Avira Phantom VPN Free vs Hotspot Shield

Avira Phantom VPN Free is Avira’s VPN offering, with a free plan that provides 500 MB/month at free, billed monthly. A 7-day trial is also listed. The service lists servers in 36 countries and supports streaming and torrent use. Its Pro plan lists unlimited data, a Windows kill switch, and customer support, but no price is given. The free offering has no kill switch, and no verified no-logs audit is listed. Avira also lists ransomware protection, a password manager, junk cleanup, a startup manager, scheduled maintenance, restore-point tools, bulk app updates, and scheduled scans. Silent installation is supported, and the device limit is 25. Platform details name Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS, while the operating-system information also describes the software as Windows-only; Windows support specifically names Windows 10 and 11. The maker is based in Tettnang, Germany, and was founded in 1986.

Hotspot Shield is a VPN service for Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android, with free and paid plans. Its Basic plan costs nothing and covers one device, 500 MB of daily data, one U.S. virtual location, and a 2 Mbps limit. Paid plans include unlimited data and access to 115+ locations. Plus costs $6.99 a month with yearly billing and covers 5 devices; Premium costs $7.99 a month with annual billing and covers 10 devices. Family costs $11.99 a month with yearly billing and includes 5 member accounts and 25 devices. Listed features include streaming and torrent support, a kill switch, and WireGuard support. A verified no-logs audit is listed, and the pricing note mentions a 7-day trial. The maker is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The free and paid tiers differ in data allowance, location count, speed limit, and device coverage, so the Basic plan's stated limits are important to consider before choosing a plan.