In today’s digital world, you need to be extra cautious to make sure your privacy is not affected from the actions of oppressors and ill-intended netizens. This is where VPNs like TunnelBear and CyberGhost come in.
But which VPN is better in 2020?
CyberGhost is the better overall service owing to larger server network, better speed, customer support, and support for Netflix. In this article, a detailed evaluation of both these VPNs will be performed to determine core strengths and weaknesses of TunnelBear vs CyberGhost.
Here’s a brief summary of the whole comparison:
| Factors | TunnelBear | CyberGhost |
|---|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Canada | Romania |
| Logging Policy | No logs | No logs |
| Pricing | $4.99/mo | $2.75mo |
| Speed | 5.56 Mbps | 17.10 Mbps |
| Server Network | 22+servers 22 countries | 3,500+ servers 60+ countries |
| Customer Support | Email/tutorials | Live chat |
| Torrenting | Supported | Supported |
| Netflix Unblocking | Not supported | Supported |
| Security | Strong | Strong |
| Website | TunnelBear | CyberGhost |
If you are seeking more insights, see the more in-depth VPN comparison where we have briefly compared 60+ providers in a chart.
Pricing, payment methods, and refund
CyberGhost is cheaper than TunnelBear. You can get a CyberGhost 3-year subscription for $2.75/mo . In contrast, TunnelBear’s 1-year deal costs $4.99/mo.
| TunnelBear | CyberGhost | |
|---|---|---|
| Regular Plans | 1-month plan: $9.99/mo 6-month plan: none 1-year plan: $4.99/mo | 1 month plan: $12.90/mo 1-year plan: $5.99/mo 2-year plan: $3.69/mo 3-year plan: $2.75/mo
|
| Cheapest Plan | 1-year deal (50% off) | 3-year deal (79% off) |
| Special Offers | None | None |
| Money-back Guarantee | Not offered | 45 days |
| Payment methods | Credit cards, Bitcoins | Credit cards, PayPal, and BitPay |
CyberGhost offers 45-day money-back guarantee whereas TunnelBear offers no such guarantees. Both providers accept cryptocurrencies as well as credit card payments. The only redeeming quality of TunnelBear in this round is that it offer a a free plan with a 500 MB/month bandwidth limit.
Privacy & Data Logging
CyberGhost is located in the safer jurisdiction of Romania as compared to TunnelBear (Canada). TunnelBear is a Canadian based VPN provider operating out of Toronto, which was established back in 2011. On the other hand, CyberGhost is a Romanian company, which was also coincidentally established in the same year.
| TunnelBear | CyberGhost | |
|---|---|---|
| Headquarter | Canada (unsafe) | Romania (safe) |
| Activity Logs | No | No |
| Connection Logs | Some | Some |
| Anonymous Payment | Yes | Yes |
CyberGhost has an advantage over TunnelBear since it is operating out of Romania and we know that its data retention laws are lenient as the government no longer follows the strict regulations of the European court of justice (EJC).
TunnelBear clearly states that the company keeps no logs of user traffic, IP address, or DNS requests, which are sensitives pieces of information capable of compromising your privacy if fallen into wrong hands.
CyberGhost is much more well-rounded in its logging policy and the service does not store any logs personally identifiable information. On the whole, CyberGhost has a more reassuring logging policy than TunnelBear, though the latter is still pretty good from the privacy point of view.
Therefore, both providers are quite good from the logging point of view, but CyberGhost has more assuring policies and jurisdiction.
Servers
CyberGhost has 5,600+ servers in 90+ countries, where as TunnelBear has an unspecified number of servers in 23 countries.
| TunnelBear | CyberGhost | |
|---|---|---|
| Countries | 23 | 90 |
| Servers | Unspecified | 5,600 |
Cyberghost, towers TunnelBear when it comes to servers, offering a staggering range of servers. This makes CyberGhost a clear winner in this round against TunnelBear.
You can use the following table to see server locations offered by both providers:
Speed
CyberGhost is much faster than TunnelBear. The speed of both providers wast tested on a 30 Mbps connection.
| TunnelBear | CyberGhost |
|---|---|
| Avg. download: 5.56 Mbps | Avg. download: 17.10 Mbps |
The average speed of CyberGhost is 17.10 Mbps as compared to TunnelBear 5.56 Mbps. As such, if you need fast downloading and streaming, CyberGhost is much the better option.
Security
CyberGhost has stronger and more advanced stronger security features than TunnelBear. You can use OpenVPN, L2TP, or IKEv2 with CyberGhost. For encryption, this VPN uses AES-256 and RSA-4096 for handshakes. In addition, CyberGhost has a kill switch and automatic Wi-Fi protection for mobile users.
| TunnelBear | CyberGhost | |
|---|---|---|
| Encryption | AES-256 | AES-256 |
| Protocols Supported | OpenVPN | OpenVPN, L2TP, IKEv2 |
| RSA Keys | RSA-2048 | RSA-4096 |
| App Security | Kill switch | Killswitch, automatic wi-fi protection |
TunnelBear uses similar encryption standards i.e AES-256 an RSA-2048. It also has a kill switch. However, the provider only supports OpenVPN protocol.
Overall, CyberGhost has more security features than TunnelBear.
App Usability and Interface
Both providers offer excellent apps that feature remarkable usability. TunnelBear’s apps are inhabited by a cute animated bear that performs the VPN protection and server selection tasks on your orders. The app is simplicity itself and you can instantly connect to your preferred server location from the home menu screen.
| TunnelBear | CyberGhost | |
|---|---|---|
| One click installation setup | Windows, MacOS, iOS, Android | Android, iOS, Windows, MacOS |
| Configurable settings | Yes | Yes |
| Overall usability | Easy | Easy |
| Browser Extensions | Yes | Yes |
CyberGhost’s app lack the appeal of the charismatic bear in TunnelBear. Nonetheless, it is easy to use and is quite configurable as well. You can choose servers depending on your requirements as it offers special servers for streaming, general browsing, and torrenting. Furthermore, you can also select different VPN protocols as CyberGhost supports multiple of these.
Both providers are very impressive in the user-experience and usability department.
Features & Compatibility
CyberGhost has a wider range of features and compatibility than TunnelBear. The former supports 7 simultaneous connections as well as an ad and malware blocker. On the other hand, CyberGhost allows 5 multi-logins and hardly has any extra value to offer to users.
| TunnelBear | CyberGhost | |
|---|---|---|
| Killswitch | Yes | Yes |
| Split Tunneling | No | No |
| Simultaneous Connections | 5 | 7 |
| Extra Features | None | Ad and malware blocker |
| Browser Extensions | Chrome, Firefox, and Opera | Chrome and Firefox |
| OS Support | Windows, Mac, Android, iOS | Windows, Mac, Android, iOS |
TunnelBear offers browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox, and Opera while CyberGhost has extensions for Chrome and Firefox only.
Overall, CyberGhost has a clear edge over TunnelBear in terms of features and compatibility.
Unblocking Strength
CyberGhost is better for unblocking streaming services than TunnelBear. You can access Netflix, Hulu, BBC iPlayer, and more with CyberGhost’s large number of servers.
| TunnelBear | CyberGhost | |
|---|---|---|
| Netflix | No | US, Germany |
| Hulu | No | US, Japan |
| BBC iPlayer | No | Yes |
| Amazon Prime Video | No | Yes |
| Sky Go | Yes | Yes |
| CBS | Yes | Yes |
TunnelBear, on the other hand, lacks the ability to unblock most streaming services, since VPN-blocking firewalls of most SVoD services are getting increasingly sophisticated.
Therefore, if you need a VPN for streaming, CyberGhost is the better option between the two.
Customer Support
CyberGhost has live chat support, whereas TunnelBear only facilitates users through emails and support tickets.
| TunnelBear | CyberGhost | |
|---|---|---|
| Live Chat | No | Yes |
| Email Support | Yes | Yes |
| Tutorials/Setup Guides | Yes | Yes |
CyberGhost has a live chat support available 24/7, which is quite prompt at resolving your queries on the go. The lack of similar live chat support in TunnelBear is disappointing and makes it less desirable as users today require instant solutions through live support.
Thus, CyberGhost has much better support quality.
Availability in China
Both providers aren’t reliable for use in China. Although these VPNs used to work quite well in China in the past, the strict regulation against VPNs in the country has rendered many VPNs ineffective in the mainland today.
You can still get lucky and be able to use these VPNs in China from time to time. However, they remain ineffective for the most part.
Torrenting & P2P Support
CyberGhost has thousands of servers and offers dedicated torrenting servers. TunnelBear also supports torrents on a few selected servers such as Netherlands, Romania, and Canada.
However, the factor that counts in favor of CyberGhost is that not only does it support torrenting on many servers, but it also has a jurisdiction that is largely free from interference from government agencies.
Therefore, CyberGhost is the better option for torrenting.
Final Verdict: CyberGhost is the Winner
CyberGhost wins this comparison against CyberGhost by a long shot, offering great features, large server network, speed, and reliability all at a lower price.
Although TunnelBear did give a good fight, it leaves much to be desired. For one, we’d like to see a live chat option, which would make the overall experience so much better. Furthermore, an inclusion of P2P and Netflix support, and perhaps a few more servers would make TunnelBear on par with some other leading providers in the industry.
For more information about these providers, see CyberGhost review and TunnelBear review.
