CyberGhost VPN vs Hotspot Shield vs 2020

Item: CyberGhost VPN
Rating: 4.8
Author: Catherine Ablett

After comparing these VPNs, we have a winner!

1566 User Reviews

4.8

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307 User Reviews

4.4

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Which VPN is better?

Catherine Ablett
Cybersecurity Researcher

CyberGhost VPN and Hotspot Shield both offer users a range of great features and benefits, however, their approaches to privacy are very different. While CyberGhost has a strict no logging policy, Hotspot Shield has been the subject of an investigation into its data collection methods and is recognized as keeping partial logs. When it comes to how secure your connections are, CyberGhost offers military grade 256-bit AES encryption, IP and DNS leak protection, and a kill switch. Hotspot Shield does not offer a kill switch and its encryption is either 256-bit or 128-bit AES depending on the operating system you are using. It does however, run OpenVPN, which is more stable and secure than either PPTP or LT2P. While Hotspot Shield does have more server locations than CyberGhost at the current time, CyberGhost boast around five times more servers. CyberGhost also offers users two more simultaneous connections per license than Hotspot Shield, with seven to its five.


Features
4.7
Pricing
4.7
Ease of Use
5.0
Reliability & Support
4.8

Features
4.0
Pricing
4.5
Ease of Use
4.5
Reliability & Support
4.3

Rating
Features	4.7	4.0
Pricing	4.7	4.5
Ease of Use	5.0	4.5
Reliability & Support	4.8	4.3

Reviews

Review by our expert

Kate Veale

Cybersecurity Researcher

4.8

CyberGhost (with its top-secret hidden discount page) calls itself a "truly complete VPN solution". I put the service to the test and examined CyberGhost and the rumors surrounding it. I'm based in Australia, so my local internet is both slower and subject to more censorship than countries like the US. I've tested lots of services to find a VPN that will give me unrestricted internet access without

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Latest positive user review

Denis

5.0

Great service. Thanks for such a great service and app. App works fine on MacOS, iOS. No issues so far. The only strange thing I saw is an iOS notification about missing Internet connection even when VPN was not activated for hours. It may appear from time to time, but does not look very noisy.

Latest negative user review

Michael

1.0

Great vpn and fast speeds but I CANNOT stand when every time you start computer and it loads or just connect wifi or lan, IT REQUIRES YOU TO CLICK IT AND OFF IT BEFORE IT GOES OFF SCREEN. THIS ISSUE ALONE MAKES ME HATE TURNING ON MY MACS.

Pricing

Starting price

$2.75/ month

Money Back Guarantee (Days)

Number of devices per license

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Starting price

$2.99/ month

Money Back Guarantee (Days)

Number of devices per license

See Plans


Starting price	$2.75/ month	$2.99/ month	121332/
Money Back Guarantee (Days)	45	30	0
Number of devices per license	7	5	Unlimited
See Plans & Pricing	See Plans	See Plans

Best VPNs by category

Best VPNs Overall		CyberGhost VPN has the greater number of servers, offers greater security with a kill switch, IP and DNS leak protection, and 256-bit AES encryption throughout. Both offer fast and reliable connections with unlimited bandwidth and can be used on all major operating systems. Both offer a 45-day money-back guarantee. CyberGhost and Hotspot Shield can both be used to access geo-restricted content, including Netflix, however, CyberGhost does run into problems with BBC iPlayer. Hotspot Shield’s users benefit from the vendors Catapult Hydra data compression technology; however, these need to be weighed against its logging policies and previous investigations into its use of data. You can get CyberGhost for a great price if you use one of these coupon codes.
Best VPNs Overall CyberGhost VPN has the greater number of servers, offers greater security with a kill switch, IP and DNS leak protection, and 256-bit AES encryption throughout. Both offer fast and reliable connections with unlimited bandwidth and can be used on all major operating systems. Both offer a 45-day money-back guarantee. CyberGhost and Hotspot Shield can both be used to access geo-restricted content, including Netflix, however, CyberGhost does run into problems with BBC iPlayer. Hotspot Shield’s users benefit from the vendors Catapult Hydra data compression technology; however, these need to be weighed against its logging policies and previous investigations into its use of data. You can get CyberGhost for a great price if you use one of these coupon codes.
Best VPNs for Torrents		CyberGhost allows torrenting across specific servers and is registered in Romania, which does not have very strict censorship or surveillance laws currently. Hotspot Shield does not allow torrenting / P2P on any of its servers.
Best VPNs for Torrents CyberGhost allows torrenting across specific servers and is registered in Romania, which does not have very strict censorship or surveillance laws currently. Hotspot Shield does not allow torrenting / P2P on any of its servers.
Best VPNs for Windows		Both CyberGhost and Hotspot Shield work well with the Windows operating system and offer easy to download and install apps. Both offer unlimited bandwidth and stable connections. CyberGhost’s technology allows users to connect to the best server for their needs by setting up a distinct profile based on their main reason for using a VPN. Hotspot Shield users benefit from faster speeds through the use of Catapult Hydra technology. However, Hotspot Shield users have no live chat customer services option and user guides provided on the website are unclear.
Best VPNs for Windows Both CyberGhost and Hotspot Shield work well with the Windows operating system and offer easy to download and install apps. Both offer unlimited bandwidth and stable connections. CyberGhost’s technology allows users to connect to the best server for their needs by setting up a distinct profile based on their main reason for using a VPN. Hotspot Shield users benefit from faster speeds through the use of Catapult Hydra technology. However, Hotspot Shield users have no live chat customer services option and user guides provided on the website are unclear.
Best VPNs for Android		Both services work on Android and the app from Hotspot Shield allows users to automatically connect to a proxy browser. CyberGhost’s users benefit from excellent speeds, military grade encryption, and a 7-day free trial on this operating system.
Best VPNs for Android Both services work on Android and the app from Hotspot Shield allows users to automatically connect to a proxy browser. CyberGhost’s users benefit from excellent speeds, military grade encryption, and a 7-day free trial on this operating system.
Best VPNs for Mac		CyberGhost and Hotspot shield both offer apps for the Mac operating system. Both offer fast connection speeds and Hotspot Shield users have the additional benefit of Catapult Hydra technology to improve the speeds they can achieve. CyberGhost users, however, benefit from better security, strict no logging policies, and better customer services.
Best VPNs for Mac CyberGhost and Hotspot shield both offer apps for the Mac operating system. Both offer fast connection speeds and Hotspot Shield users have the additional benefit of Catapult Hydra technology to improve the speeds they can achieve. CyberGhost users, however, benefit from better security, strict no logging policies, and better customer services.
Best VPNs for iOS		Both vendors provide native apps for iOS that are simple to set up and use. CyberGhost users have the additional benefit of a 7-day free trial for this operating system.
Best VPNs for iOS Both vendors provide native apps for iOS that are simple to set up and use. CyberGhost users have the additional benefit of a 7-day free trial for this operating system.
Best VPNs for USA		Both vendors have servers throughout the USA and both are able to bypass geo-restrictions to stream content, including US Netflix. However, CyberGhost users have the additional benefit of strict no logging policies and DNS leak protection.
Best VPNs for USA Both vendors have servers throughout the USA and both are able to bypass geo-restrictions to stream content, including US Netflix. However, CyberGhost users have the additional benefit of strict no logging policies and DNS leak protection.

The Bottom Line

Catherine Ablett

Cybersecurity Researcher

Winner

Visit website »

www.cyberghostvpn.com

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Both vendors offer fast speeds, stable connections, and easy to use apps for all major operating systems. However, CyberGhost offers the better security with 256-bit AES encryption, an automatic kill switch, strict no logging policy, and IP and DNS leak protection. Combined with its superior customer services approach, including live chat options and easy to follow guides, it is the clear winner between the two vendors.

Interestingly, if you compare CyberGhost VPN with NordVPN, which is our top ranked vpn, you'll see that CyberGhost VPN can learn a lot from NordVPN. Compare CyberGhost VPN with NordVPN

Time to decide which one is best for you

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