookshelfs in their own right. They share some things vaguely in common with the Sonik 1, from a preference for high end to a slightly demanding price point — but they’re bi-wirable, too.
Read our full Bowers & Wilkins 607 S3 review here

Dali Kupid
If $900 / £450 is a little rich for your budget, Dali has you covered. The Dali Kupid passive bookshelf speakers are even budget-ier, and carry a lot of the same DNA. Concessions are made, of course, but these entry-level standmounts still got full marks from us.
Read our full Dali Kupid review here

How I tested the Dali Sonik 1

• Tested for 6 week(s)
• Used as main living-room listening speakers
• Predominantly tested using vinyl records, played on Vestax turntables; also with CDs and hi-res streaming from Qobuz

The Dali Sonik 1 bookshelf speakers found their home at the epicenter of my living-room listening station, where they were hooked up to my Cambridge Audio A2 integrated amplifier, and received audio from a variety of sources — most commonly, vinyl records played through Vestax PDX-D3 turntables (outfitted with Audio-Technica AT-VM95E cartridges) and a Vestax preamp and mixer.

I listened to CDs using a FiiO DM13 CD player, and I threw some hi-res streaming from Qobuz in there for good measure, too, via a 3.5mm jack from my laptop to the Vestax mixer.

First reviewed: April 2026

Read more about how we test at TechRadar

Oppo Find X9 Ultra: Two-minute review

The Oppo Find X8 Ultra was one of the best camera phones to launch in 2025, but there was one big problem: you could only officially get it in China. Now, its successor has landed, and thankfully, this one's launching globally.

To make matters even better, the Find X9 Ultra has been upgraded in just about every conceivable way. It features the latest Snapdragon SoC, a bigger battery, a fresh Hasselblad-inspired design, and a faster screen with a new shape.

Really, though, it's the cameras that are the main attraction, and this is no small upgrade. The phone's main camera has been bumped up to 200MP, as has the 3x periscope telephoto lens. Meanwhile, the ultra-wide gets a significantly larger sensor, and the 6x telephoto has been replaced with a 10x unit.

The Find X8 Ultra was already amazing, but the X9 Ultra takes smartphone imaging to new heights. It has the best zoom of any phone I've tested, and captures stunning shots in all lighting conditions.

Plus, it benefits from Hasselblad-approved film simulations and stunning portrait mode effects. And that's before we get into its video chops, where the Oppo Find X9 Ultra boasts up to 4K 120fps recording with Log and Dolby Vision, with the ability to bake in LUTs.

(Image credit: Future)

If you want to take your video and photography capabilities even further, there's an amazing photography kit and teleconverter lens available for the Find X9 Ultra — but it doesn't come cheap. At the time of writing, I haven't put this kit through its paces, but the 300mm-equivalent teleconverter looks to be one of the most impressive offerings so far.

The Oppo Find X9 Ultra has been an absolute delight to live with, and I find myself with almost zero complaints. The software is brilliant, the battery life is solid, the performance is top-notch, and the cameras may be the best of any phone yet.

The only things that might deter some people are the physical size and weight of this phone, as well as its price. But if you want the best camera phone on the market, those are the sacrifices you have to make. In my eyes, the Find X9 Ultra is absolutely worth it.

Oppo Find X9 Ultra review: Price and availability

(Image credit: Future)

• 12GB + 512GB for £1,449
• Launched 'globally' for the first time
• Not available in the US

The Oppo Find X9 Ultra is available to pre-order now in both the UK and Europe, along with most other regions globally — excluding the United States. The phone will be available at retail starting May 8, 2026, and it comes in two colours, either Tundra Umber (vegan leather) or Canyon Orange.

In the UK, the Oppo Find X9 Ultra is only available with 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, but select markets will also be able to purchase a 16GB+1TB variety. The 12GB+512GB model will cost you £1,449, which is exactly the same price as the 512GB Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra.

It's a pricey phone, but with a stacked spec sheet and the most advanced camera hardware on the market, that was to be expected. You couldn't call it a bargain, but if you're a photography and video enthusiast, I think the cost of entry is well justified.

• Value score: 4 / 5

Oppo Find X9 Ultra review: Specs

Here’s a look at the Oppo Find X9 Ultra’s key specs:

Oppo Find X9 Ultra

Dimensions:

163.16 x 76.97 x 9.10mm

Weight:

236g

OS:

ColorOS 16, based on Android 16

Display:

6.82-inch OLED, 144Hz

Resolution:

3120 x 1440 pixels

Chipset:

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5

RAM:

12GB

Storage:

512GB

Battery:

7,050mAh

Rear cameras:

200MP (f/1.5) main, 50MP ultra-wide (f/2), 200MP 3x telephoto (f/2.2), 50MP 10x telephoto (f/3.5)

Front camera:

50MP (f/2.4) AF

Oppo Find X9 Ultra review: Design

(Image credit: Future)

• Hasselblad X2D-inspired design
• Tundra Umber and Canyon Orange options
• IP68 + IP69 dust and water-resistant

The Oppo Find X9 Ultra is available in two distinct and bold color options for the global market. I opted for the Tundra Umber version, which takes design cues from Hasselblad's X2D medium format camera.

It has a brownish finish with a metallic sheen, covered by two panels of black vegan leather that mimic the look of a camera grip. The camera control button (or Quick Key) has Hasselblad's signature orange finish, and there's a subtle orange ring around the camera island, too.

The Canyon Orange version makes even more of a statement. It foregoes the vegan leather panelling in favor of a smooth glass back with a subtle swirling pattern. They both look stunning, but if you're a camera nerd, Tundra Umber is the obvious choice.

The X9 Ultra has a large circular camera module, just like its predecessor, but this one looks a little different. While the base platform is a circle, the glass lens covering is now a curved hexagonal shape. It's a somewhat unusual decision that I'm not entirely sold on.

(Image credit: Future)

I'm not sure of the exact reasoning behind it, but if I had to guess, I think Oppo is attempting to mimic the shape of the aperture opening on a high-end lens.

Taking clear inspiration from Apple's latest iPhones, and following in the footsteps of the X9 Pro, the X9 Ultra has its version of both an Action Button and Camera Control button. Of course, you get the usual volume rocker and lock button, as well.

I’m a big fan of these buttons on the iPhone, so I’m happy to see them here, too. Oppo could have done something a little more original, but there's no arguing with the utility.

The Action Button (or Snap Key, as Oppo calls it) has all the same functionality as Apple’s equivalent, but Oppo’s version of the Camera Control (Quick Button) is more limited.

(Image credit: Future)

You can still use it to open the camera app with a double tap, swiping it zooms in and out, and pressing it takes a photo. However, it's not customizable like Apple’s version. You can't use it to adjust your EV compensation, switch filters, or half-press it to focus. These features seem like they'd be easy enough to implement, but for some reason, Oppo hasn't done so.

The Oppo Find X9 Ultra has both IP68 and IP69 certifications. This means it’s effectively dust and waterproof, and it’ll even survive blasts from jets of hot water. Handy, if you ever accidentally run it through the dishwasher.

• Design score: 4 / 5

Oppo Find X9 Ultra review: Display

(Image credit: Future)

• 6.82-inch 144Hz OLED display
• Similar shape to the S25 Ultra
• 3,600 nits peak brightness

The first thing that struck me about the X9 Ultra’s display is that the corners have a much sharper radius than other phones in the Find X9 family.

It reminds me of the screen on the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. It occupies a middle ground between sharp 90-degree corners and a softer, more iPhone-like curve.

The result is a display that feels noticeably larger than that of the Find X9 Pro, without actually taking up much more pocket space.

The downside is that it doesn't benefit from the same razor-thin bezels as the Pro model. They're still slim, but they're nowhere near as impressive.

(Image credit: Future)

Another standout is the fact that this phone has a 144Hz adaptive refresh rate, rather than 120Hz. I’d be lying if I said I could tell the difference, but if you're in the upper echelons of competitive gaming, you might appreciate it more.

Otherwise, the screen on the Find X9 Ultra gives you exactly what you'd expect from a top-tier flagship phone.

The colors are vibrant and accurate, the contrast levels are impeccable, and it gets more than bright enough to compete with strong sunshine.

If you're sensitive to flicker, you'll be pleased to learn that the Find X9 Ultra has a speedy 2160Hz PWM dimming frequency, too.

• Display score: 5 / 5

Oppo Find X9 Ultra review: Cameras

(Image credit: Future)

• 200MP main (f/1.5)
• 50MP ultra-wide (f/2)
• 200MP 3x telephoto (f/2.2)
• 50MP 10x telephoto (f/3.5)

The Oppo Find X9 Ultra is almost more camera than phone, and with such significant hardware changes, there's a very good chance that this will be the most advanced camera phone of 2026. Every single camera has been upgraded over the Find X8 Ultra, which was already one of the best camera phones we'd ever tested.

On the rear, there are four cameras. The main camera has a 1/1.2-inch 200MP sensor with an f/1.5 aperture, the ultra-wide is 50MP f/2.0 with a larger 1/1.95-inch sensor, and the first telephoto is a 200MP 3x periscope f/2.2 with a massive 1/1.28inch sensor.

Arguably, it's the second telephoto that's the most exciting of the bunch. It's a 10x lens, the first we've seen on a flagship since Samsung ditched its own 10x lens on the Galaxy S24 Ultra. Don't make the mistake of thinking this is an equivalent lens, though. Oppo says the Find X9 Ultra's second telephoto lens has 306% better light-gathering capabilities than that of the Galaxy S23 Ultra.

(Image credit: Future)

It's a 50MP unit with a 1/2.75-inch sensor and an f/3.5 aperture. Oppo is so confident about the performance of this new lens that it says it's like having the external teleconverter for the X9 Pro built in.

Of course, we can't forget about the selfie camera. This camera has also been upgraded, although the changes aren't quite so drastic. It's now 50MP, up from 32MP, and Oppo says the autofocus has been optimized, as has the image processing.

I won't beat around the bush; this is likely the best smartphone camera system I have ever used. The Vivo X300 Ultra provides some stiff competition, but without a dedicated 10x lens, it's easy to argue that the Find X9 Ultra is more versatile.

Regardless of which lens you use, and in all lighting conditions, you can expect exceptional detail and clarity. The combination of high-resolution sensors and optical reach means that this phone outclasses just about everything with its digital zoom — and if you want to go even further, you can add the external teleconverter lens.

(Image credit: Future)

The phone's default image processing gives you vibrant, sharp, and contrasty images, but if you want photos that look more like they were shot with a DSLR, you can switch to the Hasselblad Master mode.

Master Mode removes the HDR effect, has less digital sharpening, and uses zero generative AI in its processing. For this model, Oppo has added nine new film simulations that work in this mode, and each can be customized to your preference. I found that a lot of the film sims leaned too heavily on the cooler tones for my liking, but that's no issue, as I can just increase the color temperature myself.

There's also a new addition called Soft Light, which essentially mimics the effect of a Pro Mist filter. There are two strengths available, and both add some bloom to the highlights. It makes photos look like film stills, or like they came from a vintage camera, and I immediately fell in love with the effect.

The Oppo Find X9 Ultra is just as ambitious when it comes to professional video features. Every lens can shoot at up to 4K 60fps in either Dolby Vision or Log, while the main and 3x telephoto can do so at 4K 120fps. You can preview your video with real-time LUTs or burn them into the final recording. There are three stylised LUTs as standard, but you can also import your own.

• Cameras score: 5 / 5

Oppo Find X9 Ultra review: Camera samplesFutureFutureFutureFutureFutureFutureFutureFutureFutureFutureFutureFutureFutureFutureFutureFutureFutureFutureFutureFutureFutureFutureFutureFutureFutureFutureOppo Find X9 Ultra review: PerformanceFutureFuture

• Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset
• 12GB RAM
• 512GB storage

The Oppo X9 Ultra is powered by one of the fastest processors money can buy: the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. The global version only comes in one variety, with 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage as standard.

Oddly, the Ultra model has less RAM than the X9 Pro, which has 16GB. Oppo hasn't mentioned the reason, but I think it's safe to assume that current RAM prices are to blame. Regardless, this disparity didn't seem to have a negative impact during my testing.

It probably won't shock you to learn that the Find X9 Ultra performs like the best of them. It feels super snappy, no matter what you're doing. That's partly thanks to the optimization and animation style of the ColorOS platform, and partly due to the amount of raw horsepower under the hood.

I played a few hours of Wuthering Waves on the highest graphical settings, and the Find X9 Ultra handled it perfectly. The phone's frame got quite toasty after a while, but it never became uncomfortable to hold, and the framerates remained rock steady.

Of course, if you're more interested in productivity than gaming, the performance of the Find X9 Ultra will help there, too. I was able to combine multiple clips of high-bitrate 4K video in Luma Fusion, and the phone barely broke a sweat.

It's also worth mentioning the speakers, as they're quite impressive. There's an audible improvement compared to the previous model, with better clarity at the top end and almost zero distortion at max volume.

• Performance score: 5 / 5

Oppo Find X9 Ultra review: SoftwareFutureFutureFuture

• ColorOS 16, based on Android 16
• New AI features
• Styling updates and Mind Space

ColorOS has been my favourite Android skin for a while now, and Oppo continues to improve it with new features. The basics remain the same, so if you used a recent Oppo, OnePlus, or Realme device, you'll have a good idea of what's in store.

Recent versions of the software have some very Apple-like touches, which seems to be a trend with Chinese brands of late. There are Liquid Glass-looking elements, a Dynamic Island clone, depth effects, and stretched clocks for the lock screen; even the UI for the Action Button looks identical to Apple's.

Again, no awards for originality, but I can't help liking what Oppo has done here. These features all look fantastic, and the Dynamic Island-like cutout is as useful as ever, allowing me to quickly get to my media playback, timers, and more.

As for what's new, there's a lock screen feature called Live Space, which looks very similar to Samsung's Now Bar. It's found in the same place at the bottom of your screen, but this one just displays notifications, rather than AI updates.

(Image credit: Future)

Oppo has also been hard at work on its AI Mind Space app. It's still in beta, but it basically works like Nothing's Essential Space or the Screenshots app on a Samsung or Pixel phone. It collects screenshots of important information and uses AI to organize them, summarize them, and make them searchable.

Oppo differentiates itself with the features it adds on top. If you often take photos or screenshots of your receipts, for instance, the new AI Bill Manager can help you keep track of your finances.

There's also a new feature called Mind Pilot, which lets you chat with Gemini, Perplexity, and Deep Seek, all from a single app. The idea is that Mind Pilot will match your query with the AI that's most suited to help.

It could be handy if you're a chatbot hopper, but unfortunately, on my prerelease software, Mind Pilot wasn't working correctly. It would match my query with an AI, but then the answer would never materialize.

FutureFuture

There are some other features that aren't quite as new, but are still worth mentioning. I love O+ Connect, which is a piece of software that lets me control my Mac or PC with my phone, and vice versa. It even lets me copy and paste between the two, which is super handy.

There's also a feature called AI Speak, which reads websites aloud in a natural-sounding voice, no matter which browser you use. It's nothing new, but it's just as handy as ever.

When it comes to long-term support, Oppo pledges five years of major OS upgrades and six years of security patches to the Find X9 Ultra. That's behind the likes of Samsung and Google, but it's not a bad offering.

• Software score: 4 / 5

Oppo Find X9 Ultra review: Battery

(Image credit: Future)

• 7,050mAh silicon-carbon battery
• 100W wired charging
• 50W wireless charging

The Oppo Find X9 Ultra has a 7,050mAh battery, which is big, but bizarrely, it's significantly smaller than the 7,500mAh pack found in the Pro model. I suppose all of these giant camera sensors take up space that would otherwise be filled with a battery.

Still, that battery will last you a long time. I couldn't consistently squeeze two days of use from this phone like I could with the Find X9 Pro, but a day and a half was pretty typical with my usage.

Of course, your mileage with the Find X9 Ultra will vary depending on how you use it. The camera system seems to be the most power-hungry, followed by high-end mobile games, but that's not too surprising.

When it's time to charge, the Find X9 Ultra won't have you waiting for long. It supports speeds of up to 100W with the right charger, but you don't get one in the box, just a USB-C cable.

Just half an hour on the charger was enough to take this phone from zero to over 70%. However, that's with Oppo's official wall adapter; third-party chargers take far longer.

Wireless charging is also rapid. This phone can charge at 50W with one of Oppo's AirVooc chargers, which is incredibly convenient, but those chargers don't come cheap.

• Battery score: 4 / 5

Should you buy the Oppo Find X9 Ultra?

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Value

The Oppo Find X9 Ultra is a pricey phone, but it's also one of the best, so I think the price is justified.

4 / 5

Design

The Find X9 Ultra impresses with its Hasselblad-inspired design, but the not-quite-circle not-quite-hexagon camera module won't appeal to everyone.

4 / 5

Display

It's big, it's bright, it's speedy. What's not to like?

5 / 5

Cameras

Simply put, these are some of the best cameras on any phone.

5 / 5

Performance

With the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 inside and solid thermal performance, the Find X9 Ultra goes toe-to-toe with the best.

5 / 5

Software

ColorOS is one of the most full-featured and aesthetically pleasing Android skins, but the support terms aren't the longest.

4 / 5

Battery

The battery life is really good, but it can't match the Find X9 Pro's.

4 / 5

Buy it if...

You want the best camera phone on the market

If photography and video shooting are your top priorities, there are few phones that can compete with the Find X9 Ultra. It might be the best camera phone of 2026.

You're looking for a zero-compromise flagship

Outside of the cameras, the Oppo Find X9 Ultra isn't lacking in any department. The software is excellent, the performance is top-notch, it has a big battery, speedy charging, and it looks nice, too.

Don't buy it if...

You're on a tight budget

It might be one of the best phones around, but the best never comes cheap. This phone is a significant investment, and bargain hunters need not apply.

You want something lightweight and compact

With a massive screen and giant camera bump, the Oppo Find X9 Ultra is a bit of a unit. If you have smaller hands, it might be difficult to manage.

Oppo Find X9 Ultra review: Also consider

The Oppo Find X9 Ultra is one of the best phones we've ever tested, but it's important to consider the competition, too. Here are a couple of competitors worth looking at.

Vivo X300 Ultra

The Vivo X300 Ultra is the Find X9 Ultra's closest competitor. It offers some more advanced video options than the Oppo, but without a second periscope, it struggles to match its zoom. It's difficult to get hold of outside of China, too.

Read our hands-on Vivo X300 Ultra review

Xiaomi 17 Ultra

The Xiaomi 17 Ultra is another top camera-focused Chinese flagship that shouldn't be ignored. I don't think it outperforms the other options here, but it competes well, and might not sting the wallet quite so much.

Read our hands-on Xiaomi 17 Ultra review

Oppo Find X9 Ultra

Vivo X300 Ultra

Xiaomi 17 Ultra

Price:

£1,449

€1,999

£1,299 / €1,429 / AU$1,799

Display:

6.82-inch OLED

6.82-inch OLED

6.9-inch OLED

Cameras:

200MP main; 50MP ultra-wide; 200MP 3x telephoto; 50MP 10x telephoto

200MP main; 50MP ultra-wide; 200MP 3.7x telephoto

50MP main; 50MP ultra-wide; 200MP 3.2x-4.3x telephoto

Chipset:

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5

Battery:

7,050mAh

6,400mAh

6,000mAh

How I tested the Oppo Find X9 Ultra

• Review test period: Two weeks
• Testing included: Everyday use, including web browsing, social media, photography, video calling, gaming, streaming video, music playback
• Tools used: Geekbench 6, 3DMark, native Android stats

I used the Oppo Find X9 Ultra as my main phone for around two weeks. I used it exactly as I would any other phone, taking lots of photos and videos, gaming, messaging, working, streaming video, and navigating with Google Maps.

I also compared the experience of playing graphically challenging games like Wuthering Waves to my experience on other Android flagships like the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra and Oppo Find X9 Pro. I ran lots of benchmarks on the handset, including 3DMark and Geekbench, to confirm my performance findings.

I tested the battery performance based on my real-world usage, and charging times were measured using an official Oppo charger and cable.

First tested April 2026

The last few years have been absolutely mind-blowing for Richard Gadd. 2024 saw the release of the hit Netflix series Baby Reindeer, catapulting Gadd to global stardom virtually overnight.

What followed was record-breaking success and a tumultuous legal case involving the alleged inspiration for Martha (Jessica Gunning), Fiona Harvey. Two years later, he returns to TV with Half Man, his first fully fictional series launching on HBO Max and BBC iPlayer.

If you thought Baby Reindeer was uncomfortable to watch (especially episode 4), Half Man makes it look like child's play. The series follows brothers Niall (Jamie Bell) and Ruben (Gadd) through 30 years of their lives, exploring why their relationship is so toxic in Ruben's hands.

Where I've repeatedly binged Baby Reindeer since it first released — Gunning's performance and Gadd's script are just too captivating not to relive — I don't think I could ever stream Half Man again in my life. In short, it dredges up the worst of social masculinity in the most ruthlessly vulnerable of ways.

Despite being an exceptional series, I still feel it will linger in Baby Reindeer's shadow, largely because of how Gadd handles his first completely fictitious subject matter.

• How to watch Half Man online and for free – from anywhere

Half Man is a brutal evisceration of the worst kind of toxic masculinity

Before we get to the negatives, let's explore how Gadd has made vomit-churning evil into remarkable television. Half Man is a no-holds-barred look at the effects of excused toxic masculinity, with a lack of repercussions pivotal to understanding how reality is reflected in what we're seeing.

While meek Niall is our focal point across the six episodes, brutish Ruben is the one the story really sits with. We first meet him as a troubled teen in the 1980s, freshly out of juvenile detention and home to a mother who chalks his violent outbursts down to him being "unwell."

He quickly controls Niall with the most disturbing mental mind games I've ever seen portrayed on television, indoctrinating every part of his sexual, platonic, school and family life. This continues to get worse as Niall attends university, before their adult lives disperse and convene back together like crashing waves out at sea.

For a woman or vulnerable person, Ruben is a very real, living nightmare thrust into the faces of those who refuse to acknowledge the abominable behaviour of not all men, but some.

He's the one we fear while we're walking down the street, exercising at the gym or trying to enjoy a night out with our friends. It's almost no wonder why I don't want to see Half Man again — to an extent, many of us live it.

The more severe end of the violence scale is handled incredibly well, and I hope it will prompt some Adolescence-style dialogue and change. Gadd has such a shrewd knack for taking the dregs of global society and turning them into grotesquely real television, even if it's not always palatable.

It's Gadd's commitment to warts-and-all storytelling that will undoubtedly make Half Man one of the standout TV shows of 2026. No matter what he represents to us, no matter what we already think we know, we're metaphorically punched in the gut until we can no longer bear to look.

So why is Baby Reindeer the "better" show then?

Jamie Bell as Niall and Richard Gadd as Ruben. (Image credit: HBO)

Let me start by saying that Baby Reindeer and Half Man are two entirely different concepts, but it's the comparison that viewers are bound to make (and frankly, already are).

If we're really nitpicking, I think there's room for improvement in the structure of the story — and my best guess is that this is largely down to confidence. With Baby Reindeer, Gadd was using events from his actual life to craft something that he'd lived, beginning, middle, and end. Half Man has no bearing on reality, and thus is a storytelling shot in the dark.

This naturally leaves a greater room for error, which I think is displayed in what we're not seeing. The creative choice to time jump between episodes is, for the most part, incredibly effective, but it means that a lot of detail is unaccounted for. One of Niall's most significant romantic relationships is solely left to the imagination, as are many of the family unit's most significant milestones.

On top of this, Gadd is the weakest link in the show's otherwise strong ensemble performance. I realize I've spent the entire first half of this review relaying the importance of Ruben as a character, but we really absorb these effects of this through Niall.

Young Ruben (Stuart Campbell) is pumped up on machismo and Lynx, spouting absolute misogynistic and homophobic nonsense through a thick Scottish brogue. Gadd's version uses his normal voice, which is jarring even if it is an intentional plot point. Rather than feeling like two halves of a whole, our Rubens are connected by a string too faint to make out.

Campbell and Mitchell Robertson (who plays Young Niall) are our standout stars in Half Man. Their version of the fraught brotherhood hits the hardest, is the most emotionally explicit, and is the most exploitative in its manipulation. Emmys and BAFTAs all round, if I had my way.

My review comes with a word of warning: stream Half Man with caution. It probably ticks every trigger warning in existence, along with an alarmingly liberal use of the C word that US viewers will likely be annoyed by. But consumed correctly, Half Man could easily be 2026's TV moment of change.

In today’s hiring landscape, speed and accuracy can make or break your recruitment process. HireRight, one of the world’s most established background screening providers, helps businesses verify candidates efficiently while staying compliant with complex global regulations. Trusted by thousands of mid- to large-sized organizations, it combines advanced technology with decades of industry experience to deliver secure, fast, and reliable results.

This review examines how HireRight operates, its pricing structure, key strengths and limitations, and its integration with the leading HR and applicant tracking systems that businesses rely on daily.

HireRight: Pricing & plans

(Image credit: Future)

The cost structure of HireRight depends on multiple factors, including business size, screening volume, and the specific services required by each organization.

Small businesses can initiate their screening process at $39.95 per check for basic screening, while Advantage packages range from $69.95 to $79.95 per check for comprehensive background checks. The service offers various pricing plans, starting at $39.95 per month for individual users and progressing to more advanced plans that support multiple users.

Meanwhile, the cost of enterprise-level contracts falls into a direct pricing model, which exceeds $17,000 per year for businesses of this size. The company maintains its pricing information confidential because clients must request personalized quotes through HireRight.

You can view the full services offered by clicking here.

HireRight: How it works

(Image credit: Future)

HireRight provides comprehensive cloud-based background check and screening solutions to organizations of all sizes, helping them streamline their hiring processes. Their offerings encompass a wide range of services, including criminal background checks, educational verification, employment history checks, drug screening, and thorough identity verification for job candidates.

The integration features of HireRight allow users to connect their system with multiple HR software platforms and applicant tracking systems (ATS). The system provides users with a simple way to initiate background checks, displaying real-time progress information and complete results through an accessible dashboard. The centralized system reduces time requirements while delivering improved efficiency in the recruitment process.

HireRight’s platform offers customized solutions through packages tailored to the specific requirements of various business sectors and their corresponding regulatory needs. Businesses operating in healthcare, finance, transportation, or retail sectors must select screening options that align with their industry-specific regulations. HireRight’s worldwide presence makes it an ideal solution for organizations that operate across multiple countries or have employees based in various locations.

The candidate journey primarily occurs through digital channels, enabling both hiring managers and job seekers to manage document collection and screening operations more efficiently. The digital method enables faster verification operations while providing candidates with improved access to the verification process.

HireRight: Pros and cons

(Image credit: Future)

HireRight offers several key advantages that make it one of the leading background screening solutions for businesses. Its strong integration capabilities allow seamless connections with major Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) and Human Resource software platforms. This setup streamlines background check initiation and monitoring, helping organizations reduce hiring delays and save time.

HireRight’s global screening functionality makes it particularly valuable for companies operating internationally or subject to stringent regulatory standards. The platform delivers comprehensive reports that employers rely on for accurate background information, giving them confidence and peace of mind. Its thorough coverage is essential for organizations with complex hiring needs that must meet multiple layers of local, national, and international compliance requirements.

That said, some businesses and candidates encounter significant challenges with HireRight. The most common drawback is slower processing times compared to more automated background check providers. Applicants with international experience or diverse work histories often face extended wait periods, which can reduce overall hiring efficiency.

Customer support is another frequent point of concern. Many clients and job candidates report difficulties reaching responsive service when clarification or documentation corrections are required. This lack of timely support can cause frustration and uncertainty during critical hiring stages.

The screening process itself can also be confusing for applicants. Repeated requests for documentation or verification are especially challenging for self-employed workers or those educated abroad. While these strict requirements are in place to protect employers, they often result in a negative experience for applicants.

Finally, HireRight’s enterprise-oriented pricing model poses barriers for small businesses. Companies that conduct background checks infrequently may find the service too expensive and instead seek more flexible alternatives that better fit their needs.

Overall, HireRight delivers robust and reliable screening capabilities. However, organizations must weigh their strengths against potential implementation hurdles to determine whether it aligns with their hiring processes and operational goals.

HireRight: Who would benefit the most using this

While HireRight offers solutions for small businesses and provides basic screening packages, user reviews and expert analysis suggest that it is best suited for medium and large enterprises with recurring and/or international hiring needs. Small businesses that need to conduct limited background checks annually should select cost-effective solutions that deliver fast results. The system provides complete solutions for organizations operating in regulated sectors (transportation and healthcare) that need to follow strict compliance rules.

The company delivers comprehensive solutions and system integration, but its pricing system and complex design make it unsuitable for businesses with simple needs. The system offers business owners both peace of mind and regulatory support, as well as workflow efficiency, but requires a premium cost and sometimes leads to reduced customer service.

HireRight integrates with many of the most widely used HR and applicant tracking platforms, making it easy for organizations to streamline their hiring and screening processes.

The most well-known solutions with direct HireRight integration include Workday, Oracle Cloud HCM, SAP SuccessFactors, UKG (Ultimate Kronos Group), Ceridian Dayforce, iCIMS, Greenhouse, and Cornerstone OnDemand.

These integrations allow recruiting teams to order background checks, track real-time results, and manage screening tasks directly within their existing HR workflow. As a result, companies can automate candidate vetting and improve hiring efficiency without needing separate systems or manual data re-entry. HireRight’s robust partnerships with these major platforms help ensure a smooth and efficient background screening experience for both employers and candidates.

HireRight: Final verdict

In conclusion, HireRight is a robust and widely adopted background screening provider, particularly well-suited for medium- to large-sized enterprises with recurring, international, or regulated hiring needs. Its strengths lie in comprehensive service offerings, strong integration with major HR and applicant tracking systems, and regulatory compliance across industries.

However, the platform faces significant criticism for its slow processing times, especially with international checks, repetitive and confusing documentation requests for candidates, and notably poor responsiveness to customer support. These issues can cause frustration and delays, potentially impacting hiring outcomes and candidate experience. Additionally, HireRight’s pricing model is geared toward larger organizations, making it less accessible or cost-effective for small businesses with limited screening needs.

Organizations considering HireRight should weigh its powerful screening capabilities and global reach against its operational challenges and premium costs to determine if it is a fit for their specific requirements.

BackgroundChecks.com is a cloud-based background screening platform designed to streamline the hiring process by making it faster, safer, and more organized. Previously known as ClearChecks, the platform automates time-consuming verification tasks, helping employers confirm candidate details while maintaining legal compliance.

In a hiring landscape where speed must balance with accuracy, BackgroundChecks.com aims to deliver both efficiency and reliability.

This overview examines how the platform operates, its pricing model, key advantages and disadvantages, and the types of organizations that benefit most from its features.

BackgroundChecks.com: Pricing & plans

(Image credit: ClearChecks)

BackgroundChecks.com uses a tiered pricing model that scales with the depth of the screening. Basic checks start around $24.99 per individual report. More comprehensive searches—including multi-county criminal checks, professional license verifications, and drug screenings—typically cost between $49 and $ 100.

Standalone or à la carte options are also available, such as a basic arrest record search for about $7 or a sex offender registry search for around $5. These can be combined to create customized screening packages tailored to specific hiring needs. The “Elite” plan, the platform’s most comprehensive option, costs approximately $49 per report and includes all key checks from lower tiers, plus additional verifications for roles that require greater trust or clearance.

Despite clear starting rates, some users have raised concerns about pricing transparency. Employers occasionally encounter undisclosed county-level court access fees, which vary by jurisdiction and can increase total costs. These hidden fees make budgeting for large screening batches difficult, and some users report challenges in obtaining refunds or resolving billing issues in a timely manner. Prospective buyers are advised to review each plan carefully and confirm pricing details before proceeding.

You can check it out by clicking here.

BackgroundChecks.com: How it works

BackgroundChecks.com is an all-in-one screening hub for both small businesses and large employers. Setup is straightforward: after registering, employers can log into a secure dashboard accessible from desktop, tablet, or mobile devices. The interface is designed for ease of use, enabling administrators to select screening types, invite candidates to complete digital consent forms, and track progress in real-time.

The platform offers a wide range of background checks, including multi-jurisdictional criminal searches, scans of state and county court records, motor vehicle record lookups, and drug testing panels. Employers can also verify education credentials, employment history, and professional licenses—essential for positions requiring specialized certifications or regulatory compliance.

BackgroundChecks.com: Performance

(Image credit: BackgroundChecks.com)

Speed is one of BackgroundChecks.com’s standout features. Automated workflows consolidate data from multiple databases and official repositories, providing results in minutes for many checks. More complex verifications, such as education or employment history, may take longer since they rely on responses from third parties.

Compliance is another priority. The platform adheres to Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) guidelines, ensuring responsible handling of consumer data while protecting applicants’ rights to dispute inaccuracies. Data transmission and storage use encrypted servers in line with data protection standards. Employers can also utilize audit logs and permission controls for enhanced oversight of report access.

For organizations managing high volumes of hires, batch processing enables multiple screenings to run simultaneously—a significant benefit for staffing agencies, seasonal employers, and rapidly growing businesses. Integration with HR systems and applicant tracking platforms enhances its flexibility, allowing screenings to begin directly within existing workflows without requiring a switch between platforms.

BackgroundChecks.com: Strengths and weaknesses

User feedback on BackgroundChecks.com highlights both strong performance and points for improvement. The platform’s intuitive interface and streamlined dashboard make initiating and monitoring screenings simple, even for first-time users. Many customers praise its speed, noting that standard checks often process within hours—an essential advantage for industries with constant hiring demands like retail or staffing.

The company’s focus on compliance and data security further enhances its reputation. Employers appreciate FCRA adherence, strong encryption, and customizable screening packages that avoid unnecessary costs. Many users also report positive experiences with customer support for resolving technical issues or account setup questions.

However, the recurring complaint surrounds inconsistent pricing transparency. Unexpected county-level fees and occasional billing discrepancies have led some employers to view the service as less predictable in terms of cost. Customer support experiences also vary: while some describe helpful, prompt service, others cite long response times—especially for billing disputes. A minority of users report occasional inaccuracies or incomplete results, which can delay hiring and require manual verification, thereby reducing the time-saving benefits.

Overall, BackgroundChecks.com offers a strong combination of efficiency, compliance, and convenience, though its transparency and support consistency leave room for improvement. For businesses focused on affordability and predictable pricing, these issues may outweigh their advantages. Still, for organizations seeking a fast, compliant, and secure screening solution, it remains a competitive option worth consideration.

BackgroundChecks.com: Who would benefit the most using this

BackgroundChecks.com caters to a diverse range of employers seeking an automated approach to background screening. It suits small business owners, HR departments, and large enterprises alike.

Industries with rapid hiring needs — such as hospitality, retail, and staffing — benefit most from its quick turnaround times. Highly regulated sectors, such as healthcare, education, and financial services, also benefit from its compliance-focused architecture and enhanced verification options.

For HR teams managing multiple candidates, batch processing and ATS integration help standardize workflows while minimizing manual data entry. This reduces administrative effort and potential errors.

The platform is equally useful for start-ups and small to mid-sized businesses without dedicated compliance teams, offering guided workflows that simplify legal adherence. However, employers conducting complex criminal background checks or operating across multiple jurisdictions may prefer supplementing their automated system with manual reviews to ensure accuracy.

BackgroundChecks.com stands out as a dependable screening solution that strikes a balance between automation, compliance, and accessibility. Its cloud-based design simplifies the complexities of background verification, enabling employers to complete checks quickly while maintaining compliance with FCRA regulations.

BackgroundChecks.com: Final verdict

By offering customizable screening packages and integrations with HR systems, the platform adapts well to a range of business sizes and industries. However, inconsistencies in pricing transparency and responsiveness to customer support may limit its appeal for organizations seeking absolute cost predictability. For most employers, though, its speed, data security, and compliance-driven structure make it a valuable tool for maintaining trust and safety throughout the hiring process.