If you frequently torrent, using a VPN (virtual private network) service might be a good idea. While the BitTorrent protocol itself is a perfectly legal and effective P2P (peer-to-peer) method of downloading and sharing large files across the internet, the term 'torrenting' has become virtually synonymous with downloading and distributing copyrighted media, like movies, games, and TV shows. Depending on your local jurisdiction, downloading copyrighted content for personal use may be illegal, and even if it's not criminal, the copyright holder may still pursue civil action. While we can't condone illegal downloading, if privacy and anonymity are important to you, a VPN can help by preventing your ISP (Internet Service Provider) from monitoring your activity. Without a VPN, your ISP can see all of your online traffic and send you warning letters or forward your personal information to authorities or copyright holders if they see you're downloading copyrighted material. A good VPN service will simply trash those requests.
With that in mind, no VPN service can guarantee complete anonymity, and it's important to be aware that it's impossible to verify what a provider really does with your traffic. A VPN should be one tool in a multi-layered approach to online security. To learn more, check out our article on VPN privacy.
We've tested over 20 of the best VPNs for torrenting on the market, and our picks are below. We've verified that all of them work when downloading torrent files. If you want to learn more about kill switches, check out our R&D article. For more recommendations, check out our articles for the best cheap VPNs, the best free VPNs, and the best VPNs for privacy.
Since 2025, we've published reviews for over 20 different VPN services. These reviews followed months of research, test development, and collaboration among our engineers, testers, writers, photographers, and editors. Our process for each review involves extensive work behind the scenes, including rigorous checks and balances, to deliver the most accurate and useful test results so you can make the right purchasing decisions for your needs.
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Best VPN For Torrenting
Torrent9.0Private Browsing9.1Policies & Practices9.4Security8.6Speed7.3Email Required:NoTorrent (P2P):YesSee all our test resultsData Limit:N/AWindscribe is the best VPN for torrenting we've tested, combining strong privacy and no-logging policies with transparent community interaction for a principled stance on digital rights. Its open-source framework is built with anonymity in mind: the VPN includes an effective kill switch to prevent data leaks if the app crashes or your device restarts, along with obfuscation tools to help bypass government censorship and VPN blocks. Its anti-fingerprinting technology makes it harder for third parties to identify you by scrambling the information your browser reveals about your device, and its registration process forgoes traditional email-and-password logins for a random account number, keeping your personal information secure and separate from your IP address. Windscribe also supports split tunneling, port forwarding, a generous free plan, and unlimited simultaneous connections for personal devices. Support for port forwarding can make a notable difference when torrenting by increasing the number of available peers when downloading, and making it easier for others to connect to your client when seeding.
The VPN isn't without its downsides, however, as you'll need to pay for a full year upfront to bring its monthly cost in line with some of its closest competitors. Mullvad is a fantastic alternative thanks to its anonymity-focused registration process, advanced DAITA (Defense Against AI-Guided Traffic Analysis) servers, and accessible flat-rate pricing of €5 (~$5 USD) per month. It has an equally robust suite of privacy tools, exceptionally transparent no-logging policies, and anonymous payment options in line with Windscribe's, including cryptocurrency and cash by mail. However, Mullvad doesn't support port forwarding. While not strictly necessary for torrenting, that could be a limiting factor when downloading older or poorly-seeded torrents where relatively few peers may already be available. Mullvad's split tunneling is also somewhat limited: you can exclude certain apps from the VPN, but you can't route only your torrent client through the tunnel while leaving the rest of your traffic unencrypted.
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Best VPN For Torrenting With More Features
Torrent8.9Private Browsing7.5Policies & Practices6.3Security8.6Speed7.0Email Required:NoTorrent (P2P):YesSee all our test resultsData Limit:N/AProton VPN is the next best VPN for torrenting if you're looking for more features than our top pick. Like Mullvad, Proton effectively keeps your IP address hidden while you use it and has a functional kill switch that cuts off your internet connection in case something goes wrong. You can connect up to 10 devices simultaneously, and it offers servers in over 100 countries. This extensive server network allows you to choose one closer to you for a better connection. The downside is that its privacy policies and business practices aren't quite as good as Mullad's. The privacy policy indicates that Proton may record your IP address in some cases, and its reasoning is vague. This lack of clarity and legalese is present throughout its policies and terms of use, making it difficult to be confident about what exactly Proton does with your data.
Proton VPN supports port forwarding, an essential feature if you want to connect to peers who don't have any ports open, which can help if you're trying to download a torrent without many peers. You can also enable split tunneling for certain apps, like your torrent client, so you can only have your torrent traffic going through your VPN while the rest of your device's traffic remains unencrypted. Like Mullvad, Proton also includes obfuscation, making your VPN traffic harder to detect, an integrated ad blocker, and a "secure-core" feature that routes your traffic through Proton's own secure servers before reaching your selected country server.
Price-wise, Proton VPN is significantly more expensive than Mullvad if you pay monthly, but it's a few bucks cheaper if you buy a one-year or two-year subscription. It's a good pick if you need those extra features, but if you don't (or aren't sure), you're better off going with Mullvad.
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Best Free VPN For Torrenting
Torrent7.2Private Browsing4.3Policies & Practices0.5Security6.2Speed7.9Email Required:NoTorrent (P2P):YesSee all our test resultsData Limit:N/AHotspot Shield Free is the best free VPN for torrenting we've tested, with a pretty big caveat: It has the worst privacy policies and business practices of any VPN we've seen. We recommend it because you can easily download the client from their website and start using it without creating an account, so there's no personal data tied to your IP address when downloading or using the software, keeping your identity hidden. Its privacy policy and terms of service explicitly state that Hotspot Shield can collect user data, including usage, device, and location information, as well as the websites their users connect to while using the VPN. On top of that, the company has terrible transparency, with an opaque corporate ownership structure and poor communication with its users. These practices don't necessarily make it a bad choice for simply downloading torrents, as this VPN effectively masks your IP address, preventing your ISP from seeing what you're up to.
Unlike many other free VPNs, it has no data limits and provides good speeds with the WireGuard protocol (see WireGuard vs. OpenVPN for more). You can install and use it on as many devices as you want because it can't identify you or your devices with a login. That said, its kill switch isn't reliable, meaning it leaks some unencrypted traffic if you restart your device or after a software crash, so it's important to take appropriate additional security steps, like binding your torrent client to the VPN connection.
If you want a free VPN with more transparency, much better policies, and don't mind a monthly data limit, Windscribe Free is the better alternative. It's an independently owned service boasting a solid reputation and an active community. Creating an account with an email address grants you 10GB of data per month, or you can opt for a username-only signup for 2GB per month. You can even create an anonymous account using a unique 32-character hash as your sole login, requiring no personal information whatsoever. Windscribe's servers are accessible in 10 countries, as opposed to Hotspot Shield Free's three.
Notable Mentions
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NordVPN:
NordVPN is one of the biggest and most recognizable VPN services on the market. It offers loads of extra features and tiers, much like Proton VPN, along with bundled password managers, cloud storage, and file sharing between your devices. It's not as secure as our top picks since its kill switch doesn't work properly, however, and its policies and business practices aren't as stringent as Windscribe's.
See our review
Recent Updates
Jul 21, 2026:
We've replaced Mullvad with Windscribe as our main pick because it supports port forwarding. We confirmed all other picks are still relevant and available.
Jun 30, 2026:
We've added Windscribe as an alternative to our top pick, Mullvad. We've also checked the rest of our picks to ensure they still represent the best options available.
Apr 24, 2026:
We've updated this article to reflect that Windscribe now supports an optional hashed login. We've reviewed and verified that our current recommendations remain the best picks, but have added Windscribe as a Notable Mention.
Feb 17, 2026:
We haven't changed any of our recommendations, but we've updated the text throughout the article for better clarity and conciseness.
All Reviews
Our recommendations above are currently the best VPNs for torrenting. We only recommend VPNs with a clear and digestible privacy policy, a proven track record of protecting their customers' privacy, transparency about their ownership, and acceptable security and speeds. We also factor in price (a cheaper VPN wins over a more expensive one if the difference isn't worth it), user feedback, and community reputation.
When choosing a VPN, consider what you need it for and understand its limitations. Depending on your risk profile, always using one is probably unnecessary. Modern websites, browsers, and devices have ample built-in security measures to protect you from the most common threats. If you want to learn more about today's industry standards for securing data on the internet, check out our articles on AES-256 encryption and Secure Hash Algorithm (SHA).
With that in mind, here's the list of all our VPN reviews.