BitTorrent

Introduction

So, you have been thinking about torrenting, huh? Well, allow me to be the first to say, congratulations … what an exciting and fun journey you are about to embark upon. And also allow me to humbly say that I believe you came to the perfect place to start torrenting the right way. TorrentSites is the first comprehensive list on the internet of all of the best torrent sites, broken down and organized by type, each of which comes with its own thorough and thoughtful review.

So, not only will I be able to help you figure out which torrent client you should be using, but I will also be able to help you get a grip on which torrent site will be perfect for your many varied torrenting needs. Looking for the best free indie movies torrent site? I got you covered. Need to find torrent downloads of your favorite free indie TV shows? No worries … check out my television section. Looking for free indie music? You guessed it … TorrentSites is the place to be. Really, for any of your torrenting needs, no matter how big or small, this is going to be the perfect site for you.

But first, before you can decide on which torrent sites are going to best help you find the content that you are looking for, you have to make sure that you have the software that you need. And the very first program that you will need before you can start downloading torrents is, of course, a great torrent client. However, before we can dive in and discuss all of the benefits of what is easily the most popular torrent client, we must answer the most basic question: what exactly is a torrent client? And, furthermore, what makes one torrent client better than the next?

Well, a torrent client is the program that is going to allow you to actually download torrent files. A torrent site on its own is all but useless unless you already have a torrent client to execute the downloads. A torrent client is the software that makes downloading those files possible.

Once you click on the magnet link of the file you want, your torrent client does the rest. The best torrent clients help you organize and keep track of multiple torrent downloads at once. And nowadays, the best of the best torrent clients will also allow you to stream free indie movies, TV shows, and music while it is still downloading! You want a torrent client to be powerful, conservative on CPU space (don’t want it to slow down the other things you are doing on your computer) and download torrents efficiently and expeditiously.

Your torrent client of choice, however, should also keep you safe. So, if you can find a torrent client that does all of that, as well as scans files for viruses and keeps your IP address private in the process, well, then you are coming close to the full package. Most torrent clients offer freemium services, too, so you want to note which clients offer the biggest bang for your buck (ideally, of course, you won’t have to pay … but to make the most out of the best torrent clients, chances are, you will have to end up paying something, however small that amount may be).

So, then, where does the torrent client that really does not need too much of an introduction fall on this spectrum? Bit Torrent is easily one of the most well-known torrent clients (if not the most well-known one) on the market. Is Bit Torrent, though, truly the best torrent client there is? Or has it struggled to keep up with the constantly shifting expectations and precedents set by newer torrent clients? Let’s dive in and take a look, shall we, and decide, once and for all, whether Bit Torrent is the best torrent client for you!

History

Since its launch in the early aughts, Bit Torrent has risen to become arguably the most popular and widely used torrent client on the web. In fact, in February of 2013, Bit Torrent was responsible for roughly 3.5% of all internet bandwidth alone (while P2P clients, writ large, made up anywhere between 43% and 70% of all internet traffic. So, to say that Bit Torrent is extremely beloved would be an understatement.

As of 2013, Bit Torrent had 15-17 million simultaneous individual users at any one given time. It has 150 million daily active users. Based on that number, some have estimated that Bit Torrent has more than a quarter of a billion monthly users, and has been a favorite for downloading music, TV shows, computer programs, movies, documentaries, anime, and, of course, adult entertainment.

So, moving into 2020, is Bit Torrent expected to retain its status as the torrent client of choice around the world? Let’s take a deeper look and find out.

Design

Bit Torrent employs a classic torrent client look and feel. It is easy to use and relatively intuitive. Once you get the hang of it, even the most novice of torrent client users should have no problems whatsoever making the most of everything that Bit Torrent has to offer.

The program is split into 2 main menus. On the left-hand side of the screen, you will find your macro categories: Torrents, Labels, Devices, and an RSS Feed. To the right of that, whatever you select will display its submenu. What you will most commonly find here is your collection of active torrents. This is the section of the client where your torrents will download and seed. You’ll be able to track the download’s progress, its download speed, upload speed, and estimated time left in the download.

Bit Torrent’s design is simple, easy to use, and basic. There is nothing too life changing about it, sure, but it is great for beginners – making it easy to visualize how torrenting works.

Content and Features

In addition to being able to download and upload torrent files, Bit Torrent lets you do almost everything that the best torrent clients enable. Well, as long as you are willing to pay for it, that is (more on that in a bit). Stream your content, convert files, limit bandwidth, block security threats, and (for the priciest tier of the program) make use of a built-in VPN for added protection and anonymity.

Mobile and Desktop Experience

One of the things that definitely sets Bit Torrent apart from many of its competitors is the fact that it offers a mobile app. Granted, the app is only available on Android (sorry iOS users). But this is still more than many torrent clients can say for themselves. The app, too, is just as intuitive, speedy, compressed, and user-friendly as the larger-scale computer program. Take your torrents with you, no matter where you happen to be.

Pricing and Plans

So, here is where Bit Torrent really begins to show off. So long as you can pay, Bit Torrent has plenty of options (many of which are fairly affordable) for tons of additional features. Mind you, though, some of these features are offered for free on other clients … so, take that for what it’s worth. At any rate, here are the different payment plans available for upgrading your baseline free Bit Torrent client:

Basic (Ad-Free): $4.95 a year. Uses less bandwidth, offers streamlined torrenting. Oh, and (of course) this upgrade removes all advertisements

Pro: $19.95 per year. With this plan, you have advanced security measures to help block potential threats, no ads, high-quality file playback, and file conversion. This is the most popular option for a reason – you get a lot for what it costs.

Pro + VPN: $69.95/year. This is exactly what it sounds like. This plan offers everything that comes with Bit Torrent Pro … but you also get a yearly subscription to Cyber Ghost VPN (which will keep your IP address anonymous while torrenting). A great deal for the more private torrent lovers out there.

Suggestions that I have for Bit Torrent

In order to keep up with the competition, I would suggest that Bit Torrent offer more in its basic, free version. There are plenty of other clients, for example, that offer media playback in the free versions of their software. Also, I could do without the ads. Oh, and stop trying to sneak bundled software in with the download. That is beyond annoying!