Top 5 BitTorrent Clients
BitTorrent is still a great way to transfer large files, but it’s as convenient and efficient as the convenient and efficient application you use to fill and download them. This week, we’ll take a look at the top five BitTorrent clients based on your nominations.
Earlier this week, we asked you to pick the best BitTorrent clients – the ones you’ve used yourself and the ones you think offered the best combination of features and performance. You answered many nominees, but here are your top 5 in no particular order:
µTorrent (Windows / Mac / Linux)
µTorrent (or uTorrent) is one of the most popular BitTorrent clients and has gained widespread adoption in part because it is fast, feature-rich, supported and developed by BitTorrent, Inc. , making it an “official” BitTorrent client in a way. Even so, one company cannot own the protocol, which is why BitTorrent is just one option in the vast sea of clients. To its credit, µTorrent still retains the ease of use, fast downloads, and precise control over download and upload speeds and bandwidth that made it popular in the first place. It has all the features you’d expect from a good BitTorrent client, including the ability to resume stopped downloads, file sequential downloads , support for encrypted files, support for remote control via mobile apps, download scheduling, port forwarding, and more. … It will even go down as soon as you start using high bandwidth applications on your computer. µTorrent also makes it easy to find and download official BitTorrent packages that contain music, movies, and other great free entertainment with free licenses. It’s also completely free.
µTorrent is not without controversy. Many of you have nominated it and supported it based on its performance, speed, and ease of use. For many of you, this was your first and only true BitTorrent client. However, many of you stepped in and pointed out that while µTorrent was definitely at the top a few years ago, recent controversy – such as the so-called “premium” versions for a fee, versions of µTorrent that also used your computer to mine Bitcoin, tons of sloppy banners advertising and the general shift from supporting the user community to directly using that community to make money ruined the app for you, even if it’s still good. Many of you voted in favor of it anyway, saying that you prefer to run older versions that did not add all the extras in later iterations, while others expressed their disappointment with a great app that is now derailed. You can read all of this in his nominations thread here .
qBittorrent (Windows / Mac / Linux)
Built as a free software, open source alternative, and µTorrent-equivalent feature, qBittorrent is cross-platform, lightweight, well-debugged, and free of many of the problems that made its inspiration controversial. However, that doesn’t make it a mere clone – its somewhat spartan user interface hides many of the features that make the client popular. qBittorrent can be configured to send email after the download is complete, you can search for files (even by category) inside the app instead of digging around for trusted downloads, supports Internet remote control, port forwarding, IP filtering, and more. … This is remarkably powerful for anyone who needs these features. Others just like it because they don’t like other tools and are looking for something easy and simple to do what you need. True to its open source and community driven, it is completely free (although the project does accept donations).
Many of you who have nominated and supported qBittorrent did so on purpose because you switched from µTorrent and wanted something with the same functionality, but didn’t want to put up with the ads or the dubious updates and practices behind your former favorite. Many of you have specifically said that instead of complaining about µTorrent, your best bet is to just use this open source alternative and give your opinion wherever your downloads are. At this point, you’ve also complimented qBittorrent for being very similar to the app that inspired it, feature-rich and lightweight, but still provides you with all the tools you need, as well as some (many of you have named the ability to find files correctly within an app as a huge benefit.) Many of you particularly praised its Linux support, while others said that you liked setting it up to email you when your downloads were complete, and that you liked that it supports proxies. Some of you may have noticed that you missed out on the bandwidth throttling and rate scheduling opportunities of other clients, but overall this is a good option. Read more reviews in his nominations thread here .
Transfer (Windows / Mac / Linux)
Transmission is a simple and lightweight BitTorrent client preferred by many of you who use OS X, Linux or even Raspberry P. machines.It is ultra-lightweight, runs quietly in the background with or without a user interface (it’s up to you) that makes it ideal for servers, NAS boxes, HTPCs, and other systems where you may want to do some bootstrapping or automate your uploads . The transfer can be remotely controlled using a web client or terminal (via SSH), and those old school kids among you may remember when the transfer was the only good BitTorrent client available for OS X. As always, it’s free, with open source, and there are distribution-specific versions available for Linux users who want to customize something for their system. Transmission provides you with reliable system notifications for your active and completed downloads, download scheduling, port forwarding, remote control, encryption, and everything else you can expect from a well-designed client.
Many of you echoed some of the biggest perks that Trnamission’s own developers advertise on their feature page , namely that it runs natively in OS X, is compact yet feature rich, and can be remotely controlled. Many of you have praised it for being free and open source, for not keeping its premium features, or for including ads, sponsored links, or banner ads to help keep the project afloat. Some of you said it’s great on Linux and OS X, but a little on Windows, and wished it had proxy support, but others of you praised it for its flawless performance (even on Raspberry Pi, NAS, and other headless systems) and for being so good that you never wanted to replace it. You can read more reviews in his nominations thread here .
Flood (Windows / Mac / Linux)
Deluge earns points for being one of the oldest BitTorrent clients available, but also one of the lightest. It’s completely free, cross-platform, and supports things like encrypted downloads, private torrents, password protection, bandwidth scheduling and throttling, remote control via a web console interface, proxy support, and third-party plugins . These plugins really showcase the power of Deluge – and there are many of them developed by the community around the application to empower it. The ability to customize the client to suit your needs, then set it up and forget, and control it remotely, makes Deluge another great option for lightweight needs or for stand-alone setups like home servers, NAS devices, or other remote systems. Plus, it’s completely free and open source.
Many of you said that you have rediscovered Deluge after leaving behind other, more bloated customers looking for something more streamlined and easier to use. Almost all of the comments in its nominations thread praise how lightweight and easy Deluge is to use, how fast it is on pretty much everything you need to install it, and how it minimizes bloat so you can download it using plugins. if need be, or keep it lean and trim if not. If other clients were good in the past and have fallen into disrepair over the years, many of you who may have ignored the Flood in the past have rediscovered it – or at least love it more now than ever. Read more in the nominations thread itself .
Tiksati (Windows / Linux)
Tixati is a relatively new BitTorrent client when compared to many others here, but that doesn’t mean it’s not powerful or resource intensive. The client is a bit simple, but it boasts a lot of features you might like about the client, including a simple view of all your downloads, a simple and easy-to-use user interface, magnet link support, port forwarding, IP filtering, event scheduling, and easy native installation. one that doesn’t require installing multiple frameworks just to run it, and one that doesn’t hide ads or anything else under the hood. It may be missing some of the more advanced features of a few others, but it is definitely one of the fastest and easiest on your computer, which might be worth checking out if you don’t like the other options. Likewise, Tixati installs and removes your system neatly, and Tixati’s website is like a beginner’s guide to downloading torrents – which makes sense since the client is serious and focused on the basics. It’s completely free.
Those of you who have nominated Tixati have praised it for being fast, reliable, easy to use, and completely free of the bullshit and bullshit that often plague other BitTorrent clients. Some of you praised him for hiding some powerful configuration options behind this simple interface, while others praised him for being one of the most optimized clients you have had a chance to use, especially at a time when many other clients are busy adding features. – and possibly bloat. Some of you have lamented the support for mobile app remote management and the lack of a Mac client, but for those using Windows and Linux, you are advised to take a look at it. Read more in the nomination thread here .
Now that you’ve seen the top 5, it’s time to put them to a general vote to determine the community favorite:
Honorable mentions
An honorable mention this week is for rTorrent (OS X / Linux) , a BitTorrent text client that actually made the top 5 when we last reviewed this category. If you want to manage your downloads without all the overhead associated with a heavier client, or simply from the command line or via SSH, this client is for you. Many of you have pointed out that rTorrent runs on seed boxes (for good reason), while others have pointed out that you’ve seen it running on routers and other headless systems, just to make things easier. Its learning curve is slightly higher than that of a GUI tool, but that doesn’t make it less powerful or less valuable to learn. You can read all about this in the nomination thread here .
Do you have anything to say about one of the applicants? Want to substantiate your personal favorite even if it wasn’t on the list? Remember, the Top 5 is based on your most popular nominations from the Call for Applicants thread earlier this week . Don’t just complain about the top 5, let us know which option you prefer and justify it in the discussions below.