Best VPN for Torrenting in 2026: Top Picks Tested

Using a VPN for torrenting isn’t just about privacy (although that’s incredibly important with hackers lurking in torrent swarms). Using a VPN can also massively improve your connection speeds if you’re dealing with ISP traffic shaping, so we’ve put together a list of the best VPNs for torrenting based on real-world tests.

In first place, we have NordVPN because it offers high-speed connections everywhere, an audited no-logs policy, and great anti-virus protection through Threat Protection Pro. It’s also fairly cheap for the value it offers, and most of their servers can be used as SOCKS5 proxies in a pinch. Next up, Surfshark. Similarly great speeds, as well as an audited no-logs policy and an unlimited device connection policy for the price of just a single subscription.

In third, we have ExpressVPN which posted similarly great torrenting speeds and real-world testing of its no-logs policy. While it isn’t quite as good as Surfshark, we also recommend IPVanish for its combination of SOCKS5 proxies and unlimited device subscriptions. Finally, bringing up the rear we have PureVPN for one important reason: port forwarding. We’ll get into why that’s important below.

While we’re at it, we should mention that every single one of these VPNs has been internally tested to make sure their kill-switch works properly, which you can see in our full reviews.

Top VPNs for Torrenting Compared: In-Depth Reviews

1. NordVPN

NordVPN is my top pick for torrenting because it combines bulletproof privacy with the speed you need for large file downloads. Based in Panama (outside the 14 Eyes surveillance alliance), NordVPN operates under privacy laws that are considered airtight. You don’t need to take their word for it, either. NordVPN’s no-logs policy has been independently audited multiple times, so we’re pretty sure they’re not going to hand your personal details over to trolls posing as copyright holders.

That’s all well and good, but how did NordVPN actually perform in our tests? Very well. We were able to connect to a P2P specific server in seconds and start torrenting. From the moment we connected to the torrent, we were able to download 2.87GB of a Linux ISO torrent in 5:58. All of our top providers posted similar speeds, but what makes NordVPN stand out is that they offer 9,000 servers across 181 countries, including 48 P2P-optimized locations. NordVPN very clearly marks which servers are P2P in-app, and also offers a P2P specific “Quick Connect” button.

We’re also big fans of NordVPN’s Threat Protection Pro feature, which automatically scans any files you download for viruses even if you’re torrenting. Threat Protection Pro performs on par with the best AVs on the market, so if you’re shopping for both buying a NordVPN subscription is a nobrainer, especially at only $3.09/month when you buy for two years.

Still on the fence? Almost all of NordVPN’s servers can be used as SOCKS5 proxies, too. Just in case you want maximum speeds.

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For more information, refer to our full NordVPN review.

2. Surfshark

Surfshark is a great choice if you’ve got multiple devices you’re torrenting on. At $1.99/month, it’s one of the most affordable options in our lineup, and that’s even before you consider that Surfshark offers an unlimited simultaneous device connection guarantee. That means you can secure your laptop, phone, tablet, and even your router without paying for an extra subscription. Surfshark also offers the Nexus connection scheme, which regularly rotates your IP address while you’re connected to the internet for that extra bit of defense against tracking.

Surfshark also performed very well in our speed tests. Downloading the same Linux ISO file through Surfshark’s servers took 5:48, roughly the same amount of time as NordVPN. All 4,500 servers support P2P traffic, so you don’t need to hunt for torrent-friendly locations. Surfshark’s unique features aren’t quite as torrent-focused as NordVPN’s Threat Protection Pro and Meshnet, but its private search function is pretty useful if you’re trying to find torrents privately without handing away information to advertisers.

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For more information, refer to our full Surfshark review.

3. ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN has earned its reputation as a premium provider, even after a recent price revamp that’s made ExpressVPN far more affordable than it was before at $2.49/month. ExpressVPN’s no-log policy has been tested by both an extensive list of third-party auditors as well as real-world courts in Turkey. If you’re worried about your real IP being grabbed by hackers or intellectual property trolls, ExpressVPN is a great choice. Plus, ExpressVPN offers router-level protection through its Aircove router which comes pre-configured for maximum protection.

ExpressVPN posted a time of 5:57 in our speed tests which reflects its extensive network of 1000s servers across 105 countries, offering excellent global coverage. Part of this is down to their proprietary Lightway protocol which provides fast connections. ExpressVPN also has a functioning kill-switch that we’ve tested extensively, as well as split tunnelling on both Windows and macOS.

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For more information, refer to our full ExpressVPN review.

4. IPVanish

IPVanish might seem like an odd choice if you’re worried about illegitimate litigation, as it’s headquartered in US jurisdiction. However, IPVanish has a Schellman-audited no-logs policy which means that you should be reasonably confident IPVanish doesn’t log your connection details to hand over on request. With unlimited device connections on a single subscription at $2.19/month, it’s ideal if you have plenty of devices. That price can drop even further with an IPVanish coupon, with some long-term plans discounted by up to 74%. IPVanish owns and operates its own server network too, so there’s no risk of third party operator leaks.

Best of all, IPVanish offers SOCKS5 proxies if you’re not as worried about your ISP logging your traffic and just need high-speed performance (as well as a service that hides your IP from the other peers in your swarm). For consistency’s sake, we’ve tested IPVanish’s full VPN connection against our other recommended providers and found that IPVanish posted a time of 5:52. That’s great for a slightly less premium VPN.

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For more information, refer to our full IPVanish review.

5. PureVPN

PureVPN isn’t quite the premium VPN that our other recommended VPNs are, but it stands out in one area where they don’t: dedicated port forwarding support. If you’re suffering from poor connectivity while connecting to a torrent swarm, PureVPN is worth trying. Just be warned, port forwarding doesn’t come for free. It’s an extra $1.49 a month on top of PureVPN’s long term price of $2.15/month.

As with our the other VPNs on our list, PureVPN performed extremely well posting a time of 5:53. All of PureVPN’s servers are capable of handling P2P connections, so you have full access to all of PureVPN’s 6,000 servers across 65 locations. Don’t worry if you’re not comfortable with setting up port forwarding yet, either. We’ve included a guide below, but PureVPN also provides detailed guides for popular torrent clients like qBittorrent and Deluge.

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For more information, refer to our full PureVPN review.

Why You Need a VPN for Torrenting

Whenever you use a P2P file-sharing platform, you have to communicate with other participants on the platform. For the Bittorrent protocol, these are usually called “peers” or “seeders”. Instead of contacting a server, you’re directly sending and recieving traffic from them… which means they need to know your IP. In fact, you’re broadcasting your IP address to everyone else downloading or uploading the same torrent file as you.

If you’re at all concerned with your privacy, this is a serious problem. We’re not advocating for piracy, either. There are plenty of legal uses for torrenting, from speedily downloading Linux ISOs and free software to grabbing freeware music and games. Doing this massively reduces the hosting bills that content creators have to pay, so the perception that torrents are just for pirating copyright material isn’t at all true.

That said, you wouldn’t freely broadcast your entire download history, would you? That’s what’s happening when you torrent without a VPN. A VPN fixes this by encrypting your torrent traffic and swapping your real IP address for one of theirs. Hackers and copyright trolls can’t trace downloads back to you because the VPN’s servers show up in torrent swarms instead of your home connection. You also won’t need to mess around with setting up port forwarding on your home router because if a VPN supports port forwarding, they take care of it all on their servers.

There’s also the speed benefits. Some ISPs may throttle BitTorrent traffic during peak hours, which kills your download speeds. A VPN avoids traffic shaping since your ISP can’t identify encrypted torrent packets to slow them down. As a result, you may end up with faster torrent speeds with a VPN than without one. You might also be using a network that blocks torrenting traffic completely, in which case a VPN is the ideal way to tunnel your torrents through to the internet.

However, not all VPNs allow torrenting. Some providers block P2P traffic entirely, others restrict it to certain servers. The providers we’ve highlighted above all offer P2P-friendly servers and the following benefits:

• No-logs policy: Zero connection or activity logging verified by independent audits.
• Kill switch protection: Blocks internet if VPN disconnects, preventing IP leaks during torrenting
• High-speed server networks: Designed to carry even fast fiber connections with minimal slowdown.

Every VPN in our lineup checks these boxes. NordVPN stands out with its Panama jurisdiction and recent Deloitte audit. Surfshark offers unlimited device connections at $1.99/month. And if you need port forwarding for rare torrents, PureVPN delivers true port forwarding that can seriously boost download speeds.

How We Tested and Ranked the Best Torrenting VPNs

We’ve tested our top VPNs to see how they perform in real-world torrenting scenarios. Running speed tests gives us a good idea of how VPNs perform in a vaccuum, but there’s no replacement for actually seeing how they perform in the wild. So, we’ve taken each Windows client and downloaded the same Linux Mint ISO file in the same rough time window, to ensure there’s no variation based on time of day.

What we’ve found is that the top VPNs all offer highspeed connectivity and don’t get in the way of your torrenting session. We’ve also made sure that each kill-switch works properly by forcing a disconnect from the network and seeing whether it’s still possible to push traffic through the device. Each VPN mentioned above performs perfectly when you lose connection to the VPN server, so you won’t have your real IP accidentally exposed.

We’ve also checked to see whether each provider’s no-logs policy is actually legit. It’s very easy to claim that you’re a no-logs VPN, but it’s another thing entirely to pass a no-logs third party privacy audit.

Troubleshooting Common VPN Torrenting Issues

Sitting on the same torrent for days watching a trickle of a few KB/s can be seriously frustrating, but there’s actually plenty of things you can do to make sure you’re getting the absolute best connection speeds, even on torrent with relatively few seeds. If you’re dealing with:

• Slow downloads: Check your server location. Connecting to the nearest P2P optimized server can free up some bandwidth that helps out if you’re on a particularly bad connection. NordVPN labels these clearly, while Surfshark lets you torrent on all 4,500 servers. Then, check which protocol you’re using. If you’re still on OpenVPN or IKEv2, switching to WireGuard should speed up both your connection speed and free up some bandwidth for your connection.
• ISP still throttling you: Although it’s pretty rare, some VPN providers downgrade all traffic flowing through a VPN under the assumption you’re trying to bypass traffic shaping. Turning on obfuscation in your VPN provider’s client should keep you one step ahead of traffic shaping, as your ISP won’t be able to easily identify you’re using a VPN anymore.
• Torrent client won’t connect at all: Bind your client to the VPN’s network adapter. This forces everything through the VPN tunnel. Most providers have setup guides for qBittorrent and Deluge.
• Seeders won’t connect to you: If you’re able to enable port forwarding on your VPN client, make sure you do so. It’ll allow other peers on the swarm to make incoming connections to you even if they don’t have port forwarding enabled.

If none of this works across multiple servers and protocols, your VPN probably isn’t cut out for torrenting. Time to find a cheap VPN that actually delivers on P2P performance.

How to Enable Port Forwarding for Torrents Using a VPN

Port forwarding allows other peers in a torrent swarm to connect directly to your client, rather than relying solely on outgoing connections. This improves download speeds and makes you a more useful peer for uploading. Here’s how to set it up.

1. Choose a VPN that supports port forwarding: Not all VPNs offer port forwarding. Even some providers that have offered port forwarding in the past have dropped it in recent years. PureVPN offers port forwarding, but it’s an optional extra that costs more. Check whether your provider assigns a static forwarded port or a dynamic one that changes periodically. If it’s the second, you’ll need to update your torrent client configuration every time it changes.
2. Enable port forwarding in your VPN app: This varies by provider, but the setting is usually found in the app’s Connection menu. Toggle it on and note the port number the VPN assigns you. You’ll need it in the next step.
3. Connect to a VPN server that supports port forwarding: Providers like Proton VPN only enable port forwarding on specific servers. Check your provider’s documentation for which server locations support it and connect to one of those before opening your torrent client.
4. Enter the port in your torrent client: Open your torrent client and navigate to the network settings. There’ll be a randomly assigned default listening port which you should replace with the one assigned to you by your VPN.
5. Confirm the port is open: Most torrent clients have a built-in port test button in their settings. You can also use a tool like CanYouSeeMe.org to verify the port is reachable from outside your network. Make sure your VPN is connected before running the test.
6. Check your firewall: If the port still shows as closed, your system firewall may be blocking it. Add a rule in Windows Firewall or your equivalent to allow inbound and outbound traffic on that specific port for your torrent client.

Frequently Asked Questions