Quick answer: compare the amount charged today, the number of months it buys, and the next renewal bill. A large advertised discount alone cannot establish the best deal for your needs.
Offers checked on 1 November
These are observations from the providers’ public pricing pages on 1 November 2026, not guaranteed checkout quotes. Currency, location, taxes, account eligibility and selected plan can change the result. The EUR and USD figures below are deliberately not converted or ranked against each other. VAT may apply to the NordVPN and Surfshark examples.
| Provider / plan | Initial total | Coverage | Monthly equivalent | Renewal shown |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NordVPN Basic | €94.23 | 27 months | €3.49/month | €139.08/year |
| ProtonVPN VPN Plus | $83.76 | 24 months | $3.49/month | $83.88 every 12 months |
| Surfshark Starter | $67.23 | 27 months | $2.49/month | Not established in the retrieved pricing page; check checkout |
Surfshark’s page labels a Black Friday promotion. The NordVPN and Proton examples above are current displayed introductory offers; we have not established that they are their final Black Friday offers or historical lows.
Compare the full subscription cost
The monthly equivalent is the initial bill divided by the included months. It usually describes a prepaid commitment, rather than a monthly payment you can stop after one month. For the observed Proton example, $83.76 divided by 24 is $3.49; the advertised renewal is a separate $83.88 charge every 12 months.
Compare offers in the same checkout currency and for the same period you actually need. Record tax, paid extras and the renewal date. Bonus months can reduce the introductory equivalent while leaving the later annual bill unchanged.
A subscription you will use for only a short trip may cost less overall on a shorter term even when its monthly rate is higher. Do the arithmetic for your intended use before committing to years of service.
Which plan should you investigate?
Shortlist by requirements first: supported devices, the apps you use, privacy evidence and features included in the exact plan. Avoid paying for a security bundle solely to obtain a larger discount badge.
- NordVPN vs Proton VPN: review the documented differences before choosing a subscription.
- NordVPN vs Surfshark: check the plan and ownership context as well as price.
- Full comparison matrix: inspect the linked evidence and its dates. Historical scores are not a fresh performance measurement.
Before you buy
- Open the final checkout and confirm the product, billing currency, initial total and included months.
- Read the renewal amount and billing interval; save the terms you agreed to.
- Check whether an offer applies to existing subscribers, and how it interacts with your remaining subscription. Do not assume offers stack.
- Read the refund policy for the purchase channel you are using. A guarantee headline is not the complete policy.
- Test the features and devices you need promptly within any applicable refund window.
We have not verified cashback payouts, unlimited deal stacking or a “free VPN after cashback” route. Those claims from the earlier version of this guide have been removed.
Sources and update policy
- NordVPN official pricing — checked 1 November 2026.
- ProtonVPN official pricing — checked 1 November 2026.
- Surfshark official pricing — checked 1 November 2026.
This update replaces the older speculative deal table and unsupported historical-low claims with dated public-page observations. We have not bought these plans or independently verified every checkout variation. Prices can change after this check; the final checkout and contract govern your purchase.