For torrenting · May 2026

Best VPN for Torrenting in Europe (May 2026)

Torrenting from a European country without a VPN is risky in roughly direct proportion to how aggressive your country's enforcement is. Germany sends Abmahnungen industrially. France runs Hadopi/Arcom. Sweden has IPRED. The Netherlands has BREIN. The same VPN that's fine for streaming may not have port forwarding or a kill switch you'd trust for P2P — these specific features matter here.

Disclosure · We earn commissions from some VPN providers. This doesn't affect our rankings or recommendations.

Criteria

What matters for P2P

  • 01Functioning kill switch (closes traffic when VPN drops, prevents IP leak)
  • 02Port forwarding (rare; only PIA and ProtonVPN among major providers)
  • 03P2P-allowed servers (most providers route torrent traffic through specific servers)
  • 04Court-tested no-logs (the strongest privacy guarantee for sensitive use)
  • 05Speed (large downloads benefit from WireGuard implementations)

Special case · Germany

The Abmahnung problem (Germany)

If you're in Germany and torrent without a VPN, expect a registered letter from a copyright firm within weeks demanding €800–€1,500. Even guests who used your connection put you at risk. A VPN with a working kill switch is the simplest defence. Don't connect to a German server when torrenting — pick Switzerland or the Netherlands so a German law firm has no jurisdiction.

The ranking

Torrenting ranking

01
from
$2.03/mo
7.5 / 10Good

Power-user friendly — open-source apps, port forwarding, but Kape ownership is a flag.

  • 30,000+ servers · 91 countries
  • Court-tested no-logs
  • Streaming: Netflix + BBC iPlayer
  • Court-tested · 2016 + 2018
  • Open source
  • Unblocks Netflix · BBC iPlayer
  • Verified · 2026-05-04
Get Private Internet Access

We may earn a commission from this link

Read full review
02
Proton VPN logo

Proton VPN

Switzerland

from
4.49/mo
8.5 / 10Excellent

Best privacy-first commercial VPN — Swiss jurisdiction, open source, free tier.

  • 8,500+ servers · 110 countries
  • Open-source clients
  • Streaming: Netflix + BBC iPlayer
  • Audited no-logs
  • Open source
  • RAM-only servers
  • Outside surveillance alliances
  • Unblocks Netflix · BBC iPlayer
  • Verified · 2026-05-04
Get Proton VPN

We may earn a commission from this link

Read full review
03
NordVPN logo

NordVPN

Panama

from
$3.69/mo
8.5 / 10Excellent

Best all-round VPN — premium price, premium features.

  • 6,400+ servers · 111 countries
  • Audited no-logs
  • Streaming: Netflix + BBC iPlayer
  • Audited no-logs
  • RAM-only servers
  • Outside surveillance alliances
  • Unblocks Netflix · BBC iPlayer
  • Verified · 2026-05-04
Get NordVPN

We may earn a commission from this link

Read full review

Related reading