ExpressVPN vs TunnelBear ✅ Which VPN is Better?

When it all boils down to the best VPN provider, you might find yourself looking at two different names in the market- ExpressVPN and TunnelBear. These two always rise to the top when the question about what’s the best VPN comes up. Both of these VPN providers have excellent features but at the end of this article, only one will come off as the ultimate winner.

Today, we will compare ExpressVPN and TunnelBear head to head and determine which is better in terms of ease of use, speed, streaming and torrenting, security and privacy, support, and pricing.

I won’t waste your time with unnecessary information and you can guarantee that this is a reliable list as I have personally tried both VPNs by subscribing to their paid plans. This way, I’m able to fully test them both out and provide you with the most comprehensive comparison and save you time from having to do it yourself. 

I will leave a special discounted link in the description below where you can get the cheapest ExpressVPN or TunnelBear plan for you when you’re ready to proceed.

Let’s get started.

1. Setup & Features – ExpressVPN

I’m using the Windows app of both VPNs but you can still download these VPNs to other devices like Mac, Android, iOS, or add their extension to your browser.

Now, let’s take a closer look at the layout of ExpressVPN and TunnellBear app. In both VPNs, you can instantly connect to the fastest server based on your location using their quick connect feature. However, ExpressVPN has a  simpler layout than TunnelBear, pretty obvious here, which I personally prefer as it adds to the ease of use.

ExpressVPN has more than 5,000 servers in 94 countries, which is more than TunnelBear’s over three thousand servers across 34 countries.

If you want to test these servers first, ExpressVPN has a seven-day free trial that you can avail using the mobile app then you can just login to other devices after. The same goes with TunnelBear which offers a seven-day free trial aside from its amazing free plan that provides 500 megabytes of data per month. 

Both ExpressVPN and TunnelBear allow you to use five devices simultaneously. Honestly, this number is lower than other competitors which allow more device connections at the same time. CyberGhost allows seven connections, Private Internet Access offers ten connections, and SurfShark even allows unlimited connections. But still, five devices is not bad if you’re looking for a VPN for personal use or for a smaller household. 

ExpressVPN and TunnelBear are both user-friendly and they actually have some same features such as the seven-day free trial and five simultaneous connections but the point goes to ExpressVPN because it has a more diverse geographical server location.

2. Speed – ExpressVPN

Now, we’re off to determine which one is faster in the race. I’ll record my original speed first without connecting to any of our top VPNs. The Ookla tool recorded my speed of 19.5 megabits per second.

For this demo, we’ll connect to three countries using each VPN and find out the percentage reduction of speed. Up first in the U.S. server, TunnelBear recorded a speed of 15.8 mbps while ExpressVPN got a speed of 17.2 mbps. In the United Kingdom, ExpressVPN beats TunnelBear again with speed of 15.9 mbps versus 12.1 mbps. And lastly in Canada, the competition is tight as TunnelBear recorded a speed of 16 mbps and ExpressVPN a number lower at 15 mbps.

Both VPNs here have an average percentage reduction of lower than 30 percent which is impressive but since ExpressVPN snatched two wins over TunnelBear’s victory in the Canada speed, the point in this category will have to go to ExpressVPN.

3. Streaming & Torrenting – ExpressVPN

In terms of unblocking streaming platforms, most especially Netflix, ExpressVPN and TunnelBear fall under the best and the worst. While ExpressVPN can unblock more than 20 Netflix locations and other streaming platforms like Disney Plus, Hulu, BBC iPlayer, HBO and DAZN, TunnelBear is unable to perform the task.

But when it comes to torrenting, both ExpressVPN and TunnelBear are guaranteed supporters. So, if you’ve been torrenting unprotected, exposing your IP address to everyone you share files with, ExpressVPN and TunnelBear are both good recommendations.

In this category, ExpressVPN takes another win as it has powers to unblock streaming platforms that TunnelBear cannot do. Moreover, all of its servers are specialized for torrenting which adds up to the fact that it offers more location choices to support P2P and torrenting.

4. Jurisdiction, Security, & Privacy – ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN started in 2009 under the jurisdiction of the British Virgin Islands. Two years later, TunnelBear was born in Canada. There is a big difference between these two VPNs in terms of jurisdiction.

Why? It’s because ExpressVPN is not affiliated with the Five Eyes, Nine Eyes, and Fourteen Eyes alliances which means that it is located in a country that doesn’t have mandatory law for data retention. TunnelBear, on the other hand, is based in Canada which is one of the countries that make up the Five Eyes alliance.

But don’t worry, both VPNs have been audited to be adhering to the strict no logs policy where they don’t keep records of any of their users’ personal information, credentials, and online activities.

Moreover, both VPNs also remain unbreached since they were founded unlike other VPN providers who have been victims of cybercriminals already.

ExpressVPN and TunnelBear are both on top of the game when it comes to the type of data encryption they use which is a 256-bit encryption, the standard and currently the longest encryption advised by government and banks for website security.

Both VPNs also have the kill switch feature that automatically pauses all Internet activities to protect your identity if the VPN connection drops for some reason. TunnelBear has it under the name VigilantBear, FYI.

TunnelBear offers three highly-secure protocols, IKEv2, IPSec, and OpenVPN, to help VPN safely send your data through the Internet. ExpressVPN, on the other hand, does not only offer more than three protocols but it is also currently working on Lightway which they consider as the future of all VPN protocols, with advanced technological structure to give you the best VPN experience.

ExpressVPN and TunnelBear also have a split tunneling feature where you can choose which apps in your device will use or bypass the VPN connection. Unfortunately, TunnelBear only has this feature on Android devices while ExpressVPN offers this significantly to Windows, Mac, Android devices, and even routers.

Among other VPNs in the market, ExpressVPN is also exceptional for having ram-only servers as its network security setup which provides another layer of confidence for you knowing that all data gets wiped in reboot, minimizing the risk of vulnerabilities or misconfiguration. 

But when it comes to features like Double VPN and Dedicated IP, both VPNs fail to shine since they don’t offer these even as paid add-ons which most of their competitors do.

Both VPNs are doing extremely well in the field of security and privacy but having more free, built-in, advanced security measures makes ExpressVPN a notch above TunnelBear so, obviously, the point goes to ExpressVPN.

5. Support – ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN and TunnelBear both do not have phone support but they have 24 7 email support which I have dealt with multiple times. One thing, though, that separates these two VPNs when it comes to customer support is the fact that ExpressVPN has live chat support while TunnelBear does not have it which is kinda bad.

When it comes to my experiences with their email teams, ExpressVPN always responds to my email ticket in less than five hours while with TunnelBear, I got a very detailed response with references on it after roughly 24 hours.

So based on the availability and accessibility support channels which are significant in urgent inquiries, ExpressVPN bags the point again in this category.

6. Price – TunnelBear

In terms of pricing, ExpressVPN has a more constant set of subscription plans which are for one month, six months, and one year, while TunnelBear has more complex plans that are mainly based on features and the needs of their target customers. ExpressVPN offers a one-month subscription for $12.95.

If you prefer a longer plan, ExpressVPN can give you a 23 percent discount for the six-month plan since you’ll only have to pay $9.99 per month for a total of $59.95. If you want a bigger discount, you can go with the one year subscription for a 35 percent discount as you will only have to pay decreasing the monthly price to only $8.32. 

TunnelBear offers three kinds of plans, the free plan, the premium plan, and the team plan. As I have mentioned, the free plan gives you 500 megabytes of data every month. The premium plan, which has no data cap, costs $9.99 per month.

But just like ExpressVPN, TunnelBear gives major discounts if you prefer to subscribe to longer plans. You can save 50% if you choose the one year plan and pay only $4.99 per month. But the big deal lies with their three-year plan which only costs $3.33 per month which sums up to a bill of $120. Their team plan, on the other hand, offers a seven-day free trial but basically costs $5.75 per user per month.

If you’re not satisfied with the performance of these VPNs, ExpressVPN offers a risk-free, 30-day money-back guarantee while TunnelBear only refunds on a case-to-case basis. Both VPNs accept cryptocurrency methods of payment aside from credit cards and Paypal if you want to be more anonymous.

In this category, TunnelBear finally grabs a win since it offers a cheaper and wider variety of plans compared to ExpressVPN. Iit also earns recognition for offering a reliable free plan and team plan which are plans that ExpressVPN lacks.

Final Verdict: ExpressVPN wins

Over the years, ExpressVPN and TunnelBear have proven themselves to be excellent choices for a VPN provider. As a summary, ExpressVPN got five category wins which include the Set-up and Features, Speed, Streaming and Torrenting, Jurisdiction, Security, and Privacy, and Support and Reliability. On the other hand, TunnelBear has the crown if we’re going to talk about Pricing. 

TunnelBear delivered a good fight but overall, ExpressVPN has the advantage and therefore, the winner of this battle. It might be a bit pricey but every penny that comes out of your pocket is absolutely worth it with its excellent and top-tier features.

If you’re ready to try ExpressVPN or TunnelBear, you can click on the link below to get your chosen plan with massive discounts. For a demo on how to set up and use ExpressVPN or TunnelBear, you can watch these next tutorials. I’ll see you over on that next article!