Hotspot Shield review 2024: Cost, features and more
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BLUEPRINT
Updated 6:00 p.m. UTC Jan. 3, 2024
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Our take
Hotspot shield offers a premium-quality VPN with excellent performance, but it also comes with a premium price tag.
Hotspot Shield VPN
Pros
- One of the fastest VPNs available.
- Works on most platforms and popular devices.
- Free plan available.
Cons
- One of the most expensive VPN providers.
- No live phone or chat support.
- Upload speeds are not as impressive as competitors’.
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Hotspot Shield VPN review
Editor’s note: This article contains updated information from a previously published story
Hotspot Shield is a high-performing VPN, ranking among the fastest we tested. It does offer a free plan that is a bit limited. It also offers a $12.99 per month plan that has more features. While Hotspot Shield works with all popular operating systems, it’s in many ways a no-frills VPN focused on fast connections.
While download speeds were the second-fastest in our tests, upload speeds ranked near the bottom. If your top concern is fast download speeds and you don’t mind paying more, Hotspot Shield could be a good choice for your unique small business needs.
Featured VPN service offers
NordVPN
Free plan
No
Cheapest monthly plan
$12.99
Download speed (average)
235 Mbps
Surfshark
Free plan
No
Cheapest monthly plan
$15.45
Download speed (average)
263 Mbps
Private Internet Access (PIA)
Free plan
No
Cheapest monthly plan
$11.95
Download speed (average)
124 Mbps
Hotspot Shield VPN overview and facts
Hotspot Shield is owned by Aura, a provider of a suite of privacy and digital security products. In addition to using Hotspot Shield as a standalone product, you can get a VPN from the same company as part of a package under the Aura brand. Before it was taken over by Aura, Hotspot Shield was part of the company AnchorFree.
Hotspot Shield is popular with current and past users, as signaled by a 4.8-star rating with more than 600 reviews on Trustpilot. Aura also has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau. On Trustpilot, Aura earns an average 4.8-star rating with over 170 reviews.
Aura is a U.S.-based company headquartered in Virginia. While most reviews are positive, complaints share stories of slow customer service responses, problems with automatic renewals and limitations with the free version. If you’re tech-savvy, you should have no problem independently navigating most issues.
Note: The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission against Hotspot Shield in 2017, alleging that the company has logged and sold user activity to advertisers. The CDT cited discrepancies between Hotspot Shield’s marketing claims and privacy policy. This complaint has resulted in a push for establishing best practices and an enforceable code of conduct for VPN providers.
Hotspot Shield VPN pricing
| PLAN | MONTHLY COST | MONTHLY COST (ANNUAL PLAN) | NUMBER OF USERS | NUMBER OF DEVICES |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Free
| Free
| Free
| 1 | 1 |
Premium
| $12.99
| $7.99
| 1 | 10 |
While it’s nice to have a free version to test out Hotspot Shield, it’s very limited, so business users would need to upgrade to a premium version for long-term use. Among those choices, you have options for individual and family plans.
The Premium plan, which you can get for $12.99 per month, or $7.99 per month when paying annually, offers a lot more features. It connects with 10 devices, has over 125 virtual locations and is optimized for certain streaming and gaming modes. It also offers customers 24/7 support.
Free
As the plan’s name implies, the Free plan is free to use. The free plan isn’t optimized for streaming services or gaming, so it’s best for testing purposes or limited web browsing and email.
Premium
Premium is designed for a single user and unlocks all server locations and VPN features. Premium has unlimited bandwidth, so you can always browse and download without restrictions. You’ll pay $12.99 per month or $7.99 per month when billed annually.
Hotspot Shield VPN plans
| PLAN | NUMBER OF DEVICES (PER USER) | NUMBER OF DEVICES | NUMBER OF VIRTUAL LOCATIONS | EXTRA SECURITY FEATURES |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Free
| 1 | 1 | 1 | No
|
Premium
| 10 | 10 | 125+
| Yes
|
If you’re looking to start with Hotspot Shield, you can use the free plan to get a feel for the software and user interface; however, it’s otherwise extremely limited. Free is limited to 25% of the speed of paid plans and only works with five of more than 125 virtual locations.
Paid versions give you the fastest connections and all available locations, servers and other security features. Paid users get additional anti-phishing protection, an internet kill switch and “Smart VPN” features. Smart VPN enables you to allow specific websites or apps to bypass the VPN.
Free
The free plan is good enough for a free trial but doesn’t work for the long term for most users. If you’re on an extremely tight budget and want to check email or visit a few websites with added privacy or location features, it can do the trick. For regular use, the Free version probably won’t meet the needs of a typical business owner.
Premium
Premium comes with plenty of premium features. With either paid plan, you can access the fastest speeds, more than 125 virtual locations and everything else Hotspot Shield offers. If you want the utmost privacy while downloading and browsing, you’ll get that and more with Premium.
Hotspot Shield add-ons and optional features
Hotspot Shield sells no add-ons or special features separately. You get all Hotspot Shield features when you pay for either premium plan, including support for OpenVPN, IPSec, and the proprietary Hydra protocols and apps for phones, computers, smart TVs, tablets, routers and browser plugins.
While Hydra is extremely fast, it’s somewhat limiting, as it doesn’t work with most common open-source VPN apps. A lack of support for the WireGuard standard outside of Android and Windows devices is disappointing.
The Smart VPN feature is Hotspot Shield’s version of split tunneling, where you can send some traffic through the VPN and exclude specific apps and websites. Smart VPN is only currently compatible with f Windows and Android systems.
Hotspot Shield customer support and experience
For customer service, the only way to get help from a person is via email. There’s no phone support, and all online support is self-service. You can use the help center to answer most questions, and the chatbot will help lead you to relevant information if you’re struggling to find the answer.
One of the few customer complaints with Hotspot Shield is slow customer support responses. With no live customer support from a person, that’s not entirely surprising. But that also signals that users who are not confident with computers and technologies like VPNs may be better off choosing a provider with 24/7 phone support.
Hotspot Shield vs. NordVPN
| LOWEST MONTHLY COST (BILLED MONTHLY) | LOWEST MONTHLY COST (ANNUAL PLAN) | NUMBER OF SERVERS | DOWNLOAD SPEED (AVERAGE) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Hotspot Shield VPN | $0.00 | $0.00 | 3,200 | 262 Mbps | ||||||
| ||||||||||
 NordVPN | $12.99 | $4.49 | 5,525 | 235 Mbps | ||||||
|
NordVPN is a giant in the virtual private network industry. It runs nearly double the number of servers as Hotspot Shield and supports most individual and small business needs with ease. Both its month-to-month and annual plans are cheaper than those of Hotspot Shield’s.
In our testing, Hotspot Shield eked out a bit more performance than NordVPN, with a 262 megabytes per second (Mbps) average download speed from Hotspot Shield compared to 235 Mbps with NordVPN. But for uploads, NordVPN is about four times as fast, with an average of 186 Mbps, compared to a much slower 45 Mbps with Hotspot Shield. With a lower price and better average performance, NordVPN is likely a better choice.
There’s a big “however” in this comparison, though. NordVPN once fell victim to a security breach. While NordVPN considers the issue relatively minor, as encrypted traffic was still protected, even the smallest hint of trouble in this industry may be a deal breaker for prospective users.
Hotspot Shield vs. CyberGhost
| COMPANY | LOWEST MONTHLY COST | LOWEST MONTHLY COST (ANNUAL PLAN) | NUMBER OF SERVERS | DOWNLOAD SPEED (AVERAGE) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hotspot Shield VPN | $0.00 | $0.00 | 3,200 | 262 Mbps | ||||||
| ||||||||||
 CyberGhost | $12.99 | Annual plans not available | 6,000 | 146 Mbps | ||||||
|
When comparing Hotspot Shield to CyberGhost, the head-to-head competition is tight. Both charge the same for monthly access, but you can save if you pick CyberGhost for a long-term plan. If you pay for two years of CyberGhost VPN upfront, you’ll get 27 months of access for an average of $2.11 per month. That’s dirt cheap compared to paying nearly four times as much per month with a one-year Hotspot Shield plan.
CyberGhost also appeals to users with a huge network of 6,000 servers in 88 countries. However, its download speeds were also much slower on average, running more than 100 Mbps slower than Hotspot Shield.
A benefit of CyberGhost is the availability of a dedicated IP address for $2.50 per month.
Is Hotspot Shield VPN right for your business?
Hotspot Shield is a quality VPN service, but it’s not perfect. On the good side, it is extremely fast, supports a wide range of devices and is affordable per user when you pick the Family plan. It also works with several popular VPN protocols. If you want to try it out without commitment, you can sign up for a free plan, though features and speeds are limited.
However, as an individual user, it’s on the expensive end of the spectrum. Upload speeds are not very good, and support for all features isn’t available on Mac or iPhone devices. And no WireGuard outside of Windows or Android is also a reason for VPN power users to keep shopping.
If you’re in the sweet spot where your biggest concern is download speed, and you want to share VPN access with four or five users, it may be a good pick for your business.
Methodology
We extensively research the key competitors within an industry to determine the best products and services for your business. Our experts identify the factors that matter most to business owners, including pricing, features and customer support, to ensure that our recommendations offer well-rounded products that will meet the needs of various small businesses.
We collect extensive data to narrow our best list to reputable, easy-to-use products with stand-out features at a reasonable price point. And we look at user reviews to ensure that business owners like you are satisfied with our top picks’ services. We use the same rubric to assess companies within a particular space so you can confidently follow our blueprint to the top VPN Services.
Featured VPN service offers
NordVPN
Free plan
No
Cheapest monthly plan
$12.99
Download speed (average)
235 Mbps
Surfshark
Free plan
No
Cheapest monthly plan
$15.45
Download speed (average)
263 Mbps
Private Internet Access (PIA)
Free plan
No
Cheapest monthly plan
$11.95
Download speed (average)
124 Mbps
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Hotspot Shield features a free version that doesn’t require a credit card to enroll in. Paid plans require up-front payment, but you can get a refund in the first 45 days if you’re unhappy with the service.
Hotspot Shield is based in Virginia. As a company operating in the United States, Hotspot Shield is based in a five eyes country. The five eyes is an international data-sharing agreement, and companies headquartered within five eyes jurisdiction may be required to cooperate with law enforcement. While there are no logs, someone wanting complete privacy from a VPN may want to choose an offshore provider with less oversight.
Hotspot Shield operates 3,200 servers on five continents. You can set your virtual location to more than 125 cities in over 80 countries. Virtual location availability varies by platform.
Hotspot Shield is secure and runs with encrypted connections and a no-log policy. The default Hydra protocol is very fast, but it’s not considered as secure as Wireguard. The CDT has also questioned Hotspot Shield’s no-log policy. In 2017, the CDT filed a complaint with the FTC, citing differences in Hotspot Shield’s marketing claims and privacy policy, noting that Hotspot Shield was sharing users’ information with third-party advertisers. Since filing the complaint, the CDT has pushed for standardizing a code of conduct for VPN providers.
Hotspot Shield also is a United States-based company. The United States is part of the five eyes data-sharing alliance, which means that Hotspot Shield could be forced to share logged data with the government. A strong no-log policy is important to avoid government jurisdiction issues.
Hotspot Shield supports Hydra and IPSec (IKEv2) across the board. Wireguard and OpenVPN access may also be available, depending on the device. Hydra is a proprietary protocol created by Hotspot Shield and used only by a few VPN providers.
The easiest way to quickly connect to Hotspot Shield is with the browser plugin for Chrome (it should also work with other Chromium-based browsers, such as Brave and Vivaldi). You can also install it on your computer to protect all traffic from the device or your router to protect your entire network, including smart TVs, tablets and smartphones.
No, Hotspot Shield has a strict no-log policy. However, the company is accused of logging and sharing data with advertising companies. If this turns out to be true, it would be a good reason to not trust Hotspot Shield and avoid it in the future.
In our testing, Hotspot Shield was one of the fastest VPNs around for downloads, coming in just a hair slower than competitor Surfshark — the difference between the two is negligible for downloads. For uploads, Hotspot Shield is far less impressive, scoring toward the bottom of the pack in our tests.
The free version works with Windows, Mac, iOS, Android and Chrome. Paid versions also work with Linux, Smart TVs and some routers. Hotspot Shield works with most popular devices, but some users with Mac, Linux, and other less-common devices may struggle with compatibility, depending on what you need.
Blueprint is an independent publisher and comparison service, not an investment advisor. The information provided is for educational purposes only and we encourage you to seek personalized advice from qualified professionals regarding specific financial decisions. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
Blueprint has an advertiser disclosure policy. The opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Blueprint editorial staff alone. Blueprint adheres to strict editorial integrity standards. The information is accurate as of the publish date, but always check the provider’s website for the most current information.
