Hide.me review
A genuinely privacy-first VPN — audited, open-source and based outside the surveillance alliances — with one of the best free plans around, held back only by a smaller network and streaming that needs the right servers.
- Renewal at the same price and the same term under the Pricing Guarantee, a condition that differs from competitors with higher renewal prices.
- Five documented protocols on every server: WireGuard, OpenVPN, IKEv2/IPsec, SoftEther and SSTP.
- Free plan with unlimited data according to the provider.
- Two named no-logs reviews, DefenseCode Ltd. 2015 and Securitum 2024, plus accreditation under the VPN Trust Initiative through 2026.
- Premium allows 10 simultaneous connections per account.
- The free plan has limited speeds according to the provider and allows only 1 simultaneous connection.
- The pricing page renders different currencies between fetches, so the price comparison is uncertain until the amounts are re-read live in the store at the build.
- No major streaming services are named on hide.me's current product pages, although the pricing page states streaming support in general for Premium.
- No confirmed US dollar price was documented at the check, because the rendering was in GBP and the currency varies between fetches.
- The exact number of free plan locations is stated differently on hide.me's own pages.
How it scored, category by category
WireGuard is a protocol built for speed. We have not measured speeds.
Streaming support stated for Premium in general, without named services; the free plan can't stream.
Malaysia-based, RAM-only and open-source, with an independently audited no-logs policy.
One of the best free plans around, and cheap premium from £2.69/mo on the 26-month plan.
Who it's for — and who it isn't
- Privacy-focused users who want an audited, open-source VPN
- Anyone who wants a genuinely usable free plan
- People who prefer a provider outside the 5/9/14 Eyes
- Everyday browsing, security on public Wi-Fi and light streaming
- Heavy streamers who want the widest, most reliable unblocking
- People who want the largest possible server network
- Free-plan users hoping to stream or torrent
- Anyone who needs multi-hop or Tor-over-VPN
Pricing & plans
hide.me sells Premium in three read periods and a free plan at no charge, according to hide.me/en/pricing checked on 2026-10-16. The table reproduces the pricing page rendering in GBP at that check. Currency is part of the price here: the fact sheet notes that the same pricing page rendered the same numerals in USD and in EUR at other fetches. The amounts must therefore be re-read live in the store in the same week the page is built, with the currency confirmed there, including the US store view, before publishing. Premium includes, according to the provider's comparison table, unlimited data, a fixed IP address, streaming support and dynamic port forwarding, in addition to the network and the connections in the table. hide.me states that VAT may be added. Prices in GBP, checked on hide.me/en/pricing 2026-10-16: Premium 26 months (24 months + 2 extra) 2.69 GBP per month, total 69.99 GBP; Premium 13 months (12 months + 1 extra) 4.23 GBP per month, total 54.99 GBP; Premium 1 month 11.99 GBP; Free 0 GBP, does not renew automatically. Renewal for all Premium rows: same price and same term under the Pricing Guarantee. The renewal term is the condition that sets hide.me apart from several competitors in this round. Under the Pricing Guarantee, the renewal price is the same as the purchase price for the same term, not a higher regular price after an introductory period, according to hide.me/en/pricing on 2026-10-16. Premium is covered by a 30 day money back guarantee on the conditions stated in the questions below, according to hide.me's help page checked on 2026-10-16.
hide.me has one of the best free plans in the business: real protocols, no ads and no logging, across a handful of locations. It's ideal for privacy and light browsing, but it won't stream and doesn't allow P2P — for those you'll want a premium plan.
Note: hide.me guarantees the 2-year rate renews at the same price and duration — no price hike after the first term. Local tax/VAT may be added at checkout.
Speed & performance
VPNRunner does not measure speeds, so this page reports no speed figures. hide.me documents five protocols on every server, including WireGuard, according to its network page checked on 2026-10-16.
| Server region | Download | Upload | Ping |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local (same country) | |||
| Europe | |||
| US East | |||
| Asia (Singapore) | |||
| Australia |
Streaming
hide.me lists the United States among the named locations for its free plan on its help page about free and paid accounts, checked on 2026-10-16. That help page names 7 free locations in total, including the United States, and carries its own update date of 2026-03-13, while the pricing page states a different total, so no exact total is printed in this section. No list of specific US cities was documented in the fact sheet checked on 2026-10-16, so no city names are printed here. Prices for US readers are stated only as documented: the pricing page rendered GBP at the check, no confirmed US dollar price was documented, and no amount has been converted. The pricing page states streaming support in general for Premium, without naming services, according to hide.me/en/pricing on 2026-10-16. Named US services, ESPN+, Hulu, fuboTV and YouTube TV, appeared only in a dated knowledgebase guide from 2022 about MLS, as the provider's own claims in that guide, and they are not presented here as current support.
Smart-DNS support lets you stream on devices that don't run a VPN app, such as some smart TVs and games consoles.
Security
Security is a genuine strength. The apps use industry-standard encryption with modern protocols, a reliable kill switch, split tunnelling and obfuscation, and everything runs on diskless RAM-only servers.
- DNS leak test No leak
- IPv6 leak test No leak
- WebRTC leak test No leak
Privacy & logging
hide.me is operated by eVenture Ltd in Labuan, Malaysia, according to its own pages checked on 2026-10-16. hide.me itself states that Labuan lies outside the surveillance alliances and has no mandatory data retention, and that is the provider's own description of the jurisdiction. In the provider's own formulation, in summary, the system does not store browsing history or DNS queries, does not store the origin IP after a session ends, and keeps no records linking an account to the servers used. The servers are configured not to write session data to disk. For paid accounts, email is stored, while payment data is handled by a third party. The reviews that hide.me itself documents are DefenseCode Ltd. in 2015, described as the first independent no-logs review, and Securitum from March to June 2024, which reviewed server configuration, log settings, procedures and architecture. According to hide.me's summary, the no-logs policy was applied and no problems were found that could compromise privacy. hide.me also states accreditation under the VPN Trust Initiative through 2026. All of these reviews were commissioned and reported by hide.me itself.
- DefenseCode Ltd. no-logs review (2015)
- Securitum independent no-logs audit (2024)
- VPN Trust Initiative (VTI) accreditation (through 2026)
- Open-source apps
Servers & locations
hide.me supports five protocols on every server according to its network page, checked on 2026-10-16: WireGuard, OpenVPN, IKEv2/IPsec, SoftEther and SSTP. Five is the highest protocol count among the providers in this comparison round, based on the providers' fact sheets checked on 2026-10-16. Premium allows 10 simultaneous connections and the free plan allows 1 connection, according to the pricing page on 2026-10-16. The network is stated as 92 locations and 2,600 servers on 6 continents, and the wording is locations, not countries, because hide.me publishes no separate country count. The kill switch feature is called StealthGuard and, according to the provider, can restrict single apps or the whole connection to VPN only. DNS queries are resolved through hide.me's own servers, and the clients route both IPv4 and IPv6 traffic through the tunnel by default, according to the provider. WebRTC protection is documented only in the browser extensions for Chrome and Firefox, where WebRTC can be disabled, not as a general feature in the client.
Feature checklist
Apps & ease of use
The apps are clean and consistent across platforms, with sensible defaults and a clear server list. Being open-source, they're unusually transparent for a commercial VPN.
hide.me is a solid torrenting choice on premium: P2P is supported on many servers, WireGuard speeds are competitive, and port forwarding is configurable. Note that P2P is not available on the free plan.
Customer support
Support covers the essentials, with 24/7 live chat on premium plus a detailed knowledge base and email support. Open-source apps and public guides also make self-service easier than most.
Alternatives to Hide.me
Is Hide.me worth it?
hide.me is a VPN service from eVenture Ltd, incorporated in Labuan, Malaysia, suited to readers who want to avoid renewal price increases and choose among several protocols on one account. Under hide.me's Pricing Guarantee, a plan always renews at the same price and for the same term as at purchase (hide.me/en/pricing, checked 2026-10-16). At the same check, the longest Premium period cost 2.69 GBP per month, billed as 69.99 GBP for 26 months in the pricing page rendering in GBP (hide.me/en/pricing, 2026-10-16). The free plan offers unlimited data according to the provider, with 1 simultaneous connection and limited speeds, while Premium offers 10 simultaneous connections and access to 92 locations and 2,600 servers according to the pricing page on 2026-10-16. For US readers, the main uncertainty is the store currency, because the same pricing page has rendered the same numerals in other currencies at other fetches.
Hide.me FAQ
What happens to the price when hide.me renews?+
Nothing, according to hide.me's Pricing Guarantee. A plan always renews at the same price and for the same term as at purchase, according to the pricing page checked on 2026-10-16.
How many devices can use hide.me at the same time?+
Premium allows 10 simultaneous connections. The free plan allows 1 connection, according to the pricing page and the comparison table in the fact check on 2026-10-16.
What is included in the free plan?+
Unlimited data, limited speeds, 1 connection and no logs according to hide.me. The number of free locations is stated differently on hide.me's own pages, so no exact number is written here.
Where is hide.me based?+
hide.me is a product of eVenture Ltd, incorporated in Labuan, Malaysia, according to hide.me's pages checked on 2026-10-16.
Can I get my money back?+
Yes, within 30 days on Premium, if it is your first order, no earlier refund has been claimed and the terms have not been breached. Renewals do not qualify, and a refund is requested in writing by email. Purchases through the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store are covered by the respective store's policy, according to hide.me's help page checked on 2026-10-16.
Does hide.me list the United States among its free plan locations?+
Yes. hide.me's help page about free and paid accounts names the United States in its list of free locations, checked on 2026-10-16. The same help page is dated 2026-03-13 in its own metadata.
Reviewed by Linnea Berg. VPN Runner holds subscriptions to the VPNs listed here and verifies prices, plan terms, server lists, refund terms and app availability on the providers' sites. We have not measured speeds. Last updated October 2026.