Samantha Knight 
Torrents still remain the most popular content sharing tool in the world. No secret that people use VPN to access torrent services anonymously and securely.
However, not all VPNs have equally great torrenting capabilities. Is it possible to find a completely free VPN service for torrenting? What is the best free VPN for torrenting? How to use the products of premium VPN providers for free? Find the answers in our review of the best free VPNs for torrenting in 2019.
Is There A Free VPN For Torrenting?
Though some free VPNs allow torrenting, they are definitely not the best option for content sharing. Even the best free VPNs have limited capabilities. In particular, they commonly offer limited bandwidth, low speed, and few remote servers.
If you only use torrents occasionally and don’t mind waiting for ages to have a big file downloaded, some free VPNs will do for you. If not, there is a smart way to use top VPNs for hassle-free torrenting.
How Can I Use Premium VPN Services for Free?
Naturally, the best VPNs for torrenting aren’t free. However, many premium services can be used for free thanks to trial periods and money-back guarantees. True, you’ll first have to subscribe to the VPN of your choice, but you’ll further be able to get your money back no questions asked. With free trials, you can you the service with no restrictions without spending a dime.
ExpressVPN - Editor's Choice
- unlimited bandwidth at the maximum speed;
- impressive torrenting and streaming capabilities;
- over 1500 own servers, 148 locations, 94 countries;
- guaranteed zero-logging policy.
- only three simultaneous connections are allowed.
If there is an ideal VPN, it is ExpressVPN. Not only is it the fastest VPN service around. It copes with streaming and downloading content via torrents better than any other provider. With over 1500 servers worldwide, it easily establishes a secure tunnel for hassle-free accessing numerous torrent platforms.
Due to the support of the most advanced encryption standards and security protocols, ExpressVPN provides the highest level of privacy. It guarantees zero-logging – no user data is ever collected, stored or transferred to third parties. But the greatest thing about ExpressVPN is a 30 days money-back guarantee!
It may happen that you’ll like so much that after the money back period expiration you’ll want to continue using the service. In this case, we recommend buying a one-year plan and get a discount of 49%. ExpressVPN is compatible with various platforms.
Top-3 Really Free VPNs for Torrenting
At the time, if you don’t want to play around with free trials and money-back, we have you covered as well. As we’ve already mentioned, all the free VPNs have restricted capabilities, but they still may be about right for your particular needs. We’ve selected top free providers you can rely on with torrenting.
Hide.Me
- 2 Gb per month for free;
- doesn’t forbid torrenting;
- uses modern encryption;
- a decent feature set.
- the speed is so-so;
- only 3 servers are available in the free version.
The privacy policy of Hide.me is beyond dispute. It is known for certain that the provider does not keep any user logs. Moreover, it falls under the jurisdiction of Malaysia, which is out of the reach of the Five Eyes members. It means you can share content via torrents using Hide.me if you are satisfied with the speed and bandwidth of the free plan.
That said, Hide.me uses quite strong encryption: a 128-bit cipher for the data channel and an AES-256 cipher for the control channel. As for security protocols, OpenVPN is used by default, which complies with the industry’s standards. The built-in IP leak protection and the kill switch feature do their job well. 
Windscribe
Despite Windscribe claims to keep no user logs, we recommend being cautious as the provider is based in Canada, which is an active member of the Five Eyes agreement known for its draconian laws in the sphere of copyright protection. But strong encryption methods combined with the transparent privacy policy let us hope for better.
By default, Windcribe uses IKEv2 protocol but OpenVPN that is commonly recommended for the most secure connection is also available. The kill switch feature is used in the cases when the VPN connection suddenly drops. Finally, the provider uses advanced encryption based on AES-256 cipher. A built-in DNS leak protection feature prevents occasional data leaks.
Windscribe VPN has a premium plan in addition to its free version. The paid version offers to take advantage of unlimited bandwidth and 50 servers instead of 10. The annual plan comes with a rather pleasant price-tag.
SurfEasy
- a usable free version available;
- download speed is pretty good;
- dedicated P2P servers for torrenting;
- strong encryption.
- the free version is severely restricted;
- the number of servers is limited.
SurfEasy is the name of a Canadian VPN provider that offers both free and a premium version. Though it has an average coverage and can’t boast a blazing download speed, there are some useful features that make it not a bad choice. Among other things, SurfEasy has dedicated P2P servers and allows file sharing via torrents.
As expected, the free edition of SurfEasy comes with severe restrictions: users get only 500 Mb of bandwidth by default with a possibility of earning additional megabytes as a reward for certain tasks fulfillment. You also get access to 16 servers (instead of 25 in the premium version.) To get more possibilities you’ll need to upgrade to one of the three paid plans.
When it comes to speed, SurfEasy demonstrates reasonably good (but not excellent) results. With an average download speed of 50 Mbps, it is pretty good for most basic tasks. However, if you are going to stream or download HD content, you’d better opt for something else.
In terms of security, SurfEasy complies with the generally accepted industry’s standards. Thus, it uses strong AES-256 bit encryption and OpenVPN protocol by default. That said, it has no DNS leak protection.
As we’d mentioned earlier, SurfEasy is based in Canada, which automatically means it falls under the Five Eyes surveillance. Besides, they do collect some aggregate logs and store them for some time. However, as of now, there haven’t been any serious complaints from users about their privacy rights violation.
Why Do You Need a VPN for Torrenting?
The main purpose of using a VPN is hiding a real IP-address by replacing it with a fake IP belonging to the VPN service. Can you use torrents without VPN? Yes, to some extent you can. Torrent sites themselves are not prohibited in many countries, and you may freely use them for sharing legal content without any limitations.
The problem is that most popular movies, song, and shows are protected from distribution by the copyright law. Moreover, many files that can be legally accessed and shared in one country are unavailable in other states. With a VPN, you can easily pretend to be a resident of any country and share content anonymously as a nameless user.
All in all, using a VPN for torrenting is a normal precaution measure. A good, reliable VPN service is a must for any active torrent user.
How to Choose Free VPN for Torrenting
Theoretically, a lot of VPNs allow torrenting. But in practice, some of them turn out to be absolutely unusable. Even if the service supports P2P, it doesn’t mean that it can effectively cope with files downloading and uploading. The free VPN must meet several requirements to be suitable for torrenting.
- With a low download speed, you just won’t be able to share big files, or it will take too much time. The best free VPNs for torrenting are the VPNs that provide consistently high speed.
- Most free VPNs offer limited monthly bandwidth. In fact, it means they don’t suit for torrenting.
- Privacy. This is a critical characteristic of the best free VPN for torrents. You want to be sure that nobody tracks you during your torrenting sessions. The best VPNs use powerful encryption to hide your activities from the prying eyes.
- Logging policy. Some VPN providers keep user logs, which means they can share this information with third parties. Those who really care about security choose VPNs with zero-logging policy.
When compiling our ranking of top free VPNs for torrenting, we took into consideration all these criteria. We’ve analyzed both well-known and relatively new players of the global VPN providers market and singled out the best solutions for hassle-free torrenting.
Free VPNs: What’s the Catch?
Isn’t it nice to get something for free? On the one hand, it is truly tempting. On the other hand, when it comes to using free VPNs, one needs to be as cautious and suspicious as never before. Let us explain why.
The first thing you need to understand that no software products and online services are created for no money or granted to users just because the developers are so generous. If a VPN provider doesn’t charge a fee for the services provided, it makes money on something else.
- They force you to upgrade to the paid version by making the free version severely restricted.
- They force to waste time watching paid ads that can’t be switched off in any way.
- They track your logs and sell them to the authorities or advertisers.
- They are swindlers that simply steal your data.
The first two options are annoying but relatively harmless while the third and the fourth case scenarios can cause a real harm to users. So we strongly recommend double-checking the privacy policy and the reputation of free VPNs before you entrust your data to one of them.
Free VPNs to Avoid
While most free VPNs are just useless for torrenting, some of them are harmful and even dangerous. Thus, we strongly discourage using the following services.
- Hola! The free edition of this VPN product must not be used by anyone. Firstly, it is not a VPN in the broad sense of the word. Instead, it is an emulator of the onion (Tor) network. Secondly, while using it you share your bandwidth with other participants and their traffic passes through your IP! Thirdly, in the free version of Hola! traffic is not encrypted at all.
- Hotspot Shield. The free plan of Hotspot Shield is a total trash if compared to its premium edition. Before you try it you need to know that it can route your traffic through affiliate links and earn money on you without a word of warning. Moreover, it is slow, glitchy, and forces you watch ads in a browser.
- Betternet. A free VPN pack is the worst product of this otherwise decent provider. Researchers have found malware and spyware integrated with it. Moreover, they collect user logs and can share them with third parties.
Otherwise Good VPNs not Suitable for Torrenting
Fortunately, not all free VPNs are so bad. In fact, there are some really great VPNs with powerful capabilities and various features. But for some reason, they don’t allow torrenting. Here is a list of excellent VPNs that don’t work with torrents.
- TunnelBear. It is often referred to as the best free VPN ever – speedy, simple, and reliable. Unfortunately, it doesn’t support torrenting.
- ProtonVPN. This Swiss provider of VPN software has a lot to be loved for. But torrenting is not allowed.
- SaferVPN. It has a free plan with a bandwidth of 500 Mb monthly and a nice free browser extension that can’t be used for torrenting.
- SecurityKISS. The Irish VPN provider that offers both free and paid versions. Unfortunately, none of them allows torrenting.
The Bottom Line
It is not impossible to find a torrent VPN free of charge. There are free VPNs that really allow torrenting, but the bandwidth and speed are usually limited. So, if you need a free VPN torrent access for a short period, take advantage of the free trial period offered by major providers. In the long-term perspective, you may want to purchase the full version of software from one of the premium providers.