Best Torrent Sites of 2024: Download Movies, TV Shows, Music, Games and E-Books for Free
Everybody enjoys a bit of entertainment, and if you’d like to get it for free, you should consider torrenting. With so many torrent sites out there, picking the right ones can be tricky, so we’ve got a guide that contains the best torrent sites for a few different categories.
When it comes to sharing files between users, torrenting is arguably one of the easiest ways. As a peer-to-peer (P2P) distribution system, you can download files that other users are uploading free of charge. It’s incredibly popular, and many sites will let you search for your desired files. If the number of options is overwhelming, this guide will show you some of the best torrent sites out there.
Before we get into that, we should mention that one of the most common uses for torrenting is downloading copyrighted software or content. While torrenting itself isn’t illegal, downloading copyrighted material that you don’t own the rights to is. To that end, protecting yourself by using a VPN when you’re file sharing is always a great idea — ExpressVPN is our recommendation.
With that out of the way, let’s take a look at some of the best torrent sites where you can find a selection of files. We’ll go over both public and private torrent sites, and we’ll also answer some popular questions you might have.
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03/26/2024 Facts checked
Rewritten with a new list of torrent sites that is split into categories for convenience.
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09/06/2024
We updated these rankings to reflect current VPN performance, features and pricing.
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10/01/2024
We updated this guide’s formatting for readability.
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11/29/2024 Facts checked
Updated our top VPN recommendation for torrenting.
6 Best Movie & TV Torrent Sites
If you’re looking to download movies and TV shows, these are some of the torrent sites you should consider.
1. 1337x
- Mirror site URLS: www.1337x.to
- Banned in: None
- Best for: All movies & TV shows
When considering the best torrent sites to download movies and TV shows, 1337x is our prime recommendation. It’s one of the most popular torrenting websites with a solid reputation that is more than justified. The content libraries are updated daily, and most popular movies and shows have thousands of seeders.
Clicking on any category shows you a list of the most popular downloads in that group within the last 24 hours, and you can pick and choose different sorting options at the top. Download speeds are excellent for torrents that are being seeded regularly. If you get stuck, there’s a chat room where the support staff hangs out regularly, and you can ask them anything.
2. The Pirate Bay
- Mirror site URLS: www.thepiratebay.org
- Banned in: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Iran, Italy, Kuwait, Malaysia, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom
- Best for: All movies and TV shows
If you’ve looked for a torrent online in the last 20 years, chances are you came across The Pirate Bay. The site is a mecca for torrents, with one of the largest content libraries that’s neatly sorted into categories. The user interface pretty much stayed the same after the website was initially founded, but since it’s so easy to navigate, this is in no way a bad thing.
Although The Pirate Bay is the go-to torrent website for most users — a quick Google search suggests it as a highly reputable source of torrents — it places second in our best torrent sites roundup because of its availability. Since its founders were convicted in 2009, many countries around the world have banned access to the website, though you can still use it with a VPN.
3. YTS
- Mirror site URLS: www.yts.mx
- Banned in: None
- Best for: YIFY releases
YTS is home to one of the most prominent movie distribution groups out there: YIFY. Releases are uploaded as soon as they’re available, which is usually remarkably soon after their digital release date, and they have a reputation for offering small file sizes and high video quality.
YTS lets you search its library and sort movies by quality, genre, release year and even rating, making it easy to find the titles you want. We’ve found that its download speeds are usually solid, and the site imposes no limitations on speed or bandwidth. If you don’t mind that the library is somewhat small in comparison, this is a great way to access popular movies.
4. EZTVx
- Mirror site URLS: www.eztvx.to, www.eztv.ag, www.eztv.it, www.eztv.ch, www.eztv.li
- Banned in: None
- Best for: EZTV TV show releases
If you’re a TV show enthusiast, EZTVx should be right up your alley. It’s the official torrent site to find releases by EZTV, a very popular TV show distribution group known for its fast releases and high-quality torrents. The site is updated incredibly often, with new releases added every few minutes. If you’re looking for a newly released TV show, chances are you’ll find it here.
The torrents we’ve tested all have plenty of seeders, making it easy to get faster downloads. When viewing torrents, you can use the “video resolution” filter to make sure you only get results in your desired resolution. The only downside is the lack of advanced search filters, but since the site only offers TV shows, chances are that won’t be a problem.
5. ShowRSS
- Mirror site URLS: www.showrss.info
- Banned in: None
- Best for: TV shows
ShowRSS is an unexpected gem when it comes to TV show torrents. The website lets you add all your favorite shows to your own personal list, and you can pick the episodes you want to download. By eliminating difficult or confusing file names, and instead displaying the show name, season number, episode number and resolution, the website is remarkably easy to use.
Download speeds are excellent thanks to a large number of seeders for most torrents, even when it comes to less popular TV shows. Our favorite part is the fact that you can configure an RSS-compatible torrent client with the feed and download all your desired shows automatically as soon as a new episode is available.
6. IPTorrents
- Mirror site URLS: www.iptorrents.com
- Banned in: None
- Best for: All movies & TV shows
IPTorrents has a larger library than many of its competitors, but it still comes in last on our list of the best movie torrent sites for one reason — it is a private website. While private sites are often safer and offer better experiences, getting an invite for IPTorrents is proving to be rather difficult.
However, if you do get an invite, you’re in for a treat — you get a massive library size with millions of torrents. It’s neatly organized and has an advanced search that only nets you the results you really need. Keep in mind that you’ll need to maintain your upload-to-download ratio if you don’t want to get banned, as IPTorrents doesn’t appreciate hit and runs.
5 Best Music Torrent Sites
For those who are keen on expanding their music libraries, these are some of the torrent sites that have a solid selection of music for everyone’s tastes.
1. Rutracker
- Mirror site URLS: www.rutracker.net/forum/index.php
- Banned in: None
- Best for: All music genres
Unless you’re proficient in Russian (or are using a translation service), Rutracker might seem like a strange suggestion. However, this is one of the best torrenting sites — if not the best — when it comes to downloading almost any kind of music. From electronic music and hip-hop to national Russian music, there’s something for everyone.
Download speeds are excellent — the website doesn’t impose any speed or bandwidth limitations, and most of the torrents we tested had a solid number of seeders. If you’re looking for music torrents, this is the place to start your search. Just keep in mind that you will need to create a free account to use the website.
2. Mixtape Torrent
- Mirror site URLS: www.mixtapetorrent.com
- Banned in: None
- Best for: Mixtapes, promo tracks
If you’re looking to expand your library of mixtapes, then Mixtape Torrent is the site for you. It has hundreds of thousands of users uploading mixtapes, with new releases made available every couple of days.
On the left side, there’s a navigation menu that lets you browse by DJ — if you have a favorite artist, you can find their releases here. Even though it’s a fairly niche website, most torrents have plenty of seeders, and download speeds are solid.
3. Redacted
- Mirror site URLS: redacted.ch
- Banned in: None
- Best for: All music genres
It may not be the most popular torrent site for music, but Redacted offers a solid selection of music torrents, and it focuses strongly on user security. Getting an invite isn’t easy, but once you have one, you’ll gain access to a vast library of music.
Download speeds were good overall, though we came across some torrents that didn’t have many seeders. If you can get an invite easily, Redacted is certainly a great option — but if you can’t, then you could probably find the same torrents elsewhere too.
4. Nyaa ISS
- Mirror site URLS: www.nyaa.ink, www.nya.iss.one
- Banned in: India
- Best for: Japanese music, anime soundtracks
Anime fans love Nyaa ISS, as the torrent website offers arguably the largest selection of Japanese music and anime soundtracks around. True, you may need a translation service to find some content, but with new releases daily, it’s worth the trouble.
Most torrents have quite a few seeders, which makes downloading music easy and remarkably fast. Aside from music, you will also find anime movies and books, but the massive selection of niche music is what put Nyaa ISS on our list.
5. Metal Tracker
- Mirror site URLS: en.metal-tracker.com
- Banned in: None
- Best for: Metal music
If you want to download any subgenre of metal music, look no further than Metal Tracker. As its name suggests, the website has an incredible selection of metal music, divided into 55 subcategories that you can access from the left-side navigation menu.
Every torrent album has details regarding the file format and bitrate, making it easy to pick high-quality files if that’s what you prefer. While it may not have the most diverse content library, if you’re a metalhead, you’ll feel right at home.
4 Best Torrent Sites for E-Books
If you’re a bookworm with an e-book reader, here is where you can find new titles to add to your library.
1. Library Genesis
- Mirror site URLS: www.libgen.is, www.libgen.rs, www.libgen.st
- Banned in: None
- Best for: E-books, magazines, textbooks
Library Genesis, commonly known as Libgen, is the world’s largest repository of e-books. The UI might seem a bit too basic at first, but it does an excellent job of keeping the website simple and easy to navigate. The search engine is fairly advanced, letting you filter out unwanted results with ease.
We had no problem finding almost any e-book we could think of, including niche e-books that we couldn’t find elsewhere and educational books for various industries. If you’re searching for the best torrent site for e-books, look no further.
2. My Anona Mouse
- Mirror site URLS: www.myanonamouse.net
- Banned in: None
- Best for: E-books, textbooks, magazines
Other private trackers usually require an invitation from someone, but My Anona Mouse lets you apply for an invite all on your own. The interview process is rather simple, and before you know it, you’ll have access to a massive library of e-books. My Anona Mouse is also rather generous when it comes to maintaining an upload-to-download ratio, so you don’t have to worry too much about that.
The e-book library may not be as big as Libgen’s, but it does offer a bit of something for everyone. Download speeds are excellent too, making My Anona Mouse a great source for e-books overall.
3. Internet Archive
- Mirror site URLS: www.archive.org
- Banned in: None
- Best for: Books, magazines, textbooks, journals
If you’re into niche e-books and are having trouble finding them, you should check out Internet Archive. This is a “non-profit library of millions of free books,” which means you may not find copyrighted content here, but you will certainly find free e-books you would struggle to get elsewhere.
Even though you can download any e-book as a torrent, Internet Archive also offers an online viewer so you can check out the books before you download them. It’s a great choice for anyone who is into elusive e-books.
4. Anna’s Archive
- Mirror site URLS: www.annas-archive.org
- Banned in: Italy
- Best for: E-books
Torrent site Anna’s Archive takes a slightly different approach than most other torrent sites. While it does have its own solid database of e-books, magazines and science papers, it also scrapes other torrent sites and serves you their results too.
Download speeds may vary, and we’ll be honest — many of the torrents we tried had little to no seeders, which is why this excellent concept for a torrent site comes in last on our list.
3 Best Video Game Torrent Sites
The gamers among you are probably always on the hunt for the latest AAA releases — here are the torrent websites where you can find high-quality torrents for new (and old) games.
1. FitGirl Repacks
- Mirror site URLS: www.fitgirl-repacks.site
- Banned in: Italy, Vietnam
- Best for: Games
FitGirl is a prominent name in the games industry, and if you’re looking for newly released games, chances are you’ll find them here. Most of the torrents are packed into a remarkably small file size with no compromise in terms of quality.
Download speeds are great, especially if you’re downloading popular, in-demand games that have plenty of seeders.
2. GazelleGames
- Mirror site URLS: www.gazellegames.net
- Banned in: None
- Best for: Games
GazelleGames is an excellent place to get new games for any platform. There are hundreds of thousands of torrents, all of which are high quality, and the website even has a tight-knit community that’s always in the mood to help you out.
On the flip side, getting into that community has proven to be tricky, with a difficult and lengthy interview process. To add to this, registration is often closed, so you may need to be patient. However, if you do get through it and manage to maintain your upload-to-download ratio, you’ll have access to a massive library of games.
3. DODI Repacks
- Mirror site URLS: www.dodi-repacks.site, dodi-repacks.download
- Banned in: None
- Best for: Games
DODI Repacks is another torrent website that offers plenty of repacks of popular games. The site has a solid game selection, and DODI makes sure to upload new repacks on a more or less daily basis.
We weren’t too impressed with the number of seeders and download speeds, and the website isn’t the easiest to navigate, which is why it’s at the bottom of our list of torrent sites for games.
What Are Torrent Sites & How Do They Work?
Torrent sites are online platforms that enable users to participate in P2P file sharing. In its traditional sense, file sharing usually involves files that are being uploaded to a server, where users can download them on demand. Alternatively, P2P file sharing means that every file is broken down into small pieces and shared between users.
Torrenting websites are platforms that enable users to download a torrent file, essentially connecting them to a network of users — known as “seeders” — who are uploading that same file. While downloading the file, you are also sharing your downloaded pieces with everyone else in the network.
Public vs Private Torrent Sites
When you download a torrent, you can use either public or private torrenting websites. Public websites are available to everyone, which can be a double-edged sword. Anyone can upload a torrent, which means that security isn’t top-notch. You may also run into suspicious torrent files, as well as fake torrents that have nothing to do with the content you intended to download.
On the other hand, private torrent sites are almost always invite-only, so you’ll need a user who already has an account to invite you to join the site. Private sites are usually more meticulous in terms of quality and security, and they also tend to have a solid selection of hard-to-find torrents. In some cases, downloading torrents from a private website might even be faster.
Torrent Site Pros
There are plenty of reasons to use a torrent site, even in situations where the files you want can be accessed as regular downloads. Here are some reasons why a torrent download might be a great idea.
Availability of Files
One of the biggest reasons to use a torrent site is the sheer availability of files. From movies and TV shows to music and games, there’s a bit of everything. Most reputable torrent sites will even have content that came out as recently as a few hours ago, so you can find up-to-date episodes of your favorite TV shows or albums by your favorite artists.
Faster Download Speeds
While this does depend on the specific torrent site and the target file, you’ll find that many torrent downloads tend to be faster than regular downloads, especially for in-demand files. This is mainly because you’re downloading it from multiple sources — and thus splitting the load — as opposed to a regular download, where everyone is downloading from the same server.
Downloads Management
Last but not least, when you use a torrent client to download files, you can view and manage all your downloads in one place. You can see how many people are sharing the torrent with you and set priorities if you’re downloading multiple torrents at once. You can even pause and resume the download whenever you want. Some torrent clients even let you do this remotely.
Torrent Site Cons
Not everything is sunshine and rainbows with torrents, though, and there are a few reasons why they’re not always the best idea.
Security
Security is likely the main issue with downloading torrents, especially if you’re not getting them from a private torrent site. Some uploaders don’t have your best interests at heart, so you might end up downloading a file that’s unrelated to what you think you’re getting. Your IP address is also exposed to the peers you are sharing the torrent with, which is all the more reason to use a VPN.
Legality
The other big problem with torrents is the legal aspect. Torrenting copyrighted material without acquiring the rights is often illegal and may result in legal action being taken against you. If you want to avoid legal consequences, your best bet is to steer clear of content such as movies, TV series, music or games that aren’t available online for free. If you still want to access them, use a VPN.
Ease of Use
Lastly, torrent sites aren’t the easiest things to use. Sure, a streamlined torrent website and client might make the process easier, but there are streaming clients such as Stremio that are remarkably simple. Rather than downloading the torrent, you just pick what you want to watch and enjoy it — they take care of sourcing the torrent in the background.
How to Stay Safe When Using Torrent Sites
When you’re getting most of your content from torrent sites, there are a few things you can do to make sure you stay safe. Using a VPN is our most common advice, but there are a few other things you should consider as well.
Use a VPN
A VPN, or virtual private network, adds some welcome security and privacy to your online activity. It gives you a virtual IP address that hides your real one from others sharing the torrent. It also ensures that your ISP can’t see your torrenting activities — some ISPs may try to prevent you from doing so. Downloading torrents without a VPN is a terrible idea, so be sure to use one.
Install an Ad Blocker
Although they are less common on private torrent sites, ads are usually present on almost all torrenting websites. Installing an ad blocker on your device, even as a browser extension, will remove most ads. They may seem harmless, but not all of them lead to reputable websites, and some might even spread malware if you click them.
Use Reputable Websites
While private websites tend to scrutinize their torrents a bit more, you can still have an excellent experience from a public torrent website. Reputable websites such as YTS, EZTVx, ShowRSS, 1337x or The Pirate Bay have been around for quite some time, and they have worked tirelessly to maintain their good reputations.
Be Wary of What You Download
Using torrent websites that limit who can upload a torrent, such as YTS, ShowRSS or EZTVx, is a good way to make sure you don’t run into malicious files. That’s not to say you should avoid all other websites, but make sure you check the comments on the torrent you want to download to see if it’s safe.
Tips on Picking Torrenting Sites
Not all torrent sites are made equal, so if you’re deciding between a few options, here are some things to keep in mind.
Use Reputable Torrent Sites
If you want to reduce the chances of running into pop-up ads, malicious torrents and slow download speeds, using a reputable torrent site is the first step. Private trackers like IPTorrents or public trackers that only allow verified uploads like 1337x, YTS or EZTVx are a great place to start, since there is very little chance that malicious content will find its way onto those sites.
Choose a Site With High Download Speeds
You’d be surprised at how many popular torrent sites limit your download speeds. This can get very frustrating, especially if you’re keen on downloading large files that could take several days to complete. Opting for sites that don’t impose limits on speed (or bandwidth, for that matter) will offer a significantly better experience, and so will active trackers that have plenty of seeders.
Pick Sites That Upload New Content Often
Finally, if you want to access recent torrents, choosing a torrent website that’s consistently active and regularly uploads new content is your best bet. Most of the torrent sites we mentioned above get new uploads on a daily basis, which means you’ll always find fresh content as soon as it’s available for download.
Torrenting Sites to Avoid
With all the risks associated with torrenting, there are some torrent sites you want to avoid. A prime example is KickassTorrents, a platform that shut down a couple of years ago. What was once one of the most popular and secure torrent sites is now nothing but a shadow. Other sites to avoid include TorrentGalaxy and iDope, both of which are ad-ridden and have a history of issues.
Final Thoughts
Torrenting can be risky, but if you stick to safe torrent sites and avoid copyrighted material, it’s a great way to get a wide selection of movies, TV shows, music and software. There are plenty of safe torrent sites out there that have a large variety of content and won’t get you into legal trouble.
Have you used some of the popular sites we mentioned above to download torrents? What’s your favorite one, and what do you use it for most often? Let us know in the comments, and as always, thank you for reading.
FAQ: Best Torrent Sites
The safest torrent sites are those that are managed by closed groups of uploaders, such as YTS, which is run by YIFY, and EZTVx, which is run by EZTV.
No, torrenting as a file-sharing method is not illegal. However, if you download illegal content such as software or multimedia without acquiring the rights to it, you may run into problems.
The best VPN for torrenting is ExpressVPN, but if you’d rather opt for something more affordable, Private Internet Access is a good alternative.