The best free torrent client 2019

[Archiee]

Gone are the days when torrent clients were associated solely with piracy, and if you want to take advantage of the fast download speeds that torrenting offers, you're going to need the right software.

Torrenting is ideal for those occasions when you need to download a very large file. It might be a video file, or it could be a large piece of software, but if you download in the traditional way – direct from a host server – you're likely to find that it is a slow experience, particularly if other people are trying to grab the same file.

With torrents, however, you can download pieces of the files you want from different people who already have them. A free torrent client will do all the hard work for you, downloading and piecing together the files, you just need to pick the one that does everything you need it to.

That's why I've put together this roundup so you can select the best free torrent client for your needs while avoiding the once that are simply no good. Whether you need something simple that just gets the job done, or something more advanced that can be extended through the use of add-ons, there's something or you here.

 

Are torrents legal?

Torrents have a bad reputation due to piracy, but they aren't illegal in themselves and have lots of legitimate uses, including downloading open source software and material that's in the public domain.

It all depends on the content you're downloading. Provided the copyright holder has given permission for the file to be shared this way it's fine, but using torrents to download content you'd otherwise have to pay for is illegal.

• qBittorrent

 

A balance of features, speed and simplicity: the best free torrent client.

No adsHandy extra toolsFewer extensions than some
Some torrent clients offer every conceivable function. Others keep things as simple as possible.

qBittorrent sits right in the middle, aiming to "meet the needs of most users while using as little CPU and memory as possible".

It boasts an integrated torrent search engine, media player, encryption, prioritisation of torrents and the files within those torrents, IP filtering and torrent creation, and it's the closest open source, junk-free equivalent to uTorrent.

If you're looking for a cross-platform torrent client that covers the essentials without getting overly complicated, qBittorrent is great.

 

• Vuze

A feature-packed torrent client if you don't mind the ads.Clear, well designed interfaceExpandable via pluginsContains ads.

Vuze (formerly Azureus) claims to be the most powerful BitTorrent client on Earth. We're not sure how it ranks on other planets, but it's certainly a serious contender for that title.

There are two flavours: the stripped-back Vuze Leap, and the fully fledged Vuze Plus. Both offer torrent download, media playback and support for magnet file links, but Vuze Plus adds integrated virus protection and the ability to preview media files.

One of Vuze's key selling points is its interface, which slices through jargon and makes even the more advanced features accessible to new users.

Vuze also offers bandwidth limiting, IP filtering, and all the other features you'd expect from a robust torrent client. Definitely one of the first options to consider.

 

• Deluge

A customizable client that can be as lean or powerful as you want, Cross-platform support expandable via pluginsInterface is a little sparse.

Deluge has been around forever, and it can be as simple or as powerful as you want it to be. That's because it's extendable via plug-ins, which effectively enable you to build your own personalised version of Deluge.

Fancy something that resembles uTorrent without the unwanted software? No problem. Want to add alphabetical downloading, move downloaded files to specific directories according to the file type, adjust speed according to network conditions, create pretty graphs, schedule everything, integrate with Chrome or Firefox, or batch-rename downloads? That's not a problem either.

 

• uTorrent

uTorrent, also known as µTorrent, has been around since 2005 and it's the most widely used free torrent client outside China. It's attracted some criticism over the years, however: it's ad-supported and many users argue that the most recent versions are a little too heavy on the advertising and bundled software front. Make sure you read each step of the installer carefully and uncheck any software you don't want to install.

That aside, uTorrent is useful, effective and doesn't gobble up too much of your system's resources: the entire app is smaller than a digital photo. Although it isn't the official BitTorrent app, it's been maintained by BitTorrent for the last decade.

It's worth noting that uTorrent has a record of security problems, the most recent of which had the potential to let hackers control key functions of the client and spy on users' downloads. BitTorrent has since released a patch for the vulnerability.

 

• BitTorrent

BitTorrent's own client, with web-based seeding and comments.

Download schedulingVery smallContains ads
You might be wondering why BitTorrent has its own torrent client when it also maintains uTorrent – especially when the BitTorrent app is a rebranded version of uTorrent. 

However, while the apps are functionally identical there are a few key differences: BitTorrent offers web-based seeding, commenting and reviewing, and you may find that the BitTorrent client is welcomed by private trackers that don't like uTorrent.

Edited May 27, 2019 by Archiee

[TheDarkKnight]

hi nice thread very informative
I used most of these clients I personally recommend qbittorrent 4.1.5 utorrent 2.2.1 these two are the most reliable clients for me. have decent dl/ul speed & peer exchange

[blaatschaap]

I swear by qbittorrent, for me it's portability is very important as I use many operating systems on different machines

[carlostiberiojr]

I use Transmission here but I already used Deluge and can say he is insane!

[Green Life]

i use qbittorrent 4.1.7 on my macbook pro

works great in some times when i open the client it stuck for while than work smoothly  

[Harold]

should I change to qbittorrent if I am already using utorrent? Like which one has better stability and a more user-friendly ui? thanks guys

[MidPredator]

I using qbitorrent as well.

[Parrabellum]

qbittorreent is best!!

[iiishahabiii]

i usualy use qbittorrent its good

 

[torrential]

QBittorrent is really good. It's a one-stop client for all your torrenting needs. 

[frenchie]

I use utorrent Web, quite good

Edited April 9, 2020 by frenchie

[cRuci4L]

I stick with old school utorrent 2.2.1 before all the ads and the bloated filesize.

[XPRT]

qBittorent rocks. RIP utorrent cz its all bloated with ads.

[invitelove20]

I use Deluge, and i think it is much better than others. I did not like to use QBittorrent 

[DarksideIH]

I currently use the Flud application for Android.

Thanks for info...

[mirchi_seth]

I've been using qbittorrent from quite some time and I guess its really great for me. The default settings works really well and there's no need to tweak them for most users i believe. 

[deepdigger]

There are paid torrent clients?

 

BTW Qbittorent is the best imo. Sorting the torrents by tracker, tags, category etc is just amazing.

[kalamaraki]

On 8/20/2020 at 5:37 PM, deepdigger said:

There are paid torrent clients?

Yes uTorrent has a paid version! The Pro and the worst thing about it is that has ...yearly subscriptions !

[deepdigger]

1 hour ago, kalamaraki said:

Yes uTorrent has a paid version! The Pro and the worst thing about it is that has ...yearly subscriptions !

Forgot about that one, free version with ads and pro without ads, that's the only difference right? But is anyone still using uTorrent after they did that jerk move? Don't think I've seen utorrent in the peer list of the torrents i have downloaded lately.

[kalamaraki]

10 hours ago, deepdigger said:

Forgot about that one, free version with ads and pro without ads, that's the only difference right? But is anyone still using uTorrent after they did that jerk move? Don't think I've seen utorrent in the peer list of the torrents i have downloaded lately.

Yes. Ads and no ads... I think the user base for the paid version is very-very small or ...zero. They had a cryptocurrency miner at some time as well in the free version. I was a utorrent user but not anymore. Don't like even the free version

[Avramoski]

qBittorrent fan here as well   It's great and it's supported almost everywhere 

[fontsctar]

I will vote for qBittorrent  as it's have some API, and you can do more with it.

[dirty]

In the past I've used uTorrent on PC until the devs started doing shady things. Then I switched to qBittorrent. On my NAS I'm using Transmission because it's more lightweight and much faster than qBittorrent. Transmission also has an API and I can control it from my PC with Transmission Remote GUI.

[mnsmalltown]

I really like qbittorrent since it does exactly what I need.

[Austin921]

qbitorrent is great indeed once you find a stable version and stick to it.