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CyberGhost VPN vs Hotspot Shield

Compare speeds, free options, subscription prices and renewal terms to see which VPN fits your needs.

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Speed

Speed
SpeedCyberGhost VPNHotspot Shield
Paid · Download

No data

No data

Paid · Upload

No data

No data

Free · Download

No data

448.18 Mbps

Free · Upload

No data

252.95 Mbps

30-Day Speed History

Free options

Free options
Free optionsCyberGhost VPNHotspot Shield
Free options

Free Chrome and Firefox extensions cover browser traffic only. The full VPN has a 24-hour trial on Windows and macOS without a payment card, 3 days on Android and 7 days on iOS. Mobile trials require payment details and become paid subscriptions unless cancelled. Trials allow up to seven devices.

Free Basic offers unlimited traffic, one connection and one virtual location on Windows, macOS, Android and iOS; ads may appear. A 7-day trial is also offered with an annual subscription. It converts to paid access unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the trial ends.

Pricing

Pricing
PricingCyberGhost VPNHotspot Shield
Paid plan

CyberGhost VPN

Premium

1 month

1 month / $12.99

$12.99 per month

At renewal: 1 month / $12.99

$12.99 per month (Same monthly price)

1 month / $1.99

$1.99 per month

At renewal: 1 month / $12.99

$12.99 per month (+553%)

6 months

6 months / $41.94

$6.99 per month

At renewal: 6 months / $41.94

$6.99 per month (Same monthly price)

No plan for this term

1 year

No plan for this term

1 year / $29.00

$2.42 per month

At renewal: 1 year / $95.99

$8.00 per month (+231%)

2 years

26 months / $51.74

$1.99 per month

At renewal: 12 months / $51.74

$4.31 per month (+117%)

No plan for this term

Direct purchases only. Monthly equivalents include bonus time; the full amount is charged upfront. Taxes and eligibility may differ.

Managing your subscription

Managing your subscription
Managing your subscriptionCyberGhost VPNHotspot Shield
Automatic renewal

Subscriptions purchased through the VPN website, App Store, and Google Play

Credit card

Renews automatically.

Subscriptions purchased through the VPN website, App Store, and Google Play

Renews automatically.

How to turn off renewal

Subscriptions purchased through the VPN website

Credit card

In your VPN account

  1. Sign in to your CyberGhost account.
  2. Open your profile menu and select Subscriptions.
  3. Select Cancel Subscription, then Continue to Cancel.
  4. Check that automatic renewal is marked OFF.

The checkout may call this section Active Subscription.

Canceling your subscription does not automatically request a refund or delete your account.

Subscriptions purchased through App Store and Google Play

If you purchased through the App Store or Google Play, open the subscription settings in that store, select the VPN and cancel the subscription.

Subscriptions purchased through the VPN website

In your VPN account or Through support

In your VPN account

  1. Sign in to your Hotspot Shield account.
  2. Open Account info.
  3. Choose Cancel membership and complete the cancellation process.

Through support

  1. Alternatively, contact Hotspot Shield support to cancel.

After your paid period ends, your account returns to Basic.

Canceling your subscription does not automatically request a refund.

Subscriptions purchased through App Store and Google Play

If you purchased through the App Store or Google Play, open the subscription settings in that store, select the VPN and cancel the subscription.

When to cancel

Subscriptions purchased through the VPN website

Credit card

Before midnight on the renewal date.

Subscriptions purchased through the VPN website

In your VPN account: At least 24 hours before the next charge.

Access after cancellation

Subscriptions purchased through the VPN website

Credit card

Available until the paid period ends.

Subscriptions purchased through App Store and Google Play

Remaining access after cancellation is not established.

Subscriptions purchased through the VPN website, App Store, and Google Play

Available until the paid period ends.

Removing a card from your VPN account

It is unknown whether the saved card can be removed.

It is unknown whether the saved card can be removed.

Refund conditions

Refund conditions
Refund conditionsCyberGhost VPNHotspot Shield
What can be refunded and under what conditions

Purchases on the VPN website

1 month · Credit card

The provider’s refund guarantee applies subject to conditions.

Within 14 days

Starting from the purchase date

How to request a refund

  1. Contact CyberGhost support by email, support ticket or live chat.
  2. Provide your order details.

6 months · 26 months · Credit card

The provider’s refund guarantee applies subject to conditions.

Within 45 days

Starting from the purchase date

How to request a refund

  1. Contact CyberGhost support by email, support ticket or live chat.
  2. Provide your order details.

App Store & Google Play purchases

If you paid through the App Store or Google Play, you can request a refund through that store. Requests are assessed under the store’s rules; approval is not guaranteed.

Purchases on the VPN website

The provider’s refund guarantee applies subject to conditions.

Within 45 days

Starting from your initial purchase

Refund amount & fees

The website advertises a full refund within the guarantee window.

How to request a refund

  1. Contact Hotspot Shield support by email or chat to request a refund.

App Store & Google Play purchases

If you paid through the App Store or Google Play, you can request a refund through that store. Requests are assessed under the store’s rules; approval is not guaranteed.

What is not covered by refunds

Purchases on the VPN website

1 month · Credit card, 6 months · 26 months · Credit card

Renewal payments are not explicitly covered by the money-back guarantee.

CyberGhost may refuse a refund if you violate its terms of service.

Purchases on the VPN website

Renewal payments after the initial 45-day guarantee period are not covered by the money-back guarantee.

Purchases through resellers have separate refund terms.

Ownership & jurisdiction

Ownership & jurisdiction
Ownership & jurisdictionCyberGhost VPNHotspot Shield
Who runs the VPN?

CyberGhost S.R.L. (registered in Romania) is the company named as providing the VPN service. Provider named in terms for direct consumer VPN service.

Kape Technologies PLC is the parent company of CyberGhost S.R.L..

Kape Technologies PLC also owns ExpressVPN and Private Internet Access.

The legal documents name Anchorfree, LLC and Pango Gmbh as possible service operators, but we could not confirm which company provides your subscription. Terms name either Anchorfree, LLC or Pango Gmbh depending on purchase location; the exact mapping was not established.

Which laws apply?

Section 16 of the terms specifies English law. US arbitration follows the Federal Arbitration Act under section 14; section 15 refers to London and LCIA arbitration for non-US disputes. The company is registered in Romania, which is separate from these rules.

The terms specify New York law while preserving mandatory consumer protections. The company may be registered elsewhere.

Audits

Each audit covers particular systems and a particular point in time. A provider announcement is distinct from a publicly available audit report.

Audits
AuditsCyberGhost VPNHotspot Shield
No-logs policy

No-logs review

Deloitte Audit SRL · October 2025

What was checked: Server configurations and operating procedures for the no-logs service, as of October 2025.

Findings: The limited-assurance review found no material departure from the described no-logs setup.

Read the audit report

No-logs review

Aon · 2023

What was checked: Logging behaviour in free and paid clients and a development server node.

Findings: The review found no browsing activity traceable to an individual and no plaintext IP-address logging in the examined setup.

Limitations: This privacy review did not assess the security of data storage or hosting.

Read the auditor’s summary
App security

No independent audit found for this area.

No independent audit found for this area.

Infrastructure security

No independent audit found for this area.

No independent audit found for this area.

Apps, protocols & servers

Apps & devices

Apps & devices
Apps, protocols & serversCyberGhost VPNHotspot Shield
Computers & mobile devices

PaidWindows, macOS, Android, iOS, Linux

FreeNot supported

Windows, macOS, Android, iOS

TV devices

PaidAndroid TV, Fire TV

FreeNot supported

PaidAndroid TV, Fire TV

FreeNot supported

Browser extensions

Chrome, Firefox

Chrome

Manual setup

PaidWindows, macOS, Linux, Android, Routers, Raspberry Pi, NAS, Enigma2

FreeNot supported

Not supported

Connection details

Connection details
Apps, protocols & serversCyberGhost VPNHotspot Shield
Simultaneous connections

Paid7

FreeNot applicable

Paid10

Free1

WireGuard

Supported

Supported

OpenVPN

Supported (Not available in: macOS app · Manual setup)

Supported

IKEv2/IPsec

Supported

Supported

Provider-specific technologies

—

Hydra

Network

Network
Apps, protocols & serversCyberGhost VPNHotspot Shield
Servers

9,800+

No data

Countries

Paid100

Free4

Paid85

Free3

Locations

125

1

Features

Features
FeaturesCyberGhost VPNHotspot Shield
Auto-connect

Supported

Supported

Kill Switch

Supported

Supported

Split tunneling

Supported

Supported (Smart VPN)

VPN traffic obfuscation

Not supported

Supported (Hydra)

Multi-hop

Not supported

Supported (Android app only)

Tor over VPN

Not supported

Supported

P2P / torrenting

Supported (Selected servers)

Supported

Ad blocking

Supported (Content Blocker)

Not supported

Tracker blocking

Supported (Content Blocker)

Not supported

Malicious website blocking

Supported (Content Blocker)

Supported

Port forwarding

Not supported

Not supported

Dedicated IP

Supported (Paid add-on)

Not supported

Shared static IP

Not supported

Not supported

Automatic IP rotation

Not supported

Not supported

Streaming

Based on providers’ published information. “Not supported” means the service was not listed in the reviewed materials; playback has not been tested.

Streaming
FeaturesCyberGhost VPNHotspot Shield
Netflix

Supported

Supported

Amazon Prime Video

Supported

Supported

Disney+

Not supported

Supported

HBO Max

Supported

Not supported

Paramount+

Supported

Not supported

Hulu

Supported

Supported

Apple TV+

Supported

Not supported

Crunchyroll

Supported

Not supported

YouTube TV

Supported

Not supported

BBC iPlayer

Supported

Not supported

DAZN

Supported

Not supported

F1 TV

Supported

Not supported

Kayo Sports

Supported

Not supported

ZEE5

Supported

Not supported

Vidio

Supported

Not supported

Canal+

Supported

Not supported

ITVX

Supported

Not supported

Channel 4

Supported

Not supported

NOW TV

Supported

Not supported

France.tv

Supported

Not supported

TF1+

Supported

Not supported

RTL+

Supported

Not supported

Joyn

Supported

Not supported

ARD

Supported

Not supported

ZDF

Supported

Not supported

RaiPlay

Supported

Not supported

Mediaset Infinity

Supported

Not supported

Movistar Plus+

Supported

Not supported

RTVE Play

Supported

Not supported

Viaplay

Supported

Not supported

Coupang Play

Supported

Not supported

Wavve

Supported

Not supported

M6+

Supported

Not supported

Videoland

Supported

Not supported

NPO Start

Supported

Not supported

Ziggo Go

Supported

Not supported

RTÉ Player

Supported

Not supported

RTBF Auvio

Supported

Not supported

Other services (18)
Streaming
FeaturesCyberGhost VPNHotspot Shield
Peacock

Not supported

Not supported

iQIYI

Not supported

Not supported

WeTV

Not supported

Not supported

Viki

Not supported

Not supported

ESPN+

Not supported

Not supported

beIN Sports

Not supported

Not supported

fuboTV

Not supported

Not supported

JioHotstar

Not supported

Not supported

SonyLIV

Not supported

Not supported

U-next

Not supported

Not supported

TVING

Not supported

Not supported

FPT Play

Not supported

Not supported

VieON

Not supported

Not supported

VTV Go

Not supported

Not supported

Vision+

Not supported

Not supported

RCTI+

Not supported

Not supported

Exxen

Not supported

Not supported

puhutv

Not supported

Not supported

Censorship

Relevant mainly where VPN services are blocked

If you are in the US, a European country, or elsewhere and VPN services are not blocked on your network, these results need not rule this VPN out of your purchase decision. A failed test under blocking in Russia does not, by itself, mean the VPN is poor quality or will not work where you live. Consider its speed, features and price for your needs.

Censorship
CensorshipCyberGhost VPNHotspot Shield
Does it work on restricted networks?

In our tests in Russia, we could not establish a working VPN connection that allowed data transfer under VPN blocking.

In our tests in Russia, the free plan bypassed VPN blocking and allowed data transfer. We could not establish a working connection with data transfer on the paid plan.