VPN vs. Proxy for Torrenting

The two most best (and most powerful) tools for keeping your torrent activity a secret are:

1. Virtual Private Network (VPN)
2. Torrent Proxy (usually SOCKS5)

But the differences between them aren’t always clear to new users. And frankly, they can do similar things. But they aren’t the same.

Each has it’s own advantages…

But one is vastly superior for most torrent-privacy uses

And this guide will explain why, as well as help you choose the best tool (and service) for the job

	VPN	Proxy
Encryption	Strong Encryption	No encryption or weaker encryption
Impacted Apps	Encrypts/Routes traffic for your entire device	Routes traffic for 1 program or app
Changes your IP address	Yes (entire device)	Yes (for the program using the proxy)
Setup/Ease of Use	Standalone VPN App with extra features. Can be set up manually too.	Manual setup only
Speed	Slightly slower than proxy (encryption overhead)	Slightly faster
Torrent Client Compatibility	100%	Some torrent clients ignore proxy settings (route traffic insecurely)

Proxy: an overview

A proxy is like VPN-lite. It’s a simple tool that may get the job done, depending on your needs.

But proxies come with several tradeoffs, especially regarding security and ease of use.

It’s also extremely important to make sure you use the right type of proxy (as p2p clients only support SOCKS5 proxies for peers connections).

Advantages & Disadvantages of using a proxy

Advantages:

• Will disguise the public IP address shown to torrent peers
• No encryption overhead (faster speeds)
• Possible to find free servers (though not recommended)

Disadvantages:

• Doesn’t encrypt your traffic
• Some torrent software (like Tixati) may ignore proxy settings
• Harder to set up and harder to monitor than a VPN
• Some proxies make it hard to use Magnet Links
• Need 2 separate proxies to disguise web & torrent traffic

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How to use a proxy for torrenting

Unlike a VPN, a proxy server needs to be manually configured in the settings of your preferred torrent client. Most major BitTorrent clients do support proxying of peer connections.

Clients that fully support proxy usage:

• BitTorrent/uTorrent
• Vuze (Azureus)
• Deluge
• QBittorrent

Clients that don’t:

• Frostwire
• Transmission
• Tixati (flawed implementation)
• Web-based clients

Setting up the proxy in your torrent client

Once you have a subscription to a reputable SOCKS proxy service, you’ll be given the login information which includes:

• The server address
• The port #
• Your username and password

Then all you need to do is open the settings/options menu of your compatible torrent client and plug in the information. Most torrent-friendly proxy services to offer setup guides in their help documentation….

But we have more detailed setup guides for the 4 most popular clients:

• uTorrent
• Vuze
• Deluge
• QBittorrent

Check out these examples of a SOCKS5 proxy configured in popular torrent clients: BitTorrent (uTorrent) & QBittorrent.

We used NordVPN and Private Internet Access’s proxy servers for the screenshots.

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The Best Torrent Proxy Services

Don’t compromise your security by using a logging proxy service, or some free HTTP proxy that doesn’t even hide your IP address.

These are our FAVORITE, Torrent-Friendly proxy services:

And all of them are included with a VPN subscription. It’s basically like a free bonus.

Provider	Includes VPN	Type	Server Location	Best Offer
NordVPN	Yes	SOCKS/HTTPS	20+ Countries	Try It
Private Internet Access	Yes	SOCKS	Netherlands	Try It
IPVanish	Yes	SOCKS	Netherlands	Try It

Every single one of the SOCKS5 proxy providers listed above is:

• Torrent Friendly
• Zero-Log
• P2P-allowed server location
• Proxy Included with any VPN subscription

But NordVPN is the cheapest (from $2.99/month) and has the most server locations, so they took our #1 ranking.

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Using a VPN for Torrents

It’s way easier to secure your torrents using a VPN.

There’s no manual setup required (if you’re on Windows/Mac/iOS/Android).

And it secures your entire internet connection, so your ISP won’t see that you’re browsing torrent sites either!

Advantages & Disadvantages of a VPN

Here’s a more detailed explanation of these pros and cons:

Recommended VPN Providers

Any VPN provider with a high TorrentScore on our list VPNs that allow torrenting would be a good choice.

But there are our favorites VPNs (and they ALL offer torrent proxy service if you want it).

• NordVPN (Best Value)
• IPVanish (Fastest)
• Private Internet Access (All-around performer)

Using a VPN & Proxy Together

You can actually combine these two technologies and harness the advantages of each.

Many of our readers run a VPN while torrenting but also have a SOCKS5 proxy configured inside their torrent software.

This yields a few advantages:

• Two IP address hops (Device > VPN > Proxy)
• Browser IP address is different than your Torrent IP
• Proxy acts as a kill-switch

This video describes how to set everything up in Vuze, but it should work for any torrent software:

Downsides of using Both:

• You have all the combined weaknesses too
• Speeds will be slower then either separately
• Magnet links may cause issues

Tip: If your proxy and VPN are from the same provider, you don’t gain any real privacy advantage. If that’s your #1 goal, consider combing two separate services.

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Better for Torrents: Proxy or VPN?

In my (experienced) opinion:

Most people would be better off with a VPN (not a proxy).

The advantages of a VPN are obvious, and the downsides are quite minimal (a slight speed hit).

Why I prefer a VPN:

• Easier setup
• 1-click connections
• No issues with Magnet links
• Easier to troubleshoot problems
• More server locations to choose from
• Stronger encryption (prevents throttling, monitoring by your ISP)

And there’s no price penalty for choosing a VPN. In fact, all the VPN providers we recommended in this article also include a SOCKS5 proxy for the same price.

But don’t forget, you don’t have to pick just ONE…

You can use a proxy in addition to the VPN. That way you get the encryption and 2 IP-address switches. Just make sure to connect to the VPN before you open your torrent client, otherwise you might cause a proxy error.

Questions? Tips/Suggestions? Leave a comment below!

Provider	Includes VPN	Type	Server Location	Best Offer
NordVPN	Yes	SOCKS/HTTPS	20+ Countries	Try It
Private Internet Access	Yes	SOCKS	Netherlands	Try It
IPVanish	Yes	SOCKS	Netherlands	Try It