Hotspot Shield vs Avast Secureline At a Glance
Hotspot Shield
Hotspot Shield’s fast, well-protected connections come from an impressive global server network, providing reliable access to geo-fenced content.
The provider offers top-notch privacy and security protection, keeping anyone from monitoring your online travels.
Avast Secureline
Avast Secureline provides top-notch online security and privacy protections for many popular connected devices.
Although the provider offers excellent services, its connection speeds and global server network could stand some improvement.
Choosing a VPN
When you’re in search of a VPN provider, it pays to carefully investigate how well each provider performs in several service categories.
I’ll be comparing two VPN providers, Hotspot Shield and Avast Secureline. Both VPNs will face off in each service department, then I’ll add up the overall score for both and declare a victor.
By the end of this article, you should have more than enough information at hand to make an informed buying decision.
Hotspot Shield vs Avast Secureline Features
In this section, I’ll be laying out the VPN features you should always research before buying a VPN subscription.
Connection Speeds
A fast internet connection is your friend. No matter if you’re streaming video, playing games online, or sharing files – the faster your connection, the better.
I conduct VPN connection speed tests on a regular basis. The tests are performed as follows:
- I use a North American Windows server, boasting a gigabit Ethernet connection.
- I connect to three different VPN servers – located in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Hong Kong – at three different times of the day.
- Using the Windows version of the VPN providers’ apps, I configure them to connect using the Wireguard protocol when it is available.
- I use the Speedtest app to measure download speeds after connecting to each VPN server location, exiting the Speedtest app after each speed test.
While both VPN services delivered adequate speeds, one provider outperformed its competitor by nearly four times.
Hotspot Shield’s download speeds measured at 128.1 Mbps. This means that no matter what you enjoy online, this provider can handle it.
Avast Secureline provided average download speeds of 32.6 Mbps. While this should be more than fast enough to handle your favorite online pastimes, streaming HD and 4K video may require a bit of buffering time.
Your connection speed test results will be different from mine, as your usual ISP-provided connection speeds, where you’re located, and where the VPN server you select is located all affect your VPN connection speed reading.
Average Connection Speed Winner: Hotspot Shield
| Provider | Avg. Connection Speed | Link |
| Avast Secureline VPN | 32.6 Mbps | Visit Site
Read Review |
| Hotspot Shield | 128.1 Mbps | Visit Site |
Pricing
You may have noticed that the price of necessities is rising (by necessities, I mean pizza, streaming subscriptions, and video games), so we’re all looking for ways to save a buck here and there. This may cause you to concentrate more than you should on a VPN’s price.
Unfortunately, bargain basement VPNs may not offer all of the protection and features you need. This is why you should take the time to consider a VPN’s true value.
It should be noted that while Hotspot Shield offers a free version of its VPN service, the free tier brings with it some limitations, including data caps, bandwidth throttling, and more.
Hotspot Shield’s monthly fee is just about the price of a medium burger combo at your favorite fast food joint when you subscribe for one year. The provider offers a 45-day money-back guarantee.
Meanwhile, Avast Secureline’s monthly price is about the price of a small flavored coffee drink when you subscribe for one year.
I never include the exact VPN prices in my articles. This is because VPNs regularly change their pricing, so pricing info can quickly become outdated. Visit the VPN providers’ websites to find out their current pricing.
Pricing Winner: Avast Secureline VPN
| Provider | Money-Back Guarantee Period | Link |
| Hotspot Shield | 45 Days | Visit Site |
| Avast Secureline VPN | 30 Days | Visit Site
Read Review |
Privacy
Venturing online without a VPN leaves a trail of evidence that allows nosy types to see what you’ve been up to online. This means that a VPN’s privacy protections are an important consideration.
Consider the following when researching a VPN’s privacy protections:
- Is the provider located in an online privacy-friendly country?
- Does the provider save any user logs on its servers?
- Does the provider accept cryptocurrency as payment?
Hotspot Shield is owned by U.S. company Pango. While the provider doesn’t collect or log any user traffic data or browsing activity, a cryptocurrency payment option is not available.
Czech Republic-based Avast Secureline VPN also keeps no logs of their users’ online travels. However, they do record their users’ real IP address, the temporary IP address they were assigned for their VPN session, the beginning and end times of the VPN session, and how much data was used during the users’ session. Avast Secureline VPN also does not accept cryptocurrency.
Privacy Winner: Hotspot Shield
| Provider | Privacy Ranking | Site |
| Avast Secureline VPN | 4.0 | Visit Site
Read Review |
| Hotspot Shield | 4.5 | Visit Site |
Security
A VPN protects you while you’re online, meaning you can’t be tracked in real time. A VPN provides encrypted connection protection, as well as a fresh (temporary) IP address for your connected device, keeping your current online travels undercover.
Hotspot Shield keeps its users’ online antics undercover with military-grade encryption. The provider’s connection protocols include OpenVPN, Wireguard, and IKEv2 (IPSec). Available protocols can vary, depending on which version of the provider’s app you’re using. A kill switch protection feature is available on the provider’s Windows app.
Avast Secureline uses banking-level encryption to protect its users’ connections and uses OpenSSL libraries on IPSec and OpenVPN with UDP. Kill switch protection is available, as is DNS leak and IPv6 leak protection.
Security Winner: It’s a tie
| Provider | Overall Security Score | Link |
| Avast Secureline VPN | 5.0 | Visit Site
Read Review |
| Hotspot Shield | 5.0 | Visit Site |
Simultaneous Connections
There is a good chance that most of my readers own more than one connected device, and that they use more than one of those devices at the same time. This makes a VPN provider’s simultaneous connections allowance an important thing to keep in mind.
Hotspot Shield allows users to simultaneously connect up to five devices to its servers. (25 devices, five for each family member account are allowed when you subscribe to its Premium Family tier.)
Avast Secureline limits users to 10 concurrent connections at a time.
Simultaneous Connections Winner: Avast Secureline VPN
| Provider | Simultaneous Connections Allowed | Link |
| Hotspot Shield | 5 | Visit Site |
| Avast Secureline VPN | 10 | Visit Site
Read Review |
Streaming Support
How many streaming services do you subscribe to? If you’re like me, you subscribe to way too many. If you’re not using a VPN, you’re not getting all that you could out of your streaming subscriptions. Streaming services restrict their content to viewing in designated countries.
A VPN can temporarily assign a fresh IP address to your connected device. This makes it look as if you and your device are connecting to the internet from another region of the globe. This means you’ll have access to streaming content that is usually limited to viewers located in that region.
Hotspot Shield provides access to a large number of streaming services, including Netflix US, Netflix UK, YouTube, Amazon Prime, Hulu, Twitch, Disney+, and others.
Avast Secureline’s streaming servers in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany worked well to unblock Netflix in those three countries. The provider did not offer access to the other streaming services I tried.
Streaming Support Winner: Hotspot Shield
| Provider | # of U.S. Streaming Services VPN Unblocks | # of International Services VPN Unblocks | Link |
| Hotspot Shield | 6+ | 5+ | Visit Site |
| Avast Secureline VPN | 1 | 2 | Visit Site
Read Review |
BitTorrent Support
BitTorrent is arguably one of the most popular ways to share files over the internet. Even though file sharing is legal in most areas of the world (many reputable companies use P2P to share files among employees), many ISPs will throttle or block your internet connection out of hand if they detect file sharing activity.
This is because it’s illegal to share copyrighted materials. This means the entertainment industry pressures ISPs into blocking BitTorrenting. This has led to ISPs throttling or blocking your connection, no matter what type of materials you’re sharing.
A VPN encrypts your internet connection, while also temporarily assigning a new IP address to your device. This means your ISP cannot see that you’re sharing files and no one can trace your BitTorrent activity back to you.
Avast Secureline allows BitTorrent action on eight “P2P” servers in six countries.
Hotspot Shield allows BitTorrenting activity on its entire server network.
BitTorrenting Winner: Hotspot Shield
| Provider | # of Countries Where VPN Allows BitTorrents | Link |
| Avast Secureline VPN | 6 countries | Visit Site
Read Review |
| Hotspot Shield | All of them | Visit Site |
Global Server Coverage
As I mentioned above, streaming services limit access to their content to certain countries. Plus, some financial websites and services will block access to accounts from outside of designated countries. This means that a VPN with a large global server network is an incredible asset.
Also, a provider with multiple servers in each country is an added plus. This helps ensure that a single server won’t be overloaded by too many users connecting at once.
Avast Secureline VPN has 700+ servers in close to 35 countries.
Hotspot Shield has an impressive server network, with 1,800+ servers stationed in 80+ countries around the world.
Global Server Coverage Winner: Hotspot Shield
| Provider | Server Count | Countries | Link |
| Avast Secureline VPN | 700 | 34 | Visit Site
Read Review |
| Hotspot Shield | 1,800+ | 80+ | Visit Site |
Multi-Platform Support
It’s a multi-device world out there, and it seems like they’re all powered by different operating systems. That’s where a VPN provider’s multi-platform support becomes important.
Hotspot Shield’s native app support includes options for iOS, macOS, Android, Android TV, Amazon Fire, Linux, and Windows devices. The provider does offer compatibility with select routers, but only if you spring for Hotspot Premium. (Pre-configured routers are available through Flashrouters.com.) A Chrome browser extension is also available.
Avast Secureline offers app support for macOS, Windows, iOS, Android, and Android TV devices. Browser extensions for the Chrome and Firefox platforms are also available. However, Linux and router support do not make an appearance.
Multi-Platform Support Winner: Hotspot Shield
| Provider | Platforms Supported | Browser Extensions? | Router Support? |
Link |
| Avast Secureline VPN | 5 | Yes (Chrome, Firefox) | Nope | Visit Site
Read Review |
| Hotspot Shield | 7 | Yes (Chrome) | Yes – Manual setup, only on Hotspot Premium. | Visit Site |
Customer Support
Both of these VPNs are not only reliable and easy to use, but they are also both available to provide assistance in your time of need.
Avast Secureline support options include email support, a searchable support library, and a user forum – all available to its paying customers. A “Total Care” phone support number is also available, which is a bit unusual in the VPN industry.
Hotspot Shield’s customer service department offers round-the-clock support, with 24/7 live chat, email support, a “contact us” form, searchable tutorials, an FAQs section, and a searchable support library.
Customer Support Winner: It’s a tie
| Provider | Customer Support Rating | Link |
| Avast Secureline VPN | 5.0 | Visit Site
Read Review |
| Hotspot Shield | 5.0 | Visit Site |
And The Winner Is…
Hotspot Shield and Avast Secureline VPN both provide excellent VPN services, with top-notch online security and privacy, as well as reliable access to content. However, this is a “versus” article, so we must name an overall winner.
Hotspot Shield is the winner this time around, thanks to coming out on top in the Connection Speeds, Privacy, Streaming Support, BitTorrent, Global Server Coverage, and Multi-Platform Support departments.
Avast Secureline VPN proved to be the victor in the Pricing and Simultaneous Connections arenas.
It was a tie when it comes to Security and Customer Support.
For more information or to purchase a subscription, visit Hotspot Shield.
