Torrenting has something of an unfair reputation – when used properly it’s a totally legal and super-effective way of downloading large files. Despite that, it’s banned as a service by ISPs across the world.
If your ISP is one of them then a VPN could help. Not only will the right VPN unlock the service, but it will also keep you safe, secure and anonymous while doing so.
We check whether or not torrenting is possible on every one of the dozens of VPNs we’ve tested, across multiple servers. The VPNs listed on this page offer the very best torrenting experience possible, guaranteed.
Incredibly fast downloads & uploads with robust privacy. 24/7 live chat support.
- Best price
- $6.67 per month
- Special deal
- 49% off 15-month plan
- Money-back guarantee
- 30 Days
- Customer Support
- 24/7 Live chat support
- No. of Server Locations
- 94 Countries
- Simultaneous Connections
- 3
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ExpressVPN is both our top pick for torrenting and our highest-scoring VPN overall, thanks to its rock solid reliability for both speed and privacy.
No other VPN offers such consistently fast speeds across its entire network – up to 245Mbps down and 148Mbps up with very low latency on local connections is ideal for P2P activity. If you also like to stream then uninterrupted access to Netflix, BBC iPlayer and other popular services is another big selling point.
The VPN kill switch is a must-have for torrenters while its logging policy is one of the best we’ve seen, collecting the minimum of anonymous usage stats needed to maintain performance on the huge global network.
Zero-logs VPN with extra privacy features. Super fast upload & download speeds.
- Best price
- $2.99 per month
- Special deal
- 75% off with 3-year plan
- Money-back guarantee
- 30 Days
- Customer Support
- 24/7 Live chat support
- No. of Server Locations
- 62 Countries
- Simultaneous Connections
- 6
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NordVPN is a smart choice for torrenting if your budget doesn’t stretch to all-rounder ExpressVPN or P2P specialist IPVanish. On a three-year plan, just $2.99 monthly will get you a VPN that does the basics of speed and privacy very well.
Download speeds peak at 301Mbps down on major city local connections while uploads average at an unrivalled 106Mbps globally. It’s also a strict zero-logs VPN based in a friendly jurisdiction.
Don’t let slow customer support put you off the unbeatable value of this fast and highly effective VPN.
- Best price
- $6.49 per month
- Special deal
- 46% off with 12-month plan
- Money-back guarantee
- 7 Days
- Customer Support
- 24/7 Live chat support
- No. of Server Locations
- 61 Countries
- Simultaneous Connections
- 10
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If privacy is your top priority as a torrenter then IPVanish is hard to beat, thanks to superb speeds both up and down, zero logging, and extensive privacy tools.
Consistently ultra-fast, low-latency, local connections typically topping 173Mbps are ideal for P2P activity. Similarly, the volume of servers and IP addresses favors high bandwidth activities like torrenting.
Desktop apps aren’t the most user-friendly but make up for it with powerful privacy features, including IPv6 leak protection and kill switch.
It’s not cheap, but you can chop the monthly fee by 46% to $6.49 on the 12-month plan.
Fast zero-logs VPN with great privacy features. Good for P2P & streaming.
- Best price
- $2.75 per month
- Special deal
- 79% off with 3-year plan
- Money-back guarantee
- 45 Days
- Customer Support
- 24/7 Live chat support
- No. of Server Locations
- 60 Countries
- Simultaneous Connections
- 7
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CyberGhost may be our cheapest pick, but it’s also a solid torrenting VPN due to strong privacy features and very good speeds on local connections.
Beware that P2P traffic is only permitted on specific optimized servers, though, and therefore limited to use on the Windows and MacOS apps. You can’t torrent on any of the US and Australia servers, and speeds are much less consistent on international servers.
Local download speeds typically topped a 169Mbps (peaking at an incredible 267Mbps in some cities) with local uploads almost as fast. A strict zero logs policy and first-party DNS servers mean no data even exists to identify you, while privacy features like the kill switch are ideal for torrenting.
At $2.75 on the three-year plan its incredible value makes it easy to overlook the shortcomings.
- Best price
- $3.60 per month
- Special deal
- 67% off with 17-month plan
- Money-back guarantee
- 30 Days
- Customer Support
- Live chat Support
- No. of Server Locations
- 58 Countries
- Simultaneous Connections
- 6
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PrivateVPN is smart pick for heavy torrenters on a budget who can live without instant access to support.
It’s very strong on privacy while offering some of the fastest speeds in the market, including reliably fast uploads needed for effective P2P activity, including Kodi.
A strict zero logs policy and first-party DNS servers means no data exists to identify you, even with its base in privacy-unfriendly Sweden.
We’ll be watching to see if it can maintain this excellent performance as its user base continues to grow – for now it’s well worth a look at as an alternative to more well-established services for torrenting.
How We Picked the Best VPN for Torrenting
Not every provider supports torrenting, and even when it does it may be restricted. We check multiple servers on every VPN we test to see if it’s universally available.
If you’re forced to torrent while connected to a server thousands of miles from your real location you won’t get the best speeds possible, 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 figures seen during the initial speed test, plus how fast our connection is without the VPN on at all.
Only the VPNs with the best approach to torrenting and the highest speeds will feature on this page.
How to Use a VPN for Torrenting
When you use a torrenting client (such as BitTorrent) 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 download 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 P2P activity for optimal performance, as the further you are physically from the VPN server the higher the latency, slowing your downloads.
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.
How to Choose a VPN for Torrenting: 7 Tips
- Are there any limitations on P2P traffic?
It may sound obvious, but it’s the most important place to start. While most major VPN providers permit P2P traffic, some ban it on certain servers.
Check the Streaming & Torrenting section of our reviews and make sure that you can live with any server exclusions. Our top picks will have little-to-no restrictions at all.
- Is it fast enough to use for torrenting?
You may have found a VPN that allows you to torrent, but if it doesn’t have a server near you then speeds could seriously suffer.
Some providers that allow torrenting throttle P2P traffic anyway, severely hampering speeds. Make sure your choice does every thing it can to give you the best torrenting experience.
- What is its policy on connection logs?
If you’re a heavy torrenter then you’ll want to be absolutely sure that your VPN isn’t keeping tabs on your downloading habits. Look for a VPN that truly is ‘zero-logs’.
- Where is it incorporated?
Certain jurisdictions are more privacy-friendly than others when the authorities come knocking asking for user data.
If you are concerned about your privacy, you might want to consider avoiding VPNs incorporated in the US, UK or Europe.
Instead look for more out of the way locations, such as British Virgin Islands, Panama, the Seychelles and Hong Kong, for example.
- Does it work with your computer or smartphone?
While the big names may have extensive coverage, not every VPN works with every device.
Whatever it is that you get the bulk of your torrenting done on, be sure that the VPN you’re looking to download supports it.
- Check connection, encryption and security features
Rock solid privacy is a must when torrenting so make sure that the VPN has an effective kill switch to protect you should the VPN fail.
Also look for protection from DNS and other leaks, such as IPv6 and WebRTC. Port forwarding is another handy feature if you plan to torrent while using a NAT firewall.
- Finally, check the price and money-back guarantee
Even the most expensive VPN plans can be made affordable by taking out a longer subscription. Don’t bother with a one-month plan – 12-month plans typically offer the best value and you can reduce the risk of buyer’s remorse by choosing one with a long refund period. We’d advise a 30-day no-questions-asked guarantee – they essentially act as a free trial period. Make the right choice, though, and you hopefully won’t be thinking about a refund at all.
