HideMyAss and BTGuard are two well-known names in the VPN industry and they have been offering services for many years. Although they share some similarities and both are focused on offering security and to help users to bypass blocks, there are some differences between these two VPN providers. Here we will compare BTGuard and HideMyAss to help you understand what are the advantages and downsides of each of them.
Main features of HideMyAss and BTGuard
HideMyAss
HideMyAss is based in the United Kingdom and it has over 720 servers in 192 countries. There are over 90000 IP addresses available and the protocols supported include OpenVPN, L2TP and PPTP. The encryption applied is 256-bit AES encryption and when you subscribe to the service, you get their dedicated VPN client. HideMYAss doesn’t log online activities, but it keeps some connection logs temporarily. When you opt for the yearly plan, the cost per month is $4.99.
BTGuard
BTGuard is based in Canada and it has servers in three countries: Canada, Netherlands and Singapore. The protocols supported are OpenVPN and PPTP and the encryption used is 256-bit AES encryption. BTGuard doesn’t keep logs of online activities and don’t keep records of IP addresses or customer usage. They offer a VPN and a Proxy service. The yearly VPN plan costs $749 per month and when you pay for one year of the proxy service. the monthly cost is $4.99.
Comparison between HideMyAss and BTGuard
Who has the best software and servers?
As mentioned above, HideMyAss has servers in over 190 countries and its VPN client supports advanced features like randomized IP switching, smart server connection to give you the best speed and ping, as well as secure IP bind technology (kill switch) that shuts down your internet connection automatically if the VPN connection drops. This will keep your real IP protected in the even the VPN connection fails. BTGuard only has servers in 3 countries and while they are distributed strategically, the options are limited and won’t allow you to access content that is only available in United Kingdom or United States. Plus, they don’t have their won desktop software. This is why HideMyAss is the winner in this category.
Connection options
HideMyAss supports PPTP, L2TP and OpenVPN through its dedicated software and manual setup. BTGuard supports OpenVPN and PPTP, but it has an advantage over HMA and that is the fact that it offers a proxy service that is ideal for protecting your anonymity when you use BitTorrent. In addition, BTGuard offers a free download of a pre-set uTorrent client, which makes things considerably easier. There are also detailed guides that will help you to install the service manually with other torrent clients like Vuze. Thanks to the proxy server and the simple torrent configuration, BTGuard is the most convenient option for torrent users.
Privacy and Security
Both providers use 256-bit AES encryption, which is a high level of security to keep your information safe from security threats. However, there are important differences to consider when it comes to their logging policy. HideMyAss doesn’t keep logs of your online activities, but it does keep temporary connection logs including time stamps and IP addresses. IP addresses are associated to specific users, making them easy to identify. BTGuard doesn’t keep activity or usage logs, there are not even temporary connection logs kept. The fact that BTGuard uses shared IP addresses also contributes to enhance your anonymity since it is very people to identify a specific user based on the VPN IP address. Given its commitment to anonymity. BTGuard is the best option in this category.
Pricing
BTGuard and HMA are not too far apart in terms of pricing options, but HideMyAss offers better value for money. For $4.99 per month (yearly subscription), HMA gives you a dedicated VPN client and access to a vast selection of servers. BTGuard’s VPN service is more expensive, but its proxy service costs the same as HMA’s annual VPN subscription. Here is the full breakdown of prices:
HideMyAss
One month: $9.99
Six months: $39.99 – $6.66 per month
One year: $59.88 – $4.99 per month
BTGuard Proxy
One month: $6.95
Three months: $19.95 – $6.65 per month
Six months: $34.95 – $5.82
One year: $59.95 – $4.99
BTGuard VPN
One month: $9.95
Three months: $27.95 – $9.31 per month
Six months: $49.95 – $8.32 per month
One year: $89.95 – $7.49 per month
Conclusion
Although HideMyAss takes the lead when it comes to software, network and pricing, BTGuard offers stronger security and it is the ideal solution for torrent users. HideMyAss offers more flexibility to bypass geographical restrictions and it offers thousands of IP addresses. BTGuard has a solid privacy policy and its simplicity will be appreciated by those who want strong security (VPN) or speed and anonymity for torrenting (proxy).
