Key Takeaways: VyprVPN vs Hotspot Shield

• The main difference between VyprVPN and Hotspot Shield is that VyprVPN is more private and secure. To date, it hasn’t been hacked and hasn’t had to cooperate with law enforcement anywhere.
• Hotspot Shield has a free version with four free servers and encryption, but VyprVPN has cheaper paid plans.
• Overall, VyprVPN is slightly better than Hotspot Shield, as it has a friendlier app, better customer service and more affordable plans on top of its better security.

VyprVPN vs Hotspot Shield is almost an evenly matched battle. Both offer standard VPN features and more, but there are some significant differences that we believe anyone trying to choose between the two must know.

While neither provider is at the top of our best VPNs list, if you’re looking for a user-friendly VPN with widespread support for different platforms, VyprVPN is a great fit. If you want a VPN with flexible plans, including a free version with reliable speeds, then Hotspot Shield may be your cup of tea. 

Check out our VyprVPN review and Hotspot Shield review to take a deeper look at these two services. You can also grab VyprVPN and Hotspot Shield subscriptions and benefit from the long-lasting money-back guarantees before making up your mind. Ready to see how these two square up? Let’s roll!

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Learn more about our editorial team and our research process.

Our Comparison Guidelines

We don’t take VPN services at face value. When compiling this detailed comparison between VyprVPN and Hotspot Shield, we paid closer attention to the features themselves than the claims made by the VPN providers.

We looked at server network sizes, internet connection speeds, security and privacy features, plan prices and money-back guarantees. These are the pressure points that people focus on when choosing a VPN. Our goal is to provide all the information so you can make an informed decision.

Cloudwards Editor’s Choice: VyprVPN

VyprVPN is the overall winner of this close contest. As you’ll see below, it’s more secure than Hotspot Shield, which has suffered breaches in the past and leaks IP addresses in some of our tests. A VPN has to keep you safe, and VyprVPN does the job better.

Hotspot Shield was audited once by an independent third party in 2018, which didn’t find anything concerning. However, Hotspot Shield has had a few security issues. For instance, a flaw was discovered in 2018 (a few months prior to the independent audit) that exposed users’ sensitive data.

Though Hotspot Shield assured users that it had handled the flaw, it didn’t provide specific details on the changes made to stop it from ever happening again.

VyprVPN also beat Hotspot Shield in other areas, offering more helpful customer support, a better user interface and superior pricing. While Hotspot Shield has a free plan, it limits both your bandwidth and your choice of servers.

Hotspot Shield vs VyprVPN: Comparison at a Glance

Which Is Better: VyprVPN vs Hotspot Shield?

The race was close, but VyprVPN is better than Hotspot Shield. It has not experienced any security flaws, unlike Hotspot Shield, which hasn’t responded adequately to hacks in the past.

Although VyprVPN has cheaper plans, Hotspot Shield beats it by offering a free plan. The free version comes with servers in the United Kingdom, New York, Los Angeles, and Singapore. However, this doesn’t imply that VyprVPN is lacking. It excels in many areas, so the choice comes down to why you need a VPN.

We Recommend VyprVPN if You Want…

• A user-friendly VPN: VyprVPN operates the same way across all apps, and the apps are much easier to access.
• Budget-friendly VPN: VyprVPN’s annual plan is more affordable.
• Reliable customer support: VyprVPN’s live chat offers faster and more helpful responses.
• A secure VPN: VyprVPN puts privacy first and has never been directly breached.

We Recommend Hotspot Shield if You Want…

• Faster speeds: Hotspot Shield has specialty servers dedicated to streaming and gaming that offer faster speeds.
• Larger server network: Hotspot Shield has more than 3,200 servers in 80+ countries.
• Free VPN: There is a free version of Hotspot Shield that offers the same military-grade encryption as its paid plans.

VyprVPN vs Hotspot Shield Pricing Comparison

If You Want to Consider Other Services, Check Out…

ExpressVPN is one of the fastest VPNs due to its proprietary Lightway protocol, which you can read all about in our ExpressVPN review. The VPN has more than 3,000 servers and reliable security.

NordVPN offers amazing user privacy and security, as detailed in our NordVPN review. You get military-grade encryption, IP leak protection and a fast proprietary NordLynx protocol.

Surfshark offers affordable long-term plans, as explained in our Surfshark review. Furthermore, the VPN is fast and allows unlimited simultaneous device connections.

Finally, CyberGhost has the largest server network, with more than 9,000 servers. Read about how this makes it better at unblocking geo-restricted content in our CyberGhost review.

VyprVPN vs Hotspot Shield: Similarities

VyprVPN and Hotspot Shield have some similarities.

Protocols

VPN protocols play a vital role in performance, as we explain in our guide to VPN protocols. Hotspot Shield and VyprVPN have OpenVPN, WireGuard and IKEv2 protocols. The last two offer speeds ideal for streaming, gaming and torrenting, while OpenVPN provides a more stable connection if the others falter.

Hotspot Shield’s Hydra protocol is bank-level secure.

Additionally, these two VPNs have proprietary protocols. Hotspot Shield’s Hydra protocol is available on all platforms.

VyprVPN’s Hydra protocol is bank-level secure.

VyprVPN is equipped with the Chameleon protocol, which is available on Windows, Mac, Android, iOS and routers. This protocol uses the same 256-bit protocol as OpenVPN. However, the Chameleon protocol’s main function is obfuscation. This is necessary in regions and networks that censor VPNs. Obfuscation is automatically activated when you switch to the Chameleon protocol.

Hydra and Chameleon aren’t the only unique protocols in the VPN world. NordVPN and ExpressVPN have faster proprietary protocols (NordLynx and Lightway), which we discuss in our ExpressVPN vs NordVPN comparison. 

Key Security Features

VyprVPN has multiple security features, starting with AES 256-bit encryption, which works by default across all apps.

There’s a reliable kill switch available across all platforms except iOS. Hotspot Shield also features AES 256-bit encryption and an automatic kill switch on Android, iOS, macOS and Windows. With a kill switch, you don’t have to worry about your IP address or DNS leaks if the VPN connection drops.

We can’t stress the dangers of public WiFi enough. Fortunately, both VPNs protect you on unsecured public hotspots. Once activated, the VPNs launch when your device connects to a new WiFi network. It’s normal to forget on occasion and connect to a public hotspot in a café, for example. These two features ensure that you stay protected when that happens. 

Once you add a network to your “trusted networks” list, the VPNs won’t automatically launch when using that trusted network. On Hotspot Shield, this feature is only available on Android, while VyprVPN offers it on Android, iOS, macOS and Windows.

Hotspot Shield VPN has extra security features like Tor over VPN and PKI encryption.

VyprVPN and Hotspot Shield offer obfuscation, which you can use to bypass VPN censorship in places like North Korea and China or on any network that blocks VPNs. With VyprVPN, obfuscation is automatically activated when you switch to the Chameleon protocol, while on Hotspot Shield, you can use obfuscation on the Hydra protocol.

Split Tunneling

VyprVPN and Hotspot Shield VPN offer split tunneling. On VyprVPN, the feature is called “connection per app” and is available on macOS and Android. You can set it to only route certain apps and websites through the VPN or use it for all apps except those on a select list. A third option called “automatic connect” launches the VPN when specific apps are opened.

VyprVPN has a split tunneling feature with three options.

Hotspot Shield offers two split tunneling options on macOS. You can either exclude specific apps from the VPN tunnel using the “bypass VPN” option or route the apps of your choice through the VPN using the “route via VPN” option. Split tunneling on Windows and Android is called Smart VPN. Once you add an app, the VPN automatically launches.

Hotspot Shield offers two split tunneling options.

Simultaneous Connections

Though neither VPN features on our best VPN for multiple devices list, they each allow up to 10 simultaneous connections. That is enough for you to secure multiple devices on the same VyprVPN or Hotspot Shield account and still have extra slots for friends and family. 

You can circumvent the device connection limit by installing VyprVPN or Hotspot Shield on a router. That counts as one connection, so you can secure all devices connected to that single encrypted network.

VPN Audits

VyprVPN and Hotspot Shield VPN have had one independent audit each. Hotspot Shield was audited in 2018 by AV-TEST GmbH. The test focused on usability, security, online privacy and overall performance. No vulnerabilities were detected — take a look at the findings in this full audit report.

VyprVPN was audited in 2018 by Leviathan Security, which compiled this detailed report. Though vulnerabilities were detected in several security features, like the kill switch, VyprVPN addressed them immediately.

Streaming Performance

Hotspot Shield VPN and VyprVPN are good streaming VPNs, and they even feature in our best VPN for Netflix list (Hotspot Shield received only an honorary mention due to privacy issues). They can unblock and stream major streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max, Hulu, Disney Plus and BBC iPlayer.

Both VPNs handled our HD streaming tests without issues, but VyprVPN struggled a little in some instances when streaming in 4K.

Hotspot Shield offers specialty streaming servers on Android, iOS and Windows.

One unique feature that Hotspot Shield offers that VyprVPN doesn’t is dedicated streaming servers. They provide better speeds when combined with a faster VPN protocol like WireGuard or IKEv2.

We tested a New York streaming server against a regular New York server and noticed a significant difference in speed. The streaming server averaged 38.5 Mbps, whereas the regular server averaged 26.96 Mbps.

Customer Support

VyprVPN’s live agents are prompt with their responses.

You can contact customer support through direct mail or live chat on both VyprVPN and Hotspot Shield. Both VPNs have FAQ sections that address the most common issues. However, VyprVPN’s live chat responds faster than Hotspot Shield’s. You’re connected to a live agent right away, as opposed to Hotspot Shield, where you first have to speak with an automated chatbot.

Hotspot Shield vs VyprVPN: Differences

Let’s look at the differences that set these two VPNs apart.

Pricing

Hotspot Shield may offer a free version, but VyprVPN has the most affordable plans of the two. VyprVPN’s best deal is the annual plan, which costs $5 monthly. That comes out to $60, billed every 12 months. VyprVPN’s other plan is a monthly plan, which costs $10 per month.

Hotspot Shield has an annual plan that costs $8, billed every 12 months for a total of $95.99. That makes it $35 more expensive than VyprVPN’s yearly plan. The monthly plan costs $12.99, which is about $3 more per month than VyprVPN.

The only silver lining of Hotspot Shield’s plans is the free version with limited servers. You can compare it to other alternatives in our best cheap VPNs to see where it stands.

Hotspot Shield has a 45-day money-back guarantee, while VyprVPN offers a more conventional 30-day refund window.

Servers and Locations

VyprVPN has 700 servers in over 70 locations, while Hotspot Shield
has 3,200 servers in over 80 locations.

Hotspot Shield has more than 3,200 VPN servers in over 80 countries, including 115+ virtual locations. Most of these servers are concentrated in Europe (39 countries and 42 locations). Africa has the fewest servers, in only two countries and two locations.

VyprVPN has 700 servers in over 70 locations, making it inferior to Hotspot Shield. However, the distribution of VyprVPN’s multiple servers almost mirrors that of Hotspot Shield. Europe leads the pack with 30 locations in 30 countries, while Africa has the smallest server size (two countries and two locations).

Platform Interface and Usability

One of the key aspects of a VPN is usability, as we talk about in our best beginner-friendly VPN list. With that said, VyprVPN is easier to use than Hotspot Shield. The features are more uniform across VyprVPN’s apps. For example, you can configure the kill switch on Windows, macOS and Android using the same steps. 

The VyprVPN app has actionable buttons for the kill switch across all apps.

However, VyprVPN for iOS doesn’t have a kill switch or split tunneling buttons like it does for Android. You only have options for activating public WiFi protection and switching protocols. The lack of a kill switch on VyprVPN for iOS is particularly concerning. We got in touch with support and they confirmed that this all-important feature isn’t available. If you’re an iOS user, we recommend trying any of the alternatives on our best iPhone VPN list.

The Hotspot Shield macOS app locates the kill switch in
system settings instead of the app settings.

The kill switch button on Hotspot Shield for macOS has a different access point that’s not in the regular app settings section. This can be more challenging for new users than VyprVPN, whose kill switch is not only easily accessible but also lets you configure it to suit your needs.

Hotspot Shield for Windows keeps all its features in one place and even offers keyboard shortcuts. It is by far the most advanced of the two VPN apps. The Android and iOS apps have similar setups.

Finally, it’s worth mentioning that both VPN providers offer native apps for smart TVs like Android TV.

Speed

Neither of these VPNs is as fast as the top VPN performers in our fastest VPN list. However, Hotspot Shield is still faster than VyprVPN. It performed better when tested with the servers closest to us, like South Africa, and put up a good fight with distant servers. The average worldwide speed from six locations was 24.05 Mbps from unprotected speeds of 40 Mbps.

VyprVPN, on the other hand, was slow even when connecting to the closest servers we could find. The global average speed from six locations was 13.17 Mbps from unprotected speeds of 40 Mbps.

VPN:DownloadsAverage Speed

	40 Mbps	13.17 Mbps
	40 Mbps	24.05 Mbps

Tested on unprotected servers across 6 locations.

The Verdict: Why We Think VyprVPN Wins Overall

VyprVPN offers everything that Hotspot Shield does except reliable speed. While it’s notably slower than Hotspot Shield on faraway servers, that difference isn’t enough to overcome Hotspot Shield’s habit of leaking IP addresses, which is outright disqualifying in a VPN. VyprVPN is also cheaper and friendlier for beginners.

There is a free version of Hotspot Shield, but it’s limited compared to Proton VPN, Windscribe, TunnelBear and the other best free VPN services. Although both VPNs have their flaws, VyprVPN is vastly more usable and affordable, so it takes the crown in this tight race.

FAQ: Hotspot Shield vs VyprVPN

• Is VyprVPN Better Than Hotspot Shield?

  VyprVPN is better than Hotspot Shield in terms of pricing. Both the monthly and annual plans are cheaper than Hotspot Shield’s. Using VyprVPN’s apps is also easier, and it has actionable buttons for all the vital features.

• Is Hotspot Shield a Good VPN?

  Hotspot Shield has faster speeds that can handle streaming without buffering and gaming without lags. It also has more than 3,200 servers in over 80 countries, which makes it easy to unblock geo-restricted content. The security features are also reliable.

• Is Hotspot Shield the Fastest VPN?

  Hotspot Shield is faster than VyprVPN. Though it features similar fast protocols like WireGuard and IKEv2, it has the upper hand thanks to specialty servers optimized for speed.

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