AdGuard VPN vs Hotspot Shield
Side-by-side comparison based on Reddit & Twitter discussions
Community Pick
Hotspot Shield
Based on community sentiment and discussions
Approval Rate
53%
16 recommend · 14 warn
Data Quality
High
Reviews
78
Reviewers
71
Best for:
People already using AdGuard who want everything in one ecosystem
Anyone who wants simple ad blocking plus VPN in one switch
Users who like DNS-based filtering and router-level blocking
People who occasionally need help on restrictive networks
AdGuard VPN gets talked about a lot in the same breath as AdGuard’s ad blocker, and that’s really where it shines: it’s easy to turn on and forget, and people like how it pairs with ad blocking and DN...
Hotspot Shield
Winner
Approval Rate
57%
8 recommend · 6 warn
Data Quality
Medium
Reviews
19
Reviewers
19
Best for:
People who want a simple VPN for school/work network blocks
Casual users who mainly need protection on public Wi‑Fi
iPhone or Windows users who want something straightforward
Hotspot Shield comes up a lot as a quick, easy VPN that can help on sketchy public Wi‑Fi and get around basic blocks at school or on restricted networks. People like that there’s a free option and tha...
Performance by Use Case
| Use Case | AdGuard VPN | Winner | Hotspot Shield |
|---|---|---|---|
| Streaming | 0% (1) | - | 100% (1) |
| Torrenting | -- (1) | - | - |
| Privacy | 75% (32) | ← | 33% (4) |
| Censorship | 67% (5) | → | 100% (1) |
| Gaming | -- (1) | - | - |
| Travel | - | → | 33% (3) |
| Work | -- (1) | - | - |
| Router | 0% (4) | ← | - |
| Mobile | -- (1) | - | - |
| Price | 100% (2) | - | - |
AdGuard VPN
Strengths
- Easy to use day-to-day
- Pairs well with AdGuard ad blocking
- Strong DNS filtering options
- Useful for censorship-heavy networks
- Works nicely with AdGuard Home/router setups
Weaknesses
- Slow speeds for some people
- Battery drain complaints on iOS
- Crashes and connectivity issues (especially Android)
- Doesn’t play nicely with other VPN apps
- Trust and auditing questions
Hotspot Shield
Strengths
- Easy to use
- Good for public Wi‑Fi
- Free tier available
- Often feels fast when it connects well
- Works on iPhone and Windows
Weaknesses
- Free tier can be unreliable
- Can be slow at times
- Connection issues and disconnects
- May conflict with Apple iCloud Private Relay/Cloud Relay
- Privacy and ownership concerns