The Best Free VPNs for Torrenting

1. Surfshark - Best Features

SecurityScore:

9.5 /10

View Plans Links to Surfshark

How We Review

Product Specs

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

View Plans Links to Surfshark

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+

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

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

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.

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

3. Windscribe VPN - Best Free VPN for Infrequent Torrenting

SecurityScore:

8.7 /10

See Our Top 10 VPNs Links to Windscribe VPN

How We Review

Product Specs

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

See Our Top 10 VPNs Links to Windscribe VPN

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.

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.

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

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

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

>> 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