NordVPN vs HideMyAss VPN in 2024

Comparing services of vastly different quality can grant insights into what makes a provider better or worse. For example, you won’t know just how slow a particular virtual private network is until you try out a fast one.

Pitting NordVPN vs Hide My Ass isn’t so extreme, but it can highlight the strengths and weaknesses of each VPN. In this article, we’ll compare the two in a range of different categories, like speed, streaming, security, privacy, and more. After that, we’ll tally the results and announce a winner.

NordVPN vs HideMyAss: specifications

NordVPN is a fantastic VPN provider with breakneck speeds, advanced security features, extensive server range, and extraordinary streaming and torrenting capabilities. Therefore, it has a huge number of loyal customers.

On the other hand, HideMyAss has 1100+ servers in 210+ countries, which is quite amazing. However, it’s slower than NordVPN, less secure, and it might not be the best streaming solution.

Due to this, NordVPN is the overall winner of our HMA VPN vs. NordVPN comparison. Now, let’s explore each VPN aspect separately.

NordVPN vs HideMyAss: pricing

The first round of our HideMyAss vs. NordVPN comparison goes in HMA’s favor. This VPN is more affordable and has more VPN plans. Let’s check them out!

NordVPN pricing

NordVPN customers can choose from three Standard subscription plans:

• $12.99/month for the monthly subscription
• $4.59/month for the annual subscription
• $2.99/month for the two-year subscription

The lengthiest plan provides a hefty 74% discount. You can ensure the best possible deal by utilizing a NordVPN discount code. Furthermore, there are other subscription tiers that come with additional perks – Plus and Complete. The Plus plan includes a password manager and a data breach scanner, while Complete throws in 1 TB of encrypted cloud storage on top.

And when it comes to payment, options include conventional methods like credit cards, Google Pay, and more. Meanwhile, anonymity enthusiasts can purchase a subscription with cash at a retail store or use cryptocurrencies.

HideMyAss VPN pricing

HMA VPN has a fair number of subscription options to choose from. Customers can get cheaper plans that grant five simultaneous connections or more expensive options with ten connections.

Here are the subscription choices if you only need protection for five devices:

• $11.99/month for the monthly plan
• $8.99/month for the six-month plan
• $4.99/month for the one or two year plan
• $2.99/month for the three-year plan

And if you want ten simultaneous connections, these are your options:

• $7.99/month for one year
• $6.99/month for two years
• $5.99/month for three years

The cheapest plan grants a generous 70% discount. You can also get a 7-day HideMyAss trial if you provide payment details. After that, your purchase is still protected with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Buyers can purchase a subscription using a credit card, PayPal, PayNearMe, or bank transfer.

Speed comparison

NordVPN is hailed as one of the fastest VPN providers thanks to its proprietary NordLynx technology. It’s based on the modern and open-source WireGuard tunneling protocol, which is necessary for wicked fast connectivity. Naturally, older options, such as OpenVPN, are also available.

On the other hand, HideMyAss VPN is still behind and doesn’t provide WireGuard. Instead, HMA customers can choose between OpenVPN and IKEv2, whichever is faster on their system.

It’s clear that NordVPN is the quicker option of the two. You can verify just how far ahead it is by checking our VPN speed test.

NordVPN vs HideMyAss: which is more secure?

Like most well-known VPNs, NordVPN and HideMyAss are equipped with AES-256 encryption to keep your web traffic uncrackable. Meanwhile, a VPN kill switch is available to prevent IP leaks in case of an unexpected connection drop. Naturally, neither service is prone to DNS leaks while the software runs.

In terms of security, NordVPN is the superior product. It’s based in a better jurisdiction and runs the server fleet on RAM-only technology.

Privacy

It’s paramount that the VPN is located in a country where the government doesn’t force companies to store excessive user data. For example, countries in the Fourteen Eyes alliance are known to cooperate and share troves of surveillance data.

Thankfully, NordVPN is based in Panama, a privacy-respecting country with no data retention laws. On the other hand, HideMyAss has a few flaws in the privacy department. For starters, it’s based in the United Kingdom, a member of the Five Eyes. And it doesn’t employ any RAM-servers that would prevent the service from logging user data.

Logging

NordVPN went through multiple third-party audits to guarantee that it doesn’t store any logs. If that wasn’t enough, users could utilize anonymous payment methods to prevent personal data sharing during the transaction.

HideMyAss has a history of logging user data and cooperating with authorities to catch criminals. However, it has changed and even underwent an independent no-logs policy audit. Still, their reputation is tarnished, and the service is not recommended for privacy.

Servers location

A solid server network ensures optimal connectivity across the globe. More servers allow more users to connect simultaneously without experiencing slowdowns. Meanwhile, a more comprehensive country selection provides fast speeds no matter where you connect.

NordVPN has 7000+ servers in 118+ countries. All server locations are physical, meaning the hardware is in the same region that you’re connecting to. Additionally, all of it runs on RAM-only technology to prevent long-term data storage on hard drives.

On the other hand, HideMyAss VPN runs a network of 1100+ servers in 210+ countries. While the variety is impressive, it’s undermined because some locations are virtual. Additionally, there’s no mention of complete hardware ownership or RAM-only server technology.

Therefore, NordVPN is once again the winner.

Features comparison

When you’re choosing a VPN, you need to consider what additional features it offers. As you may guess, NordVPN is the clear winner.

Smart DNS

Smart DNS is a helpful feature that allows you to use a VPN on devices that don’t support it. Therefore, you can connect your VPN on every device to unblock geo-restricted content.

NordVPN comes with a built-in Smart DNS feature called SmartPlay. But that’s not all. Besides allowing you to use the VPN on whatever device you want, it even enhances your security by adding an encryption layer.

Unfortunately, HMA lacks this feature, leaving you with a more limited VPN experience.

Ad & malware blocker

The ad & malware blocker feature is crucial for protecting you from malware and suspicious links and ads.

Only NordVPN comes with a built-in ad & malware blocker that provides you with a safer browsing experience. It’s called Threat Protection and it effectively blocks ads, user trackers, and malicious websites. Furthermore, it also scans downloads (up to 5GB) for malware. Best of all, you don’t have to be connected to the VPN for it to work.

Split tunneling

Split tunneling lets you route the VPN traffic through select apps so that you can reduce unnecessary VPN usage.

Luckily, both NordVPN and HMA have a split tunneling feature. Due to this, you will avoid all lagging and buffering issues. However, NordVPN’s feature is available on Windows, Android, and Android TV, while HMA’s can only be enabled on Android.

Obfuscated servers

If you’re trying to bypass online censorship, you need a VPN with obfuscated servers. As a result, the VPN will trick Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) by masking VPN traffic as regular HTTPS.

Unfortunately, you get obfuscation only with NordVPN. HideMyAss seems like it doesn’t hide your VPN usage at all.

Specialized servers

NordVPN offers a bunch of specialty servers for different needs. There’s:

• Dedicated IP. For users who bought a dedicated IP address. You are the only one who can use a particular IP.
• Double VPN. Lets users route their internet via two VPN servers instead of one for double the encryption. Great for those who want maximum untraceability.
• Onion over VPN. Another perk that boosts your anonymity by routing your internet via the Tor network. Be aware that your speeds will slow down significantly whilst using it.
• P2P-optimized. Optimized for torrenting, these facilitate the best file-sharing speeds.

Meanwhile, HMA also includes dedicated torrenting servers. The caveat here is that you can torrent safely only when connected to one of these.

Other features

Additionally, NordVPN includes:

• Invisibility on LAN
• Dark Web Monitoring
• Meshnet
• SOCKS5 proxy

And HideMyAss offers:

• IP Shuffle
• IP Refresh
• Lightning Connect

Netflix and streaming comparison

Changing your location with a VPN is a great way to circumvent geographical restrictions by popular streaming platforms. It enables you to access foreign libraries and get more out of your Netflix subscription. However, it’s a bit more complicated than it sounds and involves a lot of effort from the VPN.

NordVPN is one of the best VPNs for streaming and can easily access Netflix US and other libraries across the globe. Naturally, it works with other streaming services, for example, BBC iPlayer or Amazon Prime Video. And thanks to its speed, customers can stream TV shows and movies in UHD quality without any buffering issues. Lastly, the SmartPlay feature ensures that even devices without direct VPN software support can unblock geo-restricted content.

Meanwhile, HideMyAss VPN is slightly behind in this category. It can access content from the US Netflix library, but that’s about it. Luckily, other platforms, such as Disney Plus or Hulu, are also available. And since HMA isn’t the best in terms of speed, you may experience longer load times if you want to watch video content in the best possible quality.

Device compatibility

NordVPN and HideMyAss have some common ground in terms of device compatibility. Firstly, they have dedicated apps for the most widely used platforms – Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, and iOS. Additionally, both are compatible with Android TV and have Chrome browser extensions. Lastly, you can use either service to set up your router with a VPN.

The key difference between the two VPNs is that NordVPN is compatible with more devices than HMA. For example, NordVPN customers can combine the VPN with Amazon FireOS devices, such as the Fire Stick and Fire TV. Plus, it has a browser extension for Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Opera, and more.

Desktop applications

Regarding desktop apps, NordVPN and HideMyAss have Windows, macOS, and Linux apps. The clients are pretty streamlined, thus, easy to use. The key difference here is that NordVPN includes an interactive server map.

NordVPN’s clients are very intuitive and retain the same level of security. The only significant difference between the apps is that split tunneling isn’t available on macOS.

As for HMA, it’s also pleasant to the eye. However, these applications are severely lacking in the feature department.

Mobile applications

If you’re looking for a suitable VPN for your mobile device, you can choose both NordVPN and HMA, as they offer apps for iOS and Android.

Again, NordVPN retains the same design choices and maintains an equal level of security on its mobile apps. In addition, Android users benefit from Tapjacking protection and split tunneling.

HideMyAss mobile applications are similar to their desktop counterparts, apart from Android, which has the coveted split tunneling feature. Other than that, there’s nothing to write home about.

Torrenting

One thing that clearly shows the superiority of NordVPN is the ability to perform P2P activities while connected to any server location. Meanwhile, HideMyAss restricts torrenting activities to certain locations, such as New York, London, Frankfurt, Prague, and Amsterdam.

When it comes to similarities, both providers have specialized P2P servers for improved performance. Additionally, you can enable split tunneling with either one to provide exclusive security for your torrenting client. However, neither one supports port forwarding. We recommend browsing through our list of best torrenting VPNs if that’s a feature that you’re after.

With NordVPN, you also gain the bonus of a SOCKS5 proxy. It allows you to forego the VPN connection and secure your torrenting app with a proxy. That way, you can hide your IP address and enjoy slightly faster connections by avoiding encryption.

China

Getting around online censorship is tough and requires specialized features that can deal with DPI (Deep Packet Inspection). Unfortunately, HideMyAss doesn’t have anything like that and has a hard time dealing with the Great Firewall of China.

On the other hand, NordVPN has Obfuscated Servers, the go-to feature for users in China and similar regions. Besides that, users can also try using the Onion over VPN servers to facilitate a connection through the Tor Network.

The situation in China is constantly changing, so it’s good to have multiple options to approach censorship. And if you’re looking for alternative services, check out our recommended list of best VPNs for China.

Customer support

Using a VPN without a technical background can prove challenging at first. That is why it’s good to pick a service that provides 24/7 customer support for assistance if something is confusing.

With NordVPN, you’ll have no issues as they provide 24/7 live chat support. Meanwhile, HMA users can get live chat, but only in English and not at all times of the day. Naturally, this isn’t ideal if you’re a user on the other side of the globe and can’t receive assistance due to time zone differences.

Luckily, customers of either VPN can troubleshoot issues themselves by consulting the various online guides and tutorials. Plus, old-school communication is available via email.

NordVPN vs HideMyAss VPN – which is better?

NordVPN is the overall winner of the NordVPN vs. HMA comparison! After many tests, NordVPN showcased better speeds, a larger server fleet, more features, amazing streaming and torrenting capabilities, and more customer support options. Also, it works with online censorship and grants you access to lots of restricted content.

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HideMyAss vs ExpressVPN
NordVPN vs Kaspersky VPN

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FAQ

Is NordVPN better than HideMyAss?

Yes, NordVPN is better than HMA. This is because NordVPN offers better security, lightning-fast speeds, better streaming and torrenting capabilities, and it effectively bypasses online censorship.

Which is faster – NordVPN or HideMyAss?

NordVPN is faster than HideMyAss because it offers 7000+ servers across 118+ countries, and it also offers more VPN protocols, such as NordLynx, OpenVPN, and IKEv2.

Is HMA VPN a good VPN?

HideMyAss VPN is an okay VPN service. It’s not the best in any particular category, but it’s not bad either. However, the biggest downside is that it has a history of cooperating with authorities and exposing its customers. Therefore, you should avoid it if you’re serious about confidentiality.