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Hotspot Shield

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You can try Hotspot Shield without paying through Basic. It offers unlimited data and one connection, but limits server location choices and may show ads. It makes sense if you accept those conditions and do not need several simultaneous connections.

Premium expands the country selection, supports up to ten devices and removes ads. Tie the upgrade to a specific need, such as a particular location or using your phone and computer together. The existence of a paid plan does not make the free one useless.

Pay particular attention to renewal. In the offer we checked, the first month costs $1.99 and subsequent months cost $12.99 each. For regular use, that matters more than the initial discount. Basic is available separately, so trying the service does not require a Premium trial subscription that later charges you.

Current Performance

Paid plan speed and rankings
PaidDownloadUpload
SpeedNo dataNo data
RankNot rankedNot ranked
Free plan speed and rankings
FreeDownloadUpload
Speed448.18 Mbps252.95 Mbps
Rank#1of 9#2of 9

30-Day Speed History

September 5, 2026 – October 4, 2026

Speed history; see the data table below for values.
View daily results
Speed history in Mbps
Date (UTC)Free download speedFree upload speed
October 4, 2026448.18252.95
October 3, 2026453.59246.15
October 2, 2026453.59226.72
October 1, 2026455.63240.46
September 30, 2026453.59245.2
September 29, 2026481.96246.15
September 28, 2026525.14252.95
September 27, 2026525.14253.09
September 26, 2026537.01254.43
September 25, 2026530.67254.9
September 24, 2026530.59256.45
September 23, 2026530.59253.06
September 22, 2026525.14253.58
September 21, 2026506.44252.69
September 20, 2026521.54251.77
September 19, 2026462.44250.19
September 18, 2026503.07249.33
September 17, 2026462.44249.33
September 16, 2026470.11251.77
September 15, 2026462.44251.77
September 14, 2026470.11252.66
September 13, 2026453.64253.67
September 12, 2026503.07253.67
September 11, 2026470.11253.56
September 10, 2026470.11252.66
September 9, 2026506.33251.86
September 8, 2026468.43252.16
September 7, 2026468.43252.77
September 6, 2026515.81251.83
September 5, 2026506.33250.95

What the history shows: The free-plan download result decreased by 11.5%, from 506.33 to 448.18 Mbps. Free-plan daily download was fairly consistent, with typical variation of 6.1% around the average and a range of 448.18–537.01 Mbps.

User reviews

Google Play

4.5 / 5

About 1,560,000 ratings

Checked September 26, 2026

App Store

4.6 / 5

About 361,000 ratings

Checked September 26, 2026

Pricing & renewal

Compare the full initial charge with the renewal charge. Monthly equivalents spread the charge across the access period; they do not mean you pay monthly. Prices checked on September 11, 2026.

Free options

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.

Plans

1 month

Premium

$1.99

$1.99 per month

At renewal

1 month / $12.99

$12.99 per month

+552.8% vs. initial monthly equivalent

1 year

Premium

$29.00

$2.42 per month

At renewal

1 year / $95.99

$8.00 per month

+231.0% vs. initial monthly equivalent

Payment methods

  • Credit card
  • Debit card
  • PayPal
  • Google Pay
  • Apple Pay

Availability may vary by plan, country and purchase channel.

Apps, protocols & servers

Apps & devices

Computers & mobile devices

Windows, macOS, Android, iOS

TV devices
Paid

Android TV, Fire TV

Free

Not supported

Browser extensions

Chrome

Manual setup

Not supported

Setup instructions; a native app is not implied.

Network

Plan
Premium
Servers
Sources give different counts
Countries
85
Locations
Sources give different counts
Plan
Basic
Servers
No data
Countries
3
Locations
1
Premium: View country list (85)
  • Algeria
  • Argentina
  • Armenia
  • Australia
  • Austria
  • Azerbaijan
  • Bahamas
  • Bangladesh
  • Belarus
  • Belgium
  • Belize
  • Bhutan
  • Bosnia & Herzegovina
  • Brazil
  • Brunei
  • Bulgaria
  • Cambodia
  • Canada
  • Chile
  • China
  • Colombia
  • Costa Rica
  • Croatia
  • Czechia
  • Denmark
  • Ecuador
  • Egypt
  • Estonia
  • Finland
  • France
  • Georgia
  • Germany
  • Greece
  • Hong Kong SAR China
  • Hungary
  • Iceland
  • India
  • Indonesia
  • Ireland
  • Isle of Man
  • Israel
  • Italy
  • Japan
  • Kazakhstan
  • Kyrgyzstan
  • Laos
  • Latvia
  • Liechtenstein
  • Lithuania
  • Luxembourg
  • Malaysia
  • Malta
  • Mexico
  • Moldova
  • Monaco
  • Montenegro
  • Nepal
  • Netherlands
  • New Zealand
  • Norway
  • Pakistan
  • Panama
  • Peru
  • Philippines
  • Poland
  • Portugal
  • Romania
  • Russia
  • Singapore
  • Slovakia
  • South Africa
  • South Korea
  • Spain
  • Sweden
  • Switzerland
  • Taiwan
  • Thailand
  • Türkiye
  • Ukraine
  • United Arab Emirates
  • United Kingdom
  • United States
  • Uruguay
  • Venezuela
  • Vietnam
Basic: View country list (3)
  • Singapore
  • United Kingdom
  • United States

Connection details

Simultaneous connections

Paid

10

Free

1

WireGuard

Supported

OpenVPN

Supported

IKEv2/IPsec

Supported

Provider-specific technologies

Hydra

Features

Auto-connect

Supported

Kill Switch

Supported

Split tunneling

Supported (Smart VPN)

VPN traffic obfuscation

Supported (Hydra)

Multi-hop

Supported (Android app only)

Tor over VPN

Supported

P2P / torrenting

Supported

Ad blocking

Not supported

Tracker blocking

Not supported

Malicious website blocking

Supported

Port forwarding

Not supported

Dedicated IP

Not supported

Shared static IP

Not supported

Automatic IP rotation

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.

Supported services

  • Netflix
  • Amazon Prime Video
  • Disney+
  • Hulu

Not supported

  • HBO Max
  • Paramount+
  • Apple TV+
  • Peacock
  • Crunchyroll
  • YouTube TV
  • BBC iPlayer
  • iQIYI
  • WeTV
  • Viki
  • DAZN
  • ESPN+
  • F1 TV
  • beIN Sports
  • fuboTV
  • Kayo Sports
  • JioHotstar
  • ZEE5
  • SonyLIV
  • Vidio
  • Canal+
  • ITVX
  • Channel 4
  • NOW TV
  • France.tv
  • TF1+
  • RTL+
  • Joyn
  • ARD
  • ZDF
  • RaiPlay
  • Mediaset Infinity
  • Movistar Plus+
  • RTVE Play
  • Viaplay
  • U-next
  • TVING
  • Coupang Play
  • Wavve
  • FPT Play
  • VieON
  • VTV Go
  • Vision+
  • RCTI+
  • Exxen
  • puhutv
  • M6+
  • Videoland
  • NPO Start
  • Ziggo Go
  • RTÉ Player
  • RTBF Auvio

Managing your subscription

Automatic renewal

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

Renews automatically.

How to turn off renewal

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

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

Access after cancellation

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.

Refund conditions

What can be refunded and under what conditions

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

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

Who runs the VPN?

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?

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

Audits & findings

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

An independent review supports the no-logs claim within the systems and period examined. It is not a security review of every application.

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

Censorship resistance

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.

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.

A working connection today may be blocked tomorrow

Blocking changes over time and can differ between networks. A successful test shows that a connection worked in the tested conditions; it does not guarantee that it will work elsewhere or keep working.

Detecting VPN traffic

Filtering equipment can identify patterns in a VPN connection, including how a protocol starts a session. It can then prevent the connection or interrupt data transfer. Traffic obfuscation can make these patterns harder to recognise, but it does not prevent every kind of blocking.

Blocking server IP addresses

A censor can also block known VPN server addresses or entire IP ranges. If all traffic to an address is blocked on your network, disguising the VPN protocol alone will not make that server reachable.

What about your own VPN server?

A privately used server may be less exposed than a public VPN server, and traffic obfuscation may help it avoid detection. But its IP address is still visible to your internet provider and can be blocked. Running your own server gives you more control, not guaranteed access, and requires setup and maintenance.

Sources & check dates

  1. Rendered public plan comparison Published by Hotspot Shield. Checked on October 3, 2026.
  2. Public monthly checkout, United States selected; no order submitted Published by Hotspot Shield. Checked on September 11, 2026.
  3. Public annual promotional checkout, United States selected; no order submitted Published by Hotspot Shield. Checked on October 3, 2026.
  4. Checkout-linked Terms of Service, last updated October 31, 2024 Published by Hotspot Shield. Checked on September 11, 2026.
  5. Subscription cancellation guide, updated February 27, 2023 Published by Hotspot Shield. Checked on September 11, 2026.
  6. Hotspot Shield corporate fact sheet Published by Point Wild. Checked on September 27, 2026.
  7. Pango Group and Total Security merger and Point Wild rebranding Published by Point Wild. Checked on September 11, 2026.
  8. Point Wild Privacy Policy, revised December 8, 2025 Published by Point Wild. Checked on September 11, 2026.
  9. Public server location directory Published by Hotspot Shield. Checked on September 13, 2026.
  10. Virtual locations available to free accounts Published by Hotspot Shield. Checked on September 13, 2026.
  11. Free access conditions Published by Hotspot Shield. Checked on September 26, 2026.
  12. Free access conditions Published by Hotspot Shield. Checked on September 26, 2026.
  13. Platform support documentation Published by Hotspot Shield. Checked on September 29, 2026.
  14. Platform support documentation Published by Hotspot Shield. Checked on September 27, 2026.
  15. Platform support documentation Published by Hotspot Shield. Checked on September 27, 2026.
  16. Platform support documentation Published by Hotspot Shield. Checked on September 27, 2026.
  17. Platform support documentation Published by Hotspot Shield. Checked on September 29, 2026.
  18. Platform support documentation Published by Hotspot Shield. Checked on September 27, 2026.
  19. Hotspot Shield — VPN protocols Published by Hotspot Shield. Checked on October 3, 2026.
  20. Hotspot Shield — VPN protocols Published by Hotspot Shield. Checked on October 3, 2026.
  21. Hotspot Shield — VPN protocols Published by Hotspot Shield. Checked on October 3, 2026.
  22. Hotspot Shield — VPN protocols Published by Hotspot Shield. Checked on October 3, 2026.
  23. Hotspot Shield — VPN features Published by Hotspot Shield. Checked on October 3, 2026.
  24. Hotspot Shield — VPN features Published by Hotspot Shield. Checked on October 3, 2026.
  25. Hotspot Shield — VPN features Published by Hotspot Shield. Checked on October 3, 2026.
  26. Hotspot Shield — Streaming services Published by Hotspot Shield. Checked on October 4, 2026.
  27. Hotspot Shield — Streaming services Published by Hotspot Shield. Checked on October 4, 2026.
  28. No-logs review Published by Aon. Checked on September 30, 2026.
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