Does Surfshark work for streaming in 2026? Services, TV apps and the end of Smart DNS

Surfshark works for streaming, and best outside Netflix. As of October 2026, it scores 100% with BBC iPlayer (UK) and Hulu (US) in our research, but 64% with Netflix across all libraries. One Surfshark account covers unlimited devices. Below are its scores, TV apps, what replaced Smart DNS on Samsung and LG TVs, prices, ownership and who it suits.

Surfshark is third in our streaming, Fire TV and all-devices rankings, and fifth for Netflix. For Netflix, its 64% across all libraries trails IPVanish (83%), ExpressVPN (78%) and Proton VPN (77%). Unlimited devices and a lower starting price, as an EU visitor saw it on 6 October 2026, keep Surfshark just above NordVPN (69%) there. On Fire TV, ExpressVPN and Proton VPN rank above it, with Vega OS apps that have no missing features listed. Surfshark's Appstore listing says its Vega OS app has no kill switch or Bypasser.

Positions among the seven VPNs we cover, scores out of 10. A VPN with too little research data for a use case is not ranked there. Our research, 19 October 2026.

The score combines how well each VPN works in practice in our research, device compatibility, features, and price and refunds. How we rank explains how rankings work on this site.

Surfshark scores highest with BBC iPlayer and Hulu, and lowest with Netflix

Surfshark works best with BBC iPlayer (UK) and Hulu (US), and with ESPN and Disney+ in the US. Each scores 99% or 100% in our research (October 2026). Prime Video follows at 94%, and Disney+ scores 88% across all libraries, lower than in the US. The two weakest services are HBO Max (75%) and Netflix (64% across all libraries).

Each row below is one service, or one Netflix library, for Surfshark on any device: phone, computer or TV. A library is one country's catalog of a service. A score of 100% means all the recent evidence we gathered says the VPN works. Where a score is lower, part of that evidence reports a block, or a Surfshark server that worked while others did not.

Source: whatworks.tech research, October 2026. Scores cover Surfshark on any device, and 100% means all recent evidence says it works with that service or library. Checked October 2026.

For US sports, Surfshark scores 99% with ESPN in the US in our research (October 2026), and NordVPN 97%. Our research does not have enough data on ESPN for ExpressVPN, Proton VPN or IPVanish, or on Surfshark with Sling TV or YouTube TV yet. Sling's help center says the service streams only within the 50 US states and Puerto Rico.

Surfshark with Netflix: best for Canada, weakest for Japan

Across all Netflix libraries, Surfshark's research score is 64%. That is the lowest of our five streaming picks: IPVanish has 83%, ExpressVPN 78%, Proton VPN 77% and NordVPN 69%. Netflix says VPNs are not supported on its ad plans, whichever VPN you use.

The Netflix country you want matters more than the all-libraries score, which also counts other countries and evidence that named no country:

• Canada: 100%, level with NordVPN and Proton VPN.
• Germany: 87%, close to NordVPN's 88%.
• UK: 77% and US: 76%. Proton VPN has 91% for the UK, and NordVPN 87% for the US.
• France: 75%.
• Australia: 67%, where ExpressVPN, NordVPN and Proton VPN each have 100%.
• Japan: 53%, the lowest score in the table above. Proton VPN has 85%.

Every VPN's scores for each country are in the Netflix library table, which also covers Netflix's own rules on VPNs.

Surfshark's TV apps: Fire OS 7 or later, and a Vega OS app with no kill switch

On Fire TV, Surfshark has an app on both Fire OS and Vega OS, from the Amazon Appstore. Its Android TV app comes from Google Play, and its Apple TV app needs tvOS 17 or later. There is no Surfshark app for Roku, Samsung or LG TVs.

• App available
• App with features the provider lists as missing
• No app
• Not documented by the provider

Source: Surfshark's help pages and app store listings. Checked October 2026.

Surfshark's Fire TV guide asks for Fire OS 7.0 or later since its update on 6 October 2026. To see which system your stick runs, open Settings › My Fire TV › About. AFTVnews says a software version starting with 1 or 2 means Vega OS, not an old Fire OS.

On Vega OS sticks, such as the Fire TV Stick 4K Select, the Surfshark app has only core VPN functions. Its Appstore listing says the kill switch, Bypasser and Surfshark's CleanWeb feature are unavailable on Vega OS, and that WireGuard is the only connection method (protocol). A kill switch blocks all traffic if the VPN drops. Bypasser is Surfshark's name for split tunneling, which sends chosen apps or sites around the VPN.

The Fire TV page compares what other Vega OS apps leave out, so you can check before you buy a stick or a plan.

Surfshark on Samsung and LG TVs: no app, and no Smart DNS since February 2026

On a Samsung or LG TV, Surfshark works only through a streaming stick, your router or a Windows PC. Surfshark says Samsung's Tizen system blocks VPN apps on most of its TVs, and LG's webOS TVs do not support them on their own. Its Smart DNS, the other option for these TVs, ended on 2 February 2026.

Surfshark points Samsung, LG and Roku owners to three routes:

Source: Surfshark help pages, GL.iNet and router makers' help pages. Checked October 2026.

Which route to choose:

• If you are not sure, use a streaming device plugged into the TV. Only this route runs Surfshark's own app on the TV, so you pick the country from the remote. Every plan allows unlimited devices, so you need no extra plan.
• For the kill switch and Bypasser, pick an Android TV device or a Fire OS stick, whose app Surfshark says works like its Android TV app. The Fire TV Stick 4K Select, HD (2026) and 4K 3rd Gen (2026) run Vega OS, where Surfshark's app has neither.
• Use the router to cover every TV at home at once, though Surfshark warns you lose most app features. Some ASUS and TP-Link routers let you pick which devices use the VPN.

Removing Surfshark Smart DNS from a TV, and what replaces it

Surfshark's Smart DNS needed no VPN app: you typed its DNS addresses into the TV's network settings, so the TV asked Surfshark's servers how to find streaming sites. Surfshark retired it citing limited demand.

Another provider's Smart DNS is not a like-for-like swap. NordVPN SmartDNS is still offered as part of SmartPlay, but NordVPN lists eight services for it, mostly US ones, and names Netflix only as "Netflix Originals". Its SmartDNS TV guide covers LG TVs, not Samsung.

Private Internet Access offers Smart DNS by country. Our research has no score for any provider's Smart DNS. Sources we read give reasons it works less often than it used to: providers have dropped it, and some devices ignore the DNS you set.

Unlimited devices are Surfshark's main streaming feature in 2026

Surfshark's main streaming feature is the number of devices: Starter, One and One+ all allow unlimited devices at once. Among our picks, IPVanish also has no device limit for personal use. ExpressVPN allows 10 to 14 by plan, and NordVPN and Proton VPN Plus allow 10.

Source: Surfshark help and pricing pages, Amazon Appstore listing; IP-data definitions for the dedicated IP note. Checked October 2026.

Pick a Surfshark server by service, and try others when one is blocked

Surfshark's Fire TV guide says to pick the server by service, such as any US location for a US service. Its Netflix help says to try other servers when one is blocked. The steps below follow both:

1. Install Surfshark on the device you watch on and sign in.
2. Pick the location for the service you want to watch.
3. Optional: open the IP leak test and DNS leak test on Surfshark's website. The IP leak test should show a Surfshark server address, and the DNS leak test one DNS server (the service that looks up web addresses) from the same location.
4. On a Fire OS or Android TV device, turn on Settings › VPN settings › Auto connect, so Surfshark connects whenever the TV goes online.
5. Open the streaming app and start a title.
6. If the service blocks you, try other servers. Surfshark's Netflix help also suggests restarting a console or smart TV.

To compare Surfshark's server menu with other apps on Fire TV, see choosing a server on a Firestick. On a Vega OS stick, we found no Surfshark setup guide, only troubleshooting articles. They say to reinstall the app from the Appstore, or to try another server or the Fastest server.

For Netflix, Surfshark's help (updated 22 April 2026) lists more fixes for the proxy error, the message Netflix shows when it spots a VPN:

• clear the browser cache, or reinstall the Netflix app;
• run a DNS leak test;
• try the Netflix website;
• switch to another Netflix profile. Surfshark says the error can stick to the profile you used, and that the flag should clear on its own within 24 to 48 hours.

If Netflix still shows its VPN error, the full E106 fix list puts these steps in order with other providers' advice.

Surfshark's help points to your home country, and its store listing to travel

Surfshark's help page and its store listing point in different directions. Its Netflix help tells you to connect to your "home country's" server and to follow the terms of the services you use. Its Amazon Appstore listing invites you to "Travel the world, virtually" with 100+ server locations.

Both are Surfshark's own positions, and neither describes what happens when you connect. For that, see the research scores above: 100% with BBC iPlayer (UK), for example, but 53% with Netflix Japan.

Surfshark prices, the 30-day refund and a 3-device free trial

Surfshark sells three plans, Starter, One and One+, and all three allow unlimited devices. The table shows each plan as an EU visitor saw it on 6 October 2026, on the 24-month term with 3 extra months. The renewal price was not captured, so check it at checkout before you pay.

Introductory prices shown to a visitor in the EU on 11 October 2026. VAT may apply.

Surfshark offers a 30-day money-back guarantee on purchases from its website. The website also has a 7-day free trial for 12- and 24-month plans, but the trial covers only 3 devices. A Dedicated IP costs extra.

Surfshark says it merged with Nord Security, which also makes NordVPN

Surfshark says it merged in 2022 with Nord Security, which also makes NordVPN, and that it is based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Our table of VPN owners shows every owner we found for the seven VPNs we cover. For streaming, the two VPNs still differ in devices, Smart DNS and research scores:

Source: whatworks.tech research, October 2026; Surfshark and NordVPN help and pricing pages. Checked October 2026.

Surfshark suits homes with many TVs, and other picks suit Netflix and HBO Max

Surfshark fits a household that streams on many devices and watches BBC iPlayer (UK), Prime Video, or Hulu, ESPN and Disney+ in the US. Our Prime Video VPN ranking compares Surfshark with four other VPNs.

ExpressVPN and NordVPN, the two VPNs above Surfshark in our streaming ranking, both score higher with Netflix and HBO Max. Across all Netflix libraries they have 78% and 69%, against Surfshark's 64%. With HBO Max, both have 100%, against 75%.

Proton VPN, just behind Surfshark for streaming, also scores higher with Netflix (77%) and HBO Max (95%), but lower with Disney+ (73%, against 88%) and Prime Video (85%, against 94%). Surfshark scores higher than IPVanish, fifth for streaming, with BBC iPlayer (UK), at 100% against 62%, and Prime Video, at 94% against 67%.

Source: whatworks.tech research, October 2026; provider help, pricing pages and Appstore listings. Checked October 2026.

If one of the weaker rows is yours, compare Proton VPN's streaming profile and ExpressVPN's streaming profile, which show their apps, features and scores.

Where to go next

• Fire TV Stick picks in ranking order: how Surfshark compares on Fire OS and Vega OS sticks.
• Netflix's rules and the VPN companies' positions: Netflix's terms next to each provider's help page.
• Step-by-step Firestick setup: installing and signing in on both Fire TV systems.
• The best VPN for streaming: every pick, with research scores across services and dated prices.
• VPN guides for streaming and TV: our top three VPNs for streaming and TV, with Surfshark third.