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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.
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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.

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

Table of Contents
    Our Score: 9.0/10
    %s User Reviews
    More Info
    Our Score: 9.1/10
    %s User Reviews
    More Info

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

    Author Image Daniel Krohn
    Daniel Krohn Cybersecurity Researcher
    Published on August 04, 2017

    Hotspot Shield and VyprVPN are two providers that offer unique proprietary features to enhance security and user experience. VyprVPN adds an extra layer of security with its Chameleon feature - a tactic to defeat VPN-blocking by scrambling OpenVPN packet metadata. Meanwhile, Hotspot Shield uses Catapult Hydra, their own transport protocol based on the SSL library to speed up their service. Hotspot Shield is the cheaper of the two premium packages and offers a 45-day money-back guarantee. Meanwhile, VyprVPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. Both Hotspot Shield and VyprVPN offer 5 simultaneous connections to share across devices and have applications for all major computer and smartphone platforms.

    Our Score

    Features 9.0/10
    Pricing 7.6/10
    Ease of Use 9.2/10
    Reliability & Support 9.8/10
    Features 9.1/10
    Pricing 8.8/10
    Ease of Use 9.2/10
    Reliability & Support 9.4/10

    Reviews

    Review by our expert
    Author Image Matthew Amos
    Matthew Amos Senior Editor
    Our Score: 9.0/10

    VyprVPN has been one of the best providers in the game for years. But, its parent company, Golden Frog, was recently purchased by a US entity. With VyprVPN no longer under Swiss jurisdiction, is it still one of the leading providers? After extensive testing, I still rank VyprVPN as a top choice. Even though it’s owned by a US company, it has a proven privacy policy that shows it doesn’t lo...

    Read all
    Latest positive user review
    G
    Geico Lizy
    10.0/10
    Chameleon is Amazing

    I tried CyberGhost, Express, and Nord VPN over the last month. None of these were able to get by my in... stitution's Fortigate Firewall doing Deep Packet Inspection scanning. They are using some sort of Obfuscation technique but they were not good enough. I read about VyprVpn's Chameleon protocol. YES... It worked !!!! I do have to sacrifice speed but at least I get outside access. When I am out of that environment, I switch back to Wireguard and the speed increases 300%. The price is great, their Live chat was great when I questioned their own DNS servers. They were easy to reach with the chat and took the time to explain how their DNS servers worked. I highly recommend VyprVPN !!!More

    Latest negative user review
    D
    David Troy
    6.0/10
    I don't have time to...

    The company behind VyprVPN, Goldenfrog claims to have taken steps to improve its reliability, security... , and quality of service. I'm not sure when they said this, however, in 2022, reliability and QoS are going downhill quickly. I've been using Vypr for over a year with the software installed and executing on each PC. Everything worked relatively well until about three months ago when I began experiencing frequent and intermittent connectivity issues. Thinking that my 10-year-old router might be the cause, I installed a new TPLink router with all the latest technology After many hours of side-by-side testing with two computers on the same LAN, I have observed that a PC with the VPN turned off had 100% connectivity while a PC using Vypr had the issues. I have adjusted Vypr to use various protocols and TAP adaptors with no success in improving the QoS. As such, I'm convinced that my PCs and LAN are operating as they should. Further, from the beginning, I configured Vypr to always connect to a server in Canada. Every time I boot my PC I use "whatismyip.com" to make sure that the PC is operating through the Vypr. About half the time it connects to a server in the USA and yet the software says that it is connected to Canada. I use a couple of business online services with geolocation services that require a Canada connection so I also know when Vypr connects to the USA when I am blocked from logging in to one of the business services. IT's really annoying when the software says it's connected to Canada and yet it is not. The biggest annoyance is that I now find I have to check my external IP every time I boot a device. Why should I have to do this? I've used other VPNs and they just worked all the time. I never had to keep checking them to make sure they are working correctly. I've also done security testing to make sure there are no IP or DNS leaks or any other issues and it appears that Vypr lives up to its reputation of being secure. If the service would operate consistently so that I don't have to always check it or disconnect and reconnect to force a Canada server, I could give Vypr 5 stars. Overall it's not a bad service, however, if the QoS continues to degrade, I may be forced to go back to one of the other VPNs that I've used. I don't have time to "handhold" VyprVPN.More

    Read the full review
    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...

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    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

    Pricing

    Starting price $3/month
    Money Back Guarantee (Days) 30 Days
    Number of devices per license 5 devices
    Starting price $7.99/month
    Money Back Guarantee (Days) 45 Days
    Number of devices per license 10 devices

    Best VPN by Category

    Best VPN Overall

    Hotspot Shield makes it easy to gain access to streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video because you can draw upon its 2,500+ servers located in 70 countries worldwide and choose where you want to connect. Hotspot Shield compresses data during streaming for optimized Netflix access and buffer-free streaming. It provides first-rate security with 128-bit/256-bit encryption and its proprietary Catapult Hydra protocol. VyprVPN offers you 700+ servers and its famous proprietary Chameleon protocol which allows you to bypass geoblocks and stream your favorite shows with ease. It maintains a zero-logs policy.

    Best VPN for Torrents

    With Hotspot Shield, you won’t find custom DNS settings or extra help for torrenting. Although P2P traffic is allowed, Hotspot Shield is not for you if torrenting is a priority. Hotspot Shield isn’t a no-logs VPN service and its headquarters are based in the US. VyprVPN is based in privacy-friendly Switzerland, outside the jurisdiction of the 5/9/14-Eyes Alliance. It allows the use of BitTorrent clients and does not keep logs, allowing you to torrent easily and safely.

    Best VPN for Windows

    Windows users will enjoy Hotspot Shield’s easy-to-use interface and one-click connection feature, which provides quick and easy usage. VyprVPN provides support for Vista and higher and offers the selection of automatic or manual selection for UDP traffic on Windows.

    Best VPN for Android

    VyprVPN will please Android users on the go with enhanced VPN protection - you can evade censorship wherever you are. Hotspot Shield offers an easy-to-use app from the Google Play Store that can secure your whole device with malware protection.

    Best VPN for Mac

    Mac users tend to own many devices. The premium version of both VPNs offer you up to 5 simultaneous device connections so that you can power all of your connected Apple devices easily. VyprVPN allows Mac users fine-grained control such as the ability to specify which app should be connected to the VPN and when.

    Best VPN for iOS

    iOS device users are used to enhanced security on their devices so they will enjoy using the robust anti-malware features of the HotSpot iOs app. Meanwhile, VyprVPN iOS customers enjoy ease of use. There is no need to configure any iOS settings with VyprVPN, a single VPN profile is installed during the initial setup.

    Best VPN for USA

    Not only does Hotspot Shield have servers located in the United States, you can choose from 26 United States cities to use as your virtual location. VyprVPN has excellent speeds on US servers, which is good for streaming.

    The Bottom Line

    See Offers & Pricing

    Both VPNs offer solid performances, reliable security, and smooth streaming. Hotspot Shield accelerates the transport of data which makes streaming lightning-fast and it costs less than VyprVPN. But Hotspot Shield keeps partial logs and is headquartered in the US, one of the founding members of the 5/9/14-Eyes Alliance. VyprVPN makes it possible to access geoblocked content and evade ISP surveillance with its proprietary Chameleon protocol. VyprVPN is based in Switzerland, outside the jurisdiction of the 5/9/14-Eyes Alliance, and it keeps a strict no-logs policy. If you’re looking for fast speeds and smooth streaming, then Hotspot Shield might be the VPN for you. But if your online privacy is paramount, VyprVPN is worth a try.

    Time to decide which one is best for you

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

    FAQ

    Is VyprVPN better than Hotspot Shield?

    Yes, VyprVPN is better overall than Hotspot Shield. It has 700 servers in 70 countries, fast speeds, and impressive security features.

    Best of all, you can take advantage of its latest discount and get it for only $3 a month.

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

    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 VyprVPN may be perfect for you due to its performance during the tests .

    Is VyprVPN faster than Hotspot Shield?

    Yes, VyprVPN is faster than Hotspot Shield. 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 VyprVPN or Hotspot Shield offer any deals?

    Both VyprVPN and Hotspot Shield 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.