Hotspot Shield vs Norton VPN
Side-by-side comparison based on Reddit & Twitter discussions
Community Pick
Hotspot Shield
Based on community sentiment and discussions
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...
Approval Rate
34%
20 recommend · 39 warn
Data Quality
High
Reviews
81
Reviewers
79
Best for:
People who already pay for Norton 360 and want a simple VPN toggle
Casual users who just want basic protection on public Wi‑Fi
Anyone who wants antivirus and a VPN in one app
Norton VPN comes up a lot as the “it’s already there” VPN, especially if you’re using Norton 360. People like that it’s simple to turn on, works fine on phones, and once it connects it can handle basi...
Performance by Use Case
| Use Case | Hotspot Shield | Winner | Norton VPN |
|---|---|---|---|
| Streaming | 100% (1) | → | 71% (9) |
| Torrenting | - | → | 0% (4) |
| Privacy | 33% (4) | ← | 29% (18) |
| Censorship | 100% (1) | → | 75% (6) |
| Gaming | - | → | 0% (4) |
| Travel | 33% (3) | = | 0% (2) |
| Work | - | → | 50% (5) |
| Mobile | - | - | 100% (1) |
| Price | - | → | 25% (5) |
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
Norton VPN
Strengths
- Very easy to use
- Convenient if you already have Norton 360
- Works well on mobile
- Fine for basic streaming once connected
- All-in-one antivirus bundle option
Weaknesses
- Disconnects and stability issues (especially on Windows/gaming)
- Annoying popups and upsells
- Billing and subscription management headaches
- Refund experience can be frustrating
- Can trigger bot/blocked access on some websites