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Hotspot Shield’s premium service is among the fastest, but it’s held back by a myriad of issues.
Pros:
- Impressive speed
- Fast uploads
- Easy to set up and use
- Catapult Hydra protocol hides VPN use
Cons:
- Free version is capped and shows ads
- 24/7 live chat only had a chatbot
- Located in a Five Eyes alliance country
Hotspot Shield
Hotspot Shield offers free and paid versions. We recommended Hotspot Shield’s free app, but we might have to rethink that suggestion since it now has a data cap of 250MB per day and includes ads. There are much better free VPNs to choose from.
Hotspot Shield Premium, pricing and availability of subscription plans varies. Navigating the website to find pricing, I see only two options: $10 monthly or $80 annually, which works out to about $7 per month.
When I dug deeper, I found a much better deal. Browsing through blog posts, I came across a link to a VPN offer page with a price of about $3 each month if you pay for three years in advance. The total cost is $108, only $28 more than the annual plan to get two more years of service.
Hotspot Shield isn’t the only VPN with great deals, particularly if you’re willing to prepay for years of service. However, its 7-day free trial and 45-day money-back guarantee are quite generous.
The Hotspot Shield app is easy to install and simple to use. A big, friendly Connect VPN button on the home screen automatically chooses the fastest server. For basic privacy protection, it only takes a click.
Unfortunately, the app’s window is small and isn’t resizable. On the left sidebar, I can do a speed test through the Hotspot Shield app, check my account status, get help, or dig into settings for more advanced options.
Hotspot Shield’s Catapult Hydra protocol is fast and includes obfuscation to help hide VPN use. That’s important when you need to bypass administrative firewalls. The best VPNs for school have similar features.
I couldn’t find an option for port forwarding and Hotspot Shield doesn’t offer dedicated IP addresses.
Any VPN can hide my IP address and encrypt data to help protect my privacy. When I’m paying for a VPN, I also expect great bandwidth and a large number of servers to choose from so I can stream video, download content, and browse news from around the world like I’m a local.
In my testing, Hotspot Shield proved to be one of the fastest VPNs available. I used Speedtest.net to measure download and upload speeds for servers in the U.S., U.K., Canada, France, Germany, and Australia.
Overseas, download rates ranged from 26 Mbps (823 ms ping) in distant Australia to 64 Mbps (352 ms ping) in Germany. Uploads were quite slow, reaching only 3 Mbps (232 ms ping) “down under” and a usable 6 Mbps (121 ms ping) in Germany.
In some locations, Hotspot Shield offers servers optimized for streaming and gaming. I checked whether there was a measurable difference and found the U.K. streaming server was faster and had lower pings.
Hotspot Shield should take inspiration from Proton VPN, a competing service that shows the server load to help me get the best speed.
Hotspot Shield claims to offer 24/7 live chat support. When I reached out at 7 p.m. ET, a chatbot offered useful help with my first question about using Hotspot Shield as part of my Dashlane password manager subscription. I verified that a full Hotspot Shield Premium plan is included.
I didn’t get a reply that evening, so I tried again the next day at 2 p.m. ET. The chatbot again collected my name and email with the doubtful promise that I’d hear back within an hour.
I like Hotspot Shield’s speed and ease of use, but I can’t recommend it when there are better and cheaper VPNs available.
Hotspot Shield is an odd name for a virtual private network (VPN) service, but it’s one of the fastest you can get. However, speed isn’t everything. You need a VPN that works on all your devices, protects your privacy and hides your location, and offers good customer service, all at an affordable price.
I went hands-on with Hotspot Shield to see how well it fares against the best VPNs, and whether it’s the right choice for you.
Tiers and pricing
Hotspot Shield has a free and paid tier.
Design
The Hotspot Shield app is easy to install and simple to use.
Features
Any VPN can hide my IP address and encrypt data to help protect my privacy. When I’m paying for a VPN, I also expect great bandwidth and a large number of servers to choose from so I can stream video, download content, and browse news from around the world like I’m a local.
In my testing, Hotspot Shield proved to be one of the fastest VPNs available. I used Speedtest.net to measure download and upload speeds for servers in the U.S., U.K., Canada, France, Germany, and Australia.
Support
Hotspot Shield claims to offer 24/7 live chat support. When I reached out at 7 p.m. ET, a chatbot offered useful help with my first question about using Hotspot Shield as part of my Dashlane password manager subscription. I verified that a full Hotspot Shield Premium plan is included.
Privacy and security
Hotspot Shield’s terms of service state that the free service may show third-party ads, but the paid version doesn’t. It also notes that you will be transferring personal information to the U.S.
That means the U.S. and its allies may request to access your data. Most of your information is end-to-end encrypted with Hydra, IPSec, or WireGuard protocols, so that should keep your activity private.
There have also been concerns about data leaks when using the VPN. Hotspot Shield confirmed a minor data leak of a Wi-Fi network name in December 2017. I couldn’t find any official statement about a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) complaint made earlier that year.
Aura acquired Hotspot Shield in 2020, so hopefully any leaks or logging issues have been corrected. Hotspot Shield’s no-log policy hasn’t been audited, leaving some doubt about how much data it might collect.
Is Hotspot Shield right for you?
I can’t recommend Hotspot Shield’s free app, since it limits data to 250 MB and might show ads. Proton Free is a much better free VPN, and it includes free encrypted storage, a free password manager, and more.
Hotspot Shield Premium is fast, scoring the best uploads speeds I’ve measured. However, Hotspot Shield doesn’t have as many servers or locations as the best VPNs. For example, NordVPN lists 6,400 worldwide servers, which is more than triple Hotspot Shield’s 1,800 servers.
You might be able to find a good deal on Hotspot Shield, but most companies highlight the best VPN deals, so you don’t need to dig through blog posts to find them.
I like Hotspot Shield’s speed and ease of use, but I can’t recommend it when there are better and cheaper VPNs available.
Frequently Asked Questions:
* Does Hotspot Shield have a free version?
+ Yes, but it has a data cap of 250 MB and may show ads.
* Does Hotspot Shield have a paid version?
+ Yes, and it’s faster than the free version.
* What is the price of Hotspot Shield’s paid version?
+ The prices vary, but you can get a 3-year plan for about $3 each month.
* Does Hotspot Shield have 24/7 live chat support?
+ Yes, but the chatbot may not be able to help you directly.
* Is Hotspot Shield secure?
+ It has end-to-end encryption and doesn’t log your data, but its no-log policy hasn’t been audited.
Conclusion:
Hotspot Shield is a decent VPN service, but it has its drawbacks. The free version is limited and may show ads, and the paid version has fewer servers and locations than the best VPNs. If you’re looking for a fast and affordable VPN, you may want to consider alternatives like Proton VPN or NordVPN.