TunnelBear vs CyberGhost: which VPN is better?

As far as VPNs go, CyberGhost and TunnelBear are very different from each other. CyberGhost is a major VPN player well-known for its outstanding streaming capabilities, top-rate security, and massive server options. In contrast, TunnelBear has strong security and a free version but humble features.

Either way, it’s only right to give both a fighting chance. So, in this TunnelBear vs CyberGhost review, let’s find out how they measure up in different areas like streaming, pricing, security, speed, and features.

TunnelBear vs. CyberGhost

Compared to TunnelBear, CyberGhost offers a three times bigger server selection and compatibility with more platforms at a cheaper price point. Its customer support is also more readily available since it offers 24/7 live chat. In contrast, TunnelBear offers unlimited simultaneous connections (compared to CyberGhost’s 7). Yet, CyberGhost exceeds in more areas, becoming the clear winner.

	CyberGhost VPN	TunnelBear
⭐ Rating:	4.2 ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆	3.3 ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆
🥇 Overall rank:	#5 out of #41	#34 out of #41
🖥️ Servers:	11,500 + servers in 100 countries	8,000 + servers in 45 countries
📖 No logs policy:	Independently-audited	No logs
💵 Price:	From $2.19/month	From $3.33/month
🔥 Coupons:	CyberGhost VPN coupon 83% OFF	Cybernews VPN Coupons
🔒 VPN protocols:	WireGuard, IKEv2, OpenVPN (TCP/UDP)	OpenVPN, IKEv2
🍿 Streaming services:	Netflix, Hulu, BBC iPlayer, Disney+	Netflix, BBC iPlayer, YouTube
🖥️ Platforms:	Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS	Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS
📥 Simultaneous connections:	7	Unlimited
💁🏻 Support:	24/7 live chat, Knowledge base, FAQs	Knowledge base, FAQs, support tickets

Netflix and streaming performance

Platform	CyberGhost	TunnelBear
Netflix	✅	✅ (selected libraries)
HBO Max	✅	✅
BBC iPlayer	✅	✅
YouTube	✅	✅
Amazon Prime Video	✅	✅
Disney+	✅	❌
Hulu	✅	❌

CyberGhost leads the TunnelBear vs CyberGhost VPN battle in terms of streaming. The VPN service effortlessly unblocked every streaming site during our tests. This includes the notoriously-stubborn Netflix libraries, BBC iPlayer, and Disney+.

It’s also worth noting that CyberGhost has specialized servers for streaming. While this means that you may need to switch servers when you’re streaming from different platforms, it’s going to be much easier to find the right server.

In contrast, TunnelBear’s streaming experience is less impressive. For starters, TunnelBear’s ability to unblock Netflix is iffy at best. During our tests, we had no difficulty unblocking Netflix US but struggled to access other countries’ Netflix content libraries, such as Netflix UK, Australia, Singapore, and Canada.

TunnelBear did better in bypassing geo-blocks imposed by other streaming services like BBC iPlayer, HBO Max, and Amazon Prime Video. However, sadly, even this win is tainted by subpar video quality and lagging.

Plans & pricing

CyberGhost is the cheaper VPN but both providers offer flexible pricing options. Like with most VPNs, the longer the subscription the lower the price.

The upside of TunnelBear is that it provides a free plan. While CyberGhost doesn’t, its longer-term plans offer an impressive 45-day money-back guarantee.

At the same time, Tunnelbear doesn’t have an official money-back guarantee. That’s because each case is evaluated individually by the customer support team.

Plans	CyberGhost	TunnelBear
Free plan	–	$0.00
6-month plan	$6.99/month	–
1-year plan	–	$4.99/month
2-year plan	$2.19/month	$4.17/month
3-year plan	–	$3.33/month

CyberGhost has a 6-month as well as 2-year subscription options. Naturally, the 2-year plan is the best solution to save money, as it costs $2.19/month.

Meanwhile, TunnelBear even has a free plan. However, the bare-bones plan only comes with the most basic features. To access all the features, you’ll need to upgrade to a premium subscription. CyberGhost doesn't come without free stuff either. There are free CyberGhost trials available for different devices – 7 days for iOS, 3 days for Android, and 1 day for Windows and macOS devices.

Speaking of TunnelBear’s premium subscriptions, both its 1-year and 2-year plans aren’t exactly cheap. In fact, TunnelBear’s 2-year plan is almost double the price of CyberGhost’s 2-year plan. And the 3-year plan yields the cheapest price at $3.33/month – still more expensive than CyberGhost’s longest subscription.

TunnelBear vs CyberGhost: which is more secure?

	CyberGhost	TunnelBear
Encryption	AES-256	AES-256
Hash	SHA-256	SHA-256
RAM-only servers	Yes	No
A member of the 5-Eyes	No	Yes
No-logs policy	Audited	Audited
Kill switch	Yes	Yes
DNS leak protection	Yes	Yes

CyberGhost is the more secure VPN provider. That said, it’s clear that both CyberGhost and TunnelBear are committed to putting security first. In fact, they share many similarities in this regard.

For starters, CyberGhost and TunnelBear both use AES-256 to encrypt your data. This is a NASA-grade cipher that’s virtually uncrackable. Additionally, their no-logs policies have been verified and confirmed during independent audits by third-party firms. Moreover, the pair also has all the core security features like a kill switch and DNS leak protection.

However, CyberGhost has a few advantages in this security faceoff. For starters, it uses RAM-only servers for better security and privacy. Additionally, CyberGhost is incorporated in a country outside the 5-Eyes alliance. Meanwhile, TunnelBear is based in Canada, which is part of the alliance.

Infrastructure

To turn security and privacy up a notch, CyberGhost uses RAM-only servers. Here, all your data is stored using volatile memory rather than hard disks. So, once a server is reset, all the data stored will be wiped. This way, you can be sure that your data won’t be tampered with or accessed without your authorization.

Unfortunately, TunnelBear has yet to embrace RAM-only technology.

Privacy

CyberGhost is based in Romania – a privacy-friendly country that isn’t part of the global surveillance alliance. This is good news for those who are particularly worried about privacy, surveillance, and intelligence sharing.

Additionally, as a show of its commitment to anonymity and privacy, CyberGhost also accepts cryptocurrency as a payment method. This way you can stay anonymous and ensure that minimum personal data is connected to your account.

In sharp contrast, TunnelBear isn’t as bothered about being privacy-friendly. For starters, the VPN provider is based in Canada – a card-carrying member of the 5-Eyes alliance. So, TunnelBear is legally required to cooperate with intelligence agencies and share user data/logs if requested.

Additionally, TunnelBear’s only accepted payment method is credit cards. This effectively leaves it without any anonymous payment options.

Logging

Both VPNs are very vocal about not logging your data. In CyberGhost’s case, it has been independently audited by Deloitte in 2022. The Big Four firm confirmed CyberGhost’s adherence to its no-logs policy.

Additionally, CyberGhost also releases quarterly transparency reports. The reports cover things like DMCA complaints, malware activity flags, and police requests.

Meanwhile, things are less clear-cut with TunnelBear. It promises that it doesn’t keep logs but it also makes it clear that there are exceptions to this promise. So, while TunnelBear doesn’t log your online activities, you can expect it to collect personal data like email address, operating system used, and cardholder’s last name.

Speed comparison: TunnelBear vs CyberGhost

For this TunnelBear vs CyberGhost comparison, we also looked at the speeds of the two providers across four different locations – the US, the UK, Japan, and Germany. CyberGhost has TunnelBear beat in this regard with its overall faster download and upload speeds.

CyberGhost supports various tunneling protocols: WireGuard, OpenVPN (UDP and TCP), and IKEv2. Meanwhile, TunnelBear’s protocol availability depends on your operating system. But, on the whole, it also offers WireGuard, OpenVPN (UDP and TCP), and IKEv2.

Among these protocols, WireGuard is the next-gen protocol that offers the best in terms of speed and security. So, that’s what we used to test their speeds for this comparison.

• Baseline: 450 Mbps Download speed/ 425 Mbps Upload speed

Download speed	CyberGhost (WireGuard)	TunnelBear (WireGuard)
US	442 Mbps	371 Mbps
UK	462 Mbps	459 Mbps
Japan	323 Mbps	220 Mbps
Germany	432 Mbps	439 Mbps

From the above, you can see that CyberGhost is faster in terms of downloads. CyberGhost’s average download speed is 415Mbps. Meanwhile, TunnelBear clocked 372Mbps on average. While the difference isn’t too drastic, it’s more than enough to put CyberGhost in the winning spot.

Upload speed	CyberGhost (WireGuard)	TunnelBear (WireGuard)
US	370 Mbps	67 Mbps
UK	279 Mbps	132 Mbps
Japan	85 Mbps	30 Mbps
Germany	372 Mbps	148 Mbps

The same situation is with upload speeds – CyberGhost’s average was 276Mbps, while TunnelBear’s average was very low. It retained only 94Mbps of initial internet speeds.

Features overview

Both CyberGhost and TunnelBear are relatively loaded with features. CyberGhost has the basics well-covered with functional core features, but the VPN also offers many additional advanced features to make it worth your while.

The situation is similar with TunnelBear – while it doesn’t have as many features, it covers the essentials needed with every VPN.

Split tunneling

Split tunneling is a very useful feature that lets you pick specific apps that go through the VPN tunnel and the ones that don’t.

In CyberGhost’s case, split tunneling isn’t available as a standalone feature except on its Android app. For Windows and macOS, you can do virtually the same thing with its incredibly functional Smart Rules feature that helps to automate the VPN.

With Smart Rules, you can exclude specific websites from the VPN connections – not unlike split tunneling. Other configuration options include automation connections and Wi-Fi protection options.

Meanwhile, SplitBear is TunnelBear’s answer to split tunneling. With SplitBear, you can include/exclude the apps that are tunneled through its encrypted connection. Unfortunately, the feature is only available on Android and iOS for now.

Kill switch

The two also include a kill switch in their respective feature lineups. So, if the VPN connection is disrupted or dropped, they will kill the Internet connection to protect your IP address.

CyberGhost’s kill switch is automatically integrated when you connect to its VPN servers. The feature will be triggered if it detects a disruption in your connection. Then, all internet traffic will be blocked for 120 seconds. You’re free to disable the kill switch on desktop apps but not on mobile devices.

Meanwhile, TunnelBear’s kill switch feature is called VigilantBear. It’s currently only available on Windows, macOS, and Android apps.

Just be aware that if the feature is activated, you won’t be notified.

Other features

On top of those mentioned above, both providers have tons more features in their arsenal. For instance, CyberGhost includes specialized servers for streaming, gaming, and torrenting. Then, there’s also NoSpy servers. Located in a data center in CyberGhost’s Romanian HQ, these servers offer enhanced privacy and more bandwidth.

It’s also worth noting that CyberGhost provides you with a SmartDNS feature. It unblocks geo-restricted content on devices that don’t support VPN. For instance, game consoles and certain smart TVs. Last but not least, there’s an ad blocker available. It’s a built-in feature that CyberGhost promises will block ads, malicious websites, online tracking, and more.

You can find all of its features in our CyberGhost review.

As for TunnelBear, GhostBear is a noteworthy feature. In other words, it’s traffic obfuscation that helps you to bypass geo-blocks for unrestricted access. It’s currently not available for iOS users.

There’s also a TunnelBear blocker that helps block ads, pixel tracking, WebRTC, and more. You also have the option to add to the list of blocked items.

You can read more about its features in our TunnelBear review.

Server locations

	CyberGhost	TunnelBear
Servers	11500+	8000+
Countries	100	45
Virtual locations	Yes	No
Specialty servers	Yes	No

It’s a clear path to victory for CyberGhost if we compare CyberGhost vs TunnelBear server locations. CyberGhost has a staggering 11500+ servers, which is threefold more than TunnelBear’s 8000+ servers.

Additionally, CyberGhost’s servers are also more geographically-dispersed – covering 100 countries around the world. In contrast, TunnelBear only has servers in 45 countries.

Numbers aside, CyberGhost has multiple specialty servers for streaming, torrenting, and gaming, too. This is something not offered by TunnelBear.

Torrenting

CyberGhost is a solid candidate if you’re looking for a VPN for torrenting. In fact, it even has specialized servers for P2P file sharing. However, CyberGhost’s torrenting speeds are on the slower side. During our tests, the speed lingered around 40 Mbps, which could indicate the presence of a throttling measure.

On the other hand, torrenting is an impossible endeavor with TunnelBear. Despite switching server locations several times, we failed to torrent pretty much everything. So if torrenting is what you need a VPN for, pick a more reliable torrenting VPN.

Platforms, interface and ease of use

	CyberGhost	TunnelBear
Supported platforms	Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS	Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS
Other software and devices	Android TVs, Fire devices	–
Browser extensions	Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Opera	Chrome, Firefox
Simultaneous connections	7	Unlimited

In terms of TunnelBear vs CyberGhost for compatibility, both providers support all the major platforms. However, CyberGhost is compatible with a longer list of browsers and other devices. This includes Edge and Opera browser extensions as well as Android TV or Fire devices.

At the same time, TunnelBear’s one saving grace here is that it allows unlimited simultaneous connections.

Desktop apps

CyberGhost’s Windows and Mac apps look somewhat alike. Both apps are intuitive and well-designed for convenience. However, oddly enough, CyberGhost’s Mac app bucks the trend and offers slightly more features than its Windows version. For instance, the Mac app has the additional option to enable data compression to slash download size.

Unfortunately, things are less rosy with CyberGhost’s Linux app. To start, the installation process is complex and time-consuming. Additionally, the app is prone to crashing.

Similarly, TunnelBear is more trouble than it’s worth on Linux, too. No client for Linux, limited support, and manual configuration mean that you’d do better to find a Linux VPN specifically.

Meanwhile, TunnelBear’s Windows and Mac apps are certainly cute because of the animations. And the apps are still convenient, functional, and intuitive – which are all the things you’d want to see in a VPN app.

Mobile apps

CyberGhost’s Android and iOS apps are identical to each other. Both are minimalistic and offer the same features. The only difference here is the tunneling protocols available. The Android version supports OpenVPN and WireGuard while the iOS app uses WireGuard and IKEv2.

As for TunnelBear, its mobile apps are more cluttered compared to CyberGhost’s versions. However, just like CyberGhost, TunnelBear’s Android and iOS apps look rather similar to each other, too.

Between the two, its Android version is more functional while its iOS app is missing some core features like a kill switch.

Customer support

	CyberGhost	TunnelBear
24/7 live chat	✅	❌
Email	✅	✅
Phone line	❌	❌
Guides or articles	✅	✅
FAQs	✅	✅

CyberGhost comes out on top again in the TunnelBear vs CyberGhost comparison because its support team is readily available 24/7 via live chat. Besides that, it has email support, too. For those who prefer to do self-reading instead, it also has heaps of resources like articles, guides, and FAQs.

TunnelBear, on the other hand, lacks 24/7 support options. Instead, you can only submit a support ticket and expect a reply via email. Fortunately, it also has a well-stocked knowledge base where you can find articles and guides on all things VPN.

TunnelBear vs CyberGhost – which one wins?

	CyberGhost	TunnelBear
Streaming	✅	❌
Price	✅	❌
Protection	✅	❌
Speed	✅	❌
Features	✅	✅
Server	✅	❌
Torrenting	✅	❌
Ease of use	✅	✅
Customer support	✅	❌

Ultimately, CyberGhost is the winner of the TunnelBear vs CyberGhost comparison. Aside from its affordability, CyberGhost checks all the right boxes with its effective streaming capabilities, strong security, good speeds, generous features, and extensive server options.

Meanwhile, TunnelBear is still a good VPN. It has all the core features that each reputable VPN should have and even has a basic free version. However, it doesn’t have 24/7 customer support options and isn’t good for torrenting at all.

So, CyberGhost is the winner of this comparison due to its all-roundedness. It’s great for streaming, torrenting, and gaming. Plus, it has great customer support options as well as a huge server fleet and easy-to-use apps.

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