Brave Firewall + VPN vs Hotspot Shield
Side-by-side comparison based on Reddit & Twitter discussions
Community Pick
Brave Firewall + VPN
Based on community sentiment and discussions
Brave Firewall + VPN
Winner
Approval Rate
81%
13 recommend · 3 warn
Data Quality
High
Reviews
33
Reviewers
31
Best for:
Brave browser fans who want an easy VPN add-on
People who want a simple privacy setup on Android
Everyday browsing privacy without fiddling with settings
Brave Firewall + VPN tends to get mentioned as a convenient “all-in-one” option if you already like the Brave browser and want extra privacy on top. People like the idea of pairing Brave’s built-in tr...
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 | Brave Firewall + VPN | Winner | Hotspot Shield |
|---|---|---|---|
| Streaming | - | - | 100% (1) |
| Privacy | 78% (18) | ← | 33% (4) |
| Censorship | - | - | 100% (1) |
| Travel | - | → | 33% (3) |
| Work | 100% (1) | - | - |
Brave Firewall + VPN
Strengths
- Super convenient if you already use Brave
- Good everyday privacy pairing with built-in blocking
- Simple, phone-friendly setup
Weaknesses
- Some people don’t trust Brave because it’s Chromium-based
- Ad blocker can get detected on some websites
- May feel limiting if you want lots of customization
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