The Best Free VPNs for Torrenting in 2024

So you’re looking for a VPN to torrent, and you don’t want to spend any money? We can’t really blame you, but we need to clear up a couple of things right off the bat.

Disclaimer: We here at Security.org in no way recommend using a VPN to engage in illegal activity.

First, you probably already know torrenting is illegal when you use it to gain access to certain materials you don’t own the rights to. If you’re caught pirating movies, music, or games, you can — and perhaps will — be fined. And those fines can get pretty hefty. In the U.S., you can be hit with a $250,000 copyright fine and spend up to five years in jail. That would make the $20 you’d save by torrenting “Joker” instead of buying it at Walmart seem like chump change.

Logging onto our Proton Mail account using the TorWeb App

» Also see: Best Overall VPNs to Torrent

The second thing is that VPNs — the good ones anyway — aren’t free. If you find a “free” VPN, you’ll probably find that it’s collecting and selling your data if you read the fine print. So, when you want to hide your search and browsing history and stay private online, most free services won’t give you what you want. You’ll need one of the best VPNs available for that. That said, there are a handful of reputable providers that offer free versions of their services or free trials. I’ve listed those below.

With those two items squared away, there are plenty of legitimate reasons to torrent files and plenty of good reasons to use a VPN to do it. Maybe you want to distribute large files such as video game patches or you want a digital version of a piece of media you purchased but don’t have physical access to. No worries there — and using a VPN can certainly help. A lot of ISPs throttle torrent site traffic, and you don’t want your IP and other personal information exposed to everyone downloading the same file as you.

>> Read More: What Is My IP Address?

If you’re looking for a free VPN to torrent, though, there are a few things to consider. Let’s break them down before we get to our list of the best free VPNs for torrenting.

Creating a New Torrent Path with the BitTorrent Web App

What to Look for in a Free Torrenting VPN

Free trial	The “free” VPNs on the market like to harvest your data. Look for a reputable provider that offers a free trial of its service, but note that sometimes the service will be stripped down.
Speeds	Torrent files themselves aren’t big, but the files they’re helping you download most likely will be. You want to find a VPN that won’t slow your download speeds too much (or your upload speeds, if you’re planning to seed).
Torrent optimizations	A lot of VPNs have servers that optimize peer-to-peer servers and unlimited bandwidth. The first VPN on our list, Surfshark, is one of them.
Privacy	We know you’re not using your VPN to do anything illegal, but you still don’t want your ISP snooping around in your business. It can throttle your traffic or flag your activity as suspicious, which can lead to legal and financial headaches. Make sure your VPN has a strict no-log policy and follows industry-standard privacy protocols.
Price	Your free trial will expire at some point. If you still want to use your VPN for torrenting, you’ll have to sign up for the service. Thankfully, a lot of VPNs cost only pocket change when you sign up for the long haul. Private Internet Access, for example, costs only $1.98 per month when you sign up for three years.

The Best Free VPN Services for Torrenting

Surfshark - Best Features for Torrenting
TunnelBear - Most User-Friendly Free VPN for Torrenting
Windscribe VPN - Best Free VPN for Infrequent Torrenting
HMA VPN - Best Free VPN for Torrenting While Traveling

Comparison of the Best VPN Services for Torrenting

System	Surfshark	TunnelBear	Windscribe VPN	HMA VPN
Ranking	1st	2nd	3rd	4th
Ratings	9.5/10 Best Features	8.8/10 Most User-Friendly	8.7/10 Best for Infrequent Torrenting	8.3/10 Best for Torrenting While Traveling
Works on	iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, Linux, Fire TV Stick apps, Xbox	Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, and Linux with browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox, and Opera	Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS with browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox, and Opera	Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Linux, routers, and Android TV
Data Usage Limit with Free Plan	None	2 GB per month	2 GB per month or 10 GB if you log in and confirm your email address	None
Connection Speed Limits	No speed limit	No speed limit	No speed limit	No speed limit
Netflix Access	Yes	No	Only in the U.S. and U.K.	Yes
Length of Free Trial	7 days	Unlimited	Unlimited	7 days
Premium Subscription Pricing	$15.45 monthly or $41.86 yearly	$9.99 monthly or $59.88 yearly	$9 monthly or $69 yearly	$59.88 yearly or $107.64 for three years
Five Eyes, Nine Eyes, and 14 Eyes Member	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Read Review	Surfshark Review	TunnelBear Review	Windscribe VPN Review	HMA VPN Review

All You Need to Know About the Best Free VPNs for Torrenting

1. Surfshark - Best Features

SecurityScore:

9.5 /10

View Plans

How We Review

Product Specs

Multi-hop	Yes
Camouflage Mode	Yes
Kill switch	Yes
Split Tunneling	Yes
Netflix	Yes
Torrenting	Yes

View Plans

Surfshark is a rock-solid VPN that will get the job done for a lot of different use cases. If you’re looking for a free VPN to torrent, it’s a good option, although you’ll only get 7 days of use from the free trial. Surfshark is also a good choice if you’re looking for a great VPN for travel or — heck — a VPN to Stream Disney+. I’ve used Surfshark off and on for years, and I’ve rarely found a reason to complain about it.

>> Learn About: Best VPNs for ESPN+

What We Like

Affordable pricing after trial runs out
Works with uTorrent and other torrenting clients
RAM-only servers prevent data storage
Split tunneling allows users to whitelist specific sites

What we don’t like

Free VPN is limited to seven days
Static IP address
Slow speeds on PCs
No phone support

Free Trial

Surfshark used to offer a 30-day free trial, but it has cut it down to only seven. It’s a bit of a bummer, but I’m happy to see it still gives people a taste of its services without asking them to plunk down their credit card. If you’re up for giving your credit card info, they offer a 30-day money-back guarantee. The company doesn’t strip down its service when you go with the free version, like I saw in my review of ProtonVPN. It’s still a great VPN in its own right though.

Torrenting Features

Surfshark has P2P-optimized servers and unlimited bandwidth, which means you’ll never have to worry about your performance degrading no matter where you’re connecting from. Another thing I really like is the split-tunneling feature, which allows you to whitelist certain sites. I use it a lot when I’m multitasking and want certain traffic — e.g., torrents or streaming data — going through the VPN and everything else running through my normal connection. I find it increases my overall speeds and makes for a better browsing experience when I want my torrent download running in the background or when I’m gaming at the same time.

While I definitely liked the split-tunneling feature, I couldn’t use it on my MacBook Pro since I’m using the latest version of MacOS which uses a network extension that prevents split-tunneling. If you need split-tunneling on a MacOS device, I recommend Private Internet Access. It’s the only VPN that’s been able to make split-tunneling work on current macOS versions, but it doesn’t have a free version or free trial.

>> Learn More: Best VPNs for Gaming

Speeds

Surfshark is a pretty zippy VPN. It’s not the fastest I’ve seen — for more on that, read my review of NordVPN — but it’s darn close. I will say, though, that I’ve found it works a little better on a Mac than it does on a PC, especially now that the company has added a feature for iOS and macOS that automatically selects the fastest server available given proximity, current load, and other critical factors.

If you want to get really granular, here’s the data from the last time I tested Surfshark. Keep in mind, though, that internet speeds vary depending on a huge variety of factors so your mileage might vary.

Surfshark Speed Data

Devices tested on	MacBook Pro	Acer Aspire 5 (Windows 10)
Ping without VPN	54 ms	7 ms
Ping with VPN	53 ms	199 ms
Ping difference	2%	2,742%
MacBook download speed without VPN	16.21 Mbps	23.69 Mbps
Download speed with VPN	11.87 Mbps	19.61 Mbps
Download speed difference	31%	17%
Upload speed without VPN	22.01 Mbps	24.09 Mbps
Upload speed with VPN	24 Mbps	10.58 Mbps
Upload speed difference	9%	56%

Prices

Another reason I put Surfshark high on this list is that you may be looking for an affordable VPN, since there’s really no such thing as a decent free VPN. You can learn more about its tiered approach to protections in my guide to Surfshark’s prices, but here’s a quick cheat sheet.

Surfshark Prices

Plan	Month-to-month	1 year	2 year
Surfshark Starter	$15.45	$3.22 per month	$2.39 per month
Surfshark One	$15.95	$3.77 per month	$3.06 per month
Surfshark One+	$17.95	$5.99 per month	$4.69 per month

2. TunnelBear - Most User-Friendly Free VPN for Torrenting

SecurityScore:

8.8 /10

How We Review

Product Specs

MultiHop	Yes
Camouflage Mode	Yes
Kill Switch	Yes
Netflix	Yes
Torrenting	Yes

I get it. Sometimes you want something that just works without a lot of messing around. Now that torrenting sites and clients have become so easy to use, why not pick a VPN that’s so simple your toddler can use it? That’s TunnelBear for you. But don’t let the simple — sometimes silly — exterior fool you. It’s a powerful VPN that offers great protection for torrenting and more.

What We Like

Dynamic IP addresses
Highly rated apps
Split tunneling

What We Don’t Like

Free version caps data at 2 GB per month
Based in Canada, in the jurisdiction of Five Eyes, Nine Eyes, and 14 Eyes
No torrenting-optimized servers

Free Trial

If you’re looking for an honest-to-goodness free VPN, TunnelBear offers one. Well, kind of. Your data will be capped at 2 GB per month, and you won’t have access to all of TunnelBear’s servers and locations. You will, however, be able to torrent for free, which is what you came here to do. Just don’t try to use it for streaming. It’s really not good for streaming — especially with that wicked data cap.

>> Read About: Top VPNs for Streaming

Torrenting Features

TunnelBear is super easy to set up and use, even if you’ve never used a VPN before. In an effort to help my parents protect themselves online after an — ahem — preventable cybersecurity issue, I set them up with TunnelBear. The interface is easy enough for my mom to use, and she sometimes has trouble finding the power button on her phone. Another premium but easy-to-use VPN that I like is ExpressVPN. But, it’s not free. Check out my review of ExpressVPN to see if it’d be worth the cost for you. I even did a detailed TunnelBear vs ExpressVPN comparison to show you all the differences between these user friendly options.

Speeds

Here’s where TunnelBear loses me a bit. Last time I tested it, my download speeds decreased by 45 percent on my MacBook Pro and 53 percent on my Lenovo ThinkPad. Similar to Surfshark, though, you can split tunnel things, which is what I do when I’m torrenting through a VPN. Your torrent download will suffer, but it won’t slow you down otherwise. You could also just do what I do and start your download at night, and it’ll be done when you wake up in the morning. Boom — it’s like you’re time-traveling.

Price

Now we’re headed back to the “pros” column. TunnelBear’s free version never expires, so if it’s working for your purposes, that’s excellent — you have a free VPN. If you decide the data cap is too annoying, however, you can always upgrade. TunnelBear’s prices are pretty competitive. It’s comparable to NordVPN’s prices, when you start talking about longer subscription terms. Same goes for Private Internet Access’ costs. There are three options for TunnelBear’s full version.

TunnelBear’s Prices

Subscription term	1 Month	1 Year	3 Years
Cost	$9.99	$4.99	$3.33

3. Windscribe VPN - Best Free VPN for Infrequent Torrenting

SecurityScore:

8.7 /10

See Our Top 10 VPNs

How We Review

Product Specs

Multihop	Yes
Camouflage mode	Yes
Kill switch	Yes
Netflix	Yes
Torrenting	Yes

See Our Top 10 VPNs

It’s not a huge name in the VPN world, but Windscribe ticks all the boxes you’d want in a VPN: It’s relatively fast, it’s definitely secure, and it won’t share your data with any third parties. And you already know why it’s on this list — it offers its services for free! Well, a version of its services anyway.

What We Like

Supports Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, routers, and NAS devices, and offers browser extensions for Chrome, Opera, and Firefox
Double-hop encryption
Kill switch
Split tunneling

What We Don’t Like

Based in Canada, in the jurisdiction of Five Eyes, Nine Eyes, and 14 Eyes
10 GB per month data-usage limit with the free plan
Static IP addresses
Netflix works only in U.S. and U.K.

Free Trial

Similar to TunnelBear, Windscribe offers a free version of its service without any associated timelines. It won’t expire in seven days like with Surfshark. And that’s not the only difference — I cover them all in my Surfshark vs Windscribe comparison guide. That said, you’ll be a little bit more limited with Windscribe. It offers its free account users only up to 10 GB of data per month. That’s not a lot — especially if you’re using it for torrenting — but it’s a lot better than the 2 GB you get with TunnelBear’s free version.

>> Learn More: Best VPNs With Free Trials

Torrenting Features

The bad news is that the free version gives you only 10 GB of data per month. The good news is that, like the other VPNs on this list, Windscribe supports split tunneling. That means you can optimize your data budget and only use the VPN to route your torrenting traffic through. I tried it out and downloaded a few of my favorite movies — ones I own, mind you — and I was able to stay within my allotted 10 GB. I had to keep an eye on things though. “Jaws” in 4K is not a small file.

FYI: Looking to stream Netflix TV shows and movies? Check out our roundup of the best VPNs for Netflix.

Speeds

I’ve mentioned it previously, but it bears repeating: Any VPN will slow down your connection speeds. The extent to which those slowdowns are noticeable, though, depends on a load of different factors. Speed tests can give you accurate, point-in-time snapshots, but they can’t provide the whole picture. When I tested Windscribe from my Brooklyn apartment, however, it performed pretty well on both my MacBook Pro and Vivobook. Download speeds decreased by 20 and 43 percent, respectively, and upload speeds decreased by 16 and 60 percent. Just from working with Windscribe, I’d say it performs slightly better on a Windows computer overall. Just something to consider.

>> Learn More: Our Favorite VPNs for Windows

Price

If you get sick of the 10 GB data cap — and who could blame you — Windscribe’s prices are pretty palatable. They’re about on par with ProtonVPN’s costs, and a little less expensive than ExpressVPN’s subscriptions.

Windscribe’s Costs

Subscription term	Monthly	Yearly
Cost	$9	$5.75

TunnelBear is a little cheaper in the long run, but Surfshark is still comparable.

4. HMA VPN - Best Free VPN for Torrenting While Traveling

SecurityScore:

8.3 /10

How We Review

Product Specs

Multi-hop	No
Camouflage mode	No
Kill switch	Yes
Netflix	Yes
Torrenting	Yes

Despite the silly name, Hide My Ass — or HMA when you’re talking to your grandmother — is a solid VPN that distinguishes itself from the crowd by offering a significant number of servers distributed across 210 countries. Surfshark, for reference, has a presence in only 100 countries. Will that be the deciding factor for you? Maybe. It certainly helps me when I’m traveling for business, especially when I left my copy of the “Lost” box set at home like I did last time I was abroad. I hopped on HMA to torrent it, and bingo! I was transported back to 2004, wondering what the heck that polar bear was all about.

>> Read About: Best VPNs for Business

HMA VPN on Mac — HMA connected in New York.

What We Like

Servers in more than 290 locations across over 210 countries
Kill switch on Windows, Macs, and Android
Dynamic IP addresses
75 percent student discount available for 36-month plans

What We Don’t Like

Severely slows traffic on Windows
Browser extension logs IP addresses and web traffic
Subject to Five Eyes, Nine Eyes, and 14 Eyes
Split tunneling available only on Android devices

Free Trial

Similar to Surfshark, HMA puts a seven-day time limit on your free trial. Good news if you need it for a one-off download, but not so great if you want to use HMA in the long term. But let’s swing back around to good news again: If you sign up for a paid subscription, this is the most affordable VPN on our list. More on that in just a second.

>> Learn More: VPN Deals and Discounts

Torrenting Features

Like all the VPNs on this list, HMA offers servers optimized for P2P file sharing, which means you won’t get your traffic throttled. The server network also allows for 20 Gbps connection speeds, which means you won’t be slowed down by limitations with the infrastructure. Every time I’ve used HMA — whether it was from a coffee shop in Madrid or my desk in Brooklyn — it has been reliable, fast, and secure.

Speeds

I won’t go through the whole spiel about how speed tests aren’t universal measurements, but I will say that, anecdotally, I’ve clocked fewer performance issues when I’m using HMA on a Mac than when I’m on a PC. Again — grain of salt and all that. If you want to get into the nitty-gritty, though, below is the data from my most recent test.

HMA Speed Test Data

	MacBook Pro High Sierra Version 10.13.6	Acer Aspire 5 (Windows 10)
Ping without VPN	31 ms	5 ms
Ping with VPN	59 ms	250 ms
Ping difference (avg-32%)	90%	4,900%
MacBook download speed without VPN	26.71 Mbps	24.54 Mbps
Download speed with VPN	14.61 Mbps	9.76 Mbps
Download difference	-45%	60%
Upload speed without VPN	22.64 Mbps	23.99 Mbps
Upload speed with VPN	5.39 Mbps	4.59 Mbps
Upload difference	-76%	80%

>> Learn More: The Fastest VPNs of This Year

Price

If you really like the service, you probably wouldn’t be too upset when your free trial of HMA runs out. Ultimately, HMA’s prices are about the most affordable on our list. You’ll save about $12 a year compared to Surfshark One+, and you’ll basically break even with TunnelBear if you sign up for a longer subscription. You can sign up for a few different terms and pay for five or 10 connections.

HMA Pricing Breakdown

Subscription term	12 months	24 months	36 months
5 connections	$4.99 per month	Unavailable	$2.99 per month
10 connections	$7.99 per month	$6.99 per month	$5.99 per month

Do I Need a VPN to Torrent?

Strictly speaking, no, you don’t need a VPN to torrent files. Not using one, though, isn’t a great idea. Why? There are a few reasons.

First, your ISP can see exactly what you’re doing if you’re not using a VPN. That won’t be a big deal most of the time, but if you frequently torrent files it may throttle your data or even flag it. Remember, it can’t tell that you’re using torrent sites for perfectly legal activities. To your ISP, it’s all shady. That can result in your receiving a DMCA violation notice, and then it’s time to call your lawyer.

When you use a VPN to torrent, the IP address you’re using will be registered to the VPN, not you. If anyone gets suspicious of your activity, they can only go after the VPN provider. If your VPN provider has a solid no-logs policy — or, better, if they use RAM-only servers — all they’ll be able to do is shrug.

>> Read More: What Can Someone Do With Your IP Address?

Ranking VPNs: Our Methodology

While looking for the best free VPNs for torrenting, we started with the options that actually allow it (there are plenty that don’t). We also checked into what the free versions did and didn’t include. We looked at data or speed limits, servers available to the free version, whether the free version had a time limit, and more.

Setting up NordVPN to run on qBittorrent

We crossed a few VPNs off of our list that claim to allow torrenting, but shut down user speeds if they see a large amount of data passing back and forth. Once we identified the VPNs that openly allow and support torrenting, we narrowed things down by looking at the VPNs’ impact on speed and privacy policies. Rest assured that the free VPNs we selected are the best of the best.

Security

The whole point of a VPN is to provide security, and it’s especially important when torrenting. Choosing a free VPN often means making a few trade-offs with data privacy, so we took extra care to check out the premium options and compare VPN features. We started by checking that each VPN solution uses either OpenVPN or AES-256 encryption, the two safest encryption methods out there. But that’s just a baseline.

>> Learn More: All About VPN Encryption

We also tested every VPN for domain name server (DNS) leaks, which expose the sites a user is visiting, and WebRTC leaks, which expose the device’s IP address. We looked for DNS leaks using DNSLeakTest.com, where we could see what DNS address was visible as we browsed and check it against our own. We tested for WebRTC leaks using ExpressVPN’s tool, which allowed us to check that the IP addresses pinged on the web didn’t match our device’s true IP address. Again, that information is best to protect while torrenting.

McAfee VPN - WebRTC Leak Test Windows — McAfee VPN – WebRTC Leak Test Windows

Company policies are important to security, too, so we also took a hard look at each company’s privacy policy, jurisdiction, and history of breaches to identify any shortcomings. We want to see VPN providers keep only the basic account information necessary to process payments and provide the service. Storage of any information, such as IP addresses or websites visited, throws up an immediate red flag.

One of the dangers of stored personal data is that it could be handed over to a government, so it’s essential to understand the laws that apply to each VPN company. We checked whether each company is headquartered in a country that is part of the Five Eyes, Nine Eyes, or 14 Eyes security alliances. If a company is based outside the member countries, it can’t be forced to hand over customer data to the governments that make up those alliances. We also made sure the country where the company is headquartered doesn’t have problematic data policies.

Did You Know: AES-256 is often referred to as “military-grade encryption.” That’s because it’s the only publicly available cipher the U.S. National Security Agency has approved for encrypting top-secret information.1

What’s Included With a Free Option

Free VPNs are often designed to entice users to pay for a premium VPN, which means some features tend to end up behind a paywall. Note that most free VPNs:

Limit data usage, measured daily or monthly
Limit speeds or prioritize the connection speed of paying customers
Limit access to streaming services

The best way to avoid those limitations is to use a VPN free trial, which generally provides access to premium features in order to convince users to subscribe.

Speed

As a rule, VPNs will always slow down internet speeds to a degree. Even minor differences in those lags, however, can mean the difference between successfully torrenting that classic movie you can’t find anywhere and watching a spinning wheel for hours. We test VPN download speeds, upload speeds, and ping (latency) using SpeedTest.net. We also calculated the percent difference in speed with and without using the VPN. We use both a Mac and a PC during every test because software differences can cause significant speed variability while running a VPN. We also checked to see if using the free version of a VPN resulted in throttled speeds. Generally speaking, a slowdown of more than 40 percent is a bad sign.

Performance

Let’s face it: We’re less likely to stick with a VPN if it impacts our computer’s performance too much. That’s why we assess ease of use, the frequency of technical difficulties such as disconnections, and impacts on processes such as torrenting and streaming. VPNs get points in their favor if they effectively use split tunneling, which means we can use both the VPN and a public network at the same time.

Apps

When do you most often access public Wi-Fi? If you’re like us, it’s when you’re out and about using your phone. That means a solid VPN mobile app is absolutely essential. We test both the Android VPN apps and iOS VPN apps for every product, and check out their ratings in the app stores. VPN apps often have fewer features than the desktop versions, so we check whether features such as kill switches and split tunneling are available on different devices.

Best Free VPNs for Torrenting FAQs

We’ve shared our thoughts on the best free VPNs for torrenting, but torrenting is a tricky subject in a bit of a gray area, so we put together some frequently asked questions.

How does a VPN protect you when you’re torrenting?
VPNs encrypt your data, which means no one can see exactly what you’re doing online. The best VPNs, like some on this list, also allow you to obfuscate your data, which means onlookers won’t even know you’re using a VPN. In layman’s terms, VPNs help you use the internet anonymously.
Will a VPN always protect me while torrenting?
Whether a VPN will always protect you depends on a number of factors, and it’s one of the main reasons we do all this research and testing. A VPN won’t protect you if the company logs excess information, such as the sites you visit or files you download, or shares information with governments. The latter is a concern for companies headquartered within the Five Eyes, Nine Eyes, and 14 Eyes surveillance alliance jurisdictions. It’s also important to remember that a VPN connection can be lost. That’s why we strongly favor VPNs that offer kill switches, which shut down all activity if that happens. Otherwise your web traffic and files can be exposed if the connection fails. The encryption method a VPN uses is also important. We favor AES-256 encryption. If a VPN has all those features, it can protect you while you’re torrenting.
Will a VPN make my internet too slow for torrenting?
Your VPN may slow down your internet, but the VPNs listed above will not make your internet too slow for torrenting. Using a VPN can actually save you a lot of frustration, since many ISPs throttle speeds for users who they can see using torrenting protocols. Since a VPN will hide what the user is doing online, that problem is taken off the table.
Should I pay for a VPN for torrenting?
There are several free VPN options available for torrenting, and they’re a great place to start. Those options, however, each come with their own limitations. One of the most significant is speed and bandwidth. We haven’t found any free options that don’t cap data usage after a trial, and some VPNs give premium customers preferential treatment when it comes to speed. For frequent torrenters, those factors can pose real problems over time. That’s why we recommend testing those options and then upgrading to a paid version. Even the best VPNs cost just a few dollars a month with long-term plans. That’s a small price to pay to protect your privacy while maintaining your ability to torrent.
How much are VPN subscriptions?
Even the best VPNs on the market — Surfshark, NordVPN, ExpressVPN, etc. — aren’t all that expensive, especially when you pay up front for a subscription term of a year or more. If you do that, you should expect to pay between $3 and $8 per month, depending on the service you go with and the package you select.