Hotspot Shield vs PureVPN
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
45%
13 recommend · 16 warn
Data Quality
High
Reviews
40
Reviewers
33
Best for:
People who want a low-cost VPN for basic streaming and browsing
Anyone who mainly needs a US IP for apps and websites
Windows users who want straightforward setup help
PureVPN has a mixed reputation, but a lot of people stick with it because it’s cheap, has lots of server locations, and can be pretty quick when you land on a good server. It seems to work well for ba...
Performance by Use Case
| Use Case | Hotspot Shield | Winner | PureVPN |
|---|---|---|---|
| Streaming | 100% (1) | → | 70% (11) |
| Torrenting | - | - | -- (1) |
| Privacy | 33% (4) | ← | 20% (14) |
| Censorship | 100% (1) | - | - |
| Gaming | - | - | 0% (1) |
| Travel | 33% (3) | → | 100% (2) |
| Router | - | - | 0% (1) |
| Price | - | → | 0% (2) |
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
PureVPN
Strengths
- Cheap long-term deals
- Good speeds on the right servers
- Lots of server locations
- Works for getting a US IP
- Helpful setup guides for Windows
Weaknesses
- Past no-logs trust concerns
- Streaming can be inconsistent (buffering/bans)
- Connection issues for some people
- Features vary by device (kill switch limitations)
- Jurisdiction worries