Top10VPN is editorially independent. Buying a VPN through our links supports our work.
Is Windscribe Good for Torrenting?
The Short Answer
Windscribe is a safe, if slower, choice for torrenting on its paid plans. It uses ChaCha20 (or AES-256) encryption, IP leak protection, and a kill switch to keep your P2P activity anonymous. Unfortunately, Windscribe’s free plan no longer supports torrenting.
Torrenting without a VPN exposes your real IP address and downloads to third parties, including your Internet service provider (ISP).
This can result in fines and jail time if you’re caught downloading copyrighted material, even if it was accidental.
That’s why it’s vital you choose a reliable VPN and set it up properly for torrenting.
Thankfully, I’ve done the hard part for you and tested Windscribe. It’s secure enough to use, but it downloads files more slowly than its competitors and it blocks torrenting in several server locations.
I wasn’t able to test Windscribe’s free plan, since it doesn’t permit torrenting on its free servers.
As part of my testing, I went through all of Windscribe’s apps and settings so I could give you the best advice on setting up the VPN for file-sharing.
Windscribe’s Torrenting Performance: At a Glance
| Torrenting Attribute | Windscribe Pro | Windscribe (Free) |
|---|---|---|
| Average Bitrate | 7.2MiB/s (28% loss) | Torrenting Banned |
| Countries with P2P Servers | 61 | 0 |
| Port Forwarding | Yes | No |
| Logging Policy | No Identifiable Data | No Identifiable Data |
| Kill Switch | Yes | Yes |
| Jurisdiction | Canada (Five Eyes Member) | Canada (Five Eyes Member) |
We’re fully independent and have been reviewing VPNs since 2016. Our advice is based on our own testing results and is unaffected by financial incentives. Learn who we are and how we test VPNs.
Is Windscribe Safe for Torrenting?
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Privacy-friendly logging policy proven by real-world events | No torrenting on free plan |
| Advanced kill switch on desktop apps | Paid tier blocks torrenting entirely in 8 countries |
| ChaCha20 & AES-256 encryption | Slower torrenting speed than rivals |
| Effective malware blocker & open-source apps | Logs your bandwidth and most recent connection timestamp |
| Includes port forwarding | |
Overall, the paid version of Windscribe is safe to torrent with since it prioritizes privacy and security.
All of this comes at a cost, though: it’s significantly slower than other torrenting VPNs and its cautious approach means you can’t torrent in certain locations.
Windscribe’s free VPN doesn’t support P2P traffic, so I can’t recommend it. I couldn’t run my usual tests on the free plan; torrents simply froze.
Windscribe Pro is a perfectly solid choice for torrenting.
You can find a more in-depth overview of Windscribe’s torrenting performance in the sections that follow:
Doesn’t Log Enough to Identify You
Windscribe logs a small amount of anonymous data but this isn’t enough to identify you and it doesn’t include your torrent downloads.
Though based in privacy-unfriendly Canada, Windscribe uses diskless servers. This means no data is stored on hard drives to extract, keeping your torrenting activity hidden.
I’ve come across anecdotal reports from 2017 of Windscribe customers receiving DMCA notices, but it’s highly unlikely that this is due to Windscribe cooperating with authorities.
In fact, the VPN’s transparency report shows it has complied with zero DMCA requests.
Dependable Security Features for Safe Torrenting
Windscribe encrypts your file-sharing traffic with ChaCha20 (or AES-256) and securely tunnels it using WireGuard (or OpenVPN).
Using Wireshark, an open-source packet analyzer, I confirmed that Windscribe successfully encrypted my torrenting traffic:
Windscribe conceals your torrenting traffic from third parties.
Windscribe also has a ‘Firewall’ kill switch to disconnect your torrent client from the internet if your VPN connection drops. Unlike a standard kill switch, the Firewall blocks all connectivity outside the VPN tunnel, which makes data leaks even less likely.
To verify this, I torrented while connected to a Windscribe server and simulated several VPN disconnections. In each case, the kill switch activated and I didn’t register any IP leaks on our custom kill switch test tool.
For added reassurance, Windscribe also features built-in leak protection that has never failed my leak tests.
EXPERT TIP: Always make sure that you disconnect from your VPN after fully closing your torrent client. Otherwise, your IP address could still leak.
Slower Torrenting Speeds Than Other Top-Rated VPNs
I tested Windscribe’s file-sharing speeds by torrenting a 1GB test file on a fixed 10MiB/s connection while connected to a local VPN server.
This is the standardized P2P speed test I use for all 59 VPNs I review, using the same virtual machine and private torrent tracker.
I measured an average download bitrate of 7.2MiB/s using a nearby Windscribe Pro server. Although this is slower than the best torrenting VPNs, it’s fast enough for downloading content with smaller file sizes such as e-books or music.
To put this into context, here’s how long it would take Windscribe Pro to download a 50GB torrent file compared to other top-rated VPNs:
| VPN Service | Download Bitrate | Time to Download 50GB Torrent File |
|---|---|---|
| No VPN | 10MiB/s | 1 hour 19 minutes |
| Windscribe Pro | 7.2MiB/s | 1 hour 50 minutes |
| Surfshark | 8.7MiB/s | 1 hour 31 minutes |
| Private Internet Access | 9.6MiB/s | 1 hour 23 minutes |
| ExpressVPN | 9.8MiB/s | 1 hour 21 minutes |
As the data shows, Windscribe is significantly slower than other big-name VPNs. If speed is a priority for you, then I recommend Private Internet Access since it offers the best balance of file-sharing speed and security, and costs much less than Windscribe.
Windscribe Pro Includes Port Forwarding
Windscribe Pro has a port forwarding feature, which allows you to seed torrent files faster. It lets peers open incoming connections to your torrent client.
Port forwarding is set up via the Windscribe website — not within the app.
To mitigate any security risks, Windscribe only allows you to forward one port at a time, and only on the server location you choose.
I found it time-consuming and needlessly complicated to set up port forwarding with Windscribe. Other VPNs, like PIA, only require you to check an in-app box, whereas Windscribe makes you go to its website.
Incomplete P2P Server Coverage
Windscribe Pro blocks torrenting entirely in the following countries:
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Georgia
- Indonesia
- Philippines
- South Korea
- Taiwan
- Thailand
- United Arab Emirates
In addition to these countries, P2P traffic is blocked on all US and Canadian static IPs as well as the following US server locations: Bend, Santa Clara, Charlotte, Boston, Tampa, and Philadelphia.
There’s also partial blocking (at least one server blocks P2P) in Albania, Brazil, Canada, Cyprus, India, Russia, South Africa, and Vietnam.
Windscribe hasn’t supported P2P traffic on its free servers since 2025.
The free version is far simpler: you can’t torrent on any servers, period.
How to Torrent with Windscribe
Before you torrent with Windscribe, it’s essential you correctly configure the VPN client to protect your online anonymity.
For a general overview of these steps, you can refer to my guide on torrenting safely, but for instructions tailored to Windscribe I suggest reading on.
Quick Guide: How to Use Windscribe for Torrenting
- Install a trustworthy torrent client. I personally use qBittorrent.
- Subscribe to Windscribe and install its VPN app.
- Configure the app for maximum security. Switch to WireGuard, then enable the kill switch and malware blocker.
- Set up port forwarding in your Windscribe account dashboard and torrent client.
- Select a 10Gbps server in a P2P location.
- Bind Windscribe to your torrent client.
- Check for IP and DNS leaks.
Here are more detailed instructions.
1. Download a Safe Torrent Client
In my opinion, qBittorrent is the safest choice. It’s open-source, secure, and doesn’t include any bloatware or annoying ads.
It also allows network binding, which is an essential security feature. Whichever torrent client you choose, make sure you install it from its official website.
2. Subscribe to & Install Windscribe
Sign up for a Windscribe Pro subscription and install the VPN on the device you’ll use for torrenting. I recommend using a Windows PC for torrenting, since Windows is usually a VPN’s most complete app.
To reduce the amount of data you provide, I advise using a cryptocurrency when signing up. Windscribe also supports cash payments, but only for 1-year plans.
3. Configure the Windscribe App
Once Windscribe is installed, there are several privacy and security features you should enable before torrenting.
Here’s how you set up Windscribe for torrenting:
- WireGuard: Select WireGuard from the app’s main interface, and confirm it as your preferred protocol when prompted. WireGuard is open-source, secure, and delivers fast file-sharing speeds.
- Kill Switch: Click the hamburger button in the top-left of the app to open settings, then click Connection on the left-hand side (the plug icon), and change Firewall Mode to Always On. This stops your torrenting activity from leaking, should your VPN connection fail.
- Malware Blocker: Select R.O.B.E.R.T. from the left-hand side in settings and toggle malware blocking to on. This prevents malware you from accessing torrent sites that are infected with malware.
4. Set Up Port Forwarding
Windscribe lets you choose between permanent and ephemeral (temporary) port forwarding. Since the former requires purchasing a static IP add-on on top of your Pro subscription, I’ll focus on temporary port forwarding.
How to port forward with Windscribe for torrenting:
- Find your torrent client’s port number. On qBittorrent, go to Options > Connection, and copy the number in the data field for Port used for incoming connection.
- Log into your Windscribe account dashboard and select Port Forwarding.
- Enter the port number from Step 1 into Internal Port, and then click Request Specific Port.
- Restart your torrent client and connect to a Windscribe server.
5. Choose a P2P-Friendly Server
In the Windscribe app, any server location showing a line through a P2P icon does not support torrenting. These include 8 countries, all US and Canadian static IPs, and select US cities.
There’s another nuance to keep in mind: some Windscribe servers are 10Gbps, while others aren’t.
For the best possible torrenting performance, select a 10Gbps server that’s as close as possible to your physical location and supports P2P traffic.
6. Bind Windscribe to Your Torrent Client
Binding Windscribe to your torrent client ensures files will only download when the VPN is connected.
If the VPN connection fails or you disconnect by accident, your download immediately pauses, keeping your true IP address hidden.
I’ve covered instructions for Windows in the box below. The setup process is slightly more complicated for macOS, but I’ve covered it further down.
Here’s how to bind Windscribe to your torrent client on Windows:
- Stay connected or reconnect to the Windscribe server from before.
- Open qBittorrent. Click the blue cog to open settings.
- Scroll down and select Advanced from the left-hand sidebar. Select WindscribeWireguard from the Network interface drop-down menu.
- Click Apply, then OK.
On macOS, VPN interfaces are labeled utun plus a number (e.g., utun3), instead of the provider name.
To locate Windscribe, check the network interface drop-down menu before connecting to the VPN, then connect and choose the new utun entry that appears.
As macOS assigns these numbers dynamically, you’ll need to repeat this process every time you torrent on Mac. Even reconnecting to the VPN in the same session can change Windscribe’s interface label.
7. Test Your Connection for Leaks
Now, you just need to test Windscribe and your torrent client to ensure everything’s set up correctly.
Use the torrent IP leak test to check that your real IP address and DNS requests aren’t bypassing the VPN tunnel.
If the tool detects zero leaks, you’re good to go.
Alternatives to Windscribe for Torrenting
If you only need to torrent now and again, and the file size isn’t too large, then Windscribe is good enough.
However, if you want to torrent regularly with the fastest possible speeds and the best user experience, then there are better VPNs available.
Here’s how the paid version of Windscribe compares to other top torrenting VPNs:
I’ve evaluated each alternative to Windscribe in greater detail below:
1. Private Internet Access: Best VPN for Torrenting Overall
PIA outperforms Windscribe across every P2P testing metric. Unlike Windscribe, PIA is a genuine no-logs VPN which ensures your torrenting activity can never be linked back to you.
PIA is also much faster than Windscribe for torrenting and it’s less likely to experience any server congestion due to its large network of 18,651 P2P servers.
I found PIA much smoother to torrent with than Windscribe, mostly due to its easy-to-configure port forwarding.
PIA is substantially cheaper than Windscribe too. It costs just $2.19/mo on its cheapest deal compared to $5.75/mo with Windscribe.
PIA is my favorite VPN for torrenting.
33% Faster than Windscribe
On my 10MiB/s baseline, PIA decreased my file-sharing speed by just 4%, compared to 28% with Windscribe.
The difference was obvious as soon as I started torrenting. Using PIA was virtually the same as torrenting without a VPN, whereas Windscribe made every download drag.
Even setup was quicker with PIA: I only needed to check an in-app box to start port forwarding and all of its servers are P2P-optimized.
You can easily enable port forwarding in PIA’s Windows app.
Compare this to Windscribe, which makes you log into your account dashboard to port forward and limits you to specific server locations for torrenting.
More Affordable & Easier to Refund
Except on monthly plans, PIA is much cheaper than Windscribe. Given PIA’s better performance, $2.19/mo over two years is great value.
If you change your mind, it’s easier to get a refund from PIA. It offers a 30-day money-back guarantee on all pricing plans, which the service has always honored in my experience.
Just keep in mind that if you subscribe via the App Store or Google Play Store, then the refund policy doesn’t apply.
In contrast, Windscribe only lets you request a refund within 7 days of purchase as long as you’ve used less than 10GB. Considering you’re trialing it for torrenting, you’ll almost certainly exceed that 10GB cap.
2. ExpressVPN: Beginner-Friendly Torrenting VPN
From what I observed, ExpressVPN is a more user-friendly option for torrenting than Windscribe.
To begin torrenting with ExpressVPN, you just need to connect to a server and start downloading. Its kill switch and Lightway protocol are enabled by default and all of its servers are optimized for P2P, removing any unnecessary setup time.
ExpressVPN has also commissioned an independent audit of its logging policy to prove that it doesn’t collect any identifying data.
Despite its lack of port forwarding, ExpressVPN is much faster for file-sharing than Windscribe with an average bitrate of 9.8MiB/s.
ExpressVPN’s file-sharing speeds are among the best.
Streamlined Torrenting at Every Step
From start to finish, ExpressVPN is a noticeably faster and smoother option for torrenting than Windscribe.
In my tests, it downloaded files 36% faster on average.
Several factors explain this gap: ExpressVPN features 40Gbps servers in many locations, its Lightway protocol switches ciphers based on your network, and every server is P2P-optimized.
Simplicity comes at the cost of port forwarding, which ExpressVPN doesn’t support.
While this didn’t hold back its download speeds in my tests, you may run into trouble with poorly seeded torrents that have few connectable peers.
ExpressVPN Is More Affordable in the Long Term
ExpressVPN costs $14.99 on monthly plans, which is much pricier than Windscribe’s $9.00.
However, Windscribe charges $5.75/mo for a 12-month plan, whereas ExpressVPN costs $4.99/mo for 15 months of service.
For even longer-term use, ExpressVPN also has a 28-month deal that works out to $2.99 per month.
Unless you need port forwarding, ExpressVPN clearly offers more bang for your buck. While ExpressVPN costs more on a short-term deal, you can use its 30-day money-back guarantee if you change your mind.
