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Comparison of BitTorrent clients

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Summary

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The following is a general comparison of BitTorrent clients, which are computer programs designed for peer-to-peer file sharing using the BitTorrent protocol.

The BitTorrent protocol coordinates segmented file transfer among peers connected in a swarm. A BitTorrent client enables a user to exchange data as a peer in one or more swarms. Because BitTorrent is a peer-to-peer communications protocol that does not need a server, the BitTorrent definition of client differs from the conventional meaning expressed in the client–server model.

Bram Cohen, author of the BitTorrent protocol, made the first BitTorrent client, which he also called BitTorrent, and published it in July 2001.

Many BitTorrent programs are open-source software; others are freeware, adware or shareware. Some download managers, such as FlashGet and GetRight, are BitTorrent-ready. Opera 12, a web browser, can also transfer files via BitTorrent.

In 2013 Thunder Networking Technologies publicly revealed that some of their employees surreptitiously distributed a Trojan horse with certain releases of Xunlei, the company's BitTorrent-ready download manager. Xunlei is included in the comparison tables.

Applications

General

NameDeveloperPlatformLatest releaseLicenseNotesVersionDateNameDeveloperPlatformLatest releaseLicenseNotesVersionDate
BiglyBTBigly SoftwareLinux2023-09-22GPL-2.0-or-later}}
macOS
Windows
Android2023-09-22
BitCometBitComet Development GroupmacOSrowspan="2" , Adware
Windows
BitLordHouse of LifemacOSrowspan="2" , Adware
Windows
BitTorrentBitTorrentAndroidrowspan="3" , Adware
macOS
Windows
DelugevariousBSDGPL-3.0-or-later}}
Linux
macOS
Solaris
Windows
FlashGetTrend MediaWindows
Free Download ManageralervdAndroidrowspan="4"
Linux
macOS
Windows
FrostWireThe FrostWire ProjectAndroidGPL-3.0-or-later}}
Linux
macOS
Windows
KGetKDEBSDGPL-2.0-or-later}}
Linux
KTorrentJoris Guisson, Ivan VasićBSDGPL-2.0-or-later}}
Linux
macOS
LftpAlexander V. LukyaBSDGPL-3.0-or-later}}
Linux
macOS
Windows
LimeWireLime Wire LLCLinuxGPL-2.0-or-later}}
macOS
Windows
MiroParticipatory Culture FoundationLinuxGPL-2.0-or-later}}
macOS
Windows
MLDonkeyMLDonkey ProjectBSDGPL-2.0-or-later}}
Linux
macOS
MorphOS
Solaris
Windows
μTorrentBitTorrentAndroidrowspan="3" , Adware
macOS
Windows
Opera 12Opera SoftwareFreeBSD12.16rowspan="5"
Linux
macOS
Solaris
Windows12.17
qBittorrentChristophe DumezBSDGPL-2.0-or-later}}
Linux
Haiku
macOS
OS/2
Windows
rTorrentJari SundellBSDGPL-2.0-or-later}}
Linux
macOS
Solaris
Windows
RobertSponge, co-developer of I2PBSDGPL}}
Linux
macOS
Windows
ShareazaShareaza Development TeamWindows
TixatiKevin HearnLinuxrowspan="2"
Windows
TonidoCodeLatheBSDrowspan="4"
Linux
macOS
Windows
TransmissionvariousBSDGPL-2.0-only or GPL-3.0-only
MIT}}
Linux
macOS
OpenWrt
Solaris
Windows
TriblerThe Tribler TeamLinuxGPL-3.0-only}}
macOS
Windows
VuzeVuzeAndroidProprietary (platform)
GPL-2.0-or-later (core engine)
Adware}}
Linux
macOS
Windows
XunleiThunder Networking TechnologiesAndroidrowspan="4" , Adware
iOS
macOS
Windows

Operating system support

BitTorrent clientWindowsmacOSGNU/LinuxBSDiOSAndroidOtherNameWindowsmacOSGNU/LinuxBSDiOSAndroidOther
BiglyBT
BitComet
BitLord
BitTorrent
Deluge
FlashGet
Free Download Manager
Frostwireurl=http://www.frostwire.com/downloadstitle=Download FrostWirewebsite=frostwire.comaccess-date=26 July 2018archive-date=27 July 2018archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180727054709/http://www.frostwire.com/downloadsurl-status=live }}
KGet
KTorrent
Lftp
LimeWire
Miro
MLDonkey
μTorrent
Opera 12
qBittorrenturl=https://www.qbittorrent.org/download.phptitle=qBittorrent Official Websitewebsite=qBittorrent Official Websiteaccess-date=11 January 2016archive-date=9 January 2016archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160109163543/http://www.qbittorrent.org/download.phpurl-status=live }}
Robert
rTorrent
Shareaza
Tixati
Tonido
Transmission
Tribler
Vuze
Xunlei

Interface and programming

BitTorrent clientGUIRemoteCLIOtherProgramming languageBased onIPv6μTPBitTorrent clientGUIWebCLIOtherProgramming languageBased onIPv6μTP
BiglyBTJava, SWTVuze
BitCometC++-
BitLordPython, C++libtorrent (Rasterbar)
BitTorrent 5, MainlinePython-
DelugePython, C++libtorrent (Rasterbar)
FlashGet
Free Download ManagerC++libtorrent (Rasterbar)
FrostwireJavalibtorrent (Rasterbar)
KGetC++-
KTorrentC++-
lftpC++-
LimeWireJavalibtorrent (Rasterbar)
MiroC++libtorrent (Rasterbar)
MLDonkeyOCaml-
μTorrentC++-
Opera 12C++-
qBittorrentPython, C++libtorrent (Rasterbar)title=News Releasesurl=https://www.qbittorrent.org/news.phpaccess-date=2023-11-13website=www.qbittorrent.orgarchive-date=2019-12-13archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191213192059/https://www.qbittorrent.org/news.phpurl-status=live }}
rTorrentC++libTorrent (Rakshasa)
ShareazaC++-
TixatiC++-
TonidoC++libtorrent (Rasterbar)
TransmissionC++ (rewritten from C), Objective-Clibtransmission
TriblerPython, C++libtorrent (Rasterbar)
VuzeJava, SWT-
XunleiC++-

Features I

BitTorrent clientProtocol versionMagnet URI
(BEP 9)Preload Magnet metadata
(BEP 9)Super-seeding
(BEP 16)Embedded trackerUPnPNAT Port Mapping ProtocolNAT traversal
(BEP 55)DHT protocol
(BEP 5)Peer exchange(PEX)
(BEP 11)EncryptionUDP tracker
(BEP 15)LPD
(BEP 14)Proxy serverBitTorrent clientProtocol versionMagnet URIPreload Magnet metadataSuper-seedingEmbedded trackerUPnPNAT Port Mapping ProtocolNAT traversalDHTPeer exchangeEncryptionUDP trackerLPDProxy server
BiglyBT1, 2
BitComet1, 2Separate download
BitLord1
BitTorrent 5, Mainline1
Deluge1,2
FlashGet1
Free Download Manager1
KTorrent1
LimeWire1
MLDonkey1
μTorrent1url=https://forum.utorrent.com/viewtopic.php?id=60602title=µTorrent 2.0 beta 17539 - Announcements - µTorrent Community Forumsdate=5 August 2009access-date=29 June 2010archive-date=24 June 2010archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100624080826/http://forum.utorrent.com/viewtopic.php?id=60602url-status=live}}
Opera 121url=http://my.opera.com/desktopteam/blog/show.dml/251672title=Weekly – Desktop Team – by Opera Desktop Teampublisher=My.opera.comdate=27 February 2007access-date=28 November 2009archive-date=18 June 2006archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060618005308/http://my.opera.com/desktopteam/blog/show.dml/251672url-status=live }}url=http://www.opera.com/docs/changelogs/windows/950b1/title=Opera 9.5 Beta 1 for Windows Changelogpublisher=Opera.comaccess-date=28 November 2009archive-date=10 March 2010archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100310082311/http://www.opera.com/docs/changelogs/windows/950b1/url-status=live }}
qBittorrent1, 2
rTorrent1url=http://libtorrent.rakshasa.no/ticket/1188title=local peer discoverypublisher=libtorrent.rakshasa.noaccess-date=17 April 2010archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100413231237/http://libtorrent.rakshasa.no/ticket/1188archive-date=13 April 2010url-status=dead }}
Shareaza1
Tixati1, 2
Tonido1
Transmission1Patch available
Tribler1
Vuze1
Xunlei1

Features II

BitTorrent clientCacheHash Web seedingHTTP Web seedingBroad-catching (RSS)
(BEP 36)PrioritizationSelective downloads
(BEP 53)Sequential downloadingSOCKSTracker exchange
(BEP 7)Remote control via webSearch engine
(BEP 18)Auto updatesReviews and CommentsBitTorrent clientCacheHash Web seedingHTTP Web seedingBroad-catching (RSS)PrioritizationSelective downloadsSequential downloadingSOCKSTracker exchangeRemote control via webSearch engineAuto updatesReviews and Comments
BiglyBT
BitComet
BitLord
BitTorrent 5, Mainline
DelugePluginvia PMS
FlashGet
Free Download Manager
KTorrentvia PMS
LimeWire
MLDonkeyurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090218041202/http://savannah.nongnu.org/task/?func=detailitem&item_id=4401date=18 February 2009 }}; however, http proxy is supported.via PMS
μTorrent
Opera 12
qBittorrentvia PMS
rTorrentvia PMS
Shareaza
Tixati
Tonido
Transmission
Tribler(DHT)
Vuzeurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20091228072458/http://getright.com/seedtorrent.htmldate=28 December 2009 }} in addition to the Bittornado specin paid versionPlugin
Xunlei

Libraries

; General

BitTorrent libraryInitial releasePlatformLatest releaseLicenseNotesVersionDateBitTorrent libraryInitial releasePlatformLatest releaseLicenseNotesVersionDate
libtorrent (Rasterbar)Linux
BSD-3-Clause}}
macOS
Windows
MonoTorrentLinuxMIT}}
macOS
Windows
rTorrent (libTorrent Rakshasa)LinuxGPL-2.0-or-later}}
macOS

; Operating system support and programming language

BitTorrent libraryGNU/LinuxWindowsmacOSAPIProgramming languageBitTorrent libraryLinuxWindowsmacOSAPIProgramming language
libtorrent (Rasterbar)C++
MonoTorrentC#
rTorrent (libTorrent Rakshasa)C++

; Supported features 1

BitTorrent libraryProtocol versionSuper-seedingTrackerUPnPNAT Port Mapping ProtocolNAT traversalDHTPeer exchangeEncryptionUDP trackerLPDFast extensionsMagnet URIμTPBitTorrent libraryProtocol versionSuper-seedingTrackerUPnPNAT Port Mapping ProtocolNAT traversalDHTPeer exchangeEncryptionUDP trackerLPDFast extensionsMagnet URIμTP
libtorrent (Rasterbar)1, 2
MonoTorrent1, 2
rTorrent (libTorrent Rakshasa)1

; Supported features 2

BitTorrent libraryCacheWeb seedingWebTorrentBroadcatching (RSS)PrioritizationSelective downloadsSOCKSRemote control via webEngineBitTorrent libraryCacheWeb seedingWebTorrentBroadcatching (RSS)PrioritizationSelective downloadsSOCKSRemote control via webEngine
libtorrent (Rasterbar)
MonoTorrent
rTorrent (libTorrent Rakshasa)

Notes

References

it:BitTorrent#Client

References

  1. . "BitTorrent User Manual". *[[BitTorrent (company)*.
  2. Cohen, Bram. (2 July 2001). "BitTorrent – a new P2P app". [[Yahoo! Groups]].
  3. Van Der Sar, Ernesto. (14 October 2013). "Google-backed BitTorrent client spread malware to Windows PCs and Android devices".
  4. Gibbs, Samuel. (15 October 2013). "Google-Backed File-Sharing Service Spreads Malware". Guardian News and Media.
  5. With OpenSSL exception.
  6. Eric Ravenscraft. "How to Disable Ads in uTorrent". Gawker Media.
  7. GPL-2.0-only or GPL-3.0-only or any future license endorsed by Mnemosyne LLC.
  8. "COPYING in trunk – Transmission".
  9. (8 December 2010). "Truly Decentralized BitTorrent Downloading Has Finally Arrived". TorrentFreak.
  10. "Download - BitTorrent® - Android torrent app".
  11. "Download FrostWire".
  12. "IBM 64-bit SDK for z/OS, Java Technology Edition, Version 8". ibm.com.
  13. "Java 6 (OpenJDK) Released for OS/2, eComStation – OSnews".
  14. "Android Downloads".
  15. "qBittorrent Official Website".
  16. "Android client (not remote/controller) · Issue #4027 · qbittorrent/qBittorrent".
  17. "Chris Sutcliffe - Updated: rtorrent-0.8.9-1". cygwin.com.
  18. "Vuze Torrent Downloader application for Android".
  19. parg. (2024-01-26). "Command Line Options". BiglyBT wiki.
  20. BitComet command line interface see [http://wiki.bitcomet.com/BitComet_Command_Line BitComet Command Line – BitComet Wiki] {{Webarchive. link. (8 December 2017)
  21. (27 February 2013). "Deluge BitTorrent client gets uTP support".
  22. (2014-04-11). "FrostWire 5.7.2".
  23. "KTorrent 4.0".
  24. "Gui - MLDonkey".
  25. (15 February 2009). "uTorrent command line options – Forums - μTorrent – The Lightweight and Efficient BitTorrent Client". Forum.utorrent.com.
  26. "Web API". www.utorrent.com.
  27. "General – FAQ - μTorrent – a (very) tiny BitTorrent client". www.utorrent.com.
  28. (9 August 2008). "μTorrent 1.8 released". Forum.utorrent.com.
  29. (26 November 2008). "µTorrent 1.9 alpha 15380".
  30. "News Releases".
  31. (2016-10-10). "#507 Ipv6".
  32. "Tixati.com - News".
  33. "Transmission 2.30".
  34. "Vuze 4.6.0.0".
  35. "迅雷远程下载".
  36. Automatically configure port forwarding (requires [[Router (computing). Router]] with [[Universal Plug and Play. UPnP]] support)
  37. Many clients claim to support this, but just UPnP calls for opening a TCP port is not effective and disabled by factory default in most new hardware. "UDP NAT Traversal" is the proper working solution, supported by just a few.
  38. DHT permits use of trackerless torrents (with supporting clients) to resume normal torrents when their tracker is down. However, some trackers that register their users for keeping tabs on fair usage (such as a ratio of bytes downloaded to uploaded) may not reliably measure and update usage for users employing DHT.
  39. "CHANGELOG.md - deluge - Deluge BitTorrent Client".
  40. "MLDonkey 3.1.3 release notes". Forum mldonkey.sourceforge.net.
  41. "μTorrent 3.13 Apk For Android". apk20.com.
  42. (July 2006). "μTorrent 1.6 released". Forum.utorrent.com.
  43. "uTorrent: Make Your Own BitTorrent Tracker". Filesharefreak.com.
  44. "Setting up μTorrent for your internet connection". www.utorrent.com.
  45. (5 August 2009). "µTorrent 2.0 beta 17539 - Announcements - µTorrent Community Forums".
  46. (16 April 2006). "How To Encrypt BitTorrent Traffic". Torrentfreak.com.
  47. (28 June 2007). "Announcements » μTorrent 1.7 Release Candidate 6".
  48. (27 February 2007). "Weekly – Desktop Team – by Opera Desktop Team". My.opera.com.
  49. "Opera 9.5 Beta 1 for Windows Changelog". Opera.com.
  50. (8 January 2022). "Bittorrent client qBittorrent 4.4.0 released with v2 torrent support". ghacks.net.
  51. "That magnet uri ticket thing reincarnated". libtorrent.rakshasa.no.
  52. "local peer discovery". libtorrent.rakshasa.no.
  53. "Support for Bittorrent v2 (bep 0052) · Issue #458 · transmission/transmission".
  54. "Magnet Links - choose what files to download". Sourceforge.net.
  55. "Transmission-Qt". Sourceforge.net.
  56. "magnet download not verified for existing data". github.com.
  57. "transmission/libtransmission/peer-msgs.c". github.com.
  58. "Ticket #3688". trac.transmissionbt.com.
  59. (28 December 2009). "HTTP/FTP WebSeeding Method for BitTorrent}} since v1.14, see [http://wiki.bitcomet.com/Making_torrents_with_BitComet#Web_Seeding BitComet Wiki] {{Webarchive".
  60. link. (18 February 2009 ; however, http proxy is supported.)
  61. (13 July 2007). "uTorrent 1.7 Stable Finally Released". TorrentFreak.
  62. (14 October 2006). "How to use RSS & BitTorrent to download TV shows". TorrentFreak.
  63. "uTorrent – Free software downloads and software reviews – CNET". Download.com.
  64. 3rd party utility [http://code.google.com/p/rssdler/ RSSDler] {{Webarchive. link. (18 April 2008)
  65. (19 December 2017). "Shareaza". sourceforge.net.
  66. "Tixati News".
  67. "BEP 53 select-only magnet URI · Issue #5582 · transmission/Transmission".
  68. "Tribler".
  69. (28 December 2009 }} in addition to the Bittornado spec {{cite web). "Archived copy".
  70. "Stream Torrents - Vuze Bittorrent Client".
  71. "Additional Vuze Features - VuzeWiki".
  72. (21 March 2010). "libtorrent – Browse Files at". Sourceforge.net.
  73. (15 July 2012). "Timeline – The libTorrent and rTorrent Project". Libtorrent.rakshasa.no.
  74. (12 September 2020). "Libtorrent Adds Support for BitTorrent v2, a Potential Game-Changer". TorrentFreak.
  75. "libtorrent manual: features".
  76. "Google Code Archive - Long-term storage for Google Code Project Hosting.".
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