Mullvad VPN vs TunnelBear: privacy compared
Mullvad VPN and TunnelBear are both rated in VPN providers against the same 13 public criteria. Mullvad VPN is based in Sweden (Fourteen Eyes); TunnelBear is based in Canada (Five Eyes).
| Criterion | Mullvad VPN Our pick | TunnelBear |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | Grade B B (78/100) | Grade D D (42/100) |
| Jurisdiction | Sweden Fourteen Eyes | Canada Five Eyes |
| Open source Is all the source code needed to run the product public? | Partial source | No |
| No trackers or telemetry Are the website and apps free of third-party trackers, with any analytics anonymous and any telemetry off by default? | Yes source | No source |
| No ads or data sales Is the product funded without advertising, ad targeting or selling user data? | Yes source | Yes source |
| Independent audit Has an independent security or privacy audit been published within the last three years? | Yes source | Yes source |
| Transparency report Does the provider regularly publish how many government and legal requests it receives and how it responds? | Partial source | Partial source |
| Tells users about requests Does the provider promise to tell users about requests for their data, unless a court forbids it? | No | No |
| TLS configuration Does the website pass the Qualys SSL Labs test with a grade of A or better? | Yes source | Yes source |
| Security headers Does the website pass the Mozilla HTTP Observatory test with a grade of A or better? | Yes source | Partial source |
| Modern web standards Does the website score 90% or higher on the Internet.nl website test? | Partial source | Partial source |
| Audited no-logs policy Has an independent audit confirmed that activity and connection logs are not kept? | Partial source | Partial source |
| Anonymous payment Can an account be created and paid for without an email address, name or card? | Yes source | No source |
| Open-source apps Are the apps for every platform open source? | Yes source | No |
| Modern protocols Is WireGuard (or another modern audited protocol) supported? | Yes source | Yes source |
Which is more private, Mullvad VPN or TunnelBear?
Mullvad VPN scores higher on the public criteria: 78 out of 100, against 42 for TunnelBear. Mullvad VPN does better on open source, no trackers or telemetry, security headers, anonymous payment and open-source apps. How scoring works
Summaries
Mullvad VPN. Mullvad VPN scores 78 out of 100 (grade B) on the VPN providers criteria. It meets 8 of 13 criteria: no trackers or telemetry, no ads or data sales, independent audit, TLS configuration, security headers, anonymous payment, open-source apps and modern protocols. It partly meets open source, transparency report, modern web standards and audited no-logs policy. It does not meet tells users about requests. It is based in Sweden: Fourteen Eyes member; EU member (GDPR). Automated tests: SSL Labs grade A+, Mozilla HTTP Observatory grade A+ and Internet.nl website score 73%.
TunnelBear. TunnelBear scores 42 out of 100 (grade D) on the VPN providers criteria. It meets 4 of 13 criteria: no ads or data sales, independent audit, TLS configuration and modern protocols. It partly meets transparency report, security headers, modern web standards and audited no-logs policy. It does not meet open source, no trackers or telemetry, tells users about requests, anonymous payment and open-source apps. It is based in Canada: Five Eyes member. Automated tests: SSL Labs grade A+, Mozilla HTTP Observatory grade B and Internet.nl website score 82%.