Hola VPN review: 3.7/5, recommended in Best VPN Sites
Hola VPN in short
- Extensions, phone, desktop and TV apps plus its own browser
- Premium: up to 10 devices and never used as a peer
- Desktop and iOS apps use IKEv2/IPsec with AES-256 by default
- Free plan: your device can carry other users' traffic, sold to businesses via Bright Data
- Extensions and Android apps: «not all your traffic is encrypted»
Our review of Hola VPN
Hola VPN: a free peer-to-peer network, not a classic VPN
Hola (hola.org, Hola VPN Ltd.) offers browser extensions, phone, desktop and TV apps and its own Hola Browser for opening sites through other countries. The free version works differently from most VPNs. In its FAQ (checked 2 October 2026) Hola describes itself as «a collaborative (P2P) internet» that works «by sharing the contributed resources of its users for the benefit of all and for business use by Bright Data». The terms say it plainly: «Your free use of the Services will in turn enable other devices using the Services to be re-routed through your device», and «In return for free usage of Hola Free VPN Proxy… you may be a peer on the Bright Data network». The FAQ adds: «For commercial use by businesses, Hola provides similar routing functionality through the Hola network for a fee. This is how Hola makes its revenues.»
What this means for a user
On the free plan other people's traffic can pass through your connection (Hola says: on Windows and Android, when the device is idle). Hola states that peers only route requests to whitelisted sites. The free plan also has a daily time limit. Hola Premium is a monthly or yearly subscription for up to 10 devices; Premium users are «never used as a peer».
Encryption
According to the same FAQ, the desktop apps and the iOS app use IKEv2/IPsec (AES-256 by default), the Hola Browser works as an HTTPS proxy, while the extensions and Android apps use split tunnelling: «not all your traffic is encrypted».
Our rating is computed by our methodology from robot measurements; we applied the maximum editorial adjustment of −0.3 because the free tier resells user bandwidth through Bright Data and this is not explained in onboarding.
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Pros & Cons
- Extensions, phone, desktop and TV apps plus its own browser
- Premium: up to 10 devices and never used as a peer
- Desktop and iOS apps use IKEv2/IPsec with AES-256 by default
- Free plan: your device can carry other users' traffic, sold to businesses via Bright Data
- Extensions and Android apps: «not all your traffic is encrypted»
- Free plan has a daily time limit
Hola VPN: questions and answers
What is Hola VPN?
Hola (hola.org, Hola VPN Ltd.) offers browser extensions, phone, desktop and TV apps and its own Hola Browser for opening sites through other countries. The free version works differently from most VPNs. In its FAQ (checked 2 October 2026) Hola describes itself as «a collaborative (P2P) internet» that works «by sharing the contributed resources of its users for the benefit of all and for business use by Bright Data».
Is Hola VPN safe?
We can’t guarantee the safety of a third-party site — here is what we actually checked. Our robot last opened hola.org on Oct 26, 2026: Yes, it works. The connection is encrypted (HTTPS). Our rating: 3.7/5, calculated from what our robot measures on the site (speed, phone use, ads, transparency, content).
What are the best Hola VPN alternatives?
The top-rated alternatives in “Best VPN Sites” by our rating: Hide.me (4.1/5), NordVPN (4.1/5), Mullvad VPN (4.1/5).
Alternatives to Hola VPN
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