Betternet vs TunnelBear (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Betternet and TunnelBear share a 2.4 GPA, both have a free plan, and TunnelBear starts cheaper, at $3.33 a month against $8 a month when paid by the year.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
They get the same grade on all five counts.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Betternet
Ad-supported free VPN with an ad-free Premium plan
TunnelBear
McAfee-owned VPN with a 2GB free plan and pay-once multi-year plans
Which one is for you
Pick Betternet if
- Fits if you want a free VPN for light use and can live with ads
- Works for people who'll try Premium free for 7 days
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want to pick a server country on the free version, which connects to the US only
- Tight if you hate ads: they stay on the free version, and Premium removes them
- Watch out: the trial renews into a paid plan unless you cancel at least 24 hours before it ends
- Watch out: the home page shows a $71.99 first-year promotion that ended 24 March 2026; it renews at $95.99
- Watch out: the vendor's site showed no pricing page, so prices come from the App Store
Pick TunnelBear if
- Fits if you'd rather pay once for two or three years than face auto-renewals
- Works for small teams at $5.75 a user a month, billed yearly, with an admin console
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you use Linux, as the download page lists no app for it
- Not for you if you're in India, where TunnelBear says it can no longer be bought
- Too light for anyone who needs servers in lots of countries, with 46+ on offer
- Tight if you stay free: 2GB, and the page doesn't say how often it resets
- Watch out: the pricing page shows only "from $3.33/mo"; term prices appear at checkout, and ad blocking is a separate extension
How we grade them
| 2.4GPABetternetFair | 2.4GPATunnelBearFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CPremium is $95.99 a year, about $8 a month, or $11.99 monthly, against a category middle of $5. | CTwo years of Unlimited are $99.99 paid once, about $4.17 a month, between the cheaper quarter of VPNs and the middle. Three years for $120 is $3.33 a month. Neither renews by itself, and a single year is $69.99. |
| Free plan and trial | CA free VPN with unlimited data and no sign-up, but with ads and, per the vendor's App Store reply, a US server only. Premium has a 7-day trial that renews unless you cancel. | CA free plan with 2GB of browsing, which TunnelBear itself pitches at testing and light use, and the page doesn't say how often it resets. Fine for café Wi-Fi now and then, gone fast if you stream. |
| Features | CKill switch, leak protection, anti-phishing alerts and connection modes, but the free version is limited to one location and ads. | CThe basics: unlimited devices, a kill switch, split tunneling, GhostBear to get past VPN blocks, and yearly audits. But the network covers 46+ countries, far fewer than most rivals, and ad blocking is a separate Chrome extension. |
| Ease of use | B4.5 from 238K App Store ratings. Install it and connect, with no sign-up for the free version. | B4.67 from about 85,000 App Store ratings, a hair under the 4.7 an A needs. Pick a country and you're connected. |
| Platforms and integrations | BiOS, Android, Windows, Mac and a browser extension. No API or integration list. | BWindows, Mac, iPhone, iPad, Android and Chrome, but the download page lists no Linux app. There's no integration list or API on record either. |
| Best for | a free VPN with ads | a simple VPN you can pay for once |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Betternet and TunnelBear. How we grade
Price against what you get
Betternet starts at $8 a month when paid by the year and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. TunnelBear starts at $3.33 a month and scores 2.7.
They score the same, and TunnelBear starts $4.67 a month lower. Of the other VPNs on the chart, 9 score higher than Betternet for less, and 2 score higher than TunnelBear for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Betternet also covers malware protection.
- TunnelBear also covers ad and tracker blocking.
At a glance
| Betternet | TunnelBear | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $95.99 per year, or $11.99 per month | $3.33 per month on the 3-year Unlimited plan ($120 paid once) |
| Free plan | Free VPN with unlimited data and no registration, supported by ads. The vendor's App Store reply says the free version connects to a US server. | 2GB of secure browsing for testing and light use. The pricing page does not say how often the allowance resets. |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial of Premium on the monthly and annual plans, per the App Store listing. | 7-day free trial of TunnelBear for Teams |
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Betternet LLC | TunnelBear LLC |
| Price read from | apps.apple.com | tunnelbear.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Betternet
- The free version shows ads and, per the vendor's App Store reply, connects to a US server only; Premium removes the ads.
- The vendor's site did not show a pricing page when read; the prices come from the App Store listing and a promotion notice on the home page.
- The home page still displays a $71.99 first-year promotion whose stated end date, March 24, 2026, has passed; it renews at $95.99 a year.
- Trials convert to paid plans unless cancelled at least 24 hours before they end.
TunnelBear
- The pricing page shows only "from $3.33/mo"; the term prices here come from the price list the site loads for its checkout.
- The free plan is limited to 2GB, and the download page lists no Linux app.
- TunnelBear says it can no longer be bought by users in India because of CERT-In regulations.
- Teams is billed annually per user, with additions and removals pro-rated.
Key features
Betternet
- Free VPN without registration
- The free version needs no account or email and has unlimited data, in exchange for showing ads.
- Kill switch and leak protection
- The features page lists a kill switch, always-on auto-connect and IP and DNS leak protection.
- Anti-phishing alerts
- Warns you before you visit a site that may carry malware or phishing.
- Connection modes
- Lets you optimize the connection for gaming, browsing or streaming, and includes Tor over VPN.
- Server network
- The features page cites 1,000+ servers with up to 1 Gbps, while the App Store listing says 1800+ servers and 125+ virtual locations.
TunnelBear
- Unlimited devices
- There is no limit on how many devices can use one TunnelBear account.
- Network in 46+ countries
- Over 8,000 servers physically located in the countries you pick, with city-level choice on paid plans.
- GhostBear
- Makes encrypted VPN traffic harder for governments, businesses and ISPs to detect, to get past VPN blocking.
- VigilantBear and SplitBear
- VigilantBear blocks unsecured traffic if the connection drops, and SplitBear chooses which apps and sites go through the VPN.
- Annual security audits
- TunnelBear has independent security firms audit it every year and publishes the results.
- TunnelBear Blocker
- A separate free Chrome extension that blocks ads and online tracking.
Plans
Betternet
Free$0
Ad-supported VPN with unlimited data and no sign-up.
Premium, monthly$11.99
per month
Ad-free VPN on up to 10 devices at once. Price from the US App Store listing, where it is labeled Monthly VPN Subscription.
Premium, annual$95.99
per year, renewing every year
The same Premium plan billed yearly. The vendor's site gives $95.99 a year as the annual renewal price; its own annual promotion had an end date of March 24, 2026.
TunnelBear
Free$0
2GB of secure browsing, aimed at testing and limited use.
Unlimited, 1 month$10.99
per month
Unlimited data on unlimited devices, country and city selection, split tunneling and priority support. Renews monthly.
Unlimited, 1 year$69.99
per year
The same Unlimited plan, renewing every year at $69.99.
Unlimited, 2 years$99.99
for 2 years, paid once, with no renewal
Two years of Unlimited for a single payment; it does not renew by itself.
Unlimited, 3 years$120
for 3 years, paid once, with no renewal
Works out to $3.33 a month, the "from" price on the pricing page. A single payment that does not renew by itself.
Teams$5.75
per user / month, billed annually
Unlimited plan features for 2 or more users, with one annual team invoice, an admin console and pro-rated changes.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Betternet or TunnelBear?
As of Nov 12, 2026, TunnelBear is cheaper to start with: $3.33 a month, against $8 a month when paid by the year for Betternet. Betternet starts at $95.99 per year, or $11.99 per month, and TunnelBear starts at $3.33 per month on the 3-year Unlimited plan ($120 paid once).
Which has a free plan, Betternet or TunnelBear?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Betternet and TunnelBear have a free plan.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.