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 does not 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 publicly revealed 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.
Name | Developer | Platform | Latest release | License | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Version | Date | |||||
BitComet | BitComet Development Group | macOS | 2.05 [5] | 2023-11-28 | Proprietary, Adware | [lower-alpha 1] |
Windows | 2.05 [5] | 2023-11-28 | ||||
BitLord | House of Life | macOS | 2.4.6-348 | 2019-10-24 | Proprietary, Adware | [lower-alpha 2] |
Windows | 2.4.6-358 [6] | 2022-08-26 | ||||
BitTorrent | BitTorrent | Android | 8.2.1 [7] | 2024-03-20 | Proprietary, Adware | |
macOS | 7.4.3.45549 [8] | 2020-05-20 | ||||
Windows | 7.11.0.46555 [9] | 2022-11-22 | ||||
Deluge | various | BSD | 2.1.1 [10] | 2022-07-10 | GPL-3.0-or-later [11] | |
Linux | ||||||
macOS | ||||||
Solaris | ||||||
Windows | ||||||
FlashGet | Trend Media | Windows | 3.7.0.1220 [12] | 2013-05-17 | Proprietary | [lower-alpha 3] |
Free Download Manager | alervd | Android | 6.19.0.5156 [13] | 2023-03-13 | Proprietary | |
Linux | ||||||
macOS | ||||||
Windows | ||||||
FrostWire | The FrostWire Project | Android | 2.6.2(708) [14] | 2022-10-19 | GPL-3.0-or-later | |
Linux | 6.9.10(315) [15] | 2022-10-27 | ||||
macOS | 6.9.10(315) [15] | 2022-10-27 | ||||
Windows | 6.9.10(315) [15] | 2022-10-27 | ||||
KGet | KDE | BSD | 22.12.0 [16] | 2022-12-08 | GPL-2.0-or-later | |
Linux | ||||||
KTorrent | Joris Guisson, Ivan Vasić | BSD | 23.08.3 [17] [18] | 2023-11-09 | GPL-2.0-or-later | |
Linux | ||||||
macOS | ||||||
Lftp | Alexander V. Lukya | BSD | 4.9.1 [19] [20] | 2020-01-15 | GPL-3.0-or-later | |
Linux | ||||||
macOS | ||||||
Windows | ||||||
LimeWire | Lime Wire LLC | Linux | 5.5.16 | 2010-10-26 | GPL-2.0-or-later | |
macOS | ||||||
Windows | ||||||
Miro | Participatory Culture Foundation | Linux | 6.0 [21] | 2013-04-05 | GPL-2.0-or-later | |
macOS | ||||||
Windows | ||||||
MLDonkey | MLDonkey Project | BSD | 3.1.7 [22] | 2020-06-21 | GPL-2.0-or-later | |
Linux | ||||||
macOS | ||||||
MorphOS | ||||||
Solaris | ||||||
Windows | ||||||
μTorrent | BitTorrent | Android | 8.2.2 [23] | 2024-03-21 | Proprietary, Adware | [lower-alpha 4] |
macOS | 1.8.7.45548 [25] | 2020-01-30 | ||||
Windows | 3.6.0.47006 [26] | 2024-01-11 | ||||
Opera 12 | Opera Software | FreeBSD | 12.16 | Proprietary | [lower-alpha 5] | |
Linux | ||||||
macOS | ||||||
Solaris | ||||||
Windows | 12.17 | |||||
qBittorrent | Christophe Dumez | BSD | 4.6.3 [27] | 2024-01-14 | GPL-2.0-or-later [11] | |
Linux | ||||||
Haiku | ||||||
macOS | ||||||
OS/2 | ||||||
Windows | ||||||
rTorrent | Jari Sundell | BSD | 0.9.8 [28] | 2019-07-19 | GPL-2.0-or-later [11] | [lower-alpha 6] |
Linux | ||||||
macOS | ||||||
Solaris | ||||||
Windows | ||||||
Robert | Sponge, co-developer of I2P | BSD | 0.0.40 | 2013 | GPL | |
Linux | ||||||
macOS | ||||||
Windows | ||||||
Shareaza | Shareaza Development Team | Windows | 2.7.10.2 [29] | 2017-09-18 | GPL-2.0-or-later | [lower-alpha 7] |
Tixati | Kevin Hearn | Linux | Proprietary | [lower-alpha 8] | ||
Windows | ||||||
Tonido | CodeLathe | BSD | 14.90.0.34030 | 2017-01-13 | Proprietary | |
Linux | ||||||
macOS | ||||||
Windows | ||||||
Transmission | various | BSD | 4.0.5 [30] | 2023-12-06 | GPL-2.0-only or GPL-3.0-only [31] [11] MIT [32] | |
Linux | ||||||
macOS | ||||||
OpenWrt | ||||||
Solaris | ||||||
Windows | ||||||
Tribler | The Tribler Team | Android | 7.13.3 [33] | 2024-03-13 | GPL-3.0-only | [lower-alpha 9] |
Linux | ||||||
macOS | ||||||
Windows | ||||||
Vuze [lower-alpha 10] | Vuze | Android | 5.7.6.0 [35] | 2017-11-02 | Proprietary (platform) GPL-2.0-or-later (core engine) Adware | [lower-alpha 11] |
Linux | ||||||
macOS | ||||||
Windows | ||||||
Xunlei | Thunder Networking Technologies | Android | 7.53.0.8245 [36] | 2022-10-11 | Proprietary, Adware | |
iOS | 1.5.8 [37] | 2022-09-29 | ||||
macOS | 5.0.2.65551 [38] | 2022-06-16 | ||||
Windows | 11.3.16.1974 [39] | 2022-10-10 | ||||
Name | Developer | Platform | Latest release | License | Notes | |
Version | Date |
BitTorrent client | Windows | macOS | GNU/Linux | BSD | iOS | Android | Other |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
BitComet | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
BitLord | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
BitTorrent | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes [40] | No |
Deluge | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Solaris |
FlashGet | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Free Download Manager | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | No |
Frostwire | Yes [41] | Yes [41] | Yes [41] | Yes [41] | No [41] | Yes [41] | Unix-like [41] z/OS [42] Solaris OS/2 eComStation ArcaOS [43] |
KGet | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
KTorrent | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
Lftp | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
LimeWire | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes [ specify ] |
Miro | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
MLDonkey | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Solaris MorphOS |
μTorrent | Yes | Yes | Web | No | No | Yes [44] | No |
Opera 12 | Yes [lower-alpha 12] | Yes | Yes [lower-alpha 12] | Yes [lower-alpha 12] | No | Yes[ citation needed ] | Solaris |
qBittorrent | Yes [45] | Yes [45] | Yes [45] | Yes [45] | No [45] | No [46] | OS/2 [lower-alpha 13] FreeBSD Haiku [45] |
Robert | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
rTorrent | Yes [lower-alpha 14] | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Solaris |
Shareaza | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Tixati | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No | No |
Tonido | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
Transmission | Yes [lower-alpha 12] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes [lower-alpha 15] | Yes | Solaris |
Tribler | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
Vuze | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes [48] | No |
Xunlei | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes[ citation needed ] | No |
Name | Windows | macOS | GNU/Linux | BSD | iOS | Android | Other |
BitTorrent client | GUI | Remote | CLI | Other | Programming language | Based on | IPv6 | μTP |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
BitComet | Yes | Yes | Partial [49] | No | C++ | - | Yes | No |
BitLord | Yes | No | No | No | Python, C++ | libtorrent (Rasterbar) | Yes | No |
BitTorrent 5, Mainline | Yes | No | Partial | No | Python | - | No | No |
Deluge | Yes | Yes | Yes | Daemon | Python, C++ | libtorrent (Rasterbar) | Yes | Yes [50] |
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 | libtorrent (Rasterbar) | No | Yes [51] |
KGet | Yes | Yes | Partial [lower-alpha 16] | No | C++ | - | Yes | No |
KTorrent | Yes | Yes | Partial | No | C++ | - | Yes | Yes [52] |
LimeWire | Yes | No | No | No | Java | libtorrent (Rasterbar) | No | No |
Miro | Yes | No | No | No | C++ | libtorrent (Rasterbar) | No | No |
MLDonkey | No | Third Party [53] | Partial | Telnet | OCaml | - | No | No |
μTorrent | Yes | Yes | No [54] | RESTful Web API [55] | C++ [56] | - | Yes [57] | Yes [58] |
Opera 12 | Yes | No | No | No | C++ | - | Yes | No |
qBittorrent | Yes | Yes | Partial | No | Python, C++ | libtorrent (Rasterbar) | Yes | Yes [59] |
rTorrent | No | Third Party | Yes | SCGI | C++ | libTorrent (Rakshasa) | Yes [60] | No |
Shareaza | Yes | Yes | Partial | No | C++ | - | No | No |
Tixati | Yes | Yes | No | Web interface | C++ | - | Yes | Yes [61] |
Tonido | No | Yes | No | No | C++ | libtorrent (Rasterbar) | No | No |
Transmission | Yes | Yes | Yes | Daemon, JSON-RPC over HTTP remote control API | C++ (rewritten from C), Objective-C | libtransmission | Yes | Yes [62] |
Tribler | Yes | Partial | Partial | No | Python, C++ | libtorrent (Rasterbar) | No | Yes |
Vuze [lower-alpha 10] | Yes | Yes | Partial | Telnet, XML over HTTP remote control API | Java, SWT | - | Yes | Yes [63] |
Xunlei | Yes | No | No | remote control over internet [64] | C++ | - | No | No |
BitTorrent client | GUI | Web | CLI | Other | Programming language | Based on | IPv6 | μTP |
BitTorrent client | Protocol version | Magnet URI (BEP 9) | Preload Magnet metadata [lower-alpha 17] (BEP 9) | Super-seeding (BEP 16) | Embedded tracker | UPnP [65] | NAT Port Mapping Protocol | NAT traversal [66] (BEP 55) | DHT protocol [67] (BEP 5) | Peer exchange(PEX) (BEP 11) | Encryption | UDP tracker (BEP 15) | LPD (BEP 14) | Proxy server |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
BitComet | 1, 2 | Yes | No | Yes | Separate download | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | HTTP 1.1, SOCKS4-4a-5 |
BitLord | 1 | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | HTTP 1.1, SOCKS4-4a-5 |
BitTorrent 5, Mainline | 1 | No | No | No | Yes [lower-alpha 18] | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes |
Deluge | 1 | Yes | Partial [lower-alpha 19] | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | HTTP(S), SOCKS4-5 |
FlashGet | 1 | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No |
Free Download Manager | 1 | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No |
KTorrent | 1 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial | HTTP, SOCKS4-5 |
LimeWire | 1 | Partial | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
MLDonkey | 1 | Yes [68] | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | No |
μTorrent | 1 | Yes | Yes [69] | Yes [70] | Yes [71] | Yes [72] | Yes | Yes [73] | Yes [lower-alpha 20] | Yes [lower-alpha 21] | Yes [74] | Yes | Yes [75] | HTTP(S), SOCKS4-5 |
Opera 12 | 1 | No | No | No | Yes [76] | No | No | No | No | Yes [77] | No | No | No | No |
qBittorrent | 1, 2 [78] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | HTTP(S), SOCKS4-5 [lower-alpha 22] |
rTorrent | 1 | Yes [79] | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No [80] | No |
Shareaza | 1 | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes [lower-alpha 23] | Yes | No | Yes [lower-alpha 24] | No | No |
Tixati | 1, 2 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | [lower-alpha 25] |
Tonido | 1 | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
Transmission | 1, 2 [81] | Yes | Patch available [82] [83] [84] | No | No | Yes | Yes | No [85] | Yes | Yes [lower-alpha 26] | Yes | Yes | Yes | No [86] |
Tribler | 1 | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | [lower-alpha 27] |
Vuze [lower-alpha 10] | 1 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes [lower-alpha 28] | Yes [lower-alpha 29] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Plugin | HTTP(S)?, SOCKS4-4a-5 |
Xunlei | 1 | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | HTTP, SOCKS5, FTP |
BitTorrent client | Protocol version | 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 |
BitTorrent client | Cache [lower-alpha 30] | Hash Web seeding | HTTP Web seeding [ ambiguous ] | Broad-catching (RSS) (BEP 36) | Prioritization | Selective downloads (BEP 53) | Sequential downloading | SOCKS | Tracker exchange (BEP 7) | Remote control via web | Search engine (BEP 18) | Auto updates | Reviews and Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
BitComet | Yes | No | Yes [87] | Beta | Yes | Yes | Yes [lower-alpha 31] | Yes | No | Yes | Partial [lower-alpha 32] | Yes | No |
BitLord | Yes | No | Partial [lower-alpha 33] [lower-alpha 34] | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | Partial [lower-alpha 32] | Yes | No |
BitTorrent 5, Mainline | No | Yes | Partial [lower-alpha 34] | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No |
Deluge | Yes | Yes | Partial [lower-alpha 33] | Plugin | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | via PMS | No |
FlashGet | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | |
Free Download Manager | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | Optional | No |
KTorrent | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Partial [lower-alpha 32] | via PMS | No | |
LimeWire | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | No |
MLDonkey | Yes | No | 3rd party bash script | Yes | No | No | No [88] | No | Yes | Partial [lower-alpha 32] | via PMS | No | |
μTorrent | Yes | Yes [89] | Partial [lower-alpha 34] | Yes [90] | Yes [91] | Yes | Yes [lower-alpha 35] | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Opera 12 | No | No | Yes [lower-alpha 36] | No | No | No | No | No | No | Partial [lower-alpha 32] | Yes [lower-alpha 37] | No | |
qBittorrent | Yes | Yes | Partial [lower-alpha 33] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial [lower-alpha 38] | Yes | Yes | via PMS | No |
rTorrent | Partial | No | No | 3rd party utility [92] | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | No | via PMS | No |
Shareaza | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes [lower-alpha 39] | in mod client | No | Yes [lower-alpha 40] [93] [lower-alpha 41] | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Tixati | Yes | Yes | Partial [lower-alpha 33] [lower-alpha 42] [lower-alpha 34] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No |
Tonido | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | |
Transmission | Yes | No | Partial [lower-alpha 34] [lower-alpha 43] | No | Yes | No [94] | No | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | No |
Tribler | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Partial | Yes (DHT) [95] | Yes | No |
Vuze [lower-alpha 10] | Yes | Yes [96] | Yes | Yes | Yes | in paid version [97] | Yes | No | Plugin [lower-alpha 44] | Yes | Yes | Yes [98] | |
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 |
BitTorrent library | Initial release | Platform | Latest release | License | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Version | Date | |||||
libtorrent (Rasterbar) | 8 September 2005 [99] | Linux | 2.0.9, [100] 1.2.19 [101] | 2023-05-22; 2023-05-22 | BSD-3-Clause | |
macOS | ||||||
Windows | ||||||
MonoTorrent | September 2006 | Linux | 2.0.7 [102] | 2022-12-23 | MIT | |
macOS | ||||||
Windows | ||||||
rTorrent (libTorrent Rakshasa) | 15 July 2004 [103] | Linux | 0.13.8 [104] | 2019-07-19 | GPL-2.0-or-later [lower-alpha 45] | [lower-alpha 46] |
macOS | ||||||
BitTorrent library | Initial release | Platform | Latest release | License | Notes | |
Version | Date |
BitTorrent library | GNU/Linux | Windows | macOS | API | Programming language |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
libtorrent (Rasterbar) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | C++ |
MonoTorrent | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | C# |
rTorrent (libTorrent Rakshasa) | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | C++ |
BitTorrent library | Linux | Windows | macOS | API | Programming language |
BitTorrent library | Protocol version | Super-seeding | Tracker | UPnP [lower-alpha 47] | NAT Port Mapping Protocol | NAT traversal [lower-alpha 48] | DHT [lower-alpha 49] | Peer exchange | Encryption | UDP tracker | LPD | Fast extensions | Magnet URI | μTP |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
libtorrent (Rasterbar) | 1, 2 [105] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes [106] | Yes | Yes | Yes [107] |
MonoTorrent | 1, 2 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
rTorrent (libTorrent Rakshasa) | 1 | Yes | Yes | No | ? | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No |
BitTorrent library | Protocol version | Super-seeding | Tracker | UPnP | NAT Port Mapping Protocol | NAT traversal | DHT | Peer exchange | Encryption | UDP tracker | LPD | Fast extensions | Magnet URI | μTP |
BitTorrent library | Cache [lower-alpha 50] | Web seeding [lower-alpha 51] | WebTorrent | Broadcatching (RSS) | Prioritization | Selective downloads | SOCKS | Remote control via web | Engine |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
libtorrent (Rasterbar) | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? |
MonoTorrent | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No |
rTorrent (libTorrent Rakshasa) | Partial | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No |
BitTorrent library | Cache | Web seeding | WebTorrent | Broadcatching (RSS) | Prioritization | Selective downloads | SOCKS | Remote control via web | Engine |
Shareaza is a peer-to-peer file sharing client running under Microsoft Windows which supports the Gnutella, Gnutella2 (G2), eDonkey, BitTorrent, FTP, HTTP and HTTPS network protocols and handles magnet links, ed2k links, and the now deprecated gnutella and Piolet links. It is available in 30 languages.
BitTorrent, also referred to as simply torrent, is a communication protocol for peer-to-peer file sharing (P2P), which enables users to distribute data and electronic files over the Internet in a decentralized manner. The protocol is developed and maintained by Rainberry, Inc., and was first released in 2001. A 2004 study by Cachelogic found that one third of all internet traffic was BitTorrent traffic.
BitComet is a cross-protocol BitTorrent, HTTP and FTP client written in C++ for Microsoft Windows and available in 52 different languages. Its first public release was version 0.28. The current BitComet logo has been used since version 0.50.
Magnet is a URI scheme that defines the format of magnet links, a de facto standard for identifying files (URN) by their content, via cryptographic hash value rather than by their location.
In file sharing, super-seeding is an algorithm developed by John Hoffman for the BitTorrent communications protocol that helps downloaders become uploaders more quickly, but it introduces the danger of total seeding failure if there is only one downloader.
BitTorrent is a proprietary adware BitTorrent client developed by Bram Cohen and Rainberry, Inc. used for uploading and downloading files via the BitTorrent protocol. BitTorrent was the first client written for the protocol. It is often nicknamed Mainline by developers denoting its official origins. Since version 6.0 the BitTorrent client has been a rebranded version of μTorrent. As a result, it is no longer open source. It is currently available for Microsoft Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS and Android. There are currently two versions of the software, "BitTorrent Classic" which inherits the historical version numbering, and "BitTorrent Web", which uses its own version numbering.
A BitTorrent tracker is a special type of server that assists in the communication between peers using the BitTorrent protocol.
BitLord is a proprietary adware BitTorrent client available for Microsoft Windows, macOS and Android.
KTorrent is a BitTorrent client that is part of the KDE Gear.
FrostWire is a free and open-source BitTorrent client first released in September 2004, as a fork of LimeWire. It was initially very similar to LimeWire in appearance and functionality, but over time developers added more features, including support for the BitTorrent protocol. In version 5, support for the Gnutella network was dropped entirely, and FrostWire became a BitTorrent-only client.
This comparison contains download managers, and also file sharing applications that can be used as download managers. For pure file sharing applications see the Comparison of file sharing applications.
Protocol encryption (PE), message stream encryption (MSE) or protocol header encrypt (PHE) are related features of some peer-to-peer file-sharing clients, including BitTorrent clients. They attempt to enhance privacy and confidentiality. In addition, they attempt to make traffic harder to identify by third parties including internet service providers (ISPs). However, encryption will not protect one from DMCA notices from sharing not legal content, as one is still uploading material and the monitoring firms can merely connect to the swarm.
Peer exchange or PEX is a communications protocol that augments the BitTorrent file sharing protocol. It allows a group of users that are collaborating to share a given file to do so more swiftly and efficiently.
qBittorrent is a cross-platform free and open-source BitTorrent client written in native C++. It relies on Boost, OpenSSL, zlib, Qt 6 toolkit and the libtorrent-rasterbar library, with an optional search engine written in Python.
Deluge BitTorrent Client is a free and open-source, cross-platform BitTorrent client written in Python. Deluge uses a front and back end architecture where libtorrent, a software library written in C++ which provides the application's networking logic, is connected to one of various front ends including a text console, the web interface and a graphical desktop interface using GTK through the project's own Python bindings.
libtorrent is an open-source implementation of the BitTorrent protocol. It is written in and has its main library interface in C++. Its most notable features are support for Mainline DHT, IPv6, HTTP seeds and μTorrent's peer exchange. libtorrent uses Boost, specifically Boost.Asio to gain its platform independence. It is known to build on Windows and most Unix-like operating systems.
Micro Transport Protocol is an open User Datagram Protocol-based (UDP-based) variant of the BitTorrent peer-to-peer file sharing protocol intended to mitigate poor latency and other congestion control problems found in conventional BitTorrent over Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), while providing reliable, ordered delivery.
In the BitTorrent file distribution system, a torrent file or meta-info file is a computer file that contains metadata about files and folders to be distributed, and usually also a list of the network locations of trackers, which are computers that help participants in the system find each other and form efficient distribution groups called swarms. Torrent files are normally named with the extension .torrent
.
Mainline DHT is the name given to the Kademlia-based distributed hash table (DHT) used by BitTorrent clients to find peers via the BitTorrent protocol. The idea of using a DHT for distributed tracking in BitTorrent was first implemented in Azureus 2.3.0.0 in May 2005, from which it gained significant popularity. Unrelated but around the same time, BitTorrent, Inc. released a similar DHT into their client called Mainline DHT, and thus popularized the use of distributed tracking in the BitTorrent protocol. Measurement showed that by 2013, the concurrent number of users of Mainline DHT is from 16 million to 28 million, with intra-day changes of at least 10 million.
μTorrent, or uTorrent, is a proprietary adware BitTorrent client owned and developed by Rainberry, Inc. The "μ" in its name comes from the SI prefix "micro-", referring to the program's small memory footprint: the program was designed to use minimal computer resources while offering functionality comparable to larger BitTorrent clients such as Vuze or BitComet. μTorrent became controversial in 2015 when many users unknowingly accepted a default option during installation which also installed a cryptocurrency miner.
Stable 1.8.7 Build 45548
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