So, the main dilemma is – which is the best VPN for torrenting. Because some of fail their promises of keeping the data secure while some as too slow to use. Sifting among them to find out the best option is not a simple feat. To help you with that, we have covered the best VPNs for torrenting in this article. These VPNs are fast, easy to use and secure for your P2P downloads. We have covered all the details of recommended VPNs below for your reference.
What is Torrenting?
Before we decide which VPN is best for torrenting, let us try to understand what torrenting actually is. Torrenting is a file-sharing service that operates on a technology called BitTorrent. Nowadays, torrenting is mostly associated with illegal internet downloads and pirates. But the original intention of developing BitTorrent was to enable a high-speed peer-to-peer file (P2P) transferring system.
This protocol consists of only ‘peers’ in contrast to the regular “Server – Client” type connection. Each ‘peer’ can download a file from other peers and upload the same file to other peers at the same time. Basically, a large-sized popular digital file is distributed amongst hundreds or even thousands of users which later operate as the source of the file for upcoming peer-to-peer downloaders. The main advantage of using a torrent platform to download a file is that you get full download speed on most files irrespective of their size. And if the file is popular, you will get even easier access as more peers’ act as a source for download.
Why Torrents Got a Bad Reputation?
This is a completely decentralized process that does not depend on a particular server or storage room to match up the demand with the supply. Thus, torrenting is highly popular among netizens as it offers fast and reliable downloads. However, due to its decentralized design, there is a lot of illegal content being shared via the torrent network such as TV shows, movies, music, books, and a lot more. Hence, whenever we talk about Torrents or Torrenting, people generally associate it with piracy, which is fair considering that is the most common use of torrent platforms and downloaders. A lot of internet service providers introduce certain mechanisms that blocks torrent websites and clients completely. This prevents you from using the torrent network even if you are downloading a DRM-free file.
How VPN Works?
Fortunately, it is quite easy to overcome such barricades. The best way to maintain your anonymity and manage a stable connection to the torrent network is by using a VPN. Virtual Private Network or VPN is a service that enable a ‘Secure’ connection between a sender and a receiver using public non-secure infrastructure such as the internet.
It provides a “Private” network between two nodes using existing internet instead of actual private cables or leased lines. Hence the name Virtual Private Network. If you use a VPN service, it then routes your internet traffic via a secured distant geographical location and also encrypts the traffic to make you completely anonymous.
How To Select A VPN Service?
Before you decide on which VPN service is the best for you, you need to understand how to select the best VPN service for your needs. As we are specifically focusing on torrenting, we have handpicked the best VPN services that work well with torrents. Apart from that, you also need to consider the features that are included with the premium plan of the VPN service and which features will be beneficial for your usage. One of the most basic and important features includes options related to the privacy and security of the user. As you are going to use a peer-to-peer connection with the torrent client, it is necessary to maintain utmost privacy to stay safe from data thieves and hackers. For that, you need to consider getting a VPN service that offers encrypted data traffic and smart security protocols. A no-log policy is also a preferable feature for a premium VPN service. On the other hand, you also need to consider the download and upload speed available with the torrent client if you are using it with a torrent client. If you are downloading a large file over a slow VPN network, you might be looking at multiple days of ETA for the download to be finished. Most premium VPN services offer uncapped bandwidth capacity, which is definitely a treat for torrenting. Another great feature you should check is the kill switch which instantly disconnects you from the internet if the VPN service stops abruptly, keeping your IP address and other details secured.
Best VPN For Torrenting
Now that you understand what is torrenting and why a VPN is crucial for that, let us look into the options available for a decent VPN service in the market. There are hundreds of different VPN services available on the internet that guarantees you the best safety and privacy. But it is better to go with a reliable name that already has millions of satisfied customers. Today, we have curated a list of such VPN services and you can easily decide which one is best for you based on the information provided with each of our picks. You can also consider checking our comparison presented later in the guide to get a quick idea about these VPN services and the variation in terms of features and plans.
1. ExpressVPN
ExpressVPN might easily be the most popular name to appear on our picks today as it is currently the choice of over 3 million satisfied customers. While the premium plans for ExpressVPN certainly aren’t the most affordable ones, it definitely offers the features that are worth paying the premium price. First of all, ExpressVPN has its servers present in 94 countries. This includes more than 3000 encrypted servers to choose from so that you can get the best speed and stability of the connection. You can find ExpressVPN applications supported natively on almost all platforms like Windows, Mac, iPhone, Android, Linux, and even some routers. As for the logging policy, ExpressVPN does collect data such as the date and time of connection and the amount of data traffic carried over each session. But their privacy policy specifically excludes the collection of browsing history, IP addresses, DNS requests, and other personal information. You also get a 30-day money-back guarantee on the service to try out the features thoroughly.
2. CyberGhost
CyberGhost is a value for the money VPN service as it offers many great features without the premium price tag. You will find almost all necessary features for torrenting with CyberGhost VPN such as AES 256-bit protection, DNS leak protection, IP leak protection, no-log policy, and much more. CyberGhost VPN service also includes support for protocols such as IKEv2, WireGuard, and OpenVPN. There are more than 8,900 servers available on the CyberGhost VPN service spread across the globe in more than 91 countries. This offers a great variety of selection of multiple tasks like gaming, torrenting, and even live streaming. Another great feature that makes the VPN perfect for torrenting is the ‘Torrent Anonymously’ button. With just a single press, you can activate a no-log-supported session backed with a kill switch and split tunnelling to grant you the best performance. If you are interested in CyberGhost VPN, you can opt-in for their monthly, semi-annual, or 2-year plans with 45-days money-back guarantee. Also, you get VPN access for up to 7 devices with just a single subscription.
3. Hotspot Shield
Hotspot Shield is one of the options from our list that is not specifically designed to work with torrents, but offers great results if used. It is a highly reliable and high-speed VPN service that is perfect for torrents. It is also available for various platforms and you get access to more than 3,200 servers available in more than 80 different countries. Once you get the premium plan, you will be able to use the Hotspot Shield VPN services simultaneously on 5 devices at once. As there aren’t a hundred different configuration options available within the app, you will find it pretty easy to set up and use. Thus, Hotspot Shield is a VPN that is suitable for all age groups and all types of users. Hotspot Shield also offers the renowned zero-log policy similar to most other VPN services we have mentioned here. But it still logs a little more data compared to its competitors, which is still not an issue as the logging is completely anonymous and cannot be traced back to the user. You also get a kill switch feature on this high-speed VPN service which makes it even better for downloading files via torrent.
4. Private Internet Access
Private Internet Access is one of the oldest VPN services in the industry right now. Launched back in 2010, Private Internet Access offers more than 10 years of experience in the VPN industry. It is also one of the highest-rated services in the USA due to its major focus on user privacy. Unlike most other generic VPN services, Private Internet Access will offer you 24/7 customer support along with a 7-day trial period on Android and iOS platforms. Even though it is a US-based service where government bodies can demand user information, Private Internet Access protects you with a zero-logging policy. Basically, there is no data to provide even if demanded. The VPN clients designed by Private Internet Access are open-source and you can check the details of the app yourself. Private Internet Access offers great discounts on the service with a maximum of 3 years long period. Even the payment options for Private Internet Access are anonymous, which is pretty unique.
5. NordVPN
NordVPN is yet another highly popular VPN service that is a preferred choice for many. There are more than 5,500 high-speed and secured servers offered by NordVPN spread across 60 different countries. What makes this VPN service great for torrenting is its P2P connectivity feature along with no bandwidth limit. Thus, you can expect almost 100% of your bandwidth speed with the VPN service turned on. To keep its user base safe, NordVPN follows a very strict zero log policy. On top of that, it utilizes military-grade encryption for the data traffic so that it is almost impossible to trace a user’s activity via the data traffic. Apart from privacy and anonymity, you also get security from malicious and annoying advertisements thanks to the CyberSec feature. Even if your ISP does not allow you to use a VPN connection, you can use special servers available with NordVPN to counter just that. You also get a separate IP address for such cases which allows you to use a VPN connection easily. Another important feature of NordVPN is that it uses an Onion network so that no 3rd party can trace your activity. You also get a double VPN feature with NordVPN which is quite unique and exclusive to this service.
6. Surfshark
Compared to most other options mentioned so far, Surfshark VPN is rather a new company in the market. Still, it has managed to gather a lot of attraction in recent years with its great selection of features and attractive pricing. Surfshark VPN operates with over 3,200 servers available to select that are spread out across 65 different countries. Therefore, you will definitely find a handful of options for each country to get a stable and fast connection. As for the pricing, the Surf Shark VPN service is one of the most affordable options right now. With premium plan, you will get access to many attractive features like kill switch, AES 256 encryption, CleanWeb, Camouflage Mode, and much more.
7. IPVanish
IPVanish is also a popular name for a VPN service and it has been offering service to its users for quite a long time. So, reliability is definitely one of the most attractive features of the IPVanish VPN service. What makes it a perfect option for torrents is the unlimited bandwidth capacity for peer-to-peer connections. Along with that, it also supports WireGuard and works with popular platforms like Windows, Linux, macOS, Android, and many others. IPVanish has managed to set up more than 2,000 locations for server selection which is available in more than 75 countries. The IPVanish VPN service also uses dedicated IP addresses so that it can bypass IP and proxy detection used by major service providers. Even with that, there is a zero-log policy that makes sure all of your traffic is unnoticed.
8. StrongVPN
StrongVPN is also rather a new name in the industry and you might not be familiar with it. But, let us assure you that it is certainly a great choice for casual usage, especially torrent downloading. StrongVPN has recently upgraded its structure and now offers much more stable performance along with many crucial features. First of all, StrongVPN has established a zero-log policy for both data traffic as well as browsing history. Along with an unlimited bandwidth capacity, it also allows up to 5 simultaneous connections at once. Thus, you can buy a plan and get the VPN service for your whole family. StrongVPN connections are completely encrypted and you can even use the “scramble” feature for additional security. There is DNS leak protection and a kill switch feature offered with the StrongVPN service. These features are built-in with the application so that you can get quick access to them right away. So far, StrongVPN has more than 950 servers in more than 30 countries. But with recent upgrades, it is slowly becoming a popular choice worldwide.
9. Proton VPN
If you are still looking for a good VPN service that offers a strict no-log policy, then Proton VPN might be worth looking at. Unlike most other options we have seen so far, Proton VPN promotes support for BitTorrent or P2P protocols. Proton VPN has more than 1,700 servers in more than 60 countries. If you are familiar with Proton Mail (the encrypted e-mail service), the same developers are responsible for Proton VPN as well. It is an open-source project. It has a built-in malware and ad-blocker in the form of NetShield. With VPN Accelerator and 10Gbps network, you can get a very good performance. The best thing about Proton VPN is that is has a free plan that is truly free forever. But the downside is you have access to a limited number of servers in just 3 countries. You can try this free version and upgrade to the premium plan if you like it. Proton VPN has apps for all the platforms including Windows, Mac, Linux, Chromebook, Android, iPhone, etc. With the premium plan, you can connect up to 10 devices to VPN. So, if you want VPN on multiple devices, the definitely check Proton VPN.
10. Ivacy
Lastly, we will recommend trying Ivacy VPN, as it is also a great service that offers a unique approach to its premium services. It is one of the most affordable VPN services in the list if you opt for a long-term plan. Ivacy VPN has a safety-first approach. It masks your IP Address and overcomes any ISP throttling. As an extra security, you get a dedicated IP Address. It has more than 5,700 servers in over 100 different countries. Along with all these features, it also includes military grade 256-bit encryption which is great for keeping cyber criminals at check. Some other features include support for 10 logins, apps for all major platforms, internet kill switch to name a few. Ivacy VPN also supports BitTorrent and P2P. If you combine this with its unlimited bandwidth, Ivacy VPN is a very good choice for torrenting.
VPN Services Comparison
Now that you know all of the best VPN for Torrenting, you can definitely choose the best option for you which will allow you a safer approach for downloading those large files using BitTorrent. However, it might be a bit incomprehensible to factor in all of the information about each VPN service and prioritize the best one for your requirement. To help you with that, we will offer a short comparison of all our choices so that you can make a decision right away.
Conclusion
We hope that you have found the best VPN for torrenting from our picks today. As we have provided comprehensive information about each of our picks, you should be able to understand each option thoroughly and make a decision based on the information. If you are not sure, you can also check our comparison table presented above and get a quick idea about the VPN services together. Thus, you should be able to choose the best VPN for torrenting right away. If you are still not sure, you can reach us via the comment section provided below. Comment * Name * Email * Website
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