ExpressVPN vs Surfshark

AI visibility head-to-head, VPN Services — run #70 (2026-08-01). Current scores are statistically indistinguishable (overlapping 95% CIs).

ExpressVPN

38.7

95% CI35.9–41.6

Industry rank#2

perplexity29.7

google-search34.5

openai-search35.4

openai38.9

anthropic33.9

google41.8

Surfshark

38.5

95% CI35.5–40.9

Industry rank#3

perplexity36.7

google-search42.2

openai-search31.6

openai38.2

anthropic30.1

google42.4

By question type

Share of answers mentioning each brand, split by the intent behind the question. The panel asks 10 prompts of each type, so a lead here shows where one brand wins — not just that it wins overall.

Question type	ExpressVPN	Surfshark
Recommendations “What's the best option for me?”	79%	71%
Comparisons “How do the top options stack up?”	24%	21%
Ready to buy “Which one should I actually get?”	39%	76%
Problem-solving “I have this problem — what fixes it?”	23%	17%
Informational “How does this kind of product work?”	7%	5%

Bold marks the higher point estimate; the headline verdict above uses non-overlapping confidence intervals. Methodology

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