Surfshark vs TunnelBear
We give Surfshark a 2.8 GPA and TunnelBear a 2.4, out of 4.0. Surfshark grades higher on value for money, features and ease of use. TunnelBear grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Surfshark
VPN with no device limit, sold alone or in security bundles
TunnelBear
McAfee-owned VPN with a 2GB free plan and pay-once multi-year plans
How we grade them
| 2.8GPASurfsharkGood | 2.4GPATunnelBearFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BThe 2-year Starter plan bills $67.23 for the first 27 months, so two years cost about $2.80 a month, inside the cheaper quarter of VPNs. After that it renews at $79 a year, above the middle of the pack. Going monthly is $16.45. | 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 | DA 7-day free trial on 1- and 2-year plans bought on the website, but it needs PayPal, Apple Pay or a card and is limited to 3 devices. The money-back guarantee doesn't count. | 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 | BUnlimited devices, ad and cookie pop-up blocking, Bypasser, Rotating IP, MultiHop, masked emails with Alternative ID, and antivirus and breach alerts on One. More than 4,500 servers in 100 countries. Nothing in the listing is missing. | 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 | A4.7 from about 132,000 App Store ratings. Sign in, hit connect, done. | 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 | BMac, Windows, Linux, iPhone, Android and browser 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 | covering every device in the house cheaply | 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: Surfshark and TunnelBear. How we grade
Price against what you get
Surfshark starts at $6.58 a month when paid by the year and scores 3.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. TunnelBear starts at $3.33 a month and scores 2.7.
Surfshark scores higher, and starts $3.25 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other VPNs on the chart, none scores higher than Surfshark 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
- Surfshark starts at $79 per year at renewal (Starter), after a first 27 months for $67.23. TunnelBear starts at $3.33 per month on the 3-year Unlimited plan ($120 paid once).
- TunnelBear has a free plan. Surfshark does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Surfshark lists a Linux app.
At a glance
| Surfshark | TunnelBear | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $79 per year at renewal (Starter), after a first 27 months for $67.23 | $3.33 per month on the 3-year Unlimited plan ($120 paid once) |
| Free plan | None | 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 1- and 2-year plans bought on the website, limited to 3 devices | 7-day free trial of TunnelBear for Teams |
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Surfshark B.V. | TunnelBear LLC |
| Price read from | surfshark.com | tunnelbear.com |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Surfshark
- Households with more devices than a capped VPN allows
- Buyers who want antivirus and breach alerts in the same subscription
- People who hand out masked email addresses when signing up to sites
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
Surfshark
- The advertised $2.49 a month covers only the first 27 months of a 2-year plan; after that it renews yearly at $79, $99 or $119 depending on the plan.
- The 30-day money-back guarantee excludes Alternative Number purchases, anonymous dedicated IPs and most reseller or gift-card purchases.
- Identity theft coverage is for US residents outside New York State, and Incogni only serves the US, UK, EU, Switzerland and Canada.
- The free trial needs PayPal, Apple Pay or a credit card and applies only to 1- and 2-year plans bought on the website.
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
Surfshark
- Unlimited devices
- One subscription connects as many devices at once as you like. During the free trial the limit is three.
- Ad and cookie pop-up blocking
- The VPN apps include an ad blocker and a blocker for cookie consent pop-ups.
- Bypasser, Rotating IP and MultiHop
- Bypasser lets chosen apps and sites skip the VPN, Rotating IP changes your address during a session, and Dynamic MultiHop routes traffic through two servers.
- Alternative ID
- Generates a masked email address that forwards to your inbox and a made-up persona for sign-ups. A virtual phone number is a paid add-on.
- Antivirus and breach alerts
- The One and One+ plans add real-time and scheduled antivirus scans, webcam protection, and alerts when your email, card or ID details leak.
- Server network
- More than 4,500 servers in 100 countries, which Surfshark says have all been upgraded to 10Gbps.
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
Surfshark
Starter, 2 years$79
per year at renewal, after a first term of 27 months
VPN and Alternative ID. The first 27 months cost $67.23 ($2.49 a month), then it renews each year at $79.
Starter, 1 year$79
per year at renewal, after a first term of 15 months
VPN and Alternative ID. The first 15 months cost $50.85 ($3.39 a month), then it renews each year at $79.
Starter, 1 month$16.45
per month
VPN and Alternative ID, billed monthly at the same price each month.
One, 2 years$99
per year at renewal, after a first term of 27 months
Adds Antivirus, Alert and Search. First 27 months $67.23, the same as Starter. Also 1 year ($50.85 first 15 months) or $18.95 a month.
One+, 2 years$119
per year at renewal, after a first term of 27 months
Adds Incogni data removal and US identity theft cover. First 27 months $121.23. Also 1 year ($112.35 first 15 months) or $21.85 a month.
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
Surfshark
- Other savings
First 27 months of a 2-year plan from $67.23
Starter and One cost $67.23 for the first 27 months (24 plus 3 extra) and One+ $121.23. The plans then renew every 12 months at $79, $99 and $119.
- Other savings
First 15 months of a 1-year plan from $50.85
Starter and One cost $50.85 for the first 15 months (12 plus 3 extra) and One+ $112.35, before renewing yearly at the full price.
- Education
Student discount through Student Beans
Students who verify their status with Student Beans get a discount code for checkout. Surfshark's page does not state the size of the discount.
TunnelBear
No public discounts listed.
