Conventional downloads are perfectly fine for smaller files like books and music, but what about bigger files?  Torrenting is the best solution for users who wish to download software, movies, TV shows, music, videos, games, and eBooks. If you’re already a pro in torrenting, you might want to skip ahead to the BitTorrent client recommendations.

It’s important for beginners to understand the operation of torrenting and learn how to stay secure as a torrent user. Online streaming has blown up in recent years with high-speed internet connections and legal streaming sources. However, your streaming can easily be disrupted causing you to start from the beginning and lose your place. Torrenting affords many benefits over online streaming and conventional downloading.

Also Read: Best Torrent VPN in 2018

Perks of Torrenting

Streaming is totally temporary. So, once you’ve streamed that content, you will have to revisit the source to access it again. Torrenting allows you to download the content to your device. This means you may open up that file whenever and wherever you want in your device. In addition, you can transfer the file to other devices or share it with your friends. Conventional downloads take a considerable amount of time, whereas, torrenting is pretty fast with reliable bit torrent clients. Streaming cannot take place without an internet connection, so you have to be online to grab that content again. You only need to complete the torrent download online. After that, you’re free to use that file offline. Downloads from a single source and legal streaming usually come with a price tag. Torrenting, on the other hand, is absolutely free. You may choose an ad-free package from the best BitTorrent clients 2018, but otherwise, it’s free. Streaming only works for videos, but you may download practically any kind of file through torrenting.

BitTorrent Protocol Encryption

You’ve probably heard of torrent websites being forcibly shut down over copyright issues or closing down voluntarily in recent years. Law enforcement agencies have begun a crackdown on torrent websites that infringe on the rights of the owners. This has caused them to spy on users and collect data without being suspected. You need to safeguard yourself so you don’t come under investigation. BitTorrent protocol encryption operates on the data incoming and outgoing from your BitTorrent client. However, it’s best to rely on a good VPN that can shield you from the authorities by hiding your IP address. FYI, there are some great BitTorrent clients out there that work well with VPNs.

How to Use BitTorrent Clients?

Follow these simple steps to start torrenting safely:

1. Choose from among the best BitTorrent clients 2018 and download the software. Once you’ve installed it, open it up and familiarize yourself with the UI. Check your security settings to make sure you’re not being tracked.
2. Select the torrent link you want to download from any torrent website and open it up with your preferred BitTorrent client. It will be listed as an active torrent. Colors or highlighting is often used to indicate activity, inactivity, and errors. This will allow you to monitor the progress of your torrent. The percentage of completion will also appear next to it.
3. The BitTorrent client will notify you when your download is complete. You may open up your file in the program you like. There are some BitTorrent clients with built-in players as well. A good user always lets seeding continue because ignoring it lowers the quality of that torrent.

Popular BitTorrent Clients

qBittorrent

This is a favorite among the torrenting community for a good reason. All its features work equally across OS that it is available for. You may download it for Linux, Mac OS X, Windows, OS/2, and FreeBSD. It’s known as an alternative to μTorrent, therefore, the interface is similar. However, qBittorrent is an open-source client, unlike its inspirational brethren, meaning there are no annoying ads. It affords satisfying torrent management and doesn’t hinder your regular tasks.

Also Read: Best Torrent Sites of 2018

μTorrent

As you have already read up there, μTorrent did not take No.1 just because of its ads. It has a very simple user interface which helps beginners. However, the spice is that μTorrent Pro is ad-free and comes with three convenient packages. You can also get a BitTorrent client with BitTorrent encryption protocol plus VPN depending on your package. The software itself is around 2MB, so it hardly takes up any space in your system which is why it stood up for No.2.

Transmission

You get a lot of features in Transmission which explains its high ranking. This open source software makes your torrenting so much smoother without ads. It’s not a bulky BitTorrent client, so it doesn’t hog your resources or slow you down. Transmission is compatible with lesser-known operating systems such as FreeBSD and Gentoo. The aesthetic appeal of this BitTorrent client just adds to its charm.

Vuze

This feature-filled BitTorrent client is available for Mac, Linux, and Windows. Although it’s slightly heavier than other options, it has some wonderful benefits. You can run it with a VPN and even play videos simultaneously. It’s not a fully open-source client, so there are some ads. On the bright side, the paid version has no ads and you can play files before your download has been completed.

Deluge

This is one of the best BitTorrent clients for beginners due to the user-friendly interface. It has no ads since Deluge is opensource, therefore, it’s pretty fast. You may extend the features of Deluge by installing plugins from their official website. There are plugins for browsers and applications besides several useful third-party plugins. It’s not just available for Windows, Mac, and Linux, but also works on FreeBSD.

Popcorn Time

You may have guessed by the name that this BitTorrent client is a bit unique. It has been described as an application for streaming movies that is powered by BitTorrent. Since torrenting is commonly used for movies, this would be ideal for movie lovers. It’s somewhat like Netflix and even comes with VPN services.

If you still haven’t decided which of the BitTorrent clients 2018 you find best, see which one matches your preference and enjoy the specific features that come with your favorite choice.