Hola VPN Premium 2024 Review: 4 Cons and 2 Pros

by Vít Nováček
updated January 1, 2024 (Report a bug)

1. ▼ Table of Contents

   2. Hola VPN Premium Subscription: Discount Code, Free Trial, Money Back Guarantee…
   3. Hola VPN Premium and Supported Devices: Android, iOS, macOS…
   4. Hola VPN Premium App: User-Friendliness, Whitelist, Server Selection…
   6. Hola VPN Premium Server Locations
   7. Hola VPN Premium Security Features: DNS Leak Protection, Kill Switch…
   9. Features of Hola VPN Premium: AdBlock, Static IP…
   10. Hola VPN Premium‘s CPU usage and App Performance
   11. Hola VPN Premium Torrenting Servers
   12. What Is the Country of Origin Of Hola VPN Premium?
   13. Hola VPN Premium and Privacy: Logging Policy, Security Issues…
   14. Hola VPN Premium Support: Chat, e-mail…
   15. Hola VPN Premium FAQ

   Hola VPN Premium Has a Major Security Flaw

   • It stores large amounts of user data
   • It offers a minimum of additional features
   • Prohibits torrenting
   • Uses outdated security protocols

   • It was able to unblock all streaming services
   • The app is available for many platforms

   Hola VPN Premium is a controversial Israeli VPN that is reportedly used by over 270 million people. It doesn’t use regular servers for its operation, but the devices and IP addresses of users of the Hola VPN Free version. Thus, paying users use their connections for protection.

   In our test, Hola VPN Premium received an overall score of 6.8/10, which currently ranks it #53 out of 90 reviewed VPNs.

   Hola VPN Premium‘s weakest point is the large amount of sensitive data it stores about users. This includes IP address, websites visited, data transferred, and usage times for each app. This makes Hola VPN Premium completely unsuitable for ensuring anonymity on the internet.

   The protocols used by Hola VPN Premium are already quite outdated, these are IPSec, IKEv2, PPTP and L2TP.

   In addition, the Hola VPN Premium app lacks some basic and additional features, such as whitelisting or ad blocking. Torrenting and P2P data sharing is completely blocked.

   The number of sites available with Hola VPN Premium is based on the number of users currently logged in to the free version, with an average of 42 countries. The main advantages of this VPN include a large number of supported platforms, a simple application and a good ability to unblock foreign platforms.

   The best price for a Hola VPN Premium subscription is $2.87 per month. Meanwhile, for $2.12 per month, you can get Surfshark with a 9.2/10 rating, which offers more features and an excellent level of security.

   

2. Hola VPN Premium Subscription: Discount Code, Free Trial, Money Back Guarantee…

   • Your Price: $13.85​79% off  $2.87 /mo (10 devices)
   • Money Back Guarantee: Yes (30 days)
   • Free Trial: No
   • Cryptocurrency payments:
     No

     Bitcoin :No
     Dash :No
     Ethereum :No
     Ripple :No

   

   6.8

   ★★★

   The average VPN in the test unblocked streaming platforms and can be used via a browser extension. Downsides are low location options and poor data transfer speed.

   $2.87 /mo  ​30-day money back guarantee

   Get this VPN 79% cheaper

   Hola VPN Premium offers subscriptions in three different length options. The least expensive is a pay-as-you-go monthly subscription for $13.85, which can be cancelled at any time. More advantageous is the annual and especially the three-year subscription, which costs only $2.87 per month.

   You can pay for your Hola VPN Premium subscription with a credit card and PayPal, Google Pay or Apple Pay. Payment with Bitcoins or other cryptocurrencies is not available.

   To try out the service, you can opt for the free alternative Hola VPN Free, which includes unlimited data transfers. The downside is the principle of operation, where users provide their IP address to other VPN users. Hola VPN Free is thus completely unsuitable for ensuring security and anonymity on the Internet.

   The money-back guarantee is available for 30 days with Hola VPN Premium, but it has one annoying condition. Once the data transfer occurs, the refund entitlement is void.

3. Hola VPN Premium and Supported Devices: Android, iOS, macOS…

   • Device limit: 10

   Platforms supported

   • Android:
     Yes

     Android is supported by 98 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Android TV:
     Yes

     Android TV is supported by 36 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Apple TV:
     Yes

     Apple TV is supported by 18 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Fire TV:
     Yes

     Fire TV is supported by 43 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Chromebook:
     No

     Chromebook is supported by 20 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Chromecast:
     No

     Chromecast is supported by 16 % of reviewed VPNs
   • iOS:
     Yes

     iOS is supported by 99 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Kodi:
     No

     Kodi is supported by 21 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Linux:
     No

     Linux is supported by 61 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Mac:
     Yes

     Mac is supported by 98 % of reviewed VPNs
   • NAS:
     No

     NAS is supported by 24 % of reviewed VPNs
   • nVidia Shield:
     No

     nVidia Shield is supported by 14 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Playstation:
     Yes

     Playstation is supported by 20 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Raspberry Pi:
     No

     Raspberry Pi is supported by 17 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Roku:
     No

     Roku is supported by 16 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Router:
     Yes

     Router is supported by 53 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Windows:
     Yes

     Windows is supported by 100 % of reviewed VPNs
   • xBox:
     Yes

     xBox is supported by 20 % of reviewed VPNs

   Browser Extensions

   • Brave :
     Yes

     The Brave browser add-on is offered by 43 % of reviewed VPNs.
   • Chrome :
     Yes

     The Chrome browser add-on is offered by 43 % of reviewed VPNs.
   • Edge :
     Yes

     The Edge browser add-on is offered by 21 % of reviewed VPNs.
   • Firefox :
     Yes

     The Firefox browser add-on is offered by 34 % of reviewed VPNs.
   • Opera :
     Yes

     The Opera browser add-on is offered by 43 % of reviewed VPNs.
   • Safari :
     No

     The Safari browser add-on is offered by 0 % of reviewed VPNs.
   • Vivaldi :
     Yes

     The Vivaldi browser add-on is offered by 43 % of reviewed VPNs.

   Each paying user can connect Hola VPN Premium to 10 devices simultaneously.

   Hola VPN Premium supports a fairly wide range of platforms. The app is available on Windows and macOS computers, and from mobile devices it supports Android and iOS. VPN can also be used on smart TVs Android TV, Apple TV, Fire TV. The surprise is the support for Playstation and Xbox gaming consoles.

   The advantage of Hola VPN Premium is the ability to install a VPN on a router, making it easy to protect all devices connected to the same network. Within the allowed quota, the router counts as one device. Hola VPN Premium supports the Keenetic brand, but other manufacturers’ devices should work too. Our guide to connecting a VPN on a router will help you get connected.

   Supported devices do not include NAS, Chromecast, Chromebook or Linux.

   Hola VPN Premium also offers custom extensions for Chrome, Opera, and Edge browsers.

4. Hola VPN Premium App: User-Friendliness, Whitelist, Server Selection…

   • App Languages: 🇺🇸 English
   • Whitelisting:
     No

     Whitelisting is supported by 52 % of reviewed VPNs

   The Hola VPN Premium desktop app has a simple and uncluttered design and is easy to use, redeemed by the lack of additional features. The app environment is in English only, with additional languages available in browser extensions. Hola VPN Premium is only available in a light theme.

   To connect, just choose a location from the searchable list and click the “Connect” button. You will then see the connection time and a button to provide feedback on whether the connection is working. During testing we encountered occasional problems with the connection, after successful establishment it was stable. In the Windows app, an automatic connection to the VPN is available when the device boots up.

   Hola VPN Premium does not offer a whitelist, which allows you to select apps that will access the internet directly even when VPN protection is active.

5. Hola VPN Premium Connection Speed: Upload, Download & Latency

   • Traffic limit: Unlimited

   Download speed

   Higher is better. The average download of all tested VPNs is 115 Mb/s.

   Upload speed

   Higher is better. The average upload of all tested VPNs is 81 Mb/s.

   Server latency

   A lower value is better. The average response rate of all tested VPNs is 48 ms.

   Hola VPN Premium doesn’t restrict users with a data transfer limit, it is a standard among paid VPNs.

   The Hola VPN Premium app doesn’t offer an automatic connection to the fastest available server, the location must always be selected manually. The connection speed varied according to the distance of the site from our actual location. On several occasions, Hola VPN Premium failed to connect at all. This may be due to the fact that Hola VPN Premium uses other users’ devices to connect and not its own servers like standard VPN providers.

   Once we were able to connect, the measured speeds were satisfactory. The average download speed was 110 Mb/s, which would be enough for 4k video playback. For this, a speed of at least 50 Mbps is stated as necessary.

   The average upload speed of Hola VPN Premium was 65 Mb/s, which is sufficient for uploading large files.

   The last parameter monitored is the response speed, for which the lowest possible value is desirable. We measured an average of 32 ms for the Hola VPN Premium, which is sufficient for gaming and video calls. The top VPNs had even better response times, for example, we measured 7 ms for AdGuard VPN, while Atlas VPN Pro averaged 11 ms.

6. Hola VPN Premium Server Locations

   • Number of servers:
     6,500

     The average number of servers for the reviewed VPNs is 1699.
   • Number of countries:
     42

     The average number of countries available for the reviewed VPNs is 41.

   Europe	🇧🇪 Belgium 🇧🇬 Bulgaria 🇨🇿 Czech Republic 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇫🇮 Finland 🇫🇷 France 🇭🇷 Croatia 🇮🇪 Ireland 🇮🇸 Iceland 🇮🇹 Italy 🇭🇺 Hungary 🇩🇪 Germany 🇳🇱 Netherlands 🇳🇴 Norway 🇵🇱 Poland 🇵🇹 Portugal 🇦🇹 Austria 🇷🇴 Romania 🇬🇷 Greece 🇸🇰 Slovakia 🇬🇧 United Kingdom 🇪🇸 Spain 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇨🇭 Switzerland 🇹🇷 Turkey
   North America	🇨🇦 Canada 🇲🇽 Mexico 🇺🇸 USA
   South America	🇦🇷 Argentina 🇧🇷 Brazil 🇨🇱 Chile 🇨🇴 Colombia
   Asia	🇭🇰 Hong Kong 🇮🇳 India 🇮🇩 Indonesia 🇮🇱 Israel 🇯🇵 Japan 🇰🇷 South Korea 🇷🇺 Russia 🇸🇬 Singapore
   Africa
   Oceania	🇦🇺 Australia 🇳🇿 New Zealand

   Hola VPN Premium doesn’t use a traditional server network like other VPN providers. It has built its principle of operation on a peer-to-peer network of free version users whose IP addresses are used to provide the service to paying customers. The advantage is the huge number of IP addresses that are difficult to trace. This poses a major security risk to users providing their IP address, as the address can be used for illegal activities.

   The Hola VPN Premium knowledge base states that web browser extensions and apps for iOS and Android are not involved in IP address sharing.

   The downside of Hola VPN Premium is that it requires someone in a specific country to connect in that location to use the free version. Users of the paid version of Hola VPN Premium don’t share their IP address with anyone else.

   There are 42 countries to choose from in the Hola VPN Premium app interface, including the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are also locations with internet censorship, such as Turkey, Russia, and Indonesia.

   Hola VPN Premium does not offer any servers specifically optimized for torrenting or streaming. Still, it has successfully handled unblocking videos from Netflix, Disney Plus and other platforms.

7. Hola VPN Premium Security Features: DNS Leak Protection, Kill Switch…

   • DNS leak protection :
     Yes

     DNS leak protection is offered by 92% of the reviewed VPNs.
   • Kill Switch:
     Yes

     Kill Switch is supported by 87% of the reviewed VPNs.
   • Multi-Hop:
     No

     Multi-Hop connection is offered by 20 % of the VPNs reviewed.
   • Tor:
     No

     Tor support is offered by 19 % of the reviewed VPNs.

   Hola VPN Premium has DNS leak protection implemented, unlike the free version. In our testing, there was no leak, and once connected, our real IP address was reliably hidden. There have been unverified complaints among VPN users related to connecting to areas where no foreign IP address was available, so their real one was publicly displayed.

   Kill switch is only available in the Hola VPN Premium app for Windows. The principle of the feature is to disconnect the device from the internet when the connection to the VPN server is lost. This prevents the possible disclosure of the user’s IP address and location.

   The Hola VPN Premium app uses the now obsolete IKEv2, IPSec, L2TP and PPTP protocols. It lacks modern WireGuard and OpenVPN, which are standard on most competing VPNs. Very secure 256-bit AES encryption is used by default, which can optionally be switched to the faster but slightly weaker AES-128 or 196-bit solutions. A rather curious feature is the availability of the outdated DES3 encryption, which is at risk of being broken.

   Among the Hola VPN Premium‘s superior security features, multi-hop support, where the connection is routed through two different VPN servers simultaneously, is missing. Tor network connectivity is also not available.

   For better security of the Hola VPN Premium user account, two-factor authentication can be activated, where the login is confirmed with a code from an email.

8. Hola VPN Premium & Streaming: Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Prime…

   • Amazon Prime:
     Yes

     Amazon Prime streaming is supported by 52 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Disney+:
     Yes

     Disney+ streaming is supported by 53 % of reviewed VPNs
   • HBO:
     Yes

     HBO streaming is supported by 57 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Hulu:
     Yes

     Hulu streaming is supported by 49 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Netflix:
     Yes

     Netflix streaming is supported by 67 % of reviewed VPNs
   • YouTube:
     Yes

     YouTube streaming is supported by 97 % of reviewed VPNs

   Hola VPN Premium did surprisingly well in the streaming platform unblocking test. This may be due to connecting to real people’s IP addresses rather than VPN servers, which can block streaming platforms more easily.

   The average measured download speed of 110 Mb/s is sufficient for watching 4k movies.

   Hola VPN Premium was able to handle unblocking US content on Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, Disney Plus and HBO.

   If you don’t mind minimal privacy while using it, Hola VPN Premium is a good choice for stream unblocking purposes. Alternatively, we can recommend NordVPN and CyberGhost VPN.

9. Features of Hola VPN Premium: AdBlock, Static IP…

   • Blocks Ads:
     No

     Ad blocking is offered by 44 % of the VPNs reviewed.
   • Blocks Malware:
     No

     Malware blocking is offered by 33 % of the VPNs reviewed.
   • Blocks Trackers:
     No

     Trackers blocking is offered by 38 % of the VPNs reviewed.

   Hola VPN Premium offers a minimum of extra features compared to premium services like NordVPN and Surfshark.

   Thus, it gives the most options with a web browser extension that can hide WebRTCs, block advertising, and offers an incognito mode to ensure anonymity while browsing the internet. The Chrome extension can be obtained from the Hola VPN Premium website. At the same site, you can download the “Hola Browser”, which promises to be faster than regular browsers and also to be able to unblock foreign inaccessible sites.

   The app does not support ad blocking directly. Malware and tracker blocking is completely unavailable with Hola VPN Premium.

   The Hola VPN Premium app for Android, iOS, and Mac doesn’t offer any additional features beyond the VPN itself.

   For example, Hola VPN Premium lacks a camouflage mode that allows you to hide your VPN usage from your ISP and other parties. Also unavailable is Dark Web Monitoring, which keeps an eye on user data leaks to the internet.

   Dedicated IP address is also not available with Hola VPN Premium for an additional fee. It has the advantage of being dedicated directly to a specific user, so the address is not shared between multiple people.

10. Hola VPN Premium‘s CPU usage and App Performance

    In terms of the load exerted on the computer, Hola VPN Premium does not stand out from the average of other services. VPN applications are generally designed so that they do not burden the computer and the user can use them without restrictions.

    The Hola VPN Premium desktop application used an average of 40 MB of RAM memory when in use, which is a negligible value for modern computers. Furthermore, on the test MacBook laptop, it drew 0.2% of the battery capacity and 0.3% of the computing power. The measured values may vary between devices, but you probably won’t even notice the app running while using it.

    The Hola VPN Premium for Windows app has a boot-up feature that puts additional load on computers. It can optionally be disabled to save system resources.

11. Hola VPN Premium Torrenting Servers

    • Torrenting servers:
      No

      Torrenting support is offered by 89 % of the reviewed VPNs.

    Hola VPN Premium cannot be used for torrenting as the app blocks P2P transfers completely.

    If you’re looking for a VPN for torrenting, we recommend choosing elsewhere. The best services guarantee high transfer speeds, excellent security levels, or servers dedicated exclusively for torrenting. We can recommend CyberGhost VPN, Ivacy VPN and ExpressVPN.

12. What Is the Country of Origin Of Hola VPN Premium?

    • VPN Provider: Hola VPN Ltd.
    • Country of origin: 🇮🇱 Israel

    Hola VPN Premium is a product of Hola VPN Ltd, which is based in Netanya, Israel.

    In addition to the paid version, there is also a free version, Hola VPN Free, which offers unlimited data transfers, but also several limitations. The biggest one is giving your own IP address to other users.

    Israel is not among the member countries of the 5/9/14 Eyes alliance, which is good news for users. Police and intelligence agencies in these countries monitor Internet traffic, and can obtain and share information about specific users to ensure security. Although Israel is not part of the group, it has cooperated with some member countries in the past.

13. Hola VPN Premium and Privacy: Logging Policy, Security Issues…

    • No-Logs Policy:
      No

      The No-Logs Policy is followed by 78% of reviewed VPNs.

    Nowhere on the website does the Hola VPN Premium provider state that it has a zero log storage policy. Indeed, this would be strange, as the low level of privacy is one of the biggest drawbacks of this service. Hola VPN Premium collects users’ IP addresses, their email addresses, the times they use each application, the websites they visit and the data they transmit.

    If a user’s Hola VPN Premium account is linked to social networks or Gmail, their name and profile photo are also used. While this information is supposed to be used “only” to communicate with you, this is the exact opposite of what a secure VPN that ensures user anonymity should look like. The Hola VPN Premium browser extension has access to all the data, and can change it at will.

    With the Hola VPN Free variant, privacy is even worse, as the app uses users’ IP addresses to run the service for paying customers. The IP addresses of paying users of Hola VPN Premium are not used for this purpose.

    The data collected may be shared by Hola VPN Premium with third parties that provide user analytics, plus it is used by the VPN operator to send out marketing messages. In addition, the operator of Hola VPN Premium may hand over all user data collected to the courts or state authorities if requested to do so or if it suspects that the app is being used for illegal activities.

    The overall level of privacy security of Hola VPN Premium is very low and the service is completely unsuitable for anonymity purposes. Furthermore, Hola VPN Premium has not been independently audited, nor does the operator issue a Transparency Report or Warrant Canary.

    To ensure maximum protection when using the internet, we recommend that you prefer the high-end services of Proton VPN Plus, NordVPN or Surfshark, which excel in their security features.

14. Hola VPN Premium Support: Chat, e-mail…

    Customer support is available via a form on the Hola VPN Premium website and via a link in your user profile. The answer to the query is sent to the specified email address. Most test queries were answered within 24 hours.

    Phone support or 24/7 chat is not available with Hola VPN Premium.

    The FAQ section of the Hola VPN Premium website or the knowledge base can help you with troubleshooting. There’s also a blog on the service’s website with articles about internet security or using a VPN.

15. Hola VPN Premium FAQ

    Is Hola VPN Premium secure?

    Although Hola VPN Premium was able to hide the IP address during our testing and there were no DNS leaks, data security is questionable to say the least with this service. According to the VPN’s privacy policy, it collects a large amount of data about users, including IP address, sites visited, and social media photos.

    Hola VPN Premium does not operate a classic server network, it uses the IP addresses of users of the free version to keep it running. These users are thus at risk from hackers and other users. In addition, the service has not undergone an independent security audit. For maximum protection when using the internet, we recommend that you prefer the audited NordVPN or Proton VPN Plus services.

    Is Hola VPN Premium good?

    We tested Hola VPN Premium as well as all 90 VPNs we reviewed, and it scored 6.8/10 in our test, placing it #53 overall. The service is supremely capable at unblocking foreign streaming libraries and offers apps for a range of platforms.

    In contrast, it loses significantly in offering additional security features and in ensuring the privacy of users, about whom it stores a large amount of information.

    Can Hola VPN Premium unblock Netflix?

    In our test, Hola VPN Premium demonstrated surprisingly good abilities at unblocking foreign streaming platform content. It accessed foreign content from Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and other platforms without any problems. Plus, it achieved a decent download speed (110 Mb/s), which is important for playing top-quality video.

    Is there a Hola VPN Premium app for Android?

    Yes. Hola VPN Premium offers an above-average number of apps for various platforms including Android, Android TV, and PlayStation or Xbox gaming consoles. In addition, Hola VPN Premium supports use on routers, which greatly expands your usage options.