We review vendors based on rigorous testing and research but also take into account your feedback and our affiliate commission with providers. Some providers are owned by our parent company.
Learn more
vpnMentor was established in 2014 to review VPN services and cover privacy-related stories. Today, our team of hundreds of cybersecurity researchers, writers, and editors continues to help readers fight for their online freedom in partnership with Kape Technologies PLC, which also owns the following products: Holiday.com, ExpressVPN, CyberGhost, and Private Internet Access which may be ranked and reviewed on this website. The reviews published on vpnMentor are believed to be accurate as of the date of each article, and written according to our strict reviewing standards that prioritize professional and honest examination of the reviewer, taking into account the technical capabilities and qualities of the product together with its commercial value for users. The rankings and reviews we publish may also take into consideration the common ownership mentioned above, and affiliate commissions we earn for purchases through links on our website. We do not review all VPN providers and information is believed to be accurate as of the date of each article.
Advertising Disclosure

vpnMentor was established in 2014 to review VPN services and cover privacy-related stories. Today, our team of hundreds of cybersecurity researchers, writers, and editors continues to help readers fight for their online freedom in partnership with Kape Technologies PLC, which also owns the following products: Holiday.com, ExpressVPN, CyberGhost, and Private Internet Access which may be ranked and reviewed on this website. The reviews published on vpnMentor are believed to be accurate as of the date of each article, and written according to our strict reviewing standards that prioritize professional and honest examination of the reviewer, taking into account the technical capabilities and qualities of the product together with its commercial value for users. The rankings and reviews we publish may also take into consideration the common ownership mentioned above, and affiliate commissions we earn for purchases through links on our website. We do not review all VPN providers and information is believed to be accurate as of the date of each article.

Hotspot Shield vs Hola VPN: Which VPN Should You Pick in 2025?

Table of Contents
    Our Score: 9.1/10
    %s User Reviews
    More Info
    Our Score: 5.0/10
    %s User Reviews
    More Info

    Is Hotspot Shield or Hola VPN better for price, speed, streaming, gaming, and privacy?

    Author Image Daniel Krohn
    Daniel Krohn Cybersecurity Researcher
    Published on January 07, 2019

    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.

    Our Score

    Features 9.1/10
    Pricing 8.8/10
    Ease of Use 9.2/10
    Reliability & Support 9.4/10
    Features 5.0/10
    Pricing 4.0/10
    Ease of Use 6.4/10
    Reliability & Support 4.8/10

    Reviews

    Review by our expert
    Author Image Lawrence Wachira
    Lawrence Wachira Editor
    Our Score: 9.1/10

    Hotspot Shield is a VPN that’s undergone many changes recently. After dealing with several controversies, it overhauled its logging policy and is under new management. So, has it gotten better? My global team and I tested everything it offers to see if Hotspot Shield (HSS) is safe. We fully explored its logging policy and found out if its security features can prevent data leaks. We also tes...

    Read all
    Latest positive user review
    H
    Howard Rosenbrook
    10.0/10
    Had for 3 years no problem

    Kept cable providers off my ass just dont like that you cant pay a week or so early and dont like the ... auto renewal i should beable to pay my bill on my own when i want as long as im not late it shouldnt be a problem with your companyMore

    Latest negative user review
    A
    Alt
    2.0/10
    Blocked by Real-Debrid on just about every us city and nearly all countries

    Easy to connect speed pretty good multiple platforms not great from streaming.. which is where you nee... d the speed. Nord vpn and Express are both cooperative providers with real-debrid meaning no connection problems. Even if you do find a server that connects frequently this is blocked during streaming.More

    Read the full review
    Review by our expert
    Author Image Akash Deep
    Akash Deep Cybersecurity Researcher
    Our Score: 5.0/10

    Hola VPN promises speed and security, so we thoroughly tested its free and Premium versions. Overall, its peer-to-peer network and privacy practices are concerning, and there are some restrictions. Do you know what the time limit on Hola VPN’s free offer is? Well, it doesn’t specify on its site. But it only gave us 30 minutes of use each hour. After extensive testing, we found that Hola VP...

    Read all
    Latest positive user review
    D
    Danilo
    10.0/10
    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.More

    Latest negative user review
    M
    Max Johnson
    2.0/10
    Free does not offer conf files for WireGuard client

    VPN is of little value if it cannot BOTH provide WireGuard conf files and offer residential IP address... es Because it does not BOTH provide WireGuard conf files and offer residential IP addresses it is of low value.More

    Read the full review

    Pricing

    Starting price $7.99/month
    Money Back Guarantee (Days) 45 Days
    Number of devices per license 10 devices
    Starting price $2.99/month
    Money Back Guarantee (Days) 14 Days
    Number of devices per license 10 devices

    Best VPN by Category

    Best VPN 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 VPN 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 VPN 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 VPN 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 VPN 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 VPN 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 VPN 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

    See Offers & Pricing

    Final Verdict — A Great Choice for All Online Activities Hotspot Shield has multiple features that really make it stand out. I was impressed with its responsive customer support, robust security features, and easy-to-use apps. It’s also a great option for safely accessing popular streaming platforms in HD from anywhere. Plus, its dedicated app for Fire devices — a rare find among VPNs — is another thing I really loved. There are only a few small changes it could make to be one of the very best. Some of its distant servers can be slow, and I really hope it gets its logging policy audited in the future. It would also be nice if it offered smart DNS to make it easy to avoid ISP throttling on more devices. Otherwise, it’s a VPN I recommend giving a try. It’s easy to test out its free version. But, to see all

    More Info

    Time to decide which one is best for you

    Go with Hotspot Shield
    Go with Hola VPN
    Or click here to check best VPNs, rated by {{review_count}} users

    FAQ

    Is Hotspot Shield better than Hola VPN?

    Yes, Hotspot Shield is better overall than Hola VPN. It has 1800 servers in 80 countries, fast speeds, and impressive security features.

    Best of all, you can take advantage of its latest discount and get it for only $7.99 a month.

    What should I keep in mind when choosing between Hotspot Shield and Hola VPN?

    When choosing a VPN, you want to pay close attention to its number of servers, overall speed score, pricing, and the number of simultaneous device connections it offers. While some VPNs provide a flawless online experience, others will really slow you down.

    If you’re ready to commit, then Hotspot Shield may be perfect for you due to its performance during the tests .

    Is Hotspot Shield faster than Hola VPN?

    Yes, Hotspot Shield is faster than Hola VPN. Since your VPN is your computer’s main connection to the internet, you need to use a service that won’t slow you down by more than 20%.

    If speeds are important to you, then I recommend you take a look at ExpressVPN. It’s the fastest service out there, provides unlimited bandwidth, and you won’t experience any slowdowns even when you connect to the other side of the planet. You can try it out risk-free. It’s backed by a 30*-day money-back guarantee*, so you can get a full refund if you don’t like it.

    Do Hotspot Shield or Hola VPN offer any deals?

    Both Hotspot Shield and Hola VPN offer deals on occasion. You can check out the current coupons and discounts here. However, ExpressVPN has the best deals. Right now, you can get a 61% discount and up to 3 months for free with a new subscription.

    [*] Please note that ExpressVPN's generous money-back guarantee applies to first-time customers only.
    We review vendors based on rigorous testing and research but also take into account your feedback and our affiliate commission with providers. Some providers are owned by our parent company.
    Learn more
    vpnMentor was established in 2014 to review VPN services and cover privacy-related stories. Today, our team of hundreds of cybersecurity researchers, writers, and editors continues to help readers fight for their online freedom in partnership with Kape Technologies PLC, which also owns the following products: Holiday.com, ExpressVPN, CyberGhost, and Private Internet Access which may be ranked and reviewed on this website. The reviews published on vpnMentor are believed to be accurate as of the date of each article, and written according to our strict reviewing standards that prioritize professional and honest examination of the reviewer, taking into account the technical capabilities and qualities of the product together with its commercial value for users. The rankings and reviews we publish may also take into consideration the common ownership mentioned above, and affiliate commissions we earn for purchases through links on our website. We do not review all VPN providers and information is believed to be accurate as of the date of each article.

    About the Author

    Technical writer with a passion for online privacy.