PrivateVPN is independently owned in Sweden with no published audit program. TunnelBear is owned by McAfee in Canada and publishes annual audit reports that are fully downloadable without account. The comparison is between independent ownership without verification and corporate ownership with a clean published audit record.

What you get that PrivateVPN doesn't offer

Annual independent audit reports fully public and downloadable without account — no prior incident in the audit history. Interface designed for zero VPN configuration experience. Free tier with 2GB monthly. McAfee backing.

What you give up

McAfee owns TunnelBear — PrivateVPN has no parent company. Canada is 5-eyes; Sweden is 14-eyes — PrivateVPN's jurisdictional exposure is different. Port forwarding and SOCKS5 proxy are not available at TunnelBear. Five connections vs ten. TunnelBear doesn't position around streaming access.

What you get that TunnelBear doesn't offer

Independent Swedish ownership — no corporate parent. Port forwarding included. SOCKS5 proxy support. Ten simultaneous connections vs TunnelBear's five. Streaming access is a product commitment at PrivateVPN; TunnelBear doesn't position around geo-unblocking. Sweden is a 14-eyes member; Canada is 5-eyes — different alliance exposure.

What you give up

TunnelBear publishes annual independent audit reports fully downloadable without account login — PrivateVPN has no published third-party audit. TunnelBear's interface is designed for zero onboarding friction. Free tier with 2GB monthly at TunnelBear. McAfee provides commercial backing PrivateVPN's independent structure doesn't have.