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vpnMentor was established in 2014 as an independent site reviewing VPN services and covering privacy-related stories. Today, our team of hundreds of cybersecurity researchers, writers, and editors continues to help readers fight for their online freedom in partnership with Kape Technologies PLC, which also owns the following products: ExpressVPN, CyberGhost, and Private Internet Access which may be ranked and reviewed on this website. The reviews published on vpnMentor are believed to be accurate as of the date of each article, and written according to our strict reviewing standards that prioritize the independent, professional and honest examination of the reviewer, taking into account the technical capabilities and qualities of the product together with its commercial value for users. The rankings and reviews we publish may also take into consideration the common ownership mentioned above, and affiliate commissions we earn for purchases through links on our website. We do not review all VPN providers and information is believed to be accurate as of the date of each article.

12 Best Torrent Sites in 2024 — Safe & Still Working

Keira Waddell Updated on 5th March 2024 Fact-checked by Anneke van Aswegen Senior Writer

Finding a working torrent site is not only tricky but can be dangerous. Even the most reputable ones sometimes get taken down for copyright infringement. Searching for a P2P site on Google can be risky and usually gets you nowhere. Results are often packed with fake sites containing dodgy links and disturbing ads instead of actual torrent sites.

My team and I tested 50+ torrent sites and shortlisted the 12 best ones with long-standing reputations and huge amounts of content. Plus, each one verifies torrents for added safety.

Important. Torrenting itself is legal in most countries, but there is a lot of content on torrent sites that is protected by copyright law and illegal to download. My team and I don’t condone using a VPN for any illicit activity, so be sure to check your country’s rules and regulations and only torrent files that are in the public domain.

Short on Time? Here Are the Best Torrent Sites in 2024

  1. The Pirate Bay — Most well-established torrent site with tons of seeders and verified uploaders.
  2. 1337x — Huge torrent library and simple interface, but it has a few untrustworthy, fake links.
  3. YTS — Best torrent site for high-quality movies, but it has been involved in several lawsuits.
  4. EZTV — Great library of binge-worthy TV shows, but you need to double check the content is copyright-free.
  5. Limetorrents — Massive library of varied P2P content, but some fake links and ads.

Note: You should avoid downloading pirated material from any of the P2P sites mentioned above. 

See 7 More Great Torrent Sites That Work

Pro Tip: Use a VPN to Access Torrent Sites Safely

Even reputable P2P sites face the occasional hacker or malicious links, so I highly recommend using a VPN while torrenting. Using torrent sites exposes your IP to other users, thus risking identity exposure or malware targeting.

A VPN provides added privacy through IP masking and encrypted connections, preventing any prying eyes from tracing your online activities. If you don’t have access to torrent sites on certain networks, a VPN can help.

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The Best Torrent Sites That Still Work in 2024

1. The Pirate Bay — The Most Well-Established Torrent Site

Screenshot of The Pirate Bay website showing download links, seeders, and leechers for Sita Sings the Blues

  • Year founded: 2003
  • Best for: Movies, TV shows, ebooks, music, games, anime, software
  • Mirror sites/alternate URLs: thepiratebay.org, tpbpirateproxy.org, pirateproxy.space, proxybay.xyz, thepirate-bay.org, thepiratebay10.org, thepiratebay10.info, thepiratebay7.com, thepiratebay0.org
  • Banned locations: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Kuwait, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Turkey, the UAE, and the UK

Note: You should not use The Pirate Bay to download pirated or illegal content. 

The Pirate Bay is one of the best-known torrent sites used by millions of people every month. It’s available in 35 languages and has been named the world’s best torrent site since 2018.

Although The Pirate Bay was temporarily shut down in early 2020, it’s still thriving and has managed to avoid several takedown attempts over the years. There are estimated to be millions of torrent files on the site.

The Pirate Bay is a pretty safe torrent site. It verifies uploaders so you know whether torrents are trustworthy or not. While you can’t guarantee protection from malware and spyware, this verification reduces the likelihood of infection.

With its huge community of seeders, you get faster P2P downloads. Even old or obscure torrents usually have at least a few seeders. It also has a simple, easy-to-use interface. Whenever I searched for a torrent, I could filter my results by file format, quality, and gaming console. It made finding the right torrent a breeze.

The only minor downside is that The Pirate Bay displays a few ads. But you can easily use a trusted ad blocker to avoid them.

Check out The Pirate Bay

2. 1337x — Huge Torrent Library With Great Variety

Screenshot of 1337x torrenting site showing how to find torrent files and filter your search.

  • Year founded: 2007
  • Best for: Movies, TV shows, music, games, anime, software
  • Mirror sites/alternate URLs: 1337x.st, x1337x.se, x1337x.ws, 1337x.to, x1337x.eu, 1337x.unblockninja.com
  • Banned locations: Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, China, Denmark, Finland, Greece, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Morocco, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Turkey, the UAE, and the UK

Note: You should not use 1337x to download pirated or illegal content.

1337x is a popular torrent website that gets over 53 million visitors every month. Most of its torrents are movies, TV shows, and music, but it has a good collection of games as well. What's great is that 1337x has been around for a while, and its community is active, which means its torrents are updated every few hours.

Its website is easy to use and gives you a lot of useful information about each torrent. For example, it’ll display whether a show or movie has been nominated for an award or not and the number of times it’s been downloaded (this can tell you whether it’s a good-quality torrent or not). This is a massive improvement compared to a few years ago when the user interface was slow and clunky.

1337x has very few ads, and it shows some dedication to protecting your privacy — it only makes money through Bitcoin donations, for example.

That said, it can only do so much to protect you — you’re still at risk of third parties spying on your online activity when browsing any torrenting site. So it’s advisable to take extra precautions to keep your activities on the P2P site anonymous.

Check out 1337x

3. YTS — Best Torrent Site for High-Quality Movies

Screenshot of YTS and how the torrenting site works to get movie and TV shows

  • Year founded: 2011
  • Best for: Movies, TV shows
  • Mirror sites/alternate URLs: yts.mx, yts.homes, yts.lt, yts.rs, yts.am,
  • Banned locations: Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, China, Denmark, Finland, Greece, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Morocco, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Turkey, the UAE, and the UK

Note: You should not use YTS to download pirated or illegal content.

YTS (also known as YIFY) is hands-down one of the best torrent websites for high-quality movies. It has a massive user base of over 75 million people worldwide, and it offers over 40,000 movie titles, many of which come with subtitles and are available in 1080p. The best part is that its P2P files are small, but the quality isn't compromised, so it's great for anyone, regardless of internet speed.

It has a clear and simple interface that reminds me of Netflix. When I searched for the film Carnival of Souls, it provided the tech specs, synopsis, and IMBD ratings of the film, along with a list of similar films and film pictures.

Since YTS specializes in movies, you won't find other types of content like music, games, or software on its site. Plus, it has some annoying pop-up ads that can jeopardize your privacy. But the good news is that the number of ads has decreased over the years. If you want to avoid ads altogether, I recommend using a reliable ad blocker.

It's worth keeping in mind that YTS has been caught up in several legal disputes in the past and has handed over user data to authorities.

Check out YTS/YIFY

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4. EZTV — Great Torrent Site for TV Shows

Screenshot showing how to search for TV shows on EZTV and filter the results

  • Year founded: 2015
  • Best for: Movies, TV shows
  • Mirror sites/alternate URLs: eztv.unblockninja.com, eztv.unblockit.name, eztv.tf, eztv.yt, eztv.ag, eztv.re/, https://eztv.wf/, eztv.proxyninja.org
  • Banned Locations: Argentina, Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, Denmark, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, the UK, and the US

EZTV specializes in TV shows in HD or 1080p, attracting around 20 million visitors per month. Although it might not have as extensive a library as some of the bigger P2P sites like The Pirate Bay or 1337x, it's a great choice if you're specifically looking for TV shows. Plus, it has a useful "live countdown" list for new releases and a large collection of old shows.

One thing to keep in mind is that downloading new releases could get you in serious trouble since they're under copyright. So, I strongly advise against it. Additionally, EZTV copies content from other torrent sites, so you might unknowingly get yourself into some hot water.

On the plus side, EZTV has a handy drop-down search box, and I always got results no matter what I searched for. Unfortunately, the interface looks pretty outdated, and the number of ads on the P2P site can be pretty intrusive.

One thing that annoyed me a little about EZTV is that you can't download full seasons in one go. You have to download each episode separately, which is a real hassle and time-consuming.

Check out EZTV

5. Limetorrents — Huge Torrent Library With Tons of Variety

Screenshot of Limetorrents interface and how to sort torrents by size, seed, and health

  • Year founded: 2009
  • Best for: Movies, TV shows, ebooks, music, games, anime, software
  • Mirror sites/alternate URLs: limetorrents.co, limetor.com, limetorrents.info, limetorrent.ws, limetorrents.asia, limetorrents.lol
  • Banned Locations: Australia, Denmark, France, India, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, the UAE, the UK, and the US

Limetorrents boasts a massive torrent library with over 10 million torrents across all media types and attracts more than 20 million users every month. Searches on the P2P site always yield plenty of results, so you won’t be disappointed. Its library is even larger than The Pirate Bay’s library, which is very impressive.

You can download torrents of movies, games, music, apps, and TV shows, and the P2P site shows the top 100 torrents available for each category. This top 100 list focuses on newer releases — which means most of them are under copyright and illegal to download — so be careful when using this list to make sure you're not breaking any laws.

Otherwise, Limetorrents has tons of other files which are in the public domain that you can download safely. I also found its interface to be sleek and visually pleasing. I like being able to filter torrents by their health or verification status.

But having millions of torrents has its drawbacks, as quite a lot of them are fake. Also, irritating ads are pretty common on the site.

Check out Limetorrents

6. Torlock — Good Site for Safe Torrent Downloads

Screenshot of Torlock's interce showing torrenting files and their ranking

  • Year founded: 2010
  • Best for: Movies, anime, TV shows, ebooks, software
  • Mirror sites/alternate URLs: torlock.unblockit.ist/, www.torlock2.com/
  • Banned locations: Australia, Denmark, Finland, India, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, and the UK

If you’re concerned about downloading unsafe torrents, then consider using Torlock. The P2P site pays its users $1 for every fake torrent reported, which shows its commitment to your safety. It’s also one of the few torrent sites that still uses its “.com” domain name, which means it’s well-established. In particular, it has a lot of music, eBooks, and anime series in its library.

Its homepage displays the most recent and popular torrents for each category. However, new releases are usually under copyright, which means downloading them is illegal — so beware.

I liked that the site displays all the file specifications for each torrent, including the file size, upload date, seeders, and health. When you search for a torrent, the P2P site will also display torrents containing all of your search terms.

Check out Torlock

7. TorrentGalaxy — Tons of High-Quality Shows and Movies

Torrent Galaxy's site displaying different page options, including 'Arcade Hall' and 'Now Streaming'

  • Year founded: 2018
  • Best for: Movies, shows, music, software, ebooks, and games
  • Mirror sites/alternate URLs: torrentgalaxy.mx, tgx.rs, tgx.sb
  • Banned locations: Australia, the US, the UK, India, Belgium, Bulgaria, China, Denmark, Finland, Greece, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Malaysia

TorrentGalaxy is a newer but popular torrent site that hosts a wide variety of content, including but not limited to movies, TV shows, music, software, and games. The torrents offered are known for their high quality, and the site stands out for providing high quality content, especially TV shows and movies.

One distinctive feature is its Online streaming option, which lets users stream video content directly without downloading the whole torrent. Moreover, TorrentGalaxy offers detailed descriptions and user ratings for each torrent, enabling you to judge the quality and reliability before downloading.

TorrentGalaxy is committed to providing a safe platform for its users. To mitigate risks associated with malicious software, the site actively moderates its content and takes down any torrents reported to contain malware.

The site has a lot of pop-up ads, so it's a good idea to use an ad blocker. The easiest solution is to use a VPN with a built-in ad blocker, like CyberGhost, to protect your downloads and block all the sketchy ads at once.

Check out TorrentGalaxy

8. IPTorrents — Private Torrent Site That's Safe

Screenshot showing IPT sign-up page. You need an invite to get started.

  • Year founded: Unknown
  • Best for: Movies, TV series, music, ebooks, software, games
  • Mirror sites/alternate URLs: iptorrents.eu, iptorrents.me, ipt.lol, iptorrents.us, nemo.iptorrents.com
  • Banned locations: Australia, Norway, and the UK

Unlike the other sites on this list, IPTorrents is a private torrent download site with over 7 million monthly visits. This means you can only use it if you get invited and make a donation. But once you’re in, you’ll get access to a big library and an active community — without any pop-up ads. It’s also safer because it’s much harder for people to spread spyware or malware since not just anyone can use it.

Another benefit of IPTorrents is that its download speeds tend to be faster because members need to comply with seeding quotas. The only downside is you need to comply with 1 of 2 entry requirements to use it. You’ll get access if 1) someone sends you an invite link or 2) you pay a $20 donation to get in.

Check out IPTorrents

9. NYAA.si — Specialized Site for Anime

Screenshot of NYAA.sis interface showing how you can search and filter files.

  • Year founded: 2005
  • Best for: Anime
  • Mirror sites/Alternate URLs: nyaa.eu, nya.iss.one/, freeproxy.io/o.php?u=https://nyaa.si/, freeanimesonline.com/o.php?u=https://nyaa.si/
  • Banned locations: Australia, Japan, South Korea, the UK, and the US

NYAA.si is a specialist site that focuses on East Asian media, especially from Japan, China, and South Korea. It's perfect if you're into anime series, but I also found some music and software on there too. The site is actually a reincarnation of the popular anime torrent site NYAA.

One of the things I appreciate about NYAA.si is its simplistic interface. Navigating and finding the files you're after couldn’t be more straightforward. On the other hand, it can be quite intrusive with its pop-up ads. Make sure you have an ad and malware blocker installed and turned on if you decide to check out NYAA.

Check out NYAA.si

10. Demonoid — Well-Established Private Torrent Site With Lots of Media Types

Screenshot of Demonoid showing its various filtering criteria to find your perfect torrenting file.

  • Year founded: 2003
  • Best for: Movies, TV series, music, ebooks, software, games
  • Mirror sites/alternate URLs: demonoid.to/, dnoid.to, demonoid.to, demonoid.is, demonoid.unblockit.dad
  • Banned locations: Brazil, China, Iran, Italy, the Netherlands, Taiwan, the UK, and Ukraine

Demonoid is one of the original torrent sites that’s still active today. The site once struggled due to increased political pressure to get it taken down, but now has over 10 million users and 1 million torrents. You can find various media types on Demonoid, including movies, TV shows, music, games, and more. Movies and TV shows are especially popular on the site.

In the past, you needed to create an account and receive an invite to use the site, but that's no longer the case. When I tried it out, I was able to download Night of the Living Dead without signing up or creating an account.
Even though it’s a solid torrent site, it hasn’t been immune to shutdowns. Luckily, it’s been up and running without a hiccup for the past 4 years.

Check out Demonoid

11. iDope — Best Torrent Site for Mobile Downloads

Screenshot of iDope's intreface and search bar.

  • Year founded: 2016
  • Best for: Movies, TV shows, music, games
  • Mirror sites/alternate URLs: https://idope.skin/, https://idope-official.site/, idope.se/
  • Banned locations: Australia, Denmark, India, and the UK

iDope’s free mobile app lets you download torrents on the go. You can find the download link for the app on iDope's site as an APK file, which means you get ultimate privacy. The app is sleek and straightforward, and iDope guarantees that it will never contain ads or viruses. Plus, the database (of over 18 million torrents) gets updated almost every hour.

The desktop interface is just as user-friendly and doesn't display any pop-ups or ads. It's got a Google-like appearance that's easy to navigate, even if you've never used the site before. Plus, every torrent download is also available as a magnet link to speed up the process.

On the downside, iDope doesn't have an iOS app — but that’s to protect your privacy since app store downloads are easily tracked. Sticking with the APK file download option is much safer.

Check out iDope

12. FitGirl Repacks — Best Torrent Site for High-Quality Games

Screenshot showing FitGirl Repacks website displaying upcoming repacks

  • Year founded: 2012
  • Best for: Games
  • Mirror sites/alternate URLs: https://fitgirlrepacks.co/, https://fitgirl-repacks.site/, https://fitgirl-repack.com/, https://fitgirl-repacks.website/
  • Banned locations: India

FitGirl Repacks is popular for providing video games with minimal bandwidth usage, making it a top choice among millions of torrent users. What sets FitGirl Repacks apart is its 'repack' releases. These compressed versions of the original games reduce the overall file size and make downloading and installing the games easier for users.

The site has a user-friendly design characterized by a simple layout. A search bar at the top makes it easy for users to navigate and find the games they want. The site also has a vast selection of games, offering users various choices across multiple genres and platforms.

While most users online (via Reddit, Trustpilot, etc.) regard Fitgirl Repacks as one of the safer torrent sites, you should still exercise caution. Its rapidly growing popularity has resulted in tons of copycat sites, so make sure you only download copyright-free content from its official website.

Check out FitGirl Repacks

How to Stay Safe and Avoid Fake Torrent Sites

Staying safe while torrenting is more than just choosing a reputable site. When you visit torrent sites, your IP address is exposed, which can reveal your location and personal data to anyone who's seeding or leeching the same file. That's why it's important to take steps to protect your privacy. You can enhance your torrenting safety with a highly secure VPN.

A VPN encrypts your torrenting traffic and hides your IP address from prying eyes. Another benefit to this is that your ISP won't see what you're doing online. As a result, they can't cap your speeds based on your activity. ExpressVPN is my top recommendation because of its robust security and privacy features, global server network, and fast speeds for torrent downloads.

To make sure you're staying as safe as possible while torrenting, here are a few extra steps you can take:

  • Inspect every torrent. Unverified torrents are often filled with malware. Make sure any torrent you download has been verified, and check its seeder to leecher ratio, user comments, and the uploader’s history.
  • Use a private search engine. Mainstream search engines like Google hide the URLs of many torrent sites due to the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) and display dangerous fork sites instead. A private search engine like DuckDuckGo won’t hide URLs and will keep your searches private.
  • Use a safe torrent client. A good torrent website on its own isn’t enough to stay safe and protected. Using a reliable torrent client like uTorrent or qBittorrent will add further protection against viruses, malware, and spyware.
  • Check files for malware. Hackers can use torrent sites to lure people into downloading fake files, which can infect your devices with malware. Check for malware in RAR, TAR, and ZIP files. Pay close attention to EXE files and stay away from WMA, WMV, and password-protected files because they’re outdated and can be dangerous.
  • Look out for copycat sites. Strange-looking URLs, numerous pop-up windows, and registration demands are all signs of dangerous copycat sites that can expose you to malware and hackers.
  • Be aware of copyright. Downloading and sharing copyrighted material is illegal in most countries. This could land you in some serious legal trouble, and you could be facing hefty fines or even worse repercussions. So it's always best to be careful and avoid any copyrighted material when torrenting.

What Is a Torrent, and How Do Torrent Sites Work?

A torrent is a file-sharing technology used to distribute large amounts of data over the internet. It allows users to download files from multiple sources simultaneously, increasing download speeds and making it easier to distribute files to a large number of users.

Torrents operate through a peer-to-peer (P2P) system. This is different from traditional download methods, which use a central server. With a P2P system, peers (or seeders) fetch file pieces from fellow peers who already possess them. To facilitate this, a torrent client is used to connect peers via a tracker, which acts as a coordinating server.

Here's a step-by-step overview of how torrent sites work:

  1. Find a torrent file. Torrent sites host small files with the extension ".torrent" that contain information about the file you want to download. These torrent files don't contain the actual content but act as pointers to the data.
  2. Download a torrent client. You need a torrent client software such as uTorrent, BitTorrent, or qBittorrent to manage the downloading process. These clients handle the connections with other peers and manage the file transfers.
  3. Open the torrent file. Using the torrent client, you open the torrent file you downloaded from a torrent site. The torrent client reads the file and connects to the tracker mentioned in the torrent file.
  4. Connect to peers. The tracker provides the torrent client with a list of peers (other users) who have the desired file or parts of it. The client connects to these peers and starts downloading pieces of the file from them.
  5. Download and share. As the file downloads, the torrent client also shares the parts of the file it has already downloaded with other users. This sharing is known as seeding. It helps to maintain a healthy distribution of the file within the torrent network.
  6. Piece-by-piece download. Torrent clients download small pieces of the file from different peers simultaneously. Once all the pieces are downloaded, they are assembled to form the complete file on the user's device.
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Types of Torrent Sites

Torrent sites can be categorized into two main types — public and private torrent sites, based on the level of accessibility and the content available on the sites.

Public Torrent Sites

Public torrent sites are open to anyone and allow users to download and share a wide range of files. These sites are easily accessible and do not require registration or an invitation to join.

Since public torrent sites generally have a large number of active users, they often have faster download speeds due to the availability of more seeders. However, the content on public sites may not always be reliable or verified, and there is a greater risk of encountering malicious files or copyrighted material.

Private Torrent Sites

Private torrent sites are invite-only communities that require users to register and maintain a good sharing ratio to gain access. These sites often have stricter rules and guidelines to maintain quality and ensure community security. Private torrent sites offer several advantages, including:

  • Higher quality control. Private torrent sites typically have dedicated uploaders who ensure the quality and authenticity of the torrents available, which helps maintain a higher standard of content.
  • Enhanced security. Due to the invitation-based system, private sites tend to have a lower risk of malicious files or viruses. Additionally, they often have active moderation to prevent the sharing of illegal or harmful content.
  • Specialized content. Private sites often cater to specific niches or interests, such as movies, TV shows, music, ebooks, or software. They may also focus on content from specific regions or languages.

Accessing private torrent sites can be challenging for newcomers, as they typically require an invitation from an existing member or an application process. They also emphasize maintaining a strong sharing ratio, which means users must upload as much as they download to maintain their membership.

Pros and Cons of Torrent Websites

Torrent websites have advantages and disadvantages that are important to consider if you want to ensure a safe and legal torrenting experience. Here are some key pros and cons:

Pros of Torrent Websites

  • Vast content library. Torrent websites offer an extensive collection of files, including movies, TV shows, music, software, ebooks, and more. You can easily find a wide variety of content across different genres and categories.
  • Faster download speeds. Torrent technology utilizes a peer-to-peer network, allowing users to download files from multiple sources simultaneously. This decentralized approach results in faster download speeds compared to traditional downloading methods.
  • Resilience and availability. Torrents distribute the file-sharing load across multiple users, making the content more resilient to server failures or heavy traffic. As long as there are seeders (users who have completed the download and continue to share the file), the files remain available for download.
  • Flexibility and pause/resume capability. Torrent clients allow you to prioritize and select specific files within a torrent to download. Additionally, you can pause and resume downloads anytime without losing the progress made.
  • Access to rare or out-of-print content. Torrent websites sometimes offer access to hard-to-find or out-of-print content that may not be available through conventional channels. This can be beneficial for enthusiasts, researchers, or individuals seeking niche or discontinued media.

Cons of Torrent Websites

  • Copyright infringement concerns. One of the most significant drawbacks of torrent websites is the potential for copyright infringement. Many torrent sites host copyrighted material without proper authorization, making the act of downloading or sharing such files illegal in many jurisdictions.
  • Poor content quality and security risks. Public torrent sites may have unreliable or low-quality files, leading to frustration and wasted time. Plus, since anyone can upload files, there is a risk of encountering malicious or infected content, such as viruses or malware.
  • Legal consequences. Engaging in unauthorized downloading or sharing of copyrighted material can result in legal consequences, including fines or legal action from copyright holders. You need to understand and respect copyright laws to avoid potential legal issues.

When utilizing torrent websites, it's crucial to be careful and comply with legal and ethical standards. This involves abiding by copyright laws, ensuring the genuineness and quality of files, and opting for trustworthy torrent clients and websites.

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Tips on How to Choose the Best Torrenting Site for You

Even some of the most well-known torrenting sites can be dangerous, so it’s good to know what to look for when choosing one. Since most P2P sites are unregulated (or difficult to regulate), they may contain fake links with viruses, malware, or tracking software. So it can still be risky to download links from them.

That’s why my team and I put each torrenting site through extensive testing and only listed those with long-standing, trustworthy reputations. When selecting a torrent website, take into account the following crucial elements:

  • Safety indicators. There are plenty of clues as to whether a torrent site is reputable and, therefore, trustworthy. For instance, it’s best if a site has been up for 5 years minimum, and has a high volume of monthly traffic (look for engaged users and recent comments). A high ratio of seeders to leechers is a good indication of a high level of sharing, resulting in faster downloads.
  • Library size. A torrenting site with a large library will make it much easier for you to find the content you want without having to bounce to another site. That’s why The Pirate Bay ranks so well in our list — it has one of the largest libraries around.
  • Media types. Make sure your site’s library has a wide mix of different content types. If you’re after a particular type of content, such as movies, then consider specialist sites too.
  • As few ads as possible. Intrusive pop-up ads are an inevitable feature of many torrent sites. Avoid sites that bombard you with ads, and use a reputable ad blocker.
  • Availability in your region. Some regions block torrent sites more than others, so make sure you can access the site in your area. Most reputable torrent sites also provide mirror links in case the main site gets blocked.

Beware of These Torrent Sites — Some Are Fake

Certain torrenting sites may be well-liked, but they risk exposing your actions and contaminating your device with malicious software. The following are some torrent sites that I advise against using:

  • KickAssTorrents. KickAssTorrents (KAT) was once the most popular torrent site globally, only to be taken down for good. Its founder, Artem Vaulin, has been on the run from US authorities due to numerous charges of copyright infringement. Several copycat sites look similar but require you to install browser extensions to use them, which is a huge red flag.
  • SUMOtorrent. This site always asks you to download its torrent client to access its library. It’s usually best to avoid sites that request this because it’s not common and, therefore, suspicious.
  • Torrent9. We advise against using this torrent site because its advertisements have been known to redirect users to sketchy links that contain malware or adware.

Best VPNs for Accessing Torrent Sites Safely in 2024

  1. ExpressVPN — High-speed connections and robust security features to avoid ISP throttling and hackers intercepting your data. It also comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can try it risk-free.
  2. CyberGhost — 70+ optimized torrenting servers worldwide for reliable downloads from anywhere without compromising speed.
  3. Private Internet Access — Inbuilt malware blocker to protect you against ads and malicious files while torrenting.

FAQs on The Best Torrent Sites

What happened to RARBG?

RARBG shut down in May of 2023 for a few reasons — from health concerns to expenses. While RARBG was still running, it was one of our top recommended torrent sites, with a massive number of engaged users (around 40 million) and a sound reputation.

However, a series of events took its toll on the torrenting giant, causing it to be too costly to keep up with. RARBG founders stated that it faced several difficulties over a 2-year-period. This included the loss of staff members to COVID-19, rising operational costs paired with inflation, and effects from the Ukraine and Russia conflict. At this point, there’s no indication that RARBG will ever be revived.

Which torrenting site is the fastest in 2024?

It depends, but reputable sites with a high number of seeders, like The Pirate Bay, are usually the fastest. That’s because the more sources there are, the faster the files will download. Private torrent sites are also known to offer faster download speeds as they require anyone who downloads a file to seed it back.

Protecting yourself while torrenting is important, so a high-speed VPN is vital to maintain fast torrent downloads. A VPN with the WireGuard or Lightway protocol won’t noticeably slow your download speeds, so they are the best option for torrenting quickly and safely.

Are torrent download sites legal?

This depends on the torrent site and your location. Torrenting itself is not illegal, so you can legally access torrent sites in many countries. What’s illegal is downloading copyrighted or licensed content. Downloading copyrighted material has legal repercussions in most countries — you can get arrested and receive hefty fines, though the chances are slim.

While some countries allow torrent sites to stand, others are serious about taking them down. Some of the locations that ban torrent sites entirely include India, Australia, the UK, China, Russia, and some European countries.

I don’t condone illegal torrenting. Even if you download something that you think is legal (but isn’t), you can still get in trouble in the open domain. Be sure to check the rules and regulations in your country before you torrent.

Is torrenting safe?

It depends. There are ways to torrent safely — but if you’re not careful, it can be dangerous. Before using a torrent site or downloading torrents, you should consider several factors, such as the reputation of the site and whether the torrent has been verified. It’s also best to layer up protection by using a VPN paired with a malware blocker (if the VPN doesn’t have a built-in blocker).

Also, keep in mind that torrenting copyrighted material is illegal across the globe. So be sure to check that the file you’re downloading doesn’t infringe on copyright law to avoid any possible repercussions.

Why are some torrenting sites blocked?

Torrenting site blocks are typically enforced by governments due to copyright concerns, aiming to prevent unlawful sharing and downloading. Government actions illustrate this — like when the US shut down KickAssTorrents.

Searching for torrent sites is difficult because search engines, such as Google, omit them due to legal issues. Access is further obstructed by extensions like Chrome's AdBlock. To safely explore torrent sites, consider using a reliable VPN. However, you should research your local regulations to determine if torrenting sites are blocked in your location.

Which is the best torrent site for movie downloads?

YTS is currently the best torrent site for downloading movies. It specializes in movies, with over 40,000 titles. The files are also small without compromising picture quality, so you can download them quickly. However, it is known to share user data with authorities during legal disputes, so it’s advisable to use a reliable VPN when using YTS.

What can I download from torrent sites?

You can download movies, TV shows, music, software, games, and ebooks. There are some torrent sites specialized for one kind of content, but most torrent sites host a wide range of downloaded files.

However, while torrents themselves are a legitimate technology, the content shared on torrent sites may host copyrighted material. Downloading or sharing copyrighted material without proper authorization is illegal in many countries. Therefore, it is crucial to use torrent sites responsibly and respect copyright laws.

How can I access the best private torrent sites?

You can typically access private torrent sites by either making a donation or receiving an invite (depending on the site). To receive invitations, go to sites like Reddit and 8kun, which have anonymous messaging boards for torrenting. Here, invitations are either given out randomly or by request, so it pays to be persuasive. If you’re looking for a good private torrent site, I recommend IPTorrents.

Do you need a VPN for torrent sites?

While it’s not a necessity, using a VPN for torrent sites is advisable due to the privacy and security benefits it offers. When downloading torrent files, other users can see your IP address, which they can use to track your activities and even find out your personal details. A reliable VPN hides your IP, encrypts your internet traffic, and provides anonymity, making it harder for ISPs and other entities to monitor your online activities.

Conclusion

Finding good torrenting sites on Google can really be a hassle. The search results are usually packed with annoying ads and dangerous links. So, to save you the trouble, I’ve shortlisted the best torrent sites that still work (after much testing and research).

Even torrenting sites that are regarded as safe still come with inherent dangers and privacy risks. This is why I advise using a reputable service like ExpressVPN while torrenting to ensure your personal data and online activities are kept private.

Privacy Alert!

Your data is exposed to the websites you visit!

Your IP Address:

Your Location:

Your Internet Provider:

The information above can be used to track you, target you for ads, and monitor what you do online.

VPNs can help you hide this information from websites so that you are protected at all times. We recommend ExpressVPN — the #1 VPN out of over 350 providers we've tested. It has military-grade encryption and privacy features that will ensure your digital security, plus — it's currently offering 49% off.

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About the Author

Keira is an experienced cybersecurity and tech writer dedicated to providing comprehensive insights on VPNs, online privacy, and internet censorship.