Everyone has different standards for quality, and it’s no different when it comes to VPNs. Some may want the fastest speeds available at an affordable price, while others might just go for the cheapest option and call it a day. Maybe you want to strike a balance between the two.
Whatever the case, we break down what makes the best cheap VPN for torrenting, and offer examples where relevant. In the meantime, take a look at some low cost VPNs perfect for torrenting, courtesy of ProPrivacy. You can get the greatest discount on your subscription this way, no matter which provider you go with.
What Makes a Good VPN for Torrenting?
There are several features and provider-specific qualities you should look out for. We consider some of these essential for torrenting, but we’ll let you decide what suits your needs.
1. Jurisdiction with Lax P2P Laws
We don’t encourage illegal torrenting, and no VPN will do so either. That being said, we understand why it happens – especially in areas where a single piece of software or entertainment can cost up to half a person’s monthly paycheck.
Moreover, there are countries where the laws state that it’s legal to download copyrighted material. One example is Switzerland. A similar court ruling happened in Spain – and several others have since reinforced that idea.
In both cases, it was ruled that downloading is fine, as long as it’s strictly for personal use “without the intent to profit.” Using a VPN for torrenting while connected to a server in one of those countries should, in theory, keep you safe from copyright notices.
All VPNs listed in ProPrivacy’s guide have servers in those two countries. Some have optimized torrenting (P2P) servers where you’ll get the best performance – obviously, for legal torrent uses.
2. Dedicated P2P servers
Yes, there are perfectly legal ways to use torrenting clients, one of them being to download large work files. Facebook, Twitter, and a myriad of tech companies do it. However, you may find that your ISP throttles your P2P connections, leading to slow speeds. Or maybe your hotel kicks you off their Wi-Fi because they noticed torrent traffic from your IP – exactly what this user experienced.
Unfortunately, illegal downloading has caused regular P2P traffic to be viewed suspiciously by network admins. As such, you need a VPN to protect you from both cyber attacks and your own Internet provider.
To get the best download and uploading performance, certain providers like Surfshark or CyberGhost offer servers specifically for P2P usage. Both of them made ProPrivacy’s list of affordable torrenting VPNs, so check them out.
3. A Kill Switch
If your connection to the VPN server drops for whatever reason, you risk being put in one of the situations above. Getting kicked off the network, or having your downloads slow down to a crawl is nobody’s idea of a good time.
In case of any technical failure, the kill switch feature stops all Internet traffic until you can safely reconnect to the VPN. Since it prevents your ISP from selling your browsing data, it also makes for a great way to protect your online privacy.
You can find this feature in all VPNs recommended by ProPrivacy. One thing to keep in mind is that not all of them have the feature activated by default. Make sure to turn it on in the VPN client settings before torrenting.
4. Split Tunneling
You may improve your download and upload speeds by choosing which parts of your traffic are routed through the VPN. For example, you can exclusively use the VPN for torrenting while letting your ISP handle the rest of your network activities (e.g. streaming).
All this is possible through the split tunneling feature. Of course, not all providers have it. If you already experience slower Internet speeds, we recommend providers like NordVPN, CyberGhost VPN, and Private Internet Access.
Their quality is top-notch in most respects, although they are on the upper end of “cheap.” So if you’re looking for the lowest prices, Surfshark and Ivacy are decent alternatives for under $2 a month.
5. Fast Speeds
As mentioned, not everyone has high speeds as a priority. At $1.16 a month, Ivacy is the cheapest VPN for torrenting out there, but don’t expect lightning-fast downloads. Surfshark is better on average for only $1.94 a month, a good balance of speed and affordability.
CyberGhost VPN is the second-fastest cheap provider, with a $3 a month subscription. Though, if you don’t mind paying a bit more, you can get the fastest speeds with NordVPN at around $3.55 a month. And, of course, you have several other options if these don’t pique your interest.
Keep in mind that all these great offers are only available when you use ProPrivacy’s link from the beginning of this article. Check it out to see what other providers are offering.
