Can I get a static IP with Surfshark?

Is it safe to use a VPN with a static IP?

I've read on multiple forums that it is unsafe to use a VPN with a static IP.

What is the danger? I'm asking because, for my project, I need to access a secure site (with a dynamic IP) from my home computer. What is the danger? The danger is that the static IP won't change when you are connected. So if a system admin decides to block the static IP and assign you a different one when you have an active VPN session, they could do this at any time. This isn't a real danger, but it does demonstrate that there are some downsides.

The term "safe" is a bit ambiguous. Some people will argue that a static IP should not be used with VPN. Other people will argue that it's a very safe configuration. I've seen both sides make valid arguments.

It's safe in that it doesn't introduce new risks that aren't already present. The main risks are that you may miss network traffic that's flowing over a particular IP. You can mitigate this by having a very robust network setup, and it also means that you won't be able to use port forwarding or DMZ/internal network traffic.

It's not safe in that it may allow a system admin to detect your activity and shut down your access at will.

Is Surfshark dedicated IP worth it?

I currently have a dedicated IP on my router and use Surfshark as my DNS/DHCP for my home network.

My question is, am I going to see any performance increase or loss of speed with Surfshark? I'm just wondering if it's worth paying for a dedicated IP on my router.

Surfshark is definitely better for users with static IP's. The only real problem I had with the dedicated IP is that Surfshark blocks you from configuring your primary DNS as well. So I had to change back to the router's DNS (which was not a huge problem because the router's DNS was fast anyways). But yeah, in general, it's better than relying on the DHCP service.

I've never seen a performance increase or loss of speed. I think the only time it's noticeable is on a slow connection where it's taking longer for the packet to be delivered, and you can see that you're using a different IP.

I used to use a dedicated IP and never had any performance issues with it, so I don't think I'll see any noticeable difference. I've used Surfshark for over a year now. Never noticed a speed difference between it and my ISP's DNS. It's the same speed as my ISP DNS.

But, I don't think you will notice a speed difference because they are using the same servers. They probably just send the packets to different IPs. Surfshark does block you from configuring your primary DNS as well, but if you run your own DNS, you can just use a DNS that supports CNAMEs.

I'd say it's worth it if you want to have control over what IPs your users get and can configure your router's DNS. If you don't use it, you'll be fine without it. Just make sure to point your DNS to Surfshark's servers if you don't use them.

There are also services like Google's DNS, which will give you multiple DNS servers. No you're wrong. You can use google's dns at the same time as surfing with surfshark. You can use other dns's too. You just have to make sure surfshark's dns servers are listed first in your resolv.