Internet connectivity is essential in today's world, from people working or entertaining themselves to children learning. Internet access is constantly being improved all across the Globe, but there still are (and will be) situations when you need to share your Internet connection with other devices.

The most popular option is to use a smartphone and share its cellular connection via Wi-Fi. No "thrills" - just Internet you can use on other devices. However - make sure you realize you're using a metered connection and you may pay extra to your carrier at the end of the billing month.

If you want to share an Internet connection from your laptop or Windows 10+ computer, you can use the built-in mobile hotspot functionality. Or you can use Connectify Hotspot, the most popular Wi-Fi hotspot software for Windows. But which one should you go with? It depends on what you're trying to accomplish. Read below to see a comparison between the Windows Mobile Hotspot and Connectify Hotspot.

First, let's touch the things both the Windows Mobile Hotspot and Connectify Hotspot can accomplish. They both help one share their Internet connection from their Windows computer to other devices via Wi-Fi:

• share Internet from Wi-Fi networks
• share Internet from Ethernet networks
• share Internet from cellular networks (usually via USB network adapters)

You can choose a name for the Wi-Fi hotspot you create (using emojis as well), and also set a password.

If this basic sharing functionality is all you need, you can use the built-in Windows Mobile Hotspot. If you need more, or are curious on what Connectify Hotspot can do in addition to the above - please continue reading.

When comparing the Windows Mobile Hotspot vs. Connectify Hotspot, there are some features only the Connectify software does. Here are some of them you may find useful:

1. Share ANY type of Internet connection via wired Ethernet. That's called the Wired Router mode and it allows you to share your PC's Internet connectivity to a router. That way, you can use that router as an Internet source for other wired and wireless devices - e.g. other computers, legacy gaming consoles, TVs, etc.
2. Turn your laptop / computer into a Wi-Fi repeater. The idea on this is to extend the coverage of a Wi-Fi network with the help of a PC / laptop - e.g. when you're sitting on the patio or in the garage. Hotspot will broadcast an access point with the same SSID and password as the original network. Clients that connect will be bridged directly onto the original network using Connectify Hotspot's network bridging capabilities.
3. Restrict Internet access for each connected device. With Connectify Hotspot you can manually enable / disable Internet and local network access. This is very useful, for example, when you need your kids to drop their online session and go do their homework or go to sleep.
4. Use the built-in universal ad blocker in Connectify Hotspot. This way, you can eliminate unwanted web ads and in-app ads on your iPhone, iPad and Android mobile devices. According to our tests, those account for nearly 60% of resources on major websites.
5. Share a VPN connection over Wi-Fi or wired Ethernet. You can protect all household devices connected to your Windows computer by sharing a connection secured by a VPN. This will also help you change the NAT type from strict to moderate and enjoy online games.

All of the above have been thoroughly tested by our team here at Connectify. Apart from the main differences in functionalities, here are some other points to consider when deciding on a Wi-Fi hotspot software to use:

• check the compatibility for older devices - during our testing, we used several Windows 10 computers, new and older; for some of the older ones we ran into issues right at the start with the built-in Windows Mobile Hotspot. It wouldn't allow sharing the Internet connection - which might be due to some driver compatibility issues regarding Wi-Fi direct. Naturally, with Connectify Hotspot everything worked, as we do have our own Microsoft certified virtual driver.
• if you're not a Windows power user, go with Connectify Hotspot - it's much more user friendly and includes all the things you can do with it.
• if you're using an older version of Windows, Connectify Hotspot is for you. It supports all devices running Windows 7 or newer.

Bottom line: Connectify Hotspot does much more than just share your Internet connection via Wi-Fi. It turns your computer into a virtual router, giving you much more flexibility to share, manage and improve the Internet experience.