There are many reasons to take an active interest in VPNs. Countless providers are all vying for your business. With so many to choose from, how do you decide?
One strong contender is the Canadian provider TunnelBear. It aims to simplify the VPN, making it useful for everyone. Its commitment to protecting your privacy online makes it a great provider. We’ve put TunnelBear through its paces — so, how does it stack up?
Why Should You Trust Us?
As a site, we pride ourselves in covering a wide range of tools that you can use in a variety of settings. We know that everyone has differing needs and priorities. That’s why we have covered a large number of VPN services in the past and will continue to do so. Just have a look at our Best VPN Page to see what we mean!
Our writers are based all around the world and together we represent a diverse range of views and priorities. It helps us recognize that there is no “one-size-fits-all” approach. We highlight the pros and cons of any tool to help you make the best choice for your needs.
Easy Setup
Many people first come into contact with VPNs at their workplace. Used to securely connect you back to your office, they are often complicated, temperamental affairs. TunnelBear cuts through all the complex VPN setup with its remarkable simplicity.
The setup experience is well thought-out and uncluttered. There are no options to work your way through, and no complicated terminology. TunnelBear’s bear mascot makes a number of animated appearances that actually had me chuckling during the installation. It might seem like a novelty, but it enforces how the company places importance on making the experience friendly, inviting, and simple.
In keeping with the minimalist, easy-to-use aesthetic, once the app is installed it is ready to use without any further setup. Simply choose a server in one of 20 supported countries and you are ready to go. You could even use the auto connection feature that chooses the best performing server.
Here are just a few of the supported countries with TunnelBear servers:
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Canada
- Germany
- France
- Switzerland
If you want to dive into the settings there are only a couple of options. For more experienced users, this lack of customization may be a point of frustration. However, when the software just works out-of-the-box then there’s no need to add in complexity. It is without a doubt the easiest experience of any VPN provider you are likely to come across.
Pricing and Payments
TunnelBear offers three plans; Little, Giant, and Grizzly. Little is a free plan with 500MB of data per month. Giant offers unlimited data at $9.99/month, while Grizzly offers unlimited data for a year for an upfront payment of $59.88. Grizzly is the best value plan, working out to an equivalent cost of $4.99/month.
TunnelBear proves its credibility as a trustworthy, privacy-focused VPN by offering payment either via card or anonymously using Bitcoin.
Many providers are either free or premium, with little crossover. The general wisdom is that if a service is free, you are the product. As TunnelBear has a premium option it is likely that those services subsidize the free plan.
