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CyberGhost VPN vs Hotspot Shield 2022

We put these VPNs to the test to find out which is the best!

VS
9.6
Outstanding!
6.4
Good!
Cyberghost is regarded as one of the best in the world, combining fast speeds, a simple interface, and top-tier encryption into a fairly priced service. Hotspot Shield is a free VPN with a paid upgrade that removed bandwidth limits, offers 128-bit encryption, and a proprietary Catapult Hydra protocol option. This pales in comparison to Cyberghost’s 256-bit encryption, and OpenVPN, PPTP, and L2TP/IPSec protocols. But what about other aspects? More Info

How do these VPNs Compare?

Speed

Hotspot Shield is not that far behind Cyberghost when it comes to speeds, regardless of server location. With that said Cyberghost has a slight edge, and both services are suitable for streaming media without any lags or buffering.

VPN vendor CyberGhost VPN Hotspot Shield
Download speed reduction 36% (UK) 40% (UK)
Upload speed reduction 22% (FRA) 38% (FRA)
Ping time to google.com 309.29ms 107ms
Average time to connect (sec.) 13ms 12ms
Unblock successful for Espn-logo Youtube-logo Netflix-logo Bbc-logo Netflix-logo Youtube-logo
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Why Most Speed Tests are Pointless & How We Correctly Test VPN Speeds

Speed determines how fast content uploads, so if you're torrenting or streaming, you want the speed to be somewhat identical to your regular internet speed. Since a VPN encrypts your data, it usually takes a bit longer to send your data back and forth, which can slow down your connection. However, if your ISP deliberately slows down your connection (also known as throttling) a VPN might increase your internet speed. Testing a VPN is somewhat pointless because new servers pop up and affect speed. Your speed can also differ according to your location, so your speed test might not match ours. Having said that, we tested the speed in numerous locations to provide you with the average.

Servers

Cyberghost has a clear edge in server amounts, especially with the numerous locations spread around their 60 countries to choose from. Hotspot Shield only offers 27 locations in an equal amount of countries, which is much more restricting.

VPN vendor CyberGhost VPN Hotspot Shield
Server Locations 2606 27
Server Countries 90 27
IP Addresses 1300 27
Dynamic Server Switching
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The Big Mistake When Comparing Number of Servers and What to Really Look For

The ratio of servers to countries is an important factor to look at when choosing a VPN. Only paying attention to location or number of servers can get you in trouble. More servers generally means faster speeds, but if VPN X has a few more servers than VPN Y but twice as many users, VPN X will typically have slower speeds. Ideally, you want a VPN that has a lot of servers in every location. This way you won’t have to worry that server/country that you want will be overburdened and running slow

Support

Customer support is a big difference. CyberGhost has a strong dedication to support, with an extensive help section on their site that includes everything from guides and FAQs, to announcements and platform-specific how-to’s and troubleshooting. Hotspot shield does have a lot of resources on their site, but only an email ticketing system after that.

VPN vendor CyberGhost VPN Hotspot Shield
Email Response Time 14 9
24/7 Support
Live Chat
Knowledge Base
Video Tutorials
  Visit Site Visit Site

How We Test Customer Support and Why Should You Care

We personally test the customer support team of every VPN we review. This means asking technical question through the live chat feature (where applicable) and measuring the response time for email questions. Whether you need to connect to a specific server, change your security protocol, or configure a VPN on your router, finding a VPN with quality customer support should be important to you.

Ease of Use

Cyberghost home page screenshot
CyberGhost is available for all major platforms, installs quickly, and will automatically connect you to the best server upon your first use. For those wanting a specific country, you can click on “simulated location,” where you’ll gain access to view all locations within your chosen country.

The interface is very easy to navigate, and new users will have no trouble figuring out how everything works. If you are having any issues setting up torrenting servers, or using CyberGhost in a place like China, their live chat team will help walk you through it.

In regards to unblocking content, CyberGhost can bypass Netflix and Hulu restrictions, along with ESPN and YouTube.
Visit CyberGhost VPN Website!
Hotspot Shield
After signing up and choosing the platform, installation and setup took less than two minutes.

Hotspot Shield connects automatically to the closest server to your location. You can, however, change your virtual location manually by selecting the country you desire from the dropdown list. You cannot choose which server in the country — Hotspot picks for you.

When we turned on Hotspot Shield, we were already streaming Netflix, and it continued to stream without issue. However, when we tried to use Hulu, we experienced an error. You must have a premium account to stream Netflix, and it only works with the virtual US location selected.

There isn’t much configuration to Hotspot Shield, which is suitable for those who aren’t technically savvy. You can turn on/off automatic startup and turn on the kill switch option. Other than these few settings, there is not a lot to personalize.
Visit Hotspot Shield Website!

Pricing

STARTING PRICE PER MONTH: $2.29
DEVICE PER LICENSE: 7
MONEY BACK GUARANTEE (DAYS): 45
See Plans & Pricing
STARTING PRICE PER MONTH: $2.99
DEVICE PER LICENSE: 5
MONEY BACK GUARANTEE (DAYS): 30
See Plans & Pricing

THE WINNER IS

Visit CyberGhost VPN Website!

Which VPN Will You Choose?

Hotspot Shield is a decent free service, but upgrading your subscription still won’t bring you all the things you get with Cyberghost, which has more servers, faster speeds, better support, and a lot of security options. Because of this, Cyberghost gets the easy win. More Info
OR

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You can also check our list of best VPNs for other suggestions

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