8/10 (Expert Score)
Product is rated as #7 in category VPN Reviews

Hola VPN is a living example of the fact that even worthless things can become ubiquitous. Hola VPN is no longer unfamiliar to Vietnamese internet users. So what makes a service Free VPN made many people mention like that. And VPNchecked Find out through the detailed analysis below.

hola vpn free
1

The most popular free VPN

Overview
Service nameHola VPN
Company locationIsrael
Websitehola.org
Number of positions190 Countries
Number of Servers1500 servers
Unblock Netflixhave
Equipment used at the same time20 max
EncodeAES-256 bit
ProtocolsIKEv2, PPTP
Customer support24/7, email
Logging policyExtensive data collection
PriceFrom $ 2.99 / month
Free trialYes

Hola VPN is the first community-provided virtual private network (VPN). In addition to traditional technology, it also works like P2P software. Here users sacrifice their internet bandwidth in exchange for the use of others. Unfortunately, that means you’re sharing your IP address as well, which is the complete opposite of what a VPN actually does. The difference lies in the paid Hola Premium, the version that will help you use this VPN optimally for the security of your personal information.

In this Hola VPN review, I will evaluate its secure login and privacy and check if it is possible to unblock popular streaming platforms. I will also look at whether Hola VPN is good for torrenting. Finally, I’ll compare the free and premium plans and see if there’s enough (or any) value in those deals.

8 Total Score

2

Speed and performance

Unstable speed and performance

If you want an unlimited free VPN, Hola isn’t the right choice. For starters, you’ll only get one-third of all possible “fast servers”. What’s more, the quality of your video streaming will be limited to SD, no matter how fast your internet connection is.

Compare the speed of Hola VPN premium and free

Hola VPN speed for free

Trước khi thử nghiệm tốc độ miễn phí, chúng tôi đã đo tốc độ cơ bản từ Châu Âu:

  • Download base: 92 Mb / s
  • Basic upload: 99 Mb / s

Then, as usual, we tried to connect with different places around the world:

UK

  • Downloads: 75 Mb / s (18% reduction)
  • Upload: 79 Mb / s (20% reduction)

USA

  • Downloads: 54 Mb / s (down 41%)
  • Upload: 13 Mb / s (87% off)

Australia

  • Downloads: 11 Mb / s (88% off)
  • Upload: 26 Mb / s (74% reduction)

Hola Premium VPN speed

Then it’s time for our paid Hola VPN to go live. Again, we measured speeds from Europe with a VPN turned off first:

  • Download base: 251 Mb / s
  • Basic upload: 278 Mb / s

UK

  • Downloads: 24 Mb / s (91% off)
  • Upload: 22 Mb / s (92% decrease)

USA

  • Downloads: 4 Mb / s (98% off)
  • Upload: 5 Mb / s (98% off)

Australia

  • Downloads: 5 Mb / s (98% off)
  • Upload: 7 Mb / s (97% off)

Why is Hola VPN faster?

The results speak for themselves – the free version is faster, in both down and Mbps speeds. But why is the Premium Hola VPN slower? The answer is simple – its free version doesn’t use encryption – it just gives you a new IP address.

However, even when the performance of the Free Hola VPN looked much better, there was still no consistency in the connections. Due to the constant drop, your experience can be immediately ruined.

3

Hola VPN Server

About “500 fast servers” for the free version

Hola VPN does not provide their number of servers. All we know is that free users get access to about “500 fast servers” and Premium doubles their number. Finally, the Ultra package comes with “~ 1,500 fastest servers in the world” and 200 “Ultra-Fast Servers”. Unfortunately, while testing my Premium plan, I was unable to determine which server would give me the best speeds.

Since it would be too much to set every available country, I’ll just list the core Hola VPN server locations from the free version in the table below:

Locationnation
AmericasUnited States, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia
EuropeUnited Kingdom, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Spain , Sweden Switzerland
Africa, Middle East and IndiaIsrael, India, Turkey
Asia PacificRussia, Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea
Hola VPN server locations

As you can see, Hola VPN has quite a few locations in Asia, which is not very common, especially among the free services. I missed a spot in Africa, but you can have multiple placements using a browser extension. Finally, I do not recommend using servers in China or Russia – most likely the government will monitor them.

4

Security and privacy

Hola Free is not secure and private

Free VPN version Hola is insecure and private. That is something I rarely say about any supplier. Hola VPN encryption is non-existent, which means it’s inferior to regular proxies.No much information about tunneling protocols is available. According to the Hola VPN FAQ, it could be an HTTPS proxy or an IKEv2 / IPSec connection, although outdated PPTP is also listed. These protocols might be for premium users as the free plan doesn’t come with apps. You should also be prepared for the Hola VPN DNS and IP leaks as there are no protections against that.

Hola VPN’s physical location is in Israel, although it is not a member of the Fourteen Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance, it has a well-documented history of cooperation with the United States. According to documents leaked by Edward Snowden, Israel and the NSA have an agreement to share data of US citizens.

Hola VPN as a P2P network

Due to its P2P platform, Hola VPN is possibly one of the most dangerous services out there. To conclude, joining this parasitic P2P network means other free and premium users can use your idle bandwidth and IP address as the exit node. The latter means other Hola VPN users can pretend like you’re online.

Hola VPN logging policy

Does Hola VPN keep logs? It certainly is! This is one of the rare VPNs that doesn’t claim to have a zero logging policy. Hola VPN collects your IP, email, name and other personal data.

I don’t recommend sending sensitive information over its P2P network, not to mention anything related to online shopping and banking.

5

Package prices

How much does Hola VPN cost?

Hola was primarily a free VPN service. But now it looks more like a platform for mining and promoting paid services.

Hola VPN comes in two premium plans – Premium and Ultra. They have different prices depending on the length of the contract, be it monthly, annually or 3 years. However, the price is too high due to the lack of features, security and speed.

Here are the plans that Hola VPN offers:

DurationFreePremiumUltra
1 month$ 0$ 14.99 / month$ 29.99 / month
1 year$ 0$ 7.69 / month$ 9.99 / month
3 years$ 0$ 2.99 / month$ 7.99 / month
Price list of Hola VPN service packages
hola vpn price

Hola VPN free allows one device and limits the time you can use that device uninterrupted for an hour. Video streaming quality is SD and no customer support save FAQs.

Meanwhile, Hola Premium comes with 10 concurrent connections, HD streaming, email support, traffic encryption, and a suspicious logging policy. You also get twice as many servers.

The Hola Ultra pack doesn’t add much but is twice as expensive. You get 20 concurrent connections, 4K streaming quality and 24/7 “real person support”. Finally, you have access to a complete list of servers, including 200 “super fast” servers and Smart DNS, a basic feature of any solid VPN.

hola vpn price ultra

You can pay with credit card and PayPal, or alternatives in AliPay, GiroPay and Google Play, among others. There is also a 30-day money-back guarantee.

6

How to use Hola?

Ease of use and cross-platform support

Hola VPN has clients for Windows, macOS, Android, Huawei, and iOS. There are also browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox, Opera, and Edge. However, some Hola VPN apps come in the form of a Chromium browser, so the distinction is arbitrary.

hola vpn device
Hola VPN is compatible with most platforms across devices

You can manually configure Hola VPN Premium to work on routers (Netgear, D-Link), smart TVs (Apple TV, LG, Panasonic, Phillips …), and game consoles (Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch).

Desktop applications: Windows and macOS

The look and feel of Hola VPN applications often depends on whether it’s the free or premium version. For example, the Windows version can be a browser extension or a separate application. The premium version gives you exactly two VPN related settings – the interrupt switch and the encryption type.

hola vpn laptop
Hola is easy to install on Windows computers as well as MacOS

Hola VPN for Mac users don’t get any settings at all. Additionally, they have to enter a PIN called a “VPN password” every time they change servers.

Mobile apps: Android, Huawei, and iOS

Hola VPN for Android is quite unique in its design. It displays all of your apps and you can choose which apps to use with a different IP. Once connected, Hola VPN app launches automatically. Alternatively, you can use the built-in Chromium browser, but some websites like Netflix block it. Free Hola VPN for iOS doesn’t exist.

hola vpn mobile
Hola application on mobile devices has a quite friendly interface

The Huawei version has similarities with the Android app. It also uses Lightning Browser instead of Chromium. If we believe the numbers on Huawei AppGallery, then Hola VPN isn’t that popular – I’ve seen 55,000 installs at the time of writing this review.

Browser extensions: Chrome, Firefox, Opera and Edge

The browser extension gives you a complete list of servers in nearly 200 countries. They have a similar design and look more polished than desktop or mobile apps. I can even say that these browser extensions are the main product of Hola VPN. Firefox stands out from the crowd by asking the add-on creators to show a privacy policy that you must agree on before diving into the Hola universe.

hola vpn
Extensions Hola supports multiple web browsers

The free version puts a countdown timer in the corner of your browser window, after an hour you have to wait a day. Buying Hola VPN premium removes the timer and adds optional encryption.

7

Does Hola unblock Netflix?

Unblock Netflix and other streaming platforms

You can unblock Netflix with the free Hola VPN browser extension. The app, however, requires a premium account.

hola vpn netflix hulu
Hola helps unblock many Netflix libraries around the world

Hola VPN is not the best choice to watch your favorite movies and shows online. Even if it unblocked your favorite platform, the speed might not be enough for the best quality. For the best streaming experience, choose a VPN suitable for Netflix.

Torrenting with Hola VPN

Does Hola VPN allow torrents? Are not. All P2P sharing activities are blocked. But even if you can use Hola VPN for torrenting, I strongly advise against doing so.

If you care only a little bit about your online security and privacy, you know exactly how insecure you are when using Hola VPN for P2P. Instead, let me show you the list of these Best VPN for torrenting to make it easier for you to make a decision.

8

Customer support

Hola customer service is not for free users

Hola VPN offers the following support options:

  • Submit the form
  • Frequently asked questions
  • General contact

However, free users may forget to get any other help. If you don’t find the solution in the FAQ, your best bet is to search the web.

Paid users can submit the form or email it directly. However, you will only get 24/7 “real person” help if you have a Hola VPN Ultra account. Even then, response time was average.

As you can see, there is no live chat nor phone support and that makes Hola VPN among the providers with the worst help service.

9

Is Hola a good VPN?

Conclusion

Hola VPN can be dangerous because of its global P2P user network, it shares unencrypted bandwidth. It could potentially be used by cybercriminals to build botnets and enslave the IP addresses of unsuspecting users. If you like Hola VPN’s simple, colorful interface, I recommend their paid plan. The paid version will give you a much better no-leakage guarantee with your personal information online.

If that wasn’t enough, Hola VPN leaked IP, DNS and WebRTC, making some security and privacy features worthless. However, the Windows application has an interrupt switch.

Hola VPN can be used for streaming, but its free version has significant limitations and premium plans can be very expensive. Torrenting is banned and there is no live chat or phone support even for those who make mistakes and buy the most expensive plan in three years.

In short, don’t bother installing Hola VPN. There are tons of great free VPNs for you to try.

10

Hola VPN FAQs

Frequently asked questions

#1 Is Hola VPN Safe?

And now, add the fact that all Hola VPN users belong to the P2P network, sharing bandwidth globally. What you get is a perfect playing field for cybercriminals.

#2 Does Hola VPN work with Netflix?

Yes, it has. However, users of the free version can only watch one hour per day. Plus, the VPN’s countdown timer is always visible in the corner of your window, even when you’re in full-screen mode.

#3 How to use it for free?

When you launch Hola VPN for the first time, create a free or premium account, choose the desired location and connect.

#4 How to delete apps?

Nếu bạn đã cài đặt ứng dụng Hola VPN, chỉ cần xóa ứng dụng khỏi thiết bị của mình giống như xóa bất kỳ phần mềm nào khác. Đối với các tiện ích mở rộng của trình duyệt, hầu hết thời gian, chỉ cần nhấp chuột phải vào biểu tượng và chọn loại bỏ tiện ích bổ sung.

#5 How to add apps to Chrome?

Confirm your selection by clicking Add extension

8 Total Score

About us

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