TunnelBear Review: Fast VPN for US Content (2026)

TunnelBear is a user-friendly VPN released in 2011 and bought by McAfee in 2018, one of the biggest cybersecurity brands. It’s one of a few VPNs with a genuinely free version, but it is limited to 2GB monthly data and only lets you connect to the fastest server TunnelBear selects for you.

During our tests, it showed excellent speeds in the US. It also unblocked Netflix content in the US, but struggled with its libraries in other regions, as well as streaming services like Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video.

On a positive note, their VPN software uses industry-standard protocols including WireGuard, OpenVPN, and IKEv2, paired with 256-bit AES encryption.

Unfortunately, its limited set of features and inconsistent streaming require improvement compared to other VPNs like ExpressVPN or NordVPN.

But…

Is it still a good choice when compared to the other VPNs out there?

Let’s find out in this TunnelBear review.

TunnelBear Overview

TunnelBear is a provider of both free and paid VPNs.

It’s been around since 2011, when it was founded by Ryan Dochuk (Corporate Bear) and Daniel Kaldor (Quantum Bear). Between the two founders, they have experience working at Microsoft, Goldman Sachs, RIM, and a mobile security startup. So they’ve certainly done their time in the tech world.

After acquisition by McAfee, they are now a US company, but the headquarters remain in Toronto, Canada. Their 8,000+ VPN servers now spread throughout 45 locations around the world, including servers in North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia.

OVERALL RANK:	#13 Out of 30+ VPNs
USABILITY:	4/5
LOG FILES:	No Logging
LOCATIONS:	45+ Locations, 8,000+ Servers
SUPPORT:	Email & Live Chat Bot
TORRENTING:	Allowed on Select Servers
NETFLIX:	Inconsistent Access
ENCRYPTION/PROTOCOL:	256-bit AES/ChaCha20, WireGuard, OpenVPN & IKEv2
JURISDICTION:	Canada (US-Based McAfee Owned)
COST:	From $3.33/mo
OFFICIAL WEBSITE:	www.TunnelBear.com

TunnelBear Pros

1. Fast Speed Performance

A significantly faster connection is the biggest improvement since our last test. Previously, it stumbled with long distances, but now it happened only once. Here are the results.

Baseline

• Download: 251.76Mbps
• Upload: 235.85Mbps
• Ping: 1ms

Nearest Server

• Download: 242.51Mbps
• Upload: 241.39Mbps
• Ping: 2ms

Europe

• Download: 236.54Mbps
• Upload: 237.53Mbps
• Ping: 26ms

US East

• Download: 215.43Mbps
• Upload: 227.90Mbps
• Ping: 117ms

US West

• Download: 230.64Mbps
• Upload: 231.28Mbps
• Ping: 165ms

Asia

• Download: 188.50Mbps
• Upload: 110.59Mbps
• Ping: 282ms

TunnelBears US East and West servers were among the fastest we tested. However, its Asia connection was slow, especially considering high latency, which made browsing very laggy. Otherwise, excellent connection speed is now one of TunnelBears strenghts.

2. No Logging

To start off, TunnelBear has a strict no-logging policy. Their privacy policy is very clear about this, in their privacy policy as seen in the picture below:

That’s great news for privacy-conscious users. It means that they aren’t selling any of your data and that when law enforcement comes knocking, they don’t have anything interesting to give them.

They will, however, hand over the personal information they’ve collected, as is required by Canadian law (like WindScribe). (Canada is not a good jurisdiction for a VPN provider.)

The privacy policy outlines things like your name, email address, OS version, amount of data used, and the last four digits of your credit card number.

They don’t store your full credit card number, though they can access it through their PCI-compliant payment partners. Because of full US company ownership, TunnelBear is also liable to their rules. However, we found nothing to worry about as they explicitly state that no browsing data is collected and sent outside of Canada, and regular audits support this claim.

3. No Leaks but Limited Kill Switch

A user-friendly interface and rock-solid encryption make this leak-free VPN a solid choice.

TunnelBear now uses multiple protocols, including WireGuard (the fastest), OpenVPN, and IKEv2, paired with the most advanced, uncrackable encryption standard on the market, AES-256. By default, it runs in Auto mode, which selects the best protocol depending on circumstances.

TunnelBear repeatedly states that your browsing activity is “protected by a bear,” using a whimsical-looking cartoon bear to illustrate that point over and over again.

Fortunately, TunnelBear held its ground throughout our testing process.

Check it out for yourself, starting with IP leak test.

Its installation software also persevered, delivering squeaky-clean results.

There are no DNS leaks.

As well as no WebRTC leaks.

However, we’d like to see a better implementation of a kill switch. TunnelBear uses a reactive software-level kill switch. If the app detects a VPN server disconnect, it will block the internet connection. However, if the app crashes, you will default to the original IP address, causing a data leak, as seen in the image below.

4. Free Plan & Works on Unlimited Devices

TunnelBear has significantly improved its free offering, now providing 2GB of free data per month (up from 500MB). However, there was a noteworthy downgrade. Since the beginning of 2026, free users can no longer choose a server, and TunnelBear will select one automatically. Split tunneling is now also a paid feature.

The free plan is still good. The enhanced free plan lets you thoroughly test the app and conduct more comprehensive speed tests on your devices. Users in censorship-heavy countries may receive up to 10GB per month through TunnelBear’s anti-censorship program.

They provide streamlined apps for Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS. There’s also a browser extension for Chrome, Firefox, and Edge. The paid plans now offer unlimited simultaneous device connections.

5. Extremely Fast and Secure

Of course, no matter how affordable the VPN, you need to know that it’s safe.

TunnelBear has upgraded its protocol offerings and now supports WireGuard, OpenVPN, and IKEv2 across different platforms.

WireGuard is now available on all platforms and is the fastest protocol option. OpenVPN remains a recommended default option, while IKEv2 remains a reliable fallback to maintain a stable connection on congested or high latencynetworks.

Device type	Protocol	Data encryption
Windows	WireGuard, OpenVPN,IKEv2	ChaCha20, AES-256
macOS/iOS	WireGuard, OpenVPN,IKEv2	ChaCha20, AES-256
Android	Wireguard, OpenVPN	ChaCha20, AES-256

All protocols provide ChaCha20 or 256-bit AES protection. The US government uses 256-bit AES encryption for data protection, so you can trust that this is a solid encryption standard.

The service also provides strong data authentication and secure key exchange to ensure that you’re connecting to a TunnelBear server and not a nefarious man-in-the-middle miscreant.

VigilantBear continues to protect you while you’re connecting and disconnecting. If your WiFi drops or you move between access points, there’s the possibility that some of your data will go out over an unsecured connection.

VigilantBear prevents that from happening, acting as a kill switch. But, as we mentioned, it is limited. Alternatives like PureVPN and NordVPN offer persistent kill switches that work even when the applications are turned off.

TunnelBear hasn’t had any major security breaches or evidence of their encryption being compromised. All signs point to the fact that TunnelBear is safe to use.

6. Enhanced Features

TunnelBear comes together with enhanced features, such as:

• Anonymous IP
• Kill switch (VigilantBear)
• Unlimited simultaneous connections
• Split tunneling (SplitBear)
• Obfuscation (GhostBear)

TunnelBear’s GhostBear feature has been improved to better hide the fact that you’re using a VPN. This helps fool some businesses and governments, though not all detection methods.

The SplitBear feature allows you to choose which apps or websites use the VPN connection and which use your regular internet connection.

Before you use GhostBear, it’s a good idea to see if you can connect to the site you want via the standard TunnelBear connection. If you can’t, it’s worth trying GhostBear. The obfuscation will slow down your connection somewhat, so we don’t recommend leaving it on all the time.

7. Easy To Use

TunnelBear’s mission is to make VPN usage easy for everyone.

And in our opinion, they’ve certainly achieved that. The app remains extremely simple and easy to use. It may not provide all the advanced settings you want from a high-end VPN, but if you’re just getting started with encrypted browsing, it makes the process much easier.

By default, it only shows you what you need to see: where you are, the tunnel you’re using, and where you appear to be browsing from.

There are additional settings you can find, but if you don’t want to dig into them, you can just enjoy the simple, clean interface.

The browser extensions are the same; just turn them on and leave them alone. It doesn’t get much easier than this.

8. Independently Audited for Security

There’s been a lot of bad press for some VPNs over the past several years.

Bandwidth selling, logging data, overstated security… it all erodes confidence in VPNs. That’s why TunnelBear continues to be one of a few VPNs to conduct annual independent security audits.

This is a rare commitment in the industry, and it takes significant resources for TunnelBear to maintain this transparency. They publish the results of each audit, and you can read them online.

TunnelBear completed its 8th annual security audit in 2024, conducted by Cure53. The previous 2023 audit found only 13 issues total, with 12 of 13 being fixed or mitigated. Notably, there were zero critical-risk issues found, marking this as one of their best audit results to date.

In 2024, Cure53 found 10 medium or higher, and 3 low-severity issues. The company continues to schedule annual audits, so we’re sure there’s gonna be a 9th with more improvements.

9. Allows Torrenting and TOR

TunnelBear now explicitly allows torrenting on all servers, switching from specialty P2P server structure.

P2P traffic is permitted on servers in Canada, the US, the UK, Romania, the Netherlands, Germany, and Sweden. While P2P traffic is supposed to work on all its networks, you will get the best connection in these countries.

TunnelBear representatives confirm that the service allows both torrenting and the use of the TOR network. This is a significant improvement from earlier policies that restricted P2P usage.

TOR stands for The Onion Router, and it is a private and encrypted web browser. Many users combine VPN with TOR to maximize their anonymity. TunnelBear allows TOR usage, though speeds may be significantly reduced when using both services together.

10. Responsive Customer Support

TunnelBear has improved its customer support system, now offering both email support and live chat bot assistance.

While they still don’t offer 24/7 live chat with human agents, their response times for email support have remained impressive, typically within 2-4 hours.

The support team continues to provide complete responses with personality and helpful links. Their bear puns remain as charming as ever, and you still can’t be told to have a “pawsome day” without smiling.

TunnelBear Cons

1. Inconsistent Streaming Access

Netflix continues to improve its VPN detection capabilities, which many VPNs struggle to overcome. TunnelBear unblocked Netflix US and UK libraries, but did not work in Germany and Japan.

The popular show Grey’s Anatomy is now only available in the US and Canada, but here we are watching it from Europe.

While some users report occasional success accessing Netflix libraries, the experience is unreliable. TunnelBear’s limited server network makes it difficult to find working alternatives when servers get blocked.

TunnelBear also did not work with BBC iPlayer, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, and HBO MAX.

If you need a VPN for unblocking Netflix geo-restrictions, here’s a list of top 100% working VPNs for Netflix.

2. No Router Installation Support

TunnelBear still doesn’t support installing its VPN software directly on your router.

This limitation means you can’t protect your entire home network with a single device installation. For users with smart home devices, IoT equipment, or those wanting whole-network protection, you’ll need to find another provider.

While the unlimited device connections help somewhat, router installation would be more convenient for many households.

TunnelBear Pricing, Plans, & Facts

TunnelBear’s pricing in 2026 is, we’d say, on the market average:

The free option has been significantly improved with 2GB of monthly data (up from 500MB).

The Unlimited plan costs $3.33 per month on a three-year subscription, $4.00 monthly on an annual plan, or $9.99 for monthly billing.

The Teams plan is designed for businesses with 2+ users at $5.75 per user per month, including a dedicated account manager and centralized billing.

Each plan now includes unlimited simultaneous device connections, making TunnelBear more family-friendly than before.

However, TunnelBear still does not offer standard no-questions-asked money-back guarantee. Instead, they consider refunds on a case-by-case basis, though some users report success with refund requests. We also requested a refund and were granted one, so definitely ask for one if you decide not to keep TunnelBear.

• No logging: Yes, independently audited.
• Ease of the VPN software: Their app remains simple and straightforward.
• Hidden fees & clauses: No standard refunds, case-by-case basis only.
• Upsells: No upsells.
• Instant access after payment: Yes.
• DNS leaks: None detected in testing.
• Jurisdiction: Canada (owned by McAfee since 2018)
• Tunneling Protocols: WireGuard, OpenVPN, and IKEv2
• Kill switch: Yes (VigilantBear).

As for payment options, TunnelBear accepts major credit cards like Visa, Mastercard, and American Express. They no longer accept PayPal or Bitcoin, which may disappoint privacy-conscious users.

They still claim to accept jars of honey…but we’re pretty sure that’s still a joke.

Do We Recommend TunnelBear VPN?

So is TunnelBear worth using in 2026?

It depends on what you need a VPN for.

If you want something to protect your privacy while you browse without getting overwhelmed by complicated options and interfaces, it’s a solid choice. The improved free plan with 2GB makes it better for testing, and the unlimited device connections add value.

TunnelBear’s commitment to annual security audits sets it apart from most competitors, and their no-logs policy has been independently verified multiple times.

However, if you need consistent streaming access, you’ll probably want to choose another VPN. The inconsistent performance on Netflix and other major streaming services is a downside. However, its US speeds were extremely fast, and it did unblock US Netflix, which is one of the best Netflix libraries.

The improved customer support and enhanced features like split tunneling show TunnelBear is evolving. Still, there are gaps compared to alternatives, which offer more cybersecurity benefits, streaming options, and better pricing.

So, if you’re looking for a more robust solution, consider NordVPN ($3.49/mo) instead.

Check out one of the other top VPNs here.