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Best Free VPN for Torrenting

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Podium Rankings for Best VPN
Simon Migliano Head of Research at Top10VPN
Simon Migliano
8 comments

Simon is a recognized world expert in VPNs. He's tested hundreds of VPN services and his research has featured on the BBC, The New York Times, CNet and more. Read full bio

  1. Top10VPN logo
  2. Best VPN
  3. Free
  4. Torrenting

Our top-rated free VPNs for torrenting hide your torrent IP address to ensure anonymous P2P file-sharing.

You should always use a VPN to protect your IP address when torrenting, but you don’t have to spend money on one.

We’ve put dozens of free VPNs through our torrenting benchmark tests to verify how well they actually perform at P2P file sharing.

Based on our specific P2P tests, the best 100% free VPNs for torrenting are:

  1. Windscribe Free: The overall best free VPN for torrenting.
    Read summary or Visit Windscribe
  2. Hide.me Free: A free P2P VPN with a 10GB monthly data cap.
    Read summary or Visit Hide.me
  3. Avira Phantom Free: The fastest free VPN for torrenting.
    Read summary or Visit Avira VPN
  4. Hotspot Shield Free: A free VPN for torrenting with 500MB of data per day. Read summary or Visit Hotspot Shield
  5. TunnelBear Free: A beginner-friendly free VPN that allows torrenting. Read summary or Visit TunnelBear

When you torrent, your IP address is publicly visible, and your ISP, copyright trolls and third parties can determine your identity. Every VPN we recommend on this page will stop this from happening.

None of the free VPNs we recommend ask for payment details, either, so you won’t be charged for the service. The trade-off is you won’t get fast speeds, unlimited data, and unrestricted P2P traffic for free.

EXPERT ADVICE: For faster speeds and no data restrictions, see our list of the overall best VPNs for torrenting. Or, try our top choice ExpressVPN for 30 days risk-free.

The Best Free Torrenting VPNs Compared

The table below compares the top free VPNs for torrenting side by side, based on their logging policy, average speed, data cap, and more.

The Top Free VPNs for Torrenting: Performance Ratings

Here’s a quick table summarising how the best free VPNs for torrenting perform in six P2P testing categories:

EXPERT TIP: Use our torrent IP leak test tool to check for VPN leaks that could compromise your anonymity, including from your torrent client. Our tool also works with IPv6 connections.

The 5 Best Free VPNs for Torrenting & P2P in 2021

  1. 1. Windscribe: Best Free Torrent VPN

    Kill switch, DNS leak protection and 10GB monthly data allowance.

    Ranked #1 Free Torrenting VPN
    Windscribe mobile screenshots
     100% 
    (3 user reviews)
    Visit Windscribe

    Pros

    1. Torrenting allowed on most servers
    2. No speed throttling
    3. Reliable P2P speeds
    4. VPN kill switch & DNS leak protection
    5. Minimal logging policy
    6. No payment info required on signup

    Cons

    1. 10GB monthly data cap
    2. No human live chat

    Free VPN for Torrenting Rating: 7.9/10

    This rating is calculated using the following subcategory ratings. To learn more, read our testing methodology.

    • 6.46.4/10
    • 88.0/10
    • 8.98.9/10
    • 9.59.5/10
    • 8.18.1/10

    Windscribe is our top-rated free VPN and the best free VPN for torrenting on PC and Mac.

    Its free VPN apps are fully encrypted, use OpenVPN, AES-256 encryption, and have a VPN kill switch to hide your IP if you lose connection.

    Altogether, this makes Windscribe the best free VPN for uTorrent, BitTorrent, and other popular P2P clients.

    Technically you can run it on as many devices as you want, but you’ll quickly run through the data allowance if you do.

    Average P2P Bitrate6.4MiB/s
    Data Cap10GB
    Data LeaksNo
    JurisdictionCanada (Five-Eyes Member)
    Countries10
    Compatible with
    1. windowsWindows
    2. iosiOS
    3. macosMacOS
    4. androidAndroid
    5. linuxLinux

    Trustworthy P2P servers and a good logging policy

    Windscribe allows torrenting and P2P traffic on almost all its free VPN servers.

    Moreover, it recorded great torrent speeds in our latest round of testing, making it ideal for fast P2P activity.

    It has a very good logging policy, too. It only keeps logs which cannot be used to identify you or your activity. It’s Canada jurisdiction isn’t ideal, though.

    Port forwarding isn’t offered on the free service. Generally speaking, this means you won’t be able to seed torrents, only download them.

    Good speeds and data allowance

    Windscribe offers 10GB of free data a month which isn’t a huge amount, but it’s more than most free VPNs give you. Only Hotspot Shield allows more.

    10GB should be enough to download a few movies, a season of a TV show, many .PDFs or music files.

    The VPN’s P2P speed are rather fast, too. We recorded an average bitrate of 6.4MiB/s in our tests, compared to 10.1MiB/s without the VPN running (a 36.6% speed drop).

    Paid VPNs generally reach much faster download speeds, but this is the second best result we’ve seen from a free VPN (second only to Avira Phantom Free).

    Useful online resources but poor automated support

    Windscribe Free doesn’t have human live chat support. You have to interact with an unhelpful chat bot, or send an email to customer support.

    At least there are useful online resources available on Windscribe’s website.

    Visit Windscribe

    or read our full Windscribe VPN Review.

  2. 2. Hide.me: Best Free Alternative

    DNS & IPv6 leak protection and 10GB data usage per month.

    Hide.me mobile screenshots
     100% 
    (1 user reviews)
    Visit Hide.me

    Pros

    1. P2P allowed on three of five free servers
    2. DNS & IPv6 leak protection
    3. Minimal logging
    4. No payment details required on signup

    Cons

    1. 10GB monthly data cap
    2. Only five VPN server locations
    3. Kill switch can be unreliable
    4. Slow P2P speeds

    Free VPN for Torrenting Rating: 7.2/10

    This rating is calculated using the following subcategory ratings. To learn more, read our testing methodology.

    • 4.54.5/10
    • 88.0/10
    • 8.58.5/10
    • 9.89.8/10
    • 6.56.5/10

    The free version of Hide.me is a reliable VPN service for torrenting with the same amount of data as Windscribe, but which doesn’t perform as well.

    Average P2P Bitrate4.5MiB/s
    Data Cap10GB
    Data LeaksNo
    JurisdictionMalaysia (Privacy Haven)
    Countries4
    Compatible with
    1. windowsWindows
    2. iosiOS
    3. macosMacOS
    4. androidAndroid
    5. linuxLinux

    Safe and private apps

    Hide.me maintains a privacy-friendly logging policy and comes with security extras such as a VPN kill switch to keep you safe while torrenting.

    All Hide.me’s custom VPN apps are encrypted with the ‘unbreakable’ AES-256 and use the most secure VPN connection protocol, OpenVPN.

    You can use Hide.me’s free apps on all popular platforms, such as Windows, MacOS, iOS, and Android, and you can even install it on your router, which is rare for a free VPN service.

    Private jurisdiction and logging policy

    Hide.me has a really strong jurisdiction: Malaysia. We consider Malaysia to be a privacy haven, and one of the safest places in the world to use a VPN.

    It does keep temporary logs of your email address and amount of data used, but these are deleted every few hours. Your IP address and activity are not monitored or logged.

    Generous data allowence but poor performance

    Hide.me’s 10GB of data is generous for a free VPN. If you want to transfer small amounts of data and are based near it’s P2P servers in the Netherlands, Canada, or Singapore, Hide.me is a good choice for torrenting.

    It’s performance isn’t very strong, though. We found a speed drop of 55.5% in our torrenting benchmark test – the slowest result we’ve seen. (We do carry our tests out from London, though, not especially near to any P2P servers).

    You can’t port forward, either, so won’t be able to seed torrents.

    Visit Hide.me

    or read our full Hide.me Review.

  3. 3. Avira Free VPN: Best for Speed

    The fastest free VPN for P2P activity with 1GB monthly data usage.

    Avira Phantom VPN Free mobile screenshots
     0% 
    No user reviews
    Visit Avira VPN

    Pros

    1. P2P allowed on all servers
    2. Very fast for torrenting
    3. Minimal logging policy
    4. No payment info required on signup

    Cons

    1. Low 1GB monthly data cap
    2. No kill switch

    Free VPN for Torrenting Rating: 7.1/10

    This rating is calculated using the following subcategory ratings. To learn more, read our testing methodology.

    • 9.69.6/10
    • 44.0/10
    • 6.96.9/10
    • 99.0/10
    • 4.84.8/10

    Avira Phantom Free is a very fast free VPN for torrenting, especially if you’ve used up the data allowance of the VPNs we recommend above. Its data cap is quite limiting, though.

    Avira offers VPN apps for iOS, Android, Windows and macOS, all of which use industry standard OpenVPN and AES-256 encryption.

    Average P2P Bitrate9.6MiB/s
    Data Cap1GB
    Data LeaksNo
    JurisdictionGermany (14-Eyes Member)
    Countries38
    Compatible with
    1. windowsWindows
    2. iosiOS
    3. macosMacOS
    4. androidAndroid

    Privacy-first logging policy

    Avira’s logging policy is one of the most private we’ve seen from an antivirus company. In fact, it’s far more private than McAfee, AVG or Norton’s policies.

    Even better, the free VPN never leaked our IP or DNS address in our latest leak tests.

    It’s German jurisdiction is less positive, though. Germany is part of the Five Eyes data sharing alliance, and one of the most privacy hostile countries in Europe.

    The fastest free torrenting VPN we’ve tested

    Our Avira Phantom review shows that, despite general poor speed results, the VPN was by far the fastest free VPN for torrenting.

    We measured an average bitrate of 9.6MiB/s, which was only 5% slower than torrenting without the VPN running.

    The above result is excellent, and not just for a free VPN. It puts Avira Free among the fastest VPNs we’ve tested, including premium VPNs.

    It's possible to get more than 1GB data

    The problem with Avira Free VPN is that you don’t get much data with it – only 1GB. The only safe free VPN which offers less is TunnelBear.

    You may be able to download one or two medium-sized files a month with 1GB allowance, but it’s not enough for a regular P2P user.

    However, we discovered that the app gives you 300 seconds after passing this limit before it cuts off.

    On a normal connection (ours is 100Mbps), you may get away with doubling your data in this time (depending on the health of the torrent).

    On a very fast connection, you can use this ‘trick’ to download some very large files.

    No VPN kill switch

    Sadly, the apps don’t have a kill switch, nor do they allow port forwarding, both important features for a torrenting VPN.

    A kill switch in particular makes sure your IP address is never exposed, even if the VPN fails.

    Without port forwarding, it’s almost possible to seed torrents.

    The lack of these features, especially the kill switch, holds Avira Phantom Free back.

    Visit Avira VPN

    or read our full Avira Phantom Free VPN Review.

  4. 4. Hotspot Shield Free: 500MB per day

    Free VPN with a large data limit (up to 15GB per month)

    Hotspot Shield mobile screenshots
     88% 
    (5 user reviews)
    Visit Hotspot Shield

    Pros

    1. Generous data allowence
    2. Secure & reliable apps
    3. No card details at sign-up
    4. Windows kill switch

    Cons

    1. Daily data cap prevents large downloads
    2. Poor P2P speeds
    3. Unnecessary logging
    4. No kill switch on iOS, MacOS, or Android

    Free VPN for Torrenting Rating: 6.2/10

    This rating is calculated using the following subcategory ratings. To learn more, read our testing methodology.

    • 5.35.3/10
    • 66.0/10
    • 8.98.9/10
    • 6.26.2/10
    • 6.86.8/10

    Hotspot Shield is a fast free VPN with a generous data allowance. Users should be aware of it’s dubious privacy policy, though.

    It uses reliable AES-256 encryption, but has opted for its proprietary Hydra VPN protocol instead of industry standards like OpenVPN or WireGuard. This isn’t necessarily an issue, but you should know it hasn’t been as widely tested.

    Average P2P Bitrate5.3MiB/s
    Data Cap500MB per day
    Data LeaksNo
    JurisdictionUS (Five-Eyes Member)
    Countries80
    Compatible with
    1. windowsWindows
    2. iosiOS
    3. macosMacOS
    4. androidAndroid
    5. linuxLinux

    Windows kill switch and no leaks

    We also didn’t find any IP or DNS leaks in our tests, which means you can be sure you’re torrenting anonymously.

    There’s a kill switch available on Windows, too, but not the other platforms – so we recommend avoiding torrenting with this VPN on iOS, Android, or MacOS. Port forwarding also isn’t enabled on any platform, which will prevent you from seeding.

    Logs more than is necessary

    Hotspot Shield has only recently started allowing P2P traffic on its free VPN, which means it’s not had long to prove itself trustworthy for torrenting.

    There are also some issues with its logging policy. It collects your IP address, your approximate location, connection timestamps, records of bandwidth, device information and an aggregated log of websites visited. Some of this information is just held for the duration of your connection, but it still goes beyond what we’re comfortable with, especially for torrenting.

    We don’t like that it’s based in the US, either, given its history of spying on its own citizens.

    Unusual but generous data policy

    Most free VPNs give you a monthly data cap, but Hotspot Shield uses a daily cap. This means you can get a maximum of around 60GB of data per month – which is huge – but you can’t download any files greater than 500MB in one go.

    Many torrent files, especially film and TV, are bigger than 500MB, but if you want to download small files throughout the month, Hotspot Shield offers more than enough data. This will work especially well for users who want to download PDFs or music.

    Disappointing speeds

    Since Hotspot Shield is the fastest VPN for normal traffic, we expected it to perform really well when downloading files. Clearly, however, it isn’t optimised for P2P.

    We found a download speed drop of 47.5% when torrenting with Hotspot Shield. This is right in the middle of the spectrum for free VPNs, and less than we would expect from a provider that sells itself on speed.

    Visit Hotspot Shield

    or read our full Hotspot Shield Review.

  5. 5. TunnelBear: Very Beginner Friendly

    Easy to use free P2P VPN with 500MB monthly data limit.

    TunnelBear VPN
     100% 
    (2 user reviews)
    Visit TunnelBear

    Pros

    1. VPN kill switch
    2. IP & DNS leak protection
    3. Generous free server network
    4. No activity logs
    5. No payment info necessary

    Cons

    1. 500MB monthly data cap
    2. P2P servers are hard to find

    Free VPN for Torrenting Rating: 5.6/10

    This rating is calculated using the following subcategory ratings. To learn more, read our testing methodology.

    • 5.15.1/10
    • 22.0/10
    • 7.47.4/10
    • 9.59.5/10
    • 6.46.4/10

    TunnelBear is a beginner-friendly VPN which works well for torrenting. It’s safe and secure with AES-256 encryption, but the tiny 500MB data cap of this free version holds it back.

    Unlike other free VPNs, the only difference between this and the paid service is the data cap. So you’ll be getting a premium service for free, with the same speeds, server network and features.

    Average P2P Bitrate5.1MiB/s
    Data Cap500MB
    Data LeaksNo
    JurisdictionCanada (Five-Eyes Member)
    Countries41
    Compatible with
    1. windowsWindows
    2. iosiOS
    3. macosMacOS
    4. androidAndroid
    5. linuxLinux

    Minimal logs and a kill switch

    TunnelBear has a VPN kill switch to keep your IP location hidden at all times. While it isn’t a no-logs VPN, it only collects anonymous server usage data, so it won’t collect your web activity logs.

    It’s Canada jurisdiction isn’t at all good for privacy (it’s the same as Windscribe) but is probably preferable to the US.

    Tiny data allowence and slow torrenting

    Like Windscribe and Hide.me, TunnelBear enforces a data usage cap, but it’s even lower at only 500MB per month. That’s not a lot for torrenting at all. You might be able to download a decent number of PDFs, but if you want to download music or video files it won’t last long at all.

    Like most of the free VPNs here, TunnelBear will slow your torrents down quite a lot. We had a speed drop of 50% when torrenting with it. Both Windscribe Free and Avira Phantom Free performed much better than this.

    Confusing server selection

    TunnelBear goes out of its way to avoid mentioning torrenting. This would be fine if every server worked for P2P, but they don’t, and aren’t labeled. We had to try several different locations until we eventually found that Germany was the closest server location that allows torrenting.

    There are certainly a lot of servers on offer, with 23 country locations and good coverage over Europe especially, but you’ll have to look around to find one for torrenting.

    Beginner friendly apps for popular devices

    TunnelBear has user-friendly OpenVPN apps for Windows, iOS, MacOS and Android (IKEv2 is also available for iOS and Windows). They’re all nicely laid out and approachable, if a bit basic.

    As an entry level VPN it isn’t too surprising that TunnelBear doesn’t allow port forwarding, but this means you can’t seed with this service.

    Visit TunnelBear

    or read our full TunnelBear VPN Review.

P2P Testing Methodology

In order to find the best free VPN for torrenting, we assess every VPN by the same criteria.

We test every VPN using qBittorrent, the safest client we’ve tested, to ensure a fair comparison.

The ideal free torrenting VPN is:

  • Free, and does not ask for payment information on sign-up.
  • Protects your internet traffic with OpenVPN and AES-256 encryption.
  • Hides your IP address and mask your real location.
  • Protects against IP, DNS, and WebRTC leaks.
  • Includes a VPN kill switch.
  • Provides fast speeds and unlimited bandwidth.
  • Has a choice of nearby P2P servers.

Here’s a breakdown of how we calculate our ratings for free torrenting VPNs:

1. P2P Speed: 30%

Minimum Requirement: An average bitrate over 5MiB/s
We Recommend: An average bitrate of 6.5MiB/s or better

Free VPNs can often be slow, especially for torrenting. A fast VPN can be the difference between waiting minutes or hours for a torrent to download.

We use a bespoke P2P benchmarking test to identify the fastest free VPNs for torrenting. We use this test to determine the average bitrate of each VPN when actually torrenting.

The P2P speed test is set up as follows:

  1. Set up a private torrent tracker for a 1GB data file
  2. Host a torrent client on a local server with a fixed connection speed to seed to torrent
  3. Configure the client not to use DHT or otherwise communicate with any other peers
  4. While running a VPN, torrent the file on a 100Mbps connection
  5. Measure the duration of the 1GB download in order to determine average bitrate

We’ve run this test on every free VPN covered here. If you want to see how every torrenting VPN performed, look at our paid VPN torrenting test results.

2. Data Cap: 25%

Minimum Requirement: 500MB per month
We Recommend: 10GB per month or more

Data has a massive effect on how feasible it is to torrent with a free VPN.

Music files are often over 250MB and video files can be over 1GB. This means many free VPNs are only good for one or two downloads a month.

Some free VPNs, which we rate well for their data caps in other contexts, do less well here. This is the case when they have a daily bandwidth cap.

Since torrent files often exceed their low daily caps, these VPNs are less useful than alternatives with monthly caps.

3. Encryption & Security: 10%

Minimum Requirement: P2P support, leak protection, and a VPN kill switch
We Recommend: AES-256 encryption, multiple available protocols, leak protection and a VPN kill switch using firewall rules

A securely encrypted VPN keeps you hidden from malicious third-parties when you torrent. It also stops your ISP from seeing that you are torrenting (and potentially throttling your connection).

A kill switch is a must-have for torrenting. Without one your true IP address could easily be exposed to other users and copyright trolls.

The gold standard for kill switches is to use firewall rules to ensure leaks cannot possibly occur.

4. Logging Policy: 20%

Minimum Requirement: A clear privacy policy with only anonymized connection logs.
We Recommend: A strict zero-logs policy with absolutely no activity or connection logs.

Some VPN providers keep activity logs of their users’ activity. This fundamentally undermines the privacy of the service. In the case of torrenting, it’s especially important the VPN providers cannot forward DMCA requests to users.

Unfortunately, free VPNs are especially guilty of bad privacy practices.

We analyse the records and policies of free VPNs to make sure they are safe before we recommend them.

5. P2P Servers: 15%

Minimum Requirement: At least one P2P server in your region
We Recommend: P2P servers in your country

Some torrenting VPNs allow P2P traffic on their whole network, while others restrict it to special P2P servers.

This means you can end up on a very slow, long distance connection even if your VPN has a large network. Free VPNs are often guilty of this. Longer distance connections will be far too slow for comfortable torrenting and too few P2P servers will result in bottlenecks.

Ideally, you want multiple P2P server choices in your country, but as a bare minimum you need to connect to a server in your region.

What’s the Fastest Free VPN for Torrenting?

Using our P2P methodology, we’ve tested the most popular free torrenting VPNs to find out which is the fastest.

Here are the results:

VPN Service Average Bitrate
No VPN 10.1MiB/s
Avira Phantom Free 9.6MiB/s
Hide.me Free 4.5MiB/s
Hotspot Shield Free 5.3MiB/s
TunnelBear Free 5.1MiB/s
Windscribe Free 6.4MiB/s

Why You Need a VPN for Torrenting

Torrenting without a VPN is really risky. You risk exposing your activity and identity to your ISP, copyright trolls, and other torrenters.

When you torrent you connect directly to other users, rather than to a central server. This means they can see your public IP address.

But if you connect using a VPN, the IP address that other users see will be one associated with the VPN server you are connecting to, not your home network.

A secure VPN therefore allows you to download and upload torrents anonymously, stopping your ISP from seeing your torrenting activity. This is also good because some ISPs throttle your P2P traffic.

Read our article on the best VPNs for torrenting for more details on why you need a VPN for torrenting.

How to Use a Free VPN for Torrenting

Torrenting with a free VPN is really easy. Start your VPN before opening any torrents, and fully exit your torrent client before disconnecting from the VPN.

Here is a step-by-step guide on how to torrent with a free VPN:

  1. Find a trustworthy free VPN which allows P2P traffic.
  2. Download a torrent client like qBittorent, uTorrent, Deluge, etc.
  3. Use a torrenting leak test to make sure you are anonymous.
  4. Make sure your VPN kill switch is on.
  5. Connect to a nearby VPN server.
  6. Open a magnet or torrent file with your torrent client.
  7. Once the torrent has finished – and you’re done seeding – exit your torrent client before disconnecting from your VPN.
  8. Disconnect from the VPN.

We also recommend reading our guide to safe torrenting before you start.

Free VPNs You Shouldn't Use for Torrenting

Not all free VPN services are safe for torrenting. Below are examples of free VPNs you should not torrent with.

There are many more free VPNs, particularly on the Google Play and iOS App stores, you should stay away from.

Hola Free VPN

Hola Free VPN claims to be a ‘VPN service,’ but it is in fact an insecure peer-to-peer proxy network that doesn’t provide any encryption whatsoever.

Hola is no good for torrenting as it monitors absolutely everything you do online, including all the websites you visit, and has even been known to sell user bandwidth without consent.

Sadly, it’s one of the most popular free VPN services out there, but we advise you to avoid Hola at all costs.

VPN Proxy Master

VPN Proxy Master is an incredibly unsafe free VPN for torrenting as the company has a sketchy history of sending confidential user information across to China.

Not only this, but your IP address is collected and stored for an indefinite amount of time, plus there’s no way of telling how VPN Proxy Master is encrypted.

The apps are full of pop-up ads, too – VPN Proxy Master is definitely a free VPN to stay away from.

Thunder VPN

Thunder VPN is another one of the worst free VPN services you could possibly use for torrenting.

Not to mention it’s only available on Android, Thunder VPN uses an insecure connection protocol, lacks any security features whatsoever. When we asked for extra information about its security and encryption, we were ignored.

ThunderVPN also claims to be no-logs but actually collects a ton of information, such as your IP address, ISP, server location, and loads more.

Free VPNs Which Don’t Allow P2P

In addition to dangerous free VPNs, many free VPNs simply don’t allow P2P traffic on their networks.

This is because P2P traffic can take up a lot of bandwidth, and be difficult to accommodate without slowing down other users.

Examples of free VPNs you can’t use for torrenting include:

  • ProtonVPN Free
  • ZoogVPN
  • X-VPN Free

FAQ

What’s the Best Free VPN for Torrenting?

Currently, the best free VPN for torrenting is Windscribe. It provides the best all-round P2P experience without major compromises. It’s fast, secure, and hides your torrent IP address.

The main downside of Windscribe’s free service is its 10GB monthly data cap. But, it is more than what most free VPNs allow, especially those that allow torrenting.

Only Hotspot Shield can get you more data over the month (500MB per day). However, the daily cap means you can’t download or upload large files.

Are Free VPNs Safe for Torrenting?

You need a VPN (free or paid) to hide your IP while you torrent – there’s no point in using a VPN that can’t do this.

Also, you need to use a safe VPN you can trust to not take advantage of the privileged access to your device.

To keep yourself as safe as possible while torrenting, make sure to choose a free VPN with:

  1. A strong encryption cipher (preferably AES-256)
  2. Secure VPN connection protocols (OpenVPN is our favorite)
  3. A no-logs (or minimal) logging policy
  4. A working VPN kill switch
  5. No IP address or DNS leaks

You also need to make sure your free VPN allows P2P traffic, as several popular free VPNs will block this kind of traffic.

Is Torrenting Legal?

Torrenting is completely legal, but torrenting certain files can breach copyright restrictions. As a general rule you can only legally torrent files if you own them, have permission from the copyright holder or if they are in the public domain.

You can torrent legally in countries like the US, UK, Australia, Canada and India, as long as you don’t break other laws while torrenting.

Are Free VPNs Legal?

Using a free VPN service to torrent is 100% legal in almost every country around the world. There is a small number, however, where VPNs are banned:

  • Belarus
  • Iraq
  • North Korea
  • Turkmenistan

There’s also a slightly longer list of countries where only authorised VPNs are allowed. In these countries unauthorised VPNs are blocked, and using them could land you with a fine or even more serious repercussions:

  • China
  • Iran
  • Oman
  • Russia
  • Turkey
  • UAE (United Arab Emirates)

Our guide, ‘Are VPNs Legal?’, explains the legal situation in each of these countries in more detail.

Can I Get a Paid Torrenting VPN for Free?

A free VPN isn’t the only way to protect yourself while torrenting. By taking advantage of free trials and returns policies it is possible to get a premium torrenting VPN for free. Both NordVPN and ExpressVPN have 30-day, no-questions-asked return policies, for instance.

These tricks won’t get you access to the VPN forever, but they’re long enough to try the VPN out and download quite a few files. If this sounds appealing, we have a round-up of free VPN trials you might be interested in.

About the Author

  • Simon Migliano Head of Research at Top10VPN

    Simon Migliano

    Simon is a recognized world expert in VPNs. He's tested hundreds of VPN services and his research has featured on the BBC, The New York Times, CNet and more. Read full bio