Hotspot Shield and Hola At a Glance
Hotspot Shield
Hotspot Shield is a well-known VPN provider that offers comprehensive security and privacy protections, while also providing reliable access to content around the globe, thanks to its large global server network.
Hola
While Hola provides reliable, well-protected, and fast connections, some of the provider’s features are less than private. If you opt for Hola’s free VPN services, your computer becomes part of a network of other free users, and you’ll be sharing your spare bandwidth with the Hola network.
Choosing a VPN
When you’re considering a VPN provider, always carefully research each VPN provider’s features and performance in each VPN service column.
By the time you finish reading this article, you should have plenty of information at hand to make an informed VPN subscription decision.
Features of Hotspot Shield and Hola
I’ll be looking at two VPN providers, Hotspot Shield and Hola. I’ll compare both provider’s performances in several VPN service categories, tally the scores, and name an overall winner.
Connection Speeds
No matter your favorite online activity, a fast internet connection is your best friend.
I perform VPN connection speed tests on a regular basis. I perform the tests as follows:
- Tests are performed on a Windows server with a gigabit Ethernet connection, located in North America.
- I connect to three different VPN server locations – London, New York City, and Hong Kong – at various times of the day.
- I use the Windows version of the VPN apps, connecting with the Wireguard protocol when it is available.
- I use the Speedtest app to measure both VPN download speeds after connecting to each VPN server location. The app is restarted between each test.
Both providers delivered above-average download speeds.
Hotspot Shield delivered download speeds of 124.9 Mbps.
Hola also delivered fast connections, measuring in at 186.7 Mbps.
You’re likely to see different connection speeds than what I saw. VPN connection speeds depend on several factors, including your unprotected connection speeds, where you connect from, the location of the VPN server you connect to, and how many users are connecting to that server.
Average Connection Speed Winner: Hola
| Provider | Avg. Connection Speed | Link |
| Hola | 186.7 Mbps | Visit Site
Read Review |
| Hotspot Shield | 124.9 Mbps | Visit Site |
Pricing
Prices for everyday items are on the rise and that means many of us are looking to save a buck or two on any purchase we make. However, that doesn’t mean you should consider only uber-cheap or free VPN providers, as they often don’t provide all of the VPN protection that they should.
Hotspot Shield’s monthly subscription fee averages out to about what you’d pay for a medium burger combo at your favorite burger joint when purchasing a one-year subscription. A 45-day money-back guarantee is available.
Hotspot Shield offers a free tier of VPN service, which limits users to one connection at a time and allows the use of one lone VPN server location.
Hola is 30 cents cheaper per month than Hotspot Shield, when you opt for a one-year commitment.
Hola also offers a free tier of VPN service, which has some privacy and security concerns. We’ll discuss that a bit later.
I never publish exact VPN pricing in my articles, as many VPN providers regularly change their prices, while also offering special discounts. Check the VPN providers’ websites for current pricing information.
Pricing Winner: Hola
| Provider | Money-Back Guarantee Period | Link |
| Hotspot Shield | 45 Days | Visit Site |
| Hola | 30 Days | Visit Site
Read Review |
Privacy
If you go online without using a VPN, you’re leaving behind detailed evidence of your online antics. A VPN’s privacy features prevent any logs connected to your online travels from being left behind.
One of the reasons you should use a VPN is that it blocks an ISP from following you around online and logging your activities. A quality VPN provider will also not save logs of your online activities.
The following should be considered when researching a VPN’s privacy protections:
- Is the VPN located in a privacy-friendly country?
- Does the VPN save user activity logs on its servers?
- Does the VPN accept cryptocurrency as payment?
Hotspot Shield is owned by U.S. corporation Pango. While the provider is allowed to log its users’ online activity, it does not. Unfortunately, the provider does not accept cryptocurrency as payment.
Hola is based in Israel, which shares information with members of the Five Eyes alliance, including the United States and the United Kingdom. Hola logs quite a bit of information when you’re connected to its servers, including your IP address, operating system and browser information, web pages visited, the amount of time you spent visiting those pages, and the access dates and times. Hola also does not accept cryptocurrency.
Hola’s free VPN service makes things even less private, as it routes your data through a network made up of Hola users’ computers, sharing your “spare” bandwidth with other users on the network. Paid users can opt-out of being a Hola node. However, that should be an opt-in “feature,” not opt-out.
Privacy Winner: Hotspot Shield
| Provider | Privacy Ranking | Site |
| Hola | 3.0 | Visit Site
Read Review |
| Hotspot Shield | 4.5 | Visit Site |
Online Security
A VPN encrypts your internet connection, while also temporarily assigning a fresh IP address to your connected device. This means it hides your online travels from your ISP, while also hiding your real IP address.
Hotspot Shield protects its users’ connections with military-grade encryption. A kill switch protection feature is available in the provider’s Windows app. Available connection protocols include OpenVPN, Wireguard, and IKEv2 (IPSec), depending on the device.
Hola also protects its customers’ connection with heavy-duty encryption, but offers only two connection protocols, IKEv2 and L2TP/IPSec. The provider also lacks kill switch or DNS leak protection, although it does offer port forwarding and split tunneling.
Also, there’s that whole thing about routing your data through a network of volunteer nodes that just doesn’t appear to be secure.
Online Security Winner: Hotspot Shield
| Provider | Overall Security Score | Link |
| Hola | 4.0 | Visit Site
Read Review |
| Hotspot Shield | 5.0 | Visit Site |
Simultaneous Connections
I’d venture to say that most of my readers own more than one internet-connected device and use those devices simultaneously. This is why it is important to consider a VPN provider’s simultaneous connections allowance.
Hola allows users to simultaneously connect up to 10 devices to its servers.
Hotspot Shield allows users to connect up to five devices at once to its servers. (Up to 25 devices, five for each family member, when you subscribe to the Premium Family tier of service.)
Simultaneous Connections Winner: Hola
| Provider | Simultaneous Connections Allowed | Link |
| Hola | 10 | Visit Site
Read Review |
| Hotspot Shield | 5 | Visit Site |
Streaming Support
I subscribe to multiple streaming services and I’m betting many of my readers do the same thing. Unfortunately, no matter how many streaming services you subscribe to, you’re not getting everything you could be from your subscriptions. This is due to the geographic restrictions streaming services put on their content.
Luckily, a VPN has the ability to provide access to geo-controlled streaming content. A VPN can do this, thanks to its ability to temporarily assign a different IP address to your connected device, making it appear as if you and your device are located in another part of the globe.
Hotspot Shield provided reliable access to Netflix US, Netflix UK, YouTube, Amazon Prime, Hulu, Twitch, Disney+, and other popular streamers.
Meanwhile, Hola could not provide access to any other streaming services.
Streaming Support Winner: Hotspot Shield
| Provider | # of U.S. Streaming Services VPN Unblocks | # of International Services VPN Unblocks | Link |
| Hola | 0 | 0 | Visit Site
Read Review |
| Hotspot Shield | 6+ | 5+ | Visit Site |
BitTorrent Support
BitTorrent is a popular way to share files with other internet users. Even though file sharing is legal in most countries – it’s even used by legitimate organizations to share files among employees – it is illegal to share copyrighted files, including movies and music.
The entertainment industry pressures Internet Service Providers to block file sharing. ISPs will throttle or block their users’ internet connections if they see users engaging in file sharing activity, even legal file sharing.
A VPN encrypts your internet connection, keeping your file sharing undercover. A VPN also temporarily assigns a different IP address to your connected device. This prevents anyone from tracking your online activities back to your real IP address.
Hotspot Shield allows BitTorrent activity on all of its servers.
Hola does not allow torrenting activity on any of its servers.
BitTorrenting Winner: Hotspot Shield
| Provider | # of Countries Where VPN Allows BitTorrents | Link |
| Hola | None | Visit Site
Read Review |
| Hotspot Shield | All of them | Visit Site |
Global Server Coverage
A VPN provides access to geo-fenced content. The larger a provider’s global server network, the better access you’ll likely have to content in other countries. You should also look for a provider with multiple servers stationed in each country. Multiple servers mean it is less likely that a server won’t be overloaded with too many users at once.
While Hola says it has servers in more than 190 countries, it’s tough to get an actual server count, as the provider uses a peer-to-peer network made up of its users’ computers and does not publish actual server numbers.
Hotspot Shield’s server network is made up of 1,800+ real servers stationed in over 80 countries around the globe.
Global Server Coverage Winner: Hotspot Shield
| Provider | Server Count | Countries | Link |
| Hola | ? | 190+? | Visit Site
Read Review |
| Hotspot Shield | 1,800+ | 80+ | Visit Site |
Multi-Platform Support
If you use multiple devices, it’s likely that each one runs on a different operating system, making it important to investigate a VPN provider’s native app support.
Hotspot Shield offers native app support for Android, Android TV, iOS, macOS, Amazon Fire, Linux, and Windows device platforms. Select router support is available to Hotspot Premium subscribers. (Ready-to-go routers are available through Flashrouters.com.) A Chrome browser extension is available to protect your browsing sessions.
Hola’s app support includes offerings for iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, Huawei, and Amazon Fire TV platforms. The provider offers browser extensions for the Chrome, Edge, and Opera browser platforms. Hola is compatible only with the Keenetic Ultra router.
Multi-Platform Support Winner: Hotspot Shield
| Provider | Platforms Supported | Browser Extensions? | Router Support? |
Link |
| Hola | 6 | Yes (Chrome, Edge, Opera) | One router make and model. | Visit Site
Read Review |
| Hotspot Shield | 7 | Yes (Chrome) | Yes – Manual setup, only on Hotspot Premium. Routers available through Flashrouters | Visit Site |
Customer Support
Both Hotspot Shield and Hola are quality VPN providers, offering reliable VPN services. However, you may still have a question from time to time.
Hola customer support offerings include setup guides, a searchable support library, FAQs, email support, and a contact us form.
Hotspot Shield’s support department offers 24/7 live chat, a contact form, email support, an FAQ section, and a searchable support library.
Customer Support Winner: Hotspot Shield
| Provider | Customer Support Rating | Link |
| Hola | 4.0 | Visit Site
Read Review |
| Hotspot Shield | 5.0 | Visit Site |
And The Winner Is…
Both Hola and Hotspot Shield provide reliable VPN services. However, one of the providers performed much better than its competitor.
Hotspot Shield is the overall victor, due to its performance in the Privacy, Online Security, Streaming, BitTorrent, Global Server Coverage, Multi-Platform Support, and Customer Support categories.
Hola won in the Connection Speeds, Pricing, and Simultaneous Connections columns.
For more information or to purchase a subscription, visit Hotspot Shield.
