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

Hotspot Defend’s contradictory knowledge logging practices make it exhausting to advocate for customers who prioritize safety above all else.

Bounce to:

Does Hotspot Defend VPN have a Free Model?

It seems Hotspot Defend now not provides its free model and has a 7-day free trial as a substitute. Hotspot Defend’s free VPN had restricted options, in comparison with its premium subscription, but it surely was freed from cost and limitless to make use of. Once I went to obtain the free model to check for this overview, I used to be prompted to enter cost info and begin a free 7-day trial. After the free trial, I’d be charged $12.99/month. It was acknowledged that I may cancel the subscription anytime and benefit from their 45-day money-back assure.

Determine A

Providing a free trial as a substitute of a limiteless free VPN service is regular. In actual fact, VPN suppliers like Surfshark and CyberGhost VPN don’t have a free VPN however as a substitute provide a 7-day and a 24-hour free trial for his or her premium VPNs.

Nonetheless, it’s unusual that Hotspot Defend nonetheless advertises having a free VPN service regardless of it truly being a free trial. Additionally, they haven’t up to date their promotional supplies to mirror this, as they proceed to have testimonials stating they’ve a free VPN.

In equity to Hotspot Defend, it could simply be that they haven’t gotten round to updating their web site and its corresponding info. However this can be a trigger for concern, as transparency is without doubt one of the issues I search for in a VPN.

For these curious about trialing Hotspot Defend, you are able to do so—freed from cost—for seven days.

Hotspot Defend VPN Pricing

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

Hotspot Defend’s yearly plan of $7.99 per 30 days is dear, with rivals often 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 without doubt one of the finest.

Hotspot Defend’s month-to-month plan for $12.99 per 30 days can be a bit dear however is on par with different VPNs’ comparable month-to-month subscription. For these on the lookout for a extra reasonably priced month-to-month VPN plan, Proton VPN’s Plus month-to-month subscription at $9.99 is an effective decide.

Thankfully, Hotspot provides a 45-day money-back assure for each plans that can permit you to refund your cost when you really feel Hotspot Defend VPN isn’t match.

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

Hotspot Defend VPN Professionals

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

Hotspot Defend VPN Cons

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

Safety: Hotspot Defend VPN protected?

Hotspot Defend doesn’t include the OpenVPN safety protocol—broadly considered as probably the most safe VPN protocol. As a substitute, it comes with the speed-oriented WireGuard and IKEv2 (IPsec) protocols and its very personal Hydra protocol that’s additionally constructed for pace.

Not having OpenVPN is a miss given its excessive degree of safety. It could’ve additionally given customers a protocol for duties that require extra safety and never simply pace. For encryption, Hotspot Defend has the gold-standard AES-265 encryption.

It additionally comes with safety in opposition to DNS leaks however this isn’t turned on by default—an odd alternative provided that different VPNs have this turned on out of the field. It’s additionally not user-friendly; a novice person could unintentionally leak their knowledge in the event that they fail to see the toggle. In my view, Hotspot Defend ought to have their DNS leak safety turned on upon setup.

Hotspot Defend claims to be a no-logs VPN, and so they produce an annual Transparency Report to help the declare. Nonetheless, it seems the latest report was printed in 2019.

As well as, again in 2017, the Middle for Democracy and Expertise (CDT) filed a criticism in opposition to the Federal Commerce Fee alleging that Hotspot Defend’s Free model logged person knowledge, like incoming and outgoing IP addresses and connection logs, and offered 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 document your VPN looking actions in any method that may be related again to you.”

In the identical discover, nevertheless, Hotspot Defend makes it clear that it collects IP addresses to guard in opposition to 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 executed to supply a greater person expertise.

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

In the event you’re on the lookout for 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 Defend might be thought of protected, it has areas of concern inside its security measures and logging practices.

Key options of Hotspot Defend VPN

Hotspot Defend’s three key options prioritize pace and efficiency.

Constructed-in pace take a look at

Hotspot Defend claims to be the “world’s” quickest VPN,” aligning a whole lot of its options in the direction of pace. One among these options is its pace take a look at that’s constructed proper throughout the VPN’s essential dashboard.

Determine B

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

In the event you’re the kind of person who values pace, this can be a useful gizmo that can allow you to periodically examine your connection’s efficiency. It’s additionally going to be helpful when you repeatedly expertise spotty web connection and need a built-in instrument to watch pace.

Cut up tunneling

Hotspot Defend comes with two cut up tunneling options: cut up tunneling apps and cut up tunneling web sites. This enables customers to select which apps or providers they need to route through a protected VPN connection and which of them they need to run via their common ISP.

Determine C

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

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

10 system connections

Determine D

Hotspot Defend additionally permits for 10 simultaneous system connections, letting customers defend a number of gadgets via a secured VPN connection. It is a delicate however essential characteristic which can profit customers who use a number of laptops, computer systems, tablets or smartphones.

Having 10 allowed connections is a lot, contemplating different VPNs usually present solely 6-8 connections. For instance, NordVPN and CyberGhost VPN solely permit six and 7 simultaneous system connections, respectively.

Efficiency: Is Hotspot Defend VPN quick?

Sure, Hotspot Defend VPN is a quick VPN, nevertheless, 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, net pages loaded shortly and I didn’t expertise any slowdowns with the VPN operating.

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

Its add pace was much less spectacular at a a lot greater 81.09% drop in pace. In observe, although, I had no bother importing video information into Google Drive.

Once I first examined for DNS leaks, one leak appeared however I noticed the IP leak safety was off. As soon as turned on, Hotspot Defend recorded zero DNS leaks after a number of exams.

That is an space for enchancment for Hotspot Defend 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 knowledge.

Hotspot Defend VPN Servers and areas

For its server suite, Hotspot Defend offers 3,200+ servers from round 85 nations and 112 areas. 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. Nonetheless, Hotspot Defend’s server community lets you unblock quantity of geo-restricted content material.

In the event you’re on the lookout for a bigger server suite, CyberGhost VPN is an effective alternative with its greater than 10,000 servers throughout 100 nations.

Hotspot Defend has specialised streaming and gaming servers, but it surely solely offers specialised server areas inside the US and the UK. In the event you’re not in any of those locations, it may be higher to connect with a server location nearer to you as a substitute.

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 Defend VPN’s server suite.

Hotspot Defend VPN app expertise

Determine E

I primarily used Hotspot Defend’s Home windows desktop utility on my laptop computer for this overview. By way of in-app expertise, Hotspot Defend’s desktop app is well-designed however is a bit unintuitive. Its server checklist doesn’t present which areas or servers are specialised for streaming or gaming. To get to these servers, you must undergo some trial and error to seek out out that they are often present in both the US or UK areas.

As well as, having the “Forestall IP Leak” button turned off by default must also be fastened.

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

Is Hotspot Defend VPN value it?

Whereas Hotspot Defend provides quick efficiency, 10 simultaneous system connections and a wholesome server community, it lacks requisite security measures to be really helpful as a top-tier VPN.

Particularly, its questionable knowledge logging prevents it from being a good selection for these on the lookout for added safety.

I like to recommend Hotspot Defend when you’re solely targeted on pace and need to often change your digital location via its server checklist. Its built-in pace 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 Defend VPN

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

NordVPN

If safety is your high concern, NordVPN ought to be on high of your checklist. It provides a robust portfolio of third-party testing, quite a lot of security-focused options and a wholesome server community. It additionally provides quick efficiency and a well-designed desktop utility.

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

ProtonVPN

For customers on the lookout for a limiteless free VPN, ProtonVPN is without doubt one of the finest. Its free model offers customers with limitless knowledge and nil adverts. Via its free tier, you get entry to servers from 5 nations on one system. It additionally operates on data-friendly Swiss legal guidelines that present an extra layer of safety on your knowledge.

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

ExpressVPN

If you would like a no-nonsense VPN expertise, it’s best to give ExpressVPN a attempt. It has an intuitive and modern-looking desktop utility that gives a nice person expertise. On high of that, ExpressVPN offers nice pace and efficiency and servers unfold throughout 105 nations.

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

Overview Methodology

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

I scored Hotspot Defend on numerous attributes, together with its security measures and value, based mostly on an inside algorithm to get a score of three.5 out of 5 stars. I checked out Hotspot Defend each by itself and in relation to different VPNs out there.