Hotspot Shield VPN Review 2023: Pricing, Features & Security

Hotspot Defend markets itself because the “world’s quickest VPN.” Whereas it gives good pace and efficiency, it lacks a transparent no-logs coverage—a key safety function one expects from a VPN.

Hotspot Defend’s contradictory knowledge logging practices make it laborious to suggest for customers who prioritize safety above all else.

Bounce to:

Does Hotspot Defend VPN have a Free Model?

It seems Hotspot Defend not presents its free model and has a 7-day free trial as an alternative. Hotspot Defend’s free VPN had restricted options, in comparison with its premium subscription, nevertheless it was freed from cost and limitless to make use of. After I went to obtain the free model to check for this evaluation, I used to be prompted to enter cost info and begin a free 7-day trial. After the free trial, I’d be charged $12.99/month. It was said that I might cancel the subscription anytime and make the most of their 45-day money-back assure.

Determine A

Providing a free trial as an alternative of an infinite free VPN service is regular. In truth, VPN suppliers like Surfshark and CyberGhost VPN don’t have a free VPN however as an alternative provide a 7-day and a 24-hour free trial for his or her premium VPNs.

Nevertheless, it’s unusual that Hotspot Defend nonetheless advertises having a free VPN service regardless of it really being a free trial. Additionally, they haven’t up to date their promotional supplies to replicate this, as they proceed to have testimonials stating they’ve a free VPN.

In equity to Hotspot Defend, it could simply be that they haven’t gotten round to updating their web site and its corresponding info. However this can be a trigger for concern, as transparency is likely one of the issues I search for in a VPN.

For these involved in trialing Hotspot Defend, you are able to do so—freed from cost—for seven days.

Hotspot Defend VPN Pricing

Exterior of their free trial, Hotspot Defend presents two plans: a month-to-month and an annual subscription. I want Hotspot Defend provided extra plan choices, as different VPNs normally have a month-to-month, yearly and a two- or three-year subscription.

Hotspot Defend’s yearly plan of $7.99 monthly is pricey, with opponents normally providing an annual plan for round $4-$6 a month. If you would like a VPN with a feature-packed annual subscription, NordVPN’s Plus annual plan at $5.49 is likely one of the greatest.

Hotspot Defend’s month-to-month plan for $12.99 monthly can be a bit expensive however is on par with different VPNs’ comparable month-to-month subscription. For these on the lookout for a extra reasonably priced month-to-month VPN plan, Proton VPN’s Plus month-to-month subscription at $9.99 is an efficient choose.

Happily, Hotspot presents a 45-day money-back assure for each plans that can assist you to refund your cost should you really feel Hotspot Defend VPN isn’t an excellent match.

Of Hotspot Defend’s plans, I like to recommend going for the 7-day free trial or the extra reasonably priced yearly plan.

Hotspot Defend VPN Execs

• Quick efficiency and dependable connection.
• As much as 10 simultaneous gadget connections.
• Nicely-designed interface.
• Constructed-in pace take a look at.
• 7-day free trial.
• 45-day money-back assure.

Hotspot Defend VPN Cons

• Logs IP addresses and different knowledge.
• Practices contradict no-logs coverage.
• Not presents limitless free model.
• DNS Leak safety is turned off by default.
• Costly plans.
• No OpenVPN protocol.

Safety: Hotspot Defend VPN protected?

Hotspot Defend doesn’t include the OpenVPN safety protocol—broadly seen as probably the most safe VPN protocol. As a substitute, it comes with the speed-oriented WireGuard and IKEv2 (IPsec) protocols and its very personal Hydra protocol that’s additionally constructed for pace.

Not having OpenVPN is a miss given its excessive stage of safety. It could’ve additionally given customers a protocol for duties that require extra safety and never simply pace. For encryption, Hotspot Defend has the gold-standard AES-265 encryption.

It additionally comes with safety towards DNS leaks however this isn’t turned on by default—an odd alternative on condition that different VPNs have this turned on out of the field. It’s additionally not user-friendly; a novice consumer might unintentionally leak their knowledge in the event that they fail to see the toggle. For my part, Hotspot Defend ought to have their DNS leak safety turned on upon setup.

Hotspot Defend claims to be a no-logs VPN, they usually produce an annual Transparency Report back to help the declare. Nevertheless, it seems the latest report was printed in 2019.

As well as, again in 2017, the Heart for Democracy and Know-how (CDT) filed a grievance towards the Federal Commerce Fee alleging that Hotspot Defend’s Free model logged consumer knowledge, like incoming and outgoing IP addresses and connection logs, and offered it to advertisers regardless of its claims of being a no-logs VPN. Hotspot has modified possession since and reiterated in a 2022 privateness discover that it “doesn’t document your VPN searching actions in any method that may be related again to you.”

In the identical discover, nevertheless, Hotspot Defend makes it clear that it collects IP addresses to guard towards fraud and derive non-identifiable objects akin to geographic location and details about the consumer’s web service supplier. The VPN says that that is completed to offer a greater consumer expertise.

Whereas I recognize Hotspot’s transparency with their knowledge assortment, their no-logs coverage is contradicted by its recording of IP addresses.

For those who’re on the lookout for a VPN with a cleaner no-logs coverage backed by quite a few third-party audits, ExpressVPN and NordVPN could also be higher for you.

Whereas Hotspot Defend will be thought of protected, it has areas of concern inside its safety features and logging practices.

Key options of Hotspot Defend VPN

Hotspot Defend’s three key options prioritize pace and efficiency.

Constructed-in pace take a look at

Hotspot Defend claims to be the “world’s” quickest VPN,” aligning a number of its options in direction of pace. Certainly one of these options is its pace take a look at that’s constructed proper throughout the VPN’s major dashboard.

Determine B

With the pace take a look at instrument, we get the usual obtain and add pace readings, ping and packet loss knowledge. It additionally gives customers a historical past of pace assessments already carried out.

For those who’re the kind of consumer who values pace, this can be a useful gizmo that can allow you to periodically test your connection’s efficiency. It’s additionally going to be helpful should you commonly expertise spotty web connection and need a built-in instrument to watch pace.

Break up tunneling

Hotspot Defend comes with two cut up tunneling options: cut up tunneling apps and cut up tunneling web sites. This permits customers to select which apps or companies they wish to route through a protected VPN connection and which of them they wish to run by means of their common ISP.

Determine C

In my testing, Hotspot Defend’s cut up tunneling for apps labored as marketed; it was capable of cut up my VPN connection based mostly on my chosen apps. Sadly, cut up tunneling for web sites didn’t work as properly; I recorded DNS leaks on the web site I had working by means of the VPN.

For those who plan on utilizing Hotspot Defend’s cut up tunneling function, my testing confirmed that its cut up tunneling for apps is the safer possibility. This may be helpful for customers who wish to save on bandwidth or need extra pace for duties that don’t essentially want VPN safety.

10 gadget connections

Determine D

Hotspot Defend additionally permits for 10 simultaneous gadget connections, letting customers shield a number of gadgets by means of a secured VPN connection. It is a refined however necessary function which is able to profit customers who use a number of laptops, computer systems, tablets or smartphones.

Having 10 allowed connections is loads, contemplating different VPNs usually present solely 6-8 connections. For instance, NordVPN and CyberGhost VPN solely enable six and 7 simultaneous gadget connections, respectively.

Efficiency: Is Hotspot Defend VPN quick?

Sure, Hotspot Defend VPN is a quick VPN, nevertheless, it wasn’t the fastest-performing VPN I’ve ever examined.

My testing consisted of doing work in Google Workspace apps, having a number of tabs open for analysis, attending on-line video conferences and streaming 1080p YouTube movies. Throughout my use, internet pages loaded shortly and I didn’t expertise any slowdowns with the VPN working.

For pace assessments, Hotspot Defend carried out rather well for downloads because it recorded solely a 19.45% drop in pace in comparison with my ISP. In case your kind of workflow includes downloading a ton of massive information, Hotspot Defend could be a good choose.

Its add pace was much less spectacular at a a lot larger 81.09% drop in pace. In apply, although, I had no bother importing video information into Google Drive.

After I first examined for DNS leaks, one leak appeared however I noticed the IP leak safety was off. As soon as turned on, Hotspot Defend recorded zero DNS leaks after a number of assessments.

That is an space for enchancment for Hotspot Defend as DNS leak safety ought to ideally be working upon setup, particularly for much less tech-savvy customers who would possibly blindly belief the VPN to not leak their knowledge.

Hotspot Defend VPN Servers and places

For its server suite, Hotspot Defend gives 3,200+ servers from round 85 nations and 112 places. Its server community falls within the center floor in comparison with different VPNs, with the common VPN having round 3,000 to 4,000 servers throughout greater than 60 nations. Nevertheless, Hotspot Defend’s server community means that you can unblock an excellent quantity of geo-restricted content material.

For those who’re on the lookout for a bigger server suite, CyberGhost VPN is an efficient alternative with its greater than 10,000 servers throughout 100 nations.

Hotspot Defend has specialised streaming and gaming servers, nevertheless it solely gives specialised server places inside america and the UK. For those who’re not in any of those locations, it may be higher to hook up with a server location nearer to you as an alternative.

I want that it additionally included specialised servers for safety or torrenting to offer much more choices to customers, however having these streaming and gaming servers are welcome inclusions to Hotspot Defend VPN’s server suite.

Hotspot Defend VPN app expertise

Determine E

I primarily used Hotspot Defend’s Home windows desktop utility on my laptop computer for this evaluation. When it comes to in-app expertise, Hotspot Defend’s desktop app is well-designed however is a bit unintuitive. Its server listing doesn’t present which places or servers are specialised for streaming or gaming. To get to these servers, it’s a must to undergo some trial and error to seek out out that they are often present in both the US or UK places.

As well as, having the “Stop IP Leak” button turned off by default must also be mounted.

I preferred its minimalist design and located its one-click on/off change dependable.

Is Hotspot Defend VPN price it?

Whereas Hotspot Defend presents quick efficiency, 10 simultaneous gadget connections and a wholesome server community, it lacks requisite safety features to be really useful as a top-tier VPN.

Particularly, its questionable knowledge logging prevents it from being a sensible choice for these on the lookout for added safety.

I like to recommend Hotspot Defend should you’re solely targeted on pace and wish to sometimes change your digital location by means of its server listing. Its built-in pace take a look at may be helpful for many who wish to shortly monitor their web connection throughout the app itself.

Alternate options to Hotspot Defend VPN

If after this evaluation you are feeling Hotspot Defend VPN isn’t for you, we’ve listed three sturdy alternate options that might be a greater match.

NordVPN

If safety is your prime concern, NordVPN needs to be on prime of your listing. It presents a robust portfolio of third-party testing, quite a lot of security-focused options and a wholesome server community. It additionally presents quick efficiency and a well-designed desktop utility.

We rated NordVPN a 4.7 out of 5 stars in our full evaluation. To study extra, learn our NordVPN evaluation right here.

ProtonVPN

For customers on the lookout for an infinite free VPN, ProtonVPN is likely one of the greatest. Its free model gives customers with limitless knowledge and 0 adverts. By means of its free tier, you get entry to servers from 5 nations on one gadget. It additionally operates on data-friendly Swiss legal guidelines that present a further layer of safety in your knowledge.

We rated ProtonVPN 4.0 out of 5 stars in our full evaluation. To study extra, learn our ProtonVPN evaluation right here.

ExpressVPN

If you would like a no-nonsense VPN expertise, you must give ExpressVPN a strive. It has an intuitive and modern-looking desktop utility that provides a nice consumer expertise. On prime of that, ExpressVPN gives nice pace and efficiency and servers unfold throughout 105 nations.

We rated ExpressVPN 4.4 out of 5 stars in our full evaluation. To study extra, learn our ExpressVPN evaluation right here.

Evaluation Methodology

My evaluation of Hotspot Defend concerned a complete evaluation of its key options and real-world efficiency. I had hands-on expertise with Hotspot Defend by means of a one-month Premium plan on my Home windows laptop computer.

To check for obtain and add speeds, I used Ookla’s public Speedtest. For DNS leak safety, I ran Hotspot Defend a number of instances (with totally different servers) utilizing DNSLeakTest.

I scored Hotspot Defend on varied attributes, together with its safety features and value, based mostly on an inner algorithm to get a ranking of three.5 out of 5 stars. I checked out Hotspot Defend each by itself and in relation to different VPNs out there.