hide.me vs TunnelBear
We give hide.me a 3.0 GPA and TunnelBear a 2.4, out of 4.0. hide.me grades higher on value for money, the free plan and features. They get the same grade on ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
hide.me
Malaysia-based VPN with a no-signup free plan and flat renewal prices
TunnelBear
McAfee-owned VPN with a 2GB free plan and pay-once multi-year plans
How we grade them
| 3.0GPAhide.meVery good | 2.4GPATunnelBearFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BThe 26-month plan bills $69.99, so two years cost about $2.92 a month, inside the cheaper quarter of VPNs, and it renews at that same $69.99. The 13-month plan is $54.99, and monthly is $11.99. | 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, which is nice, and a single year is $69.99. |
| Free plan and trial | BFree for good with no sign-up and no card: one device, 8 locations and restricted speeds. The pricing page says unlimited data, though the FAQ still says 10GB a month. If the pricing page is right, one person could live on it. | 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 | B10 devices, 92 locations, the SmartGuard blocker, multihop, port forwarding, split tunneling, a kill switch, WireGuard, IPv6 and an audited no-logs policy. The Bolt speed-up is Windows only, but the core job is covered. | CThe basics, done properly: 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 | B4.53 from about 7,900 App Store ratings. On the free plan there's no account to make, so you install it and connect. | 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 | BWindows, Mac, Linux, iPhone, Android, smart TVs, and Chrome, Firefox and Edge extensions. There's no integration list or API on record, so it stops at B. | 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 no sign-up | 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: hide.me and TunnelBear. How we grade
Price against what you get
hide.me starts at $2.69 a month and scores 3.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. TunnelBear starts at $3.33 a month and scores 2.7.
hide.me scores higher and starts $0.64 a month lower. Of the other VPNs on the chart, none scores higher than hide.me 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
- hide.me starts at $2.69 per month, billed $69.99 every 26 months at the same price on renewal. TunnelBear starts at $3.33 per month on the 3-year Unlimited plan ($120 paid once).
- Only hide.me lists a Linux app.
At a glance
| hide.me | TunnelBear | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $2.69 per month, billed $69.99 every 26 months at the same price on renewal | $3.33 per month on the 3-year Unlimited plan ($120 paid once) |
| Free plan | No sign-up needed: one device, 8 locations and restricted speeds. The pricing page lists unlimited data, though the site's FAQ still says 10GB a month. | 2GB of secure browsing for testing and light use. The pricing page does not say how often the allowance resets. |
| Free trial | None listed | 7-day free trial of TunnelBear for Teams |
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | eVenture Ltd. | TunnelBear LLC |
| Price read from | hide.me | tunnelbear.com |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Who each one suits
hide.me
- People who want a free VPN without creating an account
- Buyers who want the renewal price to match the first term
- Users who need port forwarding or a fixed IP address
TunnelBear
- Occasional users who need a VPN for a few gigabytes
- People who want to pay once for several years with no auto-renewal
- Small teams that want one annual invoice for everyone
Worth knowing
hide.me
- The free plan allows one device and 8 locations at restricted speeds; Premium is needed for 10 devices and all 92 locations.
- The pricing page mentions 3-, 6- and 36-month terms but links to them only through a coupon checkout, with no price shown.
- Bolt, hide.me's speed technology, is described for Windows only.
- Prices are in US dollars and VAT may be added at checkout.
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
hide.me
- Renewals at the first-term price
- hide.me's pricing guarantee says a plan always renews at the same price and for the same length as the term first bought.
- SmartGuard
- Blocks malware, tracking, ads and phishing sites while connected.
- Multihop and port forwarding
- Pick separate entry and exit servers to route through two locations, and open ports automatically for games and P2P.
- Split tunneling and StealthGuard
- Choose which apps go through the VPN, restrict some apps to VPN-only, and cut the internet if the VPN drops.
- WireGuard, Bolt and IPv6
- WireGuard support, Bolt speed technology on Windows, and native IPv6 so IPv6 traffic does not leak around the tunnel.
- Audited no-logs policy
- The no-logs policy has been independently audited, and hide.me publishes a yearly transparency report.
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
hide.me
Free$0
One device and 8 server locations at restricted speeds, with the same no-logs policy as paid plans.
1 Month$11.99
per month
Premium on 10 devices with 92 locations, port forwarding and a fixed IP address. Renews monthly at the same price.
12 Months + 1 Month$4.23
per month, billed $54.99 every 13 months
The same Premium plan for 13 months at a time; it renews at $54.99 for another 13 months.
24 Months + 2 Months$2.69
per month, billed $69.99 every 26 months
The same Premium plan for 26 months at a time; it renews at $69.99 for another 26 months.
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.
Ways to pay less
hide.me
- Annual discount
Longer terms cost less per month
The 26-month plan works out to $2.69 a month and the 13-month plan to $4.23, against $11.99 on the monthly plan. Both renew at the same price.
TunnelBear
No public discounts listed.
