PIA vs NordVPN for Torrenting: Which Protects You Better?
Torrenting without a VPN exposes your real IP address to everyone in the swarm — including copyright trolls who log IPs and send legal notices to your ISP. The right VPN eliminates that exposure.
Both Private Internet Access (PIA) and NordVPN are common recommendations for torrenting. They take different approaches, and the right choice depends on how seriously you take the legal and privacy risks.
No-Logs Policy: PIA Has the Proven Track Record
This is PIA's strongest argument. Its no-logs policy has been proven in court — twice.
In 2016, the FBI subpoenaed PIA's servers during a criminal investigation and found no usable data. In 2018, a second case produced the same result. These aren't marketing claims — they're documented legal proceedings confirming that PIA stores nothing that could identify a user.
NordVPN also has an audited no-logs policy (verified by Deloitte and PricewaterhouseCoopers in multiple rounds), but it has never been tested in a court subpoena the way PIA has.
For torrenters worried about legal exposure, PIA's track record is the strongest guarantee available in the industry.
Port Forwarding: PIA Wins
Port forwarding lets torrent clients receive incoming connections, which significantly improves download speeds on P2P networks. PIA supports port forwarding on most servers.
NordVPN removed port forwarding from its service in 2022. It no longer supports it on any servers. If you use a torrent client that benefits from port forwarding (qBittorrent, Deluge, uTorrent), this is a meaningful practical disadvantage for NordVPN.
P2P Server Designation
NordVPN designates specific P2P-optimised servers that allow torrenting. Traffic on non-P2P servers is automatically rerouted to a P2P server. This is convenient but removes user control over which server handles your torrent traffic.
PIA allows torrenting on all servers except those in countries where it's legally restricted (India, for example). You have full control over server selection.
Speed: NordVPN Wins
NordVPN's NordLynx protocol is faster than PIA's WireGuard implementation in most tests. For torrenting large files, this translates to meaningfully faster download speeds — particularly on international servers.
PIA is not slow. On nearby servers, it delivers strong performance. But on long-distance connections, NordVPN's speed advantage is consistent and noticeable.
Kill Switch: Both Excellent
A kill switch cuts your internet connection if the VPN drops, preventing your real IP from being exposed to the torrent swarm. Both VPNs implement this correctly.
PIA's kill switch has two modes: one that only activates when the VPN is running, and a more aggressive "always-on" mode that blocks all traffic if no VPN connection exists. The second mode is the right choice for torrenting.
NordVPN's kill switch works reliably and can be set to apply to specific applications (app-level kill switch) or the entire connection (system-level). Both work well.
Price: PIA Wins
PIA's 3-year plan runs around $2.03/month, one of the lowest prices in the paid VPN market. NordVPN's 2-year plan costs around $3.39/month.
For the torrenting use case specifically, you're paying more for NordVPN's speed while giving up port forwarding. That trade-off rarely makes sense if torrenting is your primary reason for subscribing.
| PIA | NordVPN | |
|---|---|---|
| No-logs | Court-proven | Audited |
| Port forwarding | Yes | No |
| P2P servers | All servers | Designated |
| Kill switch | Yes (two modes) | Yes |
| Speed | Good | Excellent |
| Price (long-term) | ~$2.03/mo | ~$3.39/mo |
| Open-source | Yes | No |
Who Should Pick Which
Choose PIA for torrenting if:
- Port forwarding improves your torrent speeds
- You want the most legally-proven no-logs guarantee
- Price matters and you want the cheapest paid option
- You want full control over which servers handle your traffic
Choose NordVPN for torrenting if:
- Speed is your top priority
- You also want a VPN for streaming and general use
- You prefer audited policies over court-tested ones
- Port forwarding isn't part of your setup
The Verdict for Torrenting
PIA is the better torrenting VPN. Port forwarding, a court-proven no-logs policy, full P2P server access, open-source apps, and a lower price make it the stronger choice for users whose primary use case is P2P file sharing.
NordVPN wins on speed and is the better all-round VPN — but the removal of port forwarding is a real gap for serious torrenters. If you only torrent occasionally and also want a VPN for streaming and privacy, NordVPN covers all those bases. If torrenting is your main reason for having a VPN, PIA is purpose-built for it.