Best VPN for Torrenting

Not every VPN service supports torrenting, and some put restrictions in place. We check multiple servers on every VPN we test to see if torrenting is available on all of them.

If you torrent while connected to a VPN server far away from your real location it’s unlikely that you’ll get the best speeds, so this is an important step – we even get in touch with live support to see what they know about it.

When measuring speeds we monitor how quick the torrent download and upload rates are compared to the numbers we see during our initial speed tests, plus how fast our connection is without the VPN on at all.

Only the VPN services with the fairest and most open approach to torrenting, plus the highest speeds, will feature on this page.

When you use a torrenting client your IP address, along with that of every other user taking part in that file transfer, is exposed. Some ISPs also reduce, or ‘throttle’, your bandwidth when it detects torrenting, ruining your speeds.

If you want to hide your IP address and block your ISP from monitoring your activity then all you need to do is switch on your VPN before opening your torrenting software.

Choose the nearest server that permits torrenting for optimal performance, as the further you are from the VPN server the higher the latency, slowing your speeds.

We’d also highly recommend that your VPN of choice for torrenting has a kill switch. If your connection to the VPN server drops for any reason then the kill switch will immediately sever your internet connection.

Using a good VPN service makes torrenting super safe. Not only will a VPN prevent your ISP from being able to see what you’re doing online, it will also protect you from any potential legal ramifications that can so often occur when file sharing.

Torrenting is only safe if you use a secure VPN service, though. Whichever VPN you choose, make sure it has a kill switch, so you’ll still be protected even if your connection drops. It’s also best to opt for a VPN with a zero-logs policy and first-party DNS servers, to ensure the highest possible level of privacy while torrenting.

There aren’t many free VPN services that permit torrenting, as many of them only allow users to connect to a restricted number of VPN servers. We’ve rounded up our top three free VPNs for torrenting, though, if you want to try some out before committing to a paid subscription.

The main issue with free VPNs is that they often come with speed and/or data caps, meaning even if they do permit torrenting, you won’t be able to do much before hitting your data limit. Most of them will also throttle your speeds to make file sharing almost impossible. For the best torrenting experience, you’re better off opting for a premium VPN service.

If you want to keep yourself safe while torrenting, you absolutely need to use a VPN. As soon as you open up a torrent client and begin downloading or uploading files, your IP address is exposed and you’re vulnerable to potential hackers and snoopers.

A VPN will encrypt your online activity and mask your true IP address so nobody knows what you’re doing online except you.

Using a VPN service will encrypt all of your online traffic, meaning nobody will be able to see that you’re torrenting when you’re connected to a VPN server.

Be careful about which VPN service you choose, however, as some of them are able to detect P2P activity using your total bandwidth consumed while connected to the VPN server. This is always disclosed in their logging policies, though, which is why it’s best to choose a VPN service that doesn’t keep any logs whatsoever.

The most popular torrent site on the current market is qBittorrent, which is totally free to use and doesn’t feature any annoying ads. It’s also encrypted and open-source, which is great news for security.

Other popular torrenting programs are Vuze and Deluge, although these both contain ads. uTorrent has decreased in popularity since it was discovered to contain a ton of security flaws, the most recent of which allowed hackers to spy on users’ downloads (this has since been fixed).