Updated on: March 1, 2023
Short on time? Here’s the best torrenting VPN:
- 🥇 ExpressVPN: Has 3,000+ P2P servers in 90+ countries, high-end security and privacy features, the fastest download speeds on the market, and user-friendly apps. It also has affordable plans that are backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee.
I’ve been torrenting for years, and I hate it when my internet service provider throttles my P2P speeds. It’s also infuriating when my ISP randomly decides to restrict access to a popular torrenting site. Plus, I hate that random creeps in the torrent swarm can see my IP address and use it to track my online activities, which compromises my privacy.
Using a VPN solves all those problems, but choosing a good VPN for torrenting isn’t easy — many VPNs don’t allow P2P traffic on most of their servers, and the ones that do lack essential security features or have very slow download speeds.
So, I tested the top VPNs in 2023 to see which ones are actually good for torrenting. All the VPNs on this list allow torrenting on tons of servers, provide strong security features, and have fast P2P speeds.
Please Note: Neither I nor anyone at SafetyDetectives condones doing anything illegal. Please consult with local rules and regulations to ensure you are aware of the law as it pertains to your jurisdiction.
Quick summary list of the best VPNs for torrenting in 2023:
- 1.🥇 ExpressVPN — Best overall VPN for torrenting in 2023.
- 2.🥈 Private Internet Access — Great for blocking ads on P2P sites.
- 3.🥉 CyberGhost VPN — Great for automating secure P2P connections.
- 4. NordVPN — Great for avoiding malicious downloads.
- 5. Surfshark — Good server network for torrenting.
- Plus 5 more!
- Comparison of the Best VPNs for Torrenting in 2023
🥇1. ExpressVPN — Best VPN for Torrenting in 2023
ExpressVPN is the best P2P VPN on the market — it allows torrenting on 3,000+ servers in 90+ countries, has the fastest download speeds out there, provides industry-leading security features, and is extremely easy to use.
Since it has P2P servers in so many countries, it’s easy to use nearby servers for fast downloads. In fact, ExpressVPN provided me with blazing-fast P2P speeds on both nearby and distant servers — on average, it only took me 10 minutes to download a 30 GB file on local servers in my home country of Romania (I downloaded the same file without ExpressVPN in 9 minutes, so the slowdown was almost non-existent), and about 15 minutes to download the same torrent on distant servers in the US, Japan, and Australia.
ExpressVPN offers excellent privacy and security while torrenting — it has a strict no-logs policy that has been verified by independent security audits and also comes with:
- Full leak protection — All of ExpressVPN’s apps provide built-in protection against DNS, IPv6, and WebRTC leaks. I ran multiple leak tests while torrenting on servers in 20+ countries, and I never experienced any leaks. Only ExpressVPN’s IP addresses showed up, while my real IP address remained hidden.
- Threat Manager — This feature stops your device from communicating with ad trackers (which could log your P2P site preferences) and blocks connections to malicious sites, so it can protect you from shady P2P websites.
- RAM-only servers — This means none of your data is saved to the hard drive, so every time a server reset is performed, all data is wiped.
- Perfect forward secrecy — Changes the encryption key for each VPN session so that hackers can’t compromise past or future encryption keys to spy on your P2P traffic.
I also like that ExpressVPN comes with split-tunneling, a convenient feature that lets you pick which apps use the VPN connection and which apps use your local network. I used this feature to only send P2P traffic from my qBittorrent app through ExpressVPN, while I used my local network to surf social media and access Netflix.
ExpressVPN has very intuitive apps for all devices, including a router app (very few VPNs have this) that supports port forwarding, which lets you connect to more peers to get faster downloads — the router app is very easy to install and use, so it only took me around 6–7 minutes to set it up on my router and enable port forwarding.
ExpressVPN is a bit pricey, but it honestly offers the best value — especially if you opt for the yearly plan that costs $6.67 / month and includes 3 additional months for free! Also, ExpressVPN comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Bottom Line:
ExpressVPN is my favorite P2P VPN in 2023 — it allows torrenting on all of its 3,000+ servers in 90+ countries, has the fastest download speeds on this list, provides high-end security and privacy features that protect your P2P traffic, and also has very user-friendly apps, including a router app that supports port forwarding. ExpressVPN backs each purchase with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Read our full ExpressVPN review >
🥈2. Private Internet Access — Great VPN for Blocking Ads on P2P Sites
Private Internet Access (PIA) has P2P servers in 80+ countries and comes with the best ad blocker, which is called PIA MACE. So it’s a good pick if you want to avoid pop-up and potentially malicious ads on P2P sites.
I tested PIA MACE on most of my favorite torrenting sites, and it always got rid of all ads. And on top of blocking ads, PIA MACE can also block connections to malicious torrenting sites (like ExpressVPN’s Threat Manager feature).
I also really like that PIA provides high-end privacy while torrenting — its no-logs policy has passed independent audits, and it has been proven true many times in court. In addition, all of PIA’s apps are open-source, meaning anyone can inspect the code for security vulnerabilities. I also like that PIA comes with advanced security features like full leak protection and RAM-only servers.
Like ExpressVPN, PIA supports port forwarding, but I think PIA is more convenient, as it offers built-in access to port forwarding on all platforms, except iOS — you only have to enable an in-app setting and connect to a VPN server, and PIA will automatically assign a port to you. My only minor complaint is that PIA doesn’t support port forwarding on its US servers (ExpressVPN allows port forwarding on all server locations).
You also get SOCKS5 proxy support, which changes your IP address but doesn’t encrypt your traffic — so you get much faster P2P downloads.
And PIA has pretty fast torrenting speeds — it only took 15 minutes to download a 30 GB torrent on local servers and 20 minutes to download it on distant servers. Plus, I like that the VPN displays the server ping (how long it takes for your device to exchange data with a VPN server), as this metric helps you find servers with fast speeds. Even so, ExpressVPN still provided me with faster P2P speeds, as the same 30 GB file took 5 minutes less to download on local and distant servers.
PIA also allows unlimited connections, so everyone in your household is able to download files at the same time on their devices. And I confirmed this works — all my family members connected to a PIA server (we had 11 total devices), and we all had stable connections.
Private Internet Access has very affordable plans that start at just $2.11 / month. It backs each purchase with a 30-day money-back guarantee
Bottom Line:
Private Internet Access allows torrenting in 80+ countries and provides a really good ad blocker. It also has a strict and verified no-logs policy, RAM-only servers, and open-source apps. PIA allows unlimited connections and covers all plans with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
TORRENT WITH PRIVATE INTERNET ACCESS NOW
Read our full Private Internet Access review >
🥉3. CyberGhost VPN — Great for Automating Secure P2P Connections
CyberGhost VPN allows torrenting on 9,400+ servers in 70+ countries and lets you automate VPN connections via Smart Rules. For example, I configured the VPN app to automatically connect to a P2P server in my country and open qBittorrent (my favorite torrenting client) when I launch it.
I also really like CyberGhost VPN’s apps because they’re very easy to use. It only took me 1–2 minutes to install them, and I was able to find and connect to a P2P server and start torrenting in less than 5–6 seconds — it really helps that CyberGhost VPN has a tab that lists all of its P2P servers. The provider’s apps are also easy to navigate, and there are helpful explanations for all settings.
Plus, the provider’s huge P2P server network prevents you from connecting to overcrowded servers, which can slow down your speeds. In my tests, I was able to download a 30 GB file on nearby servers in 15 minutes and on distant servers in 30 minutes, which is really fast — that said, ExpressVPN and Private Internet Access provided me with faster downloads.
In addition, CyberGhost VPN provides strong security and privacy for torrenting. It has advanced features like RAM-only servers, perfect forward secrecy, and full leak protection. Plus, its Content Blocker protects you from shady P2P sites. Also, its no-logs policy has been independently audited, and I like that CyberGhost VPN regularly releases transparency reports that detail how the provider receives and refuses requests for user data from governments and authorities.
CyberGhost VPN also offers NoSpy servers, and several of them allow torrenting. These are super-secure servers that are physically located in the provider’s headquarters in Romania, so only CyberGhost VPN’s staff has access to them.
CyberGhost VPN has affordable plans that start at $2.11 / month. It backs long-term plans with a 45-day money-back guarantee and the shortest plan with a 14-day money-back guarantee.
Bottom Line:
CyberGhost VPN has a massive P2P server network and provides convenient P2P automation. Plus, its apps are very easy to navigate, you get really fast download speeds, and your P2P traffic is secured by strong security features, including a malicious site blocker and full leak protection. The provider’s plans are affordable, and there’s a 45-day money-back guarantee for all long-term plans.
TORRENT WITH CYBERGHOST VPN NOW
Read our full CyberGhost VPN review >
4. NordVPN — Great for Avoiding Malicious Torrents
NordVPN has 4,500+ P2P servers in 45+ countries and offers protection against malicious downloads via Threat Protection, which scans the executable files you download for malware without compromising your privacy. In addition, Threat Protection is one of the best VPN ad blockers on the market, so it can also protect you from malicious P2P sites and get rid of annoying ads on torrent sites.
The provider also has other ways to secure your P2P traffic — it comes with full leak protection, RAM-only servers, and perfect forward secrecy, and it also has a strict no-logs policy that has been independently audited twice.
In addition to a standard kill switch, I like that you get an app-based kill switch, which shuts down selected apps if the VPN disconnects — this is much more convenient than losing your entire web access if the VPN connection drops. I tested the provider’s app-based kill switch with 5+ torrent clients, and it always worked without any issues.
NordVPN doesn’t have port forwarding, but it has SOCKS5 proxy servers. In my tests, my P2P speeds usually increased by about 35–40% when I used the provider’s SOCKS5 servers.
I also had fast torrenting speeds, as it usually took me around 18 minutes to download a 30 GB file on local servers, and 33 minutes to download it on distant servers. That said, I had better download speeds with ExpressVPN, Private Internet Access, and CyberGhost VPN.
NordVPN has tier-based subscriptions that have monthly and yearly plans. Its Standard subscription (the one I recommend) starts at $4.99 / month and comes with all of the provider’s features, including its P2P support. All of the provider’s plans are backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Bottom Line:
NordVPN has 4,500+ P2P servers in 45+ countries and provides great protection against malicious torrent downloads. It also comes with excellent security and privacy features, including full leak protection, an audited no-logs policy, and an app-based kill switch. The provider also has SOCKS5 support, good P2P speeds, affordable tier-based subscriptions, and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Read our full NordVPN review here
5. Surfshark — Great Server Network for Torrenting
Surfshark allows P2P traffic on 3,200+ servers in 100+ countries. It has one of the largest server networks out there, allowing virtually any user to connect to either a server in their home country or in a neighboring country to get the fastest download speeds.
Surfshark also provides good security and privacy while torrenting — it has advanced security features like RAM-only servers and perfect forward secrecy, and it also comes with CleanWeb, which is among the best VPN ad blockers in 2023. The only things that are missing are WebRTC and IPv6 leak protection and a no-logs independent audit, which competitors like ExpressVPN, Private Internet Access, and CyberGhost VPN have.
In addition, you also get more privacy via the IP Rotator feature, which regularly changes your IP address without disconnecting you from the VPN — this makes it much harder for malicious actors to track your IP address in the torrent swarm.
Unfortunately, the provider is missing additional P2P features — for example, it doesn’t have port forwarding like the other top VPNs on this list or SOCKS5 proxy servers like Private Internet Access and NordVPN.
On the plus side, you get fast P2P downloads with this VPN — in my tests, it took just 18–19 minutes to download a 30 GB torrent on local servers, and around 32–34 minutes to download it on distant servers. And, I like how Surfshark allows unlimited connections.
Surfshark comes with very affordable plans that start at only $2.30 / month. Also, it backs each purchase with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Bottom Line:
Surfshark has servers in more than 100 countries and allows unlimited connections, so it’s great for multi-device households and large families. It’s also secure, fast, and works with popular streaming services like Netflix. It has affordable plans and provides a 30-day money-back guarantee for all purchases.
Read our full Surfshark review here
6. PrivateVPN — Super Affordable & Minimalistic P2P VPN
PrivateVPN allows torrenting on 200+ servers in 60+ countries and has simple and user-friendly apps. In addition, it offers some of the cheapest prices on the market, so it’s a good pick if you’re on a tight budget.
Despite having a small server network, it has servers in most countries around the globe, so it’s pretty easy to find and connect to a nearby server to get good P2P speeds. Also, PrivateVPN supports port forwarding on all of its apps.
The provider’s speeds are decent, as it took me 30 minutes to torrent a 30 GB file on nearby servers and 43 minutes to do it on distant servers — I was happy with the speeds, but ExpressVPN and Private Internet Access provided me with much faster downloads.
In addition to a standard kill switch, PrivateVPN also has an app-based kill switch (Application Guard) — I tested this feature 10+ times by manually disconnecting from the VPN server while torrenting, and it always closed my torrent client.
PrivateVPN has super cheap plans that start at only $2.00 / month. Also, it backs all purchases with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Bottom Line:
PrivateVPN has 200+ P2P servers in 60+ countries and comes with simple apps that are easy to get used to. It has good torrenting speeds, port forwarding, an app-based kill switch, and really cheap plans that are backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Read our full PrivateVPN review
7. Proton VPN — Good Privacy-Focused P2P VPN
Proton VPN has 1,900+ servers in 60+ countries but only allows torrenting on 300+ servers in 15+ countries. I think Proton VPN has a good P2P server network, as the servers are evenly spread across the globe, but I still think ExpressVPN, Private Internet Access, and CyberGhost VPN provide more convenient P2P support since they allow torrenting across all of their servers. On the plus side, you get access to port forwarding.
It’s also great that Proton VPN provides strong privacy for torrenting — it has a strict no-logs policy that has passed an independent audit, it releases regular transparency reports, and it has open-source apps that have been independently audited.
The VPN is also very secure, as it comes with advanced security features like full leak protection, perfect forward secrecy, and full-disk encryption, which keeps all servers secure even if they’re compromised.
Proton VPN has good P2P speeds, but it still isn’t as fast as ExpressVPN or Private Internet Access. I was able to download a 30 GB torrent in 20–21 minutes on local servers and in 35–36 minutes on distant servers.
Proton VPN has a decent free plan, but it lacks P2P support — to torrent, you need to upgrade to its Plus plans, which start at $3.99 / month. Proton VPN backs all purchases with a prorated 30-day money-back guarantee.
Bottom Line:
Proton VPN has a decently-sized P2P network and provides great privacy and security while torrenting — it has an audited no-logs policy, open-source apps, and advanced features like full leak protection and full-disk encryption. It also has good P2P speeds, affordable plans, and a prorated 30-day money-back guarantee.
Read our full Proton VPN review >
8. TunnelBear — Great VPN for Beginners
TunnelBear has P2P servers in 45+ countries, unlimited connections, and the cutest apps around — the apps let you use a digital map to connect to a server, and when you do that, a digital bear digs a tunnel to the server’s location!
What’s more, the apps feature bear-themed puns and notifications. For example, when I connected to a UK server to download torrents, the app sent me a notification with a bear wearing a top hat and a monocle. I also like that the apps are really intuitive and simple to navigate.
TunnelBear has pretty decent P2P speeds — when I used it to download a 30 GB file, it took me 33 minutes to do it on nearby servers and 45 minutes on distant servers. That said, my downloads were much slower than they were with ExpressVPN.
TunnelBear has good security and privacy — it has full leak protection, issues regular transparency reports, and its codeware, infrastructure, website, and apps undergo regular independent audits.
TunnelBear’s free plan is not good for torrenting, as it limits you to 2 GB per month, which is only enough to download really small torrents. Its paid plans are affordable and start at $4.16 / month, but they don’t come with a money-back guarantee.
Bottom Line:
TunnelBear is a great P2P VPN for beginners. It allows torrenting on all servers, has decent download speeds, and provides good security and privacy features. TunnelBear allows unlimited connections, and it has a free plan with very limited data and paid monthly and yearly plans, but there’s no money-back guarantee.
Read our full TunnelBear review
9. VyprVPN — Fast & Secure Torrenting VPN
VyprVPN has 700+ P2P servers in 60+ countries and provides really fast torrenting speeds. In my tests, I was able to download a 30 GB file in 15 minutes on local servers and in 21 minutes on distant servers — the speeds are on par with Private Internet Access, but not as fast as ExpressVPN. However, VyprVPN doesn’t come with port forwarding or SOCKS5 proxy servers.
VyprVPN also has good security and privacy features — perfect forward secrecy, an independently audited no-logs policy, and full leak protection (like ExpressVPN, Private Internet Access, and Proton VPN).
VyprVPN has paid plans that start at $5.00 / month, so it’s one of the more expensive VPNs on this list. It backs all plans with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Bottom Line:
VyprVPN has 700+ P2P servers in 60+ countries and provides very fast P2P speeds. Also, it has strong security features. It’s a little expensive but backs all plans with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
10. IPVanish — Has SOCKS5 Support & Good Speeds
IPVanish allows P2P traffic in 50+ countries and has 20+ SOCKS5 proxy servers in 10+ countries — that’s nice to see, though I personally prefer port forwarding over SOCKS5 proxies because that way my P2P downloads are secured by VPN encryption.
This provider also supports unlimited connections — so I recommend getting this VPN if everyone in your house needs a good VPN for torrenting.
In my speed tests, IPVanish provided me with pretty good download speeds — it took around 25 minutes to download a 30 GB file on nearby servers and 40 minutes to download the same file on distant servers. The speeds are on par with CyberGhost VPN, but much slower than ExpressVPN, Private Internet Access, and Proton VPN.
IPVanish has perfect forward secrecy and its no-logs policy has been audited. However, it’s missing RAM-only servers and lacks WebRTC leak protection.
IPVanish has paid monthly and yearly plans that start at $3.33 / month — I’d go with the yearly plan because it comes bundled with VIPRE (a decent antivirus that can protect you from malicious torrents) and is backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Bottom Line:
IPVanish allows P2P traffic on 2,000+ servers in 50+ countries, and it also provides access to SOCKS5 proxies. It also allows unlimited connections and has decent P2P speeds. IPVanish bundles its yearly plan with a decent antivirus (VIPRE) and backs it with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Read our full IPVanish review >
Bonus. Hotspot Shield — Super Fast P2P VPN
Hotspot Shield allows torrenting on 3,200+ servers in 80+ countries and has some of the fastest torrenting speeds on the market. It only took me 12 minutes to download a 30 GB file on local servers, and 17 minutes to download it on distant servers, so Hotspot Shield’s speeds are on par with ExpressVPN and Private Internet Access.
Hotspot Shield also comes with split-tunneling and has a built-in speed test, which was accurate in my testing.
I think Hotspot Shield provides good security, as it comes with advanced security features like perfect forward secrecy. It also has full leak protection, but only on its Windows app. And while it has a strict no-logs policy, I wish it were audited like ExpressVPN.
Hotspot Shield has a free plan, but it limits you to just 1 location (the US) and 500 MB per day, which isn’t enough for torrenting. Its paid plans start at $2.99 / month and are backed by a 45-day money-back guarantee.
Bottom Line:
Hotspot Shield has 3,200+ servers in 80+ countries and provides lightning-fast download speeds. It also has split-tunneling and strong security features. Hotspot Shield has a decent free plan and paid monthly and yearly plans that are backed by a 45-day money-back guarantee.
TORRENT WITH HOTSPOT SHIELD NOW
Read our full Hotspot Shield review
Bonus. hide.me — Best Free VPN for Torrenting
hide.me has the best free plan for torrenting since it lets you use 10 GB per month, which is enough if you don’t torrent often and only download small files. For comparison, TunnelBear’s free plan, which also allows torrenting, limits you to 2 GB per month. In addition, hide.me’s free plan comes with a strict no-logs policy and good speeds.
However, the free plan has some limitations — you can only use servers in 4 countries (the US, the Netherlands, Germany, and Canada) and connect 1 device.
hide.me has RAM-only servers, perfect forward secrecy, and full leak protection. Also, its no-logs policy was audited in 2015 — I’d like to see it undergo a more recent audit like ExpressVPN.
hide.me’s paid plans start at $3.84 / month and include unlimited data, access to port forwarding, and P2P support on all 2,100+ servers in 50+ countries. All plans are backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Bottom Line:
hide.me’s free plan supports torrenting and lets you download up to 10 GB per month. Upgrading to its paid plans adds access to unlimited data, 2,100+ P2P servers in 50+ countries, port forwarding, and more. hide.me backs all plans with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Comparison of the Best VPNs for Torrenting in 2023
How to Choose the Best VPN for Torrenting in 2023:
- Look for a VPN with good P2P support. All of the VPNs that made it to this list either allow torrenting on all of their servers or have dedicated P2P servers that are optimized for torrenting. Also, all of my top picks work with popular torrent clients like uTorrent, qBittorrent, and Vuze.
- Choose a VPN with strong security features. All the VPNs in this article provide industry-standard VPN security features like 256-bit AES encryption, a no-logs policy to prevent the VPN from logging your P2P traffic, a kill switch to protect you from traffic leaks if the VPN disconnects while torrenting, and protection against IPv6, DNS, or WebRTC leaks.
- Pick a provider with fast speeds. VPNs will always slow down your speeds due to the encryption-decryption process and the distance between you and the server. But the best VPNs minimize the slowdown so that it’s not noticeable — all the VPNs on this list provided me with fast download speeds on both nearby and distant servers.
- Get a VPN with extra features. I recommend picking a VPN that provides extra features that make torrenting more secure and convenient. Most of my top picks provide access to split-tunneling and port forwarding (features that let you fine-tune download speeds) or an ad blocker, which gets rid of ads on P2P sites and protects you from shady torrenting sites.
- Select a VPN that’s easy to use. It shouldn’t take you more than 2 minutes to install a VPN on your device and start torrenting with it. All the VPNs in this guide have easy-to-install apps that are very intuitive.
- Look for a VPN that provides good value. My advice is to choose a VPN that allows multiple simultaneous connections (Private Internet Access and Surfshark allow unlimited connections), has affordable plans, and a money-back guarantee.
Top Brands That Didn’t Make the Cut:
- IVPN. IVPN has fast speeds, excellent security, and it supports torrenting. However, it’s pretty restrictive in that it recommends users avoid US servers for torrenting, plus it’s terrible for streaming. Overall, the VPNs on this list provide a better value for torrenting.
- Hola VPN. Hola VPN blocks all BitTorrent traffic, so you can’t use it for torrenting. Even if it did allow P2P traffic, I still wouldn’t recommend it because it routes traffic through its users — it assigns you someone else’s IP address while someone else is given your IP address. This means someone can use your IP address to engage in all sorts of questionable or criminal activities, thereby potentially putting you at risk.
- BolehVPN. BolehVPN has strong security, good speeds, and supports torrenting. But BolehVPN’s privacy policy says that the company can turn on logs temporarily if it notices suspicious activity or if it receives a complaint regarding harassment or spam, so I can’t recommend it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is using a VPN for torrenting legal?
It’s perfectly legal to use a VPN to download files in the public domain in most countries. However, there are many countries that consider it illegal to torrent copyrighted files. Also, it might be illegal to use a VPN to torrent in oppressive countries that restrict VPN usage and P2P traffic.
I strongly recommend researching your local laws before you use a VPN to torrent, otherwise you might risk facing legal repercussions.
What’s the best VPN to torrent with?
ExpressVPN is the best torrenting VPN in 2023. It supports P2P traffic on 3,000+ servers in 90+ countries, has the fastest speeds out there, provides industry-leading security and privacy features, and is very easy to use.
Is torrenting safe with a VPN?
Yes, as long as you pick a VPN that comes with essential security features like 256-bit AES encryption, a kill switch to protect you from traffic leaks, a no-logs policy to prevent the VPN from logging your data, and protection against DNS, IPv6, or WebRTC leaks.
All the VPNs on this list provide those features, but ExpressVPN (my #1 pick) goes the extra mile — it has advanced security features like RAM-only servers that wipe all data on every reset, perfect forward secrecy, which changes the encryption key for each VPN session to prevent hackers from compromising past or future keys, and full leak protection. It also has Threat Manager, which blocks connections to malicious torrenting sites.
However, a VPN can’t normally protect you against malware that gets downloaded in torrent files — NordVPN’s Threat Protection feature provides some protection against malicious downloads, but I still recommend using an antivirus program to keep your device and data safe from downloadable malware.
Will third-parties see that I’m downloading torrents?
No. A good VPN masks your activity by encrypting all of your traffic, which means no one will be able to see your online activity — except for your VPN provider. That’s why it’s important to make sure you pick a VPN provider that does not keep user logs (like ExpressVPN, which has been independently verified to maintain a secure and legitimate no-logs policy).
The best VPNs for torrenting also have additional safety measures like a kill switch, which shuts down your internet connection (or specific apps) in case your VPN connection gets interrupted or compromised. In addition, they provide protection against IPv6, DNS, or WebRTC leaks to prevent third parties from seeing that you’re using P2P sites.
Can I use a free VPN to torrent?
I don’t normally recommend using free VPNs for torrenting, as most of them don’t support P2P traffic. And the ones that do significantly limit how much data you can use each day or month. Plus, many free VPNs lack essential security features (like a kill switch) and log your data, which compromises your privacy while torrenting.
Still, if you insist on using a free P2P VPN, I recommend hide.me’s free plan — it supports torrenting and lets you use 10 GB of data per month, which is enough if you don’t torrent often and only download small files. Plus, the free plan comes with a strict no-logs policy and good speeds. However, it limits you to 1 connection, servers in 4 countries (the US, Canada, Germany, and the Netherlands), and there’s no port forwarding support.
Overall, I strongly recommend using a paid premium P2P VPN like ExpressVPN, as it provides a significantly better experience.
Should you bind your VPN IP address to your torrent client?
Doing this means the torrent app will only download torrents if it’s connected to the VPN’s IP address. That way, your P2P traffic doesn’t leak if the VPN disconnects while you’re using the torrent client.
While that’s useful, I don’t think it’s 100% necessary. As long as you’re using a VPN with a good kill switch, you don’t need to bind the VPN’s IP address to the torrent client — if the VPN disconnects, the kill switch will disable all online access, preventing you from torrenting without the VPN.
