The Best VPNs for Torrenting in 2024

PCMag editors select and review products independently. If you buy through affiliate links, we may earn commissions, which help support our testing.

BitTorrent is a peer-to-peer protocol that makes it easy to move big files across the internet by sharing the burden among downloaders. However, its reputation as the go-to tool for piracy has led a few VPNs to block torrenting on their services, so your regular go-to service may not work. We've been testing VPNs for more than 10 years, and in this guide, we look at the services that explicitly allow BitTorrenting to determine which is best. Proton VPN is our Editors' Choice winner but isn't the only one we recommend. Check out the best VPNs for torrenting below to determine which one is right for you.

Do I Need a VPN for Torrenting?

Given its reputation, some ISPs and network managers block BitTorrent traffic altogether. Or, at the very least, they track who's connecting to BitTorrent seeds (and which seeds in particular) and set a certain number of warnings before your account can potentially be deactivated if they detect you're downloading flagged copyrighted materials. Using a VPN is sensible to circumvent these barricades and to protect your privacy when torrenting.

Regardless of how you feel about BitTorrent, the people who own the network you use to connect to the internet or even your ISP may block torrenting altogether. A VPN can help circumvent those prohibitions by making it harder for people to detect torrenting traffic.

No matter how just the reasoning, though, the law (however problematic) is the law. ISPs and other tech companies are sometimes compelled to answer when rights holders come with a list of offenses carried out on their infrastructure. Using a VPN can help improve your privacy by preventing your ISP from monitoring your traffic and making it harder for advertisers to track you online.

But when it comes to security, we often say that it's better to think of tools like VPNs as something that increases the amount of work required for someone to successfully attack you—or, in the case of ISP policies on torrents—track you. A VPN needs to be part of a layered approach to security and can't replace other critical security tools, such as good antivirus software, a password manager, and multi-factor authentication that's enabled wherever possible.

Will a VPN Hide My Torrenting From My ISP or the Police?

The short answer is that, yes, a VPN can shield your online activities from your ISP. It should also make it harder for someone on the web to identify particular traffic as belonging to you. That's a good thing, not only if you have legally iffy torrenting habits but also because it generally protects your privacy.

That said, there are always exceptions. Time and time again, user error and efforts by law enforcement have undermined the protection offered by services like Tor or VPNs. Timing attacks, for example, can correlate packet traffic at a VPN server with activity on your own network, thus linking you to online activities.

In some cases, the problem may be the VPN itself. If a VPN company keeps logs about user activity (specifically, the identity of the user, which server they connected to, and when), that could potentially be obtained by law enforcement. We believe that, ideally, VPNs should store as little information as possible, including logs. In our reviews, we always detail what information a particular VPN collects and how the company interacts with law enforcement requests for information. Remember that every company that wants to stay in business must comply with a legal request from law enforcement at some point. However, if they run a no-log VPN, complying will not always directly result in the VPN company or the authorities being able to accurately identify your PC's traffic as the point of origin.

Can I Use BitTorrent on My VPN?

Most VPN services allow you to use BitTorrent or P2P services while connected to their networks. None of our top-rated VPN services prohibit file sharing.

Even the services that allow torrenting can have restrictions, though. Some, for example, may require that you only use BitTorrent when connected to specific VPN servers. For example, NordVPN labels the servers on which torrenting is acceptable. Note that almost every VPN service that allows torrenting also explicitly forbids breaking copyright law or abusing the service.

Some VPNs have tools that are particularly useful for torrenting. One feature, split tunneling, lets you designate the traffic that uses your VPN connection. You can use it to route your torrenting activity through the VPN, freeing up the rest of your bandwidth.

How Will a VPN Affect My Torrenting Speeds?

Using a VPN, your web traffic usually travels through more fiber and server locations. You should expect slower upload and download speeds and higher latency regardless of your chosen VPN. For large torrents, it can mean a longer wait before you get the completed file.

In our latest round of testing, we recorded the median from 30 tests with and without a VPN running and then found a percent change between the two. The greater the change, the more impact the VPN has on your internet connection speeds. For measuring speeds, we use the Ookla Speedtest tool. (Note: Ookla is owned by Ziff Davis, PCMag.com's parent company. For more, see the ethics policy in our Editorial Mission Statement.)

You can see all the latest results from our testing in the chart below.

Networks are finicky, and we don't claim our work to be the be-all and end-all of VPN speed testing. Instead, we offer a snapshot of how a particular service performed on a specific day. We also don't think that speed should be the only metric used to evaluate a VPN, but it's clearly one of concern to BitTorrent users.

To make this list, we looked at the best download scores across the services we've tested thus far. The VPNs we recommend in this article generally had the least impact on download speed test results. That said, we've also included several VPNs better suited to torrenting more broadly, whether by their data privacy practices, logging policies, or just offering torrent-specific servers on their networks.

VPN Reliability and Accessibility Issues

VPNs can sometimes make an everyday browsing experience somewhat hiccupy. Suddenly losing connectivity while the VPN resets is mildly annoying in day-to-day life, but such interruptions could slow down or even halt a large BitTorrent download.

If you plan on connecting to a VPN while torrenting, consider the possibility of using a kill switch. This feature, found in most VPN services, prevents apps from sending data via the internet when the VPN is disconnected. The idea is that it prevents any information from being transmitted in the clear. The avid BitTorrent downloader must decide if they want total and complete protection or would rather not have their download interrupted.

Do VPN Locations Matter?

While VPN services have servers worldwide, each company's headquarters must be based somewhere on the planet. The data retention laws in that location may require the VPN company to collect and maintain user data for a set time.

Understanding what kind of information a VPN service collects and how long it is maintained can be hard to figure out. To get the answer, you may have to wade through unending FAQ pages and opaque terms of service written in arcane legalese. If the VPN company you're considering can't clearly explain what information it gathers and how long it will be kept, it's probably not a great service.

When we test VPNs, we ask service representatives what efforts they take to secure customers' privacy. We also read those hefty terms of service (you're welcome). You can read through our full reviews to see their answers.

Note that national and international law, as related to data storage and whether that data can be turned over to law enforcement, is complicated and constantly changing. A good service today might choose or be compelled to alter its policies tomorrow, so pay attention to any updates to the VPN company's terms of service.

A VPN Can Encrypt Your Torrent Traffic

Perhaps you'll decide that all this effort isn't worth it just to secure your BitTorrent downloads. But a VPN is still an easy way to potentially improve your online privacy, whether from bad actors or the very ISP providing your connection to the web in the first place. Whether you decide to spring for a premium account, you're looking for a cheap VPN, or you just want to dip your toe in with a free VPN, there's a service to meet every need and budget.

Looking for more information about the basics of torrenting and how to get started? You can read our story on how to use BitTorrent.

Max Eddy contributed to this article.