Last Update: May 2, 2022
If you don't already know, it’s essential to use a VPN alongside uTorrent. Not doing this can lead to you having to face the legal consequences of downloading copyrighted content. However, what VPN provider should you use for uTorrent? Today, we shall talk about just that.
In case you're in a hurry, our #1 VPN recommendation for uTorrent is NordVPN.
Before starting, I’d first like to state that we at VPN Thrive don’t condone any illegal activity. This article is merely for educational purposes. While you can do what’s written here at home, only do so at your own risk. Remember that it’s always best to stay safe and follow local laws.
With all that out of the way, here are the steps necessary to use a VPN with uTorrent:
To begin, get a reliable VPN service to use. If you find this task rather daunting, we’ve got your back. Just choose between NordVPN, Surfshark, ExpressVPN, CyberGhost, or IPVanish. All of them are great performers that won’t disappoint. They’ve got P2P servers, excellent security, and user-friendly applications.
VPN installation is easier than ever. On all devices except routers, the process should be 100% automatic. From a convenience standpoint, this is excellent as you’ll not have to confirm any pesky prompts that show up. On top of that, you won’t have to wait long for things to finish because VPN service applications are light, and therefore, quick to download and set up.
All VPNs worth their salt have an automatic kill switch. For those who don’t know, an automatic kill switch is a VPN feature that protects you from accidental exposure. It cuts your device’s connection to the internet if your VPN connection gets compromised in any manner.
Kill switches are usually activated by default. However, to be on the safe side, head over to the settings menu of your provider’s app to activate it. That way, you won’t have to deal with the consequences of accidental exposure when you’re downloading torrent files on uTorrent.
The next thing you’d want to do is pair up with a VPN server. What server should you choose? It is best to go with a P2P-enabled location that’s nearby. That way, you can be sure that your info won’t accidentally get leaked. Moreover, your internet connection speeds will stay decent and it shall be possible to finish downloading in a matter of minutes.
After toggling your VPN’s kill switch, it’s finally time to open uTorrent and start downloading. As you download, remember to never disconnect from your VPN. When that’s done, you’ll leave yourself wide open to becoming the victim of cybercrimes and unwanted surveillance.
Torrenting Capabilities: NordVPN is the go-to torrenting VPN for many. Although not all its servers are P2P enabled, the provider is still great for the job. That’s because the provider’s apps let you select from a list of P2P servers. This makes choosing then pairing to the right location an absolute breeze.
Speed & Performance: Via testing, I’ve discovered that most of NordVPN’s servers are very fast. They hardly ever made a dent on my internet speeds. Sometimes, they even made my connection better by getting me off the bandwidth throttling that was imposed by my ISP.
Besides being fast, NordVPN’s network is also very secure. While it isn’t entirely RAM-based, it can still be trusted. I say this with confidence because NordVPN has itself regularly audited by independent security firms. Furthermore, it maintains a successful global bug bounty program.
Other Features: NordVPN utilizes AES-256 encryption which is military-grade and standard in the VPN industry. Aside from that, it also supports every mainstream protocol, including its own called NordLynx, which is based on WireGuard.
NordVPN allows for up to six simultaneous connections. Each of its applications and browser extensions is extremely easy to use. More importantly, they come preloaded with a load of handy VPN security features such as a kill switch, malware blocker, and Onion Over VPN.
Pricing: Despite being a premium VPN service, NordVPN doesn’t charge premium prices. As a matter of fact, the provider is amongst the most affordable available. A one-month subscription plan will run you back a mere $8.87, which makes NordVPN an absolute steal.
Torrenting Capabilities: The network of Surfshark is composed of 3200+ P2P-enabled servers scattered across the globe. All of these servers are completely leak-free and safe to use. And if you are wondering, yes, Surfshark is fully compatible with uTorrent. In fact, it is fully compatible with every other major torrenting client there is.
Speed & Performance: Surfshark is a lightning-fast VPN that can easily keep up with the likes of NordVPN and ExpressVPN. During my experience with it, seldom did my connection speeds drop to a point where I’d notice. If anything, this is great since you’ll be able to quickly finish up your torrent sessions and stream content without buffering.
The security capabilities of Surfshark are another commendable thing about the VPN. Unlike the majority of VPNs out there, it’s equipped with a RAM-based network. That means that it can’t store private user logs under any circumstance. If anything, this is great since when using Surfshark, you can be certain that all your private data is in safe hands.
Other Features: Quite interestingly, Surfshark supports unlimited device connections. As such, it’s possible to protect everyone in your household using a single user account. This by no means is something that can be done with just your average virtual private network
Surfshark’s applications and browser extensions come loaded with all the necessary bells and whistles that you’d want your VPN to have. In addition to that, they’ve also got paid add-on security features that you may avail of to further enhance your Surfshark experience.
Pricing: Unsurprisingly, Surfshark is one of the more expensive VPNs. A basic monthly plan will cost you $12.95. However, we think that every penny of that is worth it given that Surfshark provides tremendous value by allowing for unlimited same-time device pairings.
Torrenting Capabilities: ExpressVPN’s torrenting capabilities have long been held in very high regard by online experts. That’s because the provider was one of the first to have a network that’s completely P2P enabled, meaning every server can be utilized for torrenting.
After testing more than thirty ExpressVPN locations, it’s now possible for me to say the provider is completely free of any leaks. Thus, you won’t have to worry about unwanted exposure while using it together with uTorrent.
Speaking of which, ExpressVPN is compatible with uTorrent along with Vuze, Deluge, BitTorrent, and all other leading torrenting clients. Thanks to that, you won’t have to worry about not being able to download after buying the VPN service provider.
Speed & Performance: Few VPNs can successfully compete head to head with ExpressVPN when it comes to speed. When using it, you’re certain to have quick download times and zero lagging issues when streaming or gaming. And yes, the provider performs well even if you are paired to a very distant server location.
When it comes to security, you can’t go wrong with ExpressVPN. Before Surfshark upgraded its network, it was the sole major provider to have a 100% RAM-disk-enabled network. Hence, you can consider the VPN service to be a pioneer in the industry.
Other Features: Sad to say, ExpressVPN doesn’t have any exclusive features. As a matter of fact, it doesn’t even have a dedicated ad & malware blocker. How come? Its developers claim that it is because they’d rather focus on the key things that already make their VPN superb.
With all that being said, ExpressVPN does have an automatic kill switch. Furthermore, it also lets you use split-tunneling, which comes in handy especially for mobile users.
Pricing: ExpressVPN, like Surfshark, charges $12.95 for a monthly subscription. However, unlike its competitor, it doesn’t support unlimited device connections. As a matter of fact, it allows for a maximum of five. Therefore, it doesn’t provide much in terms of value for cash.
Torrenting Capabilities: CyberGhost is a great VPN for uTorrent. It has the largest VPN server network on the globe, which consists of more than 7500 locations. While not all of these are P2P enabled, many are, which means that you won’t run out of connectivity options.
Selecting then connecting to a CyberGhost P2P server is incredibly easy. The reason why is because the provider’s desktop applications let you choose from a list of torrenting-friendly server locations. On top of that, they let you mark your favorites for even easier access.
Speed & Performance: CyberGhost admittedly isn’t the world’s fastest VPN. Even so, it will still manage to meet all of your needs. You’ll get to partake in quick torrenting sessions and watch streaming content without having to deal with buffering as well as quality drops.
The security of CyberGhost is good but needs improvement. Why? Its VPN protocol support is not universal. Hence, users of some devices may not be able to toggle the protocol they want.
Don’t think that CyberGhost isn’t safe due to what’s stated above. In truth, the service provider is amongst the most secure in the world. However, this shouldn’t come as a surprise given its use of military-grade AES 256-bit encryption and support for WireGuard on some systems.
Other Features: At present, CyberGhost allows for a maximum of seven simultaneous device connections. While this may not seem impressive, it is important to consider the fact that most competing VPNs lack support for as many devices.
Each of CyberGhost's user-friendly apps comes equipped with an assortment of essential and exclusive features, making it suitable for a wide variety of users who have different needs.
Pricing: Affordability has traditionally been one of CyberGhost’s main selling points. Sad to say, this is no longer the case as the provider has recently increased its rates. Nowadays, a monthly subscription will run you back $12.99. Be that as it may, we still think that CyberGhost is a solid option for savers, especially if its longer-term plans are chosen.
Torrenting Capabilities: IPVanish has a P2P network consisting of 1200+ servers. Although it’s the smallest VPN on this list, it isn’t tiny by any means. When using it, you’re certainly not going to find yourself out of connectivity options, which is great as it will be easier to maintain privacy.
After a lengthy testing period, it’s now safe for me to say that IPVanish doesn’t leak. Therefore, you have nothing to worry about as you download. Certainly, hackers and other kinds of cybercriminals will not be able to find out your IP address, and thus, your real-world location.
Speed & Performance: Unfortunately, the speed capabilities of IPVanish are mediocre at best. Whenever I connected to the provider, my connection speeds took a significant hit. I couldn’t play games or stream my favorite shows and movies properly.
On the bright side, IPVanish is a very secure VPN. Despite being headquartered in the United States, it has never disclosed private user information to the authorities. As a matter of fact, it has even denied information in spite of it being required by law to disclose anything that it has.
Other Features: Like Surfshark, IPVanish doesn’t put a limit on simultaneous device pairings per subscription. Because of that, the provider also offers excellent value. This is even more true when you consider that IPVanish’s rates are a bit lower than its most similar competitor.
The easy-to-use native applications of IPVanish are packed with features. They have got a kill switch and malware blocker. In addition to that, they also have double VPM, which can be utilized to make you even more undetectable when surfing the internet.
Pricing: IPVanish charges $9.99 for a basic one-month subscription. If you ask me, this is a good deal since the provider allows for unlimited simultaneous connections. However, it admittedly isn’t your best bet if you’re in search of the best bargain there is.
It wasn’t hard to come up with our ranking for uTorrent. All we did was conduct research, polls, and tests to determine which service providers performed best with the torrent client. Besides that, we also compared the prices of our choices so we could find out which one provided the greatest value.
We decided to take affordability and value for money into consideration as these two things often determine if a VPN is within one’s reach or not. And, in our book, a VPN that all can access is a VPN that’s better since it can provide online protection to more individuals.
Free VPNs are only recommendable to those who’ve got absolutely no budget to spend. That is because they’re less capable than their paid counterparts. How come? They often have tinier networks made up of slower servers that aren’t P2P-enabled. Due to their setbacks, these locations can’t maintain your anonymity as you download torrents.
Another thing that you should know about free VPNs is they lack many of the security features that experts deem necessary. For example, they often don’t come with an automatic kill switch or an ad & malware blocker. If anything, this makes them bad choices for daily uTorrent users.
The Windows version of uTorrent has a built-in feature that limits downloading activity to a set IP address. By toggling it, you may configure uTorrent to only download when you’re connected to a specific VPN server. In case your device ever gets disconnected to your VPN’s server, there’ll be an additional safety net aside from your provider’s automatic kill switch.
Here are all the steps needed to bind your VPN’s IP address to uTorrent:
Yes and no.
The answer to this question generally depends on where you are located. What is important to know though is that it’s illegal to download copyrighted content via torrent almost anywhere in the world. As such, it is best to utilize a VPN when torrenting wherever you may find yourself. This is also true for other torrent clients like Bittorrent, qBittorrent, Deluge, Vuze, etc.
