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vpnMentor was established in 2014 to review VPN services and cover privacy-related stories. Today, our team of hundreds of cybersecurity researchers, writers, and editors continues to help readers fight for their online freedom in partnership with Kape Technologies PLC, which also owns the following products: ExpressVPN, CyberGhost, and Private Internet Access which may be ranked and reviewed on this website. The reviews published on vpnMentor are believed to be accurate as of the date of each article, and written according to our strict reviewing standards that prioritize professional and honest examination of the reviewer, taking into account the technical capabilities and qualities of the product together with its commercial value for users. The rankings and reviews we publish may also take into consideration the common ownership mentioned above, and affiliate commissions we earn for purchases through links on our website. We do not review all VPN providers and information is believed to be accurate as of the date of each article.
Advertising Disclosure

vpnMentor was established in 2014 to review VPN services and cover privacy-related stories. Today, our team of hundreds of cybersecurity researchers, writers, and editors continues to help readers fight for their online freedom in partnership with Kape Technologies PLC, which also owns the following products: ExpressVPN, CyberGhost, and Private Internet Access which may be ranked and reviewed on this website. The reviews published on vpnMentor are believed to be accurate as of the date of each article, and written according to our strict reviewing standards that prioritize professional and honest examination of the reviewer, taking into account the technical capabilities and qualities of the product together with its commercial value for users. The rankings and reviews we publish may also take into consideration the common ownership mentioned above, and affiliate commissions we earn for purchases through links on our website. We do not review all VPN providers and information is believed to be accurate as of the date of each article.

Hotspot Shield vs PureVPN vs SurfEasy VPN 2024

Table of Contents
    Our Score: 9.1/10
    %s User Reviews
    More Info
    Our Score: 8.0/10
    %s User Reviews
    More Info
    Our Score: 5.2/10
    %s User Reviews
    More Info

    Which VPN is better?

    Author Image Daniel Krohn
    Daniel Krohn

    Cybersecurity Researcher

    These three VPNs do a great job of securing your online information using military-grade 256-bit encryption. Also, each one comes with native apps for Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android but they differ in terms of the features they offer.

    SurfEasy has over 2,000 servers (including some optimized for torrenting) in 31 countries and allows 5 simultaneous device connections. You also get a convenient ad-tracker blocking feature. You have 14 days to decide if it’s the right VPN for you. If not, you can contact the support via live chat or email and ask for a refund.

    PureVPN is based in the British Virgin Islands, so it’s great for privacy. It has 6,500 servers and it's reliable at unblocking the most popular streaming services. In addition, it offers the WireGuard protocol, which is one of the fastest in the market. Plus, you get a 31-day money-back guarantee.

    Hotspot Shield is also good at unblocking streaming sites, especially using its proprietary Hydra security protocol, which makes your VPN connection look like regular traffic. Its server network covers over 80 countries. What’s more, the VPN comes with a 45-day money-back guarantee, more than most VPNs offer.

    Our Score

    Features 9.1/10
    Pricing 8.8/10
    Ease of Use 9.2/10
    Reliability & Support 9.4/10
    Features 8.0/10
    Pricing 8.0/10
    Ease of Use 9.0/10
    Reliability & Support 8.5/10
    Features 5.2/10
    Pricing 6.0/10
    Ease of Use 4.0/10
    Reliability & Support 2.0/10

    Reviews

    Review by our expert
    Author Image Lawrence Wachira
    Lawrence Wachira

    Editor

    Our Score: 9.1/10

    Hotspot Shield is a VPN that’s undergone many changes recently. After dealing with several controversies, it overhauled its logging policy and is under new management. So, has it gotten better? My global team and I tested everything it offers to see if Hotspot Shield (HSS) is safe. We fully explored its logging policy and found out if its security features can prevent data leaks. We also tes...

    Read all
    Latest positive user review
    H
    Howard Rosenbrook
    10.0/10
    Had for 3 years no problem

    Kept cable providers off my ass just dont like that you cant pay a week or so early and dont like the ... auto renewal i should beable to pay my bill on my own when i want as long as im not late it shouldnt be a problem with your companyMore

    Latest negative user review
    A
    Alt
    2.0/10
    Blocked by Real-Debrid on just about every us city and nearly all countries

    Easy to connect speed pretty good multiple platforms not great from streaming.. which is where you nee... d the speed. Nord vpn and Express are both cooperative providers with real-debrid meaning no connection problems. Even if you do find a server that connects frequently this is blocked during streaming.More

    Read the full review
    Review by our expert
    Author Image Lawrence Wachira
    Lawrence Wachira

    Editor

    Our Score: 8.0/10

    PureVPN (which recently purchased Ivacy) is a highly rated and affordable VPN, but it has had its share of controversies. A previous incident involving the FBI severely impacted its reputation. So, has it done enough to rebuild trust since then? To find out, my team and I investigated its privacy policy and everything else it offers. We tested its speeds, streaming performance, security featur...

    Read all
    Latest positive user review
    R
    Rich
    10.0/10
    An excellent value, all things considered

    While they will absolutely throttle p2p in most servers, it's easy to find and log into the p2p server... s. They responded promptly when I had questions (although once it was basically to say "sorry, tough luck"). Overall though, I think I paid something like $20 for a year's subscription - I really can't complain. I'm sold on the service, although I think the fact that it's based out of HK is a bit spooky. 9/10More

    Latest negative user review
    J
    John
    2.0/10
    Not Private! They cooperate with FBI! Application will NOT CLOSE (only minimizes)

    PureVPN COOPERATES WITH FBI INVESTIGATIONS! You can verify this with any search! PureVPN REQUIRES ... USERS TO PROVIDE REAL NAME TO USE THE SERVICE! VPN Does NOT Support Close Application, Against Windows Standards! Close Actually Minimizes and it Keeps Running. Company refuses to change this back (used to operate correctly) A clear violation of your rights as owner of your PC.More

    Read the full review
    Review by our expert
    Author Image Matthew Amos
    Matthew Amos

    Senior Editor

    Our Score: 5.2/10

    Even though it’s owned by the very popular Norton company, SurfEasy isn’t a VPN many people know about. Now that its free tier is no longer available, is it still a VPN worth trying? After all my tests, I do not recommend SurfEasy VPN. While its cheap plans may seem attractive, it doesn't offer much value. It has servers in less than half the locations most VPNs offer, weak device compatibi...

    Read all
    Latest positive user review
    S
    Skippy
    10.0/10
    Been using for over a year with no issues

    It works well on my Android phones. I've had no issues with speed, dropped connections, etc. What I di... d find interesting with this pages review is that they recommend NordVPN over SE because "it's more trustworthy", yet Nord was hacked recently. So in the end, no VPN could be safe.More

    Latest negative user review
    A
    Anonymously
    2.0/10
    NO EMAIL REPLYS

    NO REPLIES to my emails. Sent THREE separate emails asking for assistance to activate a second USB br... owser VPN stick I purchased over 6 to 7 years ago. Unfortunately, I only activated 1 of the 2 USB sticks so I am probably going to be left holding the bag. (NOTE: They currently do not sell this USB stick but instead use an app). I will give them one more chance to reply but I am not holding my breath.More

    Read the full review

    Pricing

    Starting price $3.33/month
    Money Back Guarantee (Days) 45 Days
    Number of devices per license 10 devices
    Starting price $2.14/month
    Money Back Guarantee (Days) 31 Days
    Number of devices per license 10 devices
    Starting price $2.49/month
    Money Back Guarantee (Days) 14 Days
    Number of devices per license 5 devices

    Best VPN by Category

    Best VPN Overall

    Hotspot Shield is the best choice overall. The VPN is safe and uses the latest technology for securing your data. PureVPN is a close second, and both are good at unblocking streaming services, like Netflix US, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, and more. What finally swings the comparison in Hotspot Shield’s favor is its superior apps on Windows, Mac, and iOS. But, PureVPN might be better if you mostly want to use Android or require a high degree of privacy since it's based in the British Virgin Islands.

    Best VPN for Torrents

    Out of the three, only SurfEasy offers torrenting servers, which gives it an advantage in this category. Hotspot Shield comes next since it allows P2P on all its servers, but PureVPN doesn't allow torrenting on some of its servers, including the US ones.

    Best VPN for Windows

    Hotspot Shield's Windows app comes with streaming and gaming servers and it's easy to use. It offers good features too, including a kill switch, IP leak protection, and split tunneling. PureVPN and SurfEasy have intuitive Windows apps too but overall Hotspot Shield is the better choice of the three for Windows.

    Best VPN for Android

    The three VPNs offer good Android apps, so it mostly depends on what you need the VPN for. Overall, this category goes to PureVPN because it offers split tunneling, good protocols on Android, including OpenVPN and WireGuard, and a handy speed test feature.

    Best VPN for Mac

    PureVPN and Hotspot Shield are close contenders for Mac. They both offer a kill switch, intuitive apps, split tunneling, and an excellent selection of protocols. It would have been a tie if not for the fact that Hotspot Shield offers a slightly better VPN service overall and that we enjoyed using its macOS app more. SurfEasy’s app is also very simple to use but more limited in terms of features.

    Best VPN for iOS

    Hotspot Shield is slightly better than its competitors because it offers streaming and gaming servers on its iOS app. The app is as simple as the clients for other platforms. It’s beginner-friendly and displays a large connect button, and a list of locations. However, all 3 VPNs offer very few advanced settings, and no kill switch, which is quite common for iOS.

    Best VPN for USA

    PureVPN has the largest server network of the 3 VPNs, with a lot of servers in the US too, so it takes the lead in this category. It unblocks most of the major streaming platforms and its headquarters are also more privacy-friendly (in the British Virgin Islands) as opposed to Hotspot Shield and SurfEasy's (in the US and Canada, respectively).

    The Bottom Line

    See Plans & Pricing

    These three VPN services offer great protection of your data, along with some extra features that make their service even more appealing. Overall, Hotspot Shield comes on top as it offers great apps for an affordable price. It also has its proprietary Hydra protocol, which is secure and fast. What's more, it provides the longest money-back guarantee period out of the three VPNs, during which you can cancel your membership. PureVPN offers features like split tunneling (for when you need a specific type of IP address for one site, but not others) and it's based in the British Virgin Islands, so it's privacy friendly. SurfEasy offers good apps but in terms of features is a bit more limited than the other two VPNs. But it comes with torrenting servers, which is a plus.

    Time to decide which one is best for you

    Go with Hotspot Shield
    Go with PureVPN
    Go with SurfEasy VPN
    Or click here to check best VPNs, rated by {{review_count}} users

    FAQ

    Is Hotspot Shield better than PureVPN and SurfEasy VPN?

    Yes, Hotspot Shield is better overall than PureVPN and SurfEasy VPN. It has 1800 servers in 80 countries, fast speeds, and impressive security features.

    Best of all, you can take advantage of its latest discount and get it for only $3.33 a month.

    What should I keep in mind when choosing between Hotspot Shield, PureVPN and SurfEasy VPN?

    When choosing a VPN, you want to pay close attention to its number of servers, overall speed score, pricing, and the number of simultaneous device connections it offers. While some VPNs provide a flawless online experience, others will really slow you down.

    If you’re ready to commit, then Hotspot Shield may be perfect for you due to its performance during the tests.

    Is Hotspot Shield faster than PureVPN and SurfEasy VPN?

    Yes, Hotspot Shield is faster than PureVPN and SurfEasy VPN. Since your VPN is your computer’s main connection to the internet, you need to use a service that won’t slow you down by more than 20%.

    If speeds are important to you, then I recommend you take a look at ExpressVPN. It’s the fastest service out there, provides unlimited bandwidth, and you won’t experience any slowdowns even when you connect to the other side of the planet. You can try it out risk-free.. It’s backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can get a full refund if you don’t like it.

    Do Hotspot Shield, PureVPN or SurfEasy VPN offer any deals?

    Hotspot Shield, PureVPN, and SurfEasy VPN offer deals on occasion. You can check out the current coupons and discounts here. However, ExpressVPN has the best deals. Right now, you can get a 82% discount and up to 3 months for free with a new subscription.

    We review vendors based on rigorous testing and research but also take into account your feedback and our affiliate commission with providers. Some providers are owned by our parent company.
    Learn more
    vpnMentor was established in 2014 to review VPN services and cover privacy-related stories. Today, our team of hundreds of cybersecurity researchers, writers, and editors continues to help readers fight for their online freedom in partnership with Kape Technologies PLC, which also owns the following products: ExpressVPN, CyberGhost, and Private Internet Access which may be ranked and reviewed on this website. The reviews published on vpnMentor are believed to be accurate as of the date of each article, and written according to our strict reviewing standards that prioritize professional and honest examination of the reviewer, taking into account the technical capabilities and qualities of the product together with its commercial value for users. The rankings and reviews we publish may also take into consideration the common ownership mentioned above, and affiliate commissions we earn for purchases through links on our website. We do not review all VPN providers and information is believed to be accurate as of the date of each article.

    About the Author

    Technical writer with a passion for online privacy.