In fact, it has overtaken popular services like Norton Wi-Fi and Avast. While the free version is a bit slower, the premium version offers great streaming speed. Additionally, many independent labs have reported that the service has high malicious URL detection rates. For starters, Hotspot Shield VPN has a much lower latency than competitors like TunnelBear and ExpressVPN. Several key parameters have made it an effective package, thereby encouraging people from around the world to use the service. Hotspot Shield is one of the most popular VPN services available in the market. An easy-to-use software packed with numerous features.