Hotspot Shield vs Kaspersky VPN
Side-by-side comparison based on Reddit & Twitter discussions
Community Pick
Kaspersky VPN
Based on community sentiment and discussions
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...
Kaspersky VPN
Winner
Approval Rate
68%
17 recommend · 8 warn
Data Quality
High
Reviews
37
Reviewers
34
Best for:
People who already use Kaspersky and want an easy add-on VPN
Casual users who just want safer browsing on public Wi‑Fi
Android users who like turning VPN on for specific apps
Kaspersky VPN comes across as a solid “turn it on and it works” option for everyday browsing, especially if you already use Kaspersky antivirus. People like that it can be pretty cheap in bundles, and...
Performance by Use Case
| Use Case | Hotspot Shield | Winner | Kaspersky VPN |
|---|---|---|---|
| Streaming | 100% (1) | ← | -- (2) |
| Torrenting | - | → | 50% (3) |
| Privacy | 33% (4) | → | 50% (9) |
| Censorship | 100% (1) | → | 100% (3) |
| Gaming | - | → | 50% (2) |
| Travel | 33% (3) | ← | - |
| Work | - | - | -- (1) |
| Price | - | → | 80% (6) |
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
Kaspersky VPN
Strengths
- Good value when bundled with antivirus
- Simple to use for everyday browsing
- Works well on Android with per-app VPN options
- Often stable after recent updates
Weaknesses
- Not great for torrenting (no port forwarding)
- Can be inconsistent depending on updates/provider changes
- Account may be required for activation
- Occasional connection and network issues