VPN Comparison: Surfshark vs. TunnelBear
Navigating the VPN landscape can be overwhelming, especially for newcomers. With countless providers flooding the market, each boasting superior features and capabilities, making an informed decision becomes challenging.
Many VPN companies employ aggressive marketing tactics, often exaggerating their performance metrics or security capabilities to attract customers. This misleading information can lead consumers to subscribe to services that don't meet their actual needs.
To help clarify your options, we've conducted a comprehensive comparison between two popular VPN services: Surfshark and TunnelBear. Our analysis examines these providers across critical performance and security parameters.
This comparative approach not only highlights the strengths and weaknesses of these specific services but also demonstrates an effective methodology for evaluating any VPN options you might consider in the future.
Comparing Pricing: Tunnelbear vs. Surfshark VPN Services
When looking at monthly plans, Tunnelbear offers a slight advantage at $9.99 compared to Surfshark's $10.99 - a difference that might appeal to travelers or those needing short-term VPN coverage.
For annual subscriptions, the price gap narrows with Tunnelbear maintaining a minimal edge of 66 cents monthly. Despite this small savings, Surfshark's superior feature set and overall performance quality may justify its slightly higher price point for year-long commitments.
The most dramatic pricing difference appears in long-term plans. Surfshark's two-year subscription drops to an impressive $1.99 monthly rate - representing exceptional value. In contrast, Tunnelbear's three-year plan costs $3.33 per month, which seems less competitive despite covering a longer period.
Both providers offer risk-free trial periods with 30-day money-back guarantees, allowing customers to test services before fully committing.
For maximum savings, consider Surfshark's two-year option with over 80% discount from the monthly rate, while Tunnelbear's best value comes from its three-year plan with a 67% reduction.
Device freedom shines with both services
Unlimited simultaneous connections cater to tech-heavy homes
Surfshark extends protection beyond mobile/desktop ecosystems
Browser plugins and Fire TV support create versatile shielding options
Split tunneling becomes a deal-maker
Selective VPN routing across all platforms vs Android-only availability
Ideal for torrenting + banking combo without constant switching
Maintain local network access while securing sensitive tasks
Digital armor upgrades separate the contenders
Real-time malware scans intercept dangerous downloads pre-infection
Ad-blocker eliminates distractions while preventing tracker profiling
Cookie consent popup bypass streamlines browsing sessions
Static IP advantages reduce verification hassles
Dedicated addresses in 6 countries minimize CAPTCHA interruptions
Consistent digital identity benefits remote workers
Maintains access to IP-restricted business networks
The privacy scales tip decisively
Multi-layered security extras complement core VPN protection
Platform versatility future-proofs against new device adoption
Surfshark emerges as comprehensive guardian for modern netizens
When it comes to accessing streaming services, Surfshark outperforms Tunnelbear by a significant margin. Not only does it offer access to a wide range of platforms, but it also excels in unblocking regional TV services in countries such as Japan, Australia, Germany, the UK, and others.
For fans of popular US streaming services like HBO Max, Netflix US, and Hulu, Surfshark provides exceptional performance. Additionally, if you own a device that doesn't support direct VPN installation, such as a gaming console or smart TV, you can use Surfshark's Smart DNS feature to bypass geographical restrictions and access US streaming platforms.
While Tunnelbear does work with a few US-based streaming services and the UK's Eleven Sports, it falls short compared to Surfshark. In our tests, there wasn't a single service that Tunnelbear could access that Surfshark couldn't.
The winner in this category is clearly Surfshark.
In China, where many Western websites and services are blocked, including social media, news, and entertainment platforms, a reliable VPN is crucial for anyone living or visiting. The Chinese government's Great Firewall restricts access to sites like Facebook, Google, Wikipedia, YouTube, Instagram, Twitch, Spotify, and Reddit, as well as major news outlets like the BBC, New York Times, Washington Post, HuffPost, Time, NBC News, and Bloomberg.
Fortunately, both Surfshark and Tunnelbear offer obfuscation features to help users bypass these restrictions. For Surfshark, you can enable Noborders mode by going to Settings > Advanced > Noborders. With Tunnelbear, the obfuscation feature is called GhostBear, which can be activated via Settings > Security > GhostBear.
I've analyzed both Surfshark and TunnelBear carefully, and it's difficult to declare a definitive winner as they serve different user needs effectively.
Surfshark excels with unlimited simultaneous connections and superior unblocking capabilities for streaming services. Its feature set is more comprehensive, including split tunneling and MultiHop connections for enhanced security.
TunnelBear, meanwhile, offers a more intuitive experience with its charming bear-themed interface. It's particularly appealing to VPN beginners who prioritize simplicity over advanced features. The free tier, though limited to 500MB monthly, provides a risk-free way to test their service.
Pricing considerations reveal Surfshark as the better long-term value, especially with multi-year commitments. However, TunnelBear's transparent approach and user-friendly design shouldn't be overlooked.
Your ideal choice depends on specific priorities: Surfshark for feature-rich protection across many devices, or TunnelBear for straightforward, approachable security with a delightful user experience.
Both services maintain strong privacy policies and offer reliable protection for everyday internet usage.
Both Surfshark and TunnelBear offer user-friendly interfaces, making them accessible options for VPN newcomers. During our comprehensive testing, we found that each service has its own approach to user experience.
TunnelBear implements a map-based server selection system, allowing users to visually choose their preferred locations. This geographical representation might appeal to visual learners. The service also incorporates playful bear-themed terminology throughout its interface, adding a whimsical element to the user experience. However, terms like "GhostBear," "VigilantBear," and "SplitBear" may initially confuse users until they become familiar with their functions.
Surfshark takes a more straightforward approach with its alphabetically organized server list. This practical design makes finding specific countries effortless, even for users with limited geographical knowledge. Surfshark also includes convenient features absent in TunnelBear, such as a quick-connect button, automatic P2P server selection, and a list of recently accessed servers.
For mobile users, both services maintain consistency between their desktop and mobile interfaces, creating a seamless experience when switching between devices.
While TunnelBear emphasizes visual appeal and playfulness, Surfshark prioritizes functionality and practical features. For a security-focused application, we believe Surfshark's approach offers superior usability, making it our recommendation in this category.
Surfshark outshines Tunnelbear in terms of network infrastructure, boasting an extensive array of over 3200 servers distributed across 100 countries worldwide. This impressive coverage continues to expand, offering users remarkable flexibility.
In contrast, Tunnelbear maintains a more modest presence with servers in 47 countries. When asked about their total server count, Tunnelbear representatives were unable to provide specific figures.
Despite this disparity, both VPN services deliver excellent global coverage. Users can connect through servers located in North America (US and Canada), the United Kingdom, various European nations, Asian countries, the Asia-Pacific region, and throughout the Middle East and North Africa. This widespread distribution ensures users can maintain connectivity during international travel while effectively circumventing censorship and regional content restrictions.
Our testing revealed that Surfshark's network delivers consistently reliable performance with stable speeds across their server locations. Tunnelbear's performance proved more variable, with some servers operating efficiently while others demonstrated noticeable sluggishness.
For your reference, we've compiled comprehensive lists of countries supported by each service, which you'll find detailed below.
Surfshark vs TunnelBear Comparison
When comparing these two VPN heavyweights,
Surfshark emerges as the superior choice
for power users and privacy enthusiasts.
TunnelBear charms with its playful interface
but falters in advanced functionality -
Surfshark delivers military-grade encryption,
unlimited device connections, and RAM-only servers.
Streaming enthusiasts will appreciate
Surfshark's consistent Netflix unblocking,
while torrenters benefit from P2P-optimized nodes.
Though TunnelBear offers free data-limited plans,
Surfshark's 24-month deals provide better value
with premium features like GPS spoofing
and private DNS on every server.
The final verdict? Surfshark's combination of
unlimited connectivity, robust security suite,
and budget-friendly pricing outshines
TunnelBear's simpler approach to VPN protection.
Both Surfshark and TunnelBear offer robust VPN protocols including WireGuard, OpenVPN, and IKEv2, all implemented with strong security measures like Perfect Forward Secrecy to protect session integrity.
TunnelBear takes an automated approach to protocol selection, simultaneously initiating multiple connections and utilizing whichever establishes fastest. While this optimization enhances speed, it removes user control over specific protocol selection.
Surfshark, conversely, provides complete protocol flexibility, allowing manual selection within all applications. Additionally, Surfshark includes Shadowsocks proxy functionality, offering alternative options for accessing restricted content when primary methods fail.
Security features are comprehensive across both services, with kill switch protection implemented in desktop and mobile applications to prevent data exposure during connection drops. This protection is particularly valuable for torrenting activities or accessing content in regions with internet restrictions.
For users in heavily censored environments, both VPNs offer traffic obfuscation capabilities—TunnelBear employs Obfsproxy while Surfshark utilizes its proprietary NoBorders technology to disguise VPN traffic as standard HTTPS connections.
Privacy is further enhanced through private DNS handling, with both providers operating their own DNS servers to prevent query leakage to ISPs or third parties.
While TunnelBear offers solid security with its iOS implementation using L2TP/IPsec (rather than IKEv2), Surfshark's combination of protocol flexibility, additional proxy options, and comprehensive obfuscation capabilities gives it the competitive edge in this security comparison.
Both Surfshark and TunnelBear prioritize user privacy with no-usage-logs policies, ensuring your online activities remain private while using their VPN services.
Connection logs are minimally collected by both providers, including session times and bandwidth usage metrics. Importantly, these logs are never stored alongside users' IP addresses, making it impossible to link specific online activities to individual users.
Surfshark takes security a step further with its RAM-only server infrastructure. This diskless technology allows for immediate data clearing if servers were ever physically compromised, providing an additional privacy safeguard for users.
For enhanced anonymity, both VPN providers support cryptocurrency payments. Surfshark accepts Bitcoin, Ripple, and Ethereum, while TunnelBear accepts Bitcoin. Users can further protect their identity by using temporary email addresses and pseudonyms during registration.
TunnelBear humorously claims to accept honey jars as payment, though the practical details of this unique payment method remain unclear, particularly regarding how many jars would equate to their multi-year subscription plans.
Surfshark distinguishes itself by having undergone independent audits that verify its no-logs policy claims, offering additional reassurance to privacy-conscious users seeking third-party validation of security practices.
When gaming online, connection reliability and low latency are crucial.
Both services deliver high-speed performance suitable for AAA multiplayer titles, with global server networks minimizing lag.
Surfshark edges ahead with superior server stability and broader geographic coverage compared to TunnelBear, ensuring better access to regional gaming platforms.
Cross-platform compatibility covers Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android devices.
Console gamers can route traffic through VPN-protected routers or create virtual hotspots from computers.
By masking your true IP address, both providers effectively block targeted DDoS attacks.
Any malicious traffic gets absorbed by their robust infrastructure rather than impacting your connection.
While utilizing shared IP pools for enhanced anonymity, Surfshark offers optional dedicated IP addresses – a unique feature absent in TunnelBear’s offerings.
For uninterrupted gaming sessions and advanced privacy controls, Surfshark emerges as the stronger contender in this matchup.
When considering customer support, Surfshark stands out for its exceptional service to subscribers. The company offers 24/7 live chat, staffed by well-informed and knowledgeable agents. While highly technical queries might require a ticket or an email, the live chat team is generally very capable and helpful.
In contrast, Tunnelbear's support is less robust. Although their website features a live chat option, it’s only a bot that directs users to FAQs and guides. To get in touch with a human representative, you must submit a ticket and await an email response.
On a positive note, Tunnelbear's email support was reliable, and we received satisfactory answers to most of our inquiries. Both Surfshark and Tunnelbear also provide a comprehensive knowledge base with numerous setup guides and FAQs, which can be quite useful.
To illustrate the difference in email support, here are the outcomes of three sample questions:
When evaluating VPN contenders,
Surfshark emerges as the superior choice
for budget-conscious privacy seekers.
Unlimited device connections outshine
TunnelBear's restrictive five-device policy.
MultiHop functionality and Camouflage Mode
give Surfshark an edge in advanced features,
while TunnelBear's simplicity appeals
to casual users wanting basic protection.
Server network scale tilts decisively -
3,200+ servers across 100 countries versus
TunnelBear's modest 5,000+ in 47 nations.
Speed test results consistently favor
Surfshark's optimized global infrastructure.
Though both offer AES-256 encryption,
Surfshark's ad-blocking CleanWeb feature
and independent audits demonstrate
stronger commitment to user security.
Price parity dissolves upon inspection -
Surfshark's long-term plans deliver
premium protection at half the cost
of TunnelBear's annual subscription.
When it comes to speed performance, Tunnelbear edges ahead with an average 222 Mbps download rate,
placing it among the top 10 fastest VPNs tested recently.
Surfshark trails slightly at 189 Mbps but remains sufficiently quick for most online activities.
Both services handle streaming, gaming, and torrenting reliably, though Surfshark’s feature-rich platform offers distinct advantages.
Surfshark stands out with advanced security tools like multi-hop connections and static IP options,
complemented by robust ad-blocking and tracker prevention features.
Its expansive server network and proven ability to bypass geo-restrictions make it ideal for accessing global Netflix libraries,
while Tunnelbear consistently fails to unblock the streaming platform.
Though Tunnelbear’s whimsical interface adds playful charm,
its simplicity comes at the cost of omitting premium functionalities that Surfshark provides.
Privacy-conscious users will favor Surfshark’s stringent no-logs policy and RAM-only servers,
which exceed Tunnelbear’s basic security framework.
While Tunnelbear’s lower latency appeals to speed-focused users,
Surfshark delivers superior overall value through competitive pricing and comprehensive protection.
For those prioritizing privacy, streaming versatility, and advanced customization,
Surfshark emerges as the clear recommendation despite the narrow speed gap.
What is a Netflix VPN and How to Get One
A Netflix VPN is a specialized virtual private network service that enables users to bypass geographical restrictions on Netflix's streaming library. By routing your internet connection through servers in different countries, this technology allows viewers to access shows and movies that might otherwise be unavailable in their region. Netflix VPNs have become increasingly popular among streaming enthusiasts who wish to explore the full catalog of content that Netflix offers globally.
Why Choose SafeShell as Your Netflix VPN?
If you're looking to access region-restricted content by Netflix VPN, you may want to consider the SafeShell VPN for its exceptional capabilities. SafeShell VPN offers numerous advantages that make it an ideal choice for Netflix unblocked viewing experiences.
- High-speed servers optimized specifically for Netflix streaming ensure buffer-free playback and high-definition content without interruptions
- Multi-device compatibility allows connection on up to five devices simultaneously across Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, and various TV platforms
- The exclusive App Mode feature uniquely enables access to content from multiple regions at the same time, expanding your entertainment options
- Lightning-fast connection speeds with no bandwidth limitations eliminate frustrating buffering or throttling issues
- Top-level security through the proprietary "ShellGuard" VPN protocol protects your privacy during streaming sessions
- A flexible free trial plan lets you test all these premium features before committing to the service
A Step-by-Step Guide to Watch Netflix with SafeShell VPN
Accessing global Netflix content has never been easier with SafeShell Netflix VPN . Here's how to unlock worldwide entertainment:
- First, visit SafeShell's website and select a subscription plan that matches your viewing habits
- Download the SafeShell VPN application designed for your specific device, whether it's a smartphone, tablet, or computer
- After installation, open the app and log into your account using your credentials
- For optimal streaming performance, select the APP mode which is specifically optimized for video content
- Browse through SafeShell's server locations and connect to a server in your desired Netflix region
- Once connected, simply open your Netflix application or visit the website
- Log in with your existing Netflix account and enjoy an expanded library of shows and movies from around the world
