Is Hola VPN Safe? Much Better Hola VPN Alternatives in 2024

Hola is a VPN from Israel with over a hundred million subscribers. Despite its large user base, Hola faced issues with hacker exploits and third-party attacks. It was also found to log user data and sell it to others.

In this article, we’ll explore Hola’s privacy and security features. We’ve also compiled a list of the 5 best free Hola VPN alternatives for those seeking free options.

We advise against using free VPNs because they’re not secure. Free VPNs often lack advanced security features. This means your IP address and browsing history could be exposed. They also collect and sell user data to advertisers, compromising your privacy.

Paying for a VPN is a safer choice. It offers robust security features to protect your data. Services like NordVPN even come with a 30-day money-back guarantee. This allows you to try it out for a month and get a full refund if you’re not happy.

Best Options in 2024

1. NordVPN – Super-fast VPN with tons of security and privacy features.
2. ProtonVPN – Fast speeds and comes with no monthly data cap.
3. Windscribe – Simple to use and very intuitive.
4. TunnelBear – Simple to use and very intuitive.
5. Hide.Me – Best free VPN for torrenting.

Is Hola VPN Safe?

No, Hola is not safe because it’s a P2P VPN. This means you change your IP address by getting another one from another Hola user. At the same time, other users will get your IP address to browse the internet as well. So, cybercriminals can use your IP address to engage in illegal activities.

Hola VPN is a virtual private network (VPN) service. It gives users access to websites and online content that may be restricted in their area. Hola VPN works by routing a user’s internet traffic through other users’ devices. This creates a peer-to-peer network that lets users access content they might not be able to see normally.

Hola has apps for Windows, macOS, iOS, and smart TVs. Its Android app was removed from the Google Play Store because of malware suspicions.

This provider offers great features. It promises unlimited bandwidth, no ads, and servers in 190+ countries. This is possible because you connect to all users on Hola’s network. Your IP address is not private, so you risk being targeted by DDoS attacks.

Also, Hola shares user IPs with its partners. The VPN doesn’t use encryption, so malicious actors can spy on your traffic.

In contrast, a reliable VPN like NordVPN doesn’t log or share any data. So, no one can see what you’re doing online, not even the VPN. It also has tons of security and privacy features to protect your identity online.

Why You Should NOT Use Hola VPN

Our team tested Hola VPN for several weeks. We put together a list of reasons why Hola VPN is not safe:

1. It Logs User Data

Hola’s privacy policy admits to collecting user data even if you upgrade to a paid plan. If you use the VPN from Facebook or Gmail, the provider collects and shares data like:

• IP address
• Email address
• Friends list
• Your full name and birth date
• Billing information
• Apps installed on your device

What’s more, Hola states that they log this data and keep it for as long as the provider believes is necessary. Plus, the VPN is based in Israel, which collaborates with the 14 Eyes Alliance event though it’s not a member.

2. It Uses a P2P Network

A VPN hides your real IP address and assigns you a different one. Instead, Hola uses a P2P network, so you’ll use someone’s real IP address to browse the web. This means that other users can use your real IP as well. This is very unsafe because people might use your IP to engage in illegal activities.

3. It’s Inconvenient to Use

Hola’s apps don’t let you connect to a specific city, only countries. Most top VPNs let you connect to specific locations in popular countries like the US, the UK, and Japan. Being able to connect to a certain city would help you use a server that’s closer to you to get faster speeds.

On top of that, Hola doesn’t have any convenient features like other paid VPNs. For instance, it doesn’t have a quick-connect feature. So it doesn’t automatically connect you to the fastest server for your location. Also, the servers don’t display the server load. So you don’t know if the server you connect to is overcrowded or not.

4. It Lacks Important Security Tools

Hola has military-grade encryption only for paid plans. Also, it doesn’t have leak protection, a kill switch, or an ad blocker. It lacks other useful security features — obfuscation, RAM-only servers, and perfect forward secrecy.

5. It Has Slow Speeds

We tested speeds on nearby and distant servers. Nearby servers were 50% slower, and distant ones were 70% slower.

Watching HD and 4K videos on YouTube took 8-10 seconds to load. We saw buffering and quality drops, worse when skipping videos.

Using the VPN for web browsing and social media took 3-4 seconds for content to load.

6. It Costs More Than Top Paid VPNs

Hola has two subscription tiers with monthly and yearly plans. But its prices are too high for what it offers. Even its longest plan is pricier than top competitors like NordVPN and Surfshark.

Hola only offers a 14-day money-back guarantee. Most top VPNs give a 30-day refund. And, you must not use Hola at all during those 14 days to get a refund.

What Free VPN Alternatives Can I Use Instead of Hola VPN?

We found the top 5 free VPN alternatives to Hola VPN that are safe to use:

1. NordVPN – Our Top VPN Pick

While it’s not a free VPN, NordVPN comes with a risk-free 30-day money-back guarantee. This lets you try the VPN and subscribe only if you like it.

NordVPN has lots of security and privacy features to keep your data safe online. It protects against WebRTC, IPv6, and DNS leaks, so your real IP stays hidden. It also uses military-grade encryption and has a kill switch to prevent IP exposure.

It also has advanced security features. For example, it uses RAM-only servers that erase all data on every reset. It also has perfect forward secrecy, which changes encryption keys for each connection. This makes it hard for hackers to spy on your traffic.

There’s also Threat Protection. This tool blocks ads, trackers, and malicious sites. In our tests, it blocked all ads, even on ad-heavy sites. Using Threat Protection made browsing smoother and sites loaded faster. It also scans files for malware without compromising your privacy.

The VPN’s no-logs policy has been audited twice and proven true. It also has obfuscation, which adds extra encryption to make your VPN traffic look like regular internet traffic. This is useful in countries that block VPNs.

For streaming, NordVPN has fast speeds on both distant and nearby servers. We could watch 4K and HD movies without any issues. It unblocks streaming services like Netflix and Hulu. With 5,000+ servers in 55+ countries, you can access lots of content worldwide.

It also has split-tunneling, so you can choose which apps use the VPN. This can make streaming even faster by only sending streaming traffic through NordVPN.

The VPN also allows torrenting on 4,500+ servers. This means you can avoid slow speeds caused by overcrowded servers. It also has SOCKS5 proxies for faster torrenting speeds. These servers hide your IP address like a VPN does.

Also, if you subscribe to longer plans, the VPN is very affordable. It allows 6 simultaneous connections, making it great for using on many devices.

2. Proton VPN

Proton VPN is the only free VPN with unlimited data, which is very convenient. The free plan gives you access to 3 VPN locations — Japan, the US, and the Netherlands. You can use the VPN on 1 device.

Security-wise, Proton VPN’s free plan offers excellent features. It has a kill switch, a strict no-logs policy, and perfect forward secrecy. It also has full leak protection, which is rare in free VPNs. All apps are open-source, allowing anyone to check for security flaws. The provider’s apps are also audited.

The provider’s free plan also offers good speeds. We could browse the internet without delays and sites loaded instantly. You also get the VPN Accelerator to boost speeds on distant servers. Plus, there’s split-tunneling to increase speeds by using the VPN for specific sites or apps.

One drawback of using the free plan is that the VPN doesn’t offer torrenting and streaming support. So, if you want to download content or stream on Netflix, you have to get a paid plan.

The paid plans also add 1,800+ servers in 60+ countries and even faster speeds. ProtonVPN’s paid plans also offer an ad blocker, which makes your browsing much smoother. Plus, you can use the VPN on 10 simultaneous devices, which is very convenient. The pricing is affordable, and there’s a prorated 30-day money-back guarantee.

3. Windscribe

Compared to other free VPNs, Windscribe allows unlimited simultaneous connections. The free plan also comes with 10 GB monthly data. You can get an additional 5 GBs if you engage with Windscribe on Twitter.

The VPN has good security features as well. It has military-grade encryption, full leak protection, and a strict no-logs policy. Also, it has an ad blocker that blocks trackers and malware.

In our tests, the VPN also has good speeds. When we connected to nearby servers, we could watch YouTube videos without noticing any interruptions. On distant servers, HD and 4K videos took around 4 seconds to load. Split-tunneling is also available, which is nice.

Windscribe also supports torrenting and streaming. For torrenting, it offers port forwarding. This feature lets you connect to more peers to get even faster download speeds. For example, a 2 GB file took us around 10 minutes to download with port forwarding enabled, and 20 minutes without it. In addition, we were able to unblock popular streaming services like Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, and Disney+.

Windscribe’s free plan has servers in 10 countries. Also, it has very intuitive and easy-to-use apps. When you connect to the VPN client, you can check the server’s latency. That way, you can choose the fastest one to have good speeds. Also, it has Auto Pilot, which is Windscribe’s quick-connect feature.

If you upgrade to the paid plans, you get unlimited data and access to servers in 60+ countries and 100+ cities. Also, the paid plans have a 3-day money-back guarantee.

4. TunnelBear

TunnelBear has one of the most intuitive and friendly apps, so it’s perfect even for beginners. The apps have features and explanations that come with bear cartoons. So you don’t feel overwhelmed when using the VPN. Also, when you connect to servers, a digital bear starts digging a tunnel on a digital map to the VPN server’s location. What’s more, on mobile, the digital bear even roars when you connect to the server.

Unlike other free VPNs, TunnelBear gives access to all its servers, which are located in 45+ countries.

The VPN’s free plan also unlocks all security and privacy features for its users. For example, it has a strict no-logs policy and military-grade encryption. Plus, it has Vigilant Mode, which is TunnelBear’s kill switch. Also, the VPN undergoes independent security audits every year. Its code, website, apps, and server infrastructure get checked regularly. Plus, the provider offers transparency reports annually. On top of that, it offers GhostBear, which is TunnelBear’s obfuscation feature.

When it comes to streaming and torrenting, the VPN has pretty fast speeds. You get access to servers in 45+ countries, making it easy to find nearby servers for decent speeds. Also, you can unblock Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Disney+. You also have the Closest Tunnel setting, which is TunnelBear’s quick-connect feature. Also, it has SplitBear, which is the VPN’s split-tunneling feature.

TunnelBear’s biggest drawback is its 500 MB monthly data cap. You can get an extra 1 GB if you talk about the VPN on social media. But, this is just enough for a few hours of browsing or a few minutes of HD streaming.

Upgrading to paid plans gives you unlimited data. You can also install the VPN on unlimited devices at once. The plans are affordable, but there’s no money-back guarantee.

5. hide.me

hide.me is great for torrenting, thanks to its P2P support. The free plan lets you use 10 GB per month, perfect for small files.

It has good security features like full leak protection and a kill switch. We tested it on different servers and our IP address was always safe. It also has Stealth Guard for specific app use when connected to the VPN.

The free plan lets you connect to 5+ countries. You can access servers in Germany, the Netherlands, Canada, and the US. You can install it on 1 device and it doesn’t support streaming.

But, the free plan has fast speeds. All sites loaded quickly in our tests. HD videos on YouTube loaded fast without buffering. Torrenting an 8 GB file took just 10 minutes, which is excellent. You can also use split-tunneling to boost speeds further.

Paid plans offer unlimited data and 10 simultaneous connections. You also get access to 2,000+ servers in 45+ countries. Each plan comes with a 30-day refund.

Criteria for Selecting the Best VPN Services

Security and Privacy

When choosing a VPN, security and privacy are key. You need a VPN that uses strong encryption to protect your online activities. It should also have a no-logs policy to keep your data safe from hackers and others.

Speed and Performance

A good VPN should not slow down your internet. Look for a provider with many servers worldwide. This ensures you can connect to the fastest server.

Server Locations and Network Size

Consider the VPN’s server locations and network size. More servers mean more options for accessing content from different regions. It also makes it easier to connect to servers in countries where the VPN is not blocked.

Device Compatibility and Ease of Use

The VPN should be easy to use on various devices. Make sure it works on your desktop, laptop, smartphone, and tablet. Check compatibility before signing up.

Customer Support and Pricing

Choose a VPN with responsive customer support. Also, compare prices to find a service that fits your budget. Look for one that offers the features you need.

Best Hola VPN Alternative Services – Summing It Up

Hola is an expensive P2P VPN with slow speeds and lacks basic security. It also shares user data with third parties and lets others access your IP address. This is risky because it could be used for illegal activities.

Not all free VPNs are bad. Reliable free VPNs limit users to highlight their paid plans.

Our free VPN alternatives for Hola are safe and reliable. They have bandwidth and feature limitations. So, we recommend signing up with a paid VPN for full security and privacy.

NordVPN is our top pick. It offers strong security features like a kill switch and military-grade encryption. It also has advanced security features like RAM-only servers and full leak protection.

NordVPN’s plans are affordable and cheaper than Hola. You get all features with any plan. It also has a 30-day money-back guarantee.