Best VPN torrenting privately

Torrenting without a VPN (Virtual Private Network) is asking for trouble, but there’s a lot of confusing information on the best VPNs for torrenting. Many so-called “torrent VPNs” leak the information they claim to protect; some don’t allow torrenting or P2P, and others are still so slow you’ll want to give up.

P2P sharing presents risks from unknown files from anonymous sources, so using a VPN for an added layer of security is wise. This article will examine ten of the best torrenting VPNs in detail. Before we get stuck in, here’s a quick summary of our test results:

Our testing found that these are the 10 best VPNs for torrenting:

  1. NordVPN: Best VPN for torrenting. Reliable performance with powerful security features for protecting torrenters. Has a strict no-logs policy, very fast speeds, unlimited bandwidth, plus a 30-day money-back guarantee.
    TIP In our testing we found that the cheapest NordVPN plan (Standard) works perfectly for torrenting.
  2. Surfshark: Best low-cost torrenting VPN. Unlimited simultaneous connections and unlimited bandwidth. High speeds for P2P file sharing, solid security, and a strict zero-logs policy.
  3. IPVanish: A great torrent VPN for Kodi users. Excellent security features, including strong encryption. Works with popular torrent clients on most major operating systems.
  4. ExpressVPN: Consistently fast speeds for torrenting and P2P traffic. Keeps no logs, has a kill switch, and is easy to use on all devices. Works with the most popular streaming services.
  5. PrivateVPN: A solid choice for P2P file sharing. Allows port forwarding and keeps no logs. Provides extremely fast connections with no speed loss.
  6. PureVPN: Has a fully audited no logging policy. 31-day money-back guarantee with a low starting price.
  7. ProtonVPN: Reliable VPN that’s particularly strong on privacy. Includes pro-torrenting features such as port forwarding and split tunneling.
  8. CyberGhost: An easy-to-use VPN packed with privacy features for secure torrenting. Thousands of high-speed servers make this a great choice for torrenting from any location.
  9. Hotspot Shield: A reliable VPN for torrenting. Excellent performance and speeds and no user-identifying logs.
  10. StrongVPN: A reliable choice for P2P activity and secure torrenting in places like China. High levels of security, including 256-bit encryption.
Get NordVPN - the #1 VPN for torrenting
Warning

VPNs often claim to keep you safe and private online but many VPNs (especially free ones) leak information.

We regularly test the top 70 VPNs for security and this list only includes VPNs which keep you anonymous and don't track your activity. Plus we only recommend VPNs which offer a full-money back guarantee allowing you to try them risk free.

GET A 30 DAY FREE TRIAL OF NORDVPN

NordVPN is offering a fully-featured risk-free 30-day trial if you sign up at this page. You can use the VPN rated #1 for privacy with no restrictions for a monthgreat if you want to try the P2P-optimized servers for yourself.

There are no hidden termsjust contact support within 30 days if you decide NordVPN isn't right for you and you'll get a full refund. Start your NordVPN trial here.

Our criteria for choosing the best VPNs for torrenting

We provide our full methodology later in this article, but here is a brief rundown of what we look for when scoring VPNs for torrenting.

  • Security & Privacy: We score providers against 15 different metrics, including encryption levels, capabilities of the kill switches, logging policies and leak tests.
  • Speed: We specifically tested providers’ torrenting performance, which is measured in MiB/s and referred to as the bitrate. We carry out multiple tests in different regions and then create a normalized score out of ten.
  • Ease of Use: We score providers based on 10 measurable criteria, including the number of native applications, ease of sign-up and cancelation, and user experience.
  • Value for Money: We score providers using eight key metrics representing value for money. These include the availability of free trials, regular discounts, and the lowest monthly and annual prices.
  • Specific features for torrenting: We award bonus points for specific features like torrent-optimized servers, port forwarding, and split tunneling.
  • The expert reviewer’s professional rating: Every VPN is rated out of 10 by one of our VPN experts. This unbiased rating is used alongside all of the other data from our tests to calculate an Overall Score for each provider.

All the data in our testing is made publicly available and can be downloaded from our Testing Methodology section.

Best torrenting VPNs: Snapshot

No valueNordVPNSurfsharkIPVanishExpressVPNPrivateVPNPureVPNProton VPNCyberGhostHotspot ShieldStrongVPN
WebsiteNordVPN.comSurfshark.comIPVanish.comExpressVPN.comPrivateVPN.comPureVPN.comprotonvpn.comCyberghost.comHotspotshield.comStrongVPN.com
Ranking for Torrenting12345678910
Activity logs No identifying data No identifying dataAnonymized dataNone
Devices SupportedWindows, MacOS, iOS, Android, LinuxWindows, MacOS, iOS, Android, Linux, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TVWindows, MacOS, iOS, AndroidWindows, MacOS, iOS, Android, Linux, Smart TVs, RoutersWindows, MacOS, iOS, Android, Amazon Fire TVWindows, MacOS, iOS, Android, Smart TVs, Chromebook, RoutersWindows, Linux, MacOS, iOS, Android, Chrome, Firefox, Chromebook Windows, MacOS, Linux, iOS, AndroidWindows, MacOS, iOS, Android, Linux, Amazon Fire TV, Chrome, Smart TVs, RoutersWindows, MacOS, iOS, Android, FireTV, Routers, Linux
Avg Speed (Mbps)100+ Mbps100+ Mbps100+ Mbps100+ Mbps74 Mbps400 Mbps100+ Mbps100+ Mbps100+ Mbps74 Mbps
Simultaneous Connections10UnlimitedUnlimited81010Free: 1, VPN Plus: 107Up to 1012
Best deal (per month)$3.09
Up to 73% off 2 year plans + 3 EXTRA months
$2.19
Save 86% on a 2 year Starter plan + 3 months free
$2.19
SAVE 83% on the 2 yr plan
$6.67
SAVE: 49% + 3 months free
$2.00
Save 85% on a one year plan + 24-months free
$2.14
82% off the 2-yr standard plan + 3 free months
$3.59
Up to 64% off a 2-year plan
$2.19
SAVE 83% on the 2 year plan + 2 months free!
$2.99
SAVE 77% ON THE 3 YEAR PLAN
$3.66
Save 63% on an annual plan

Best VPNs for torrenting safely: Detailed Reviews

Want to understand what makes these our top torrenting VPNs in 2024. Read our in-depth reviews below.

1. NordVPN

NordVPN Oct 2024

Apps Available:

  • PC
  • Mac
  • IOS
  • Android
  • Linux
  • Background FireTV

VPN Ratings:

Overall score: 9.2 / 10
Torrenting Features: 7.8 / 10
Torrenting Speed: 9.7 / 10
Security & Privacy: 9.2 / 10
Ease of Use: 9.6 / 10
Value for Money: 9.5 / 10

Website:  www.NordVPN.com

Money-back guarantee: 30 DAYS

NordVPN is our top choice VPN for torrenting in 2024. You’ve been hiding under a privacy rock if you don’t know the name. NordVPN continues to dominate the VPN landscape and with very good reason. Continuous investment in research and development and a relentless pursuit of providing a first-class product and service have paid off. Pound for pound, NordVPN is not just the best VPN for torrenting – it’s the best VPN.

But you’ve come here for a torrenting VPN… so let’s talk torrenting. NordVPN absolutely blitzes through files. The company’s NordLynx protocol (which is built using the speedy WireGuard protocol) made torrenting large files a breeze. It’s not the absolute fastest VPN on this list, but it’s up there with the best of them and for whatever reason, it performs better when torrenting than it did in our standard speed tests.

NordVPN offers torrent-optimized servers. There’s a bit of debate about how much value these optimized servers actually add. Our testing suggests that in terms of speed, there generally isn’t a great deal of difference between an optimized server and clicking ‘Quick Connect,’ but if it helps maintain a clean network for other users and us, we’re all for it.

NordVPN p2p optimized servers
NordVPN’s P2P-optimized servers don’t have much impact on performance, but it’s nice to have the option

Torrenting is permitted on all servers so just stick with what performs best for you.

NordVPN’s automatic kill switch can be toggled on and off in the settings. The traditional all-or-nothing kill switch is one option, but you can also use the app kill switch feature to specify which programs, such as your BitTorrent client, get cut off from the internet if the VPN connection drops. This prevents users from inadvertently exposing their torrenting activity to their ISPs and lets them carry out other activities without VPN protection.

Enabling the kill switch.
NordVPN allows you to enable a kill switch for specific apps.

NordVPN uses shared IP addresses, and bandwidth is unlimited. Of course, this isn’t unique to NordVPN (any premium VPN should do the same), but it’s essential for P2P.

If you simply want to mask your IP address rather than encrypt your data, NordVPN offers a proxy service, which you can plug directly into your torrent client so you don’t have to use the app. The upside to this is potential performance improvements (encryption is resource-intensive). The downside is… well… that your data isn’t encrypted!

SOCK5 Proxy for NordVPN
Using NordVPN’s proxies in uTorrent

There are loads of other unique features, including Onion over VPN and Double VPN. Using Onion over a VPN server, your internet traffic goes through one of NordVPN’s servers and is then passed through the Onion network before reaching the internet. Double VPN, as the name suggests, sends your traffic through two VPN servers instead of one, encrypting your data twice. Of course, we wouldn’t recommend either of these features for torrenting because both come with huge performance hits, but if you like to engage in political dissidence when you’re not torrenting, it’s good to have in your back pocket!

NordVPN does not keep connection or traffic logs that could be used to identify individual torrenters. You’d hope that was the case with all VPN providers – sadly, plenty still capture low-level information. It uses 256-bit AES encryption with perfect forward secrecy by default.

Looking for extra features? NordVPN is packed with them. Encrypted chat and self-destructing notes will make you feel like you have joined the IMF (not the financial agency). It can also unblock a wide range of geo-locked streaming services, including Netflix US, Hulu, BBC iPlayer, and Amazon Prime Video.

Apps are available for Windows, MacOS, iOS, Linux, and Android. It’s worth noting that NordVPN offers two different versions of its app for MacOS – one from the App Store and one directly from its website. The direct download version is more comprehensive, with a richer feature set, and the one we recommend installing.

We tested Nord’s torrenting capabilities by downloading a 4.81GB file multiple times from three locations on a 49 Mbps connection. Downloads progressed consistently, as this qBittorrent capture demonstrates.

Download bitrate with NordVPN.
Graph of download speeds while connected to a NordVPN server in the US.

Speeds were consistently fast across regions, with an average download speed of 5.6 Mbps. Although we were testing from the UK, our downloads progressed marginally faster when connected to servers outside the UK.

Regional Torrenting Speed Test Results for NordVPN
Regional Torrenting Speed Test Results for NordVPN

Connections are leak-free, which we verified for ourselves during testing. We checked whether NordVPN was leaking our location by first connecting to one of its servers in Boston. We then checked where the testing site, Browser Leaks, thought we were. The output below shows that we appear to be connecting to the internet from Boston, which is what we want. Note that our IPv6 address was also hidden.

Testing IP leaks.
Public IP address information while connected to a NordVPN server in the US.

We connected to a different US server to ensure NordVPN didn’t suffer from WebRTC leaks.

WebRTC leak test.
Testing whether NordVPN leaks WebRTC data.

Finally, we checked that the provider directed our DNS queries to its own servers rather than allowing them to be resolved by our ISP — which could expose which torrent sites we were accessing.

DNS leak test.
Testing which DNS servers are used while connected to NordVPN.

Overall, the combination of rock-solid security, good speeds, its simple GUI, and all the extra features like proxies and the ability to unblock pretty much every streaming platform out there make NordVPN an easy recommendation for our best overall VPN for torrenting. Our tests show it tops competitors across Security and Privacy, Torrenting Speeds, Ease of Use, and Value for Money. The only downside for torrenters is that it does not offer port forwarding, reasonably citing concerns over user security.

Buy this VPN if:

  • You want specialized P2P-optimized servers for torrenting
  • You want the option to use SOCKS5 proxies for potentially faster torrenting
  • You want extra features like Double VPN and Onion over VPN for extra security

Don’t buy this VPN if:

  • Port forwarding for better seeding is important to you

BEST VPN FOR TORRENTING:NordVPN is our first choice for torrenting & P2P. It provides extremely fast and consistent downloads, with a strong privacy focus and a ten-connection limit. Includes a 30-day money-back guarantee so you can try it risk-free.

Read our full review of NordVPN.

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2. Surfshark

Surfshark

Apps Available:

  • PC
  • Mac
  • IOS
  • Android
  • Linux

VPN Ratings:

Overall score: 8.8 / 10
Torrenting Features: 7.5 / 10
Torrenting Speed: 8.5 / 10
Security & Privacy: 9.2 / 10
Ease of Use: 8.9 / 10
Value for Money: 9.7 / 10

Website:  www.Surfshark.com

Money-back guarantee: 30 DAYS

Surfshark is great value for money and our top recommendation for torrenters on a tight budget. With a server network spanning more than 100 countries, it’s easy to establish a local connection wherever you are.

Surfshark, owned by the same parent company as NordVPN, is rapidly becoming one of the most competitive VPNs on the market. In terms of raw performance, it matches most of the VPNs on this list. And it costs less. That’s hard not to like.

If you go for the basic VPN subscription, you get the VPN (duh), ad blocker, pop-up blocker, and some basic identity protection services. For a couple of dollars more a month, Surfshark includes a surprisingly powerful antivirus platform and identity protection tool (called Incogni). This is all now bundled into a suite called ‘Surfshark One’. All that extra stuff won’t help you with torrenting, but if you’re paying for AV, you can bundle it into one sub and save a lot of money.

Okay, back to P2P. Surfshark is based in the British Virgin Islands, a country with no mandatory data retention laws. Accordingly, Surfshark doesn’t log any personally identifiable information. P2P traffic is permitted across all servers, and with no bandwidth limits, you can torrent as much as you like. Best of all, Surfshark has no connection limit. That means you’re not limited to a handful of devices – the whole family can use one sub on all their devices. Do the math – it’s a good deal!

The user interface isn’t quite as slick as some other providers, but with a bit of clicking around, you can find various features and extras. Just like ExpressVPN (which is quite a bit more expensive), you can test server performance before connecting. This is super useful if you’re not getting the speeds you expect from your local server and want to do a quick survey of which server is the least conjested.

Testing Surfshark's servers
Quickly identify the best-performing servers

Surfshark has Linux, iOS, Android, Windows, and MacOS apps. It can also be manually installed on supported network routers.

The torrenting experience is smooth and hassle-free, and we were impressed by how quickly we connected to even far-flung servers. Speeds are not as consistent as with NordVPN, but very good nonetheless. Like NordVPN, Surfshark has introduced the WireGuard protocol, which has a noticeable impact on speeds. See the qBittorrent output below for an example. This was captured while torrenting via a server in the UK.

Surfshark download bitrate.
Download speed while connected to a Surfshark server in the UK.

We tested Surfshark servers in three countries, carrying out the same download multiple times and averaging the results, summarised below. As you can see, our file downloaded marginally faster when connected to a US server rather than one in the UK or Singapore — 5.50 MiB/s versus 5.43 MiB/s.

Regional Torrenting Speed Test Results for Surfshark
Regional Torrenting Speed Test Results for Surfshark

Whichever server you connect to, Surfshark protects your traffic using 256-bit AES encryption, a kill switch, and perfect forward secrecy.

As with all the VPNs that made it onto our list, we checked if Surfshark was leaking our location while torrenting. We connected to a server in Boston and checked whether there were any IPv4 or IPv6 leaks. As you can see below, our location (in the UK) was hidden.

Public IP address information.
Public IP address information while connected to a Surfshark server in the US.

We also checked that Surfshark was using its own DNS servers and tested for WebRTC leaks – everything checked out fine.

Like NordVPN, Surfshark comes with split tunneling, which allows users to keep torrent client traffic protected in the VPN tunnel while using other apps with a regular internet connection (or vice-versa).

Surfshark split tunneling.
Surfshark’s split tunneling feature can include or exclude apps from the VPN tunnel.

Buy this VPN if:

  • You want unlimited simultaneous connections for all your devices
  • You want a VPN with built-in ad and malware blocking for safer browsing
  • You want a budget-friendly option with high performance

Don’t buy this VPN if:

  • You prefer a highly intuitive user interface

BEST BUDGET VPN:Surfshark puts major emphasis on your security and data privacy, allowing you to torrent as much as you like safely. Better still, it’s very affordable, with no connection limit and a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Read our full review of Surfshark.

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3. IPVanish

Apps Available:

  • PC
  • Mac
  • IOS
  • Android
  • Linux

VPN Ratings:

Overall score: 8.6 / 10
Torrenting Features: 6.0 / 10
Torrenting Speed: 8.9 / 10
Security & Privacy: 9.1 / 10
Ease of Use: 9.4 / 10
Value for Money: 9.6 / 10

Website:  www.IPVanish.com

Money-back guarantee: 30 DAYS

IPVanish takes privacy very seriously and has been built with torrenting in mind. It creates and keeps no logs, not even the connection logs some providers use for troubleshooting. WireGuard, L2TP, and OpenVPN protocols all use 256-bit encryption. IPVanish uses shared IP addresses to add anonymity while torrenting.

In terms of the sheer number of servers, IPVanish is tough to beat. And we didn’t find any that we couldn’t torrent with. There are no labeled servers, but when the whole network performs this well, who needs them?

IPVanish servers.
A selection of IPVanish servers available in the US.

Like NordVPN, IPVanish offers a SOCKS5 proxy to add directly to your torrent client. This isn’t essential, but it’s a nice-to-have if you value speed over security.

And like Surfshark, you can test a load of servers as well as ping time to connect to a server that will deliver optimal speeds and low latency.

IPVanish - sort by server load
IPVanish lets you organize servers by server load and ping, to further optimize performance

The provider is great for consistently fast downloads. In fact, it was one of the faster VPNs we tested, with an average bitrate of 5.57 MiB/s in the US, 5.47 MiB/s in the UK, and 5.53 MiB/s in Singapore.

Regional Torrenting Speed Test Results for IPVanish
Regional Torrenting Speed Test Results for IPVanish

Interestingly, IPVanish provided slightly faster speeds connected to a server in Singapore than it did connecting to a much closer server in the UK. As we mentioned before, this isn’t usually the case and we’d still recommend using a geographically close server for torrenting. The downloads appeared markedly consistent, as the example qBittorrent output shows below.

IPVanish download bitrate.
Download speed while connected to an IPVanish server in Singapore.

A kill switch can be enabled in the settings and like most the providers we tested, the split tunneling feature allows you to bypass the VPN connection if needed.

IPVanish split tunneling features
IPVanish split tunneling feature to bypass VPN

IPVanish is particularly popular with Kodi users thanks to its lightweight Android app and compatibility with all the Kodi addons we’ve tested. So, if you’re torrenting video content with Kodi or Plex, IPVanish is a great VPN to have on your media devices.

The software was leak-free during testing. We first connected to an IPVanish server in the US and checked whether our UK-based IPv4 and IPv6 addresses were hidden. They were, as you can see from the output below.

Testing IP leaks.
Public IPv4 and IPv6 address information while connected to an IPVanish server in the US.

We then checked for WebRTC leaks, which are the most common form of IP leak among VPNs. There appeared to be no local leak of our location. Finally, we tested whether IPVanish was using its own DNS servers.

DNS leak test.
Testing which DNS servers are being used while connected to IPVanish.

Apps are available for Windows, MacOS, iOS, and Android.

Buy this VPN if:

  • You want the ability to organize servers by server load and ping for optimized performance
  • You want a VPN that works seamlessly with Kodi and other media devices
  • You want a lightweight Android app for mobile torrenting

Don’t buy this VPN if:

  • You want a VPN that offers torrent-specific servers

EASY TO USE:IPVanish is great for families. Generally solid for torrenting, P2P users, and folks who need the highest standard of privacy. Will struggle with popular streaming services and doesn’t work in China. 30-day money-back guarantee.

Read our full review of IPVanish.

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4. ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN

Apps Available:

  • PC
  • Mac
  • IOS
  • Android
  • Linux

VPN Ratings:

Overall score: 8.4 / 10
Torrenting Features: 6.0 / 10
Torrenting Speed: 8.7 / 10
Security & Privacy: 9.6 / 10
Ease of Use: 9.3 / 10
Value for Money: 8.4 / 10

Website:  www.ExpressVPN.com

Money-back guarantee: 30 DAYS

ExpressVPN is one of the Godfathers of the consumer VPN industry – a true OG. It’s a great plug-and-play option for beginners and those who don’t want to fuss with different configurations and want something that will guarantee data security and anonymity when torrenting.

The desktop user interface feels a little dated; in fact, other than a rebranding a few years back, it doesn’t feel like it has evolved much over the last few years.

ExpressVPN user interface connected to UK -East London server
The ExpressVPN interface is a little dated, but it functions well and is suitable for beginners

But as the saying goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. It’s one of the top performers out there. Dig a little deeper, and ExpressVPN offers some genuinely cool features. One of our favorites is that it’s the only provider on the list to have developed custom firmware for various popular routers.

That means if you’re technically handy, you can install ExpressVPN’s own firmware on your router, injecting VPN connectivity into every device on your network. If you’re less technically savvy but like the sound of that, ExpressVPN has also introduced a range of routers that come preinstalled with its firmware. Of course, many decent routers now include the ability to add your VPN settings, and others (like Surfshark) have bypassed the need by allowing unlimited connections, but ExpressVPN’s router firmware remains a very cool solution.

ExpressVPN Aircove
ExpressVPN is the only provider to offer custom firmware and a range of compatible hardware

The only thing going against it is it costs a few bucks a month more than other providers on this list with similar performance.

Like Surfshark, ExpressVPN is based in the British Virgin Islands, which has no data retention laws and doesn’t keep traffic logs.

A kill switch is built in to prevent traffic from leaking onto the unencrypted network should your connection drop. As with the other top providers on this list, you can route certain apps through the VPN using split tunneling. P2P file sharing is supported on all servers.

ExpressVPN performed well in all three countries we tested it in, with an average of 5.47 MiB/s in Singapore, 5.37 MiB/s in the US, and 5.4 MiB/s in the UK.

Regional Torrenting Speed Test Results for ExpressVPN
Regional Torrenting Speed Test Results for ExpressVPN

Download speeds were fairly consistent in all tests. As an example, here’s the qBittorrent output when downloading via a server in the UK:

ExpressVPN download bitrate.
Download speeds while connected to an ExpressVPN server in the US.

ExpressVPN is leak-free in all the areas we tested. It didn’t reveal our location (in the UK) when connected to a server in the US:

Testing IP leaks.
Public IP address information while connected to an ExpressVPN server in the US.

It also passed the WebRTC leak test, didn’t leak our DNS requests and used its own DNS servers. This means our ISP won’t be able to see which torrent sites we’re using.

DNS leak test.
Testing which DNS servers are used while connected to ExpressVPN.

Besides torrenting, ExpressVPN is also great for accessing geo-locked streaming services, including Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, and HBO Go/Now.

ExpressVPN’s latest releases include its proprietary VPN protocol, Lightway, which offers even faster speeds, comparable to competitors such as NordVPN and Surfshark, which are built on the speedy WireGuard protocol.

ExpressVPN protocols.
It’s easy to switch to ExpressVPN’s in-house protocol.

One of the other features we really like about ExpressVPN is its built-in server speed testing tool. This is a transparent and easy way to see which servers are potentially congested. If you’re looking to squeeze every last drop of performance out of the VPN, you can test all VPN servers that are in close geographical proximity and, because ExpressVPN allows torrenting on all servers, simply choose the one that is the fastest in the speed testing tool. It’s a nice touch.

It’s not the cheapest provider on this list, but torrenters happy to pay a bit more for a fast VPN with great security credentials will find ExpressVPN a solid option.

Apps are available for Windows, MacOS, Android, iOS, some wi-fi routers, and Linux.

Buy this VPN if:

  • You want custom firmware for routers to protect all devices on your network
  • You want to access geo-locked streaming services along with torrenting
  • ou want built-in server speed testing to find the fastest torrenting servers

Don’t buy this VPN if:

  • You prefer a more budget-friendly option
  • You want customizable features and advanced settings

TORRENT WITHOUT LIMITS:ExpressVPN is ideal for torrenting & P2P. It has a vast network of servers that are fine-tuned for high-speed connections. Tough to beat on data privacy and security. Also includes a 30-day money-back guarantee

Read our full review of ExpressVPN.

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5. PrivateVPN

Apps Available:

  • PC
  • Mac
  • IOS
  • Android
  • Linux

VPN Ratings:

Overall score: 8.4 / 10
Torrenting Features: 6.8 / 10
Torrenting Speed: 9.7 / 10
Security & Privacy: 8.8 / 10
Ease of Use: 8.6 / 10
Value for Money: 8.2 / 10

Website:  www.PrivateVPN.com

Money-back guarantee: 30 DAYS

PrivateVPN may have a smaller network than the others on this list, but you’d never know it when torrenting.

PrivateVPN has rock-solid security and uses 256-bit encryption with perfect forward secrecy on the OpenVPN protocol. No web traffic or connection logs are recorded, and as per the usual rules of engagment, it has an optional kill switch built in.

Notably, it allows port forwarding, which enables torrenters to download and seed more efficiently and is in keeping with P2P etiquette. This is one of only three providers on the list to offer this feature (the others being Proton VPN and Pure VPN). Port Forwarding is something of a dying art, with several VPN providers removing it, citing security concerns as the reason. So, if you’re after a fast VPN that plays strictly by the rules of the P2P community, PrivateVPN is a good choice.

It’s worth noting that using the port forwarding feature isn’t entirely straightforward. You will need to speak to support, and the instructions require some lateral thinking to interpret.

PrivateVP{N live chat
Port Forwarding is possible, but you need to contact support for the cryptic instructions

It also comes with a split tunneling feature that ensures your client always stays within the VPN tunnel.

The desktop interface feels a little dated compared to many other providers in our list, but scratch the Windows 98 surface and there is a smorgasbord of features.

As you can see from the graph below, downloads were very fast. Actually, PrivateVPN had some of the fastest download speeds for the UK, the US and Singapore.

Regional Torrenting Speed Test Results for PrivateVPN
Regional Torrenting Speed Test Results for PrivateVPN

The downloads didn’t progress as consistently as with some providers, but this is a very minor niggle, given the impressive speeds overall.

PrivateVPN download bitrate.
Download speed while connected to a PrivateVPN server in the US.

We tested PrivateVPN for IPv4 and IPv6 leaks while connected to a server in the US. As expected, it showed us connecting from the US rather than our location in the UK.

Testing IP leaks.
Public IP address information while connected to a PrivateVPN server in the US.

PrivateVPN didn’t suffer from WebRTC or DNS leaks.

DNS leak test.
Testing which DNS servers are used while connected to PrivateVPN.

Besides anonymous torrenting, PrivateVPN is also great for streaming content like US Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video, although it’s not in the same league as the providers at the top of the list. You might want to scroll up if you’re after a multifunction VPN that is good for streaming and torrenting.

You can connect up to ten devices simultaneously on a single account, and apps are available for Windows, MacOS, iOS, and Android.

Buy this VPN if:

  • Port forwarding for enhanced torrenting efficiency is important to you
  • You want extremely fast download speeds for large torrent files
  • You want a VPN that unblocks the main streaming services

Don’t buy this VPN if:

  • You prefer a large server network for more location options.

GREAT FOR SPEED:PrivateVPN is consistently reliable. A solid performer for torrenting, P2P, and general-purpose use. Speeds were surprisingly good at this end of the market. It could do with having more servers and lacks 24/7 support. 30-day money-back guarantee.

Read our full PrivateVPN review.

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6. PureVPN

Apps Available:

  • PC
  • Mac
  • IOS
  • Android
  • Linux

VPN Ratings:

Overall score: 8.2 / 10
Torrenting Features: 7.3 / 10
Torrenting Speed: 7.2 / 10
Security & Privacy: 9.2 / 10
Ease of Use: 9.1 / 10
Value for Money: 8.1 / 10

Website:  www.PureVPN.com

Money-back guarantee: 31 DAYS

PureVPN is a low-cost VPN with good torrenting capabilities. It’s strong on privacy and is another of the three providers on our list to offer port forwarding. We only gave it half the points for this feature in our scoring because it’s a paid add-on, unlike Proton VPN and PrivateVPN. But it’s only about 18 bucks a year ($1.49 a month), so it’s not the end of the world if you pick it for other reasons.

PureVPN
PureVPN offers port forwarding, but it’s a paid add-on

PureVPN is fast. In our download speed tests, the average UK download speed was 5.40 MiB/s, and the average download speed was 5.37 MiB/s for the US and Singapore. These combine to give a respectable global bitrate of 5.38 MiB/s.

Regional Torrenting Speed Test Results for PureVPN
Regional Torrenting Speed Test Results for PureVPN

Downloads progressed consistently well, though we needed to switch protocols (from WireGuard to OpenVPN) to get them started.

PureVPN download bitrate.
Download speed while connected to a PureVPN server in the US.

Like others on our list, PureVPN is based in the British Virgin Islands, which means it’s safely outside the influence of invasive jurisdictions like the US, UK, and EU.

It has an extensive network with over 6,000 servers in over 65 countries. This is great for torrenting privately, as there are plenty of options for changing IP address. We tested this by connecting to a PureVPN server in the US and checking which IP address was displayed publicly. As you can see from the output below, PureVPN didn’t leak our IPv4 or IPv6 addresses.

Testing IP leaks.
Public IP address information while connected to a PureVPN server in the US.

Next, we tested for WebRTC and DNS leaks.

Testing for WebRTC leaks.
PureVPN passed the WebRTC leak tests.

PureVPN has a strict no-logs policy, AES-256-GCM encryption, multiple protocol options, a kill switch, and split tunneling on a per-app basis.

PureVPN split tunneling.
Users can specify that only their torrent client uses the VPN tunnel.

PureVPN is compatible with a wide array of streaming services. In recent tests, it worked with 12 out of 15 tested platforms, including watching Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, HBO Max, Peacock, and numerous British, Canadian, Brazilian, German, Japanese, and French services.

There is a 31-day money-back guarantee, so you can try the VPN risk-free to see whether it works well with your torrent client.

Buy this VPN if:

  • You want an audited no-logs policy for extra privacy assurance
  • You want the option of port forwarding as an add-on
  • You want access to a wide server network in over 65 countries

Don’t buy this VPN if:

  • You need port forwarding included in the basic subscription

LOW STARTING PRICE:PureVPN has servers in 65+ countries and apps for all popular platforms. It offers great speeds for torrenting, but port forwarding costs a little extra. Works to access Netflix US and many other streaming platforms. Has a fully audited no logging policy. 31-day money-back guarantee.

Find out more in our PureVPN review.

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7. Proton VPN

Apps Available:

  • PC
  • Mac
  • IOS
  • Android
  • Linux

VPN Ratings:

Overall score: 7.9 / 10
Torrenting Features: 8.3 / 10
Torrenting Speed: 6.7 / 10
Security & Privacy: 7.8 / 10
Ease of Use: 9.3 / 10
Value for Money: 7.4 / 10

Website:  www.protonvpn.com

Money-back guarantee: 30 DAYS

Proton VPN is the sibling of the well-respected Proton Mail. The Proton name has become synonymous with privacy. Founded by former CERN scientists in Switzerland, it has a provenance that most VPN companies would die for (we’re not sure what particle accelerators have to do with virtual private networks, but it’s a cool origins story).

At the heart of Proton VPN, is a safe and secure VPN for torrenting. The service has a rock-solid no-logging policy that has been independently audited.

ProtonVPN’s global server network now spans over 91 countries, allowing users to get an IP address just about anywhere.

Proton has done an awful lot of work in recent years to improve its apps. If you’re into dark themes and feeling like a CTU agent keeping tabs on Jack Bauer, make no mistake, Proton VPN feels ‘cool’. After you get over feeling like a secret agent, there is a ton of useful data at your disposal too—down volume, up volume, down speed, up speed. We wish more providers would put real-time data at our fingertips.

proton vpn interface
Proton VPN provides tons of useful data

In our tests, servers were initially slow to connect to. However, once a connection was established, download speeds were decent. Unusually, speeds were fastest (5.4 MiB/s) when connected to a server in Singapore—perhaps justifying ProtonVPN’s claims that its “VPN Accelerator” tech boosts speeds for long-distance connections. Servers in the UK and US achieved relatively slower averages of 5.3 MiB/s each.

Regional Torrenting Speed Test Results for Proton VPN
Regional Torrenting Speed Test Results for Proton VPN

Downloads progressed fairly consistently in our tests, though connections did drop out a few times. The qBittorrent output below shows a fairly typical download while connected to a server in the UK:

ProtonVPN download bitrate.
Download speed while connected to a ProtonVPN server in the UK.

ProtonVPN apps are available for all platforms and have useful pro-torrenting features. This is another of very few VPNs offering port forwarding for more efficient seeding and leeching.

ProtonVPN allows port forwarding.
ProtonVPN is one of the few VPNs that permits port forwarding.

And unlike PrivateVPN, it takes a couple of clicks to enable. If you need port forwarding and don’t have much patience, Proton VPN really should be at the top of your list.

Other features include split tunneling, AES encryption, multiple protocol options, stealth VPN, a system-level kill switch, obfuscation, and multi-hop connections.

As we discovered during testing, the provider is reliably leak-free. When connected to a US server from the UK, our IPv4 and IPv6 addresses showed us as being in the US.

IP address leak tests.
ProtonVPN didn’t leak our IPv4 or IPv6 addresses.

There were no WebRTC leaks when connected to a different US server and our tests confirmed Proton was using its own DNS.

The main downside to ProtonVPN is that its subscriptions are relatively expensive, though you get what you pay for in terms of privacy and security. You can try it out risk-free using the 30-day money-back guarantee.

Buy this VPN if:

  • You want port forwarding
  • You want a VPN with extensive real-time data and metrics for users
  • You want advanced security features like stealth VPN and multi-hop connections

Don’t buy this VPN if:

  • You prefer a more affordable subscription cost

SECURE AND PRIVATE:ProtonVPN is an advanced VPN dedicated to user privacy. Reliable no-logs policy, AES encryption, a kill switch, and obfuscation. Works to get an IP address in more than 91 countries. Has a 30-day money-back guarantee and 24/7 live chat support—full support for various Netflix regions and many other popular streaming services.

Find out more in our ProtonVPN review.

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8. CyberGhost VPN

Apps Available:

  • PC
  • Mac
  • IOS
  • Android
  • Linux

VPN Ratings:

Overall score: 7.6 / 10
Torrenting Features: 4.8 / 10
Torrenting Speed: 5.3 / 10
Security & Privacy: 9.1 / 10
Ease of Use: 9.1 / 10
Value for Money: 9.5 / 10

Website:  www.Cyberghost.com

Money-back guarantee: 45 DAYS

CyberGhost VPN is a very slick VPN and a joy to use. Owned by the same parent company as ExpressVPN, CyberGhost VPN adheres to a strict no-logs policy, uses 256-bit AES encryption with perfect forward secrecy, and has a robust kill switch.

An app-specific kill switch is buried in the settings, dubbed “app protection”, which will only cut off the internet to specific programs, e.g. a torrent client.

Cyberghost VPN allows torrenting on any of its P2P-optimized servers, which are plentiful. You can easily find these in the app’s torrenting section of the server list. With any VPN, connecting to a server geographically close to your location is generally recommended. So, if you’re connecting from Georgia, you might want to connect to a server in Atlanta. This is a good rule to follow unless you are trying to access geo-restricted content and services. CyberGhost VPN makes this super easy by allowing you to sort torrent-optimized servers by distance from your location. It’s little things like this that make all the difference when it comes to day-to-day use.

cyberghost distance to server
You can sort servers by distance from your location

Download speeds are good, though you can expect things to slow down when connected to a far-flung server. The average speeds for Singapore were 5.1 MiB/s, while for the US, they were 5.23 MiB/s. The UK average was 5.33 MiB/s.

Regional Torrenting Speed Test Results for Cyberghost VPN
Regional Torrenting Speed Test Results for Cyberghost VPN

Individual downloads progressed smoothly, though there were a few minor hiccups. In the example below, the connection momentarily dropped out when connected to a US server.

CyberGhost download bitrate.
Download speed while connected to a CyberGhost server in the US.

We tested the software for leaks by first connecting to a server in the US. As expected, this identified us online as connecting from the US rather than where we were testing from in the UK.

Testing IP leaks.
Public IP address information while connected to a CyberGhost server in the US.

CyberGhost didn’t leak our true location through WebRTC either:

The provider used its own servers to resolve DNS queries. This ensures that our ISP doesn’t see when we use torrent sites.

DNS leak test.
Testing which DNS servers are used while connected to CyberGhost.

CyberGhost apps are easy to use and available for Windows, MacOS, iOS, Linux, and Android.

Buy this VPN if:

  • You want easy-to-use, torrent-optimized servers
  • You want a user-friendly interface with strong privacy features
  • You want the ability to sort servers by distance for better performance

Don’t buy this VPN if:

  • Reliable performance in regions with heavy internet censorship is necessary

GOOD VALUE VPN:CyberGhost is a great value choice. Strong privacy policy, decent speeds, and reliability for torrenting & P2P. We found it easy to set up and use. Works well with most streaming sites. 45-day money-back guarantee.

Read our full CyberGhost VPN review.

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9. Hotspot Shield

Hotspot Shield

Apps Available:

  • PC
  • Mac
  • IOS