The Best VPN add-ons for Firefox

Martin Brinkmann
Aug 1, 2014
Updated • Sep 1, 2019
Firefox
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27

Firefox users have access to a selection of VPN add-ons for the browser which they can install from Mozilla's official add-ons repository.

Whenever a connection to a virtual private network is established, it will be used as the entry point to the Internet. Websites and services that users connect to will reveal the IP address of the VPN server and not the local one.

That's great for a number of purposes. Since you connect to a server in a specific location, you can access contents that are restricted to that location.

A vpn server in the United States lets you access contents restricted to users of the USA even if you are in another country.

Security too is improved as your connection to the VPN is encrypted usually so that others listening in on the traffic don't see clear-text data flowing by.

Note: It is highly suggested that you read the privacy policy and terms of use carefully before you install any of the extensions for Firefox.

VPN Add-ons for Firefox

Users of the Firefox web browser, much like Chrome users, have access to several add-ons that provide them with VPN-like functionality in the web browser.

The main appeal of these solutions is that they are easy to setup and use. If you sign up for a VPN service manually instead, it may be required to create a new network connection on your system to make use of it. With add-ons, you may need to create an account but that is about it.

Requirements

Only add-ons matching the following requirements are included in the list.

  • The add-on needs to be available on the Firefox Add-ons website.
  • The add-on needs to be compatible with Firefox Stable.
  • A free version needs to be provided.
  • It may not inject advertisement or manipulate traffic or the browser in other -- shady -- ways.

Hola Unblocker

The browser extension is no longer available on the Mozilla Firefox Add-ons website but only directly on the company website. It is unclear why it is no longer available, but it may have something to do with how the service operates.

Your use of Hola Free VPN Proxy is free of charge in exchange for safely using some of your device's resources (WiFi and very limited cellular data), and only when you are not using your device.

The extension adds an icon to Firefox's main toolbar by default which indicates whether a connection has been established or not.

You can click on the icon to select a server location for the site you are on, and the extension remembers that selection and will establish the same connection the next time you visit that website.

There is also an option to change server which is useful if the server you are currently connected to is not delivering the performance needed to access contents on the website.

Hola Unblocker uses peer connections to support its service. This means that your PC may be used to stream content for other users. The only way to avoid this from happening is to upgrade to a premium account which starts at $3.75 per month if you pay yearly in advanced.

Performance: The performance was excellent. All streaming services that I tried worked fluent without pauses or buffering issues. Access to sites such as Netflix, Pandora Radio, Hulu, the BBC, Amazon.com or NBC.

ProxMate

proxmate

Proxmate is offered as a free trial extension for the Mozilla Firefox web browser. Users who install it can use the service for three days without restrictions but need to sign up for a subscription to continue using it after that trial period.

A yearly subscription is available for $17.95 at the time of writing but there are also options to subscribe for a shorter period or make a one-time payment instead.

The service lists officially supported channels, TV station streams and media streams in particular, on its site which should work fine with the service. Not all streaming services may work on the other hand.

While that is certainly a let down for users who have installed it to access a service that is not working, it still has its uses for others. The add-on receives regular updates from its developer. The last update dates back 2 months at the point in time the updated version of the top list was published.

You may want to check the options of the add-on as you may find a preference listed there that sends anonymous usage data to the developer.

The add-on for Firefox works without any user interaction. Just visit the site and if it is supported Proxmate will tunnel your connection so that you can access the contents. Proxmate uses proxies to make available its functionality.

Performance: Not all supported services were working at the time of writing. Those that did , Pandora, Crunchyroll and Grooveshark for example, worked fine and without any issues however.

ZenMate Security & Privacy VPN

zenmate

ZenMate is available as a free, somewhat limited browser extension for Firefox (and Chrome as well). You can use the extension without signing up for an account but may join a 7-day trial of the premium version if you want to test the premium upgrades.

Premium access is available for $59.99 per year. While that sounds expensive at first, it needs to be noted that customers do get access to a full-blown VPN provider and not just a proxy server when they subscribe to ZenMate.

The extension displays an icon in Firefox's main toolbar that you use to pick the geographical location you want as your exit node.

Free users are limited to some locations, including United States and Germany while other popular locations such as the UK are not available for free users. Sites worked fine during tests but it is necessary to switch between exit nodes manually each time a different location is required to access content.

Premium users get more server locations, automatic switching of locations based on the site that is accessed, a full desktop VPN client for Windows and Mac systems, and faster speeds.

Performance: The performance of the service is excellent. I did not notice any issues while using it, and all tested services, Hulu, Pandora and Crunchyroll, worked fine during tests.

Company headquarters: Germany

Privacy Policy: https://zenmate.com/privacy-policy/

Terms of Service: https://zenmate.com/tos/

Hoxx VPN Proxy

Hoxx is provided as a free and paid VPN service; paid users subsidize the free users of the service. Free accounts are limited in terms of traffic, support, the encryption strength, and cannot access premium server locations next to that.

You need to create an account before you can start using the service. Once that is out of the way, you can start using the service by connecting to one of the free server locations.

A good selection of locations is provided. You may connect to servers in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Greece, Australia, and other regions. The connection process is fast and worked without issues during tests.

Performance: Performance was satisfactory in all locations I tried.

Company headquarters: USA

Privacy Policy: https://hoxx.com/privacy-policy/

Terms of Service: https://hoxx.com/terms/

Conclusion

It is surprising that only a few add-ons are available to add VPN-like functionality to the Firefox browser. The makers of Zenmate are working on an add-on for Firefox to bring their popular service to the web browser but it is not clear when that is going to be the case.

Hola Unblocker was the only add-on that worked with all services. Its main issue is that its latest version is not offered on the official Add-on repository which means that it has not been audited by Mozilla.

As a Firefox user, it may make sense to install a system-wide VPN instead. There are free ones available, but they do limit the bandwidth available usually. Tunnelbear for example gets you 500 MB of free data each month which is enough to watch a show or two but that is about it.

Now You: Are you using a different add-on to access restricted contents or improve your privacy and security while using the Firefox web browser? Share it with us in the comment section below.

Summary
The Best VPN add-ons for Firefox
Article Name
The Best VPN add-ons for Firefox
Description
So-called VPN add-ons for Firefox improve your privacy while you are on the Internet and enable you to access geo-restricted contents at the same time.
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Publisher
Ghacks Technology News
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Comments

  1. tocho said on January 9, 2022 at 4:16 am
    Reply

    Veepn ?

  2. TelV said on June 9, 2019 at 6:42 pm
    Reply

    I’m using AzireVPN which has just been configured to use the Wireguard pre-Alpha installation file from Wireguard.com. https://www.azirevpn.com/support/guides/computer/windows/wireguard

    It’s a breeze to install and doesn’t require you to login as is normally the case with most VPNs.

    The only downside is their limited server locations of which there are only six.

  3. Cinikal said on February 19, 2018 at 4:59 am
    Reply

    Add Windscribe and Hoxx in there they both work great but will slow Firefox launch.
    Windscribe has a small bug in that no matter what site I “first” select I always get a blank page.
    Hoxx has more servers but it will not autostart for me.

  4. loulou said on November 28, 2016 at 11:10 pm
    Reply

    is there any free VPN that I can get ???

  5. Bert said on November 27, 2016 at 5:09 pm
    Reply

    Excellent results with the Add-on SetupVPN.

  6. TT Yang said on September 6, 2016 at 6:44 pm
    Reply

    I had been a premium user of ZenMate, as of one week ago, ZenMate add on has stopped working on FF.

    Attempted download ZenMate several times from add on, FF just would not allow installation of ZenMate on FF.

    Even downloaded ZenMate from internet; yet, FF still would not allow installation of ZenMate.

    I contacted ZenMate, but, to no avail, several emails later, they still ignore me, they still would not address the issue.

    I suspect, there may be a conflict issue between Firefox and ZenMate.

    If ZenMate is not permitted by Firefox to install it on FF, ZenMate should be honest about the existing issue with the public.

    ZenMate was a good VPN, as result of their irresponsible behavior and non-responsiveness towards their paying customer, they have lost their credibility with me.

  7. Bert said on September 4, 2016 at 10:32 am
    Reply

    I’m using with pleasure the FF add-on *Hoxx VPN Proxy*.
    No problems while connecting, no disconnections, light, easy to use informative interface and in my opinion Hoxx has faster connections than any other free VPN.

    1. Joj said on September 22, 2016 at 12:18 pm
      Reply

      Hoxx free is insecure as it only uses 1024bit keys, not 4096.

      1. Bert said on September 30, 2016 at 9:06 am
        Reply

        Thanks, I will look for another VPN-Add on.

  8. Bert said on July 5, 2016 at 3:08 pm
    Reply

    Hola is using your bandwidth for third parties. I’m using free ZenMate add-on for Firefox 47.0 for Linux from the beginning. Nowadays I have to admit that ZenMate is not stable and this morning I switch to another server and ZenMate shows me that I’m connected with Hong Kong but my IP address is still of my ISP, Restart FF and nothing changed and I choose the Romania server and the same happens as described before. This is not the first time and searching the Internet I found many hits facing the same problem. Now it’s enough and I consider now to say goodbye to ZenMate and inform my negative information to my mail group.

  9. hs said on April 17, 2016 at 3:35 am
    Reply

    may i know if i used internet explorer how to i add hola to unblock the site.. thank you.,,..add video to share

  10. erik said on April 15, 2016 at 10:17 am
    Reply

    I just installed the Zemate add-on for Firefox and apparently it will not work unless you give them your email address and then they will give you a 7-day free trial of their Premium service. After that if you don’t subscribe they lower you to the free service. I have tried dozens of add-ons over the years and NONE of them has even asked me for my email. I also use Malwarebytes which also installs the full Premium version for 7 days, but they do not demand your email address. Well, because I didn’t give them my email it is totally nonfunctional, There are no controls or options. When I click the Zenmate shield icon on my taskbar it simply diverts me to one of their web pages to complete the signup process. So, I had Zenmate for 10 minutes and then uninstalled it. This is an awful business model!

    1. Zenmate User said on March 12, 2017 at 4:54 pm
      Reply

      I just discovered that Zenmate was still filtering my web traffic even after I had it turned off. I noticed an error in their script that meant their actual widget showed up in my web browser. Problem was I had it turned off. I started disabling the ad-on in FF and when I checked my I.P it was still going through their servers..
      And at one time they wanted almost a weekly verification of the email address.
      We have seen this business model before. It’s not free for nothing.

    2. joe vito said on August 30, 2016 at 9:25 am
      Reply

      2016-08-30 im having the same problem.. why force me to sign up, just to revert me back.. not a huge price to pay since you can use an alternate gmail or etc.. but a hassle never the less.. however if it works great and is really free after 7 days then maybe its just a small price to pay… no pun intended.. you cant blame them for trying to tempt you with the premium product.. i can see this becoming the new norm for freeware.. also im hoping if i wait a day this will work maybe its a temporary nag?

      anybody else overcome this 7 day trial is there a way around it?

  11. smith said on February 19, 2016 at 3:34 am
    Reply

    i need the best free vpn for mozilla

  12. Brian said on August 4, 2014 at 9:47 pm
    Reply

    I have been using the premium version of Anonymox for a couple of years. Seamless, effective and stealthy. 163 IP’s in 12 countries. No complaints whatsoever. Based in Germany.

  13. Giovanni said on August 4, 2014 at 6:00 pm
    Reply
  14. Rook said on August 2, 2014 at 2:23 pm
    Reply

    I’d recommend Zenmate for Chrome users.
    edit: first entry in your chrome post, woops.

    1. JIMJFOX said on September 29, 2016 at 11:04 pm
      Reply

      NO. TouchVPN is outstanding on Chrome

  15. Andy said on August 1, 2014 at 3:34 pm
    Reply

    “Hola Unblocker uses peer connections to support its service. This means that your PC may be used to stream contents for other users.”

    Does turning off Hola when not using it do the trick?

    1. Rick said on August 1, 2014 at 7:21 pm
      Reply

      Nope .. if FF is running then Hola is potentially using your bandwidth.

      1. Martin Brinkmann said on August 1, 2014 at 7:43 pm
        Reply

        But not if you disable the add-on in the add-ons manager?

  16. benaissa said on August 1, 2014 at 2:43 pm
    Reply

    personally I use firefox anonymoX http://www.anonymox.net/ for very and simple auto configuration

    1. Your Name said on April 27, 2017 at 12:17 pm
      Reply

      I use anonymoX, but you might wish to be aware, that some sites will not work with it.

    2. nick said on February 7, 2016 at 12:03 am
      Reply

      good choice!

  17. jimmyjamesjimmy said on August 1, 2014 at 1:06 pm
    Reply

    i like hola :)

    1. Bert said on April 27, 2017 at 6:39 pm
      Reply

      I will never use Hola, because it use your bandwith for third parties!
      I’m trying now, up to now with success Setup VPN for FF 53.0, https://setupvpn.com/how-it-works/
      It’ s for Chrome, Firefox and for Android.
      I’ m not sure but it’ is or was a Romanian company.

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