Hola VPN vs Hotspot Shield vs 2019

Name: The Bottom Line
Item: Hotspot Shield
Rating: 4.4
Author: Daniel Krohn

After comparing these VPNs, we have a winner!

18 User Reviews

1.5

More Info

298 User Reviews

4.4

More Info

Which VPN is better?

Daniel Krohn
Cybersecurity Researcher

Hotspot Shield and Hola go head-to-head in this match to find out who will be the winner. Hotspot Shield is a popular VPN provider known for its speed and reliability, as well as its Catapult Hydra protocol, which compresses data to improve connection speeds and performance. Hola is a smaller provider that operates in a unique way. Rather than hosting dedicated VPN servers, Hola is a peer-to-peer network that routes user traffic through nodes provided by other users. Although Hola claims this system improves anonymity, they have received criticism for failing to protect users from vulnerabilities and safety concerns on several occasions. On the other hand, Hola is easy to install and use, and can bypass some geoblocks on popular websites. Hotspot Shield offers a free version powered by ads as well as a paid subscription service. Hola is entirely free to use, but you have to pay for the premium service if you don’t want your server to be used as a node for other users. Read on to find out which VPN comes out on top category by category.


Features
1.2
Pricing
3.0
Ease of Use
2.0
Reliability & Support
1.0

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

Rating
Features	1.2	4.0
Pricing	3.0	4.5
Ease of Use	2.0	4.5
Reliability & Support	1.0	4.3

Reviews

Review by our expert

Ariel Hochstadt

Ex-Google, International tech speaker

1.5

Hola is one of the better-known names associated with VPNs. A product of the Israel-based Hola Networks Ltd. this service has amassed over 180 million users since its launch in 2012. It markets itself as the first peer-to-peer VPN on the market, but we don't think it's a good thing.

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Latest positive user review

Danilo

5.0

Really good and reliable VPN client I am very insecure about this post and how reliable this comparison actually is. There will always be people that either love or hate Hola VPN, whereas, this is a very individual decision. Personally, I am rather happy with the app (i am also using it on my desktop from time to time) and i do not share the rating that is displayed on this webpage. I cannot say much about the support side but would give the rest (user functions, friendliness as well as pricing) 5 stars; why?!... because it fits my needs in a very easy and reliable manner.

Latest negative user review

Gabriele

1.0

The worst VPN service ever I paid for the premium membership but for some strange reason my account type was "free", so I've sent an email to fix it and they never answered! Plus to make things worse the following month I got a mail where I've been charged again with the new premium monthly membership...... Better to have nothing to do with this poor service.

Pricing

Starting price

$0.00/ 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

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Starting price	$0.00/ month	$2.99/ month	121332/
Money Back Guarantee (Days)	30	30	0
Number of devices per license	1	5	Unlimited
See Plans & Pricing	See Plans	See Plans

Best VPNs by category

Best VPNs Overall		Hotspot Shield is a well-known VPN provider owned by the large online security company, Anchor Free. In comparison with the relatively smaller Hola VPN, Hotspot Shield has more features, and uses a more advanced level of security and privacy. It is however important to note that this provider keeps partial logs. In order to take best advantage of its fast speeds, good prices, and solid encryption make sure you check out their great coupon deals which are available only for a limited amount of time.
Best VPNs Overall Hotspot Shield is a well-known VPN provider owned by the large online security company, Anchor Free. In comparison with the relatively smaller Hola VPN, Hotspot Shield has more features, and uses a more advanced level of security and privacy. It is however important to note that this provider keeps partial logs. In order to take best advantage of its fast speeds, good prices, and solid encryption make sure you check out their great coupon deals which are available only for a limited amount of time.
Best VPNs for Torrents		Even though both Hotspot Shield and Hola VPN support torrenting, there have been some major privacy concerns with Hola VPN, which means it can be risky to use it for torrenting.
Best VPNs for Torrents Even though both Hotspot Shield and Hola VPN support torrenting, there have been some major privacy concerns with Hola VPN, which means it can be risky to use it for torrenting.
Best VPNs for Windows		Hotspot Shield offers a user-friendly Windows app that’s more efficient, secure, and feature-rich than Hola VPN’s proxy extension. In addition, in terms of privacy, Hotspot Shield is more reliable than Hola VPN.
Best VPNs for Windows Hotspot Shield offers a user-friendly Windows app that’s more efficient, secure, and feature-rich than Hola VPN’s proxy extension. In addition, in terms of privacy, Hotspot Shield is more reliable than Hola VPN.
Best VPNs for Android		Hotspot Shield has a full-on Android app with all the security and privacy features you would need in a VPN which is easy to download, install, and use. Hola VPN relies on a peer-to-peer sharing system for its Android app, which means users' resources are shared among them. This doesn’t sound very privacy-friendly.
Best VPNs for Android Hotspot Shield has a full-on Android app with all the security and privacy features you would need in a VPN which is easy to download, install, and use. Hola VPN relies on a peer-to-peer sharing system for its Android app, which means users' resources are shared among them. This doesn’t sound very privacy-friendly.
Best VPNs for Mac		Hotspot Shield's MacOS app is as reliable as its Windows and Android apps, with all the useful features you could need from a reliable VPN. If you want to use Hola VPN on MacOS, you can only use its browser extension, which is very limited compared to a full-on VPN app.
Best VPNs for Mac Hotspot Shield's MacOS app is as reliable as its Windows and Android apps, with all the useful features you could need from a reliable VPN. If you want to use Hola VPN on MacOS, you can only use its browser extension, which is very limited compared to a full-on VPN app.
Best VPNs for iOS		Hola's an iOS app offers the option to subscribe for the premium paid service from within the app directly, but this app still has the same privacy issues as its apps for other platforms. Hotspot Shield offers a very reliable iOS app with access to all its features and the ability to connect to any of the servers in the Hotspot Shield network.
Best VPNs for iOS Hola's an iOS app offers the option to subscribe for the premium paid service from within the app directly, but this app still has the same privacy issues as its apps for other platforms. Hotspot Shield offers a very reliable iOS app with access to all its features and the ability to connect to any of the servers in the Hotspot Shield network.
Best VPNs for USA		Both Hola VPN and Hotspot Shield have servers in the US. However, Hotspot Shield is capable of bypassing geoblocks to access popular streaming services including Netflix US, whereas Hola VPN can’t.
Best VPNs for USA Both Hola VPN and Hotspot Shield have servers in the US. However, Hotspot Shield is capable of bypassing geoblocks to access popular streaming services including Netflix US, whereas Hola VPN can’t.

The Bottom Line

Daniel Krohn

Cybersecurity Researcher

This VPN’s biggest selling point is its lightning-fast connection speeds, thanks to the proprietary Catapult Hydra protocol. Hotspot Shield also delivers great user experience with attractive native apps that are easy to navigate.

Unfortunately, the servers we tested were unable to access Netflix. We were also concerned about the vendor’s vague privacy policy and logging practices.

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

Winner

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www.hotspotshield.com

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Time to decide which one is best for you

Go with Hola VPN

Go with Hotspot Shield

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