NordVPN and Hola VPN are two of the biggest brands in the world of VPNs. On the face of it, Virtual Private Network (VPN) apps are fairly simple. However, behind the scenes, every service is different. There’s no better pair to illustrate this than NordVPN and Hola.

Both allow you to change your IP address, but the latter is essentially a peer-to-peer proxy and not just a VPN. Still, Hola brands itself as a VPN and remains a popular choice for new users, so we thought it’d be worthwhile seeing how it compares to a “traditional” VPN such as NordVPN.

Below, we’ll break down every security feature these tools offer, let you know exactly how secure they are, and measure their performance in a series of head-to-head tests. Even if neither of these providers is right for you, this post should give you a better understanding of what to look for when browsing VPNs in the future.

Don’t have time to read the whole thing and want the quick answer? NordVPN is the better option. Keep reading for a full explanation of how I came to that conclusion.

Highlights

NordVPN vs Hola VPN pricing

Normally, when one of the providers we’re examining has a free plan, we ignore this and just compare the paid subscription options. However, Hola’s free offering has real privacy implications and failing to mention these wouldn’t be fair or impartial.

NordVPN

  • Exceptionally fast speeds
  • More than 5,000 servers globally
  • Constantly improving security toolkit
  • Works with major streaming services
  • Provides 24/7 support over live chat

Hola

  • Can connect lots of devices at once
  • Decent streaming potential
  • Over 40 locations to choose from
  • Multi-platform support
  • Good money-back guarantee

If you’re looking for month-to-month coverage, you can expect to pay a little more. NordVPN costs $11.99 USD (GBP £8.91) monthly, while Hola’s paid plans are $14.99 and $29.99 (£11.14 and £22.28) per month. This last subscription option is significantly more expensive than we’re used to seeing, especially seeing as the only benefits are a higher connection limit, access to faster servers, and a Smart DNS tool. Considering some budget providers allow unlimited connections, there’s really no justifying this more expensive plan.

On the plus side, both NordVPN and Hola offer long-term discounts. NordVPN offers almost 60 percent off on an annual plan, and 70 percent off two-year plans. This effectively cuts the cost to $4.99 and $3.49 (£3.71 and £2.96) per month.

Hola’s one-year plans work out at $7.99 (£5.71) and $19.99 (£14.85) per month. There are also three-year options that reduce the price even further: to $2.99 (£2.22) or $7.99 (£5.94) monthly.

Both NordVPN and Hola include a 30-day money-back guarantee. This means that you can always sign up, try the service for yourself, and claim a full refund if it fails to meet your expectations.

BEST DEAL FOR NORDVPN:Save 70% when you choose NordVPN’s 2-year plan.

BEST DEAL FOR HOLA VPN:Cut the monthly cost to just $2.99 by choosing the 3-year deal

NordVPN vs Hola VPN features

NordVPN has a clear advantage when it comes to extra features. It has recently introduced a tool that’ll alert you if your username or password is leaked on the dark web, and the CyberSec feature blocks ads and trackers automatically. This VPN also has a Smart DNS service that can help you access geo-blocked services on devices that don’t support VPN apps, like Smart TVs and games consoles. Hola has a Smart DNS feature too, but you have to be on the most expensive subscription plan to use it.

Hola might be more appealing if you’re looking to connect lots of devices at once. It allows 10 simultaneous connections, and twice that on the Ultra plan, whereas NordVPN permits the industry standard six connections. That said, you can get around these limits by installing your VPN on a router. Hola only supports one specific router, while NordVPN provides step-by-step instructions for over a dozen types of firmware. Further, Hola does not allow torrenting under any circumstances, whereas NordVPN supports it on any server.

NordVPN has long been a favorite of users who like to stream, because it’s consistently able to access major services securely. In our tests, NordVPN worked flawlessly with every platform except for CBS. This network has particularly strong geo-blocking, though, and causes problems for just about every provider. We were particularly impressed with NordVPN’s Netflix performance, since it’s rare for a VPN to work with more than a couple of libraries.

Hola’s performance was decent, if unexceptional. It worked with the US Netflix library, but seemed to prioritize just a handful of major services. For instance, we were able to stream the notoriously tricky BBC iPlayer, but couldn’t use All 4, which is normally much easier to access.

During uninstallation, Hola displayed a message claiming that it had “the highest unblocking rates of websites, content, and streaming”. The evidence above would seem to disprove this, so it’s unclear what data Hola is basing its claims on.

Which of these VPNs work in China?

Hola does not work in China. NordVPN does, though, and users should be able to use the service as normal. Even assuming the Great Firewall is updated and blocks traffic from the regular servers, NordVPN offers obfuscated servers that should get you back to browsing freely. Note that you’ll have to enable Obfuscated servers in the settings menu before they’ll be available for selection.

It’s worth mentioning that NordVPN’s website is blocked in China. This service has a copy of the site that’s still accessible, though. Simply contact customer support before you leave and make a note of the URL. I’d also recommend saving manual configuration guides, just in case the apps temporarily stop working during your visit.

Setup and interface

NordVPN has clean, well-organized apps that feature both a list of servers and an interactive server map. It’s extremely user-friendly, with clearly-labeled settings and a Network Security tab that lets you toggle each feature individually. The full settings menu is neatly broken up into different tabs, and never feels too overwhelming despite the number of options available.

Hola’s desktop app feels a little unsure about what it’s supposed to be. On one hand, it has the simple main screen with quick-connection button we’ve come to expect from novice-friendly services, but its menu includes extremely obscure settings like ESP cipher transform, DH group, and PFS group. These impact that the encryption algorithm works and there’s almost no situation where an average user would ever need to change them.

Servers and performance

There’s a real difference in network scale here. NordVPN operates one of the largest networks on the market, with over 5,000 spanning 60 countries. There’s even a tool on its website that points you to the best server for your intended purpose.

Hola, on the other hand, mostly functions as a P2P proxy. This means it funnels your internet traffic through another users’ connection and vice-versa. However, it also operates around 1,500 standard VPN-type servers around the world which claim to provide faster speeds. While Hola’s website claims that it covers over 100 countries, only 41 are actually available in the app.

When it comes to speed, there’s no contest. NordVPN is one of the fastest services on the market, averaging over 350 Mbps in our latest VPN speed tests. Meanwhile, Hola’s speeds were highly-variable based on the location chosen. Some were quick enough to stream live TV without any issues, but others struggled with general web-browsing.

Here are all of the locations you can connect to in each app:

NordVPN supports more locations overall, and covers far more European and Asian countries than its rival. Hola does have servers in Russia, though, which is something NordVPN can’t say, having pulled out of the country due to its anti-VPN legislation. NordVPN could do with having more servers in Africa, but Hola doesn’t have a single server anywhere on the continent.

Security

First and foremost, we have to stress that free Hola plans do not offer any privacy benefits. Even still, there are several critical differences between these two VPNs’ offerings.

NordVPN supports standard OpenVPN connections and has its own WireGuard-based protocol named NordLynx. Hola, however, relies on IKEv2, which is pretty secure but supported by fewer devices. NordVPN also offers obfuscated servers capable of bypassing the strictest VPN-blocking in the world, plus a CyberSec feature that can prevent you from installing malware or entering your details into phishing websites.

There are a couple of similarities, though. Both services offer 256-bit AES encryption, which is widely considered uncrackable. They also include automatic connection features and a kill switch that’ll stop you accidentally browsing unprotected. We’d prefer to see more information on this from Hola, however, since it’s difficult to really assess its security with incomplete data.

Privacy

NordVPN has twice been independently audited to prove that it doesn’t keep any logs. Its mobile apps do collect device identifiers for analytics purposes. You can refresh these manually, and we recommend you do so periodically. Users can pay in three different cryptocurrencies, or buy a gift card using cash at several major superstores. In other words, signing up anonymously is about as easy as it could possibly be.

Hola has some particularly concerning privacy implications for free users. To begin with, its free plan doesn’t even change your IP address. Further, during installation, it tells you that in order to use the service for free, you must allow it to “occasionally access websites through your device”. We haven’t heard of any legitimate providers that require this permission, and it’s concerning that Hola would even request it.

Configuration

Hola’s free plan works by essentially swapping two users’ IP addresses. As such, only one person has access to the IP address at a time. Hola hasn’t spoken about how it assigns IP addresses on its paid servers, but NordVPN (and most other reputable services) use shared allocation systems. This means that everyone on a given server shares one IP address, making it extremely difficult to tell who did what.

NordVPN allows you to pay an extra $79 (GBP £58) annually for an IP address only you can access. Dedicated IPs like these tend to be less likely to be blacklisted, since there’s significantly less traffic coming from them than a shared address. You do, however, lose the layer of anonymity that shared IPs, since you’re the only one using a dedicated IP. Hola doesn’t offer any kind of dedicated IP address or static IP servers.

NordVPN’s servers all make use of a NAT firewall, which essentially blocks malicious incoming data packets and routes legitimate ones to the correct device on the network. Hola does not mention whether it has one of these or not. To be fair, not every VPN does, and there are often other ways of ensuring your network is protected from outside interference.

Customer service

NordVPN wins decisively in this category. First of all, it has a 24/7 email and live chat service manned by an in-house customer service team. Staff are more than happy to answer general questions about the service before you’ve even signed up, and we usually receive a response in seconds, not minutes. Paying customers also have access to a ticket system for more complex problems. There are even multilingual setup guides on the NordVPN YouTube channel.

The only support that free Hola customers get is a searchable knowledge base. For anything else, even email support, you’ll need a premium subscription. What’s extremely unusual is that there’s no live chat whatsoever. Most major VPNs offer this at least some of the time. I know that if I paid almost $30 per month for a service, I’d want to be able to get help immediately.

The winner: NordVPN

                    Jan 2023

 

Apps Available:

  • PC
  • Mac
  • IOS
  • Android
  • Linux
  • Background
  • FireTV

Website: www.NordVPN.com

Money-back guarantee: 30 DAYS

It’s rare that we see such a disparity between the services we’re comparing, but Hola consistently over-promises and under-delivers. Users are effectively asked to compromise their privacy for access to geo-blocked websites, unless they’re willing to pay well above market rates for a service that keeps more logs (and provides lower speeds) than its rivals.

NordVPN, on the other hand, has proven time and again to be a reliable, privacy-conscious provider with top-tier security features and real everyday potential. Unlike Hola, it allows torrenting, works in countries with extreme censorship, and provides around-the-clock support. In short, it’s better in almost every way.