Best Free VPNs for Torrenting Anonymously in 2024
Torrenting remains one of the most popular ways of accessing content online. That is because it is a completely free way to access a nearly unlimited amount of TV shows and movies. In contrast, streaming services only offer a limited amount of TV shows and movies. Even though the charges from streaming platforms usually are in the lower end, they normally amount to at least a hundred dollars annually.
However, regardless of torrenting’s many benefits, it is generally considered to be against the law. Many countries let individuals that only utilize a few downloads a week go scot-free, whereas it is strictly forbidden in other countries. Regardless, it is best to stay on the safe side, as the legal repercussions could amount to hefty fees in penalties.
A great option to stay on the safe side of things is to utilize a VPN service. This option allows you to hide your original IP address, meaning it is impossible to track down who really downloaded the torrent. Amongst the VPN services, we find various options; free VPNs for torrenting certainly are some of the more appealing options.
Best Risk-Free VPNs for Torrenting
Risk-free VPNs require you to get on a subscription before using their services. However, they run a reliable money-back guarantee policy. Thus, you can use their services and request a refund within the stipulated timeline — 30 days for the providers below. The process is seamless, stress-free, with no questions asked. Examined critically, a user who follows this route is potentially using the services for free. What is more? You’d access all the benefits of a paid offer the whole time.
Here are our top recommendations:
ExpressVPN
Features
- Number of servers: More than 3,000
- Speeds: Unlimited
- Server locations: 160 in 105 countries
- Maximum devices supported: 5
- 24 live chat: Yes
- 30-day money-back guarantee: Yes
Pros/Cons
- Fastest VPN out there
- Strict no logs policy
- 256-bit AES encryption
- Few discounts
ExpressVPN is one of the most renowned VPN services out there. While it offers only paid subscription options, you can actually get it for free in theory. Their money-back guarantee provides you with a free solution, meaning you can enjoy their impeccable anonymity, great server selection, and high-speed connections free of charge.
The VPN service is located in the British Virgin Islands, which means they are not under the U.S. or the EU jurisdictions. That is vital if you are looking for a free VPN for torrenting, as ExpressVPN will not store your info in any way. Since they do not store it, authorities and third parties cannot request insight into the data if you are suspected of torrenting.
The over 3,000 servers located in 94 countries provide high speeds and stability, meaning your downloads will get done faster than with most VPNs. When the newest movie finally is released for torrenting, there is little doubt that you want to be first on the ball – and with ExpressVPN, your high-speed connections can allow for just that.
As mentioned above, the service comes with a money-back guarantee. This guarantee spans 30 days. If you want to utilize the service’s free aspect, you can simply benefit from the paid version perks for 30 days and then opt-out. There are no exceptions; you will be credited your money immediately, making the service free in theory.
- Pros: Fastest VPN out there; Strict no logs policy; 256-bit AES encryption;
- Lowest price: $6.67
NordVPN
Features
- Cryptocurrency accepted? Yes
- Simultaneous connections: 6
- Dedicated IP-addresses? Yes
- Servers: 5342 in 58 countries
Pros/Cons
- Lots of pricing options
- Netflix support kept up to date
- 256-bit AES encryption
- Slow app
NordVPN is another VPN service that consistently comes out tops in nearly any area of use. Similar to ExpressVPN, this service also provides users with a money-back guarantee. That makes NordVPN one of the best free VPNs for torrenting, as its focus on anonymity and server speeds cannot be compared to many services out there.
The service operates out of Panama, which provides the user full and guaranteed anonymity. That is because Panama can bypass the jurisdictional laws that many free VPN services are subject to. VPN services in the U.S. and EU zones, for instance, are required to store data for preceding authority insight in case of crimes. With NordVPN, you simply cannot be tracked for torrenting.
NordVPN offers a vast selection of over 5,500 servers spread across over 60 different countries. The many quality servers on offer here provide you with guaranteed high-speed connections.
The money-back-guarantee is viable for up to 30 days. In other words, you can utilize NordVPN for 30 days, then cancel your subscription and request the money back. Not many choose to do this, as the service is pretty cheap and useful. However, if you do request the money back, NordVPN is, in theory, a free VPN service for the period mentioned above.
- Pros: Lots of pricing options; Netflix support kept up to date; 256-bit AES encryption;
- Lowest price: $3.71
Best Completely Free VPNs for Torrenting
Here are the best totally free VPNs we recommend:
ProtonVPN
Features
- P2P support? Yes
- 30-day money-back guarantee? Yes
- Country of origin? Switzerland
- Servers: 600+ in over 40 countries
- Simultaneous devices: 5
Pros/Cons
- Professional support
- Modern interface and apps
- AES-256 encryption
- Lesser known provider
ProtonVPN is a free provider that places a lot of premium on security. Nonetheless, it also fares well across every other front. Thus, you can use it to stream, download, and yes, torrent files with no hassle.
This provider is positioned to serve the security needs of its users. First of all, it uses the modern AES 256-bit encryption model. It runs each user’s network through its Secure Core network, routed through privacy-friendly countries such as Switzerland. This tightens the security of every user on the platform. It also uses Perfect Forward Secrecy. This feature prevents the compromise of current sessions if a breach occurs in the future.
With its headquarters in Switzerland, the provider is positioned excellently when it comes to privacy. It also supports a strict no-logs policy which ensures that users’ data is not shared under any circumstances.
Specifically, ProtonVPN offers P2P support and allows for torrenting. Users experience above-average internet speed while using the platform. It has no bandwidth cap or speed limits and allows you to connect up to 10 devices on its paid version.
For the free offer, ProtonVPN is not sneaky with its deal. You’d. Experience no pesky ads, and you can rest assured that your data has not been siphoned and sold to third parties. You can only access 3 servers in 2 countries, out of the 1000+ servers that it has in 55+ countries. More so, you can only connect one device at a time. However, you can torrent files and also be adequately protected the whole time. In all, that is a great bargain.
- Pros: Professional support; Modern interface and apps; AES-256 encryption;
- Lowest price: €4
Hide.me
Features
- Number of servers: 2000+
- Server locations: 75 locations
- Maximum devices supported: 10
- 24 live chat: Yes
- 30 day money back guarantee: Yes
Pros/Cons
- Has free option
- No log policy
- Secure connection
- Not very cheap
Hide.me is a first free provider we recommend for torrenting. It ensures that you stay anonymous and safe while you torrent files. In addition, it gets around geo-restrictions, making it easy for you to access blocked content with ease.
This provider has both a premium and free service. The premium service allows you to connect to 2000+ servers in 75 locations and counting. You get unlimited bandwidth and data. This is essential for torrenting. In addition, this provider has wonderful security features that keep you safe from all manner of attacks.
The free service has limited features but still works. You will access servers in just five locations: the United States, the Netherlands, Canada, and Germany. P2P file sharing and torrenting are supported on all of the locations. In addition, you will not have to go through an elaborate registration process to sign up. More so, you will not have to deal with ads and malware when you use this service.
Unfortunately, you also get about 10GB of data per month on this service. This may not be sufficient, especially if you are heavily into torrenting. Additionally, you can only use the free service on one device at a time. Thus, once you sign in to your Hide.me account on one device, you will be unable to do so on another device.
All things considered, Hide.me is a good option for torrenting.
- Pros: Has free option; No log policy; Secure connection;
- Lowest price: €4.99
Hotspot Shield
Features
- Unlimited data? Yes
- Simultaneous connections: 5
- Military grade encryption? Yes
- Servers: Over 3200 in 80+ countries
Pros/Cons
- Unlimited HD streaming
- Blocks malware
- 256-bit AES encryption
- Unreliable support
Hotspot Shield is another mid-tier provider you can trust for secure torrenting. The provider is not up there with the best, but it manages to meet all its clients’ needs. The fact that it provides a reliable free version is a plus, no doubt.
Its free offer allows one device connection, limited data access, and a bandwidth cap of 500MB per day. It offers an additional location in the United States, although this is virtual, not physical.
However, it makes sure you can access military-grade encryption while online, whether on a free offer or not. It further allows you access to different VPN protocols and has a reliable kill switch that users can implement.
Overall, as long as you do not have heavy torrenting needs, Hotspot Shield will be excellent for you.
- Pros: Unlimited HD streaming; Blocks malware; 256-bit AES encryption;
- Lowest price: $6.99
Windscribe
Features
- Browser extension? Yes
- Pricing options: 3
- Free trial: No
- Unblocking of all websites? Yes
- Locations: Servers in 60 countries
Pros/Cons
- Military grade encryption
- Available on all major platforms
- App for mobile devices
- Lesser known provider
Windscribe comes with both a paid and a free version. The latter is the most interesting option of the two. Windscribe has a few limitations, but for a completely free VPN, it is a pretty decent option available to you.
One of such limitations is that Windscribe is based in Canada. That means the service is located within an area where the authorities can request insight into VPN services’ user data. While you will most likely not be tracked for your torrenting, it is still disappointing that you cannot remain completely anonymous with Windscribe.
The free version comes with servers spread over ten different countries. There are many different servers to choose from here, which means you can optimize your connection for torrenting. After all, nobody wants to wait hours for a torrent to download or experience interruptions that force you to wait even longer.
Unfortunately, Windscribe limits its users to 2GB of data per month. You could attain 10GB per month by providing an email, but even at this rate, the data rarely supports the needs of torrent downloads. At the most, you could download a handful of movies through this service. The abovementioned privacy issues might also be of concern.
- Pros: Military grade encryption; Available on all major platforms; App for mobile devices;
- Lowest price: $4.08
ZenMate VPN
Features
- IP cloaking? Yes
- Unblock streaming? Yes
- Locations: Over 35 countries
- Devices supported: All major ones.
- Browser extension? Yes, Chrome and Firefox
Pros/Cons
- Live sports streaming
- Over 2600 servers
- Anonymous IP
- Limited customer support
Zenmate brings us back to a VPN service that originally is a paid option. However, this VPN service is different from both ExpressVPN and NordVPN. That is because Zenmate offers the user a free trial. In essence, this means you never have to pay for anything or ask for your money back eventually.
The service is based in Germany, which means it falls under certain data-retention laws. While Zenmate claims that it does not store any data, it does make a disclaimer that it can store data when you connect to certain servers. It would require quite the torrent downloading scheme in order to catch the eye of the authorities. Still, the lack of privacy with Zenmate is disconcerting.
On the brighter side, you will gain access to servers in over 30 different countries through the free trial. This leaves you with the option of connecting to many different high-speed servers for torrent downloading purposes. High connection speeds and great stability ensure that you will not be waiting forever to get to see the latest movie out there.
Zenmate`s free trial gives you 7 days of access to their paid version. This is of course quite a bit shorter than the 30 days money-back guarantees other services provide. Yet, you are not required to pay anything, and there is no process of asking for your money back. Zenmate is perfect if you are just looking to download a few torrents over the course of a week.
- Pros: Live sports streaming; Over 2600 servers; Anonymous IP;
- Lowest price: €1.64
Trust.Zone
Features
- Complete anonymity? Yes
- Unblocking of all websites? Yes
- Pricing options: 4
- Servers: 164 in 80+ zones
- Free trial: Yes
Pros/Cons
- Military grade encryption
- Bitcoin accepted
- App for mobile devices
- Lesser known provider
Trust.Zone also offers a free trial, notably a little shorter. While the trial does not leave much room for downloading torrents, it still gives you full access to the paid version and all of Trust.Zone’s perks. This includes high-speed servers in various countries, as well as full anonymity based on their location.
Since Trust.Zone is located in the Seychelles, which has no data-retention laws, the authorities simply cannot ask for information on your traffic. That is because nobody ever stored it. This ensures full privacy, which is always useful when you engage in the downloading of torrents online.
The many servers available with Trust.Zone also makes them one of the best free VPNs for torrenting. You can choose from over 160 high-speed servers spread across 87 countries worldwide. The location does not really matter for torrent downloads, yet the vast number of servers ensures a constant high-speed server availability.
As mentioned earlier, the free trial with Trust.Zone is not very long. It only amounts to 3 days, but it still gives you access to all of the paid version’s features and functions. That means you can download torrents quickly, with no interruptions, and without the worry of legal repercussions from the authorities, as Trust.Zone.
- Pros: Military grade encryption; Bitcoin accepted; App for mobile devices;
- Lowest price: €3
What Is a Free VPN?
VPN services allow you to hide your original IP address by redirecting your traffic through an external server. If, for instance, you connect to a server in the U.S., the VPN will assign you a U.S. IP address, which will be the IP address the Internet associates with you. That means when you download a torrent, it is this IP address that is involved, not the one associated with your computer.
There are several VPN services available, and some of these are free. This essentially makes the whole torrenting experience free of charge. All you need to do is download your VPN service, connect to a server, and download the torrents you want to. Be advised, however, that it is not always that easy.
First and foremost, there is the legal aspect of torrenting. While many free VPN services claim that you can surf anonymously, they could be required to give up your information to the authorities. This could lead to an unpleasant fine. Therefore, an essential aspect of looking for free VPNs for torrenting is identifying what jurisdiction the service operates under.
Furthermore, fully free VPN services come with restrictions. Restrictions on server countries might not bother you in this case, but restrictions on connection speeds and data usage specifically will quickly become an issue. Seeing as it is hard to find a movie out there that does not amount to over 1GB, most free VPNs likely will only allow the download of one single movie – if at all.
Utilize the Free Aspect of Paid VPNs
Fully free VPNs usually come with downsides. As mentioned earlier, this is often related to data retention, connection speeds, or data usage limits. If you are using a VPN to avoid legal repercussions for downloading torrents, it simply does not make sense to choose a free VPN that gives up your data to the authorities by requests.
It is also frustrating to experience slow connection speeds while downloading torrents for movies and TV shows. Having your torrent download interrupted because the VPN has reached its data usage limit is no fun situation either. While they are free, fully free VPN normally come with limitations that justify their price (or lack of).
Instead, a better option is to look for the free aspects of paid VPNs. When you are looking for the best free VPNs for torrenting, you will likely find these in the shape of money-back guarantees or free trials. While these are not completely free, they do come with free periods, and besides, their fees are usually very low for paid services anyways.
Avoid Legal Complications of Torrenting
The very essence of using a VPN service for torrenting is to avoid the potential legal repercussions. While most individuals fined for or even arrested for torrenting are the uploaders, there are instances where downloaders also get fined. In some countries, this is obviously more strictly enforced than in others.
As a rule of thumb, using a VPN service that is outside of the U.S. and EU jurisdictions will usually be a good start. While free VPN services might be tempting for torrent downloads, you should note that privacy concerns may arise. With the limited amount of data one can download, it probably will not be worth it anyways. Downloading illegal material from sites such as Utorrent or ThePirateBay can also be illegal.
Download Torrents With a VPN Service
You can utilize VPN services for several purposes. However, at the forefront remains its initial purpose, which is to keep you anonymous and secure online. Unfortunately, free VPNs often fail at fulfilling this promise. While they do promise anonymity, they often stand bound to release data on you once the authorities require it.
If you enjoy torrent downloads, finding the best free VPN for torrenting might therefore be a hassle. However, you can simply look to the free aspect of paid VPN services. Most come with either free trials or money-back guarantees. Both allow you to test the service out to its fullest extent.
The money-back guarantees are certainly the recommended option, as it gives you full access to some of the best VPN services for up to a month. That means you can download quite a few movies. If you enjoy the VPN service, you stand free to continue the subscription at your discretion.
Frequently Asked Questions About Free VPNs for Torrenting
Can you torrent without a VPN?
Yes, you can. Nothing is preventing you from torrenting files without a VPN. However, when you do so, your IP address will be exposed. Thus, your Internet Service Provider (ISP) will be aware of your torrenting activities. Some ISPs frown against torrenting, so they could even throttle your speed or even report you to the authorities. In addition, you could also be targeted by hackers on the same torrenting network as you.
Are VPNs Legal?
In most cases, they are. You can only be definite when you consider the laws in specific countries. More governments have no qualms with VPNs. In such jurisdictions, you can use both paid and free VPN services with no issues. However, some countries frown at VPN use. In such locations, you could get into trouble if you are found to be using a VPN on your network.
In addition, if you use a VPN to carry out illegal activities, you will not be safe. If discovered, you could get into trouble with the authorities.
What else can you do with a free VPN?
Apart from torrenting, there are other activities you could carry out with a free VPN. For instance, a free VPN will provide you with the cover you need to send and receive highly secret files. Furthermore, a free VPN allows you to access preferential pricing and offers. Finally, some free VPNs provide a means for you to access restricted content.
Which is the best free VPN for torrenting?
We have done a good job of scouring the internet and finding you the best free VPNs to use. However, as already mentioned, free VPN services are less than ideal. However, we can suggest risk-free VPN services without any reservations. They excel, especially in terms of security. Torrenting is a very risky endeavor. You could potentially lose quite a lot if you do not take care. Hence, using a VPN service with superb security features is non-negotiable. Using these considerations, ExpressVPN is the best service we can recommend.
Read more:
- Test of NordVPN with Torrenting.
- Check out the best VPNs for BitTorrent