TV & Music TechnoGeek: Best Free BitTorrent Clients

August 2012 - From Gizmo's Freeware - Introduction - http://www.techsupportalert.com/best-free-bittorrent-client.htm

Since its inauspicious public appearance 8 years ago bittorrent has become one of the major download formats. With good reason too: it's fast, equitable and efficient. If you haven't yet installed a Bittorrent client on your PC, you should as there are some great freeware clients available. In Bittorrent the best clients are free. (In fact, if a client costs money, it is most likely a scam).
If you are unaware of the bittorrent protocol, you may take a look at my article, What is Bittorrent, as well as the listings within Searching for Torrents (Best Free Torrent Search Sites) to see the massive amount of content available through bittorrent.

Testing
Anyone with knowledge of bittorrent knows that it is nearly impossible to have a testing procedure that is foolproof in measuring small differentials in speed among bittorrent clients. This is due to the fact that your download speed depends on the upload of other active users and there is no control over their actions while testing. However, I have been testing clients for this category for several years and am convinced that the better clients can be separated from the others.
For this round of testing, I used 3 torrents and 2 magnet links. One of the torrents was extremely healthy, over 700 seeds and few peers, and was used just as a raw speed test for the clients. Another torrent was a healthy swarm, 60 seeds and 20 peers, and the last torrent was a weaker one with 20 seeds and 15 peers. One of the magnet links was for the same torrent that was healthy and the other was a very weak swarm with only 9 seeds and 5 peers.
The differences between the Superior clients and the good clients was not as marked as last time, but there still was a difference.
Testing was performed on both Windows 7 64bit and Windows XP SP3 running all of the 5 test torrents and magnet links above.

Ranking
Previously, I separated the bittorrent clients that had toolbars etc., to a listing below those that bittorrent clients that had a clean install. I decided to rank the clients based upon their results on the testing, their features and their help resources, giving the greatest weight to the test results.
I will make note of those that have installs or other changes to your system that are not necessary for the proper function of the bittorrent client. I will strongly suggest that if you choose a bittorrent client that has these unnecessary add ons, to not accept those changes or add ons.

Discussion

Superior Bittorrent Clients
Although these superior bittorrent clients are listed in order according to the ranking criteria above, I will point out that the differences as far as speed are so slight that in real life there would be no real difference. Any one of these bittorrent clients will perform as good as can be and the choice usually comes down to which GUI suits your personal preference.

qBittorrent is once again my top pick in this review. I was unaware of the existence of this client until it was suggested by IronPlatypus in the comments here a couple of years ago. Once again qBittorrent quickly got going on the torrents and on the magnet links. qBittorrent was also stable and efficient in both operating systems tested. Its RAM use was low and stable as was its CPU use. It has all the features that an ordinary user would want and is unlikely to cause issues on any Windows system. Their built in search runs quick and has a good number of sites included at default. I am usually not a big fan of built in searches, but since this allows you to visit the web page for the torrent and see comments/ratings there, I find this search useful. Plugins for additional sites are available. A downside to this client is that it basically is a one person operation, which might affect growth and support. The updates seem to be coming regularly, so the growth is not an issue as of yet (in fact they seem to do more updates than the other clients). The Wiki and Documentation have improved, but still parts are out of date. The situation at the forums is good. Response at their bugs page is excellent and the responses are from the developer. qBittorrent is a clean install, no addons etc.
Pros: Low and stable RAM and CPU with all the necessary features. Excellent performance on torrents. Development still seems to be very active and responsive to users. Clean install, no addons etc. Cross platform client.
Cons: Basically a one person operation, which could affect progress (though it has not as of now). Support has improved, but could be better. Not that well known and not accepted at many private torrent sites (though the situation is improving).

Deluge had some issues with the version I tested one year ago, but I received an email from one of the developers indicating the issues for Windows users had been resolved and he was correct. Like qBittorrent, and unlike the rest of the bittorrent clients tested, Deluge was very quick to get going on all the test torrents and magnet links. Deluge does have a good reputation and is accepted at most private sites. Its forums, user guide and FAQ provide a good level of support.    Deluge has a clean install, no addons etc. Deluge's performance was just a hair behind qBittorrent. Deluge is a very basic bittorrent client, it does not have the search feature of qBittorrent and others, but many users prefer that and will find Deluge to be a superior client in its speed performance. Its RAM and CPU use are low and stable, but not quite as low as qBittorrent. Deluge did have an issue with the Add Torrent screen on magnet links as it did not show the files, so one can not deselect before adding (but may deselect after adding)
Pros: Cross platform client that is stable for the most part and efficient. Well accepted at private trackers. Excellent performance on torrents. Good help resources. Clean install, no addons etc.
Cons: Issue with Add Torrent screen not showing files for magnet links so they can not be deselected before adding to download (they may be deselected after adding).

µTorrent has been top pick here in the past and is still a superior bittorrent client, and it falls just behind the above two clients in the testing.   With the excellent results on the test torrents, the fact that it is a stable and low resource using client (matching top pick qBittorrent) and the vast amount of features packed into this tiny program, this is a top flight bittorrent program. The support provided by µTorrent's FAQs, guides and forums is excellent, though it has diminished a bit from past years. µTorrent does try to foist a toolbar, home page change, search engine change and a software download during install. Once you get past the install addon and change issues, this is an excellent client for all Windows users. µTorrent is by far and away the most popular bittorrent client. µTorrent does have an issue on the Add Torrent screen when adding magnet links where it does not show the files, so files may not be deselected before adding (they may be deselected after adding). NOTE: Magnet link issue fixed in version 3.2. They also added streaming capability in recent version. However, I am unable to test this as I have nothing to stream to. Recent versions of µTorrent have been in disfavor at many private sites, supposedly for reporting to the tracker issues.
Pros: Excellent speeds on torrents, efficient and stable client with a large amount of features packed into a tiny package. Excellent help resources. Streaming capability.
Cons: Has had critical security alerts at Secunia. (though none on this version). Toolbar install (not necessary for program) and search/home page change enabled at default on install. OpenCandy installer offers software not necessary for the program.   Recent versions of µTorrent have been in disfavor at many private sites, supposedly for reporting to the tracker issues.

BitTorrent. Everything I said about µTorrent, above applies to BitTorrent as the two are identical in their options and engine. Both are owned by BitTorrent, Inc., and are developed by the same development team. If you prefer the name BitTorrent and its purple color over the µTorrent name and its green color, then that would be the only reason to choose this client over µTorrent.
Even though the two clients are the same, BitTorrent is still banned at most private torrent sites (even though they accept µTorrent ). BitTorrent releases tend to come out a bit after the µTorrent releases ffor some reason.

Transmission-QT (Windows) is not an "official" release of the Transmission team, but has been touted in their forums for years and recently moved to its own site. Even so, it has become one of the best bittorrent clients for Windows. Its performance on the test torrents and magnet links puts it on a par with all of the above in real world application, though it did fall slightly behind. Basically, Transmission-QT tested equal to µTorrent and BitTorrent, but was put below them on my list due to being unofficial and due to its lack of comparable help resources. This version ran stable and efficient as well on both of my Windows operating systems (though it used a bit more RAM than the above clients. Many users will find its simple interface appealing. The help resources are limited, but for more savvy users this is an excellent choice. Even for newer users, the setup guide that I have prepared will be all you need to get up and running well. This version is not accepted at private trackers, even though the main Transmission is well accepted at almost all private trackers. This client has a clean install, no addons etc.
Pros: Efficient and stable with excellent speeds. Simple interface. Clean install, no addons etc.
Cons: Not an "official" release of the Transmission team and is lacking help resources.

Excellent Clients
These clients ran a notch below the superior clients above. They still have a loyal following and will appeal to some users, though I feel the differences in performance deserve a lower ranking here.

Vuze was at one time the top pick here and was for a long time my favorite client. I was a big supporter when they moved from the Azureus to Vuze model, but the Vuze model has really disappointed. Although the client has improved its RAM use greatly since the Azureus model, it still is one of the big RAM users, though this is really not an issue in this day and age. It also looks like this has been put on the back burner as the Vuze team seems to be working on another project. Their install includes a toolbar, deceptively named Vuze Remote, and home and search page changes enabled at default. There is also a software install offered and it also has advertisements in the Vuze portion of the client. Vuze is still an excellent client with a wide variety of plugins (though many are no longer supported) and options and information. Their help resources (Vuze-Wiki and Vuze forums) have taken a step back, but the Wiki is still an excellent source of information, Its performance on the tests put it a notch below the above superior clients, but was better than it fared last year. Note that the Mainline DHT plugin should be used, particularly to get good results on magnet links. Many users like the intricate details this program provides and its streaming capabilities.
Pros: There is a wide variety of options and information within the program and an impressive array of plugins (many work, but many are also no longer supported) to satisfy any need. Cross platform. Streaming capability.
Cons: Though the client has improved its RAM use in the past few years, development has not moved much recently. The Vuze interface is useless for all but a few who like the streaming capability. Bing Toolbar install and home page change enabled at default on install. Advertisements within free version of Vuze interface. Performance on large swarm torrents was not at the level of the superior clients above.

Tixati is a re

latively new bittorrent client that entered this review for the first time three years ago. It is also an appealing client, with its varied GUIs and layout. Tixati was very stable in both RAM and CPU on both of my systems. Its use of those is higher than the top 5 clients here, but it is still very easy on system resources. Tixati always seems to be in active development and the developers are receptive to users input. Compared to µTorrent/BitTorrent, Tixati is a Mom and Pop operation, which many users will prefer, but some may be wary. This is reflected in their promise never to include addons/changes such as seen in µTorrent/BitTorrent/Vuze Their help facilities have grown and are kept up to date. Their forums are responsive, but not at the level of µTorrent's, which has the best support forum. It s performance on the test torrents was disappointing this time as it had quite a delay in getting going on a couple of the test torrents/magnets. their interface options will appeal to many users. Their clean install will appeal to all.
Pros: Generally stable and efficient with a good variety of options. Developers are active and responsive to user requests. Attractive interface. Good help resources. No addons etc. during install.
Cons: Help resource, though very good, could use some more. Smaller operation, which you may or may not like. Performance on test torrents was not up to the Superior clients.

BitComet has always suffered, unnecessarily in my opinion, from an image of a cheating, or poorly built client. The language issues of having a development team that is Chinese speaking only has hurt them over the years. Its performance on the tests was very disappointing this time, particularly with their 64bit version. Their 32bit version ran equal to Vuze and Tixati. They have removed the home page change et al, from their install. They do have a good deal of self promoting ads, including links to pay services and I find their interface cluttered with items that should be cleared up. But, BitComet does have a wide variety of options and for the most part runs stable. They also have an excellent support structure through their two forums (ToComet and UniteTheCows) and their blog and wiki .(there is a nice FAQ at the Wiki).
Pros: A stable client that was just behind the superior clients in efficiency and features. They offer a wide variety of features and excellent help resources. Their torrent exchange and other community features may interest some users.
Cons: Apparently still has issues as initial seed on torrents. Still not accepted at a few private trackers (although this issue is rightfully being resolved) . Self-promotional advertising banners and popups within client. Performance on tests were very disappointing with the 64bit version, but decent with the 32bit version.

Download Programs That Have Bittorrent Support
I receive comments suggesting download managers that support bittorrent and tested a couple this time around. Free Download Manager did perform equal to the excellent clients on torrents (it does not support magnet links), but was below the superior clients. I would not suggest this for a bittorrent client, but if you already have it installed, want to use only torrents and not magnet links, only occa sionally download torrents and do not want to install an additional program then it is acceptable. Though I would still suggest, even to those users, to try one of the superior clients listed here.

September 23, 2012

Best Free BitTorrent Clients