The 5 Best VPNs for Torrenting According to Reddit (2024 Guide)

Depending on where you live, torrenting can be a very risky activity that can land you a huge fine or even jail time. This is why you should make sure to protect your privacy and keep your online identity hidden. And, according to Reddit, NordVPN is the best VPN for torrenting.

But, should you trust Reddit? The short answer is yes, a platform like Reddit, often features clear-cut and brutally honest info on almost every torrenting VPN out there. As reading only online reviews can’t give you a complete picture of how good or bad a torrenting VPN is, Reddit is a superb option to get more input.
However, browsing through long Reddit threads and exploring various subreddits can be time-consuming and not very practical. This is where we come to help you out. After strenuous research, we’ve put together a list of the best VPNs for torrenting according to Reddit and much more that you need to know.

Best VPNs For Torrenting According To Reddit in 2024

1. NordVPN – Best VPN for Torrenting Reddit recommends.
2. Surfshark – RAM-disk servers and good speeds.
3. ExpressVPN – Privacy-focused VPN service.
4. Private Internet Access – Huge server network.
5. AirVPN – Solid and reliable Redditor pick for torrenting.

Why Trust Reddit Users for VPN Torrenting Recommendations?

It’s entirely legitimate to pose this question. After all, you’re letting a bunch of strangers influence your decision, which directly impacts your online privacy. 

Review sites, this one included, are essential for getting professional and thorough info. But, going to users directly is often a great way to get an additional external opinion and perhaps a different perspective on the information you might read in the review. 

Here are a few major reasons why you can rely on Reddit users when choosing a torrenting VPN:

• They Are Regular VPN Users – when you’re reading a Reddit thread on a VPN, you’re getting information from online users who have hands-on experience with a service. You’re not getting a promo piece written by anyone in collusion with the VPN.
• Maximum Objectivity – in line with the previous aspect, Reddit users are always objective and honest when discussing VPNs. This is why you’ll more often easily find negatives than positives on a VPN service on Reddit. Every issue is discussed, and no problems are swept under the rug, as transparency is beneficial for the entire community.
• Advertisers Aren’t Welcome – the reality of the modern Internet is that most websites earn money through advertisers and affiliates. The unfortunate part is that some of them let these revenue sources dictate their opinions. There’s no place for this on Reddit. Advertisers are called out, and more devoted and experienced Redditors are relentless in approaching every post with a critical perspective.

What Does Reddit Think About Using VPNs for Torrenting?

There are many VPNs available, some free, and some premium. So, to have a better understanding of the difference between these two types of VPN services, let’s see what Reddit thinks about them:

Free

It might be that some Reddit users carefully read our blogs and reviews because most of them agree with our viewpoint that free VPNs should generally be avoided. Going by the comments in most threads related to free VPN services, you’ll see a few arguments often repeated as reasons for avoiding free VPNs.

Free VPN services often don’t pack enough punch to deliver a safe and reliable user experience. They have slower serves and don’t support options like the WireGuard protocol. Furthermore, you won’t find advanced features like split tunneling, which allows you to only route your VPN to the torrent client.

On an even more serious note, free VPNs lack the security and privacy features you can expect with premium services. A free VPN won’t protect your data and might even collect your information to sell it to the highest bidder. 

The apps from free VPNs are often cluttered with ads, lack basic features, and in rare cases, come with malware included. Although there are a few free VPNs for torrenting you can explore, the general rule of thumb is to avoid such services.

Paid

When it comes to paid VPNs, most Redditors advise their fellow users to stick with these services instead of trying their luck with free VPNs. In terms of specific reasons why Reddit users recommend using paid VPNs, the list of arguments is apparent.

If you want to torrent online content, especially copyrighted one, a VPN service will help you keep your IP address private from your ISP and copyright agencies. With a solid premium VPN, you can rest assured that your ISP can’t see you’re downloading torrents.
Moreover, a premium VPN will also keep you safe from any other torrenters that might have malicious intentions. It might even boost your download speeds. With all that in mind, let’s move to the main part of this guide.

The 5 Best VPNs for Torrenting According to Reddit – our detailed list:

We checked numerous Reddit threads and posted questions ourselves on r/VPN and r/VPNTorrents to see what are the best five torrenting VPNs in Reddit’s eyes.

1. NordVPN

Reddit users generally had good things to say about NordVPN. The provider has dedicated P2P servers optimized to provide fast and secure torrenting. And they have a huge network – a little over 5,600 servers, according to their support reps. Going by the info on the site, most of NordVPN’s network supports torrenting.

People love NordVPN’s download speeds since they’re very fast. When we tested them, we had no problem downloading large files in minutes when we used NordLynx protocol (NordVPN’s in-house protocol that’s built around WireGuard). 

Research from AV-TEST (an independent research institute that focuses on IT security) also concluded that NordVPN is the fastest VPN on the market. Many Redditors swear by NordVPN’s kill switch, saying it often saved them from accidental leaks. NordVPN also has DNS and IPv6 leak protection to further protect your data. 

NordVPN doesn’t keep logs (they underwent two audits to prove that), uses powerful encryption (AES-256), and has RAM-only servers (they don’t store any information locally). They even started transitioning to colocated servers, meaning they own and manage their servers. The data centers only provide the storage space and Internet.

Here’s what else NordVPN offers:

• Split-tunneling
• 24/7 live chat support (their reps are very friendly and helpful)
• A no-questions-asked 30-day refund
• Unlimited bandwidth
• Apps for all platforms (Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS)

NordVPN doesn’t offer port forwarding, but that’s not a problem if you’re just a regular torrent user who isn’t obsessed with seed ratios. On the plus side, NordVPN supports seeding on their servers. Some VPNs disallow that. To find out more about NordVPN, check out our review.

2. Surfshark

Surfshark is one of the only VPNs that have unlimited simultaneous connections. Most providers let you use their service on up to five or seven devices. With Surfshark, you can do that on as many devices as you want. 

That’s one of the main reasons why it’s popular with Reddit users. Many of them take advantage of that perk to save money by sharing the VPN subscription costs with their friends.

Surfshark also has lightning-fast speeds since it offers WireGuard. We have no trouble simultaneously downloading multiple large torrents with Surfshark in 10-15 minutes. It also helps that their 70+ P2P dedicated servers are optimized to offer the best speeds. If you’re interested in the total server count, it’s around 3,200 servers in 100 countries.

With Surfshark, you get great security. This VPN has AES-256 encryption, a no-log policy, DNS leak protection through private DNS, and a kill switch. Unfortunately, Surfshark doesn’t have IPv6 leak protection. You’ll have to manually disable IPv6 on your end instead.

Surfshark also offers:

• Great 24/7 live chat support
• Split-tunneling
• A 30-day refund policy
• Easy-to-use apps on all devices
• Unmetered bandwidth

One thing we don’t like about Surfshark is that they don’t allow seeding on their servers. They also don’t support port forwarding (it’s not a huge drawback, but worth mentioning). According to some Reddit users, this makes it a solid but less-than-ideal choice for torrenting.

So, you should only use Surfshark if you only want to download torrents and don’t care about seed ratios. Here’s our hands-on review of Surfshark if you want to read more about this service.

3. ExpressVPN

Redditors really like that all of ExpressVPN’s servers support torrent traffic (including seeding). They’re one of the few providers to offer this perk. And their server network is impressive: over 3,000 servers in 94 countries. Overcrowding won’t be an issue, so you’ll get better download speeds.

Speaking of which, ExpressVPN is really fast. It’s all thanks to their Lightway proprietary protocol. They built it with speed in mind. Even connecting to a server only takes a fraction of a second.

ExpressVPN offers excellent security. They use strong AES-256 encryption, have RAM-only servers, have a reliable kill switch (Network Lock feature), and prevent leaks through IPv6 and DNS leak protection. ExpressVPN also underwent a security audit to prove their no-log claims are true.

ExpressVPN also has:

• Unmetered data
• User-friendly apps for all platforms
• 24/7 live chat support
• Split-tunneling
• A 30-day money-back guarantee

You get port forwarding with ExpressVPN, but it’s not available through their app. Instead, you’ll have to configure it on their routers. If you have to buy one, expect to pay over $100 or $200. Also, compared to the other top-listed VPN in this guide, ExpressVPN is a bit pricey. Here’s our in-depth ExpressVPN review if you’d like to read more about this VPN.

4. Private Internet Access

PIA has by far the largest server network we have ever seen, with tens of thousands of servers in its network, all of which support torrenting. Redditors love that because they never have to deal with overcrowding (no slow speeds). Also, it’s easy for them to find a nearby server, which means they’ll get even faster connections.

Another reason why PIA is a popular torrenting VPN on Reddit are its high speeds. You can easily get consistently good download speeds because PIA lets you use WireGuard. The service also redesigned its servers in 2020 to switch from 1 Gbps network cards to 10 Gbps network cards. Their new servers are RAM-only too, so they’re more secure.

PIA uses AES-256 and AES-128 encryption to secure your data. It also protects you from DNS and IPv6 leaks by using private DNS servers and disabling IPv6 traffic. PIA’s apps have a kill switch, so traffic leaks aren’t a concern either. And PIA’s no-log policy has been proven true by court documents.

Here’s what else you get with PIA:

• Unlimited data
• 24/7 support (live chat)
• A 30-day refund period
• Split tunneling
• Cross-platform compatible apps

PIA allows seeding, but their support reps told us it might only work through port forwarding (which PIA supports). The service is a solid choice for streaming, although it sometimes encounters problems when trying to unblock major streaming services.

PIA also lets you torrent through their SOCKS5 proxy. You should only use it if you need really fast speeds. Since it’s a proxy and not a VPN, its encryption is weaker and less secure. If you’d like to read more about PIA, take a look at our review.

5. AirVPN

In every thread we visited, there was at least one person mentioning AirVPN. This provider supports P2P traffic (including seeding) on all servers (over 200). AirVPN even offers port forwarding.

One thing that makes AirVPN unique is that its software is completely open-source. Anyone can audit it (including you) to ensure it’s safe to use. AirVPN also doesn’t keep logs, uses powerful encryption (AES-256), and has a reliable kill switch.

AirVPN doesn’t specify if they offer DNS leak protection. But all their VPN servers run their own DNS servers, so your DNS queries should be safe. However, we weren’t able to find out if AirVPN provides IPv6 leak protection, so you should disable IPv6 if you plan to use this provider.

Here’s what else you get with AirVPN:

• Apps for most platforms (the design is dated, however)
• Unlimited data
• A 30-day money-back guarantee
• Split-tunneling (less user-friendly compared to the other VPNs)

Some Reddit users have complained that AirVPN’s support isn’t very good. They don’t respond fast (it takes them about three or four days) and don’t offer 24/7 live chat support. Instead, you have to email them or post on their forums.

AirVPN lets you use OpenVPN and WireGuard protocols . And since you only get servers in a fairly limited number of countries, it can be hard to find one that’s close to you (adding even more to the slowdown you’ll experience).

What Are the Worst VPNs to Use for Torrenting According to Reddit?

A few VPNs have an abysmal reputation among Reddit users and are often listed as the worst services that should be avoided at all costs. A few VPNs that are often mentioned as the poorest choices are Windscribe, Hola, ZenMate, and even Hotspot Shield.

How to Choose a VPN for Torrenting that’s Recommended by Reddit Users?

Here are a few criteria you should keep in mind when picking a Reddit-recommended torrenting VPN:

• Uncompromising privacy protection
• Robust security features
• Fast connection speeds
• Solid server selection
• P2P support (preferably with port forwarding options)
• Leak protection
• No data limits

Depending on what you’re looking for, you can also add factors like app support, number of supported connections, customer service, and specific server locations. That said, these are all additional aspects, while the ones listed above are essential ones on which you should never compromise.

What’s the Best VPN to Use for Torrenting, as per Reddit User Recommendations?

Going by what the majority of Reddit users recommend, the best VPN for torrenting is NordVPN. Redditors appreciate the speed and reliability of NordVPN’s server, as well as the overall server selection. More importantly, NordVPN’s outstanding privacy features are also often praised among Redditors who torrent.

Conclusion

Reddit is an outstanding supplementary source for getting trusted insight into what the general consumer VPN audience thinks about certain services. With a critical approach and by reading both reviews and user opinions, you’ll be able to make a well-educated choice on which torrenting VPN suits you best.

After all, the names featured on the Reddit top-five list above have all been in the industry for a while and have proven their reputation. In fact, most of the Reddit-recommended services are often included in our top VPN lists. Ultimately, we agree with Reddit’s consensus that NordVPN is the best VPN for torrenting.