Looking for a Hola VPN alternative? Most people leave for the same reason. Hola's free desktop and Android apps run on a peer-to-peer network, so other users' traffic can pass through your internet connection, and Hola has sold access to that network commercially.
Our top pick is Proton VPN, because its free plan gives you unlimited data on servers Proton runs itself. If you are ready to pay, NordVPN is the strongest all-round upgrade. Below we compare 8 safer free and paid alternatives on privacy, security, speed and price. Every one of them uses provider-operated servers, so no stranger can ever exit to the internet through your IP address.
Hola VPN Alternatives Compared at a Glance
Prices are introductory rates on the longest plan, and most renew higher.
| VPN | Free plan | Starting price | No-logs policy / audit | Jurisdiction | Simultaneous devices | Best for | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Yes: unlimited data, 10 countries | $2.99/mo | Securitum, yearly 2022-2026 | Switzerland | 10 (1 on free) | Best free | Check price → |
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No | About $3.49/mo | PwC + Deloitte, six checks | Panama | 10 | Best overall | Check price |
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No | $2.49/mo | Deloitte (2023, 2025) | Netherlands | Unlimited | Budget | Check price |
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No (7-day mobile trial) | About $3/mo | KPMG (2025) | British Virgin Islands | 10 | Streaming | Check price |
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Yes: 10GB/mo | $69/yr | Infrastructure audit only | Canada | Unlimited | Free streaming | Check price |
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No | EUR 5/mo | Cure53 infrastructure audit | Sweden | 5 | Anonymity | Check price |
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No | $2.19/mo | Deloitte (latest 2026) | Romania | 7 | Beginners | Check price |
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No (7-day mobile trial) | $2.03/mo | Deloitte (2022, 2024) | United States | Unlimited | Customization | Check price |
For context, our Hola VPN review scores Hola 3.5/10. Its Premium plan costs $14.99 a month for up to 10 devices, and no independent no-logs audit of Hola exists.
How We Picked These Hola VPN Alternatives
Before any VPN made the table above, it had to pass one rule: every pick must run on servers the provider operates itself, with no peer-exit model.
From there, we scored each VPN with the same checks we use in our full reviews. We measured download speed on nearby and long-distance servers, tried Netflix, BBC iPlayer and Disney+, and watched how the kill switch behaved when a connection dropped. We also looked for an independent audit of each no-logs policy or server setup, and we weighed price, renewal cost and refund terms.
The order below reflects use case as much as score. Proton leads because it is the only pick with an uncapped free plan. ExpressVPN (8.8/10) outscores Surfshark (8.6/10), but Surfshark comes first as the budget choice.
1. Proton VPN - Best Free Hola Alternative
Proton VPN is the closest thing to a straight swap for Hola's free tier, minus the peer network. The free plan gives you unlimited data, no ads, a kill switch and the Stealth protocol, and it never asks your device to carry anyone else's traffic. It earns a 9.0/10 in our Proton VPN review.
The free tier runs at medium speed on servers in 10 countries. When we connected on the free plan, the app picked the server for us, with no way to choose a country.
VPN Plus costs $9.99 per month or $2.99/month on the 2-year plan, opening 20,000+ servers in 140+ countries. On paid servers we lost no more than about 8 percent of our download speed, and Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Disney+ and HBO Max unblocked consistently. Secure Core multi-hop was the slow mode, running about 35 percent slower than a standard connection. Paid plans carry a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Pros
- Installs in under two minutes and explains each setting in plain language
- No-logs policy audited by Securitum every year since 2022
- Free browser extension for Chrome and Firefox
Cons
- Free plan covers only 1 device
- No streaming or P2P without paying
- Live chat is not 24/7 and not open to free users
2. NordVPN - Best Hola Alternative Overall
Where Proton wins on its free plan, NordVPN wins on raw speed. On nearby US servers we kept 95 percent or more of a gigabit line, roughly 825 to 903 Mbps, and a 4K stream ran alongside a video call with no buffering. It shares the top 9.0/10 score in our NordVPN review.
Regular NordVPN servers unblocked Netflix, Max, Disney+ and BBC iPlayer without special streaming servers. NordLynx, its WireGuard-based protocol, is post-quantum on every app. Double VPN is the exception to the speed story: throughput fell to around half on a fast line when we switched it on.
There is no free plan. Basic costs about $3.49/month on a 2-year term, though rolling promotions and regional pricing move that between roughly $3 and $3.50. It is $5.49/month on 1 year, with a 30-day money-back guarantee. Its no-logs policy has been verified six times, twice by PwC and four times by Deloitte, most recently in February 2026.
Pros
- Threat Protection Pro blocks ads, trackers and malware
- Obfuscated servers and Onion Over VPN
- Meshnet, split tunneling and a native Apple TV app
Cons
- The map-based interface feels clunky on small screens
- Renewal price jumps well above the promotional rate
- A dedicated IP costs extra as an add-on
3. Surfshark - Best Budget Alternative (Unlimited Devices)
Surfshark undercuts NordVPN and removes the device limit. The Starter plan costs $2.49/month on the 2-year plan, billed $67.23 for 27 months. Every plan allows unlimited simultaneous connections, so you can protect devices across all the platforms you use.
On a transatlantic server, our downloads slowed by only about 10 percent, and Netflix worked reliably across several regions. Distant servers were the weak point: some got congested and speeds dropped noticeably.
Surfshark runs 4,500+ servers in 100 countries and had its no-logs policy verified by Deloitte in 2023 and 2025. There is no free plan. Month to month costs roughly $15 to $16, since Surfshark's monthly rate differs by region and tax, so the real value sits on the 2-year plan. A 30-day money-back guarantee applies. We give it 8.6/10 in our Surfshark review.
Pros
- Native Android TV, Apple TV and Fire TV apps
- CleanWeb ad blocking and Camouflage obfuscation
- Post-quantum WireGuard switched on by default
Cons
- Ping can spike on some servers in the Windows app
- Starter renews at $79 a year after the first term
4. ExpressVPN - Best for Streaming
If Surfshark is the budget pick, ExpressVPN is the one worth paying more for when streaming content is the main job. Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Disney+, Prime Video and Hulu unblocked across many regions for us.
Its in-house Lightway protocol held roughly 450 to 720 Mbps on US and UK servers from a gigabit line. When a server timed out or our network changed, the Network Lock kill switch fired correctly. Our ExpressVPN review rates it 8.8/10.
ExpressVPN has no free plan, only a 7-day trial on iOS and Android. The Basic 2-year plan (28 months on the current offer) starts from about $3 a month, since the promotional rate moves with running deals. Basic covers 10 devices across 113 countries, with a 30-day money-back guarantee for new users. KPMG assessed its privacy claims in 2025.
Pros
- Very simple apps with a one-click connect
- Post-quantum Lightway and WireGuard protocols
- Servers in all 50 US states and 24/7 live chat
Cons
- Basic renews at $99.95 a year after 28 months
- Streaming access can change from week to week
- The Chrome extension needs the desktop app installed
5. Windscribe - Best Free Plan for Streaming
Unlike ExpressVPN, Windscribe lets you try streaming without paying. Its free plan gives you 10GB per month with a confirmed email and servers in about 10 countries, a list Windscribe rotates. On free servers, we opened Netflix libraries in the US, UK, Canada, France and Germany without excessive buffering, though some shows took a while to reach 1080p.
The catch is data. That 10GB covers only a few hours of HD video a month, and free servers saw speed drops of up to 90 percent at busy times. The free plan still keeps AES-256 encryption and R.O.B.E.R.T. malware protection.
Pro costs $69 per year ($5.75/month) or $9.00 month to month. Pro speeds held near our baseline on nearby servers (about 92 of 95 Mbps) before falling off on long routes such as Singapore. Windscribe has no dedicated no-logs audit, though Packetlabs audited its RAM-only servers in 2024. Refunds are tight: 7 days, and only under 10GB of use. That mix of a generous free tier and strict terms lands it at 8.5/10 in our Windscribe review.
Pros
- Unlimited devices on free and Pro
- Free extensions for Chrome, Firefox and Edge
- Build-A-Plan adds single locations from $1 each, with a $3 minimum
Cons
- Custom R.O.B.E.R.T. rules live in the website account panel, not the app
- Desktop app has more menus and toggles than most VPNs
- No live chat, and human ticket replies took around 18 hours
6. Mullvad VPN - Best for Anonymity
Windscribe is built for flexibility, while Mullvad is built to know as little about you as possible. Signup took us seconds. Mullvad issued a random 16-digit account number and asked for no email or name.
Cure53 completed Mullvad's fourth infrastructure audit in June 2024. These audits check infrastructure rather than issue a formal no-logs opinion, so "audited no-logs" depends on your definition. Mullvad runs 566 servers across 50 countries on WireGuard only.
Netflix US and BBC iPlayer blocked Mullvad servers with proxy errors, and access that worked in one session failed minutes later. Websites also threw CAPTCHA challenges at us frequently. There is no free trial or free tier. Mullvad charges a flat EUR 5 per month and offers a 14-day money-back guarantee (except cash payments). For privacy it is hard to beat, and our Mullvad VPN review scores it 8.5/10.
Pros
- Pay with cash, crypto or vouchers
- Flat monthly price with no renewal surprise
- DAITA traffic-analysis defense and open-source apps
Cons
- Email-only support with no live chat
- No port forwarding since 2023
- Only 5 devices per account
7. CyberGhost - Easiest Alternative for Beginners
CyberGhost demands far less of you than Mullvad does. On first launch, the app connected to a nearby server in under ten seconds. Its streaming servers are labelled by platform, and the ones for Netflix US, BBC iPlayer, Disney+ and Prime Video loaded on the first try, with no server-hopping.
Distance was its weak spot, as our downloads dropped by more than 55 percent on Australia and South Africa servers, compared with about 20 percent nearby.
CyberGhost costs $2.19/month on the 26-month plan, billed $56.94 for the first term, or $12.99 per month. The first renewal roughly doubles the effective rate to about $4.75 a month. It has no free plan and runs servers in 100+ countries. Deloitte has audited its no-logs policy three times. The ease of use carries it to 8.4/10 in our CyberGhost review.
Pros
- Dedicated torrenting and NoSpy servers
- 24/7 live chat
- 45-day money-back guarantee on longer plans
Cons
- Streaming servers trigger CAPTCHA checks fairly often
- The 7-device cap fills up quickly in a busy household
- The auto-renew toggle is easy to miss
8. Private Internet Access - Best for Customization
Private Internet Access sits at the opposite end from CyberGhost. The apps expose kill switch levels, protocol choice, encryption strength and port forwarding, a depth that suits tinkerers far more than beginners.
Performance was uneven in our testing. Some US and UK servers lost around three quarters of a gigabit line, while others lost closer to 12 percent. Netflix US played on the first attempt, but HBO Max blocked a standard US server and then worked in 4K on a streaming-optimized one.
PIA costs $2.03/month on the 3-year + 3-month plan, billed $79, or $3.99/month on 1 year and $11.95 month to month. There is no free plan, but mobile users get a 7-day trial. Servers sit in 91 countries, and Deloitte audited its no-logs policy in 2022 and 2024. It shares CyberGhost's 8.4/10 in our PIA review.
Pros
- Fast, knowledgeable live chat support
- Unlimited devices and open-source apps
- Lowest long-term starting price on this list
Cons
- Busy interface for first-time VPN users
- The 30-day money-back guarantee excludes app-store purchases
What About Hide.me, TunnelBear, IPVanish, and Psiphon?
PIA closes our list of eight, and these four came close but each fell short for a typical Hola user.
Hide.me (8.2/10) has a no-signup free plan that connected for us without an email address. It offers 8 locations and 1 device, with restricted speeds and no streaming.
TunnelBear (7.5/10) is one of the easiest apps to hand to a non-technical user. Its free plan gives you only 2GB a month, which ran out in roughly 20 minutes of HD playback.
IPVanish (8.0/10) has unlimited devices and a 2025 no-logs audit by Schellman. In 2016, however, it handed connection logs to US authorities despite a no-logs claim at the time. Ownership has changed since, but Netflix access was inconsistent for us too.
Psiphon is a censorship circumvention tool, not a privacy VPN, and its own FAQ says so. The free tier is capped at 2Mbps and shows ads, and it keeps logs for up to 90 days.
Why Look for a Hola VPN Alternative?
Hola works differently from every service above. Rather than running its own server network, Hola's peer-to-peer design routes users through each other's devices. Our guide on is Hola VPN safe covers the full risk picture.
Hola Sells Your Bandwidth (the Bright Data Peer Network)
Hola's FAQ calls its free desktop and Android service a "value exchange." Your device lends network and processing power while idle, and some other users' traffic is routed through it. Hola's own pages disagree on which free products enroll a device as a peer, so whether your device becomes an exit node depends on which Hola product you installed.
Hola began selling access to its users as exit nodes under the Luminati brand in late 2014, at $20 per gigabyte. In May 2015, Hola's founder confirmed that the company sold users' bandwidth through its Luminati network, after an attacker used Luminati to flood 8chan with requests. Luminati rebranded as Bright Data in 2021.
Hola's privacy policy says free users of Hola products may be a peer on the Bright Data network. The only opt-out it offers is becoming a Premium user.
Security and Logging Problems on the Free Plan
Hola retains log data for up to 12 months, and extension logs may include browsing history. In 2015, researchers published vulnerabilities in Hola's Windows client, extensions and Android app, including remote code execution. The University of Delaware warns against Hola and prohibits it on university-owned machines.
Slower Speeds and Limited Free Features
Hola's free mobile apps and extensions stop after a daily time allowance, and that allowance differs from user to user. Sharing your connection also uses upload bandwidth, which hurts on slow lines or capped data plans. Speeds swing between sessions, and torrents stall because Hola blocks P2P traffic.
What to Look For in a Hola VPN Alternative
Hola fails most of the checks below, and they work just as well for any VPN you consider beyond this list:
- An audited no-logs policy. A policy is only a promise until an outside firm checks it.
- Provider-owned servers. Your traffic should exit through the VPN company's servers, never another user's home connection.
- Strong encryption. Look for AES-256 encryption or WireGuard across the whole device, not just one browser tab.
- A kill switch. It blocks internet access if the VPN drops, so your real IP address stays hidden.
- DNS leak protection. Without it, your requests can still reveal every website you visit. Our guide explains what a DNS leak is and how to test for one.
- A device limit that fits your household. Surfshark, Windscribe and PIA allow unlimited devices, while Mullvad stops at 5.
- A clear jurisdiction. Know which country's laws govern the company holding your data.
Free vs Paid: Which Hola Alternative Should You Choose?
Once a VPN passes those checks, the remaining choice is whether to pay. A free plan makes sense for private browsing on public Wi-Fi if you can live with limits. Proton VPN is the best free option because its data is unlimited, though you get 1 device and no country choice. Windscribe suits the occasional streamer, as long as 10GB a month is enough.
Pay if you stream regularly, torrent, need multiple devices covered, or want faster support. Among the unlimited-device picks, PIA and Surfshark cost the least long-term.
Check the renewal price before you commit. ExpressVPN renews at $99.95 a year and CyberGhost's rate roughly doubles, while Mullvad's flat EUR 5 never changes.
Hola VPN Alternatives FAQ
Is Hola VPN safe to use?
Does Hola still sell your bandwidth?
What is the best free alternative to Hola?
Is there a free VPN that works like Hola for streaming?
Is Hola a real VPN?
Is there a Hola alternative for Chrome as an extension?
Final Verdict
Start with Proton VPN for free, and move to NordVPN when you want paid speed and streaming. Whichever you choose, uninstall Hola first, both the desktop app and any browser extension, so your device stops acting as a peer before the new VPN goes on.
If you relied on Hola mainly as a Chrome extension, Proton's free extension is the most direct replacement, since it runs without the desktop app. Occasional streamers who want to stay free can add Windscribe alongside it for its Netflix libraries, and every other pick above is a paid step up that never lends your connection to strangers.
