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Cybersecurity · head to head

Surfshark vs Syft

Surfshark logo

Surfshark

Cybersecurity

Secure your digital life

From
$1.78/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Syft logo

Syft

Cybersecurity

Generates a software bill of materials from images, filesystems and archives

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Syft has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Surfshark smaller server network (4,500+ servers) compared to larger competitors like NordVPN; Syft lockfile parsing can drop packages silently. An open issue filed in August 2026 reports the yarn v1 cataloguer returning 118 of 745 packages with no error raised, which means a complete bill of materials and an 84 percent incomplete one look identical to the caller.
  • They diverge on capability: Surfshark covers Unlimited devices, Syft covers Multi-format output.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Surfshark and Syft actually diverge.

Attributes where Surfshark and Syft differ
AttributeSurfsharkSyft
Starting price$1.78/monthFree
Pricing modelUnknownOpen source, no licence fee
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWindows, macOS, iOS, Android, LinuxmacOS, Linux, Windows, Docker
Founded2018Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Cybersecurity).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Surfshark

  • Unlimited devices
  • CleanWeb ad blocker
  • MultiHop
  • Camouflage Mode
  • NoBorders mode
  • Kill Switch
  • Bypasser split tunneling
  • Rotating IP

Only in Syft

  • Multi-format output
  • Broad ecosystem coverage
  • Binary classifiers
  • In-toto attestations
  • Library and CLI
  • Pairs with Grype

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Surfshark

  • Vpnnot Syft
  • Privacynot Syft
  • Security Suitenot Syft

Syft

  • Producing a bill of materials for a customer or regulator that requires onenot Surfshark
  • Feeding an inventory into a vulnerability scanner rather than scanning images directlynot Surfshark
  • Recording what shipped in a build so a future disclosure can be answered quicklynot Surfshark
  • Public sector work where an SBOM is a contractual deliverablenot Surfshark

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Surfshark

  • Smaller server network (4,500+ servers) compared to larger competitors like NordVPN
  • Lower brand recognition compared to established VPN providers
  • Limited customer service availability in some time zones

Syft

  • Lockfile parsing can drop packages silently. An open issue filed in August 2026 reports the yarn v1 cataloguer returning 118 of 745 packages with no error raised, which means a complete bill of materials and an 84 percent incomplete one look identical to the caller.
  • Fidelity varies sharply by ecosystem. Conan for C and C++, Haskell and Terraform get cataloguer support with no licence data, no dependency relationships and no file ownership, so a C and C++ shop gets the least from it.
  • Binary classification yields no licence or dependency metadata, and vendored or statically linked code is exactly where supply chain risk hides, so the blind spot and the risk overlap.
  • Incorrect CPE values and CPE collisions are recorded as open issues, and since Grype matches on CPE and PURL, an inventory error becomes a false negative in the security report downstream.
  • An inventory is not a risk assessment. Even a perfect bill of materials says a vulnerable version is present, never that the vulnerable function is called, and the triage burden lands entirely on the reader.

Pricing, plan by plan

Surfshark

$1.78/month
  • Starter$1.78/month
    • Unlimited simultaneous connections
    • 4,500+ servers
    • Basic VPN
  • One$3.59/month
    • VPN
    • Antivirus
    • Personal data leak alert
  • One+$4/month
    • All One features
    • Incogi included

Syft

Free
  • SyftFree
    • Apache-2.0
    • No usage limits
    • Community support
  • Anchore Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Policy enforcement and reporting
    • Federal and commercial tiers
    • Pricing not published, quoted on request

Which should you pick?

Choose Surfshark if

  • You need unlimited devices.
  • You work on Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Linux.
  • You also want cleanweb ad blocker.
Surfshark review

Choose Syft if

  • You need multi-format output.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on macOS, Linux, Windows, Docker.
  • You also want broad ecosystem coverage.
Syft review

Questions people ask

Is Surfshark or Syft better?
Neither clearly leads. Surfshark starts at $1.78/month and Syft at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Surfshark or Syft?
Syft has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $1.78/month for Surfshark and Free for Syft.
Does Surfshark or Syft run on more platforms?
Surfshark runs on Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Linux. Syft runs on macOS, Linux, Windows, Docker.
Can I use Syft for free?
Yes. Syft has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Surfshark starts at $1.78/month.
What is Surfshark best used for?
Surfshark is most often used for vpn, privacy, security suite. Of those, vpn and privacy are not what Syft is typically brought in for.
What can Surfshark do that Syft cannot?
Surfshark covers Unlimited devices, CleanWeb ad blocker, MultiHop, Camouflage Mode. Syft covers Multi-format output, Broad ecosystem coverage, Binary classifiers, In-toto attestations.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Surfshark: Does Surfshark maintain a no-logs policy?

Yes. Surfshark does not log browsing history, visited IP addresses, bandwidth usage, or network traffic. This policy was independently verified by Deloitte in 2025.

Source
Syft: Does Syft find vulnerabilities?

No. It produces an inventory. Grype, from the same company, matches that inventory against vulnerability feeds. They are separate tools and the distinction is frequently lost.

Surfshark: How many simultaneous device connections does Surfshark allow?

Surfshark allows unlimited simultaneous connections on all subscription plans, enabling protection of every device in a household with a single subscription.

Source
Syft: Does anything in the Anchore stack do reachability analysis?

No. Neither Syft, Grype nor the commercial Anchore platform performs call graph or reachability analysis, so none of them tells you whether a vulnerable code path is actually invoked.

Syft: Is it a CNCF or OpenSSF project?

No. It is single-vendor open source owned by Anchore, with no foundation governance. That is a different licence risk profile from Sigstore.

Syft: What does Anchore Enterprise cost?

Not published. The pricing page is contact-sales only, with named but unpriced commercial and federal tiers.

Syft: How do I know my SBOM is complete?

You largely cannot, which is the honest answer. Silent partial parsing is a known open defect, so a bill of materials used for compliance should be spot-checked against a known dependency list.

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