Is Surfshark Good for Torrenting in 2024?

Torrenting has grown in popularity for sharing big files online. But, it also brings risks like revealing your IP address and facing legal issues. That’s where a VPN (Virtual Private Network) is useful.

Surfshark is a top VPN, but is it good for torrenting? We looked into it, talked to their team, and did some tests. We wanted to see how Surfshark performs with torrenting.

Is Surfshark Good for Torrenting?

Surfshark is a top choice for torrenting. It has everything you need to keep your torrenting safe. It uses strong encryption, supports P2P on many servers, and doesn’t log your activities.

It works well with popular torrenting apps like uTorrent and qBittorrent. Your torrent speeds are fast, just like the big names in the industry. Plus, you can use it on all your devices without limits.

But, it misses out on some features to boost speed. For example, it doesn’t have port forwarding or SOCKS5 support. Also, it doesn’t protect against IPv6 leaks well, so you need to turn it off yourself.

We’ll talk about these points and more below. We’ve also listed some Surfshark alternatives for torrenting if you’re looking for other options.

Surfshark Torrenting Speed Tests

We tested Surfshark’s torrenting speed. We used qBittorrent and uTorrent. We tested servers in Canada, Singapore, and Japan with the WireGuard protocol. Our tester is from Romania.

Our download speeds were impressive. With uTorrent, we got about 50 MB/s (377-395 Mbps). With qBittorrent, it was 30-34 MiB/s (250-285 Mbps). It took 10-15 minutes to download big files.

Using the Canadian server, our speeds dropped to 10-13 MiB/s (81-110 Mbps) for qBittorrent. For uTorrent, speeds were 3-5 MB/s (25-42 Mbps). The time it took to download increased significantly.

For uTorrent, the ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival) was about 2-3 hours. qBittorrent was slightly faster, taking 1-1 hour and 30 minutes.

Here are the speeds with the other servers:

• Japan – 2-4 MiB/s (qBittorrent) and 1-2 MB/s (uTorrent)
• Singapore – 4 MiB/s (qBittorrent) and 2 MB/s (uTorrent)

The slowdown isn’t surprising. We used servers far from our tester’s location. This made data travel slower. Even with WireGuard, the encryption made data packets heavier.

We were happy with the download speeds. Using a VPN server close to the tester (Bulgaria) helped. We saw a big speed boost: 18-19 MiB/s (qBittorrent) and 7-9 MB/s (uTorrent).

It took us about 40-45 minutes to download a 33.92 GB file on qBittorrent. On uTorrent, it took 1 hour 40-50 minutes.

We also used OpenVPN protocol on the Bulgarian server. As expected, speeds were slower: 8-12 MiB/s (qBittorrent) and 1-2 MB/s (uTorrent).

IMPORTANT: If the torrent has few seeders, your download speeds will be slow. This isn’t Surfshark’s fault. It’s because you’re downloading from a few people. If there are no seeders, your download will stall until you find some.

What Do People Think About Torrenting with Surfshark?

We checked Reddit threads to see what torrent users think of Surfshark. We also asked about the Surfshark torrenting experience on Reddit. It’s the best site for unbiased opinions. We also looked for reviews on torrent client forums, but found nothing useful.

Overall, people seem happy with Surfshark. They don’t experience major slowdowns. Most Redditors said they never got angry letters from copyright agencies or trolls.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Surfshark for Torrenting

Surfshark is a great choice for torrenting, but it’s not perfect. Here are the good and bad points of using it for torrenting.

Advantages

First, let’s look at the good stuff.

• P2P Support – Surfshark supports torrent downloads and seeding on many dedicated P2P servers. Support reps say trying to torrent on a regular server will redirect you to a P2P server.
• Fast speeds – Surfshark gives us super-fast speeds. We can find a server close to us for better speeds. Using the WireGuard protocol makes it even faster.
• No-logs Policy – If you’re worried about your ISP watching your torrent downloads, Surfshark is a good choice. It doesn’t monitor your browsing and downloads. Copyright agencies and lawyers can’t get your data because there isn’t any.
• DNS and WebRTC Leak Protection – Surfshark automatically protects you from DNS and WebRTC leaks. This is good if you’re using a browser-based torrent client. But, it doesn’t protect against IPv6 leaks, so you need to disable IPv6 while using it.
• Great Security – Surfshark keeps all your data safe with AES-256 encryption. All their servers run only on RAM, so any data is deleted when the server shuts down.
• User-friendly Apps – Surfshark’s apps are easy to use on most platforms, including Linux. They have a simple design that you’ll get used to quickly.
• Kill Switch – The kill switch feature blocks your internet if the VPN connection drops. This prevents your data from being exposed. It’s a strong measure to protect you from leaks.
• Whitelister – Surfshark’s split-tunneling feature is called Whitelister. It lets you route only torrent client traffic through the VPN. This makes your speeds faster because there’s less data to encrypt and decrypt.
• MultiHop – This feature routes your internet traffic through multiple servers. It adds an extra layer of encryption and protection.
• Camouflage Mode – Camouflage Mode makes Surfshark’s VPN traffic look like regular HTTPS traffic. This makes it harder for ISPs and others to detect that you’re using a VPN.
• Torrent Client Compatibility – We tested Surfshark with popular torrent clients like qBitorrent, uTorrent, BitTorrent, Vuze, and Deluge. It worked without any problems.
• CleanWeb – CleanWeb is Surfshark’s ad blocker. It won’t block ads in uTorrent, but it will block malicious links and sites. This is useful when dealing with shady torrent sites and trackers.
• Unlimited parallel connections – You can use Surfshark for torrenting on as many devices as you want at the same time.

Disadvantages

Surfshark is a great VPN for torrenting, but it has three main issues:

• No Port Forwarding – Surfshark doesn’t support port forwarding because it considers it a security risk. They think opening random ports could lead to security vulnerabilities. Hackers might exploit these. Many torrent users love port forwarding for its ability to connect to more peers. This could theoretically make speeds faster. But, it’s not a sure thing.
• No SOCKS5 Support – SOCKS5 lets you change your IP without encryption. This might be a problem if you’re worried about your ISP spying. But, SOCKS5 is great for hiding your IP in the swarm and boosting download speeds. Sadly, Surfshark doesn’t support SOCKS5. This isn’t a huge issue, but it might be a problem for those with slower connections.
• No IPv6 Leak Protection – Surfshark has great DNS and WebRTC leak protection. But, Surfshark doesn’t provide support for IPv6 addresses in their apps yet. You’ll need to disable IPv6 manually. They have a simple guide on their website to help you.

Comparing Surfshark to Other P2P VPNs for Torrenting

Here is a quick overview of how other VPNs compare to Surfshark for torrenting purposes:

VPN	DL speeds	Torrenting servers	No-logs policy	Port forwarding	Jurisdiction	Device limit
NordVPN	15 MiB/s	5,000+	No logs	No	Panama	6
ExpressVPN	16 MiB/s	3,000	Anonymized diagnostics data	Router only	British Virgin Islands	5
Atlas VPN	20 MiB/s	750	App usage data	No	United States	Unlimited
Surfshark	15 MiB/s	Undisclosed	Anonymized diagnostics data	No	The Netherlands	Unlimited

NordVPN – great all-round torrenting VPN

NordVPN is based in Panama, a place known for its strong privacy laws. It doesn’t keep any user logs, and an audit proves this. It also has over 5,000 P2P servers around the world, ensuring fast torrenting speeds.

NordVPN doesn’t support port forwarding for security. But, you can use SOCKS5 connections to speed up your connection. This is a trade-off for some encryption.

ExpressVPN – port forwarding on routers

ExpressVPN is based in the British Virgin Islands, known for its privacy laws. They have a no-logs policy that has been audited successfully. They only collect fully anonymized diagnostics data.

All servers are P2P-enabled and have great speeds. They also support port forwarding on routers. But, it only allows five devices at a time and is pricier than average.

Should You Use Surfshark VPN for Torrenting?

Yes. Surfshark is great for torrenting games, movies, or TV shows. It works on unlimited devices, perfect for sharing accounts. It’s easy to share large files like work files or photo albums with friends or coworkers.

Surfshark has fast P2P servers, just like its competitors. It also has a split tunneling feature (Whitelister) to speed up your torrenting. Plus, it has a kill switch, NoBorders mode, and CleanWeb for secure torrenting anywhere in the world.

But, it’s not the best for keeping a high seed ratio or downloading torrents daily. For that, use a seedbox like Seedbox.io. Surfshark also lacks port forwarding and SOCKS5 support.

FAQs

Here are answers to common questions about Surfshark and torrenting:

How to Use Surfshark for Torrenting

1. First, sign up for a Surfshark account on their website.
2. Download and install Surfshark’s app on your device.
3. Launch the Surfshark app and log in with your Surfshark account data.
4. Connect to a Surfshark server that allows torrenting. To do this, click on the “Locations” tab in the app and select a server from the list of P2P-optimized servers.
5. Run your preferred torrenting client.
6. Start downloading files. Surfshark’s VPN connection will help to keep your online activity private and secure.

Does Surfshark Allow P2P Traffic?

Yes, Surfshark allows P2P traffic on their dedicated torrenting servers. They have around 80+ P2P servers in 20+ countries. This makes it easy to find servers that are not overcrowded and are close to your location (to get better speeds).

Most P2P servers have a dynamic IP (it changes every time you connect to the server). But if you want to use a static IP (an address that always stays the same), Surfshark has around 30+ P2P servers which offer that option.

Can You Improve Torrent Download Speeds with Surfshark?

Yes – here’s what you should try:

• Connect to a server that’s close to your location. If you’re in France, use the French P2P servers instead of servers in the US or Canada.
• Use WireGuard or IKEv2. Both protocols are lightweight and fast. OpenVPN over UDP is also decent, but nowhere near as fast as those two.
• Use the Whitelister feature. Make it only route traffic from your torrent client. If Surfshark also routes data from Chrome, Steam, and Skype, your download speeds will be slower.

Does Surfshark Limit Your Data?

No, Surfshark offers unlimited data with all its plans. You don’t need to keep an eye on bandwidth caps between downloads. As a Surfshark user, you get unlimited bandwidth, speed, or data.

What Happens If You Torrent on Surfshark’s Non-P2P Servers?

Surfshark’s support reps say the app sends your traffic to a P2P server. This causes your speeds to slow down. Sometimes, your downloads might even stop.

Surfshark can’t just switch you to a P2P server without it being a security risk. This is because it would expose your IP.

We tested torrenting on Surfshark’s Australian and New Zealand servers. We got either zero speeds or very slow speeds. It’s best to use Surfshark’s P2P servers.

What’s Surfshark’s Best Server for Torrenting?

The best P2P server is the one closest to you. This ensures faster speeds because data travels quicker between you and the VPN server.

We asked Surfshark’s support reps for their top P2P server recommendation. They said to use the nearest one for the best speeds.