When comparing Hide Me vs Cryptomator, the Slant community recommends Cryptomator for most people. In the question“What are the best tools/apps/extensions to help keep my data private?” Cryptomator is ranked 5th while Hide Me is ranked 16th.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro No logs are kept, it's completely anonymous
Because Hide.me is based in Malaysia, where there are no laws that would require a company to retain their data, the VPN service has chosen to avoid logging any personal data. Actually, no logs of any kind are kept. This saves them from liability and ensures your privacy.
Additionally, if the Malaysian government would change laws requiring retention of logs or customer data, Hide.me promises to change countries to be able to protect your privacy.
Pro Free plan
The free plan allows for 1 connection that's limited to 3 servers (Canada, Netherlands & Singapore), 2GB of data, 3Mbit/s of bandwidth speed and it doesn't support OpenVPN. There's also the "plus" package that uncaps bandwidth speed, increases data limit to 75GB and adds OpenVPN support. Finally, there's the "premium" package, that uncaps data, allows for 5 simultaneous connections and port forwarding.
Pro Softether support
Accepts tor network, encryption upon itself using another protocol, no server throttling.
Pro Supports multiple devices (premium)
With the Hide.me Premium Plan (9.99 $/mo) you can connect up to 5 devices simultaneously including mobile devices and routers, meaning you can safely browse even on devices without VPN support.
Pro Pass-through of any kind of encrypted or tor traffic
Accepts passthrough of even self re-encrypted traffic of any protocol, any provider and tor traffic, this is proof of transparency.
Pro Fast
Hide.me is among the fastest VPN services available. It does not impose any limits on their services and the speed is mostly determined by your own internet connection speed and chosen exit country.
Pro IPsec over IKEv2
IPsec over IKEv2 is one of the fastest, most reliable VPN protocols and as secure as OpenVPN, but you can choose other options if you prefer. Hide.me supports OpenVPN, Softhether, IPSec (IKEv1 & IKEv2), L2TP/IPSec and PPTP protocols.
Pro Quick setup
Setting up requires downloading and installing software that asks once for your e-mail.
Pro No traffic or protocol restricitions except for US
You can use any and all protocols at your disposal, no traffic is restricted, except for US where P2P and BitTorrent traffic is restricted with a firewall. Additionally, users are encouraged to avoid US/UK locations for their filesharing activities.
Pro Watch IPTV
With Hide.me you can watch popular streaming services such as Netflix, HBO and Hulu even in countries where they are blocked. Hide.me also guarantees that speeds stay fast so you aren't waiting at an endless buffering screen.
Pro Cross-platform
Hide.me software works on OS X, Windows, Android, Windows phone, Windows RT, Ubuntu, and iOS. Not only this but it also works on devices like Xbox, Roku, Routers, etc.
Pro Over 80 international payment methods
Including Paypal, credit cards, bank transfer, PaySafeCard, and UKash.
Pro Supports popular devices
Hide Me specifies that their services are compatible with PC, Mac, and Android gadgets. However, no additional operating systems are mentioned.
Pro Anonymous signup
You don't need to enter your street or phone number, etc. You just need a valid email address.
Pro It supports every device, not just Mac, Windows, Android, and iOS
Hide.me VPN supports all devices and platforms available out there, including Linux and routers. They also have a well-maintained blog which has a how-to section, which gives you a step by step guide to set up Hide.me VPN even on devices like PlayStation, Roku, X-box, etc..
Pro Free and open source
Pro Transparent encryption
Pro Works with any cloud platform
Works with any cloud-based services, including Dropbox and Google Drive.
Pro Fast encryption and decryption
Pro Virtual hard drive file access
Drag and drop.
Pro Client-side
No accounts. No backdoors.
Pro AES individual file encryption
Pro Passphrase bruteforce protection (scrypt)
Pro Multi-platform
Available for Windows, Mac and Linux on desktop and iOS, Android for mobile.
Cons
Con Guides for DDWRT, OpenWRT, and Pfsense missing details and not working
No stealth VPN to defeat DPI.
Con Mac OS software is leaking IP address
Con Wireguard is only allowed within the app. No Config generater that allows use on routers for Example
There should be config Generator like any other VPN provider to allow use outside the app like openWRT router or pfsense firewall
Con Incompatible with Windows RT
While Hide Me clearly puts forth effort to maintain compatibility across devices, Windows RT is incompatible with this service.
Con Android version is paid
Con Bugs with deleting of files
Sometimes files cannot be deleted and there is no working solution/fix available yet
Con Current WebDAV is a buggy on Windows
The used WebDAV implemention shows wrong available capacity and has a limitation in the file size. The developers are aware of these problems and working on a better solution.
Con Compatible with Android versions 4.3 and up only
Con Slower speeds
Encypting speeds are slower then regular uploads, larger files particularly video files often cannot complete transfer without errors.
Con No camera upload functionality
Cannot automatically back up photos on mobile devices replacing the need for Google drive or iOS fully. User then has to go and either manually select photos for upload or use cloud service and then encrypt defeating the purpose on mobile clients.