Want to pair a VPN with the most secure and reliable torrent client? This guide discusses which torrent clients are safest and work best alongside a VPN to give you added privacy and security.
Many torrenting enthusiasts use a VPN to get privacy for their torrenting activities. A VPN encrypts your internet data, ensuring that local Wi-Fi networks and Internet Service Providers can’t monitor your activities. This allows you to torrent securely and without concerns about tracking.
Is a specific torrent client better for privacy and use with a VPN? In this guide, we’ve provided a roundup of the best torrent clients to use with a VPN.
What is the best torrent client to use with a VPN?
Here’s a close look at which torrent clients work best with a VPN and why we recommend them.
1. qBittorrent – A VPN-friendly torrent client with a native search
qBittorrent is one of our favorite torrent clients to use with a VPN. It is known for its user-friendly interface and wide feature set. The client is available for Windows, macOS, Linux, FreeBSD, and OS/2. It has a built-in search function, which allows you to find torrents directly inside of the client. This makes finding seeds much more convenient.
Open source platform
qBittorrent is an open-source, actively maintained project. This allows anybody to analyze the app’s code for potential vulnerabilities. Security flaws are constantly being analyzed and fixed with updates. The qBittorrent devs are dedicated to providing an ad-free torrenting experience – even for free users.
Although qBittorrent can’t stop your ISP from tracking your downloads natively, it is highly secure when paired with a VPN. We tested qBittorent with leading providers such as NordVPN and Surfshark and found that qBittorrent works seamlessly to maintain user privacy and security.
You can read more in our guide on how to use NordVPN with qBittorrent.
Compatible with leading VPN protocols
qBittorent works with popular VPN protocols like OpenVPN and WireGuard, ensuring fast speeds and the best possible encryption (AES-256 or ChaCha20 depending on which protocol you choose). This encryption also prevents bandwidth throttling by ISPs, which will help keep your downloads running optimally.
IP filtering
qBittorrent supports IP filtering, which can help users block IP addresses known to be malicious. You can find blocklists to add to the client online. Check out this Reddit conversation about using blocklists with qBittorrent to learn more.
2. Transmission – A fast torrent client that is perfect for beginners
Transmission is another popular choice for torrent users seeking a lightweight client that pairs reliably with market-leading VPNs. The client is known for its simplicity and providing fast speeds, which is crucial when downloading torrents via a fast VPN. It is currently available for Windows, macOS, Linux, FreeBSD, Solaris, NetBSD, and OpenBSD.
A great option for beginners
The best thing about Transmission is its minimalist UI, which doesn’t display ads or include any unnecessarily complicated features. This makes it suitable for beginners wanting to torrent with a VPN without the initial headache they could experience when using other clients.
VPN compatibility
When combined with a VPN, Transmission will allow anybody to torrent without being tracked by their ISP. Our tests revealed that Transmission integrates perfectly with the best VPNs to protect users against hackers and copyright trolls. It also provides fantastic torrenting speeds using popular VPN protocols such as WireGuard or OpenVPN.
Transmission also works to prevent ISP bandwidth throttling and can easily bypass blocks on networks that restrict ports associated with torrenting. This could allow you to torrent on restricted networks, such as at work, without being monitored.
Open source code
Transmission is open-source, meaning anybody can check the code. It has an active community of developers that regularly issue updates to protect the client against new vulnerabilities or exploits.
3. Deluge – A highly customizable torrent client for VPN users
Deluge is a popular torrent client that comes with extensive customization options and superb plugin support. It is available for Windows, macOS, Linux, and BSD (including FreeBSD and OpenBSD). The client has a wide selection of features, making it popular with advanced users. That said, it’s still suitable for beginners.
Customization and plugin support
Deluge’s main advantage is its compatibility with plugins. Plugins allow users to add more functions, such as encryption, bandwidth control, and web-based management, to the client. This makes Deluge highly adaptable and suited to users with differing requirements.
VPN compatibility
We tested this torrent client on various devices and found that it worked seamlessly with our favorite torrenting VPNs. This makes it a reliable option for downloading torrents privately on any network.
Deluge also offers superb performance. We used it without suffering VPN compatibility issues and enjoyed fast download speeds when connected using popular VPN protocols such as OpenVPN and WireGuard.
Security and privacy features
The Deluge client supports advanced security features, such as IP filtering, IP binding, and encryption. These features are designed to help users maintain privacy and security while torrenting.
Deluge also supports SOCKS5 proxies, which some users may need to download torrents in countries like China. Using a SOCKS5 proxy can help bypass geo-restrictions and obfuscate your activities while torrenting.
This can be particularly useful in regions where access to torrent sites is restricted or closely monitored. If you want to use this feature, check our VPN summaries to find a provider that offers a free SOCKS5 proxy.
Open source
Deluge is open source and regularly updated to provide users with community-driven improvements. This creates a secure and transparent environment where the community can collaborate to ensure vulnerabilities are quickly patched.
Overall, we found Deluge to be an excellent torrent client for VPN users. It is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux, making it accessible to a wider user base. And it offers strong compatibility with VPNs.
uTorrent: A highly popular torrent client with free and paid plans
uTorrent has been around since 2005 and has remained one of the most widely used torrent clients throughout that time. It is available for Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android. The client is praised for its wide feature set and its ability to download torrents without consuming too many system resources.
uTorrent is a relatively lightweight torrent client. Despite its smaller size, it actually offers plenty of features and settings, which help make it popular with newbies and experienced torrenters alike.
Fully featured app
uTorrent comes with a decent selection of features, including scheduling, RSS auto-downloading, and bandwidth prioritization that lets you set preferences for download and upload speeds depending on your circumstances.
The client also lets you remotely access your client via a web interface, which means you can monitor and control your torrents from any device.
VPN compatibility
Although uTorrent can’t prevent ISP snooping or protect your IP address against copyright trolls and hackers by itself, it works seamlessly with the best VPNs for torrenting. We also have a guide specifically on VPNs for uTorrent.
We tested it with leading services such as NordVPN and IPVanish and found it to provide excellent speeds, and seamless compatibility with our favorite protocols – OpenVPN and WireGuard.
Ad-supported free version
Perhaps our only complaint about uTorrent is that the free version includes ads. These ads can be annoying, and you’ll need to pay $4.95 per year to remove all ads. The good news is that the paid version also comes with a built-in media player and enhanced security options such as antivirus protection and support for SOCKS5 proxies.
Security and privacy
uTorrent supports IP filtering, which helps block malicious IP addresses. It also supports IP binding, meaning you can force it to always use a specific IP or proxy. uTorrent is compatible with the most secure VPNs and works flawlessly to prevent ISP tracking and bandwidth throttling.
Related: uTorrent vs qBittorrent
How do you use a VPN for torrenting?
Using a VPN with any of the torrent clients listed above is easy if you stick to a recommended VPN. We have included the best VPNs to use with these torrent clients later in this guide.
If you are confused about how to set up or use a VPN, we have included a step-by-step guide below. You can follow this walkthrough to get your VPN set up with any of the torrent clients listed in this guide.
Here’s how to use a VPN for torrenting:
- Choose a VPN for torrenting. We recommend NordVPN because it is secure and fast. Alternatively, you can use Surfshark, which is affordable, or IPVanish, which has excellent apps for all platforms.
- Follow our link to subscribe to the VPN. Using our link will get you a discount thanks to our exclusive coupon code.
- Download the VPN app onto your torrenting device. Most people torrent on Windows or Mac, but you can also torrent on Linux or Android if you want to.
- Connect to a VPN server in a country where torrenting is allowed and torrent repos are freely available.
- Launch your torrent client. If your torrent client has an IP binding feature, you can bind the client to the VPN server. This will ensure that you can only torrent when connected to the VPN. You can find your VPN’s IP address by using an IP checker tool. Add the VPN’s IP address to your torrent client’s settings to bind. However, remember that you will need to connect to the same VPN server each time for the client to work properly. If the VPN has rotating IPs for each server location, you may need to turn the binding feature off or use a static IP address (Surfshark provides static IPs for this purpose).
- Start torrenting. You are now free to torrent with the added protection of the VPN’s encryption. Your ISP will not be able to track any of the torrent sites you visit or your downloads.
If you regularly seed torrents, you may want to set up port forwarding in your torrent client. To do this, first check to see which port is being forwarded in the VPN application and add this port to the forwarding option in your torrent client.
Without port forwarding, you’ll be a passive node. You’ll still be able to connect, download, and seed files, but your client will only interact with active nodes. Enabling port forwarding allows you to become an active node. This increases the number of peers you can connect with, which will include other passive nodes. This optimizes your ability to exchange files with other peers and will improve your seed-to-leech ratio.
What are the best VPNs for torrenting?
We have a full guide to the best VPNs for torrenting. However, to speed up the process of choosing a VPN, we have included a quick list of our favorite options below. Follow the link to see all our recommendations and detailed summaries that will help you pick!
- NordVPN: Best VPN for torrenting. Reliable performance and robust security. It features a strict no-logs policy, lightning-fast speeds, unlimited bandwidth, and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
- Surfshark: A budget-friendly VPN perfect for torrenting. It allows unlimited simultaneous connections and unlimited bandwidth, provides high speeds for P2P sharing, and maintains a strict no-logs policy.
- IPVanish: IPVanish is excellent for torrenting privately. It provides top-tier security features, including strong encryption, and works with popular torrent clients across all major operating systems.
- ExpressVPN: Fast speeds for torrenting and servers in 100+ countries. It maintains a no-logs policy, includes a kill switch, and is user-friendly across all devices. No port forwarding.
- PrivateVPN: A reliable option for P2P file sharing. It supports port forwarding, maintains a no-logs policy, and offers extremely fast connections without speed loss.
- PureVPN: Offers a fully audited no-logs policy and a 31-day money-back guarantee at a low starting price. Port forwarding is available but costs a little extra.
- ProtonVPN: A highly advanced VPN with port forwarding and split tunneling. Strong privacy features and reliability. Fast speeds and servers in 85+ countries.
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Why should I use a VPN for torrenting?
If you are new to torrenting or VPNs, you may be wondering why a VPN is necessary. The answer to this question is that it is unsafe to torrent without a VPN. Keep reading to find out why.
Improved privacy
Every time you torrent, your file-sharing activities are visible to your ISP. This creates privacy risks because it means that your ISP knows which torrent repositories you are visiting, which swarms you are joining, and what files you are sharing or downloading. Many people who torrent prefer not to divulge this information to their ISP, which is why they use a VPN.
Torrenting without a VPN can also expose you to legal risks. Many ISPs actively monitor torrenting activities and may send warning letters if they detect suspicious torrenting. In some cases, ISPs may cooperate with copyright enforcement agencies or copyright trolls, which can lead to legal consequences, fines, or prospective invoicing letters if the user is found to have engaged in any illegal file sharing.
The encryption provided by a VPN means that all your internet traffic is concealed from local Wi-Fi networks, ISPs, government agencies, and any other eavesdroppers. This ensures that everything you do online, including your torrenting, remains completely confidential at all times.
Protection against hackers
Besides giving you online privacy, a VPN also protects you against bandwidth throttling. Some ISPs monitor their users’ activities and will slow down their internet if they detect torrenting to save on bandwidth. A VPN stops your ISP from knowing what you are doing, which keeps your downloads running at top speeds.
A VPN hides your IP address from other users in the torrent swarm. This makes it much safer to torrent because it removes the opportunity for hackers to attack you.
Hackers understand that when people torrent, their IP addresses can be freely detected. Hackers collect these IP addresses and spend time probing each network in search of victims. If they find any vulnerabilities that can be exploited, they will hack devices to spread malware, add them to botnets, steal data, engage in fraud, and carry out other nefarious activities.
Best torrent clients for a VPN – FAQs
Can I use a free VPN with these torrent clients?
No, free VPNs are generally not safe for torrenting. Research indicates that they often lack the requisite security features to share files without putting your network or privacy at risk. Many free VPNs have intrusive privacy policies that allow them to monitor your online activities and sell this data to third parties, which makes them unsuitable for torrenting privately.
Additionally, free VPNs often lack proper encryption, suffer from data leaks, have server vulnerabilities, and even include spyware in their applications. This makes using free VPNs highly risky for torrenting because your activities could still be monitored.
To torrent with complete peace of mind, it is necessary to use a VPN that provides robust security, so stick to a recommended that includes all the necessary features for gaining reliable online privacy,
Do I need a fast VPN for torrenting?
Yes. There are dozens of competing VPNs on the market, but they are not all created equally. Many VPNs have slow servers and protocols that cause your internet to slow down. This will negatively affect your ability to perform data-intensive tasks such as gaming, streaming, videoconferencing, and torrenting.
All the VPNs we recommend for torrenting have a wide selection of servers that have been tested for these kinds of applications. They provide reliable performance for torrenting on any device.
Are some torrent clients more compatible with VPNs?
Yes, some torrent clients are more compatible with VPNs. We tested the clients above with popular VPN protocols, such as OpenVPN and WireGuard, to ensure they did not suffer from compatibility or connectivity issues when using a VPN. Other torrent clients may not necessarily be as reliable and may cause you to experience compatibility or connectivity problems.
