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Hotspot Shield vs Astrill pairs two unaudited services aimed at opposite situations. Hotspot Shield, owned by Point Wild in the US, offers a free plan and Hydra-powered apps built for speed at home. Astrill charges $30 a month, $180 a year or $300 for two years for stealth protocols that GreatFirewallGuide rates at 98% on China Telecom’s CN2 GIA route.
This guide compares their logging, China use, price, devices and fit.
Hotspot Shield vs Astrill on Logging
Both keep some session data. Hotspot Shield records session length, bandwidth and device hashes and holds your IP during a session, reviews of its policy note. Astrill keeps your IP, connection time, device type and app version during a session and says it deletes them afterwards, VPN.com reports.
Neither has an independent no-logs audit of its own. Our VPN audit tracker lists providers that do.
Hotspot Shield vs Astrill in China
Astrill is the specialist: its StealthVPN and OpenWeb protocols target the Great Firewall, and GreatFirewallGuide rates its bypass confidence at 98% on CN2 GIA and 96% on China Unicom. We found no comparable rating for Hotspot Shield.
For China, Astrill is the clear choice of the two. Our China VPN guide covers others.
What Each Costs, and Devices
Hotspot Shield’s free Basic plan gives 500 MB a day on a US location with ads, and Premium costs $12.99 a month or $7.99 a month on a yearly plan, with 45 days for refunds. Astrill costs $180 a year or $300 for two years, and reviewers disagree on whether it refunds.
Hotspot Shield costs far less and is easier to try first.
Hotspot Shield Premium allows 10 devices, one review notes. Astrill’s page says unlimited in your household, while Security.org and VPN.com report five at once on its standard plan.
Households with many devices fit better on Hotspot Shield’s plan.
Split Tunnelling, Kill Switch, Linux and Routers
Hotspot Shield’s SmartVPN splits apps and websites on Windows and Android and websites only on Mac, vpnprograms notes. Astrill splits by app and website on desktop and adds App Guard, a kill switch for chosen apps, but its mobile apps lack a kill switch, TechRadar notes.
Check the features on the platform you use most before paying.
Hotspot Shield’s Linux version is command-line only, with no split tunnelling or kill switch, a 2026 review notes. Astrill offers a Linux package and supports DD-WRT, Tomato and Asuswrt-Merlin routers.
Astrill suits Linux and router setups better than Hotspot Shield.
Ownership
Point Wild, formerly Pango and Aura, owns Hotspot Shield, which faced a 2017 complaint to the FTC over its free version. Astrill Systems Corp. has run Astrill since 2009, placed in the Seychelles or Liechtenstein depending on the source.
Our VPN ownership guide explains why owners matter.
Free Options and Paying
Hotspot Shield’s free Basic plan gives 500 MB a day on a US location with ads. Astrill’s Android listing describes a one-device free plan in Europe and North America and seven days free without a card.
Both free options suit testing, not daily use on several devices.
Hotspot Shield does not offer anonymous payment, a 2026 review notes. Astrill accepts cards, PayPal, bank transfer and cryptocurrency including Monero, with a name and email at sign-up.
Choose the method that matches your privacy needs and any refund plans you have.
IP Addresses
Hotspot Shield assigns a new IP at each connection, Security.org found. Astrill sells a Private IP add-on, its pricing page lists, for a fixed address.
If you need a fixed IP for work or banking, Astrill offers one at extra cost.
Speed and Streaming
Hotspot Shield credits its speed to Hydra and WireGuard, a 2026 review notes. Astrill’s downloads held up in Security.org’s tests, but its latency rose sharply, and VPN.com measured large latency increases on Windows.
For calls and gaming, test latency on both before committing to a long plan.
Hotspot Shield’s free plan does not suit streaming, vpnprograms notes, so streaming needs Premium. Astrill does not market streaming servers or group locations by service.
Neither is a first choice for streaming; test any service you rely on during a refund or free window.
Who Should Avoid Both
Anyone who needs audited proof of a no-logs policy should look elsewhere. Our Proton VPN vs Astrill page compares Astrill with a provider that has five annual audits.
For China, Astrill remains the specialist despite that gap in evidence.
Support
Hotspot Shield’s free plan comes without one-on-one support, Tom’s Guide notes, and lacks router, smart TV and Linux use; Premium adds them. Test Astrill’s support during its free days, especially if you will rely on it from China.
Support matters most when a connection breaks somewhere you cannot easily fix it.
How We Research
This page draws on vpnprograms’, AllAboutCookies’ and Tom’s Guide’s Hotspot Shield reviews, a 2026 Hotspot Shield review on logging and Linux, Security.org’s, VPN.com’s, TechRadar’s and GreatFirewallGuide’s Astrill coverage and our price tables. We cross-checked these sources against each other, and where they conflict or something can’t be verified, we say so in the text rather than guessing. We checked time-sensitive figures, including prices in US dollars, on 8 October 2026. The main source we relied on is vpnprograms’ Hotspot Shield review. Our full approach lives on the About Us page.
Hotspot Shield vs Astrill FAQ
Hotspot Shield for cheap, simple use; Astrill for China.
Neither has an independent no-logs audit.
Astrill, rated 98% on CN2 GIA by GreatFirewallGuide.
The free plan and $7.99 a month yearly make Hotspot Shield cheaper.
Ten on Hotspot Shield; reviewers report five on Astrill.
The Verdict
Hotspot Shield vs Astrill: Hotspot Shield for cheap, easy speed outside China; Astrill only for China. Neither is audited.