Comparison of BitTorrent clients
The following is a general comparison of BitTorrent clients, which are computer programs designed for peer-to-peer file sharing using the BitTorrent protocol.[1]
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 doesn't need a server, the BitTorrent definition of client differs from the conventional meaning expressed in the client–server model.[1]
Bram Cohen, author of the BitTorrent protocol, made the first BitTorrent client, which he also called BitTorrent, and published it in July 2001.[2]
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 admitted that some of their employees surreptitiously distributed a Trojan horse with certain releases of Xunlei, the company's BitTorrent-ready download manager.[3][4] Xunlei is included in the comparison tables.
Applications
General
Name | Developer | Software license | Latest stable software release | Operating system | Year (not dynamic, but easier for sorting) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
ABC | various | PSFL | 3.1 (October 2, 2005[5]) | Windows, Linux | 2005 |
Acquisition | Acquisition | Proprietary | 2.2 (v223) (November 19, 2010 ) [±] | OSX | 2010 |
BitComet | BitComet Development Group | Proprietary, Adware | 1.45 (January 17, 2017 ) [±][6] | Windows | 2017 |
BitLet | various | ASL | ? | (Java runtime) | 2015 |
BitLord | House of Life | Proprietary, Adware
installs WhenU adware |
Windows: 2.4.5 (February 13, 2017 ) [±] Mac OSX: |
Windows, OSX | 2017 |
BitSpirit | ByteLinker Inc. | Proprietary | 3.6.0.550 (December 29, 2010[7]) [±] | Windows | 2010 |
BitTornado | John Hoffman | MIT | 0.3.17 (October 19, 2006 ) [±] | Windows, OSX, Linux, BSD | 2006 |
BitTorrent | BitTorrent | Proprietary, Adware | Windows: 7.9.9 (Build 43917) (June 19, 2017 ) [±][8] |
Windows, OSX | 2017 |
BitTyrant | University of Washington | GPL | 1.1.1 (September 7, 2007[10]) [±] | Windows, OSX, Linux | 2007 |
Blog Torrent | Downhill Battle | GPL | 0.92 (April 20, 2005 ) [±] | Windows, OSX | 2005 |
Deluge | various | GPL | 1.3.15 (May 12, 2017 ) [±] | Windows, OSX, Linux, BSD | 2017 |
FlashGet | Trend Media | Proprietary | 3.7.0.1220 (May 17, 2013[11]) [±] | Windows | 2012 |
Folx | Eltima Software | Proprietary | 5.0.13493 (May 26, 2016 ) [±] | OSX | 2016 |
Free Download Manager | alervd | Proprietary | 5.1.29 (build 6471) (June 16, 2017 ) [±][12] | Windows, OSX | 2017 |
FrostWire | The FrostWire Project | GPL Optionally installs Ask.com toolbar |
6.5.4 (August 1, 2017 ) [±] | Windows, OSX, Linux, Android | 2016 |
KGet | KDE | GPL | 4.14.3 (November 11, 2014 ) [±][13] | Linux, Firefox | 2014 |
KTorrent | Joris Guisson, Ivan Vasić | GPL | 5.0.1 (April 17, 2016[14]) [±] | Linux | 2016 |
Lftp | Alexander V. Lukya | GPL | 4.7.7 (March 7, 2017 [15]) [±] | Linux | 2017 |
LimeWire | Lime Wire LLC | GPL | 5.5.16 (September 30, 2010 ) [±] | Windows, OSX, Linux | 2010 |
Meerkat Bittorrent Client | 47 Software | Proprietary | 1.5.8 (August 28, 2011 ) [±] | Windows | 2011 |
Miro | Participatory Culture Foundation | GPL | 6.0 (April 16, 2013 ) [±][16] | Windows, OSX, Linux | 2013 |
MLDonkey | MLDonkey Project | GPL | 3.1.5 (March 22, 2014[17]) [±] | Windows, OSX, Linux, MorphOs | 2014 |
µTorrent | Ludvig Strigeus | Proprietary, Adware [a] | Microsoft Windows: 3.5.0 (build 43916) (June 19, 2017 ) [±][18][19] OS X for Intel: |
Windows, OSX, Android | 2017 |
OneSwarm | University of Washington | GPL | 0.7.5 (May 23, 2011[25]) [±] | 2011 | |
Opera 12 | Opera Software | Proprietary | Windows (Presto) – 12.17 Linux, FreeBSD, MacOS X – 12.16 |
Windows, OSX, Linux | 2016 |
qBittorrent | Christophe Dumez | GPL | 3.3.14 (July 19, 2017 ) [±][26] | Windows, OSX, Linux, BSD | 2017 |
rTorrent | Jari Sundell | GPL | rTorrent 0.9.6 / libTorrent 0.13.6 (September 3, 2015 ) [±][27] | Linux | 2015 |
Robert | Sponge, co-developer of I2P | GPL | 2009 | ||
Shareaza | Shareaza Development Team | GPL | 2.7.9.0 (October 6, 2015[28]) [±] | Windows | 2015 |
SymTorrent | Imre Kelényi | GPL | 1.51 (October 23, 2012[29]) [±] | Symbian | 2011 |
Tixati | Kevin Hearn | Proprietary | 2.53 (February 22, 2017[30]) [±] | Windows, Linux | 2017 |
Tomato Torrent | Sarwat Khan | BT OSL | 1.5.1 (October 27, 2007[31]) | OSX | 2007 |
Tonido | CodeLathe | Proprietary | 3.62.0.21836 (December 31, 2012 ) [±] | Windows, OSX, Linux, BSD | 2012 |
TorrentFlux | various | GPL | 2.4 (June 18, 2008[32]) [±] | PHP Server | 2008 |
Transmission | various | GPL/MIT | 2.92 (March 6, 2016 ) [±][33] | Windows, Linux | 2016 |
Tribler | The Tribler Team | LGPL | 6.5.2 (May 13, 2016 ) [±][34] | Windows, OSX, Linux, Android | 2016 |
Vuze (formerly Azureus) | Vuze | Proprietary (platform), GPL (core engine), Adware | 5.7.4.0 (November 21, 2016 ) [±][35] | Windows, OSX, Linux, Android | 2016 |
WebTorrent | MIT | MIT | WebTorrent 0.98.18 (April 14, 2017 ) [±][36] | 2017 | |
Wyzo | Radical Software | Proprietary | 3.6.4 (September 24, 2010 ) [±] | Windows, OSX | 2010 |
Xunlei | Thunder Networking Technologies | Proprietary | Microsoft Windows: 9.1.26.614 (23 February 2017 ) [±][37] macOS: iOS: |
Windows, OSX, Android, iOS | 2017 |
Name | Developer | Software license | Latest stable software release | Year |
- a : The option to disable ads is included in the settings.[38]
Operating system support
BitTorrent client | Windows | Mac OS X | Linux | BSD | iOS | Android | Other |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ABC | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No | No |
Acquisition | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
BitComet | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No |
BitLet | Web | Web | Web | No | No | No | No |
BitLord | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
BitSpirit | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No |
BitTornado | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
BitTorrent | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes[39] | No |
BitTyrant | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
Blog Torrent | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
Deluge | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Solaris |
FlashGet | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Folx | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
Free Download Manager | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
Frostwire | Yes[40] | Yes[40] | Yes[40] | Yes[40] | No[40] | Yes[40] | Unix-like,[40] z/OS,[41] Solaris, OS/2, eComStation[42] |
KGet | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
KTorrent | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
LimeWire | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes |
Meerkat Bittorrent Client | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Miro | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
MLDonkey | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Solaris, MorphOS |
µTorrent | Yes | Yes | Web | No | No | Yes[43] | No |
OneSwarm | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No |
Opera 12 | Yes[Note 1] | Yes | Yes[Note 1] | Yes[Note 1] | No | Yes | Solaris |
qBittorrent | Yes[44] | Yes[44] | Yes[44] | Yes[44] | Yes[44] | No[45] | eComStation[44] |
rTorrent | Yes, through Cygwin[46] | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Solaris |
Shareaza | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No |
SymTorrent | No | No | No | No | No | No | Symbian |
Tixati | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No | No |
Tomato Torrent | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
Tonido | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
TorrentFlux | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
Transmission | Yes, as an unofficial build[Note 1] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes, through Cydia | No | Solaris, OpenWrt |
Tribler | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No |
Vuze | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes[47] | No |
WebTorrent | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Browsers (WebRTC/WebSockets) |
Wyzo | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
Xunlei | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | No |
Name | Windows | Mac OS X | Linux | BSD | iOS | Android | Other |
Interface and programming
BitTorrent client | GUI | Remote | CLI | Other | Programming language | Based on | IPv6 | µTP |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ABC | Yes | Yes | No | No | Python | BitTornado | buggy[Note 2] | No |
Acquisition | Yes | No | No | No | Objective-C, Cocoa | Limewire | No | No |
BitComet | Yes | Yes | Partial[48] | No | C++ | - | No | No |
BitLet | No | No | No | Webapp | Java Applet | - | No | No |
BitLord | Yes | No | No | No | Python, C++ | libtorrent (Rasterbar) | Yes | No |
BitTornado | Yes | No | Partial | No | Python | BitTorrent | Yes | No |
BitTorrent 5, Mainline | Yes | No | Partial | No | Python | - | No | No |
BitTorrent 6 | Yes | Yes | Partial | No | C++ | µTorrent | Yes | Yes |
BitTyrant | Yes | Yes | Partial | Telnet, XML over HTTP remote control API | Java, SWT | Azureus | Yes | No |
Blog Torrent | Yes | No | No | No | ? | ? | No | No |
Deluge | Yes | Yes | Yes | Daemon | Python, C++ | libtorrent (Rasterbar) | Yes | Yes[49] |
FlashGet | Yes | No | No | No | ? | ? | No | No |
Free Download Manager | Yes | Yes | Partial | No | C++ | libtorrent (Rasterbar) | No | No |
Frostwire | Yes | No | No | No | Java | LimeWire | No | Yes[50] |
KGet | Yes | Yes | Partial[Note 3] | No | C++ | - | Yes | No |
KTorrent | Yes | Yes | Partial | No | C++ | - | Yes | Yes[51] |
LimeWire | Yes | No | No | No | Java | libtorrent (Rasterbar) | No | No |
Meerkat Bittorrent Client | Yes | No | No | No | C++ | - | No | No |
Miro | Yes | No | No | No | C++ | libtorrent (Rasterbar) | No | No |
MLDonkey | No | Third Party[52] | Partial | Telnet | OCaml | - | No | No |
µTorrent | Yes | Yes | No[53] | RESTful Web API[54] | C++[55] | - | Yes[56] | Yes[57] |
OneSwarm | Partial | Yes | No-partial | No | Java | Azureus | Yes | No |
Opera 12 | Yes | No | No | No | C++ | - | Yes | No |
qBittorrent | Yes | Yes | Partial | No | C++, Python | libtorrent (Rasterbar) | Yes | Yes[58] |
rTorrent | No | Third Party | Yes | SCGI | C++ | libTorrent (Rakshasa) | No[59] | No |
Shareaza | Yes | Yes | Partial | No | C++ | - | No | No |
SymTorrent | Yes | No | No | No | ? | ? | No | No |
Tixati | Yes | Yes | No | No | C++ | - | Yes | Yes[60] |
Tomato Torrent | Yes | No | No | No | Cocoa | BitTorrent | No | No |
Tonido | No | Yes | No | No | C++ | libtorrent (Rasterbar) | No | No |
TorrentFlux | No | Yes | No | No | PHP | BitTornado | No | No |
Transmission | Yes | Yes | Yes | Daemon, JSON-RPC over HTTP remote control API | C, Objective-C | - | Yes | Yes[61] |
Tribler | Yes | Partial | Partial | No | Python,C++ | libtorrent (Rasterbar) | No | Yes |
Vuze (formerly Azureus) | Yes | Yes | Partial | Telnet, XML over HTTP remote control API | Java, SWT | - | Yes | Yes[62] |
WebTorrent | Yes | Yes | Yes | JavaScript, works in Node.js and web browsers | JavaScript | - | Yes | No |
Xunlei | Yes | No | No | remote control over internet[63] | C++ | - | No | No |
BitTorrent client | GUI | Web | CLI | Other | Programming language | Based on | IPv6 | µTP |
Features I
BitTorrent client | Magnet URI | Preload Magnet metadata [Note 4] | Super-seeding | Embedded tracker | UPnP [Note 5] | NAT Port Mapping Protocol | NAT traversal [Note 6] | DHT [Note 7] | Peer exchange | Encryption | UDP tracker | LPD | Proxy server |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ABC | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Acquisition | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
BitComet | Yes | No | Yes | Separate download | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | HTTP 1.1, SOCKS4-4a-5 |
BitLet | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
BitLord | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | HTTP 1.1, SOCKS4-4a-5 |
BitTornado | No | No | Yes | Yes[Note 8] | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | No |
BitTorrent 5, Mainline | No | No | No | Yes[Note 8] | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes |
BitTorrent 6 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes[Note 9] | Yes | Yes | Yes | HTTP(S), SOCKS4-5 |
BitTyrant | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes[Note 10] | Yes[Note 11] | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
Blog Torrent | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Deluge | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | HTTP(S), SOCKS4-5 |
FlashGet | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No |
Free Download Manager | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No |
KTorrent | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial | HTTP, SOCKS4-5 |
LimeWire | Partial | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
Meerkat Bittorrent Client | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No |
MLDonkey | Yes[64] | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | No |
µTorrent | Yes | Yes[65] | Yes[66] | Yes[67] | Yes[68] | Yes | Yes[69] | Yes[Note 12] | Yes[Note 9] | Yes[70] | Yes | Yes[71] | HTTP(S), SOCKS4-5 |
OneSwarm | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
Opera 12 | No | No | No | Yes[72] | No | No | No | No | Yes[73] | No | No | No | No |
qBittorrent | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | HTTP(S), SOCKS4-5 |
rTorrent | Yes[74] | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No[75] | No |
Shareaza | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes[Note 13] | Yes | No | Yes[Note 14] | No | No |
SymTorrent | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Tixati | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | only with out going without DHT if anonymity required |
Tomato Torrent | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
Tonido | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
TorrentFlux | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | No |
Transmission | Yes | Yes[76][77][78] | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes[Note 15] | Yes | Yes | Yes | No[79] |
Tribler | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Uses P2P onion routing to provide anonymity. |
Vuze (formerly Azureus) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes[Note 16] | Yes[Note 11] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Plugin | HTTP(S)?, SOCKS4-4a-5 |
WebTorrent | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
Xunlei | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | HTTP, SOCKS5, FTP |
BitTorrent client | Magnet URI | Preload Magnet metadata | Super-seeding | Embedded tracker | UPnP | NAT Port Mapping Protocol | NAT traversal | DHT | Peer exchange | Encryption | UDP tracker | LPD | Proxy server |
Features II
BitTorrent client | Cache [Note 17] | Hash Web seeding | HTTP Web seeding | Broad-catching (RSS) | Prioritization | Selective downloads | Sequential downloading | SOCKS | Tracker exchange [80] | Remote control via web | Search engine | Auto updates | Reviews and Comments | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ABC | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes | Separate download | No | No | |
Acquisition | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | 3 torrents max, infinite when registered | |
BitComet | Yes | No | Partial [Note 18][81] | Beta | Yes | Yes | Yes[Note 19] | Yes | No | Yes | Built-in Web browser | Yes | No | Portable version available |
BitLet | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | |
BitLord | Yes | No | Partial [Note 20] [Note 18] | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | Built-in Web browser | Yes | No | |
BitTornado | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | via PMS | No | |
BitTorrent 5, Mainline | No | Yes | Partial [Note 18] | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | |
BitTorrent 6 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
BitTyrant | Yes | Yes[82] | Yes | Plugin | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | Plugin[Note 21] | 3rd party plugins | Yes | No | Upload priority optimized according to a series of research papers |
Blog Torrent | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | |
Deluge | Yes | Yes | Partial [Note 20] | Plugin | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | via PMS | No | |
FlashGet | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | FlashGet (standalone application) is not FlashGot (Firefox Addon) | |
Free Download Manager | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | No | Optional | No | |
KTorrent | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Built-in Web browser | via PMS | No | ||
LimeWire | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | No | |
Meerkat Bittorrent Client | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | ||
MLDonkey | Yes | No | 3rd party bash script | Yes | No | No | No[83] | No | Yes | Built-in Web browser | via PMS | No | ||
µTorrent | Yes | Yes[84] | Partial [Note 18] | Yes[85] | Yes[86] | Yes | Yes[Note 22] | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
OneSwarm | Yes | Yes | Partial [Note 18] | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | No | has all BitTyrant features |
Opera 12 | No | No | Yes[Note 23] | No | No | No | No | No | No | built-into Web browser | Windows and Mac OS X only; via PMS on Linux | No | Web browser | |
qBittorrent | Yes | Yes | Partial [Note 20] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | hard-coded as disabled in newer versions | Yes | Yes | via PMS | No | |
rTorrent | Partial | No | No | 3rd party utility [87] | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | No | via PMS | No | No built-in disk cache but a delayed sync |
Shareaza | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes[Note 24] | in mod client | No | Yes [Note 25][88][Note 26] |
Yes | Yes | Yes | No | [Note 27] |
SymTorrent | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | BitTorrent client for cell phones | |
Tixati | Yes | Yes | Partial [Note 20] [Note 28] [Note 18] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | lightweight client, Portable version available, option to keep all peers unchoked available
Integral encrypted chatrooms that allow streaming audio and video, link sharing and searching |
Tomato Torrent | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | supports AppleScript |
Tonido | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | ||
TorrentFlux | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
Transmission | Yes | No | Partial [Note 18][Note 29] | No | Yes | Yes | Yes[89][90] | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | |
Tribler | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Partial | Yes (DHT)[91] | Yes | No | Fully distributed keyword search; integrated anti-spam measures[92] |
Vuze (formerly Azureus) | Yes | Yes[82] | Yes | Yes | Yes | in paid version [93] | Yes | No | Plugin[Note 21] | Yes | Yes | Yes[94] | The only client to bridge between i2p and the clearnet. | |
WebTorrent | Yes | No | Partial [Note 18] | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | Runs on desktop and web browsers. Desktop and browsers can communicate via WebRTC |
Xunlei | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | ||||
BitTorrent client | Cache | Hash Web seeding | HTTP Web seeding | Broad-catching (RSS) | Prioritization | Selective downloads | Sequential downloading | SOCKS | Tracker exchange | Remote control via web | Search engine | Auto updates | Reviews and Comments | Notes |
- 1 2 3 4 x86-32 and x86-64builds available
- ↑ Announcements to the tracker are made via IPv6 if possible, but the client doesn't listen on the respective port.
- ↑ Qdbus interface
- ↑ For a torrent added from a Magnet link, obtain the list of files (and other metadata) before prompting the user for a download location.
- ↑ Automatically configure port forwarding (requires Router with UPnP support)
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 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.
- 1 2 Tracker included with Linux binaries and with source, but not with Windows binary.
- 1 2 Exchanging with BT 6 and µTorrent clients (and now MooPolice).
- ↑ It's UDP based, an experimental feature and only supported by other Azureus based clients.
- 1 2 Has its own DHT, a mainline-DHT compatible implementation is available as plugin.
- ↑ µTorrent's DHT implementation is the same as Mainline and BitComet's, but unfortunately this is incompatible with Azureus's implementation.
- ↑ Since Shareaza v2.6.0.0, Shareaza includes Mainline DHT support. Also, Shareaza can use the Gnutella2 network to find other Gnutella2 clients sharing the same torrent. This also includes clients who do not actively seed the torrent in question anymore, as long as file hashes (such as sha1 for example) are known.
- ↑ Since Shareaza v2.5.5.1 r9064.
- ↑ Exchanges with µTorrent and Azureus peers.
- ↑ Since version 2.5.0.2. It's UDP based, an experimental feature and only supported by other Azureus clients.
- ↑ Reduces disk usage, file fragmentation (in case it is not preallocated) and latencies via larger written blocks and cached data for hash checking finished pieces.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Does not support HTTPS.
- ↑ Called "preview mode"
- 1 2 3 4 Does not support HTTP redirection (status codes: 301, 302, 303, 307).
- 1 2 Provides a Java-based and a simple HTML/JS based WebUI.
- ↑ From version 3.0 this feature is called "Streaming mode". The number of pieces to download sequentially is configurable
- ↑ Opera has a feed aggregator that displays feeds like emails.
- ↑ Since Shareaza v2.4.0.2 r7924.
- ↑ Since Shareaza v2.5.3.1.
- ↑ Shareaza also uses G2 to transmit download metadata, such as BitTorrent trackers to other G2 clients.
- ↑ Support only base path ("url-list" path) redirection (message: "HTTP redirect does not match file path").
- ↑ Adds HTTP referer header in request on HTTP redirection (useful behavior).
Vulnerabilities
This comparison of unpatched publicly known vulnerabilities in latest stable version clients is based on vulnerabilities reports by SecurityFocus and Secunia. See computer security for more details about the importance of unpatched known flaws.
BitTorrent client | Known unpatched vulnerabilities | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Secunia | SecurityFocus | |||||
Extremely critical (number / oldest) | Highly critical (number / oldest) | Moderately critical (number / oldest) | Less critical (number / oldest) | Not critical (number / oldest) | Total (number / oldest) | |
BitComet | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
BitLord | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Unknown |
BitTornado | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Unknown |
BitTorrent | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
BitTorrent DNA | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
BitTyrant | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Unknown |
Deluge | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
FlashGet | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 13 August 2008 |
Free Download Manager | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
FrostWire | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Unknown |
KTorrent | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Libtorrent (Rasterbar) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
LimeWire | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Miro | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 26 February 2008 |
MLDonkey | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 5 November 2003 |
1 23 February 2009 |
µTorrent for Mac | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
µTorrent for Windows | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Opera 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Shareaza | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Tixati | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Unknown |
Tomato Torrent | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Unknown |
TorrentFlux | 0 | 0 | 1 23 April 2008 |
0 | 0 | 2 18 April 2008 |
Transmission | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Vuze (formerly Azureus) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 22 June 2006 |
Wyzo | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Unknown |
Xunlei | 0 | 2 28 September 2007 |
0 | 0 | 0 | 1 17 November 2007 |
BitTorrent client | Extremely critical (number / oldest) | Highly critical (number / oldest) | Moderately critical (number / oldest) | Less critical (number / oldest) | Not critical (number / oldest) | Total (number / oldest) |
Secunia | SecurityFocus | |||||
Known unpatched vulnerabilities |
Libraries
- General
BitTorrent library | First public release date | Latest stable | Software license |
---|---|---|---|
libtorrent (Rasterbar) | 8 September 2005[95] | 1.1.4[96] (July 3, 2017 ) [±] | Free software |
MonoTorrent | September 2006 | 0.90 (May 22, 2010 ) [±] | Free software |
rTorrent (libTorrent Rakshasa) | 15 July 2004[97] | rTorrent 0.9.6 / libTorrent 0.13.6 (September 3, 2015 ) [±][98] | Free software |
WebTorrent | 4 December 2013[99] | WebTorrent 0.98.18 (April 14, 2017 ) [±][100] | Free software |
BitTorrent library | First public release date | Latest stable | Software license |
- Operating system support and programming language
BitTorrent library | Linux/Unix | Windows | OS X | API | Programming language |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
libtorrent (Rasterbar) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | C++ |
MonoTorrent | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | C# |
rTorrent (libTorrent Rakshasa) | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | C++ |
WebTorrent | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | JavaScript |
BitTorrent library | Linux/Unix | Windows | OS X | API | Programming language |
- Supported features 1
BitTorrent library | Super-seeding | Tracker | UPnP [Note 1] | NAT Port Mapping Protocol | NAT traversal [Note 2] | DHT [Note 3] | Peer exchange | Encryption | UDP tracker | LPD | Fast extensions | Magnet URI | µTP |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
libtorrent (Rasterbar) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes[101] | Yes | Yes | Yes[102] |
MonoTorrent | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
rTorrent (libTorrent Rakshasa) | Yes | Yes | No | ? | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | No | Yes | No |
WebTorrent | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | ? | Yes | No |
BitTorrent library | Super-seeding | Tracker | UPnP | NAT Port Mapping Protocol | NAT traversal | DHT | Peer exchange | Encryption | UDP tracker | LPD | Fast extensions | Magnet URI | µTP |
- Supported features 2
BitTorrent library | Cache[Note 4] | Web seeding [Note 5] | Broadcatching (RSS) | Prioritization | Selective downloads | SOCKS | Remote control via web | Engine | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
libtorrent (Rasterbar) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | |
MonoTorrent | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | |
rTorrent (libTorrent Rakshasa) | Partial | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No built-in cache-disk cache but a delayed sync |
WebTorrent | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Works in Node.js and the web browser |
BitTorrent library | Cache | Web seeding | Broadcatching (RSS) | Prioritization | Selective downloads | SOCKS | Remote control via web | Engine | Notes |
Notes
- ↑ Automatically configure port forwarding (requires Router with UPnP support)
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ Reduces disk usage, file fragmentation (in case it is not preallocated) and latencies due to larger written blocks and cached data for hash checking finished pieces.
- ↑ Recently implemented (unofficial) web seeding feature, see HTTP-Based Seeding Specification
See also
- Anonymous P2P
- BitTorrent tracker
- Comparison of BitTorrent sites
- Comparison of BitTorrent tracker software
- Comparison of file sharing applications
- File sharing
- Open Music Model
- Timeline of file sharing
References
- 1 2 "Glossary". BitTorrent User Manual. San Francisco: BitTorrent, Inc. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
- ↑ Cohen, Bram (2 July 2001). "BitTorrent – a new P2P app". Decentralization · Implications of the end-to-end principle. Yahoo! Groups. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
- ↑ Van Der Sar, Ernesto (14 October 2013). "Google-backed BitTorrent client spread malware to Windows PCs and Android devices". TorrentFreak. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
- ↑ Gibbs, Samuel (15 October 2013). "Google-Backed File-Sharing Service Spreads Malware". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
- ↑ "ABC (Yet Another Bittorrent Client)". SourceForge. ABC. 2005-10-03. Retrieved 2010-01-21.
- ↑ "BitComet Client Release Notes - A free C++ BitTorrent/HTTP/FTP Download Client". www.bitcomet.com. 2010-08-31. Retrieved 2016-11-14.
- ↑ "BitSpirit ChangeLog". bitspirit.cc. 2010-12-29. Retrieved 2012-02-27.
- ↑ BitTorrent Windows download page
- ↑ BitTorrent Mac download page
- ↑ "BitTyrant". University of Washington - Computer Science & Engineering. 2007-09-07. Retrieved 2010-01-21.
- ↑ "FlashGet 3.7.0.1220 International, revised version released". FlashGet. 2013-05-17. Archived from the original on 2015-05-11.
- ↑ "Free Download Manager". Files. Free Download Manager.org. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
- ↑ "KDE Ships KDE Applications and Platform 4.14.3". KDE. 11 November 2014. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
- ↑ KDE QuickGit :: ktorrent.git/commit:, kde.org, 2016-04-17, retrieved 2016-04-18
- ↑ "LFTP - events". 7 March 2017. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
- ↑ ftp.osuosl.org :: Oregon State University Open Source Lab, 7 Oct 2012, retrieved 2013-01-04
- ↑ "MLDonkey at SourceForge.net". SourceForge. 2014-03-22. Retrieved 2014-05-09.
- ↑ "Download - µTorrent - a (very) tiny BitTorrent client". www.utorrent.com. 2014-02-19.
- ↑ "Windows - The Official µTorrent Blog". blog.utorrent.com. 2017-04-07.
- 1 2 "Download - µTorrent - a (very) tiny BitTorrent client". www.utorrent.com. 2013-04-03.
- ↑ "Current Stable Mac Release".
- ↑ "uTorrent for Mac release notes PPC".
- ↑ BitTorrent (March 7, 2013). "µTorrent® - Torrent Downloader". Google Play. Google. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
- ↑ "µTorrent Version History". www.apk4fun.com. 2015-03-17.
- ↑ "OneSwarm Changelog". University of Washington - Computer Science & Engineering. Retrieved 2012-03-23.
- ↑ qBittorrent Win32 Build, SourceForge.net
- ↑ rakshasa (2015-09-03), Release 0.9.6 · rakshasa/rtorrent, GitHub, retrieved 2015-09-04
- ↑ "Shareaza download page on sourceforge Web site". SourceForge. Retrieved 2015-10-09.
- ↑ "SymTorrent GitHub". SymTorrent. 2012-10-23. Retrieved 2016-11-13.
- ↑ "Tixati News". tixati.com. Tixati Software. 2016-12-05. Retrieved 2016-12-18.
- ↑ "OpenSource". Sarwat.net. 2007-10-27. Retrieved 2010-01-21.
- ↑ "TorrentFlux - PHP Torrent Client at SourceForge.net". TorrentFlux.SourceForge.net. 2008-06-18. Retrieved 2010-03-11.
- ↑ Changes – Transmission, trac.transmissionbittorrent.com, 2016-03-06, retrieved 2016-03-06
- ↑ "Releases".
- ↑ "Changelog". Vuze Community. Retrieved 2013-08-24.
- ↑ feross (2017-04-14), Release 0.98.18 · webtorrent/webtorrent, GitHub, retrieved 2017-05-15
- 1 2 3 4 迅雷产品中心 [Xunlei Product Center]
- ↑ Eric Ravenscraft. "How to Disable Ads in uTorrent". Lifehacker. Gawker Media.
- ↑ "Download - BitTorrent® - Android torrent app". BitTorrent (software). Retrieved 22 March 2017.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Download FrostWire". frostwire.com. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
- ↑ "IBM 64-bit SDK for z/OS, Java Technology Edition, Version 8". ibm.com.
- ↑ "OSNews.com". osnews.com.
- ↑ "Android Downloads". μTorrent® (uTorrent) - a (very) tiny BitTorrent client. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "qBittorrent Official Website". qBittorrent Official Website. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
- ↑ "Android client (not remote/controller) · Issue #4027 · qbittorrent/qBittorrent". GitHub.
- ↑ "Chris Sutcliffe - Updated: rtorrent-0.8.9-1". cygwin.com.
- ↑ "Vuze Torrent Downloader application for Android". Vuze. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
- ↑ BitComet command line interface see BitComet Command Line – BitComet Wiki
- ↑ Kaba, Martin (27 February 2013). "Deluge BitTorrent client gets uTP support". Kabatology. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
- ↑ "FrostWire 5.7.2".
- ↑ "KTorrent 4.0". Archived from the original on 2015-04-02.
- ↑ http://mldonkey.sourceforge.net/Gui
- ↑ "uTorrent command line options – Forums - µTorrent – The Lightweight and Efficient BitTorrent Client". Forum.utorrent.com. Retrieved 28 November 2009.
- ↑ "Web API". www.utorrent.com. Retrieved 6 July 2013.
- ↑ "General – FAQ - µTorrent – a (very) tiny BitTorrent client". www.utorrent.com. Retrieved 28 November 2009.
- ↑ "µTorrent 1.8 released". Forum.utorrent.com. Retrieved 28 November 2009.
- ↑ "µTorrent 1.9 alpha 13485".
- ↑ "qBittorrent 2.8.0".
- ↑ "#1111 (Support for IPv6?) – The libTorrent and rTorrent Project". Libtorrent.rakshasa.no. 20 July 2009. Retrieved 28 November 2009.
- ↑ "Tixati 1.72".
- ↑ "Transmission 2.30".
- ↑ "Vuze 4.6.0.0".
- ↑ "Xunlei remote download".
- ↑ "MLDonkey 3.1.3 release notes". Forum mldonkey.sourceforge.net. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
- ↑ "µTorrent 3.13 Apk For Android". apk20.com. Retrieved 22 November 2015.
- ↑ "µTorrent 1.6 released". Forum.utorrent.com. Retrieved 28 November 2009.
- ↑ "uTorrent: Make Your Own BitTorrent Tracker". Filesharefreak.com. Retrieved 28 November 2009.
- ↑ "Setting up µTorrent for your internet connection". www.utorrent.com. Retrieved 28 November 2009.
- ↑ "µTorrent Community Forums". µTorrent Community Forums.
- ↑ "How To Encrypt BitTorrent Traffic". Torrentfreak.com. 16 April 2006. Retrieved 28 November 2009.
- ↑ "Announcements » µTorrent 1.7 Release Candidate 6". 28 June 2007. Retrieved 12 December 2009.
- ↑ "Weekly – Desktop Team – by Opera Desktop Team". My.opera.com. 27 February 2007. Retrieved 28 November 2009.
- ↑ "Opera 9.5 Beta 1 for Windows Changelog". Opera.com. Retrieved 28 November 2009.
- ↑ Aided with a shell script documented in "That magnet uri ticket thing reincarnated". libtorrent.rakshasa.no. Retrieved 4 July 2011.
- ↑ "local peer discovery". libtorrent.rakshasa.no. Retrieved 17 April 2010.
- ↑ unofficial build transmission daemon cygwin "Magnet Links - choose what files to download". Sourceforge.net. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
- ↑ unofficial build Transmission-Qt "Transmission-Qt". Sourceforge.net. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
- ↑ unofficial build cfpp2p GitHub transmission "magnet download not verified for existing data". github.com. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
- ↑ Proxy support was removed in version 2.12: "Ticket #3688". trac.transmissionbt.com. Retrieved 11 June 2011.
- ↑ Tracker exchange spec: BEP 28
- ↑ Supports the Getright Webseeding spec since v1.14, see BitComet Wiki
- 1 2 Supports the Getright Webseeding spec in addition to the Bittornado spec "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-08-22. Retrieved 2006-05-09.
- ↑ See task #4401 SOCKS proxy; however, http proxy is supported.
- ↑ "uTorrent 1.7 Stable Finally Released". TorrentFreak. 13 July 2007. Retrieved 28 November 2009.
- ↑ "How to use RSS & BitTorrent to download TV shows". TorrentFreak. 14 October 2006. Retrieved 28 November 2009.
- ↑ "uTorrent – Free software downloads and software reviews – CNET" (in Persian). Download.com. Retrieved 28 November 2009.
- ↑ 3rd party utility RSSDler
- ↑ "Shareaza". sourceforge.net.
- ↑ unofficial build transmission daemon cygwin "Streaming - The Simplified HOW TO". Sourceforge.net. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
- ↑ unofficial build cfpp2p GitHub transmission "Added 'streaming' capability to libtransmission.". github.com. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
- ↑ https://www.tribler.org/faq.html
- ↑ "Truly Decentralized BitTorrent Downloading Has Finally Arrived". TorrentFreak. 8 December 2010. Retrieved 16 December 2010.
- ↑ Play Now feature on official page
- ↑ Additional Vuze Features on VuzeWiki
- ↑ "libtorrent – Browse Files at". Sourceforge.net. 21 March 2010. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
- ↑ "Releases · arvidn/libtorrent". GitHub. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
- ↑ "Timeline – The libTorrent and rTorrent Project". Libtorrent.rakshasa.no. 15 July 2012. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
- ↑ rakshasa (2015-09-03), Release 0.9.6 · rakshasa/rtorrent, GitHub, retrieved 2015-09-04
- ↑ "WebTorrent Changelog". WebTorrent, LLC. 4 December 2013. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
- ↑ feross (2017-04-14), Release 0.98.18 · webtorrent/webtorrent, GitHub, retrieved 2017-05-15
- ↑ "libtorrent manual: features". Retrieved 12 December 2009.
- ↑ "libtorrent-rasterbar 0.16.0".
External links
- User-ranked list of bittorrent clients
- BitTorrent at DMOZ
- Article suggesting that a BitTorrent client is installed on more than 13% of Windows desktop PCs