NordVPN vs. TunnelBear Comparison & Test Results 2022
The “nordvpn vs tunnelbear reddit” is a comparison of the two VPNs. It includes test results, NordVPN’s features and TunnelBear’s features.
For consumers seeking quick connections, Netflix access, and exceptional privacy connections, NordVPN is a great option.
The service provider is affordable, dependable, and provides good access to gaming and streaming servers in most regions of the globe.
Go to NordVPN
For infrequent VPN users looking for a straightforward, affordable solution to secure their Wi-Fi connection at Starbucks, TunnelBear is an appealing option. A free, but restricted, the tier of service is provided by the provider.
Fast download speeds are available from the provider, however, they are rather wasted since the company can’t unblock streaming services.
Go to TunnelBear.
Selection of a VPN
In this round of head-to-head competition, NordVPN and TunnelBear will square off.
In this essay, I’ll examine the 10 most crucial VPN service categories, discuss why each one is significant, and then show how each provider performs in each one. I will then name the winner of each category. I’ll review each of the ten service categories, tally up the results, and name an overall winner.
You’ll have all the knowledge you need at the article’s conclusion to choose which of the two services best suits your individual requirements.
Relationship Speed
The computer you’re working on right now? It’s connected to the internet. That iPhone you’re watching a Netflix show on? It’s connected to the internet. Fast Relationship Speeds make all of this happen.
Pixel Privacy performs our VPN Relationship Speed tests as follows:
- We use a Windows server with a gigabit Ethernet connection located in North America to test VPN providers’ Relationship Speeds.
- We make use of the providers’ Windows programs, which are set up to establish a connection using the OpenVPN protocol via UDP.
- We use the app from Speedtest.net to test the Relationship Speeds.
- Over the course of three days, three users from various regions of the globe connect to VPN servers in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Hong Kong at various times of the day.
- We average out the results of each provider’s tests to determine the final reported Relationship Speeds.
Average Relationship Speed
While the majority of your favorite online activities should be supported by both VPN services, only one of them has a fast enough download speed to support 4K video streaming.
It came as a bit of a surprise, TunnelBear. The low-cost supplier offered download rates of 55 Mbps, which were more than enough for 4K streaming.
With download speeds of 17.90 Mbps, NordVPN was far slower than the competition. Despite this, the service is still capable of handling the majority of internet tasks, including streaming HD video.
Due to a number of circumstances, your findings may most likely differ from those we measured during our testing. Your speeds will vary depending on your location, the location of the VPN provider’s servers, the unprotected speeds that your ISP gives, the time of day that you test your speeds, and all of these factors.
Average Relationship Speed Winner: TunnelBear
Pricing
This time around, both of the services are decently priced, with prices in the low- to mid-range compared to other VPN providers I’ve examined.
The cheapest supplier, TunnelBear, offers both 1-month and 1-year options. (The 1-year option will cost around the same each month as a medium cup at your preferred coffee shop.) The company also has a free alternative, although it only allows 500 MB of data per month for free customers. (Fun fact: You may use jars of honey to pay for your membership.)
The yearly option of NordVPN is somewhat more expensive than TunnelBear’s, costing around the same as a big coffee shop drink each month. Plans for 1, 2, and 3 years are also offered.
Because VPN companies often alter their pricing plans, we are unable to offer a precise price range in this area. Visit the website of a VPN service to get the most recent pricing and promotions since providers sometimes run special offers.
Price Champion: TunnelBear
Privacy
What’s the best technique to determine if you’re being followed or watched online? If you have an internet connection, someone is watching you.
Everyone appears to be curious about what you’re doing online. People are always attempting to peek over your virtual shoulder, whether it’s your ISP analyzing your online activities so they may sell that information to advertising or a hacker trying to steal your credit card information.
Look for the following while investigating the privacy safeguards offered by VPN providers:
- a company established in a nation that upholds internet privacy
- a service provider that does not keep records of its consumers’ internet actions
- a business that takes Bitcoin or other anonymous payment methods
Panama, where NordVPN is based, has a government that protects the privacy of internet consumers. The supplier doesn’t store any records of its users’ internet actions since they are not obligated to. There are many ways to pay for subscriptions using cryptocurrencies.
Canada is the home of TunnelBear. The people are kind, but their government may be a little inquisitive. However, legislation mandating VPNs to keep records of their users’ online activities has not yet been enacted. For its secure connections, this company allows anonymous payments in the form of Bitcoin (and honey).
NordVPN is the winner in terms of privacy because of its more private location.
Features
Don’t become fixated on just one or two characteristics while choosing the finest VPN company for your requirements. After all, without extensive worldwide server coverage, even the fastest VPN service in the world is meaningless. Instead, carefully examine each area of service so that you can make an educated choice.
We’ll examine a few things that both providers give in this section. I’ll disclose each provider’s performance in that service category at the conclusion of each segment and choose a winner for each.
Security
One of the most crucial factors to consider when utilizing a VPN is how efficiently the service safeguards your internet activity. The provider should provide the best encryption to keep your internet connection secret and should also offer extra protections to prevent monitoring or unintentional disclosure of your online activities.
Customers’ connections using OpenVPN with TCP/UDP, IKEv2/IPsec, L2TP/IPSec, PPTP, and SSTP are secured by NordVPN’s government-grade AES-256 encryption. It provides DNS leak prevention, kills switch protection, malicious website filtering, and Onion Over VPN.
The security provided by TunnelBear uses IPSec/IKEv2 and OpenVPN with AES-256 encryption. It lacks NordVPN’s PPTP, SSTP, and L2TP/IPSec encryption. The service provider also provides DNS leak prevention, kill switch protection, and GhostBear (which disguises your VPN traffic as regular internet traffic).
Security tiebreaker:
Parallel Connections
If you wish to give VPN security to a sizable group of people, such as a big family or a small company, you should look for a VPN service that allows several concurrent connections on a single account.
NordVPN provides 6 Parallel Connections.
TunnelBear allows 5 Parallel Connections.
Parallel Connections Winner: NordVPN
Streaming Assistance
You probably subscribe to many streaming services. I am aware that I have many subscriptions, including to Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, HBO, EPIX, and a number of other services. (My actions on behalf of my readers.)
You’ll discover that the majority of streaming services alter their material according to the nation from where you access them. This is because of the agreements they make with television and film producers, who place regional restrictions on the distribution of their programs and films.
Netflix and other streaming services cannot be accessed with any degree of reliability with TunnelBear. To be fair, they don’t make that assertion. If access to streaming services is important to you, look elsewhere.
Numerous streaming services are unblocked by NordVPN in both the US and other countries. Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Amazon Prime Video, HBO, Showtime, Hulu, Disney+, and more services are among them.
Streaming Assistance Winner: NordVPN
Support for BitTorrent
Currently, peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing is one of the most common online activities. But it’s also one of the most contentious. Despite the fact that file sharing is allowed (and that many people and businesses exchange files), some people utilize technology to distribute movies, software, and games in violation of the law.
Due to illegal file sharing, television and movie companies have placed pressure on ISPs to ban P2P activity on their networks, regardless of the motivation for doing so. Fortunately, you may bypass an ISP’s blockades by using a VPN.
By encrypting your internet connection, a VPN protects your peer-to-peer file sharing and other online activity from being seen. Additionally, it disguises your identity and location by giving your true IP address a temporary IP address.
On its servers in 46 of the nations it serves, NordVPN permits peer-to-peer file sharing.
BitTorrent/P2P activities are permitted on the TunnelBear VPN network, although they advise that you only use servers in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Romania, the Netherlands, Germany, and Sweden.
Winner for BitTorrenting Support: NordVPN
Server Coverage Worldwide
Server Coverage Worldwide is only important if you want access to streaming or gaming content and other services that might normally be blocked in your region of the world. And who doesn’t want that? (Put your hand down, Eugene, that was what they call a “rhetorical” question.)
With 5,550+ servers, NordVPN has a good distribution throughout 60 countries.
Meanwhile, TunnelBear’s Server Coverage Worldwide of 22 countries is “bearly” there when compared to NordVPN’s coverage.
Server Coverage Worldwide Winner: NordVPN
Multi-Platform Assistance
Do you possess a lot of linked devices? I bet you have more than one (or 5). This is why, before signing on the virtual dotted line, you should always inquire as to how many different sorts of devices a VPN supports.
The Android, Windows, macOS, Linux, Android TV, and iOS platforms are all supported by NordVPN’s native apps. Additionally, you may use it with routers that are Tomato- and DD-WRT-flashed, as well as certain other router brands, NAS storage devices, Windows Phone devices, and more. For the Firefox and Chrome platforms, there are browser extensions available.
TunnelBear’s native app support is restricted to the macOS, Windows, iOS, and Android platforms, therefore that qualifies as well. They do provide add-ons for the platforms of Chrome, Firefox, and Opera.
Multi-Platform Assistance Winner: NordVPN
Customer Service
Customer Service is that feature that none of us ever wants to use, but we sure are glad it’s there when we need it.
24/7 live chat, email help, and a searchable support library are all offered by NordVPN.
TunnelBear comes up a bit short in the Customer Service department, as it lacks 24/7 support chat. It does offer an email support form and an easy-to-use help search function.
Customer Service Winner: NordVPN
The winner is…
The match between NordVPN and TunnelBear ended up like “The Harlem Globetrotters vs. the Washington Generals.”
NordVPN was the MVP in the privacy, Parallel Connections, streaming, BitTorrent, Server Coverage Worldwide, Multi-Platform Assistance and Customer Service categories.
TunnelBear took the win in only two categories: Relationship Speed and pricing.
In the security sector, the suppliers were connected.
With a stellar 7-2-1 record, NordVPN won the overall one-on-one competition. Users who want to access geographically restricted material and value the convenience of using the service on numerous devices at once should make the provider their first pick.
Go to NordVPN
The “best vpn” is a difficult question to answer. There are many different factors that determine the best VPN for you, such as price, features, and overall performance. This article will compare NordVPN vs. TunnelBear and share test results from 2022.
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