At first glance, rival VPNs tend to look much the same. Take a look at Hotspot and VyprVPN, for example, they both offer servers in dozens of countries, offer desktop and mobile apps, and secure your internet traffic with encryption. However, take a closer look at Hotspot Shield and VyprVPN and you’ll see that there are also many areas in which they differ. This can make deciding between the two VPNs a little challenging.

In this VPN comparison post, we’ll break down each and every aspect of Hotspot Shield and VyprVPN. This includes information such as pricing, features, security, and customer support. We’ll also provide side-by-side comparison tables so you can better see how the two VPN services compare and contrast. To conclude, we’ll pick an overall winner which we hope will help you when it comes to making your decision. Let’s get started!

Highlights

Hotspot Shield vs VyprVPN Pricing

Hotspot Shield and VyprVPN differ in that the former offers monthly and yearly plans while the latter currently has 2 month, 18 month, and 36 month options. If you only need a VPN short-term, you may prefer to go with a monthly plan. Hotspot Shield Premium costs $12.99/month (USD) or $19.99/month for Premium Family (up to five member accounts). VyprVPN’s short-term subscription (two months) works out at $6.47/month.

Hotspot Shield

  • Provides servers in 80 countries worldwide
  • Includes 24/7 support via live chat and email
  • Extra features such as a password manager
  • Generous 45-day money-back guarantee

VyprVPN

  • Reliable unblocking of popular streaming services
  • No-logs policy has been independently audited
  • Provides 24/7 live chat and email support
  • One of very few VPNs that works in China

 

If you’re actually looking for a VPN to have long-term, it makes more sense to select a lengthier subscription. That’s because the more time you commit, the cheaper each month works out. Hotspot Shield Premium becomes $7.99/month through its annual plan, a saving of 38%. Premium Family is then $11.99, saving you as much as 40%. There’s also a promo-only three-year plan that cuts the cost by 77%, effectively reducing it to $2.99 per month.

VyprVPN works out cheaper because it offers much longer plans. Its 18 month plan costs $2.50/month, a saving of 81% while you can save even more with the VyprVPN 3 year plan which works out at just $1.67/month, a saving of 87%. It’s also worth noting that this long-term option is available permanently, whereas Hotspot Shield’s could be removed at any time. Overall, VyprVPN is the more affordable option whether you’re looking for a VPN for the short-term or long-term.

However, it’s worth knowing that Hotspot Shield offers a number of free extras that VyprVPN (and indeed most VPNs) don’t. This includes a password manager, spam call blocker, and identity theft protection. Furthermore, Hotspot Shield comes with a 45-day money-back guarantee compared to the 30 days offered by VyprVPN. As such, this may make Hotspot Shield the better value option if you’re looking to take advantage of these features.

BEST DEAL FOR HOTSPOT SHIELD:Save up to 77% and effectively reduce your monthly payment to just pay $2.99.

BEST DEAL FOR VYPRVPN:Pay as little as $1.67 per month with the VyprVPN 3-year plan (a saving of 87%).

Hotspot Shield vs VyprVPN Features

Where Hotspot Shield sets itself apart is in its offering of a Chrome browser extension. Both VPNs have to be manually installed on wireless routers, but in both cases, manual setup guides are provided to make life easier.

These two VPN providers also provide a number of free extra features as part of a subscription. Hotspot Shield offers more (as reflected in its higher subscription price) with its security suite of features. This includes password management with 1Password and spam call blocking with Robo Shield (though the exact services differ by location). However, VyprVPN does come with a malware blocker.

Streaming and unblocking

You can use both Hotspot Shield and VyprVPN for streaming (note that both VPNs also allow torrenting). As you can see in the above table, the two VPNs works with several Netflix libraries including Netflix US and UK. This is particularly impressive considering how difficult Netflix is to access due to the anti-VPN measures it has implemented over the years.

Which of these VPNs work in China?

Many VPNs you come across simply won’t work in China due to the strict internet restrictions within the country. However, the good news is that both Hotspot Shield and VyprVPN are able to bypass the Great Firewall of China. This means that you can use them to unblock websites that are blocked in China such as Facebook, Google, and Wikipedia.

With VyprVPN, all you need to do is change protocol in your settings. You’ll want to select the Chameleon protocol which VyprVPN even labels “Anti-Censorship”. The process with Hotspot Shield is almost exactly the same; just make sure you’re using its Hydra protocol. You should then be able to unblock government-censored and geo-restricted content.

Keep in mind that the websites of Hotspot Shield and VyprVPN are blocked in China. As such, you’ll need to download and install your preferred VPN ahead of your arrival in China. If you still encounter issues when there, be sure to try changing servers in case the IP address you’re using has been blacklisted (a common method used by Chinese authorities).

Setup and interface

With an automatic setup wizard available with the desktop and mobile apps of both Hotspot Shield and VyprVPN, it’s easy to get started. Downloading and installing an app shouldn’t take more than a minute or two. Upon signing in, you’ll find easy-to-navigate interfaces which make connecting to a server (or changing your location) quick and easy.

The layout of the apps is such that you can quickly toggle the VPN on and off. Switching servers or adjusting your settings can be done in a couple of clicks. One area in which VyprVPN stands out is that it lets you filter servers by country, region, and speed. In contrast, the Hotspot Shield servers are simply listed in alphabetical order by country.

The extra settings page of each VPN offers plenty of options. With Hotspot Shield, you can auto-connect to your last location and even be notified when you’re connected to unsecure public wifi. VyprVPN has automatic wifi protection, lets you toggle a kill switch, and even blocks malicious sites. Both VPNs easily let you switch protocols should you wish.

Servers and performance

As you can see, Hotspot Shield has far more servers than VyprVPN. In total, its network consists of more than 1,800 servers while VyprVPN offers approximately 700. Indeed, Hotspot Shield also offers access to servers in more countries (80) compared to the 64 of VyprVPN. However, it should be said that VyprVPN’s smaller network will still be more than sufficient for the average user.

These two VPNs both offer servers in some of the most popular locations. These include servers in the US, the UK, Australia, and Japan. Although VyprVPN has the smaller network, it does offer some servers in countries that Hotspot Shield doesn’t such as Liechtenstein. However, Hotspot Shield has servers in the likes of China, Hungary, and South Africa.

With Hotspot Shield, you’ll simply have access to more geo-restricted content thanks to its larger server network. It also offers faster server speeds. We had an average global download speed of 63 Mbps (versus VyprVPN’s 44 Mbps average) which makes it one of the faster VPNs we’ve tested. Both VPNs have unlimited bandwidth. This means you can stream and torrent as much as you like without having to worry about performance issues, be it lag or buffering.

Below, you’ll find a list of every country in which these VPNs have servers:

Hotspot Shield vs VyprVPN Security

What’s clear is that these are two highly secure VPN services that help keep you safe online. Both use 256-bit AES encryption to secure your internet traffic, shielding you from hackers and snoopers alike. Both Hotspot Shield and VyprVPN provide protection from DNS leaks although you’ll need to look elsewhere if you want IPv6 and WebRTC leak protection. ExpressVPN is one of the few VPNs that does this.

Depending on your needs, you can choose different VPN protocols with these VPN providers. Of the two, VyprVPN offers more options. It supports some of the most common VPN protocols including OpenVPN, L2TP, IKEv2, PPTP, and WireGuard. Its proprietary protocol, Chameleon, bypasses VPN blocking so you can evade online censorship. Hotspot Shield also supports IKEv2 but the only other available protocol is its very own Catapult Hydra.

Both VPNs provide some form of cloaking technology through the use of their own proprietary VPN protocols (Catapult Hydra for Hotspot Shield and Chameleon for VyprVPN). This means that you can use these VPNs to bypass censorship such as in China. Hotspot Shield has a Windows-only kill switch while VyprVPN’s kill switch is available in both its Windows and Mac desktop apps. This stops sending internet traffic should the VPN connection drop unexpectedly, stopping you from browsing unprotected.

Hotspot Shield and VyprVPN provide additional security in the form of public wifi protection. This ensures your device automatically connects to the VPN when you use public wifi. The two VPNs also use their own private DNS servers so you don’t need to worry about risky exposure to third parties.

Privacy

Aside from security, it’s also important to consider your privacy and how much a VPN does to protect it. Hotspot Shield is headquartered in the United States which is a Five Eyes member. This means that if any logs were to be obtained, they could then theoretically be shared with other participating Five Eyes member countries. However, it’s important to emphasise that Hotspot Shield doesn’t keep any logs by which its users can be identified.

VyprVPN operates out of Switzerland which is a country with much stronger data privacy laws. Unlike Hotspot Shield, it doesn’t even keep aggregate data. In fact, VyprVPN is one of few VPNs that has had its no-logs policy subjected to an audit from an independent third party. As a result, users can have more confidence that all of their personal information remains private at all times.

When it comes to signing up for these VPNs, you don’t need to provide a wealth of personal details. Indeed, the only information required when signing up for a Hotspot Shield account is an email address. Even this can be a burner account if you want to be anonymous. Aside from an email address, VyprVPN also asks for your name. Unfortunately, neither Hotspot Shield nor VyprVPN provides any anonymous payment options such as Bitcoin.

Configuration

Hotspot Shield and VyprVPN both use shared address allocation meaning you’ll share the same IP address as other users when connecting to the same server. This is very common with VPNs and means you can browse and stream anonymously since everyone’s traffic is mixed together. While neither provider keeps identifiable logs, the fact that you share the same IP address as other users means that even if logs existed, it’d be extremely difficult to tell one user from another.

The two VPNs use dynamic IP addresses. As such, you’ll find that your IP address changes each time you connect, even if you’re using the same server (there are usually multiple IP addresses for each server). Most of the time, you’ll probably only need a dynamic IP address. However, dedicated or static IP addresses also have their uses although neither VPN offers such an option. It’s only possible via VyprVPN Cloud which is a cloud service for business.

While VPNs don’t typically offer specific DDoS protection, the good news is that you’re protected simply by using them. That’s because your original IP address is hidden. If someone tries to DDoS you, they’ll end up targeting the VPN instead. Of course, you can then simply switch servers and continue your online activities as normal.

Customer Service

If you’re looking for a VPN with high-quality customer service, these are certainly worth your consideration. Notably, they both offer live chat and email support. Indeed, these are available 24 hours per day. However, Hotspot Shield and VyprVPN don’t have phone support. To be fair, aside from IPVanish, there are very few VPNs that offer this.

We decided to test out the customer support of Hotspot Shield and VyprVPN for ourselves. The live chat support is, as you’d expect, the fastest way to get a response. However, the email support of these two VPN providers is also fairly quick to respond, especially compared to many of their rivals. Hotspot Shield took an average of 3 to 4 hours to get back to us. VyprVPN was only marginally quicker with an average response time of just 3 hours.

In our conversations with Hotspot Shield and VyprVPN, we found their responses to be helpful. You can also find answers by searching their knowledge bases. There you’ll find various setup guides as well as answers to frequently asked questions. Both providers offer step-by-step instructions and screenshots in their help articles, which is great to see. However, unlike some VPNs, Hotspot Shield and VyprVPN don’t provide any video guides to speak of.

To test the speed and quality of the Hotspot Shield and VyprVPN email support, we sent them both the same three questions:

The Winner

Hotspot Shield

Apps Available:

  • PC
  • Mac
  • IOS
  • Android
  • Linux

Website: www.Hotspotshield.com

Money-back guarantee: 45 DAYS

                    Editor’s Note: Hotspot Shield is owned by Pango, Comparitech’s parent company.

Truth be told, there isn’t a great deal to separate Hotspot Shield and VyprVPN. The two VPN services possess a similar number of pros and cons. However, based on the above information, Hotspot Shield is our overall winner.

Though Hotspot Shield is the more expensive of the two, it includes a number of enticing extras including a password manager. Its network consists of 1,800 servers in 80 countries compared to that of VyprVPN which is 700 servers in 64 countries. This allows you to unblock geo-restricted content from more locations as a result.

With more features, a larger network of servers, and faster speeds, Hotspot Shield ultimately wins. Note that it also comes with a 45-day money-back guarantee. This is much longer than that of most VPNs (VyprVPN has a money-back guarantee of 30 days), allowing you more time to try it out risk-free.