TunnelBear VPN Unlimited 2024 Review: 4 Cons and 5 Pros

by Vít Nováček
updated January 1, 2024 (Report a bug)

1. TunnelBear VPN Unlimited: Fast and Secure VPN With Auditing by CURE53

   • Only supports basic platforms
   • Places higher demands on device RAM
   • Provider is based in a member country of the 5 Eyes Alliance
   • Does not offer a money-back guarantee

   • VPN audited by independent company Cure53
   • High quality web browser extension
   • 999 simultaneously connectable devices
   • Able to unblock Netflix, YouTube, HBO and Amazon Prime
   • Well-designed app

   TunnelBear VPN Unlimited is operated by TunnelBear LLC, a Canadian company that is wholly owned by the multinational McAfee, LLC group. In a benchmark test, TunnelBear VPN Unlimited scored 8.4/10, ranking it #11 out of 90 reviewed VPNs.

   TunnelBear VPN Unlimited lost points in the rating due to low compatibility, with the app only available on Windows, Mac OS and Linux computers plus Android and iOS mobile platforms. The downside is the desktop app’s higher demands on device RAM due to bearish animations.

   A minor drawback for some users may be the fact that the operator of TunnelBear VPN Unlimited is based in Canada, a member country of the 5 Eyes alliance. The lack of a money-back guarantee can be considered a disappointment.

   The advantage of TunnelBear VPN Unlimited is the zero log storage policy and the independent audit by Cure53.

   With a single subscription priced from $3.33 per month, up to 999 devices can be protected simultaneously. The applications are clear, their environment is translated into 17 languages.

   TunnelBear VPN Unlimited has managed to unblock movies from streaming platforms Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Prime Video and HBO. It’s also good for torrenting, which is aided by above-average connection speeds. In repeated measurements, TunnelBear VPN Unlimited achieved an average download speed of 160 Mb/s and upload speed of 97 Mb/s.

   The TunnelBear VPN Unlimited app supports split tunneling, kill switch and DNS leak protection, with camouflage mode available as an upgrade. VPNs can also be used via browser extensions.

   

2. TunnelBear VPN Unlimited Subscription: Discount Code, Free Trial, Money Back Guarantee…

   • Your Price: $4.99​33% off  $3.33 /mo (999 devices)
   • Money Back Guarantee: No
   • Free Trial: No
   • Cryptocurrency payments:
     No

     Bitcoin :No
     Dash :No
     Ethereum :No
     Ripple :No

   

   8.4

   ★★★★

   Average VPN offers all basic features and a relatively good selection of available locations. Its weak points are low speed and poorer streaming video support.

   $3.33 /mo  

   Get this VPN 33% cheaper

   TunnelBear VPN Unlimited subscription is available in three variants. The least expensive is the pay-as-you-go monthly plan priced at $4.99, which can be cancelled at any time.

   The annual and three-year TunnelBear VPN Unlimited subscriptions are more advantageous, where the amount for the entire period is paid in advance. The advantage is a price of only $3.33 per month.

   The only payment option is a debit or credit card, TunnelBear VPN Unlimited does not support anonymous cryptocurrency or cash subscription payments. Among the unavailable payment methods, PayPal is also relatively common.

   Surprisingly, TunnelBear VPN Unlimited doesn’t offer a money-back guarantee, which tends to be available with almost all VPN providers. According to support staff, the money-back guarantee is handled with each customer individually.

   There is also no trial version of TunnelBear VPN Unlimited, you can get TunnelBear VPN Free to try the service. Its disadvantage is some limitations, especially the limit of transferred data of only 2 GB per month.

3. TunnelBear VPN Unlimited and Supported Devices: Android, iOS, macOS…

   • Device limit: Unlimited

   Platforms supported

   • Android:
     Yes

     Android is supported by 98 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Android TV:
     No

     Android TV is supported by 36 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Apple TV:
     No

     Apple TV is supported by 18 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Fire TV:
     No

     Fire TV is supported by 43 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Chromebook:
     No

     Chromebook is supported by 20 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Chromecast:
     No

     Chromecast is supported by 16 % of reviewed VPNs
   • iOS:
     Yes

     iOS is supported by 99 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Kodi:
     No

     Kodi is supported by 21 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Linux:
     Yes

     Linux is supported by 61 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Mac:
     Yes

     Mac is supported by 98 % of reviewed VPNs
   • NAS:
     No

     NAS is supported by 24 % of reviewed VPNs
   • nVidia Shield:
     No

     nVidia Shield is supported by 14 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Playstation:
     No

     Playstation is supported by 20 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Raspberry Pi:
     No

     Raspberry Pi is supported by 17 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Roku:
     No

     Roku is supported by 16 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Router:
     No

     Router is supported by 53 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Windows:
     Yes

     Windows is supported by 100 % of reviewed VPNs
   • xBox:
     No

     xBox is supported by 20 % of reviewed VPNs

   Browser Extensions

   • Brave :
     Yes

     The Brave browser add-on is offered by 43 % of reviewed VPNs.
   • Chrome :
     Yes

     The Chrome browser add-on is offered by 43 % of reviewed VPNs.
   • Edge :
     Yes

     The Edge browser add-on is offered by 21 % of reviewed VPNs.
   • Firefox :
     Yes

     The Firefox browser add-on is offered by 34 % of reviewed VPNs.
   • Opera :
     Yes

     The Opera browser add-on is offered by 43 % of reviewed VPNs.
   • Safari :
     No

     The Safari browser add-on is offered by 0 % of reviewed VPNs.
   • Vivaldi :
     Yes

     The Vivaldi browser add-on is offered by 43 % of reviewed VPNs.

   One TunnelBear VPN Unlimited subscription entitles users to use the service on up to 999 devices simultaneously.

   The compatibility level of TunnelBear VPN Unlimited is low compared to competing services. The app is only available for Windows, Mac OS and Linux computers plus Android and iOS mobile devices.

   TunnelBear VPN Unlimited lacks support for running on Android TV, Apple TV, Fire TV or Roku multimedia systems, Playstation and Xbox gaming consoles, or on alternative Raspberry Pi and Chromebook devices. Using a VPN on a router to simply protect all devices connected to a single wi-fi network is not supported either. VPNs that support deployment on a router include NordVPN or Surfshark.

   Users who don’t want to (or can’t) install a full-fledged app on their computer can use TunnelBear VPN Unlimited via browser add-ons. Chrome, Opera, Edge, Firefox, Brave, and Vivaldi are supported.

4. TunnelBear VPN Unlimited App: User-Friendliness, Whitelist, Server Selection…

   • App Languages: 🇺🇸 English +16 more🇩🇪 German 🇪🇸 Spanish 🇫🇷 French 🇵🇹 Portuguese 🇮🇹 Italian 🇨🇳 Chinese 🇷🇺 Russian 🇰🇷 Korean 🇯🇵 Japanese 🇹🇷 Turkish 🇦🇪 Arabic 🇺🇦 Ukrainian 🇳🇱 Dutch 🇮🇷 Persian Amharic 🇲🇳 Burmese
   • Whitelisting:
     No

     Whitelisting is supported by 52 % of reviewed VPNs

   The TunnelBear VPN Unlimited app is user-friendly and modern. In the settings, it allows you to change the theme color and also the bear logo. The environment is available in 17 languages.

   Among the supported features is whitelist, TunnelBear VPN Unlimited uses the SplitBear designation for it. In the whitelist settings, any website can be marked as secure, the browser will then access them directly even when VPN protection is activated. During our testing, SplitBear only worked on mobile.

   The list of available sites is alphabetical in the app, with the US, Canada and the UK always appearing at the top. The fastest location at any given time can be selected for connection, which is taught by the app itself. The country of connection can also be selected by clicking on it on the interactive map. This is a handy feature, however, the various associated animations increase the performance requirements of the device.

   In the app’s settings, you can activate automatic startup after the device boots up, and you can also turn on notifications with important information about the service. Advanced users will appreciate the option to choose the VPN protocol used.

5. TunnelBear VPN Unlimited Connection Speed: Upload, Download & Latency

   • Traffic limit: Unlimited

   Download speed

   Higher is better. The average download of all tested VPNs is 115 Mb/s.

   Upload speed

   Higher is better. The average upload of all tested VPNs is 81 Mb/s.

   Server latency

   A lower value is better. The average response rate of all tested VPNs is 48 ms.

   TunnelBear VPN Unlimited does not limit the user in any way in the amount of data transferred, which is the standard for all paid services.

   Judging purely by the measured transfer speeds, TunnelBear VPN Unlimited is one of the above-average services. In repeated measurements, we chose to automatically connect to the fastest available server and averaged the values obtained.

   The measured download of 160 Mb/s is amply sufficient for playing ultra-high-resolution video and downloading bulky files.

   The upload speed of 97 Mb/s is also above average. TunnelBear VPN Unlimited can thus be used for torrenting or data backup.

   The last monitored parameter is the server response speed, which is important for smooth video calls or online gaming. Too high a response rate can cause annoying image stuttering. A lower response rate is always better. With TunnelBear VPN Unlimited, we measured an average response time of 25 ms, which is sufficient for all the activities mentioned by a large margin.

6. TunnelBear VPN Unlimited Server Locations

   • Number of servers:
     2,600

     The average number of servers for the reviewed VPNs is 1699.
   • Number of countries:
     47

     The average number of countries available for the reviewed VPNs is 41.

   Europe	🇧🇪 Belgium 🇧🇬 Bulgaria 🇨🇿 Czech Republic 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇫🇮 Finland 🇫🇷 France 🇮🇪 Ireland 🇮🇹 Italy 🇨🇾 Cyprus 🇱🇹 Lithuania 🇱🇻 Latvia 🇭🇺 Hungary 🇲🇩 Moldova 🇩🇪 Germany 🇳🇱 Netherlands 🇳🇴 Norway 🇵🇱 Poland 🇵🇹 Portugal 🇦🇹 Austria 🇷🇴 Romania 🇬🇷 Greece 🇸🇮 Slovenia 🇬🇧 United Kingdom 🇷🇸 Serbia 🇪🇸 Spain 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇨🇭 Switzerland
   North America	🇨🇦 Canada 🇲🇽 Mexico 🇺🇸 USA
   South America	🇦🇷 Argentina 🇧🇷 Brazil 🇨🇱 Chile 🇨🇴 Colombia 🇵🇪 Peru
   Asia	🇵🇭 Philippines 🇮🇩 Indonesia 🇯🇵 Japan 🇰🇷 South Korea 🇲🇾 Malaysia 🇸🇬 Singapore 🇹🇼 Taiwan
   Africa	🇿🇦 South Africa 🇰🇪 Kenya 🇳🇬 Nigeria
   Oceania	🇦🇺 Australia 🇳🇿 New Zealand

   TunnelBear VPN Unlimited users have access to 2,600 servers in 47 countries, a selection that is slightly above average compared to other private networks. All servers are physically located in the specified location, none of them are virtual.

   At least one server is located on every continent, with Europe traditionally having the largest representation. TunnelBear VPN Unlimited offers some commonly unavailable locations in South America or Africa, such as Kenya, Nigeria, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru, as well as the Philippines, Indonesia, Taiwan, Slovenia, and Moldova, among others.

   TunnelBear VPN Unlimited also operates servers in the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Countries with censored internet such as Russia, China, Belarus or Turkey are missing from the available locations.

   Servers optimized for torrenting, gaming, or other specific activity are missing from TunnelBear VPN Unlimited. All offered features are available on all servers in all locations.

   All servers involved are equipped with hard drives that allow for long-term data storage. A higher level of user privacy could be achieved by using servers equipped exclusively with continuously overwritten RAM.

   TunnelBear VPN Unlimited supports automatic connection to the fastest site.

7. TunnelBear VPN Unlimited Security Features: DNS Leak Protection, Kill Switch…

   • DNS leak protection :
     Yes

     DNS leak protection is offered by 92% of the reviewed VPNs.
   • Kill Switch:
     Yes

     Kill Switch is supported by 87% of the reviewed VPNs.
   • Multi-Hop:
     No

     Multi-Hop connection is offered by 20 % of the VPNs reviewed.
   • Tor:
     No

     Tor support is offered by 19 % of the reviewed VPNs.

   DNS protection is integrated into TunnelBear VPN Unlimited. During our testing, there was no leakage of our real data – WebRTC, DNS, or IP address.

   An important and relatively common security feature is the kill switch, which TunnelBear VPN Unlimited calls VigilantBear. The kill switch disconnects the device from the internet when there is a sudden drop in connection to the VPN server. This prevents the user’s real IP address and location from being revealed.

   TunnelBear VPN Unlimited uses modern WireGuard and OpenVPN protocols, which complements the already proven IKEv2 standard. You can either leave the choice of security protocol to the app or choose it yourself in the settings. The transmitted data is protected by 256-bit AES encryption, which is considered very secure. For the IKEv2 protocol, a lower 128-bit encryption can be optionally set.

   Superior multi-hop connections are not supported by TunnelBear VPN Unlimited. The principle behind the feature, also known as Double VPN, is to connect through two different VPN servers at the same time, making it difficult to trace if necessary. In addition, a second VPN server protects the user in case the first layer of protection fails.

   Connecting to the Tor network is not supported by TunnelBear VPN Unlimited, nor is two-factor security for accessing a user’s account.

8. TunnelBear VPN Unlimited & Streaming: Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Prime…

   • Amazon Prime:
     Yes

     Amazon Prime streaming is supported by 52 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Disney+:
     No

     Disney+ streaming is supported by 53 % of reviewed VPNs
   • HBO:
     Yes

     HBO streaming is supported by 57 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Hulu:
     No

     Hulu streaming is supported by 49 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Netflix:
     Yes

     Netflix streaming is supported by 67 % of reviewed VPNs
   • YouTube:
     Yes

     YouTube streaming is supported by 97 % of reviewed VPNs

   TunnelBear VPN Unlimited scored very well in a test of unblocking foreign streaming service libraries. It can be safely used for this purpose.

   With the app, we managed to make otherwise unavailable videos available on Netflix, YouTube, HBO Max and, after several attempts, also on Amazon Prime Video. If you have trouble unblocking a service, just select the country in the app, don’t select a specific city.

   We were unable to unblock Disney Plus and Hulu with TunnelBear VPN Unlimited. The app didn’t load at all with our VPN connection activated.

   The average measured download speed of 160 Mb/s is sufficient for playing 4k videos, where at least 50 Mbps is quoted as needed. In our testing, playback was smooth and without annoying content loading.

9. Features of TunnelBear VPN Unlimited: AdBlock, Static IP…

   • Blocks Ads:
     Yes

     Ad blocking is offered by 44 % of the VPNs reviewed.
   • Blocks Malware:
     No

     Malware blocking is offered by 33 % of the VPNs reviewed.
   • Blocks Trackers:
     Yes

     Trackers blocking is offered by 38 % of the VPNs reviewed.

   The premium features of TunnelBear VPN Unlimited are available via a Chrome add-on simply called “Blocker”. Through it, you can protect yourself from malware, trackers, microphone abuse, and other tracking practices.

   Blocker is so consistent that, ironically, it wouldn’t even let us install a web extension from TunnelBear, which it judged to be risky. The TunnelBear VPN Unlimited app doesn’t offer those features directly.

   The TunnelBear VPN Unlimited apps for Windows and Android include a camouflage mode that can hide an activated VPN from the connection provider and website operators. The feature disguises the VPN connection as regular data, making it difficult to detect the running protection. Camouflage mode finds use in countries with censored internet or when accessing geo-blocked content.

   Optionally, the TCP Override feature can be activated in TunnelBear VPN Unlimited desktop applications to detect unstable connections and automatically use the OpenVPN TCP protocol. While this is slightly slower, it provides a higher level of security.

   TunnelBear VPN Unlimited does not offer a static IP address for free or for an additional fee. There are also no other additional features, such as antivirus, data leak monitoring on the dark web or identity protection on the internet.

10. TunnelBear VPN Unlimited‘s CPU usage and App Performance

    In the context of the other services reviewed, the TunnelBear VPN Unlimited desktop app has high RAM requirements. It used an average of 250 MB when VPN Protection was turned on, which can cause slight instability on older devices. CPU and battery usage was minimal.

    To optimize device performance, we recommend disabling TunnelBear VPN Unlimited‘s automatic startup after the device boots. You can also disable the app running in the background after clicking the crosshair to achieve a lower load.

11. TunnelBear VPN Unlimited Torrenting Servers

    • Torrenting servers:
      Yes

      Torrenting support is offered by 89 % of the reviewed VPNs.

    TunnelBear VPN Unlimited does not operate servers specifically optimized for torrenting. However, P2P file sharing is possible on all servers. In case of problems directly, the creators recommend choosing servers in Canada, the USA, Romania, the Netherlands, Germany or Sweden.

    Our measured download speed of 160 Mb/s and upload speed of 97 Mb/s will probably not be a limitation for most users when torrenting. TunnelBear VPN Unlimited doesn’t limit the user in the amount of data transferred and the application is equipped with important DNS leak protection and a kill switch function, so we can recommend it for torrenting.

    VPNs are prohibited from being used for illegal activities, which include sharing copyrighted content.

12. What Is the Country of Origin Of TunnelBear VPN Unlimited?

    • VPN Provider: Advent International, L. P.
    • Country of origin: 🇨🇦 Canada

    TunnelBear VPN Unlimited is operated by TunnelBear LLC, based in Toronto, Canada. Founded in 2011 by the duo Ryan Dochuk and Daniel Kaldor, the company has been developing VPNs since the beginning. Along with the paid version, TunnelBear offers a free alternative, TunnelBear VPN Free, which has a few limitations.

    In March 2018, TunnelBear LLC was acquired by McAfee, a multinational cybersecurity company. Its best-known products include the McAfee Safe Connect VPN antivirus and McAfee Safe Connect VPN Free virtual private network.

    TunnelBear LLC’s headquarters in Canada may pose a risk to a small number of users, as the country is part of the 5 Eyes alliance. The secret services of the group’s members monitor Internet traffic and can request information about specific VPN users if they are suspicious. The service provider is obliged to comply and hand over the data. Users sensitive to security and privacy therefore generally choose services based in countries that are not members of the alliance. For example, NordVPN, whose operator is registered in Panama.

13. TunnelBear VPN Unlimited and Privacy: Logging Policy, Security Issues…

    • No-Logs Policy:
      Yes

      The No-Logs Policy is followed by 78% of reviewed VPNs.

    TunnelBear VPN Unlimited has a fairly clear and understandable privacy policy. It states that no logs are stored when using the app, such as IP address, pages visited or connection time.

    The service provider only collects data that is necessary to maintain the user’s account and to provide customer support. In practice, this includes the email address, operating system, version of the application used and data about the credit card used to pay for the subscription. In addition, TunnelBear VPN Unlimited monitors the volume of data transferred, which is probably related to the free version of the VPN where a limit is applied.

    A tab is available in the user account on the TunnelBear VPN Unlimited website where a request can be made to send a copy of all data held. In the same place, one can request to modify them, in case of a complete deletion of the account and all information.

    A significant competitive advantage of TunnelBear VPN Unlimited is the independent audit by Cure53. Although the results of the audit were not 100%, the VPN operator responded to the criticisms and corrected the errors. For this, TunnelBear VPN Unlimited deserves praise.

    There are no controversies associated with TunnelBear VPN Unlimited so far. There have been no reports of personal data leaks or of the VPN operator cooperating with the police or other authorities. The company could improve security awareness by regularly publishing a Transparency Report in which some VPN operators report receiving subpoenas for data.

    TunnelBear VPN Unlimited exclusively uses servers with hard drives that allow long-term data storage. From a security point of view, servers equipped with RAM only would be safer. All user data is stored on servers in Canada, so handling is governed by local laws.

14. TunnelBear VPN Unlimited Support: Chat, e-mail…

    Customer support is only available for registered users who can use the form on the TunnelBear VPN Unlimited website. Support allows 48 hours for a response, as it doesn’t work around the clock. However, the staff answered us within two hours on average on weekdays.

    For unregistered visitors, there is a virtual assistant available on the site, which you can find under the bear icon in the bottom right corner.

    You can submit bug reports directly from the TunnelBear VPN Unlimited app, but this form does not serve as a contact form. Most of the VPN information is publicly available in the knowledge base, which hides FAQs, solutions to common problems, and descriptions of each feature.

15. TunnelBear VPN Unlimited FAQ

    Is TunnelBear VPN Unlimited secure?

    TunnelBear VPN Unlimited can be considered a secure service. The application does not store any user logs, uses secure WireGuard and OpenVPN protocols, and encrypts all transmitted data according to the AES-256 standard. The VPN has been audited by the independent agency Cure53.

    The application’s security is aided by built-in DNS leak protection and a kill switch feature that disconnects the device from the Internet when the connection to the server is interrupted.

    Is TunnelBear VPN Unlimited free?

    TunnelBear VPN Unlimited is a paid service, the subscription price starts at $3.33 per month. A money-back guarantee is not provided as standard, customer support handles this on an individual basis.

    Instead of the trial version, there is a free variant TunnelBear VPN Free, which has some limited features and parameters.

    Is TunnelBear VPN Unlimited a good VPN?

    TunnelBear VPN Unlimited received an overall score of 8.4/10 in our test, making it one of the better services on the market. It ranks #11 among the 90 VPN services in our database.

    The VPN has been independently audited, achieves above-average transfer speeds, and has successfully unblocked most streaming platforms. Users have access to 2,600 servers in 47 countries.