Best P2P VPN for Torrenting in 2026: Tests and Comparison

Every peer in a torrent swarm can see your IP address. That’s how BitTorrent works. You connect directly to other people instead of to a server, and they need an IP address to send data to. Every participant can list who else is in the swarm, which is how copyright enforcement companies build their evidence.

A P2P VPN puts a server address in the swarm instead of yours. We put more than 40 through the same download, timing each and confirming the kill switch cuts traffic when the connection drops. 5 came through, and only 2 of those offer port forwarding. Here’s the full list.

Best P2P VPN Compared and Tested

One clarification first, because the marketing muddles it. Dedicated P2P servers and P2P support are different things. All 5 allow torrenting on every server. Only Proton VPN still operates servers marked specifically for P2P. NordVPN retired its own marked servers once the whole network began handling the traffic.

	NordVPN	Proton VPN	ExpressVPN	PIA VPN	Surfshark
Download (342 Mbps base)	324 Mbps	273 Mbps	300 Mbps	290 Mbps	282 Mbps
Port forwarding	No ❌	Yes ✅	No ❌	Yes ✅	No ❌
P2P servers	All servers	Labelled P2P servers	All servers	All servers	All servers
SOCKS5 proxy	Yes ✅	No ❌	No ❌	Yes ✅	No ❌
Jurisdiction	Panama	Switzerland	British Virgin Islands	United States	Netherlands
Devices	10	10	10 on Basic	Unlimited	Unlimited
Price	$3.49/mo	$2.99/mo	$2.99/mo	$2.19/mo	$2.49/mo

1. NordVPN: Fastest P2P VPN Overall

NordVPN finished our download fastest of the five. Against a 342 Mbps baseline, it averaged 324.25 Mbps on nearby servers, a loss of about 5%, with uploads at 18.68 Mbps. On a fast connection, you won’t notice that difference mid-download. P2P is allowed network-wide. SOCKS5 is the feature torrenters ask about most. Pointing a client at it swaps your IP address without the encryption overhead.

This is faster and leaves your traffic readable to your ISP. Threat Protection Pro scans downloads for malware, useful when files arrive from strangers. NordLynx handles the speed, and the kill switch cut traffic on every forced disconnect we tried. The no-logs policy has 6 independent audits. There’s more in our NordVPN review. Basic costs $3.49 a month for 2 years, refundable within 30 days

Visit NordVPN

---

2. Proton VPN: Port Forwarding and Marked P2P Locations

Capability puts Proton VPN second. It came last on raw speed at 273.14 Mbps, and no other service here combines port forwarding with servers marked for P2P. Port forwarding places it above two faster services. Poorly seeded torrents are where the difference shows, and the walkthrough further down covers the setup.

Switzerland asks nothing of a VPN in the way of retention; the code is published for inspection, and Securitum verifies the no-logs claims each year. NetShield blocks malicious domains, and VPN Accelerator recovers speed on longer connections. The free tier blocks P2P, so this needs a paid plan. That’s $2.99 a month over 2 years. Our Proton VPN review has the wider picture.

Visit Proton VPN

---

3. ExpressVPN: Simplest to Set Up VPN for Torrenting

ExpressVPN came second on speed at 299.82 Mbps, and it asks the least of you of the five. Open the app, press once, start the client. Every server takes P2P traffic, so there’s nothing to configure and no list to consult. Lightway produced that result. Windows users also get a Lightway Turbo toggle, splitting the tunnel into several lanes for higher download and upload speeds.

Network Lock stopped every packet the moment we killed the app. The fleet is diskless, and KPMG signed off on the no-logs policy in early 2025. Bandwidth is uncapped, which a free VPN for torrenting rarely offers. ExpressVPN charges $83.72 for a 28-month Basic term, with 30 days to claim a refund. Our ExpressVPN and NordVPN comparison covers the speed difference.

Visit ExpressVPN

---

4. Private Internet Access: Cheapest Torrenting VPN With Port Forwarding

PIA is the cheapest way to get port forwarding, at $2.19 a month on the long plans. It’s a single toggle in the app, no paid add-on, and it pairs with a SOCKS5 proxy for clients that support one. Download speed came in at 289.69 Mbps, third of the five, and WireGuard keeps it steady across long sessions. Chaining two servers with MultiHop is available, and Shadowsocks obfuscation makes it usable on networks that block VPN connections.

US registration is the fair objection. Set against it: a Deloitte-audited no-logs policy and subpoenas that produced nothing because nothing was stored. In-house DNS keeps requests off third-party resolvers, and the device count is uncapped. A PIA coupon usually brings down the price even more.

Visit Private Internet Access

---

5. Surfshark: Unlimited Devices

Surfshark averaged 282.48 Mbps on nearby servers, fourth of the 5 and close enough to the others that you’d struggle to notice mid-download. It gives ground on distant servers, so pick something local. The device policy is the argument. A desktop seeding overnight, a laptop, a phone, and a router belong to one plan.

The One tier adds antivirus for half a dollar more. Dynamic MultiHop lets you set both ends of a 2-server chain, and the rotation feature swaps your exit IP every 10 minutes. A 27-month Starter term works out at $2.49 monthly, and Surfshark also ranks among the strongest no-log services at that price.

Visit Surfshark

---

P2P VPN Speed Test Results

We tested on a nearby server, a UK location, from a European connection, on a Windows 11 machine with a Realtek PCIe 2.5 GbE adapter. Base speed measured 342 Mbps down and 19 Mbps up.

	NordVPN	Proton VPN	ExpressVPN	PIA	Surfshark
Download	324.25 Mbps	273.14 Mbps	299.82 Mbps	289.69 Mbps	282.48 Mbps
Upload	18.68 Mbps	15.97 Mbps	18.50 Mbps	17.42 Mbps	16.91 Mbps

The spread between the first and last is 51 Mbps, which sounds large and changes the download speed little. Seeder count decides a torrent’s speed long before the choice of VPN service. Upload figures matter for seeding, and NordVPN leads there at 18.68 Mbps.

Best VPN Server Location for Torrenting

The short answer is the nearest one. Every hop between you and the server costs speed, so the user in Berlin should pick Germany or the Netherlands over Singapore, and one in Toronto should pick Canada or the northern US. Connecting through a country with relaxed copyright enforcement doesn’t move you there legally. Local law governs you regardless of the exit point.

The VPN’s registration decides who can compel it to submit records. Panama, Switzerland, and the British Virgin Islands leave VPNs free of retention obligations. The US and the Netherlands belong to intelligence-sharing arrangements, so the no-logs audit record does more work for PIA and Surfshark. Choose the closest server for speed, and pick the company on its jurisdiction and audit history.

How to Enable Port Forwarding for Torrents

Port forwarding lets peers start a connection with you, instead of leaving you to initiate every one. On well-seeded torrents, it changes little. On rare ones, it decides whether the transfer moves. Proton VPN and PIA are the 2 here that support it.

1. Turn it on in the VPN app. PIA has a port forwarding toggle in Settings. Proton VPN offers it on P2P locations for Plus subscribers.
2. Connect to a server that supports it. P2P servers are usually labeled just P2P in the app and are a separate category.
3. Note the port number. The app assigns one when the connection comes up. Some services rotate it, which means updating the client each time.
4. Enter it in your torrent client. In qBittorrent, it’s Options, then Connection, then the listening port field. Replace the random default with the assigned number.
5. Bind the client to the VPN adapter. Same menu in qBittorrent. This stops the client from sending traffic if the VPN drops, which is a second layer under the kill switch.
6. Test it. Most clients have a port check built in. If it reports closed, add a firewall rule allowing inbound traffic on that port for the client.

Torrenting Problems and How to Fix Them

• Downloads crawl on every torrent. Check the server first: a distant one costs far more speed. Then check the protocol. OpenVPN and IKEv2 cost speed against WireGuard, NordLynx, or Lightway.
• Speeds are still throttled with the VPN on. Some networks slow every connection that looks like a VPN. Switching on obfuscation- NordWhisper on NordVPN, Camouflage Mode on Surfshark, Shadowsocks on PIA- disguises the tunnel as ordinary HTTPS traffic.
• The client won’t connect. Bind it to the VPN network adapter, which forces every request through the tunnel. Every service here publishes a guide for qBittorrent and Deluge.
• Peers won’t connect to you. Without port forwarding, you can only make outgoing connections, which limits you to the peers who enabled it themselves.

If none of that helps across several servers and protocols, the service isn’t suited to P2P. Some cheap VPNs limit it without saying so anywhere obvious.

Is Torrenting Legal?

The technology and the use are separate questions. BitTorrent itself is legal. It’s a file transfer protocol, and a lot of legitimate distribution moves over it: Linux and BSD images, game patches, Internet Archive collections, public-domain film and music, large scientific datasets. Projects use it because it moves the bandwidth cost off their servers. Sharing copyrighted material without permission is unlawful across every country signed up to the Berne Convention.

The US works through DMCA notices passed on by internet providers, with occasional lawsuits. Germany’s system of law-firm demand letters produces bills in the hundreds of euros. Japan made downloading infringing material a criminal matter. Private copying exceptions exist in several countries. They generally cover copies made from a source you obtained lawfully, and the Netherlands closed that door for downloads from unauthorized sources in 2014.

A VPN changes none of this. It hides your IP address from the swarm and stops the ISP from seeing what you transfer, which is a privacy protection and not a legal shield. Our guide to torrenting safely goes further on the practical side.

How We Tested the Best VPN for Torrenting

Every VPN was measured on the same connection, in the same window, on a nearby server. We recorded download and upload speeds against a 342 Mbps baseline, pushed the same file through each client, and forced a disconnect on each to confirm the kill switch cut traffic. We also checked whether P2P is allowed network-wide or restricted to certain locations, and whether port forwarding and SOCKS5 are available. VPNs that throttled P2P or blocked it on most servers didn’t make the list.

Conclusion on the Best VPN for Torrenting

NordVPN is the pick for most people torrenting: fastest in our test, P2P on every server, SOCKS5 for clients that want it, and malware scanning on the files you pull down. After that, it depends on the torrents you pull. Rare files with a handful of peers point to Proton VPN. A tight budget points to PIA, which offers the same feature for a dollar less. A house full of hardware suits Surfshark. ExpressVPN suits the person who wants to press one button and forget it.

Try NordVPN Risk-Free

---

FAQ About P2P VPNs