TunnelBear is the VPN we hand to people who have never used one. The app makes the whole idea approachable, and the privacy work behind it is more serious than the bears suggest. The 2 GB cap is the whole debate.
TunnelBear's free plan is the paid product with a small allowance: 2 GB per month, access to the full server network, and the same apps everyone else uses. There's no device limit. The app itself is the selling point. Connecting plays a little animation of a bear tunneling to your destination, settings are written in plain English, and there's nothing to configure unless you go looking.
Behind the cartoon bears, the security posture is serious. TunnelBear was one of the first VPNs to publish independent security audits, and it has kept doing them annually, covering its apps and infrastructure, not just the logging policy. For a beginner-oriented product, that track record is a genuine differentiator.
Two gigabytes is the tightest cap on our list, enough for occasional protection on café Wi-Fi, checking email while traveling, or trying out what a VPN does. It is not enough for daily use, and it's gone in minutes if video starts playing. The free tier also now auto-selects your server rather than letting you choose a country, a change from how it used to work. And TunnelBear is owned by McAfee, which is worth knowing if you prefer independent companies.
Absolute beginners, occasional users, and anyone helping a less technical friend or relative get their first VPN. If the 2 GB runs out in the first week, that's your answer: graduate to Proton VPN's unlimited free plan, which is nearly as easy to use.
TunnelBear has occasionally offered small bonuses for things like tweeting about the service, but the dependable answer is no: 2 GB per month is the free allowance.
Not anymore. The free tier now connects you automatically to the best available server. Choosing a specific country requires a paid plan.
The ownership hasn't changed the audit habit: TunnelBear still publishes annual independent security audits and maintains its no-logs policy. If independence matters to you on principle, Proton is the alternative.
See how it compares in the full free VPN ranking, or step up to Proton VPN when the 2 GB stops being enough.