TTunnelBearvsWWindscribe
Windscribe: Windscribe offers a more generous free data allowance as a direct consumer VPN competitor.
T
TunnelBear
Consumer VPN with a limited free tier and a bear-themed, beginner-friendly app
As of 29 August 2026, TunnelBear has a free plan and paid plans start at $9.99/month. Consumer VPN service offering encrypted browsing, a capped free plan, and unlimited-data paid subscriptions across major platforms. Softwr lists it under Cybersecurity. TunnelBear is available on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS.
Overview
What TunnelBear does
TunnelBear is a consumer VPN that encrypts internet traffic and lets users change their apparent location, marketed with a simple, approachable app design. Its free plan includes a limited monthly data allowance, while the paid Unlimited plan removes the data cap. TunnelBear also offers a Teams plan for organizations, with a dedicated account manager and centralized billing, and apps for major desktop and mobile platforms plus browser extensions.
What people use it for
- Casual browsing protection on public Wi-Fi
- Occasional geo-unblocking with a light free allowance
- Bypassing network-level VPN blocking via obfuscation
- Managing VPN access for a small team with centralized billing
Related searches
The honest half
Where it falls short
Concrete and checkable, so you can decide whether any of them matter to you. This is the half of a review a vendor will not write about TunnelBear.
- Free plan's data cap is small compared to competitors offering more generous free allowances.
- Lacks advanced features like dedicated IP addresses or split-tunneling controls found in some rival VPNs.
- Server network is smaller than large competitors like NordVPN or ExpressVPN.
- No standalone router-level app, limiting whole-network protection options.
Cross-shopped
What people choose instead of TunnelBear
Each pairing was judged by two reviewers asking whether a buyer would genuinely weigh the two against each other. The ones that failed were deleted rather than published.
- TTunnelBearvsMMullvad VPN
Mullvad VPN: Mullvad targets privacy-focused users with account-number-only signup instead of TunnelBear's email-based accounts.
Pricing
What TunnelBear costs
Taken from the vendor's own pricing page. Prices move, so check before you buy.
Free
Free
- 2GB of data per month
- Access to VPN servers
- Unlimited devices
Unlimited
$9.99 /mo
- Unlimited monthly data
- All server locations
- Cheaper on annual/3-year billing
Teams
On request
- Unlimited data
- 5 connected devices per user
- Dedicated account manager
- Centralized billing and management
Capabilities
Features
Encrypted VPN tunnel
Encrypts internet traffic and masks the user's IP address.
Server location switching
Lets users connect through servers in multiple countries.
GhostBear obfuscation
Disguises VPN traffic to bypass network restrictions.
Browser extensions
Lightweight VPN extensions for Chrome and Firefox.
Teams account management
Centralized billing and a dedicated account manager for business customers.
Keep looking
Where to go from TunnelBear
- TunnelBear alternativesEvery product people weigh against it
- TunnelBear pricingPlans, floors and what the tiers exclude
- TunnelBear badgesWhich rules it meets, and the figure behind each
- All Cybersecurity softwareThe full category
- Best Cybersecurity softwareThe shortlist, and how it was cut
Best Cybersecurity software for
Compare TunnelBear with
- Windscribe
- Mullvad VPN
- Private Internet Access
- IVPN
- Enpass
- CyberGhost VPN
- NordVPN
- Surfshark
- Avast One
- ProtonVPN
- LastPass
- Jamf Pro
- Keeper Password Manager
- Keygen
- KnowBe4
- Legit Security
- LogRhythm SIEM
- ExpressVPN
Other Cybersecurity software
VPN and firewall service with a generous free data tier and a customizable Build-A-Plan option
Free, then $3/mo6 researched notesPrivacy-first VPN with one flat price and no email required to sign up
From $5/mo6 researched notesLong-standing VPN service with a large server network and flexible multi-year plans
From $11.99/mo6 researched notes- I
IVPN
Privacy-focused VPN with anonymous account numbers instead of email signup
From $6/mo6 researched notes Offline-first password manager that stores your vault locally instead of the cloud
Free, then $1.99/mo6 researched notesConsumer VPN operated from Romania and owned by Kape Technologies, with a no-logs claim audited by Deloitte.
From $2.19/mo14 researched notesConsumer and business VPN from Nord Security, registered in Panama, with repeated third-party no-logs audits.
From $3.99/mo14 researched notesApple-only device management for Mac, iPhone, iPad and Apple TV, licensed per device by a public US vendor.
Pricing on request14 researched notesAI-native ASPM platform securing AI-generated code before deployment
Pricing on request12 researched notesConsumer VPN registered in the British Virgin Islands, owned by Kape Technologies since 2021, with repeated third-party audits.
From $6.67/mo14 researched notes
Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for TunnelBear, because a rating we did not collect is not ours to publish. What is here is the pricing and platform detail from the vendor’s own pages, limitations we could state concretely, and alternatives a reviewer confirmed people weigh against it. Tell us if any of it is wrong.
More on TunnelBear
TunnelBear alternatives
What people switch to, and what they give up
TunnelBear pricing
Every tier, and where the cost actually lands
Compare TunnelBear
Put it head to head with anything we hold
TunnelBear badge
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