Hide.me Review

Using speedtest.net, we ran speed tests on six random premium servers and compared the results with our unprotected connection. We did two tests: one with the “bolt” inactive and another with the “bolt” enabled. The results were super interesting.

Hide.me’s download speeds are a good sign if you intend to use the VPN to surf the web or stream your favorite movies and TV shows (we’ll see later how the service performs on this front). However, most of the servers delivered a significantly high latency, which means it’s not the best for avid gamers. You can check our best VPN for gaming for top-notch services.

Hide.me has a helpful knowledge base with guides for installing the apps and troubleshooting common issues. The service also has a community forum, which can be very useful for users looking for answers to their problems. It's great that the community forum is available in both English and in German. The price of the service leaves us feeling a little disappointed, considering the high cost of the service. The 24/7 live chat service is free but does not have a 24-hour support line. The ticket system is slow and difficult to use when asking technical questions.

Hide.me is one of the more feature-rich VPN providers available, making it an excellent option for users who need a little more control. Every functionality, including the kill switch, split tunneling, "stealth guard," and torrenting servers, is available right away.
Premium subscriptions give you a little more leverage for certain features, but regardless of whether you pay or not, Hide.me has a great range of resources that never feels cluttered.

Works with Torrenting

Hide.me has a specialized proxy that can be used for speedy P2P connections, perfect for torrenting. The SOCKS5 proxy is unencrypted, but you can use it with the VPN for added encryption.

Since most browsers and P2P torrent clients support the SOCKS5 proxy, then this proxy can act as a kill switch for secure torrent downloading.

According to Hide.me, this proxy and VPS setup can allow for much faster P2P application transfer rates too.

Built-in Internet Kill Switch

A kill switch lets you stay protected, even when the VPN connection drops.

You might think of this as a nice add-on feature, but here’s why it’s absolutely essential.

If your VPN connection drops at any time, your computer will often try to automatically connect back to another network (through a known WiFi network or your mobile’s cell data).

Usually, this is a good thing. You get back on the internet ASAP without a hiccup, so you can keep browsing, streaming, or downloading. The problem is that now all of your data — and physical location — are out there in the open.

Hide.me’s interface is easy to navigate no matter the device you’re using.

On a PC or Mac, all it takes to connect to Hide.me is one press of a button.

Switching server locations is also a breeze. All you have to do it open up the master list, scroll through to find the location you’re looking for, and tap. You’ll be connected within seconds.

Mobile app

Hide.me’s mobile app is just as well designed. Similar to the desktop version, you can connect to a server immediately with just the press of a button. They do a good job limiting the number of clicks (or taps) you have to do to find anything.

Locations

Locations and servers are searchable, and users can select app settings that best suit their specific VPN needs.

Users can choose between a limited free plan and a one-month, yearly, or two-year subscription. Hide.me offers a free plan of up to 10GB of storage each month and five different locations to choose from. The $12.95 monthly package is comparable to the most expensive single-month contracts on the market. Hide.me offers a free plan of up to 10GB of storage each month and five different locations to choose from. The $12.95 monthly package is comparable to the most expensive single-month contracts on the market. A yearly subscription costs $99.99, which is more competitive, but it is still quite expensive at the equivalent of $8.33 per month. On the other hand, the premium plan is highly competitive with an exclusive 3-year discount, which reduces the cost to just $2.43 per month.

Hide.me is famous for its free plan, and rightfully so: it's probably one of the best ones out there. However, when you start paying it slides in the rankings as it has great trouble with streaming services like Netflix.