TunnelBear Review- Free VPN Review (Updated 2024)

TunnelBear Free VPN is hugely popular among the free VPN community. But is the paid version any better or worth paying the hefty $4.17/mo price? Find out about the pros and cons of TunnelBear in this 2024 review.

Based in Canada [UNSAFE]
Price $4.17/mo
Servers Servers (23 Countries)
Logs No Logs
Multi-login 5 Devices
Refund No
Recommended Yes
Website TunnelBear.com

TunnelBear is a fairly renowned VPN service provider, yet it’s not because of its paid version that people use this VPN service. In fact, if you’re looking to purchase this VPN service, I highly suggest you stick with the free version.

Here’s why…

Even though TunnelBear offers servers in 23 countries, is compatible with iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, and browsers, offers 256-bit encryption, and supports various payment methods, it’s still not as good as some other VPN services like ExpressVPN.

TunnelBear is an interactive free VPN for Italy For American Users, having servers in 48+ countries. It allows unlimited device connections at once to help you stream content on as many devices as you want in Italy. It lets you browse and stream content securely, privately, and anonymously on public Wi-Fi.

Not only is TunnelBear incapable of unblocking Netflix, but it’s also headquartered in an unsafe jurisdiction of Canada, is quite expensive, has a sketchy no-logs policy, and works quite slowly while torrenting. Overall, after compiling this TunnelBear review, I have given this VPN service 3.4/5.0 stars. Check out more top VPN ratings.

If you wish to check out other VPNs that are free, please check out our list of best free VPN services For American Users.

My Rating Criteria – TunnelBear Review

To test out TunnelBear, I used my 9-step rating criteria mentioned below:

  • Jurisdiction – Where is TunnelBear located?
  • Security – Is TunnelBear safe?
  • Leaks – Does TunnelBear leak IP, DNS & WebRTC?
  • Servers – Where are TunnelBear servers located?
  • Speed – Is TunnelBear fast?
  • Streaming – Does TunnelBear work on Netflix?
  • Compatibility – Which devices can I use TunnelBear with?
  • Pricing – How much does TunnelBear cost?
  • Trustworthiness – Trustpilot Ratings, Reddit Reviews, Support & Audit Report

Jurisdiction – Where is TunnelBear located?

TunnelBear is unfortunately located in Toronto, Canada’s unsafe jurisdiction, which just so happens to be a member of the much-hated five-eye alliance. If you don’t know, Five Eyes is an alliance that conducts and shares surveillance information on everyday folks like you and me. To know about the consequences of choosing a VPN located in five eyes, nine eyes, and 14 eyes territories, read our exclusive guide.

Jurisdiction is an essential factor that shouldn’t be taken lightly. Government agencies force many tech companies in Canada to hand over user data, which violates users’ right to privacy. However, if you put aside jurisdiction for a moment, TunnelBear is indeed a quality VPN provider that can go toe-to-toe against top-class VPN providers such as CyberGhost.

So if the jurisdiction doesn’t matter to you much, you can think about getting TunnelBear. We recently compared the two VPN providers. Check out the CyberGhost vs. TunnelBear comparison for further details.

Security – Is TunnelBear safe?

Yes, TunnelBear is safe to use. In fact, on the security front, TunnelBear offers a decent array of features. To start, TunnelBear offers 256-military-grade encryption. TunnelBear also offers a comprehensive list of tunneling protocols like OpenVPN, IPsec, and IKEv2, which is seriously impressive. Personally, I recommend TunnelBear’s OpenVPN protocol as it is the most secure option you can use.

Does TunnelBear keep logs?

Yes, TunnelBear actually stores connection logs despite claiming to be a no-log VPN service. Here’s some of the information that TunnelBear keeps logs of:

  • Operating system version
  • TunnelBear app version
  • Active this month
  • Total data used this month

However, TunnelBear’s privacy policy is unambiguous, unlike other VPNs. You can see this comparison between TunnelBear and Private Internet Access, where PIA has a vague privacy policy that is hard to understand. To know more about different logging and VPN services’ logging policies, read this dedicated guide.

Complies with GDPR

TunnelBear is fully GDPR compliant. In fact, TunnelBear quickly updated its privacy policy in compliance with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation that rolled out on May 25th, 2018. You can read more about it here.

Additional Security Features

Aside from encryption and protocols, TunnelBear also offers a few extra features as well. Let’s start with the Kill Switch, or as TunnelBear likes to call it – VigilantBear:

TunnelBear VigilantBear – (Kill Switch)

This feature works as a Kill Switch and kills your connection to protect your sensitive information. TunnelBear calls this feature VigilantBear. Aside from killing your connection in case of a leak, the VigilantBear feature is also designed to detect IPv6 and DNS leaks. This feature is available on Windows, macOS, and Android.

TunnelBear GhostBear Feature

Now you might be wondering, what is GhostBear in TunnelBear? Well, this feature might sound gimmicky. However, it’s actually quite useful. It basically obfuscates your encrypted VPN connection making it undetectable to governments and ISPs. These features can be beneficial in countries like China or the Middle East, where there is strict online censorship. GhostBear is available for Windows, macOS, and Android, but not for iOS.

Auto Tunnel

The Auto Tunnel feature is designed to automatically connect users to a server location with the lowest pings. This ensures that your data travels through a short distance which in turn offers you fast connection speeds.

SplitBear

SplitBear is a new feature that currently works on Android devices and is essentially a split tunneling feature. This feature lets users control which apps are allowed to pass through TunnelBear’s secure and encrypted tunnel.

TunnelBear Blocker

In addition to the VPN extension, the brand also offers a blocker for Google Chrome. This tool is not a simple ad blocker. In fact, it halts many forms of tracking, including Email tracking, Ultrasonic tracking, and fingerprinting. It also allows you to manage your Flash player with more efficiency.

Chrome-Blocker-TunnelBear-

Credits: TunnelBear For American Users

Leaks – Does TunnelBear leak IP, DNS & WebRTC?

TunnelBear is actually a leak-proof VPN service. IP leaks can be detrimental to your online security. VPN leaks can give away your location, making your VPN virtually useless.

IP Leak Test

In my test for IP leaks, TunnelBear passed without any issues. Here’s a screenshot showing a Romanian IP address instead of my true IP address.

TunnelBear-DNS-Leak-Test-

TunnelBear For American Users was able to effectively hide our IP address.

DNS Leak Test

As for the DNS leak test, I connected to a US server this time. From the screenshot below, you can see that my original IP address is nowhere to be seen:

tunnelbear-dns-leak-test-

TunnelBear For American Users did not leak our DNS.

WebRTC Leak Test

Lastly, I also checked for WebRTC leaks using the US server, and TunnelBear passed without leaking. Check out the screenshot:

Tunnelbear-WebRTC-Leak-Test-result-

TunnelBear For American Users hid our WebRTC details effectively.

Bonus: App File Check

Although TunnelBear passed all my leak tests without any issues, I wanted to see whether the TunnelBear apps contained any hidden malware. Luckily, the results of the test came up clean. No surprise since TunnelBear is actually owned by the Antivirus giant – McAfee.

App-File-Tunnelbear-

TunnelBear’s app file check revealed that there was no malware.

For more information about IP, DNS, and WebRTC leaks, read our VPN leak test guide.

Servers – Where are TunnelBear servers located?

TunnelBear-Servers-List-

TunnelBear has servers throughout the world which makes it very useful For American Users

TunnelBear servers are located across 23 countries around the world. Some of the free server locations include the US, UK, Canada, Germany, Japan, Australia, France, Netherlands, South Africa, Italy, Ireland, Mexico, Hong Kong, and many more.

Is TunnelBear good for Torrenting?

Although TunnelBear supports torrenting, you can only utilize it properly for p2p with the paid version. I tried downloading many small to medium-sized torrent files, and I was impressed by the overall performance of this reliable free VPN for torrenting. All in all, since TunnelBear previously did not support torrenting and P2P, it’s at least nice to see that they now support this feature.

Does TunnelBear work in China?

Yes, at the moment, TunnelBear works in China. Not only does TunnelBear offer a server in Hong Kong that can be used to access Chinese content, but it also supports the GhostBear obfuscation feature to bypass the Great Firewall (GFW).  That being said, there’s no telling whether the service will continue to work in the future or not as The People’s Republic of China has some of the harshest censorship regulations.

Speed – Is TunnelBear fast?

When it comes to speeds, TunnelBear is quite fast. When conducting my TunnelBear speed test, I was quite surprised by the speed test results. Here’s a brief table with all the speed test results compiled for your convenience.

Server location Download speed Upload speed Pings
Australia 75.5 Mbps 69.8 Mbps 233 ms
Canada 67 Mbps 74.44 Mbps 301 ms
France 66.2 Mbps 82.9 Mbps 296 ms
India 72.6 Mbps 83.77 Mbps 372 ms
Netherlands 75.89 Mbps 80.4 Mbps 310 ms
Singapore 67.2 Mbps 73.3 Mbps 122 ms
Switzerland 52 Mbps 72.3 Mbps 314 ms
United Kingdom 72.45 Mbps 79 Mbps 277 ms
United States 78.45 Mbps 81.5 Mbps 286 ms

Streaming – Does TunnelBear work on Netflix?

TunnelBear proved effective with US Netflix. While we faced difficulties with other regional libraries initially, on our second attempt, we successfully unblocked US Netflix with TunnelBear. Previously, TunnelBear didn’t support Netflix US, but now it does. Although accessing it may require trying a few servers before gaining access, making it a worthwhile free VPN for Netflix.

Does TunnelBear work with Hulu and other Streaming Services?

As for BBC iPlayer and other geo-restricted streaming services like Hulu and Disney Plus, TunnelBear did manage to unblock these services. However, the performance was quite laggy and below average.

Tunnelbear-working-with-hulu-

TunnelBear did manage to unblock Hulu but the experience was not very good, especially For American Users

Compatibility – Which devices can I use with TunnelBear?

In terms of compatibility, TunnelBear supports only a handful of devices. From TunnelBear’s official website, you can only use TunnelBear on Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, and browsers (Chrome, Firefox & Opera). It’s a great free VPN for gaming as it provides an extra layer of security for the gamers while playing their favorite games. It is also one of the best free VPNs for UK For American Users as well. TunnelBear currently doesn’t support Kindle/eReaders, Windows mobile phones, Apple TV, Android TV, gaming consoles, and even modems/routers.

You can set up TunnelBear for Kodi or use it with Roku devices (through manual configuration). This can come in handy if you desire to use the VPN while using these apps/devices.

If you’re having problems with the VPN, you can find some easy fixes in this TunnelBear not working guide.

TunnelBear for Windows

The TunnelBear Windows client is attractive and can be navigated without any difficulty. It is uncomplicated, getting the job done without complex menus or configurations, making it a reliable free VPN for Windows.

TunnelBear-Connected-

TunnelBear’s Windows app For American Users

The client allows you to connect with different server locations through its map. You can access servers from 23 different countries by simply clicking on their respective tunnels.

The client allows you to toggle between GhostBear, VigilantBear, and other security features. It does not confuse you with a plethora of options but does allow you to configure the software as per your liking.

TunnelBear for macOS

Similar to the Windows app, the macOS app of TunnelBear is just as good. Server selection is quite snappy, and everything just works effortlessly. Here’s how the user interface looks like:

tunnelbear-macos-interface-

TunnelBear interface on MacOS For American Users

TunnelBear for Android

As I have explained above, this VPN has a sleek app for Android OS. I used the app myself, and my experience was enjoyable.

Tunnelbear-android-app-interface-

Tunnelbear’s mobile interface is quite intuitive For American Users

Like the Windows app, the Android app of TunnelBear allows you to easily select different servers by navigating through a simple and intuitive map.

TunnelBear for iOS

The iOS version of TunnelBear is quite good. The app is lightweight and works without any glitches. Not only that, but I also really like the subtle animations throughout the app.

Tunnelbear-ios-interface-

The TunnelBear app on iOS is quite easy to use For American Users

Pricing – How much does TunnelBear cost?

TunnelBear charges $4.17/mo for a 2-year plan which is rather expensive. In comparison, Surfshark’s 24-month plan only costs $1.99/mo.

At present, it offers three paid plans and one absolutely free plan, which more or less works as a TunnelBear Free Trial:

tunnelbear-pricing-plan-

TunnelBear’s pricing plans For American Users

Although quite expensive, all paid subscription plans allow you to secure five devices simultaneously, which is still somewhat good. However, there is no refund policy, so if you want to cancel TunnelBear, there’s no guarantee you will get your money back. This is why it would be wise to use the free version first and only proceed with the paid subscription if you’re delighted with it.

Not a clear money-back policy is a big drawback as most of the top-tier VPN provider like NordVPN clearly state the money-back policy on their websites, which increase the trust level of the potential customers. However, despite this drawback, TunnelBear still performs toe-to-toe with the likes of NordVPN in many different VPN factors. You can view its performance in our TunnelBear vs. NordVPN.

Payment Methods

TunnelBear accepts all major payment methods except for PayPal. You can purchase TunnelBear through either VISA, Master Card, American Express, or Bitcoin.

Payment-Methods-TunnelBear-

TunnelBear supports multiple payment methods For American Users

Is TunnelBear really free?

Yes, TunnelBear is actually free. You don’t need to provide any credit card details and still use the service for free. Nevertheless, the TunnelBear free plan has some limitations. You only get 500 MB of data per month, which is enough for casual browsing but will run out quickly if you stream movies or download torrents. That said, you can get an additional 1 GB of data free if you just Tweet about TunnelBear.

One amazing feature of TunnelBear’s free version is that it offers similar server access to both premium and free users. For example, on its free version, you get access to servers in France, the US, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, and even Singapore. Therefore, it’s one of the best free VPN for Singapore for American Users.

Refund Policy

TunnelBear does not offer any refunds. Unlike ExpressVPN or even Surfshark, as of that matter that offers 30-day refunds, TunnelBear offers no designated money-back guarantee. That being said, TunnelBear may offer refunds on a certain basis. However, it’s not clear what these basics are. If you’re just looking to try out TunnelBear, I highly suggest trying the free version rather than purchasing the premium subscription.

Trustworthiness – Trustpilot Ratings, Reddit Reviews, Customer Support & Audit Report

On Trustpilot, TunnelBear has an average 2.8 rating. Out of 59 user reviews, 27% of users have rated the service as excellent, and 44% of users have rated TunnelBear as bad. From Trustpilot reviews, it’s clear that people generally don’t like this VPN service.

tunnelbear-trustpilot-reviews-

TunnelBear user ratings were a mixed bag For American Users

TunnelBear Review Reddit

Although the paid version of TunnelBear is not for me, I still wanted to see what Reddit has to say about TunnelBear. Here are a couple of comments praising TunnelBear VPN:

tunnelbear-review-reddit-

Reddit users had good sentiments about TunnelBear

Customer Support

When I reviewed TunnelBear, I found its customer support system to be weak. There’s no live chat support option at all, which is a major disappointment. At present, TunnelBear is handling all user queries through their “Help” section.

TunnelBear-support-section-

TunnelBear provides multiple avenues for Customer Support For American Users

The help page consists of various subcategories, which I found to be quite extensive.

  • Announcements
  • Getting Started
  • Billing & Payments
  • Troubleshooting
  • TunnelBear for Teams
  • Contact Us

Audit Report

Unlike many other VPNs, TunnelBear is extremely forthcoming about its business. This is the reason why the VPN organizes an independent audit of its service by a third party.

One must commend the providers for taking this extra step to bring their user base into confidence. You can read the 2018 audit report right here.

Comparison between ExpressVPN and TunnelBear

So far in this TunnelBear review, I’m not satisfied with the service. If you’re like me and want something else, here’s a brief comparison between ExpressVPN and Tunnelbear:

Features ExpressVPN TunnelBear
Price   $6.67/mo - Save up to 49% with exclusive 1-year plans + 3 months free $4.17/mo
Servers  3000+ in 94 Countries Servers in 23 Countries
Compatibility All Devices Windows, Android & iOS
Jurisdiction The British Virgin Islands Canada
Logging Policy Zero Log Does not keep logs
Customer Support Live Chat & Email Support Forum & Email Ticketing
Trust Pilot Score 4.6 2.8
Website EXPRESSVPN TUNNELBEAR

Alternatives to TunnelBear

This list includes reviews of various VPN services. If you’re seeking detailed information about other premium VPNs similar to what we’ve provided in this TunnelBear review, you can explore our comprehensive and unbiased VPN reviews guide.

Do I Recommend TunnelBear?

Yes, but only the free version of TunnelBear.

After concluding this TunnelBear, It’s clear that the service is good but not flawless. Even though TunnelBear works with Hulu and Torrenting, offers decent security features, and doesn’t leak, I would suggest opting for ExpressVPN rather than TunnelBear.

Let’s not forget that Tunnelbear is one of the recommended free VPNs in the world. It is the best free VPN in the Philippines and in many other countries.

Here’s why…

Well, for one, TunnelBear is quite expensive. Not only that, but Tunnelbear is also headquartered in an unsafe jurisdiction, stores logs, offers no refunds and live chat, supports a handful of devices, and has an average Trustpilot rating. Overall, I have given this VPN service a 3.4/5.0 stars rating in this TunnelBear review.