There are hundreds of promising torrent sites – but many don’t work, and most aren’t safe. So how do you get your torrent fix without wasting your time on broken and dangerous sites? Don’t worry – I’ve got you covered.
I tested 35 of the most reputable torrent sites to compare their speed, library size, and easy of use. From my research, I’ve found the 10 best torrent sites of 2020. The sites I recommend are active and safe, and now I’ll help you to download whatever you want faster, and without being hurt by hackers.
Many ISPs will significantly lower your download speed once torrenting is detected. A secure VPN like NordVPN has over 2,600 servers dedicated to torrenting, to optimize your download speed while keeping you safe from data thieves and legit tracking alike – thanks to military-grade data encryption nobody can break.
Download faster with NordVPN!
At the end of this article, I’ll help you find a secure VPN so you can safely visit the sites on this list and start torrenting. You can also check out our list of the 10 best VPNs for torrenting to learn more.
Let me show you that torrenting (and torrent sites) isn’t dead. It just takes a bit longer to find the hidden, working gems. I’ve done the hard work for you. Here are the top 10 torrent sites that still work.
Best Working Torrent Sites
- The Pirate Bay – Best Torrent Site Overall
- RARBG – Best for New Content
- 1337x – Best Torrent Search Options
- TorLock – Best for Anime and Ebooks
- Torrentz2 – Best for Music
The Best Torrenting Sites that Still Work in August 2020
These sites were thoroughly tested and are 100% working as of the latest update.
1. The Pirate Bay – Best Torrent Site Overall
- The most popular torrent tracker in the world
- Evaded multiple shutdowns and blocks
- VIP/Trusted user tags let you know which torrents are legitimate and safe
You can quickly find verified torrents for both new and old content
The Pirate Bay has had a long and rough history, but this crowd favorite is still going strong. It has millions of torrents available in various categories, along with support for magnet links and an extremely simple interface that won’t give you any trouble even if you’re a beginner.Note:The Pirate Bay’s domain changes quite often (it’s now back at.org), and the website occasionally goes offline. Fortunately, you can still gain access, thanks to the always-online technology The Pirate Bay uses. Or, you can find yourself a The Pirate Bay proxy website on the internet.
Average download speed: 6.2 MB/s
Number of search results for “Lizzo, Good as Hell”: 1
Number of search results for “Joker”: 651
Number of search results for “The Witcher”: 350
Best seeder/leecher ratio for “Lizzo, Good as Hell”: 22/2
Best seeder/leecher ratio for “Joker”: 8,219/2,327
Best seeder/leecher ratio for “The Witcher”: 3,506/957
Not loading? Try these mirrors: thepiratebay.vip, thepiratebay.rocks, thepirate-bay.org.
2. RARBG – Best for New Content
- Active community and lots of seeding
- Huge variety of new and old torrents
- Top 10 lists for movies, shows, music, and many other categories
Discover the most popular torrents on RARBG’s Top 10 lists
RARBG has been around since 2008 and has built a reputation for its high-quality torrents and ease of use, as well as constant new additions.
Unfortunately, this means it’s not under the radar. As a result, RARBG is blocked in many countries, including Bulgaria, Denmark, Portugal, and the UK. A VPN for torrenting can help you bypass these blocks.
Average download speed: 6.1 MB/s
Number of search results for “Lizzo, Good as Hell”: 0
Number of search results for “Joker”: 25
Number of search results for “The Witcher”: 19
Best seeder/leecher ratio for “Lizzo, Good as Hell”: 0
Best seeder/leecher ratio for “Joker”: 1,881/447
Best seeder/leecher ratio for “The Witcher”: 448/147
Not loading? Try these mirrors: rarbgmirror.com, rarbg.is, rarbgunlock.com
3. 1337x – Best Torrent Search Options
- Excellent choice of movies, TV shows, games, and music
- Helpful browsing features – Oscar nominations, new episodes, libraries
- Revamped interface makes the tracker much better
A winning combination of great variety and user-friendly interface
1337x can help you find a torrent you’ll love even if you don’t know what you’re looking for, thanks to its simple, organized interface. The website recently underwent a massive rework, improving the layout and eliminating some serious security risks.
Now it’s one of the most popular torrent trackers in the world – to the point where Google hides it from search results.
Average download speed: 4.2 MB/s
Number of search results for “Lizzo, Good as Hell”: 2
Number of search results for “Joker”: 200
Number of search results for “The Witcher”: 214
Best seeder/leecher ratio for “Lizzo, Good as Hell”: 21/5
Best seeder/leecher ratio for “Joker”: 10,903/5,161
Best seeder/leecher ratio for “The Witcher”: 6,092/3,083
Not loading? Try these mirrors: 1337x.is, 1337x.st, x1337x.ws, x1337x.eu, x1337x.se
4. Torlock – Best for Anime and Ebooks
- Wide array of active anime, ebook, and music torrents
- Clean, intuitive interface
- Top 100 torrents list to help you find the best content
Clean & minimalist interface makes it easy to find what you’re looking for
TorLock combines a huge list of torrents with a fantastic user experience, especially if you’re looking for high-quality anime episodes or reading material.
Some of the stuff on TorLock is difficult to find on other trackers, but you’re likely to find the most popular torrents here as well — there are over 4.8 million to choose from.
Average download speed: 4.4 MB/s
Number of search results for “Lizzo, Good as Hell”: 4
Number of search results for “Joker”: 728
Number of search results for “The Witcher”: 480
Best seeder/leecher ratio for “Lizzo, Good as Hell”: 5,165/1,148
Best seeder/leecher ratio for “Joker”: 1,136/49
Best seeder/leecher ratio for “The Witcher”: 438/21
5. Torrentz2 – Best for Music
- Great variety of music torrents
- Extremely easy to use
- Maintains a low profile
All the music you could possibly want
Torrentz2 is the new iteration of the popular Torrentz website. It has kept the original site’s minimalist interface and heavy focus on music – it’s not uncommon to see decade-old torrents with 20+ seeders.
While there have been some changes to how magnet links work, Torrentz2 remains a great choice for audiophiles, and it’s one of the more reliable trackers around.
Average download speed: 2.0 MB/s
Number of search results for “Lizzo, Good as Hell”: 216
Number of search results for “Joker”: 1,116
Number of search results for “The Witcher”: 1,795
Best seeder/leecher ratio for “Lizzo, Good as Hell”: 207/25
Best seeder/leecher ratio for “Joker”: 421/1
Best seeder/leecher ratio for “The Witcher”: 568/9
Not loading? Try these mirrors: torrentz2.eu
6. YTS – Best for Classic Movies
- Great choice of classic and hard-to-find movies
- Perfect for users with limited bandwidth
- Easy to browse content
Excellent search engine and easy sorting
YTS focuses exclusively on movies. The wonderful layout and huge variety of titles make it the ideal torrent site for movie enthusiasts.
The torrents are also very easy on your bandwidth, which is one of the main advantages of this site.
Overall, YTS is a favorite for movies, but since it doesn’t offer any other categories, you’ll have to pick another site from the list for games, music, or TV shows.
Average download speed: 3.2 MB/s
Number of search results for “Lizzo, Good as Hell”: 0
Number of search results for “Joker”: 0
Number of search results for “The Witcher”: 4
Best seeder/leecher ratio for “Lizzo, Good as Hell”: 0
Best seeder/leecher ratio for “Joker”: 3,282/736
Best seeder/leecher ratio for “The Witcher”: 0
7. EZTV – Best for TV Shows
- Amazing variety of TV shows
- Very active community, with many new episodes added daily
- Super easy to navigate
A slice of heaven for TV junkies
EZTV went through quite a lot of drama, but that’s all in the past. Today it’s known as one of the best torrent sites for TV shows, with lots of active users.
You can find anything TV-related here, from the latest hit series and late night shows to reality TV and NASCAR races.
The old-school interface may look a bit dated, but it’s very easy to use, and that’s what matters. Popular TV shows have their own page on the site where you can find organized lists of all episodes available.
Average download speed: 3.2 MB/s
Number of search results for “Lizzo, Good as Hell”: 0
Number of search results for “Joker”: 0
Number of search results for “The Witcher”: 27
Best seeder/leecher ratio for “Lizzo, Good as Hell”: 0
Best seeder/leecher ratio for “Joker”: 0
Best seeder/leecher ratio for “The Witcher”: 141/32
8. Zooqle – Best Torrent Games Site
- Over 3.5 million verified torrents
- Good balance of entertainment and software
- Big fan base for a newcomer
The new kid on the block does not disappoint
Zooqle has over 37,000 movies and 600 TV shows available impressive for a site that’s so new to the torrenting scene.
The interface is strong overall, but could use some minor improvements here and there. Still, this torrent site is easy to use and has the numbers to help you find whatever you’re after.
Many loyal users like the direction Zooqle has taken in its development, so there’s no doubt it will be even bigger and better in the future.
Average download speed: 2.6 MB/s
Number of search results for “Lizzo, Good as Hell”: 0
Number of search results for “Joker”: 131
Number of search results for “The Witcher”: 211
Best seeder/leecher ratio for “Lizzo, Good as hell”: 0
Best seeder/leecher ratio for “Joker”: 9,736/3,125
Best seeder/leecher ratio for “The Witcher”: 1,954/359
9. TorrentDownloads – Best for Obscure Torrents
- Extensive and well-organized torrent library
- Easy to navigate
- Unfortunately blocked in many countries
TorrentDownloads offers an impressive collection of movies, new and old
TorrentDownloads is another very popular torrent site, mainly because it keeps everything tidy. If all other trackers fail, this one is probably your best chance to find that old, rarely-used software you’ve been looking for, or a little-known ebook you’ve been dying to read again.
Just a heads-up: Since TorrentDownloads isn’t exactly a low-profile site, it might be blocked in your country.
Average download speed: 2.8 MB/s
Number of search results for “Lizzo, Good as Hell”: 4
Number of search results for “Joker”: 950
Number of search results for “The Witcher”: 1,000
Best seeder/leecher ratio for “Lizzo, Good as Hell”: 214/58
Best seeder/leecher ratio for “Joker”: 8,656/56
Best seeder/leecher ratio for “The Witcher”: 6,186/63
10. LimeTorrents – Best Plan B
- Neat, user-friendly interface
- Most torrents come from bigger, better trackers
- Poor torrent health and lack of seeding can occasionally be an issue
A nice alternative if you’re looking for new releases
LimeTorrents.cc is a decent alternative if your favorite torrent site is down, but it has some shortcomings.
One advantage of this tracker is the excellent user experience provided by the simple, organized layout. New, popular releases also enjoy lots of seeders and fast speeds.
However, older torrents are often forgotten. This isn’t a problem of the site itself, but I recommend using it as a backup plan rather than a first choice due to this inconsistency.
Average download speed: 3.7 MB/s
Number of search results for “Lizzo, Good as Hell”: 1
Number of search results for “Joker”: 680
Number of search results for “The Witcher”: 120
Best seeder/leecher ratio for “Lizzo, Good as Hell”: 28/15
Best seeder/leecher ratio for “Joker”: 8,849/3,813
Best seeder/leecher ratio for “The Witcher”: 2,178/839
Why You Can’t Access Some Torrent Sites
ISPs across the world face governmental pressure to block torrenting sites. In an effort to stop illegal torrenting, governments prevent thousands of users from accessing otherwise safe and legal P2P platforms.
In some cases, legal agencies have even managed to shut down P2P sites permanently like TorrentProject and ExtraTorrent.
Don’t be surprised if one day you suddenly can’t access your favorite torrent site and need alternative sites. But there’s more.
In many cases, famous torrent sites are blocked in certain countries. Google has taken steps to prevent users from accessing many torrent sites by blocking them from search results. The Chrome Adblock extension has also been known to block torrent trackers.
Why Do I Need a VPN for Torrenting?
Most torrent sites explicitly warn you to use a VPN before downloading anything – and there’s a good reason for that.
Even the most reputable torrent sites and clients come with inherent dangers. It’s easy for cybercriminals to steal your IP address, monitor your connection, and even upload malware-infected torrents. VPNs use encryption and IP masking to hide your browsing activity, location, and personal data from hackers.
Depending on where you live, torrenting may be illegal. If you don’t take precautions, the outcomes of downloading torrents can be quite severe – from copyright infringement notices in your mailbox to hefty fines, arrests, and even the threat of jail time.IMPORTANT: Bear in mind that even in the many countries where torrenting is legal, downloading copyrighted material most often is not. At vpnMentor we support freedom of access and choice, but we don’t encourage illegal activity.
If you’re lucky enough to live in a country where torrenting is allowed, you may still encounter some issues. Namely, your ISP may intentionally throttle your bandwidth when it detects heavy data usage.
This can slow your connection down to a snail’s pace, making it extremely frustrating to download torrents – especially when all you want to do is watch your favorite movie.
If torrenting is blocked in your country, a VPN can bypass those blocks while protecting your anonymity. If you’re looking for a secure, dependable service, check out our top 10 VPNs for torrents.
I recommend NordVPN for its excellent security, fast connections, and unlimited P2P traffic on thousands of servers.
Stick around for a speed test table where you’ll be able to see how it performs and which sites offered the highest download speeds, or take a look at our in-depth expert review to learn more about NordVPN.
Using the right VPN will help you overcome these serious problems. Here’s why VPNs are crucial for a smooth and safe torrenting experience:
- Anonymity.
VPN encryption makes your traffic and data unreadable, even to hackers. And, when you connect to a VPN server, your original IP address is masked, making it look like you’re torrenting from a different location. It’s impossible for anyone to see what you download, or where you’re downloading it from. - Unblocking.
It’s not uncommon to try to access a torrent site, only to find it’s unavailable in your country (or specifically blocked by your ISP). VPNs, however, allow you to connect to servers in many different countries. You can use this advantage to bypass geoblocks and download from your favorite torrent sites no matter where you are. - No throttling.
If your ISP is bottle necking your connection, using a VPN is an excellent solution. Masking your traffic means that no one but your VPN provider can link your activities specifically to you. For more tips, check out our article on blocking ISP throttling.
Which Torrent Site Is the Fastest?
Speed Tests
It’s important to note that a torrent site on its own won’t give you better speeds. What matters is the swarm, or the number of seeders and leechers for a certain torrent.
With that said, here are the results from the speed tests I performed on the 10 torrent sites above with NordVPN, our readers’ most recommended VPN:
Torrent size: ~1GB
Seeder-to-leecher ratio: approx. 80%
Connection speed: 75 MB/s
Average download speed (no VPN): 6.5 MB/s
Average download speed (with NordVPN): 6.3
| Site | Average speed (MB/s) | Peak speed (MB/s) | |
| #1 The Fastest Torrent Site | ThePirateBay | 6.3 | 7.5 |
| #2 | RARBG | 6.1 | 7.9 |
| #3 | Torrentz2 | 6.4 | 7.9 |
| #4 | Torlock | 4.4 | 6.5 |
| #5 | 1337x | 4.2 | 6.8 |
| #6 | LimeTorrents | 3.7 | 5.2 |
| #7 | YTS | 3.2 | 7.7 |
| #8 | EZTV | 3.2 | 7.0 |
| #9 | TorrentDownloads | 2.8 | 4.6 |
| #10 | Zooqle | 2.6 | 4.1 |
As you can see, all sites offered more than acceptable speeds, with The Pirate Bay, RARBG, and Torrentz2 in the lead. NordVPN gave us impressive results, with an average download speed of 6.3 MB/s – only a 3% decrease from our average downloading speeds without a VPN.
Number of Torrents
I performed three different popular searches in each site to see where I would get the most results.
| Ariana Grande, Thank U, Next (Music) | Captain Marvel 2019 (Movie) | Game of Thrones (TV Show) | |
| The Pirate Bay | 5 | 71 | 32,192 |
| RARBG | 2 | – | 116 |
| 1337x | 7 | 70 | 1,000 |
| Torlock | 4 | 147 | 132 |
| Torrentz2 | 355 | 386 | 17,104 |
| YTS | – | – | – |
| EZTV | – | – | 211 |
| Zooqle | 2 | 493 | 2953 |
| TorrentDownloads | – | 103 | 3,355 |
| LimeTorrents | 19 | 253 | 1,000 |
It’s no big surprise that The Pirate Bay gave me the best results for Game of Thrones. TV addicts should have no problem finding their next fix there.
Torrentz2 is a close second, while EZTV – which I would have expected more from as a site dedicated to TV shows – is a bit of a disappointment.
If it’s music you’re after, it looks like Torrentz2 is your best bet. This site also did very well in the movie and TV show categories, making it a well-rounded option. Meanwhile, Zooqle gave me the most impressive movie results.
Top 3 VPNs for Torrenting
These three excellent VPNs offer airtight security and total anonymity ideal for torrenting safely.
1. NordVPN – Best Overall VPN
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- Optimized P2P servers in 47 countries
- Strict zero-logging policy
- Based in privacy-friendly Panama
- Blocks ads and trackers
- Compatible with: Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Android TV, Linux, BlackBerry, Raspberry Pi, Chrome, Firefox, and routers
- Unblocks: Netflix, HBO, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, BBC iPlayer, Showtime, Sling TV, and many more
NordVPN’s industry-leading security and commitment to protecting your privacy make it an ideal VPN for torrenting. Its network of 5,390 servers contains dedicated P2P optimized servers to make the most of your download speeds – and can even make it faster.
Advanced military-grade AES 256-bit encryption with Perfect Forward Secrecy and DNS/IP leak protection will stop your ISP from throttling your download speed. These advanced security features were tested and proven capable of disrupting malware and spyware based cyber attacks, so your torrenting won’t just be faster, it’ll be safer. Unlimited data means you can torrent as much as you want.
The CyberSec feature blocks ads and trackers on the websites you visit, which greatly increases your safety on torrenting sites.
This VPN doesn’t collect traffic logs, which means your browsing activity and the data you download remain private. It also doesn’t save any collection logs, like what time you connect to the VPN and how much data you transfer each session. This is good news for your anonymity while you torrent.
With its obfuscation servers, NordVPN masks your VPN traffic to help you get around VPN blocks and firewalls. That means you can use this VPN to access torrenting sites even in regions with strict censorship and VPN bans.
It can also access 400+ streaming platforms – including Netflix – so you can watch your favorite geo-restricted shows and movies from anywhere in the world.
If you run into any problems, NordVPN’s responsive live chat support is available 24/7 to answer your questions. You can try it out before making a commitment with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Take a look at our in-depth expert review to learn more about this top-rated VPN.
2. ExpressVPN – Super-Fast VPN
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- Lightning-fast connection speeds
- 3,000+ VPN servers with P2P support
- Strict zero-logging policy
- Compatible with: Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Android TV, Linux, BlackBerry, Raspberry Pi, Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Smart TVs, Kindle Fire, Nook, gaming consoles, and routers
- Unblocks: Netflix, HBO, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, BBC iPlayer, Showtime, Sling TV, DAZN, and more
ExpressVPN’s latest deal August 2020:Get 3 months completely free on your annual subscription with this current offer! It’s not for certain when this deal will end so it’s best to check the deals page to see if it’s still available.
ExpressVPN offers blazing-fast connections perfect for sharing and downloading large files as quickly as possible.
Better yet, it offers full torrenting support across its large network of 3,000+ servers. With 160 VPN server locations worldwide, it’s easy to find a server near your physical location for the fastest torrenting speeds.
It also has plenty to offer when it comes to security. When you connect to a VPN server, your data is secured with robust AES 256-bit encryption with Perfect Forward Secrecy to prevent your ISP from throttling your speeds and spying eyes from seeing your torrenting activity.
ExpressVPN offers unlimited data so you can download and share large files without worrying about running out of data. Torrent as much as you want, quickly and safely.
Unlimited data also means you can stream as much as you want. ExpressVPN is powerful enough to access geoblocked streaming content on Netflix and other popular streaming sites.
Enabling the Network Lock in ExpressVPN’s settings turns on an automatic kill switch. This ensures your identity isn’t leaked even if you suddenly lose your connection to the VPN server. Airtight IP/DNS leak protection hides your location and protects your anonymity.
This VPN is based in the British Virgin Islands and has a strict no-logs policy to guarantee your privacy, so your government or ISP has no way to find out about your torrenting activity.
With split tunneling, ExpressVPN allows you to customize which apps on your device should route traffic through your VPN connection, while other traffic goes through your normal internet connection.
That means you can route your torrenting traffic through a secure remote location while you access local sites on your browser, which is useful if you live in a country that blocks torrenting sites.
You can reach out 24/7 to ExpressVPN’s live chat support and speak with a friendly representative. If you’re curious about this VPN, it’s easy to test it out risk-free with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Read our expert review to find out more about torrenting with ExpressVPN.
3. CyberGhost – Best VPN for Newbies
- User-friendly VPN apps and browser extensions
- Strict zero-logging policy
- Based in privacy-friendly Romania
- Blocks ads and trackers
- Compatible with: Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Linux, Raspberri Pi, Smart TVs, Chrome, Firefox, and some routers
- Unblocks: Netflix, BBC iPlayer, HBO GO, Amazon Prime Video, Sky Go, Showtime, and more
Romania-based CyberGhost is a great option if you’re looking for a hassle-free VPN to protect you while you torrent. Its user-friendly apps are super easy to use even if you’re not very experienced with VPNs.
Its global network of 6,200 servers includes clearly labeled dedicated P2P servers, so you can easily connect to one with torrenting support and speed.
CyberGhost masks your IP address to hide your identity and location from the torrenting sites you visit, which prevents copyright holders from tracking you down. It uses airtight AES 256-bit encryption to secure your data and hide your torrenting activity from your ISP so you don’t have to worry about ISP throttling slowing your torrenting speeds.
CyberGhost’s automatic kill switch and IP/DNS leak protection ensure none of your data leaks unexpectedly. The VPN also offers built-in ad blocking, which increases your security on torrenting sites.
Its fast speeds and unlimited data are ideal for torrenting large files.
CyberGhost is clear about its commitment to protecting your anonymity. It has a strict no-logs policy that’s supported by its thorough privacy policy and headquarters in privacy-friendly Romania, outside of international intelligence-sharing agreements like the 14-Eyes Alliance. So your torrenting and browsing activity remains private.
Because this VPN isn’t subject to any intrusive data retention laws, CyberGhost can follow through on its promise to protect your privacy.
CyberGhost also offers 24/7 live chat support to help you with any concerns. You can try out this VPN to find out if it’s right for you with a 45-day money-back guarantee.
Find out more about CyberGhost in our detailed vendor review.
