Hotspot Shield Vs. NordVPN (2024 Comparison) (2024)

NordVPN and Hotspot Shield are two virtual private network (VPN) services that allow you to easily encrypt your internet connection. NordVPN ranked in our list of best VPN services. Hotspot Shield is also a solid choice and is unique in offering a forever free VPN—an option many competitors don’t have.

In this guide, we compare Hotspot Shield vs. NordVPN and what to consider before choosing one, including cost, limitations, device compatibility, additional features and more.

Hotspot Shield vs. NordVPN: At a Glance

NordVPN is based in Panama and is one of the most popular VPNs out there today. Hotspot Shield’s forever free version makes it a good choice to consider if you haven’t committed to spending money on a VPN yet. When it comes to security, NordVPN has a strict no-logs policy while Hotspot Shield does record some user data (we cover the specifics below).

How Hotspot Shield and NordVPN Stack Up

To get a more complete understanding of the differences between Hotspot Shield and NordVPN, let’s compare the specific features.

Plan Costs

Hotspot Shield and NordVPN cost exactly the same per month. But if you’re already interested in using a VPN for increased online privacy, you probably want to use the service for longer than one month. When it comes to longer-term plans, NordVPN’s annual plan is cheaper, ranging from INR 4,456.55 ($53.88) to INR 7,434.20 ($89.88) per year (depending on which package you choose) compared with INR 7,930.48 ($95.88) per year. Hotspot Shield does not offer a two-year plan but you’ll receive the best discounts with NordVPN’s two-year plan, starting at INR 247.31 ($2.99) per month for a total of INR 5,935.45 ($71.76).

Number of Servers

The number of servers a VPN provider has is one indication of how fast the connection may be, as servers can get overwhelmed with users and start to slow down. NordVPN has significantly more servers than Hotspot Shield: over 6,000 compared with over 3,000.

Countries Where Servers Are Available

Server locations can give you an idea of the countries you may be able to access content from. For example, if you are based in the U.S. but want to access a streaming service based in Norway, you would want to make sure your VPN has servers in Norway. Both companies list the countries where their servers are based on their website.

NordVPN has servers in 60 countries including the U.S., Australia, Canada and countries throughout the Middle East, Asia and Europe. Hotspot Shield has servers located across 80 countries, including over 35 cities. The servers span the Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa.

Maximum Number of Devices

With Hotspot Shield, you can connect up to 10 devices to your VPN. With NordVPN, you can connect up to six. However, both companies allow users to configure their VPN to their router, thus enabling you to connect to an unlimited number of devices. Hotspot Shield also sells routers with the VPN preinstalled. However, the VPN is compatible with many different kinds of routers, and the company has published instructions on how to install each one.

NordVPN also lists a few routers with the VPN preinstalled and directs users to purchase the router on its website. If you already own a router and want to see if it is compatible with NordVPN, you can find this information and installation instructions on the company’s website.

Dedicated IP Server

NordVPN offers a dedicated IP for an additional cost, giving users an exclusive IP address instead of sharing with multiple users. This provides users and businesses increased control and security over their network. A dedicated IP can be a good idea for a company as a way to help its remote workers connect to its network securely. A dedicated IP can also help you avoid blocklists and set up allowlists for IP-restricted resources, and finally, experience fewer CAPTCHAs (since you are not sharing a server with multiple users).

Hotspot Shield does not offer a dedicated IP.

Split Tunneling

Both Hotspot Shield and NordVPN offer the option of split tunneling. This feature allows you to list and exclude specific websites from the VPN. This can be helpful to access certain websites that block access with VPNs, such as banks.

Kill Switch

A kill switch automatically disconnects you from the internet if your VPN drops, which prevents exposing your IP address or other sensitive information if your VPN stops working. Both Hotspot Shield and NordVPN use a kill switch.

Money-Back Guarantee

Both companies offer a money-back guarantee policy. NordVPN has a 30-day money-back guarantee policy while Hotspot Shield has a 45-day money-back guarantee policy.

Payment Options

When it comes to payment for your VPN, NordVPN offers many more flexible options. As one of the purposes of VPNs is to increase online privacy, anonymous payment options may be helpful to some users.

You can purchase NordVPN with PayPal, Amazon Pay, Google Pay, ACH transfer and cryptocurrencies. Cryptocurrency payments are made through CoinGate and cannot be renewed automatically. However, the rest of the payment options are subscription-based and renew automatically.

Hotspot Shield’s payment options are limited. The company only offers the ability to pay with a credit card, debit card and PayPal.

Cost of Hotspot Shield vs. NordVPN

NordVPN and Hotspot Shield cost the same amount for the monthly plan—$12.99. However, when you subscribe to the longer-term plans, you’ll start to see significant savings with NordVPN’s annual or two-year plans. Hotspot Shield’s does not offer a two-year plan.

Security of Hotspot Shield vs. NordVPN

NordVPN has a strict no-logs policy, which means it does not collect any user data. The company has also been independently audited several times, most recently by Deloitte in 2022.

A no-logs policy is critical for a VPN, since privacy and anonymity are the main reasons people use these services. A no-logs policy is also industry standard.

Hotspot Shield’s policy, on the other hand, is less strict. The company does log certain information, including domain names users visit (but not the URLs), the amount of bandwidth used in a VPN session and the locations of the VPN servers utilized. Hotspot Shield claims that this data cannot be traced back to specific users.

Customer Reviews and Reputation

We factor in customer reviews as part of our overall ratings. We look at both the average score and the total number of reviews each company receives across different review platforms including the App Store, Play Store and Trustpilot. NordVPN scored an average rating of 4.6 while Hotspot Shield received an average score of 4.4.

Hotspot Shield has many more reviews than NordVPN. Hotspot Shield has an average of 896,600 per app, which is by far the highest number of reviews from any app we tested. NordVPN has the second-highest average number of reviews per app, at 390,100.

Overall, NordVPN ranked as the best overall VPN from our list of the best VPN services, while Hotspot Shield did not make our top 10 list.

Top Hotspot Shield and NordVPN Alternatives

While NordVPN and Hotspot Shield are two popular VPNs, how do they compare with other popular VPN services on the market? The chart below will give you a quick look at a few popular options.

TorGuard VPN, Surfshark and Private Internet Access all offer the option of even lower monthly prices than NordVPN (for multi-year plans). While ExpressVPN is more expensive than these three options and NordVPN (for the multi-year plan), it is still more affordable than Hotspot Shield’s annual plan:

Of all these options, Private Internet Access has the highest number of servers than any of its competitors by far: 35,000.

Bottom Line

If you are looking for a reliable, safe, secure and affordable VPN, NordVPN is likely your best bet. The company has a strict no-logs policy that ensures your information will stay anonymous and secure.

If you haven’t committed to purchasing a VPN and you want to test one out, Hotspot Shield’s forever free version may be a good place to start.

Hotspot Shield is best for:

Users who want to test a free version before committing to a VPN

NordVPN is best for:

Users who want a safe and secure VPN with a multi-year plan

Users who want to pay with cryptocurrencies

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)