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Torrenting requires a certain level of privacy and security and one of the best ways to ensure anonymity is through the use of a virtual private network (VPN). A VPN masks your IP address and disguises online activity, which includes torrenting. Not all VPNs are built to support torrenting software, in part due to the need for fast connection speeds for downloading torrents.
Torrenting refers to downloading or distributing files via BitTorrent – a communication protocol for peer-to-peer (a connection between two IP networks, allowing traffic to flow between either source) file sharing through a decentralised network.
The sharing nature of torrenting speeds up the process of uploading or downloading a large file onto a central server (a system that provides local area networking services to multiple users). Simply put, torrenting splits large files into manageable, smaller bits, ready for transmission to and from multiple devices – torrenting gets faster when a number of peers are available for file transfer.
Torrenting itself is not illegal, but downloading copyrighted material is, and this is what could have negative consequences.
We’ve compiled a list of all the best VPNs for torrenting, all of which have been tried and tested for speed, privacy and security.
Our reviewers are dedicated to bringing you the most accurate and up-to-date information so you can make an informed decision when it comes to buying a VPN for torrenting. We will only recommend a VPN after hours of testing, head-to-head feature comparisons, and after taking into account verified customer feedback and reviews and the opinions of industry experts.
Our review scores are determined the following categories:
We research and test a total of 25 elements within these categories including:
All of our VPN articles are verified by our in-house team of fact-checkers, so you can be assured that our content is as accurate and up-to-date as possible. For more information, read our guide to how we review VPNs.
There were several factors to establish the best VPN for torrenting:
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| Price | From £2.49/m | From £6.92/m | From £1.79/m | From £1.78/m | From £3.88/m |
| Free version | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| Max number of connected devices | 6 | 5 | Unlimited | 7 | 10 |
| Number of servers | 5500+ | 3000+ | 3200+ | 9000+ | 2700+ |
| AES-256 encryption | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Audited no-log policy | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Where to buy |
Here’s what our experts rate as the best VPNs for torrenting.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Dedicated servers for torrenting | Slower upload speeds for certain servers |
| Excellent range of privacy features | |
| Reasonably priced |
CyberGhost is a popular VPN for gaming and torrenting, thanks to its fast connection speeds and range of privacy features. The provider has an outstanding 9,000+ servers available worldwide and some of those servers are dedicated specifically to torrenting.
CyberGhost is also one of the most reasonably priced VPNs with a generous 45-day money-back guarantee.
CyberGhost offers a 45-day money-back guarantee, which is more than most other providers.
CyberGhost has dedicated servers that are optimised for torrenting, creating a smooth and seamless experience and removing any privacy concerns. Through CyberGhost’s AES-256 encrypted tunnel, users can safely access restricted torrent domains.
For added layers of security, the kill switch will protect users if their VPN connection ever cuts out unexpectedly and the split tunnelling feature allows you to choose which internet traffic or torrents run through the VPN and which run outside of it. Also, CyberGhost has a selection of protocols, all of which provide an extra layer of security.
CyberGhost has downloadable apps for iOS, MacOS, Android and Windows. Its apps come armed with privacy and security features and are fully customisable.
One of the features that sets CyberGhost apart from the rest we’ve reviewed is its Smart Rules function. Within these settings, there is an option to turn on auto-launch for selected apps, which means that when certain apps are opened, CyberGhost will automatically protect you – this is especially ideal for torrenting.
When our researchers tested CyberGhost, our baseline download speed was around 73Mbps and, for our UK, US and Australian server tests, our results were outstanding and were only eight per cent slower or less – perfect for torrenting. While our upload speeds were not as good, connecting to a UK server was only four per cent slower, which is ideal.
| Download speed (Mbps) | Upload speed (Mbps) | Latency (ping) | Percentage of base download speed | Percentage of base upload speed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No VPN | 73.09 | 17.9 | 13ms | ||
| UK to UK | 68.78 | 17.27 | 15ms | 94% | 96% |
| UK to US | 67.67 | 14.82 | 108ms | 92% | 82% |
| UK to Aus | 68.55 | 13.55 | 277ms | 93% | 75% |
CyberGhost receives 4.4 out of five stars on the Apple App Store and, on the Google Play Store, 4.2 stars out of five. Customer reviews have praised CyberGhost for its range of security features.
“I love that I can turn on/off anti-tracking, data compression, malicious website protection, ad-blocker, wifi protection, and use the random port, all extremely useful features for myself. But most importantly, the servers are very reliable and fast. No joke, almost all the Android VPNs I’ve tried so far have had extremely inconsistent servers, great one day, literally unusable the next. Sometimes it’s even month by month. Only one has held for me, I hope CyberGhost will be the second.”
CyberGhost is one of the best choices of VPNs for security and privacy features. Its high level of security is a good fit for torrenting and its connection speeds are decent when compared to other providers.
Score: ★★★★
Read our full CyberGhost VPN review.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Good privacy features | Split tunnelling not available for MacOS |
| Fast connection speeds |
NordVPN is well known for its rigorous privacy and security features and it’s those features that make it an excellent choice of VPN for torrenting. With NordVPN, users have a selection of protocols, military-grade encryption and a kill switch – among other privacy features to protect their online identity.
NordVPN can be paid for in monthly, 12-month or 36-month payments and the provider has three payment tiers; standard, plus and complete.
NordVPN also offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.
NordVPN is one of the most secure VPNs on the market and has a variety of sought-after privacy features available. The provider offers a double VPN, meaning your internet traffic is encrypted twice and routed through two VPN servers. A double VPN provides multiple layers of privacy and makes it impossible for your IP address to be revealed while torrenting.
The provider has a no-logs policy, which has been independently audited three times, once by Deloitte. NordVPN also offers a kill switch, which is a must-have for torrenting and is available for all of its apps. However, split tunnelling is not available for MacOS, which is quite common.
NordVPN is one of the easiest VPN apps to use, and it’s simple, seamless design makes it accessible for both beginners and tech-savvy users.
It has downloadable apps for MacOS, iOS, Android, Windows and Linux (in fact, Nord has been rated Best VPN for iPhone and Best VPN for Android). NordVPN’s app has a quick-connect button, allowing for a fast connection, or you can select your preferred server location from Nord’s alphabetical list. In addition, there are pre-selected servers for speed, downloading and browsing – a nice touch, perfect for torrenting.
When our researchers tested NordVPNs performance we found that both its download and upload speeds were a mixed bag. Connecting to a UK server was excellent and both our download and upload speeds were no more than six per cent slower. However, when we tested NordVPN’s US server, the download speed was outstanding but our upload speed dropped considerably.
| Download speed (Mbps) | Upload speed (Mbps) | Latency (ping) | Percentage of base download speed | Percentage of base upload speed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No VPN | 72.57 | 18.47 | 13ms | ||
| UK to UK | 69.51 | 17.42 | 14ms | 95% | 94% |
| UK to US | 71.46 | 15.51 | 90ms | 98% | 83% |
| UK to Aus | 65.23 | 10.77 | 294ms | 89% | 58% |
Through NordVPN’s mobile app, customers can email customer support and even upload an image attachment to help explain the specific issue at hand. As well as this, its website allows for email support and customers can benefit from any of Nord’s many how-to guides.
NordVPN receives 4.5 out of five stars on Google Play Store and 4.6 out of five stars on Apple App Store. Customers have noted that NordVPN has fast connection speeds and excellent privacy features.
“Finally, a simple VPN. It has plenty of countries and the connection speeds are great on mobile and on PC. This VPN actually stays connected and 98 per cent of the time, you won’t need to load the app to reconnect if the connection does drop. it works fine over wifi and mobile data and protects you well. This app also has a useful feature called a kill switch, when enabled if the connection does drop, the app will prevent any internet activity to protect your privacy. If you’re big on privacy like me then NordVPN is the one for you.”
NordVPN comes with an excellent level of security, including a no-logs policy, which has been independently audited, and a kill switch. The provider also uses double VPN, which essentially means your traffic is encrypted twice – for this reason, its high level of security is the best match for torrenting.
Score: ★★★★½
Read our full NordVPN review.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Good range of privacy features | Expensive subscription |
| Threat Manager |
ExpressVPN boasts a stable VPN connection and a long list of privacy features to match. More importantly, the provider has a good mix of speed and privacy – both of which are required for torrenting.
Notably, ExpressVPN allows peer-to-peer (P2P) sharing and torrenting across all of its VPN servers, as well as an unlimited bandwidth allowance.
ExpressVPN offers a 30-day, no-questions-asked money-back guarantee. The provider’s subscription payments are taken in US dollars.
ExpressVPN has a range of VPN protocols with servers encrypted with AES-256 bits and its own secure server DNS (domain name system). The provider also has a no-logs policy, which has been independently audited.
Its kill switch comes in handy when torrenting, allowing users to stay safe even if their VPN connection drops; however, this is not available for iOS devices – instead it is replaced with an auto-reconnect option.
ExpressVPN’s split tunnelling provides a layer of protection for torrenting, allowing the user to route only the torrent traffic through the VPN and choose to run other web traffic outside of the VPN.
ExpressVPN has downloadable apps for iOS, MacOS, Android, Windows and Linux and, in our researcher’s option, is the most aesthetically pleasing designed VPN.
With any of ExpressVPN’s apps, the interface features a large connect button with an option to use its Smart Location, which automatically selects the fastest server making it ideal for torrenting.
Within ExpressVPN’s settings, you’ll find a range of privacy options including the Threat Manager – for blocking ads and malware – a range of protocols and an in-app speed test.
Our researchers tested ExpressVPNs performance and found that its download speeds were far better than its upload speeds. With a baseline speed of around 68Mbps when testing in the UK, using the US and Australian servers, our download speed was no more than seven per cent slower – similar to CyberGhost. However, our upload speed suffered a considerable drop – for the Australian server, our speed was only 49 per cent as fast, which could impact torrenting activities.
| Download speed (Mbps) | Upload speed (Mbps) | Latency (ping) | Percentage of base download speed | Percentage of base upload speed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No VPN | 69.89 | 15.07 | 14ms | ||
| UK to UK | 65.36 | 13.33 | 17ms | 93% | 88% |
| UK to US | 65.96 | 11.82 | 93ms | 94% | 78% |
| UK to Aus | 68.09 | 7.53 | 286ms | 97% | 49% |
ExpressVPN has a good level of customer service with options to contact the team using live chat and email.
It receives 4.5 out of five stars on Apple App Store and 4.3 stars out of five on Google Play Store – customers especially like ExpressVPN’s reliable VPN connection.
“Solid choice of VPN. Came from using another VPN service that I had liked but seemed to get spotty connections from time to time. Thus far, this hasn’t been the case with ExpressVPN. Connections are always made near instantaneously and once established up/down speeds are exceptionally quick. Being able to use ExpressVPN across multiple devices is a nice touch as well as this kind of feature tends to cost extra with other VPN services. Overall ExpressVPN is a great choice!”
ExpressVPN is a reliable provider, with an excellent level of security. Its easy-to-use app makes it a good choice for beginners and, unlike some providers that we’ve reviewed, all of its privacy features can be found inside the app, with no need to search in your device settings. Its connection speeds are not the fastest and its subscriptions are more expensive than most other providers. However, for torrenting, its privacy features and no-logs policy, which has been audited, are well suited.
Score: ★★★★½
Read our full ExpressVPN review.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Optimised torrenting servers | No split tunnelling for MacOS |
| Good range of privacy features |
ProtonVPN boasts fast connection speeds and is optimised torrenting servers. The service is geared towards customers looking for a highly reliable and secure VPN that will aid torrenting – the provider is also headquartered in Switzerland, which has strong data protection laws.
Proton VPN offers subscription terms of monthly, 12 months, and 24 months. It also provides a 30-day money-back guarantee.
ProtonVPN has a no-logs policy which has been independently audited and its service is encrypted by AES-256. Its kill switch is available for all devices, but its split tunnelling feature is not available for MacOS devices.
The provider is the best for P2P, with 190 P2P-optimised servers available, making downloading and uploading torrents simple and fast. Another layer of security comes from Proton’s NetShield feature, which blocks ads, malware and trackers.
Even though ProtonVPN’s features are geared towards the VPN-savvy, its apps are straightforward and inclusive of beginners. With ProtonVPN, there’s an option to create a profile, which allows for customising favourite servers, protocols and privacy features.
While in the app, connecting to Proton’s servers is simple. Our researchers especially liked the options for connecting to the fastest server or a random server, both chosen by Proton.
When our researchers tested ProtonVPN, overall its performance was better than all of the other providers we tested for this review. Our download speed for both the UK and the US was only five per cent slower and, for the Australian server, it was 10 per cent – this would make for a good torrenting experience. Our UK upload speed was slightly slower than our baseline, and, for the Australian server, it was only 62 per cent as fast – this is still faster than other providers.
| Download speed (Mbps) | Upload speed (Mbps) | Latency (ping) | Percentage of base download speed | Percentage of base upload speed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No VPN | 74.26 | 18.45 | 13ms | ||
| UK to UK | 70.63 | 17.66 | 14ms | 95% | 95% |
| UK to US | 70.62 | 16.82 | 83ms | 95% | 91% |
| UK to Aus | 67.4 | 11.52 | 294ms | 90% | 62% |
On the Apple App Store, Proton VPN receives 4.6 out of five stars and on the Google Play Store it receives 4.4 out of a possible five stars. Customer reviews praise Proton for its fast and reliable connection speeds.
“This VPN works very well. I was using the free service for years with very few problems. Recently, I decided to give the paid servers a try. It’s been about four months with no problems. It connects and disconnects quickly. Switching servers between countries is no problem. Good job, Proton!”
ProtonVPN provides advanced privacy and security features as well as VPN servers, which have been optimised for torrenting. The service is headquartered in Switzerland, which has great data protection laws and the service has been audited. With fast connection speeds and an excellent range of privacy features, it’s built for torrenting.
Score: ★★★★
Read the full Proton VPN review.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Affordable pricing | Split tunnelling is not available for MacOS and iOS |
| Unlimited device connections |
Surfshark is one of the most popular VPNs on the market; it offers good speed, and a range of privacy features, all for an affordable price (it won best value for money VPN in our researchers’ eyes). The service includes unlimited device connections and more than 3,200 VPN servers located in 100 countries worldwide.
Surfshark offers a 30-day money-back guarantee and monthly, 12-month and 24-month subscriptions.
All of Surfshark’s servers allow torrenting and, for certain countries where P2P is not allowed, Surfshark routes the user’s traffic via torrenting-friendly servers.
Sufshark offers three VPN protocols – WireGuard, OpenVPN and IKEv2 – and is encrypted by AES-256. Its kill switch protects customers if their VPN connection drops and this feature is advantageous for torrenting.
It does have a split tunnelling feature, where users can choose which traffic to run through the VPN, but this is not available for MacOS or iOS devices.
Surfshark VPN’s apps are ideal for beginners and allow for easy access to privacy and security features. From the app’s interface, you can connect to any server, customise privacy features and choose a VPN protocol.
When our researchers tested Surfshark’s performance, its download and upload speeds for a UK server were both 93 per cent as fast, which is excellent for torrenting. Connecting to a US server was nine per cent slower for downloading and 13 per cent slower for uploads. Users who wish to connect to an Australian server could be disappointed – our download speed was 80 per cent as fast and our upload was 88 per cent as fast.
| Download speed (Mbps) | Upload speed (Mbps) | Latency (ping) | Percentage of base download speed | Percentage of base upload speed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No VPN | 74.34 | 18.57 | 14ms | ||
| UK to UK | 69.33 | 17.29 | 14ms | 93% | 93% |
| UK to US | 67.83 | 15.51 | 161ms | 91% | 83% |
| UK to Aus | 60.03 | 16.49 | 281ms | 80% | 88% |
Surfshark receives 4.8 out of five stars on the Apple App Store and 4.4 stars out of five stars on the Google Play Store.
“Great VPN for a great price. I signed up for two years and will likely sign up for two more, if it’s the same price or better. Only a few things ever get disrupted when using it, like certain apps that need GPS to run. Sometimes Netflix won’t run unless I shut it down. But, overall, it very rarely causes any issues. I keep it on 95 per cent of the time and it doesn’t drain my battery or disrupt cell service. Highly recommend”
Surfshark VPN’s apps are easy to use and ideal for beginners. The service comes with a great range of privacy and security features and its subscription plans are reasonably priced and good value for money. The provider also has good connection speeds which is required for torrenting.
Score: ★★★★
Read our full Surfshark VPN review.
| No VPN (Mbps) | UK to UK (Mbps) | UK to US (Mbps) | UK to Australia (Mbps) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NordVPN | 72.57 | 69.51 | 71.46 | 65.23 |
| ExpressVPN | 69.89 | 65.36 | 65.96 | 68.09 |
| Surfshark | 74.34 | 69.33 | 67.83 | 60.03 |
| CyberGhost | 73.09 | 68.78 | 67.67 | 68.55 |
| Proton VPN | 74.26 | 70.63 | 70.62 | 67.4 |
A VPN creates a secure tunnel between your device and the VPN server, while concealing your IP address and keeping data and important information safe. Using a VPN for torrenting means that any data is encrypted before that traffic leaves your device, therefore no third party will be able to see your torrenting activity.
While torrenting itself is legal, sharing and downloading copyrighted material online is not. But even when you’re safely accessing publicly-owned files, your IP address is visible to other users and your activity can be seen by your internet service provider. Using a VPN for torrenting protects the user by disguising their online activity. Connecting to a VPN server will change your IP address and, therefore, show a different geographical location. Not all VPN servers will allow torrenting, but your provider should indicate which ones are best to use.
Consider the following when buying a VPN for torrenting:
While there are plenty of free VPNs available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, you should consider how secure they are for torrenting. Most free VPNs have limited security and privacy features and, if they don’t possess a kill switch, then they’re not suitable for torrenting. Free VPNs also offer limited monthly data allowance and few simultaneous device connections. Free VPNs may also collect and sell user data to third parties.
While you don’t need to use a VPN for torrenting, it is strongly advised to do so. A VPN encrypts your internet traffic and hides your IP address. If you torrent without using a VPN, your ISP will be able to see your online activity.
The best VPN we’ve reviewed for torrenting is CyberGhost; it has dedicated torrenting servers, a kill switch and an option to choose for which apps CyberGhost auto-connects – all of which make it a good fit for torrenting. The provider is also reasonably priced and its connection speeds are fast.
The data in this review is reported from a neutral stance and should be used for informational purposes only. We review VPN services from the perspective of:
Independent Advisor does not endorse the streaming of content from regions other than where the subscription is held, nor does it endorse the downloading or consumption of illegally pirated content.
The data in this review is reported from a neutral stance and should be used for informational purposes only. We review free VPN services from the perspective of:
Independent Advisor does not endorse the streaming of content from regions other than where the subscription is held, nor does it endorse the downloading or consumption of illegally pirated content.
