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There are a handful of excellent BitTorrent clients for Mac, but uTorrent takes the cake thanks to its great feature set, admirable flexibility, overall speed, and $0 price tag.
Note: If you don't know much about BitTorrent and want to learn, check out our beginner's guide to BitTorrent.
SolidWorks 2019 Crack + Torrent For [Mac/Win] Free Download SolidWorks 2019 Crack is the famous software in the field of the graphic designing for CAD that is developed for the professional and the beginners. Additionally, qBittornet is a best torrent clients for Mac because it does not show ads. Despite the interface being user-friendly it is clustered, when comparing to other torrent clients. Thought it is a new torrent client, it looks like that it came from the OS X time period.
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Platform: Mac OS X
Price: Free
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What's great about uTorrent is that it manages to have a massive feature set and still maintain a remarkable amount of simplicity. If you already know how to find torrent files you just add them and let uTorrent download. If you don't know where to find torrents, you can search directly from uTorrent. It also supports torrent RSS feeds for automated downloads. Another really great thing uTorrent can do is manage the bandwidth it uses based on what you're doing in other apps. If you need to download with another app, it'll automatically free some up. If, for any reason, you don't like a particular feature in uTorrent you can generally hide it. It gives you the full interface to start, but you can make it about as minimal as you want. Overall, uTorrent is a really solid app with great features and plenty more in the pipeline.
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There isn't much to complain about with uTorrent. The only downside to running it on a Mac is that the Windows version tends to get new features first. If you use it on a Mac, you're likely going to be waiting a little longer for the same features. Also, uTorrent is working on a paid version so you may end up paying for some of the features you want down the line. (Note: not existing features, but new ones.)
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Transmission (Free) is what you want if you don't care much for the nearly endless features of uTorrent. It's really a fantastic, super lightweight BitTorrent client with plenty of great features like web control and full encryption. It's also completely open-sourced.
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xTorrent is a beautiful BitTorrent client with many of the great features you'll find in uTorrent, and although it's technically free you have to pay if you don't want throttled download speeds. That's kind of a deal-breaking restriction, so as far as we're concerned it's $25 for a license. While it's really a fantastic option, there are so many free and excellent BitTorrent clients out there it's hard to justify paying anything at all. Acquisition has the same pros and cons, but will cost you a little less for a pro license. Best email client for mac that supports oauth.
The Official BitTorrent client (Free) is lightweight and simple. We prefer Transmission when you're focusing on those criteria, but if you want to try something else it's another decent option.
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Of course, there are plenty more. If you have a favorite we didn't mention, share it in the comments!
Lifehacker's App Directory is a new and growing directory of recommendations for the best applications and tools in a number of given categories.
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BitTorrent is one of the most efficient ways of sharing files via the internet. The underlying technology distributes fragments of data with a cluster of users, which removes the need to host files on a physical server and many of the costs and limitations of doing so.
If you’ve just switched to a Mac, you might no longer be able to use your old favorite Windows BitTorrent clientThe Best PC Software for Your Windows ComputerThe Best PC Software for Your Windows ComputerWant the best PC software for your Windows computer? Our massive list collects the best and safest programs for all needs.Read More. You might be new to torrents altogether, or simply looking for a rock solid client with the right number of bells and whistles.
The good news is that you don’t need to pay for the privilege. Here are our favorite free torrent clients for the Mac platform.
There are a good number of BitTorrent clients out there now that charge an entry fee. These are different to the ad-supported free versions, of which there are a few in the list below, though some go as far as offering demo versions that impose pesky limitations.
Some will restrict your download speed, or limit the number of concurrent downloads you can have. We’re great proponents of supporting your favorite apps by buying softwareWhy I Buy iPhone Apps (and You Should Too)Why I Buy iPhone Apps (and You Should Too)If I have a choice between a free app and a paid app that do very similar things, I’ll buy the paid app every time.Read More, but when it comes to BitTorrent we’ve yet to see enough to justify opening your wallet.
That’s why we’ll only be taking a look at completely free, open source, and “free” products that come with a premium option in this article. You won’t find any of these on the Mac App Store since Apple doesn’t take kindly to the practice of file sharing.
Benefits: A simple native Mac client that looks the part, with excellent performance and a good set of features to boot.
I’ve always loved Transmission, and it’s the client I’m still using on an almost daily basis. Unfortunately, Transmission’s reputation took a hit in 20164 Transmission Alternatives for Mac BitTorrent Users4 Transmission Alternatives for Mac BitTorrent UsersTransmission was struck with malware twice in one year, so you might want to consider a new Mac torrent app.Read More when malware was discovered bundled in the installer. This was Mac’s first example of ransomwareIs Ransomware Really as Terrifying as You Think?Is Ransomware Really as Terrifying as You Think?Ransomware is a regular nuisance. A ransomware infection takes your computer hostage, and demands payment for release. Often, payment doesn't secure your personal files. But is it really as terrifying as you think?Read More, a result of an unpatched security hole in the installer software used by the Transmission team.
Fortunately, there’s been no major drama with Transmission for a while, which is reassuring since it’s probably the best Mac torrent client out there. Many users favor it for its raw simplicity — a single list view for torrents, with a few controls and filtering options up top.
There’s a rock-solid web interface which makes adding torrents and magnet links from a web browser super easy, even on your smartphone. You can limit how much bandwidth your torrent downloads swallow up, with a simple scheduler for enforcing a speed limit during set times.
There’s also blocklist management for avoiding bad peersIs Popcorn Time Safe? How to Torrent SafelyIs Popcorn Time Safe? How to Torrent SafelyPopcorn Time is illegal. If you're thinking of using it, here are several things you should know before you put yourself at risk.Read More, a decent level of customization, and you’ll even see your current upload and download speeds in the Mac dock (a nice touch). It’s not the most feature-loaded client on this list, but if you don’t need plugins and finite scheduler control it’s your best choice.
Benefits: A wealth of plugins allow you to expand Deluge’s functionality way beyond that of a regular torrent client.
If Transmission doesn’t do everything you want it to, I’d recommend looking at Deluge next. It lacks the sleek and simple interface, and it’s not written natively for the Mac since it’s also available for Windows and Linux. However, it does include support for plugins, which really opens up what you can achieve with a torrent client.
Deluge has been around for a while, and you can tell from a quick glance at the interface. The icons are very Windows XP, and the three-pane UI looks almost like a version of Outlook from the early 2000s. But despite this, performance remains fairly good (though be aware that adding more plugins will likely slow things down).
Features can be bolted on using the plugin system, with a good number included when you first install. You can set up a schedule for managing bandwidth, enable the web UI to add torrents from other computers, and subscribe to a blocklist to better guard your privacy.
Head to the Deluge plugins list to find all manner of tools for batch renaming or moving files, alternative schedulers, bandwidth managers that stop Deluge from choking your connection, and RSS torrent managementHow To Use RSS Feeds To Download Torrents AutomaticallyHow To Use RSS Feeds To Download Torrents AutomaticallyRead More for automatic downloading.
Benefits: A long-running, simple, and open source client that forgoes the plugins but gets the job done.
Just like Deluge, qBittorent is an open source projectHow Contributing to Open Source Projects Can Teach You Life SkillsHow Contributing to Open Source Projects Can Teach You Life SkillsWe've looked at the benefits of using open source software, but what about the other way around: contributing to them? Can getting involved in an open source project aid your personal development?Read More based on the libtorrent library. qBittorent lacks the plugins found in Deluge, but I prefer it for its general look and feel. Performance is as expected from a cross-platform client, and it includes a few nice touches like a right-click context menu for adding torrents and changing settings from the Mac dock.
The client makes the list since it’s still actively maintained, with Windows and Mac binaries readily available (alongside some unusual alternatives, like Haiku and IBM’s OS/2). As far as torrent clients go, it does the job though it lacks the polish of a client like Transmission.
The feature set is fairly bold, with a web UI included, folder monitoring for new .torrent files, actions for completed transfers, speed limits, and a fairly limited but functional scheduler. There’s also the addition of a lock button, which allows you to lock the client with a password — handy if you’re downloading files on a shared computer.
qBittorrent is a nice compromise between the simplicity of Transmission and the raw power of Deluge. If you don’t mind the interface, it’s a solid choice.
Benefits: The only “official” BitTorrent client, while uTorrent might be the most recognizable name in file sharing.
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BitTorrent Inc. is the company behind the only “official” client, and it’s come a long way since the old “one download at a time” dialogue box that changed the way files are distributed on the internet. The company has since bought uTorrent, and seemingly merged the two products together.
I downloaded both the official client and the latest version of uTorrent for Mac, and beyond the application icons and version numbers, I couldn’t find a single difference between the two. They both use the same interface, and presumably the same underlying technology.
I can only find “pro upgrade” options for the official BitTorrent client, with the website citing a $20 upgrade to remove the non-intrusive adverts, and add virus scanning and streaming support for downloads in progress. I don’t recommend you upgrade though since the adverts are barely noticeable and the other features aren’t worth the money.
It can’t be ignored that both of these clients are solid, with web UI support, feeds in the sidebar, a comprehensive scheduler with bandwidth management, and actions that kick in when your transfers complete. It’s a matter of personal taste, and it might not be the best client, but it’s far from the worst.
Benefits: Stream movies and other media before they’re finished downloading.
And now for something a little bit different. WebTorrent is the first BitTorrent client that works in the browser, while WebTorrent Desktop is a desktop version that brings torrent streaming to Windows, Mac, and Linux. That means you can watch movies and TV, or listen to audio books and music while the torrent download is still taking place.
There are a few caveats with this approach. An abundance of seeds is vital so that the client can prioritize the right torrent fragments (so the beginning of the video or audio files download first). That means only well-seeded torrents will be viable, but fortunately, there’s an abundance of free downloads through websites like The Internet Archive5 Types of Free Content Riches You Can Dig Up at the Internet Archive5 Types of Free Content Riches You Can Dig Up at the Internet ArchiveThe Internet Archive keeps a variety of old content alive on the Web for the future. What kind of content can you dig up, and why should you care? Let's find out.Read More.
In addition to streaming the content, WebTorrent Desktop also saves the file to your Downloads folder. You can choose to play the files within the client, or use an external app like VLC. That’s about as deep as WebTorrent gets in terms of customization, which is why it might not make an ideal everyday client.
However, it’s a handy app to have around, and it’s completely free and open source. It even comes loaded with a few recommended films you can stream right away, like Sintel and Big Buck Bunny10+ Amazing Short Films You'd Not Believe Were Made With Free Software10+ Amazing Short Films You'd Not Believe Were Made With Free SoftwareJust like its previous short films online, the Blender Foundation used only open-source or free software to produce movies of at least 10 minutes.Read More.
There are many more torrent clients out there, but you can give them a miss for the most part. The biggest omission on this list is probably Vuze, a free client with a $30 upgrade that adds CD burning and a few other bells and whistles. While Vuze works fine as a client, it’s somewhat bloated and doesn’t add any particularly notable features.
Worse still, it’s written in Java and so has a tendency to be pretty sluggish. It might be worth a shot if you’re still not satisfied after trying all of the above, though.
Which torrent client do you use on your Mac? Let us know in the comments below!
Explore more about: BitTorrent, File Sharing.