TunnelBear vs. NordVPN

Just looking at the ratings we gave the two VPNs might give you an idea of who wins this one. NordVPN secured a near-perfect 9.7 score from us, while TunnelBear got an 8.8 rating. We could just leave it at that, but we believe there’s no such thing as a “VPN for everyone.” NordVPN is objectively better, but are there any reasons that one might want to choose TunnelBear over it? Well, to answer that, we tested both VPNs side by side.

As expected, NordVPN overwhelmed TunnelBear. It connects you to servers in 127 countries, includes advanced features like malware protection, and offers bundles with a password manager, encrypted cloud storage, and identity monitoring. But also makes a compelling case for itself, especially if you’re looking for a VPN that is completely free and safe to use. Let’s start this comparison by looking at what TunnelBear and NordVPN have in common.

>> Related: The Best and Safest Free VPNs to Use in 2025

What TunnelBear and NordVPN Have In Common

When you look at the TunnelBear and NordVPN websites, you’d think they have nothing in common. TunnelBear looks like a fun and easy-to-use app, while NordVPN looks like the professional option for IT specialists. In reality though, both VPNs cover most of what we expect from the best VPNs.

That bodes well for TunnelBear, specifically, because like we said, NordVPN is already one of if not the best VPN. So if you’re looking for just the core features of a VPN, you won’t have much problem finding them in TunnelBear.

Let’s take a look at those core VPN features:

• Kill Switch: VPN connections aren’t always stable, even if you’re using a VPN as good as NordVPN. That’s why the kill switch is a crucial VPN feature. It disables your internet connection the moment your VPN disconnects unexpectedly, preventing any traffic from leaking out. NordVPN has this feature on by default, but you’d need to turn it on (VigilantBear) the first time if you decide to go with TunnelBear.
• Encryption: Encryption also plays a vital role, as it’s what VPNs use to keep your online date private. Both services implement military-grade AES-256 encryption alongside the faster ChaCha20 cipher, ensuring your data remains protected whether you prioritize security or speed.
• VPN Protocols: VPNs also follow a set of rules for determining how your traffic is routed through its servers. These VPN protocols decide how secure and reliable your connections become. NordVPN gains an advantage with its proprietary NordLynx protocol that delivers faster speeds while maintaining security. But by and large, TunnelBear and NordVPN both offer the most widely-used protocols: OpenVPN, WireGuard, and IKEv2.
• Split Tunneling: While not a security feature per se, Split Tunneling helps improve the user experience. If you’re doing something less important, like listening to music on Spotify or checking the traffic up ahead, you can choose to make those online activities bypass the VPN connection. It saves you mobile data and keeps your connection fast. TunnelBear calls the feature SplitBear.
• P2P servers: There are also activities that require a specialized connection, such as downloading torrent through a VPN. Doing so requires P2P servers, which both TunnelBear and NordVPN have. NordVPN simplifies torrenting with dedicated P2P servers clearly marked in the app. TunnelBear automatically detects and optimizes P2P traffic on any server. We should mention that NordVPN is one of our best VPNs for torrenting.
• Obfuscation: Speaking of NordVPN’s specialized P2P servers, we also saw obfuscated servers. These are servers that can bypass VPN blocks by making encrypted connections look like normal connections, and we recommend them for use in offices, schools, and even restrictive countries. TunnelBear’s GhostBear feature actually outperforms here, enabling obfuscation on any server location with a single toggle. NordVPN limits this feature to specific servers.
• Available apps: Lastly, both TunnelBear and NordVPN have apps for the major operating systems – Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, and Linux. NordVPN extends its reach further with native apps for Android TV and Fire TV Stick. It even extends support to PlayStation and Xbox consoles through SmartDNS functionality.

>> Learn More: The Best VPNs for Apple TV

It doesn’t tip the scales, but we appreciate TunnelBear’s good sense of humor.

What TunnelBear and NordVPN Have That’s Different

Even though both companies cover most of the basics, there are a few stark differences we need to point out. These differences can make a big difference if your goal of using a VPN is to maintain your digital security. There are also a few differences that just come down to convenience. So, here are the main differences between TunnelBear and NordVPN:

• Privacy jurisdiction: When it comes to surveillance, we prefer VPNs based in countries that are non-members to Five Eyes, Nine Eyes and 14 Eyes, an alliance that legalizes governments getting customer data from companies. While NordVPN is based in Panama, a non-member country, TunnelBear is based in Canada, a member. That means that, under certain circumstances, they could be forced to hand the feds our data, which is obviously not ideal for a service meant to encrypt our data. In this round, NordVPN is clearly preferable to TunnelBear, particularly for those concerned about privacy.

• Data logged: Both TunnelBear and NordVPN have a no-logs policy, which basically means that they don’t record and store your web activities as you browse using their connections. They also don’t remember your real IP address, making it impossible to backtrack your VPN activities. NordVPN’s no-logs claims receive regular independent verification, adding substantial weight to their privacy promises.1 TunnelBear is yet to undergo such auditing, although we have no reasons not to trust its privacy policy. NordVPN has a slight edge though.
• Multi-hop: For folks who want their online data fully anonymous, NordVPN offers the option to use a multi-hop connection; TunnelBear doesn’t. Multi-hopping connects you to two or more VPN servers, doubling the encryption and IP address concealment. During our tests, NordVPN’s Double VPN feature added about 20 to 30ms of latency. We like to use it for sensitive activities like online banking or accessing confidential work documents.
• Free VPN: This is perhaps TunnelBear’s biggest win against NordVPN, because TunnelBear offers a lifetime free version. With NordVPN, you must absolutely pay for a subscription to use its services. TunnelBear’s free tier provides 2GB of data monthly, enough for about three to four hours of HD streaming or several days of secure browsing. But if you’re looking to secure just some of your online activities, TunnelBear’s free version is a great solution for you.
• Servers: NordVPN operates over 8,400 servers across 127 countries, while TunnelBear maintains roughly 8,000 servers in 47 countries. We’re giving this point to NordVPN though, because it can change your IP address to an IP address in 127 countries enabling better access to region-locked content.
• Simultaneous connections: One of NordVPN’s recent improvements is increasing their device limit from six to 10 simultaneous connections. That’s still less than NordVPN’s starkest competitors such as Surfshark, which allows unlimited connections. TunnelBear also supports unlimited devices, so this point goes to TunnelBear.
• Bonus features: Here’s where NordVPN overwhelms TunnelBear. The latter is a plain old VPN – it does what a VPN should do, but not much else. NordVPN’s Threat Protection Pro actively blocks malware, phishing attempts, and malicious ads before they reach your device, functioning like a built-in antivirus. It also offers bundles that include the VPN, a password manager, secure cloud storage, and identity monitoring services that include $1 million in identity theft insurance.

When looking at the differences, NordVPN wins by a landslide. But that doesn’t put TunnelBear completely out of the race. The lifetime free version and unlimited simultaneous connections are its biggest assets, so if you’re looking for those things, TunnelBear is a great choice. Remember, it has all the core features of a top-tier VPN.

If you want anything other than those, though, especially if you’re looking to bolster your overall digital security, NordVPN is the much better solution.

Which VPN Is Faster?

Speed matters when choosing a VPN, especially if you stream 4K content, game online, or work with large files. It’s a commonly known fact that using a VPN impacts your internet connection – usually for the worse. Adding encryption and routing traffic to a remote server unsurprisingly reduces your internet speed. The question is, by how much?

We tested NordVPN and TunnelBear side by side to see which VPN slows us down more. Remember though that a lot of factors come into play when testing VPN speeds, so take these results with a grain of salt.

TunnelBear performed slightly better in the download speed department, dropping by only 3.16-percent. As a point of reference, our normal internet speed is in the range of 250 Mbps, so that amount of speed loss translates to only about 8 Mbps. Our 242 Mbps average with TunnelBear was still plenty fast. That said, NordVPN’s 5.78-percent drop translated to only about 14 Mbps, so it wasn’t a huge difference.

In the upload speed and latency departments, NordVPN was slightly better. The difference becomes noticeable during real-time activities. NordVPN’s lower 78ms ping provided smoother online gaming and video calls, while TunnelBear’s 98ms average occasionally caused slight delays in competitive gaming scenarios.

>> Find Out More: The Fastest VPNs of 2024 – Hands-On Speed Test Results

Which VPN Is More Affordable?

Lastly, let’s talk about pricing. Besides the fact that TunnelBear offers a free VPN, we find the two VPNs equally matched in terms of cost. It depends on how long you want your subscription to be, but essentially, the longer it is, the lower you’ll pay.

With monthly billing, TunnelBear costs $9.99 while NordVPN’s pricing starts at $12.99 and goes up to $17.99 for their Prime plan. We like TunnelBear’s single-tier pricing, but we also appreciate having bundled options from NordVPN.

If you’re looking for just a VPN though, focus on just NordVPN’s Basic plan. Now let’s see how TunnelBear’s pricing compares:

Looking at the one-year price as a point of comparison, we can see that TunnelBear is cheaper – by about $9 per year. But cheaper is not what we (and likely you) are looking for. We all want to get value for our money, and we believe NordVPN offers that better than TunnelBear. As we saw earlier, NordVPN wins almost every feature and category we discussed. For that alone, most would be willing to pay the extra $9.

The best value comes from longer commitments: TunnelBear’s three-year plan averages $3.33 monthly, while NordVPN’s two-year Basic plan comes to $2.99 per month. Both services regularly offer promotional pricing that can further reduce these costs for new subscribers. Check out our NordVPN deals page for more details.

The Final Verdict

There’s no doubt in our minds that whether you go with NordVPN or TunnelBear, you’ll have solid protection online, but this is a comparison, so we have to pick a winner. Fortunately for us, it was an easy call. As we stated right from the start, our tests have shown that NordVPN is objectively better than TunnelBear.

There are some subjective factors to consider though, such as the user experience and whether you’re looking for a free VPN versus a premium one. TunnelBear makes a good case for itself, but when it comes to brass tacks – how secure the VPN is, how it performs, and how much value you can get for your money – NordVPN is simply too overwhelming for TunnelBear. NordVPN is what we recommend.