If you frequently torrent, using a VPN (virtual private network) service might be a good idea. While the BitTorrent protocol itself is legal, the term 'torrenting' has become virtually synonymous with downloading copyrighted media, like movies, games, and TV shows. Depending on your local jurisdiction, downloading copyrighted content for personal use may or may not be illegal, and even if it's not criminal, there's a chance the copyright holder could 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 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.
In 2025, we published reviews for 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
Torrent8.9Private Browsing9.1Policies & Practices9.2Security8.6Speed7.3Email Required:NoTorrent (P2P):YesSee all our test resultsData Limit:N/AMullvad is the best VPN for torrenting that we've tested. As a company, it has exceptional corporate practices, privacy and no-logs policies, terms of service, and overall approach to digital rights. Mullvad has an unusual registration process where, instead of creating an account with an email address and password, you get a random account number, which you use as your only login credential. This means that none of your personal information can be tied to your IP address, so even if law enforcement gets hold of their customer data, they'll only see the random account numbers. You can use various payment options, including cryptocurrencies and cash in the mail. It also has a flat-rate pricing model of €5 (~$5 USD) per month, no matter how long you subscribe.
Underneath its intuitive interface, it's built on strong technology that can help keep you anonymous while you torrent. It effectively keeps your IP address hidden from third parties like your ISP, and it has a functional kill switch that prevents unencrypted data from leaking outside the tunnel in case your device restarts or the client crashes. On top of its base functionality, it comes with some handy features. Obfuscation can help you get around censors that block access to websites and services that disallow VPNs, as well as DAITA (defense against AI-guided traffic analysis), which makes it harder for third parties to find identifiable patterns in your encrypted traffic. It's not all upside, however. Mullvad doesn't support port forwarding, which can increase the number of peers you can connect to, potentially increasing your torrent download speed. Also, while it supports split tunneling, you can only disable the VPN for certain apps, and you might miss the ability to configure only your torrent client to go through the tunnel while the rest of your traffic is unencrypted. If you need these features and more, check out our pick below.
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Best VPN For Torrenting With More Features
Torrent8.7Private Browsing7.5Policies & Practices6.3Security8.6Speed7.0Email Required:NoTorrent (P2P):YesSee all our test resultsData Limit:N/AProton VPN is your next best choice 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
Torrent8.4Private 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 information, device information, location information, and 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. 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 also access servers in 10 countries, more than Hotspot Shield Free's three.
Notable Mentions
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NordVPN NordVPN:
NordVPN is one of the biggest and most recognizable VPN services on the market. It offers loads of extra features, much like Proton VPN, but also multiple tiers with password managers, cloud storage, file sharing between your devices, and more. It's not as secure as our top picks since its kill switch doesn't work properly, and its policies and business practices aren't as good as our top picks.
See our review
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. With that in mind, here's the list of all our VPN reviews.