We put these VPNs to the test to find out which is the best!
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 |
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|---|---|---|
| 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 |
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| Visit Site | Visit Site |
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.
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 |
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|---|---|---|
| Server Locations | 2606 | 27 |
| Server Countries | 90 | 27 |
| IP Addresses | 1300 | 27 |
| Dynamic Server Switching | ||
| Visit Site | Visit Site |
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
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 |
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|---|---|---|
| Email Response Time | 14 | 9 |
| 24/7 Support | ||
| Live Chat | ||
| Knowledge Base | ||
| Video Tutorials | ||
| Visit Site | Visit Site |
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.
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