Hola VPN vs Riseup VPN: which wins in 2026?
Head-to-head on the facts that decide the purchase: real prices in the provider's own unit, minimum, KYC, proof, payment and terms - every number sourced in the linked reviews.
The canonical case study of 'you are the product' in this industry, and the model has not gone away: Hola's own privacy policy (April 2026) and FAQ state that free users may become peers on the Bright Data network - the commercial residential-proxy business that grew out of Hola's Luminati - so strangers' traffic exits from your home IP and complaints land on you first. It does work as a one-click unblocker (195-country list, streaming unblocking verified by two 2026 reviews), Premium ends the peer role, and the price ladder is transparent. But the ledger is heavy: the 2015 8chan DDoS traced to its resale network (confirmed by the founder to TorrentFreak), the 2015 'Adios, Hola!' researcher disclosure of six vulnerabilities including remote code execution and permanent user-tracking IDs, a 2018 Chrome-extension hijack used against a crypto wallet site, a 12-month browsing-history retention policy that contradicts the store listing's 'we do not log' claim, dated crypto (SHA-1, PPTP fallback, HTTP fallback), no independent audit, and slow unstable speeds (55-90% loss in Gizmodo's 2026 tests). As a disposable geo-unblocker it is what it says; as a VPN - the thing people install for privacy - it is documented as the opposite.
The most trustworthy free VPN on structural grounds: an anarchist Seattle collective that has run since 1999, funds itself by donations, asks no account registration and states plainly that it does not log IP addresses, with a quarterly PGP-signed warrant canary and honest documentation of its own VPN limitations and the 2016 canary incident. But it is still US jurisdiction, there is no independent audit, servers are few, and the client is Bitmask-based with basic features - activists' pick, not a streaming tool.
Short answer: too close to call (3.4/10 and 3.4/10). The deciding factor is your priority: Hola VPN for honest value, Riseup VPN for ownership & track record. Facts checked 2026-11-02.
The facts
 Hola VPN |  Riseup VPN | |
|---|---|---|
| Overall score (0-10) | 3.4 | 3.4 |
| Privacy & proof | ||
| Logging claim | Chrome Web Store listing (fetched 2026-11-02): 'We do not log your browsing activity or… | 'Unlike most other VPN providers, Riseup does not log your IP address' |
| Logging evidence | CLAIM CONTRADICTED | promise only (no proof) |
| Audits | unknown | unknown |
| Jurisdiction | Israel - Hola Networks Ltd. (own pages now brand as 'Hola VP… moreIsrael - Hola Networks Ltd. (own pages now brand as 'Hola VPN Ltd'); Chrome Web Store developer address in Ra'anana, Israel | United States |
| Owner | Hola Networks | Riseup Collective (volunteer collective, Seattle) |
| Money | ||
| Intro price | $2.99 /month | unknown |
| Renewal price | $2.99/mo | not published |
| Anonymous payment | fiat | bitcoin |
| Account | ||
| Personal info | none | none |
| Kind | Free VPNs | Free VPNs |
| Facts checked | 2026-11-02 | 2026-09-29 |
Score breakdown
Hola VPN leads on censorship resistance (+4), honest value (+8), ease of use (+1) · Riseup VPN leads on privacy & logging (+2.5), ownership & track record (+4).
Hola VPN at a glance
++ What holds up
- Genuinely free unblocker with a huge location list ('195 countries to browse from', operator homepage) that still unblocks streaming in 2026 testing (Security.org: Netflix Japan; Gizmodo: Netflix India, Hulu)
- Transparent in its own FAQ/ToS about the peer model: 'Hola makes its revenue by providing corporations the same service we provide to users, but for a fee' - and Premium users are never used as peers
- One-click install, minimal UI, 10 devices on one Premium account (operator FAQ)
- Prices published on a live pricing page ($2.99-$14.99/mo) with a stated 30-day money-back promise
-- What to watch
- Free tier turns your device into a residential exit node for paying Bright Data customers - confirmed by Hola's own FAQ, privacy policy and its founder in 2015 (TorrentFreak)
- Privacy policy retains log data including extension browsing history for up to 12 months and may share it 'including Log Data' under legal process - while the Chrome Web Store listing claims 'We do not log your browsing activity'
- No independent audit of any product (Gizmodo 2026: 'No independent audit'); bug bounty is self-run ($50 base per operator FAQ)
- Dated security defaults per its own FAQ: SHA-1 integrity default, DES3/MD5 still offered, PPTP/L2TP fallback for free Windows users, HTTP fallback on extensions - and extensions/Android explicitly 'not all your traffic is encrypted'
- 2015 researcher disclosure (six vulnerabilities incl. remote code execution, persistent tracking IDs, an open shell console) and a 2018 extension hijack used against MyEtherWallet visitors
- Slow and unstable as a VPN: 55-90% speed loss, 250+ ms ping, reconnect leaks in Gizmodo 2026 testing; no WireGuard, no OpenVPN, no obfuscation for censored countries
- Refund terms conflict: pricing page says 30-day money-back; FAQ/billing says refunds only if Premium was never used within 14 days, and app-store purchases are non-refundable by Hola's own text
Riseup VPN at a glance
++ What holds up
- Completely free, donation-funded, no account registration (VPN page re-checked 2026-09-28)
- 'Riseup does not log your IP address' - explicit operator statement
- Quarterly PGP-signed warrant canary (re-checked 2026-09-28)
- Unusually honest docs: a dedicated 'security issues / limitations of VPN' page that explains what a VPN cannot do
- Open-source Bitmask client; same stack as CalyxVPN
- Fifteen-year paper trail of collective operation (FBI server seizure 2012, canary episode 2016) handled candidly
-- What to watch
- US jurisdiction and US-based infrastructure
- No independent audit of the no-logs claim
- Small free network; speeds and server choice are basic
- Client setup is less polished than commercial apps (users report uninstall troubles and occasional site-blocking quirks)
FAQ
Which is cheaper, Hola VPN or Riseup VPN?
Hola VPN publishes a price (from $2.99 /month); Riseup VPN does not publish a comparable figure - and unknown is not free. Compare only the same unit before concluding anything.
Which has better logging evidence, Hola VPN or Riseup VPN?
Riseup VPN has the stronger logging evidence; Hola VPN relies on claims alone - and its claim was contradicted in a documented case.
Which renewal price is honest, Hola VPN or Riseup VPN?
Hola VPN documents renewal at $2.99/mo; Riseup VPN hides its renewal price - unknown is not cheap.
Which needs less KYC, Hola VPN or Riseup VPN?
Both have the same KYC stance (none).
Which has the longer track record?
Riseup VPN has the longer track record (since 1999).
Scores and facts: meta-reviews with dated sources - Hola VPN · Riseup VPN. Method: how we verify. More: all providers compared · all head-to-heads.