Yes, Surfshark is an excellent choice for torrenting. All of Surfshark’s servers are P2P-friendly, providing fast speeds, unlimited bandwidth, and top-notch security features at an affordable price.
In fact, Surfshark actively encourages torrenters to use their VPN for enhanced safety.
However, there are a few drawbacks to consider.
Some important information is not explicitly mentioned on their website.
To address this, I contacted Surfshark and gathered all the crucial pros and cons to help you make an informed decision!
Does Surfshark Allow Torrenting (P2P)?
Yes, Surfshark allows torrenting. In fact, they have more than 3,200+ VPN servers in 65 countries worldwide – and all of them are P2P-friendly! Plus, with Surfshark’s user-friendly app, you can immediately connect to the fastest server for the best P2P speeds!
Is Surfshark Good for Torrenting?
When it comes to using the P2P (peer-to-peer) network for file sharing, there are two roles to consider:
- Uploading (or “seeding”)
- Downloading (or “leeching”)
With its massive pool of P2P-friendly servers and fast speeds, Surfshark is one of the best VPNs for torrent leeching.
Surfshark is also compatible with all torrent clients, including uTorrent, BitTorrent, and qBittorrent. Better yet, torrenting with Surfshark is safe thanks to their myriad of security features!
These include:
- Strict no-logs policy
- No speed throttling
- Automatic kill switch
- Military-grade encryption
- The best VPN protocols
As a bonus, you can use their Whitelister to route only your torrenting client through the VPN servers.
This lets you use your browser and other apps on your regular internet connection, which can make your torrenting speed a little faster.
How to Use P2P (Torrents) With Surfshark?
To use Surfshark for torrenting, follow these five simple steps:
- Create a Surfshark account and install their desktop client.
- Log in to your account on the app.
- Click on the “Connect” button – this automatically chooses the fastest server available.
- Enable the kill switch feature (see below).
- After making sure you’re connected to a Surfshark VPN server, open your torrenting client.
How to Enable the Kill Switch Feature?
As an extra safety precaution, always make sure your real IP isn’t being leaked before opening your torrenting client. You can do this when enabling the kill switch.
Here’s how to enable the kill-switch feature on Surfshark:
- Click on the arrow above the words “Connected” (see picture above).
- You’ll see your IP address, which should be different from your normal internet connection.
- Directly beneath it, you’ll see the Kill Switch feature.
- Drag the slider to the right, so it turns green.
Surfshark Torrenting Speed Tests
One of the reasons I love Surfshark is because it’s one of the fastest VPNs I’ve ever used. But is the same true when downloading a torrent file? Let’s find out!
During my investigation, I put Surfshark through the typical tests, including using the VPN to download Godzilla vs. Kong via qBittorrent. I used the fastest server option on the app – and was blown away by the results!
Take a look:
Torrenting without Surfshark VPN:
Torrenting with Surfshark VPN:
82% of my original connection speed is decent!
However, remember if the file you’re downloading has few seeders, your torrent speed will be slow. This isn’t something Surfshark can help speed up, unfortunately.
What’s Surfshark’s Best Server for Torrenting?
The best Surfshark server for torrenting depends on where you’re located.
The physical distance between yourself and the Surfshark VPN server you’re connected to will affect your connection speed.
Likewise, the number of other users connected to the same server can also slow things down. After all, the server can only handle a certain amount of data at a time!
This is why it’s essential Surfshark updated all of its servers to be P2P-friendly.
With no restrictions, the best Surfshark server for torrenting is typically the one they suggest is the fastest for you when connecting! This feature should select the most optimized server to ensure fast and secure P2P file sharing.
However, if you’re hesitant to put your trust in Surfshark’s algorithm, you can also utilize their 24/7 live chat support to ask for a quick server recommendation based on your country, ISP, and the torrent client you use.
Drawbacks to Using Surfshark for Torrenting
Unfortunately, there are two significant drawbacks to using Surfshark for torrenting:
- You can’t upload/seed files while using Surfshark.
- Surfshark doesn’t support port-forwarding.
This information isn’t available anywhere on their website. However, Surfshark’s chatbot, Sharkbot, confirmed it for me:
If uploading/seeding files are essential for you, a great alternative is ExpressVPN.
ExpressVPN offers 3000+ (P2P-friendly) servers in 94 countries, fast speeds, the best security features, and unlimited bandwidth.
However, the VPN provider doesn’t support port-forwarding in the traditional sense. Instead, they offer it through their ExpressVPN router firmware.
So, if port-forwarding is also an essential feature for you, another alternative is Private Internet Access (PIA).
PIA offers 35,200+ (P2P-friendly) VPN and proxy servers in 77 countries, fast speeds, the best security features, and unlimited bandwidth.
What Do People Think About Torrenting with Surfshark?
I took a deep dive into a corner of the internet – AKA: Reddit – to check what torrentors think of Surfshark.
As I suspected, the fact you can’t seed is a major pain for users wanting to keep a good seed-to-leech ratio:
But other than the lack of port forwarding and seeding capabilities, everyone appears pretty happy with Surfshark.
FAQ
Does Surfshark save torrent logs?
Surfshark does not monitor or save torrent logs or any other user data, as they have a strict no-logs policy. In other words – regardless of which torrent client you use – Surfshark won’t collect your data for any reason. They’re also based in the BVI, one of the best locations for a torrent VPN.
Is Surfshark safe for torrenting?
Surfshark is safe and secure for torrenting. The VPN has all of the best features to protect you, including AES-256-GCM encryption, secure VPN protocols, private DNS leak protection, and exclusive features like Camouflage Mode and MultiHop.
Can you bind torrent clients to Surfshark?
Yes, you can bind torrent clients to Surfshark – but you don’t need to.
This is because Surfshark has a robust kill switch. Additionally, your IP address changes every time you connect to a new Surfshark VPN server, so you would also need to bind your torrent client again each time.
Will Surfshark slow down my internet?
Yes, Surfshark will slow down your internet. This is because all VPN connections do so. However, Surfshark will slow your internet down less than most other VPNs will.
Conclusion
Is Surfshark good for torrenting?
In my opinion, the answer is both yes and no.
Surfshark ticks almost all of the right boxes, from excellent security to having 3,200+ P2P-friendly servers available.
However, you can’t upload anything on the torrent network while using Surfshark. This stops it from being the ideal torrenting VPN.
Are you looking for an alternative?
Read our answer to the question “Does NordVPN Allow Torrenting?” to see why it’s our favorite VPN for torrenting!
