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PIA vs TunnelBear pairs two providers that agree on one thing most rivals do not: neither limits how many devices you connect. Both also sit under large corporate parents inside the Five Eyes, Private Internet Access under Kape Technologies in Denver and TunnelBear under McAfee, with its team in Toronto.
Where they differ is how each proves its privacy, and what each is built for. PIA’s evidence comes from US courtrooms and Deloitte; TunnelBear’s from the longest unbroken run of public Cure53 audits in the market. PIA is built for power users, TunnelBear for beginners.
PIA vs TunnelBear: The Short Answer
Choose PIA over TunnelBear for port forwarding, streaming and a refund. It rates 4.5 in our rankings, costs around $2.03 a month on its two-year plan, and gives 30 days to claim a refund. Our PIA review covers it in full.
Choose TunnelBear for simplicity and a free tier. It rates 4.0 in our TunnelBear review, has the friendliest apps in the category, and offers 2 GB a month free.
Both allow unlimited devices, so the device count will not decide this one.
Two Kinds of Proof
PIA’s proof came from courtrooms. US federal authorities have subpoenaed it at least three times, and it had no connection logs to provide. Three Deloitte audits followed, and its apps are open source. Our guide to legal demands on VPNs explains the cases.
TunnelBear’s proof came from Cure53, every year since 2017. Its first report listed two critical issues and it published the findings anyway; by 2024 it had completed eight annual audits. Our TunnelBear review calls it the longest unbroken public audit record of any VPN. Our audit tracker sets both records side by side.
| Provider | No-logs audits | Auditor | Jurisdiction |
|---|---|---|---|
| NordVPN | 6 | PwC, Deloitte | Panama |
| Surfshark | 2 | Deloitte | Netherlands (9 Eyes) |
| ExpressVPN | 3 | KPMG (28 security reports in total) | British Virgin Islands, Kape-owned |
| CyberGhost | 3 | Deloitte | Romania, Kape-owned |
| PureVPN | 4 | KPMG | BVI, operated from Pakistan |
| IPVanish | 2 | Leviathan, Schellman | United States (Five Eyes), Ziff Davis-owned |
| Windscribe | 1 | Packetlabs, production infrastructure | Canada (Five Eyes); Greek case dismissed, no data to give |
| Proton VPN | 5 | Securitum | Switzerland, moving infrastructure to EU |
| Private Internet Access | 3 | Deloitte | United States (Five Eyes), Kape-owned |
| Mullvad | 10+ | Cure53, Assured AB | Sweden (14 Eyes) |
| TunnelBear | Annual since 2017 | Cure53 | Canada (Five Eyes), US parent |
| Norton VPN | 2 | VerSprite | United States (Five Eyes) |
| Hotspot Shield | 0 | protocol audited, policy not | United States (Five Eyes) |
| AirVPN | 0 | none — the client is open source instead | Italy (14 Eyes) |
| IVPN | 8, annual since inception | Cure53 | Gibraltar (status disputed) |
| Hide.me | 1 modern, in 2024 | Securitum, though one source names Altius IT | Malaysia (outside the alliances) |
| PrivadoVPN | 0 | none in six years of operation | Iceland (moved from Switzerland, 2026) |
| TorGuard | 0 | none; settled a lawsuit without disclosing records | United States (Five Eyes) |
| FastestVPN | 1, in 2023 | Altius IT | Cayman Islands (outside the alliances) |
| StrongVPN | 0 | none in over two decades | United States (Five Eyes), Ziff Davis-owned |
| VyprVPN | 1, in 2018 | Leviathan Security, before the 2023 sale | United States (Five Eyes), Certida-owned since 2023 |
| PrivateVPN | 0 | none; support says there is nothing to audit | Sweden (14 Eyes), ownership disputed |
| ZoogVPN | 0 | none; support describes one as planned | Greece (outside the alliances), run from Ukraine |
| Malwarebytes Privacy VPN | 1, in 2026 | X41 D-Sec, white-box over two months | United States (Five Eyes), runs AzireVPN infrastructure |
| Astrill | 0 | — | Disputed: Seychelles or Liechtenstein |
Owners and Jurisdiction
PIA belongs to Kape Technologies, which also owns ExpressVPN and CyberGhost, and operates from Denver. TunnelBear has belonged to McAfee since March 2018; the team stayed in Toronto and the audits continued, but the parent is a publicly traded US company, and Canada is also a Five Eyes member.
So both answer to large corporate parents rather than to an independent founder. Our reviews of each note that nothing has gone wrong under those owners, and our ownership guide covers both groups.
PIA vs TunnelBear on Price and Refunds
PIA costs around $2.03 a month on its two-year plan, about $49 upfront. Sources disagree on the renewal, so check the checkout page.
TunnelBear costs around $3.33 a month on its three-year plan, and our four-year table puts it near $160. Our renewal price table compares both.
⚠️ Refunds differ sharply. PIA gives 30 days. TunnelBear has no standard money-back guarantee and considers refunds case by case, so try its free tier before paying. Our refund guide explains both.
PIA vs TunnelBear on Features
Port forwarding: PIA includes it; TunnelBear offers neither port forwarding nor a dedicated IP. Our port forwarding guide explains why that matters for seeding.
Streaming: PIA rates 4 in our review and TunnelBear 2.5, with Netflix frequently failing on TunnelBear. Our Netflix guide covers the options.
Free tier: TunnelBear gives 2 GB a month without a card. PIA has no free plan. Our free VPN guide compares the free tiers worth trusting.
Ease of use: TunnelBear scores 5 in our review, the highest mark we give. PIA offers deeper settings that power users appreciate and beginners may not need.
What Each One Lacks
PIA lacks a free tier and a jurisdiction outside the Five Eyes. Its subpoena record answers the second point in practice, and its app has more settings than a beginner may want.
TunnelBear lacks port forwarding, reliable streaming and a refund guarantee. Its network, at around 47 countries, is also smaller than PIA’s, though its GhostBear mode helps on restrictive networks, as our obfuscation guide explains.
Both lack an independent owner. Kape and McAfee are large corporate groups, and our reviews of each weigh that as a structural concern rather than a documented problem.
Which One
PIA for torrenting with port forwarding, for streaming, and for a refund if it does not work out.
TunnelBear for a first VPN, for family members who want the simplest app, and for occasional use on the free tier. Proton VPN vs TunnelBear and PIA vs Mullvad cover each against another rival.
How We Research
PIA’s subpoenas, audits, devices and pricing come from our PIA review and tables, and TunnelBear’s audit history, ownership, free tier, refund policy and pricing from our TunnelBear review and tables. Prices are as recorded in our tables in September 2026, so confirm them at checkout. We do not run our own tests. Our full approach lives on the About Us page.
PIA vs TunnelBear FAQ
In PIA vs TunnelBear, PIA wins on port forwarding, streaming and refunds, rating 4.5 against 4.0. TunnelBear wins on ease of use and has a free tier.
Yes. Neither limits simultaneous connections on its paid plans.
Both are strong in different ways. PIA’s no-logs claim has survived US federal subpoenas and three Deloitte audits. TunnelBear has published a Cure53 audit every year since 2017.
Not as a standard guarantee; it considers them case by case. PIA offers 30 days.
PIA, at around $2.03 a month on its two-year plan. TunnelBear costs around $3.33 a month on its three-year plan.
The Verdict
For torrenting, streaming and refunds, PIA vs TunnelBear goes to PIA. It adds port forwarding, better streaming and a proper refund window to the unlimited devices both offer.
TunnelBear is the better first VPN: the simplest apps in the category, a free tier to try, and a decade-long habit of publishing its audits. Test the free tier before paying, since refunds are not guaranteed.