Hotspot Protect VPN Overview 2023: Pricing, Options & Safety

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

Hotspot Protect’s contradictory information logging practices make it onerous to advocate for customers who prioritize safety above all else.

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Does Hotspot Protect VPN have a Free Model?

It seems Hotspot Protect now not presents its free model and has a 7-day free trial as an alternative. Hotspot Protect’s free VPN had restricted options, in comparison with its premium subscription, however it was freed from cost and limitless to make use of. After I went to obtain the free model to check for this overview, I used to be prompted to enter fee data and begin a free 7-day trial. After the free trial, I’d be charged $12.99/month. It was acknowledged that I might cancel the subscription anytime and reap the benefits 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 actual fact, VPN suppliers like Surfshark and CyberGhost VPN don’t have a free VPN however as an alternative supply a 7-day and a 24-hour free trial for his or her premium VPNs.

Nevertheless, it’s unusual that Hotspot Protect 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 Protect, it could simply be that they haven’t gotten round to updating their web site and its corresponding data. However it is a trigger for concern, as transparency is likely one of the issues I search for in a VPN.

For these fascinated with trialing Hotspot Protect, you are able to do so—freed from cost—for seven days.

Hotspot Protect VPN Pricing

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

Hotspot Protect’s yearly plan of $7.99 per thirty days is dear, with rivals 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 finest.

Hotspot Protect’s month-to-month plan for $12.99 per thirty days can be a bit dear however is on par with different VPNs’ comparable month-to-month subscription. For these in search of a extra reasonably priced month-to-month VPN plan, Proton VPN’s Plus month-to-month subscription at $9.99 is an efficient decide.

Thankfully, Hotspot presents a 45-day money-back assure for each plans that may can help you refund your fee if you happen to really feel Hotspot Protect VPN isn’t a great match.

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

Hotspot Protect VPN Execs

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

Hotspot Protect VPN Cons

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

Safety: Hotspot Protect VPN protected?

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

Not having OpenVPN is a miss given its excessive degree of safety. It might’ve additionally given customers a protocol for duties that require extra safety and never simply velocity. For encryption, Hotspot Protect 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 person might unintentionally leak their information in the event that they miss out on the toggle. In my view, Hotspot Protect ought to have their DNS leak safety turned on upon setup.

Hotspot Protect claims to be a no-logs VPN, and so they produce an annual Transparency Report to assist 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 criticism towards the Federal Commerce Fee alleging that Hotspot Protect’s Free model logged person information, like incoming and outgoing IP addresses and connection logs, and bought 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 file your VPN looking actions in any method that may be related again to you.”

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

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

In the event you’re in search of 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 Protect might be thought of protected, it has areas of concern inside its safety features and logging practices.

Key options of Hotspot Protect VPN

Hotspot Protect’s three key options prioritize velocity and efficiency.

Constructed-in velocity take a look at

Hotspot Protect claims to be the “world’s” quickest VPN,” aligning quite a lot of its options in the direction of velocity. Certainly one of these options is its velocity take a look at that’s constructed proper throughout the VPN’s most important dashboard.

Determine B

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

In the event you’re the kind of person who values velocity, it is a useful gizmo that may allow you to periodically test your connection’s efficiency. It’s additionally going to be helpful if you happen to commonly expertise spotty web connection and need a built-in instrument to observe velocity.

Cut up tunneling

Hotspot Protect comes with two break up tunneling options: break up tunneling apps and break up tunneling web sites. This permits customers to choose which apps or companies they need to route by way of a protected VPN connection and which of them they need to run via their common ISP.

Determine C

In my testing, Hotspot Protect’s break up tunneling for apps labored as marketed; it was in a position to break up my VPN connection primarily based on my chosen apps. Sadly, break up tunneling for web sites didn’t work as nicely; I recorded DNS leaks on the web site I had operating via the VPN.

In the event you plan on utilizing Hotspot Protect’s break up tunneling characteristic, my testing confirmed that its break up tunneling for apps is the safer choice. This may be helpful for customers who need to save on bandwidth or need extra velocity for duties that don’t essentially want VPN safety.

10 gadget connections

Determine D

Hotspot Protect additionally permits for 10 simultaneous gadget connections, letting customers defend a number of units via a secured VPN connection. It is a refined however necessary characteristic which can 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 Protect VPN quick?

Sure, Hotspot Protect VPN is a quick VPN, nonetheless, 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 operating.

For velocity exams, Hotspot Protect carried out very well for downloads because it recorded solely a 19.45% drop in velocity in comparison with my ISP. In case your sort of workflow entails downloading a ton of massive recordsdata, Hotspot Protect is usually a good decide.

Its add velocity was much less spectacular at a a lot larger 81.09% drop in velocity. In follow, although, I had no bother importing video recordsdata 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 Protect recorded zero DNS leaks after a number of exams.

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

Hotspot Protect VPN Servers and places

For its server suite, Hotspot Protect 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 Protect’s server community lets you unblock a great quantity of geo-restricted content material.

In the event you’re in search of a bigger server suite, CyberGhost VPN is an efficient alternative with its greater than 10,000 servers throughout 100 nations.

Hotspot Protect has specialised streaming and gaming servers, however it solely gives specialised server places inside the US and the UK. In the event you’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 supply much more choices to customers, however having these streaming and gaming servers are welcome inclusions to Hotspot Protect VPN’s server suite.

Hotspot Protect VPN app expertise

Determine E

I primarily used Hotspot Protect’s Home windows desktop software on my laptop computer for this overview. By way of in-app expertise, Hotspot Protect’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, you need to undergo some trial and error to search out out that they are often present in both the US or UK places.

As well as, having the “Forestall IP Leak” button turned off by default also needs to be mounted.

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

Is Hotspot Protect VPN value it?

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

Particularly, its questionable information logging prevents it from being a sensible choice for these in search of added safety.

I like to recommend Hotspot Protect if you happen to’re solely centered on velocity and need to sometimes change your digital location via its server listing. Its built-in velocity take a look at might also be helpful for individuals who need to shortly monitor their web connection throughout the app itself.

Options to Hotspot Protect VPN

If after this overview you’re feeling Hotspot Protect VPN isn’t for you, we’ve listed three robust alternate options that may very well be a greater match.

NordVPN

If safety is your prime concern, NordVPN ought 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 software.

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

ProtonVPN

For customers in search of an infinite free VPN, ProtonVPN is likely one of the finest. Its free model gives customers with limitless information and nil adverts. By 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 an extra layer of safety in your information.

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

ExpressVPN

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

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

Overview Methodology

My overview of Hotspot Protect concerned a complete evaluation of its key options and real-world efficiency. I had hands-on expertise with Hotspot Protect via 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 Protect a number of instances (with totally different servers) utilizing DNSLeakTest.

I scored Hotspot Protect on varied attributes, together with its safety features and value, primarily based on an inner algorithm to get a score of three.5 out of 5 stars. I checked out Hotspot Protect each by itself and in relation to different VPNs available in the market.