Updated for 2020. An online torrent client lets you download torrents online, in your browser, without sharing them and without downloading a torrent program. All you need is a browser like Chrome or Firefox, and a torrent file, which you can get on any torrent website. Another benefit to most online torrent programs is that once you’ve told the website to load your torrent, you can log out. The small and lightweight torrent client available for Windows, Mac, Linux and Android smartphones, uTorrent tops the list of file sharing program. The free version of uTorrent may come with ads, but has most of the features that one may need while torrenting. The pro version of uTorrent comes with streaming and premium customer support. Seeders are users with a complete torrent and downloaders are users with a part of the torrent. Swarm is a collection of users interested in sharing a specific torrent. Tracker is a server that enables creating connections between peers. Choking is the process of refusing to send files to a particular client.

• Bittorrent Sites 2019
• Top 10 Torrent Sites 2019
• Active Torrent Sites 2019

The world might be gravitating to online streaming, but peer-to-peer file sharing through torrents remains ever-popular. It's important to stay safe while torrenting by using a virtual private network (VPN), even when sharing something entirely legal, but which clients are the best for the job?

ProPrivacy has compared several BitTorrent clients out there to find the cream of the crop, so you don't have to! Keep reading to discover which one is best for you.

What are the best BitTorrent clients?

There are many BitTorrent clients out there to choose from and not all of them were built equal. Take a look at what ProPrivacy considers the best of the best to torrent with:

qBitTorrent

qBitTorrent is the best torrenting client out there, being both open source and full of features

PROS

• Open source
• Lightweight
• Efficient
• Can bind to VPN
• Fully featured

CONS

• Can't think of any

As a long-term Vuze fan, it took quite something for this lightweight open source BitTorrent client to replace Vuze on my desktop. One reason I stuck with Vuze for so long is the ability to bind the torrent client to my VPN interface.

Although not strictly necessary if your VPN software features a kill switch, I have always appreciated this extra layer of security. It prevents the client downloading torrents when the VPN is not active.

qBitTorrent not only supports this feature, it makes it much easier to implement. This was a big factor in me making the change, as was qBitTorrent’s lean-and-mean 100 MB or less install size (exact size depending on platform). There is no bloat with qBitTorrent!

Despite this, qBitTorrent features just about everything most torrenters will need. This includes BitTorrent protocol encryption, torrent prioritization, torrent querying, selective content download, torrent creation, remote access, and RSS subscription. You can search for torrents from within the client, and the built-in media player is handy.

qBitTorrent is 100% free and ad-free. It is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux. For a more detailed look at this excellent software, including instructions on how to bind qBittorrent to your VPN interface, please check out 5 Best VPNs for qBittorrent.

Transmission

Transmission has overcome older problems to build a reputation for itself as a great torrent client

PROS

• Open source
• Lightweight
• Tons of features
• Pretty
• Available natively on many obscure OSs

CONS

• Not much (vulnerability should be fixed by the time most of you read this)

Transmission started life as a Mac and Linux-only BitTorrent client, where it built up a formidable reputation. Windows users can now also get in on the act. Although a very capable BitTorrent client, the main draw of Transmission is its beautiful user interface, complete with Growl notifications for Mac users.

But it’s not all about looking pretty. Transmission features webseed support, BitTorrent protocol encryption, watch directories, tracker editing, global and per-torrent speed limits, and more. It also supports optional add-ons that can expand its feature-set. These include RSS subscription tools and a Kodi plugin.

Transmission has recently hit the headlines thanks to a vulnerability that can be exploited by hackers. I discuss this a little later in the article, but a patch is available, and the issue is very easy to fix yourself, anyway. I have therefore decided to not let this problem affect Transmission’s ranking in this 5 Best guide.

Transmission is 100% free and open source. It is available for Windows, Mac OSX/macOS, Linux (many distros), FreeBSD, Gentoo, and more.

The Transmission Vulnerability

A security researcher discovered a flaw in Transmission that could allow hackers to execute malicious code on targets’ computers. In theory, this could allow them to completely take over the infected system.

The flaw took advantage of lax security in Transmission’s remote web access feature. Note that this is a proof of concept attack, and there has been no evidence of it being exploited in the wild. The current version of Transmission has already implemented a fix.

Alternatively, if you wanted to be sure, the flaw is easy enough to fix for yourself. If you don’t use the remote web access feature, simply turn it off! Go to Preferences -> Remote and uncheck 'Enable remote access.” If you do use the remote web access feature, then change the default password to something secure. Easy!

Note that the security researcher who discovered the flaw has hinted that other BitTorrents clients may also be vulnerable. It is probably a good idea to check similar settings in whatever client you are using.

Vuze

Vuze might not be as lightweight as others in this list, but its feature-packed approach will appeal to some

PROS

• Ridiculously fully featured
• Can bind downloads to VPN
• Lots of plugins available to increase functionality
• Built-in video player
• Great Android apps

CONS

• Somewhat bulky and resource-heavy
• Ads
• Tries to install crapware
• Only partially open source
• Interface could be prettier and more intuitive

Vuze is a granddaddy of BitTorrent clients. It is no longer open source, and it creaks somewhat under the weight of its myriad features. It is, in other words, the polar opposite of lightweight clients such as qBitTorrent.

But who said a shed load of features is necessarily a bad thing? Most torrenters will never use all the tools available, but there is really almost nothing Torrent-related that Vuze can’t do. This includes being able to bind Vuze to your VPN adapter, but also loads more funky stuff such as content discovery through automated subscriptions, having an integrated media player, remote management, and much more.

You can convert files to multiple formats using Vuze’s drag-and-drop interface and analyse your downloads using a wealth of statistics and visualizations. Vuze is a power user’s dream.

On the downside, Vuze is resource-heavy and rather ugly (especially when compared to Transmission!) Its clunky interface is also showing its age. This situation is not helped by the inclusion of ads in the free version, or by the fact that you need to be careful during installation if you do not want to also install a load of crapware.

Although Vuze is primarily free, a premium version is also available for $29.90 USD per year. A Vuze Plus subscription removes the ads and provides built-in anti-virus scanning, a DVD burner, and 'play now' support. It is, admittedly, pretty funky!

This also brings me to the point that, despite its open source roots, Vuze is now closed source proprietary software. It is worth noting that reports of Vuze’s demise appear to be very premature. Vuze 5.7.6.0 was released in October 2017 and is fully functional.

Unlike the desktop client, the excellent Android app is lightweight and ad-free. A pro version is now available via in-app purchase (about $4), but I have been unable to determine what features this adds (and am too skinflint to shell out the money necessary to find out!).

Vuze Remote is a handy app for Android that allows you remote control your desktop torrent downloads.

Vuze is available for Windows, Mac OSX/macOS, Linux, and Android.

Popcorn Time

Popcorn Time has taken a leaf from Netflix's streaming book to present a video-only torrenting service

PROS

• Instant streaming of high quality BitTorrent content!
• Open source
• Very smart interface
• Chromecast, Airplay and DLNA support
• Available on just about every platform

CONS

• Only for video content

All the other programs on this list are BitTorrent clients. You download a .torrent file or click on a magnet link, and the content downloads to your computer where it is stored locally.

Popcorn Time is different; It is an open source app that uses BitTorrent technology to stream high quality video content to all major platforms. This means that unlike with traditional BitTorrent clients, you can watch a film or show without waiting for the download to complete. You might be thinking 'is Popcorn time safe?' While it can be dangerous for your computer, using a VPN can keep your machine secure.

It is notable for having a very slick and intuitive interface, and for providing access to a huge library of up-to-date content.

Although primarily a streaming platform, content can also be downloaded locally (and some content is always cached). Various versions (forks) of Popcorn Time are available, but I strongly advise only using one of the forks recommended in Best VPN for Popcorn Time guide.

Specific features vary a little depending on which fork you use, but steaming to your big-screen TV via Chromecast, Airplay and DLNA is pretty standard.

Popcorn Time is free, and respectable versions are free from ads and other crapware. It available for Windows, Mac OSX/macOS, Linux, and Android. PopcornTime.to even has an iOS VPN App that can be installed without jailbreaking your device.

Deluge

Deluge has no ads, compared to some of the more popular torrent clients out there

PROS

• Open source
• Lightweight
• Lots of features
• Expandable via plugins (incl. RSS)

CONS

• Less fully featured than some other clients

Like qBitTorrent, Deluge is a fairly conventional but lightweight and open source BitTorrent client. Its feature list is not huge, but should be more than enough to satisfy most users. Features include remote web management and support for magnet links.

Functionality can be further extended with a range of both in-house and third-party plugins. Highlights include plugins for RSS support, Growl notifications, streaming while downloading, and more.

Deluge is completely FOSS, with no ads or crapware. It is available for Windows, OSX, Linux (various distros), and FreeBSD.

Check out our 5 best Deluge VPNs page for a list of the best services to use with this BitTorrent client.

Why not uTorrent or BitTorrent?

uTorrent and its almost-identical sibling, the official BitTorrent client, remain the most popular BitTorrent clients in the world. It is, therefore, reasonable to ask why I have not included it in this best 5 BitTorrent list. Please note the different between BitTorrent as a protocol and the BitTorrent client to avoid confusion.

Both uTorrent and BitTorrent are closed source and supported by ads. These ads can be turned off if you delve deep enough into the software’s settings, but this is still very irritating. It is my personal view that this means uTorrent has all the disadvantages of Vuze, but not as many useful features.

So if you want a slightly clunky closed-source ad-supported BitTorrent client, but one that compensates for this by offering a wealth of features, then use Vuze. Other opinions are available.

What is BitTorrent?

BitTorrent is a popular peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing protocol. Instead of being stored on a centralized server from which you download, torrented files are shared among many other BitTorrent users. Popular files can easily be shared among hundreds of users in this way.

When you 'download” (which is something of a misnomer when it comes to torrenting) a file using the BitTorrent protocol, what you are actually doing is sharing small pieces of it with everyone else who is downloading that same file.

A file is 'downloaded” once you have all the pieces needed to reassemble that file. It is considered good form to 'seed” (continue sharing) the file for a while after it has been downloaded, in order to help others reach 100% completion.

Why use a Client?

Although still very popular, BitTorrent use has declined somewhat in recent years. This is in part thanks to the wealth of legal streaming options available from providers such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, hulu, and many more. The popularity of illegal options, such as Kodi and streaming websites, is also a factor. For top tips and the best VPN for Streaming, take a look at the guides below:

The more traditional method of downloading using a BitTorrent client, however, continues to offer some major advantages:

• BitTorrent content is downloaded locally, so it is available forever and can be easily physically transferred between devices.
• Literally, any kind of digital content can be download – not just video content. This includes software, images, eBook, games, and… you name it!
• But when it does come to video content, the quality is often considerably higher than streamed content. This is because there is no need to keep file sizes down to avoid buffering issues, since content is played locally.
• BitTorrent is a very efficient and resource-light way to share and promote your own content with others.

Many Linux distros find torrent links are the best way to distribute their software without having to host it on costly servers.

Use a VPN when torrenting

BitTorrent content is shared among multiple home computers. This is not good for privacy because sharing files with a bunch of other random 'downloaders” on the internet is hardly private.

Using the right software (which includes many popular BitTorrent clients), it is very easy to see the unique Internet Protocol (IP) addresses of every other person also sharing ('downloading”) the same file.

As demonstrated in Vuze above, I can see the IP addresses of every other person who is downloading the same files as me.

Is torrenting legal?

Yes, torrenting is entirely legal, while the content you share might not be. Torrenting is just a protocol that allows you to share things peer-to-peer. Since laws differ around the world, it's difficult to say what is legal and what isn't, although sharing copyrighted material without the express permission of the owner almost always errs on the side of illegal.

It's pretty easy to catch those that torrent illegally shared content, because the nature of torrenting means your IP address is on show to anyone else sharing the file. All the copyright holder, or a third party representing them, would need to do is notify your internet service provider (ISP) to take legal action against you.

This is why it is important to use a VPN to protect yourself online.

Why should I use a VPN when torrenting?

A VPN will protect you while downloading because:

• A VPN will hide your IP address from other downloaders. As mentioned in the previous section, torrenting puts your IP address on display for others that are sharing the file. Connecting to a VPN server masks your IP address to protect your privacy.
• A VPN encrypts all internet traffic between your computer and the VPN server. This means that your ISP cannot see what you've been getting up to online. Of course, deep packet inspection will reveal that you have been downloading, but they will be none the wiser as to what.

VPNs with robust logging policies will have nothing to hand over to the authorities, no matter what pressure they may come under. A VPN will also unblock websites if they are censored for any reason.

So as long as P2P is permitted, a VPN is very effective at protecting your privacy while downloading.

For a more in-depth look at how VPNs work, please check out VPNs for Beginners – What You Need to Know. For a more in-depth guide to using a VPN while torrenting, check out Best VPN for Torrenting guide.

BitTorrent protocol encryption

Bittorrent Sites 2019

Some BitTorrent clients support BitTorrent protocol encryption. These include Transmission, qBitTorrent, and Vuze. It is a feature designed to hide the fact that you are torrenting from your Internet Service Provider (ISP).

VPNs also do this, as well as hiding your real IP address from other torrent users and anyone else watching on the internet. Furthermore:

Analysis of the BitTorrent protocol encryption has shown that statistical measurements of packet sizes and packet directions of the first 100 packets in a TCP session can be used to identify the obfuscated protocol with over 96% accuracy.

This means that even the most basic Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) techniques can determine that you are using BitTorrent. Now, it is true that DPI can also easily detect VPN use (unless obfuscated), but while there are many legitimate reasons to use a VPN, there is only one reason to use BitTorrent protocol encryption…

Using BitTorrent protocol encryption is therefore probably better than using nothing at all, but using a VPN provides much better protection while downloading.

How do I use a BitTorrent client?

One reason for the popularity of online streaming services (including via the use of Kodi boxes) is the perception that torrenting is a geeky pastime that requires technical know-how. In reality, however, torrenting is very easy:

1. Download and install a BitTorrent client from the list above.
2. (Optional but strongly recommended) Ensure you have a VPN running. This will bypass censorship of torrent sites, hide your IP from others you fileshare with, and hide your downloads from your ISP. Check out our VPN for Torrents guide for a list of recommended services.
3. Visit a BitTorrent website. These websites host links to torrent files. You can browse for content that interests you, or search for something specific. Many websites include user-reviews of torrents, which can help you pick good torrents.
4. When you have found the content you want, simply click on the torrent link or magnet link. The torrent will open in your BitTorrent client and begin downloading.
5. When the download is 100% completed, enjoy! Some BitTorrent clients have media-players built-in, but VLC will play pretty much any media file you can throw at it.

Seeding

BitTorrent is a decentralized file-sharing platform. In order for it to work, users share files with other users. This happens while you download a file, but it is considered good form to leave your BitTorrent client open after you have finished downloading a file in order to benefit other users.

This is called seeding, and it is considered good netiquette to seed to a ratio of at least 1:1 (i.e. upload the same amount of data you downloaded). Most BitTorrent clients will display the seed ratio of downloaded files.

Other Stuff

You don’t need to know much more about torrenting than the information provided above. If you ever wish to explore the subject further, however, this glossary is a good introduction to the jargon used.

Movie torrents, in particular, have a great deal of jargon associated with them. To make informed decisions about the content you plan to download, it is useful to familiarize yourself with it.

One thing to watch out for on public torrent sites is sponsored links. These are often prominently displayed and are deliberately designed to confuse. They typically point to either commercial direct download sites or Usenet services. Look for a link that specifically says 'Torrent” or 'Magnet Link.”

Find the best torrent sites

Findinf the best torrent sites can be quite difficult these days due to the blocks ISPs imposes on these websites. However, check out our best torrent sites article for a list of our favorite in 2021.

Conclusion

If anything, the torrenting crowd is over-served by great BitTorrent clients! Indeed, this top five list hardly even scrapes the surface of the many that are available. The fact that most of them are free and open source software (FOSS) warms the cockles of my heart!

With such a wealth of options available, I’m sure many of you will have a favorite that is not listed here. If so, do please write in to tell me and other readers why you think it is so great!

• Fastest VPN we test
• Servers in 94 countries
• Unblocks Netflix, iPlayer and more

Top 10 Torrent Sites 2019

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Strong presence, no-logs policy

Considering the size and cost, eBook is a perfect way that you can read your favorite books without actually carrying them physically. They are stored on your smartphones or Laptop from which you can read your books on the go. Well, there are numerous torrent sites for ebooks that allow you to get hold of a virtual library from where you can read online or download them to read at your own convenience. And in this article, we are going to introduce you to the best 20 ebook torrent sites.

Important Notice: If any below torrent sites ask for a credit card for access, please stop visiting the website instead.

1. TorrentDownloads

When it comes to eBook torrent downloading, TorrentDownloads is always on the forefront. There are around 16 million torrents are arranged in categories like, Movies, Books, TV Show and more. It also has Bollywood/Hollywood/regional language movies to be downloaded within it.

2. Planet eBook

Planet eBook, the home of free classic literature! The latest version of the site, with its mobile-friendly design and multi-format eBooks, attempts to publish a small selection of high-quality eBooks and make their collection of eBooks available on all devices for free. And it currently has about 50,000 titles in its library.

3. ManyBooks

ManyBooks, with the vision to provide an extensive library of ebooks for free on the Internet, is one of the best user interfaces and design among the e-book torrent sites. You can easily navigate through the site using categories like Genres, Titles, Authors, Language, Popular, Featured Authors, and Recommended. As of today, the site hosts over 50,000 free e-book titles. If you’re a writer yourself, you can even use their platform to promote your book.

4. EBOOKEE

EBOOKEE is striving hard to become one of the best torrenting E-book sites in near future. The site covers books from tech, tutorials, non-fiction, novels, computer programming and much more. One feature that really stand out is the sub-category system classified into groups such as “Recently Viewed eBooks”, “Top 10 eBooks”, “Top 10 Users”, and “Latest Added Books”. These sub-categories make it a lot easier to pick a book.

Active Torrent Sites 2019

5. Zooqle

With a beautiful interface and easy to navigate, Zooqle is a good start for eBook readers to download eBook torrent for free. This siteworks as a web crawler to find best torrents. Founded in 2008, it's a great site to download videos, books, Hollywood high definition movies and software. The site got everything in its homepage and you can check out the stuff by menus and links.

6. Smashwords

Smashwords is the world's largest distributor of indie ebooks. They make it fast, free and easy for any author or publisher, anywhere in the world, to publish and distribute ebooks to the major retailers and thousands of libraries.

7. Book-Share

Book-Share is the best torrent site if you’re seeking nothing else other than e-books. You’ll find almost every genre on this site. Moreover, it has an impressive list of categories for easy browsing; a feature that lacks on other torrent sites. You can even search for books as per their author, title, or subject. As of now, there are more than 4,00,000 books, and that is huge! Since this site is dedicated to e-books, its a brilliant option for avid readers.

8. Free-Ebooks.net

As the domain name suggests, Free-Ebooks.net offers a colossal library of books for free with several categories including fiction, non-fiction, Academic, Classics, Textbooks, and Audiobooks. The best part about this site is that it encourages budding e-book writers by giving them a platform to publish their work. What’s more? Free-ebooks also offers an option to choose the format in which you wish to download a book; for example: Kindle, Txt File, PDF, and EPUB.

9. Tech Books for Free

When you want to download books based on tech related categories, Tech Books for Free should be your go-to-choice. It is a website that offers a wide range of downloadable books on Technology, Computers, and Science for free. Hence, you are able to accomplish your technology reading cravings straightaway.

10. Wikibooks.org

The prefix “wiki” has perhaps already gotten your interest peaked. While Wikibooks.org doesn’t really have anything to do with Wikipedia, it does have a large database of books. What’s unique about this site is that you can get e-books in several languages including Dutch, English, Italian, French, Spanish and Portuguese. You first have to pick a language and then type in the title you’re trying to find.

11. FreeBookSpot

FreeBookSpot is considered as one of the most popular websites to download eBooks and audiobooks for free, which allows you to find out your desired book through different options like genre, language and most popularity. Moreover, you have a luxury of exploring books from more than 90 categories. It is better known for its collection of educational as well as non–fiction books.

12. MyPDFbooks

MyPDFbooks is an active platform for downloading the free eBooks in PDF and ePub formats. The main objective of their website is to provide high-quality fast-speed downloading service with a user-friendly environment without registration and other hectic procedures.

13. The Pirate Bay

The Pirate Bay is world’s number 1 torrent site available and is also the most used torrent search engine in the world. It servers support SSL encryption. In other words, it’s a safe site for transferring files and download torrent files and magnets without having to worry about viruses. It is not limited to just e-books but also has got other category torrents like games, movies, TV shows, music and many more.

14. 01Torrent

01Torrent is a free torrent site where users can download the latest movies, music, television shows, applications, games, books, animes, software, and many more. The interface is so clear that you can download anything directly. And this website no longer needs any registration.

15. Kickass Torrents

Kickass Torrents is similar to The Pirate Bay which has a huge collection of torrents. It’s one of the old and most powerful torrent search engine of the world. More than 200k e-books that are available for free download. If you are not able to find the e-book that you are searching for, you can put up a request for that particular book on the community forum of the website.

16. ExtraTorrent

When we talk about the most famous torrent websites, ExtraTorrent is known to play the most effective role in comparison to the other torrent websites. It has a huge collection of torrents like movie, e-books, music, games, and whatnot. One of the great feature of this torrent website is now you can also subscribe to RSS of any ebook category for free.

17. 1337X

1337X is great for all those who are interested in a bit of everything like games, movies, books, TV series, etc. The well-developed UI makes it easier for users to search and download book torrents. Do you know who ran this torrent site? The Fans! Yes, after some years the creators are running out from this torrent site. Now it was fully maintained and updated by the fans and users itself. It gets updated like every other torrent site.

18. Torlock

Torlock is another reliable torrent books website that has a clean and simple UI. Similar to 1337X, Torlock also has a dedicated section for ebooks. Furthermore, Torlock is one among very few websites that only list verified torrents. Searching and downloading your favorite ebook is fairly straightforward.

19. Torrentz

Torrentz is a free, fast and powerful meta-search engine combining results from dozens of search engines. Indexing 31,102,502 active torrents from 125,464,743 pages on 26 domains. Torrentz's user interface is simple, which only has a user menu and a search panel. To perform a search, users would simply type in a string of keywords within the search field. Selecting a torrent from the search results list would take the user to other torrent sites to download content.

20. Torrents.me

Torrents.me is a meta-search engine that links to torrent files and magnet links from other torrent sites. It's one of the torrent sites that enjoyed a meteoric rise in traffic this year.

If you are looking for a free tool to convert DRM free ebooks, you can try Epubor Ultimate software. All you need to do is drag and drop the books to the software, choose your desired output format, then click the Convert button to start the conversion. If you also have DRM-protected Kindle/Nook/Kobo/Google Play Books, etc, the all purpose Epubor Ultimate can help you remove DRM effortlessly. For more detailed instructions, you can read the step-by-step guide to liberate your purchased ebooks.

Conclusion

After reviewing the above top 20 ebook torrent sites, even if you are a book enthusiast, you can opt any torrent site of your choice to satisfy your book reading desires. If you know any good torrent site for books, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Hillary Lopez works for Epubor and writes articles about eBooks and eReaders. She explores the best method to help you read eBooks more freely and wants to share all she has got with you.