One of the reasons to get a VPN is safe and anonymous torrenting. Files downloaded from torrent websites are free meaning you can save a lot of money for other necessities. The only issue you might face is the legal responsibility for copyright infringement. A reputable VPN will let you get away with illegal downloading but how to find a service you can really trust? For example, Surfshark claims it is a torrent-friendly provider that can safeguard your Internet activities but whether it is true? We’ve carried out extensive in-house research to answer the question ‘Is Surfshark good for torrenting?’ This is what we’ve found out.
Can You Torrent with Surfshark?
There is a category of VPNs that say they support P2P traffic but, in fact, offer only a few servers with this feature. Luckily, Surfshark is not one of these. The service delivers 1000+ servers in 61 countries, and you can use any one of them for torrenting & P2P.
Although any location is available, yet we insist that you use servers in countries where torrenting for personal use is not a problem. Here is a brief overview of torrent-friendly countries.
Surfshark’s Best Features for Torrenting
Now you know that Surfshark is suitable for torrenting but how good it really is? To answer, we need to analyze its features and see whether they are fit for the task.
- Jurisdiction. The provider is registered in the British Virgin Islands, a perfect location for a VPN business. This offshore country has favorable privacy legislation, which means that the authorities won’t pry into Surfshark’s (and its clients’) affairs. Moreover, the British Virgin Islands are outside of the Five Eye’s influence. Therefore, the court decisions of other countries won’t have any power there.
- Security. Surfshark uses military-grade AES 256-bit encryption, which you can pair either with OpenVPN or IKEv2/IPsec connection protocol. Both options are great for bulletproof protection.
- Leaks. Our tests showed that Surfshark is not vulnerable to IP, DNS, or WebTRC leaks. We highly appreciate strong leakage protection because it won’t let compromise your identity. On top of that, the service supplies Kill Switch that shuts down your connection in the event of issues with VPN servers.
- Logging. No matter how good VPN’s encryption is, if there is logging in place, your security is questionable. Luckily, Surfshark decided to go the no-logging way. The service has no clue about your Internet activities, so nobody (ISP, copyright holders, spies, etc.) is able to find out that you’re a torrent fan.
- Ease of use. The service supplies convenient and easy to use apps for Windows, macOS, and Linux computers, mobile phones powered by Android and iOS, as well as a bunch of other devices. Despite a device you install it on, Surfshark client is a breeze to use. Once you configure your settings, it takes only one click to make it work. The software is fully compatible with all popular torrent clients, as well as streaming services that utilize torrent technology.
- Pricing. A strong and versatile VPN for only $1.77 per month sounds good to be true? With Surfshark, it is a reality. Of course, if you opt for the 27-months plan. Other subscription tariffs (one month and one year) are priced averagely.
Surfshark Cons
The only thing we discovered that was not so great is connection speed. The majority of locations we tested showed pretty good speeds. However, we noticed some inconsistencies and fluctuations. Some servers supplied much better speeds than others. Plus, the pace of connection varied depending on the time of a day (most likely, it is due to server load).
Surfshark Alternatives for Torrenting
We could have called Surfshark one of the best VPNs for torrenting but it failed on our speed test. If your user experience has no room for disappointment, you can also try one of the alternative VPNs that will make your torrenting fast, secure, and enjoyable:
- Provider
- User Rating
- Our Review
- Price
PureVPN- 4807 Votes
- $3.24 / month
ExpressVPN- 3795 Votes
- $6.67 / month
Conclusion
Surfshark is good for torrenting for multiple reasons. We appreciate its strong security, privacy-friendly jurisdiction, ease of use, and P2P traffic permission across the board. The only aspect Surfshark could improve is the speed consistency.