TunnelBear vs ExpressVPN 2023: Which is a better VPN ?

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TunnelBear

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ExpressVPN

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Pricing $3.33/mo $8.32/mo
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TunnelBear is a VPN provier which fulfill VPN needs of their users with its amazing speed, you can access any restricted website.

ExpressVPN is VPN which delivers according to its name which means speed along with that it also gives better security.

Features
  • Ad Blocker
  • Free Chrome Extension
  • User Friendly
  • Best-in-class encryption
  • 160 VPN locations
  • Kill Switch
Pros/Advantages
  • Free of cost
  • Easy to set up
  • Wide Network
  • Very fast speeds across all server locations
  • Advanced security on both app and servers
  • Zero logs policy
Cons
  • It still lacks in security in comparison to ExpressVPN
  • Expensive in terms of pricing
Ease of Use

The user interface of TunnelBear is easy to navigate and it is very user friendly.

Same as TunnelBear, ExpressVPN's UI is easy to navigate.

Value For Money

TunnelBear VPN can solve all your VPN related issues so it is worth investing in my opinion.

ExpressVPN is expensive but it has more to offer and it is a much better option in terms of security and privacy.

Looking for a comparison between  TunnelBear vs ExpressVPN?  We got you covered here.

The major rival of ExpressVPN, TunnelBear, doesn’t pose much of a danger. Despite having reasonably priced memberships, TunnelBear has a small number of features and concentrates much of its attention-grabbing efforts on amusing animations. Conversely, one of the most popular virtual private networks (VPNs) at the moment is ExpressVPN.

The superior alternative over TunnelBear is ExpressVPN. ExpressVPN won in every performance category, including streaming, torrenting, and overall speed, in our head-to-head comparison of VPN services. Additionally, ExpressVPN offers more robust security measures than TunnelBear does at the moment.

For more information on why one of these virtual private networks (VPNs) is better than the other, see our comparison study of TunnelBear vs ExpressVPN. I’m hoping the information I’ve provided will help you choose between the two virtual private networks (VPNs).

Bottom Line Upfront: Overall, ExpressVPN is a better VPN service than TunnelBear. It has 3000 servers in 94 different countries, lightning-fast bandwidth, and an impressive array of security features. The greatest part is that if you take advantage of the current sale, you can get it for the unbelievably low price of just $6.67 each month.

TunnelBear vs ExpressVPN: Overview

TuunelBear

TunnelBear - TunnelBear vs ExpressVPN

TunnelBear‘s software has easy-to-use features. If you are new to VPN usage, TunnelBear might seem like a good option to you, it starts off with a free version limited to 500MB with one device restriction.

TunnelBear encrypts all traffic between your computer and the internet.

Tunnelbear reviews by customer

Advantages: No other VPN service offers this feature and TunnelBear is the only VPN that prevents hackers from tracking you online.

Benefits: You’re protected while doing business online, you can continue using your favorite websites even when you’re in public wifi areas without worry.

ExpressVPN

Express VPN - TunnelBear vs ExpressVPN

If you are looking for reliability, fast speeds, and fine privacy protection, you should consider ExpressVPN. It is one of the best VPNs. Although there is no free trial offered by this VPN provider, they definitely provide a money-back guarantee at no risk which is restricted to 30 days.

ExpressVPN sets up a secure tunnel between your personal computer and the server.

Advantages: No configuration or hacking, no setting up the site, just plug in VPN (ExpressVPN) and let it work.

Expressvpn trustpilot reviews

Benefits: You will be protected from any online threats without having to worry about security through software such as Internet Explorer’s Address Bar extension, which redirects you to various websites that contain malware or other malicious content. The VPN automatically blocks these sites because they are blocked by programs that often contain malicious code.

ExpressVPN Vs TunnelBear: Connection Speed

The connection speed of both providers was checked, and a few speed tests were conducted at two very different locations (US and UK). First, we recorded the connection times in the U.S., by logging into servers with enabled OpenVPN.

Then, we conducted several tests for checking latency and also conducted geolocation tests establishing whether servers are part of the countries. Three tests with eight-hour gaps were run.

U.S. Connection Speeds (local) TunnelBear

For TunnelBear VPN, the best speed came out to be 106 Mbps. Not an impressive speed, but way more than the 78Mbps speed we typically encounter during downloads. 

The result of ExpressVPN, is a speed of  108 Mbps.

Speed Winner (local): ExpressVPN

Connection speed (International)

TunnelBear’s result in the UK server was 78 Mbps, about 3% decrease from normal, without VPN speeds. 

ExpressVPN offers a speed of 91Mbps.

Speed Winner (International): ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN Vs TunnelBear: Pricing

Although there is no guarantee of returning your money from TunnelBear VPN, you get the benefits of a free account with some limitations. This free account gives you access to monthly data limited to 500 MB, enough for you to use this free VPN.

For extra features like unlimited bandwidth and concurrent connections, you need to get a paid premium account.

The monthly plan costs $9.99 per month. However, if you want to get their one-year subscription plan, it costs you $ 4.99 per month. The payment methods available include MasterCard, Bitcoin, Visa, and American Express.

TunnelBear - Pricing Plan

Among the two, expensive VPNs out there is ExpressVPN. But its Quality standards overpower this expense. There are three standard plans offered by this VPN.  Depending on your time of subscription the plans are monthly plan (cost $12.95 per month), a six-month subscription plan (costs $ 9.99 per month), and the yearly plan (costs $ 8.32 per month). All the plans offer unlimited bandwidth.

 ExpressVPN Pricing

The payment options include all major credit cards and also almost all major debit cards. Other options are Bitcoin and Paypal. The VPN offers you money back guarantee limited to 30 days which is fuss-free and easy to start where TunnelBear doesn’t.

Winner at affordability: TunnelBear


ExpressVPN vs TunnelBear: Privacy 

TunnelBear is a Canada-based company, owned by McAfee. The VPN is better secured as it cannot link you to any internet activity due to its policy of not collecting IP addresses.

Of all the reviewed VPNs, the VPN has the most detailed and comprehensive privacy policy, with details about all the collections made along with their reasons and expiration dates.

TunnelBear - Privacy

The VPN uses your operating system version, the bandwidth usage, and your TunnelBear version for collection, making it impossible for any internet activity to be linked to you.

In the test conducted by us, the Windows app of TunnelBear VPN provided well enough positive results. There was no exposure to your identity due to WebRTC leaks or even any DNS leaks. The VigilantBear switch instantly killed all access to the internet, on dropping the VPN connection.

ExpressVPN is located in the British Virgin Islands. The country has its own regulations about its affairs and isn’t obliged to provide any sort of data to the USA or the UK.

The company has a strict policy of never logging DNS queries, data leaks, or any data which might lead to your identity, with a zero-logging policy.

Moreover, the providers are open about all the information of what they are collecting and what they are not, and what this might mean to you.

Winner at privacy: ExpressVPN

TunnelBear Vs ExpressVPN: Features & Benefits

There are many similarities in the features provided by TunnelBear and ExpressVPN.  Both of them have 256-bit encryption, no limitation over bandwidth, and no DNS leaks. Both VPNs give smooth performance and have no recordkeeping policy of user activity logs. 

TunnelBear - Features

Both of these VPNs provide offers for almost all platforms, some of which are iOS, and Windows with easy usage clients.

Although both of these VPNs are secure and safe for our data and online activity, Express VPN provider offers better anonymity. Both of these prevent tracking or interference from any third party also providing a kill switch.

ExpressVPN Features

Split tunneling, allowing certain applications in bypassing is one such feature offered by both of the providers.

We hope reading this full review will help you sort out the best VPN for you.

Data Encryption

Although privacy and security are considered match winners, there is still a lot to consider before making your final choice.

Both of the VPNs scored full marks in data leaks and data sipping for IP address leaks.

TunnelBear - Encryption

256 encryption, open VPN, IPSec/IKEv2, and VigilantBear mode for killing leaks of unprotected data on dropping the VPN connection are some of the features of TunnelBear VPN.

Solid AES-256-CBC, again open VPN, PPTP, and L2TP/IPSec, and HMAC are some of the features of ExpressVPN. To control its channel, 4096-Bit SHA-512 RSA is used by the company. The VPN protects your privacy and security to a greater extent.

Express VPN encryption

The VPN comes with an extra feature of Perfect Forward Secrecy, which allocates a secret key in a span of 6 minutes, providing extra security. 

Encryption Winner: ExpressVPN

Simultaneous Connections Between ExpressVPN and TunnelBear

When used within a family, or an office people use the same VPN over multiple devices at the same time. In such cases, you require a VPN, that will let you connect to several gadgets at one time. If your VPN doesn’t allow such multiple simultaneous connections, you will need to switch the usage between devices.

TunnelBear - Browse

 Although the free plan provided by Tunnelbear offers 500MB data this is limited and so you cannot have several connections at one time. But if you choose to upgrade to the premium plan you can connect the VPN to up to 5 devices all at once. These devices may range from mobile devices to computers to browser extensions. 

Expressvpn locations

ExpressVPN allows the house to connect to five simultaneous connections at the same time. These devices can be a combination of any device. Sharing your connection from your computer to connect to more than five devices is also a feature available. Configuration if a VPN router will let you connect as many devices as you want. 

Several device connections: Tied

Torrent support (ExpressVPN Vs TunnelBear)

 Earlier, TunnelBear had a feature of blocking P2P connections, but that has changed now. The VPN allows downloading of torrents. 

TOR usage and torrents are supported by TunnelBear VPN. Sharing P2P files is allowed by the VPN. The recommended tunnels are the UK, the US, Germany, Russia, Sweden, and the Netherlands. To get hassle-free support for torrents, often not associated with VPNs, ExpressVPN is a great choice.

The company has no limitation on bandwidth policy.

Many BitTorrents clients and Utorrent is supported by ExpressVPN. The credit for this goes to the servers which are DNS protected which keeps your torrent activity under cover.

Support to the Torrent winner: ExpressVPN

Global coverage of servers  (ExpressVPN Vs TunnelBear)

While considering any VPN, the number of servers offered at different locations always needs to be kept in mind. A diversely distributed server is always better, although this doesn’t contribute a lot to network quality.

TunnelBear doesn’t have a lot number of servers, but the locations are well-chosen making it possible for you to access almost all content out there.

As of now, tunnel bear’s servers are present in 23 countries, some being in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. The company is growing and expanding its servers to more and more countries.

ExpressVPN has expanded its servers in over 95 countries. It has around 300 servers. The VPN’s coverage is diverse and all around the globe.

The company has 20 servers in the US and four in Africa.

Coverage around the globe winner: ExpressVPN

Support over Multi-Platform  (TunnelBear vs ExpressVPN)

If you are using macOS, iOS, Android, or Windows, you can look at both, TunnelBear and ExpressVPN. But if you are a Linux user, TunnelBear VPN has limited support for Linux.

TunnelBear - App

ExpressVPN

 Express VPN App

Support to Multi-platform winner: ExpressVPN

Customer Support (TunnelBear vs ExpressVPN)

The help provided by TunnelBear is web-based, they have a good enough informative website with good information presentation and navigation through the site. Customer support can be received through the mail. They replied to my email in about two hours. 

ExpressVPN also has a customer support site with a whole load of troubleshooting guides. They basically operate in the British Virgin Islands. These guides address almost all vital problems like connection speed, error display, and slow speeds.

The site is quite informative and interactive with tutorials and articles. In the test conducted by us, the interactive available 24*7 live chat performed well. The replies were quick and informative.

Customer Support Winner: ExpressVPN

Apps

TunnelBear is quite compatible with Android App, Windows, and Mac and for Chrome and Opera, plugins are available.

ExpressVPN is compatible with Mac, Linux, Windows, Blackberry, and iOS. The VPN is also compatible with routers.

Support type

TunnelBear has quite informative site with a help section to search for the answers to your questions and doubts, but the unavailability of live chat is a demerit.

ExpressVPN has an upper hand with customer support because of the live chat with instant detailed answers.

IP Type

You can have access to shared or dynamic IP addresses through both the VPNs, TunnelBear, and ExpressVPN.

Protocols

TunnelBear protects your data using OpenVPN and protocols like UDP and TCP.

ExpressVPN lets you stay anonymous through the usage of OpenVPN and protocols like L2TP, PPTP, and SSTP.

Performance and Reliability

If you are using the paid plan, TunnelBear provides you unlimited bandwidth. It doesn’t require to be reconnected every time as it can be set to launch during the start-up itself, you just have to log in with your email address one time. It has servers in over 20 countries.

TunnelBear - Performance

 

ExpressVPN is available in 87 countries. It provides no-limit speed and bandwidth. It also provides protection against DNS leaks and you can also mask your IP address.

speed-test__2_

Security Features and Protection

TunnelBear maintains your anonymity and its credit goes to the 256-bit encryption the VPN uses. The VPN prevents blocking, also offering the kill switch and split tunneling.

ExpressVPN provides premium protection by using AES 256-bit encryption. It also provides a kill switch and has a no-logs policy.

FAQs

Which is better for Netflix, TunnelBear or ExpressVPN?

Netflix works better with ExpressVPN. Several well-known Netflix libraries, including those in the US, UK, Canada, Germany, and Japan, were found to be simple to unblock with ExpressVPN. While TunnelBear was able to connect to libraries in the US and the UK, it had little success with other libraries. ExpressVPN also offered significantly faster connection speeds for lag-free streaming.

Is ExpressVPN better than TunnelBear?

ExpressVPN is superior to TunnelBear. It offers more sophisticated features, better streaming performance, and round-the-clock customer service. Additionally, ExpressVPN has a more robust security suite, RAM-only servers, and a location independent of the 5-eyes' purview. Additionally, torrenting works better with it.

Is ExpressVPN more affordable than TunnelBear?

ExpressVPN is more expensive than TunnelBear. TunnelBear is the greatest option if you want to save money. Consider paying more for ExpressVPN if a stronger feature set and more amazing performance are more crucial.

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Conclusion: ExpressVPN vs TunnelBear – The Winner

It is very evident that ExpressVPN is a choice that is significantly superior to TunnelBear. ExpressVPN came out on top in all 10 of the tests it was put through, including those evaluating streaming, torrenting, features, and customer support, among other areas.

Pricing was the only aspect that could be considered a clear victory for TunnelBear. It’s true that TunnelBear has cheaper subscription costs, but that doesn’t take into account the service’s overall worth. ExpressVPN provides so much more in terms of both performance and features than TunnelBear does that it is only logical that the former pays more than the latter.

Norbert Akin

With a remarkable 14+ years in the business of finance, technology and information tech qualifications - Norbert Akin is an esteemed name as not only an authority but also award-winning blogger on technological advancements. Through her relentless research into thelatest tech products, cyber security & tech industry going behind it – she has been able to gain insight for empowering users by providing them with all that they need under one roof; helping people get ahead through education around popular tools used for creating successful frameworks! Moreover, Norbert imparts cyber security essentials from her unparalleled technical acumen at international events across the globe.

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