The best VPN for torrenting: Speed, privacy, and support matter

You’d think this was the year of the Linux desktop or something given how many people want a VPN for downloading free and open source software through torrents. Yep, that’s what you want torrents for, and if there’s one thing you need when torrenting free and open source software, it’s a secure and private internet connection. Seriously though, besides privacy, you also need to consider speed, and whether a VPN has torrent-friendly servers and services. We go in to more detail on what to look for in a VPN for torrenting below our picks. (To learn even more about all the VPN services we’ve tested, see our roundup of the best VPNs for all sorts of uses.)

So what’s the best VPN for torrenting your favorite flavor of Linux and maybe a little Open Office? Here are our top picks.

How we tested

If you’ve read a number of these VPN articles, you know the drill by now. We test on three different days taking the average speeds we find in five different countries (each country is tested three times per day). Then we take all those daily averages to get an overall global average in megabytes per second. Then we compare that to the base speed without a VPN, and then express the result as a percentage how much of the base speed the global average maintains. If there are particularly standout speeds in a certain country or region we will generally call those out too.

The reason we don’t quote specific speeds is that these can vary by all kinds of factors such as your location, ISP, home network load and equipment, and so on. The percentages, however, give you a generally good idea of how much of a dip to expect when you connect to a VPN—there’s always a dip.

One other factor torrent users will want to know about is that we read the privacy policy for each and every VPN we cover. Yes, it is painful. The reason we do that is a VPN may promise up front that it doesn’t track your web browsing, but then you find that actually it does log IP addresses, timestamps, and bandwidth used. So we dig into the details so you can know exactly what the VPNs we review promise.

With that knowledge, however, you can be sure you’re getting good value for your money.

Most VPNs will likely be fine for torrents, but if you want the best of the best, these are our recommendations.

How to pick a VPN for torrenting

There are a few hard-and-fast rules you need from a VPN when downloading torrents. Here’s what to look for:

Blocking

First of all you want a VPN service provider that allows torrenting on their network. Most do, but there are a few notable exceptions such as Tunnel Bear, which actively blocks torrents.

Then there are VPNs that partially block torrents, especially on U.S. servers such as TorGuard. This VPN service recently settled a lawsuit brought against it by a consortium of Hollywood production companies after users of TorGuard were found torrenting files that weren’t free and open source software. As a result, TorGuard promised to no longer allow torrents on its U.S. servers.

TorGuard isn’t the only company that refuses torrents on its U.S. servers. Keep Solid recently promised to block torrents and piracy sites like The Pirate Bay, YTS, and RARBG on the U.S. servers of its service VPN Unlimited.

A number of other VPN services are also involved in pending legal action, including ExpressVPN and ZenMate, as reported by TorrentFreak. On top of that, many other VPN services don’t want to end up in a lawsuit like their competitors and actively disallow torrenting on their American servers.

Service location

For that reason, we recommend using VPN services that are based outside the U.S., and from those VPNs you should use servers based in countries that are friendlier to torrents. This avoids the issue of dealing with torrents being blocked outright when all you want to do is load up Ubuntu on that new laptop. Most VPN services will specify which servers allow torrents, but a popular and easy choice is Sweden. The speeds are usually good, and most services include Swedish servers in their networks along with many other countries that are torrent-friendly.

No-logs policy

The next thing you want is a VPN that has an ironclad no-logs promise from the service provider, because nobody wants to be exposed downloading free and open source software. That means that the service should include a promise not to maintain logs of any kind, with everything going to /dev/null—a non-existent directory on Linux systems that means all logs are permanently lost.

We say “promise” since there’s no real way to know for sure that a VPN isn’t logging your activity. You ultimately have to trust that they’re not doing it. This trust can come from a few factors, in order of reputability: The company’s no-logs promise has been proven by a court challenge, numerous third-party audits have verified the service’s claims, or you might just take the company at its word—yikes.

Speed

Finally, after those details have been verified, you want a VPN with solid speeds. Torrents can take a long time to download as it is, depending on how many people are sharing the file. The last thing you want is to see your download slowed down by shoddy VPN speeds.

To get the VPN you need for torrenting, just put all those attributes together: allows torrents, absolute no-logs promise, torrent-friendly services and servers outside the U.S., and excellent speeds.

VPN for torrenting FAQ

If you still have questions, the following information might help put them to rest.

What is a VPN?

A VPN (virtual private network) encrypts your internet traffic and disguises your identity while browsing the internet. When used for torrenting, a VPN will anonymize your torrenting traffic and keep your ISP from potentially throttling your connection in the future.

Additionally, VPNs allow you to connect to servers all across the world. So if you’re looking to access location-restricted content, such as streaming services, you can connect to the appropriate country’s server and gain access that way.

How does a VPN work?

A VPN hides your IP address by redirecting it through a remote server hosted by the VPN company. To anyone looking in, the VPN server then becomes the source of your data instead of your actual location. These remote servers can be in your own country or located in different countries around the world. All of your network traffic from your computer to the VPN is sent over a secure and encrypted connection. 

When connected to a VPN while browsing the internet, the VPN acts as a middleman between your computer and a website. Your computer sends a request to the VPN, which then passes it on to a website. The website then sends its response back to the VPN which forwards it through the secure connection to your computer. All of the traffic rerouted through the VPN shows as coming through their server rather than your own computer. This keeps your ISP and other third parties from snooping on your internet activity.

Are VPNs legal to use?

Yes! In most countries, including the United States, using a VPN is perfectly legal. Even though some websites might try to block VPN connections, they are still okay to use. Please note, while using a VPN is legal, some of the activities done while using a VPN might be illegal. Activities such as downloading pirated copyrighted content or accessing dark web markets are both illegal with or without a VPN.