12 Best Pirate Bay Alternatives That Work in 2023 (100% Safe)

The Pirate Bay is a household name in the world of torrenting. But due to regional blocks and ongoing takedown attempts, the site isn’t always available. If you can’t access The Pirate Bay, or if it doesn’t have the content you’re after, then you’ll need to find an alternative torrent site.

After testing over 50 torrent sites, I found the top 12 alternatives to The Pirate Bay. Most of these sites verify their torrents and have a history of being reliable. But even the best torrent sites are risky, so I strongly recommend using a powerful VPN with one.

A VPN will keep you safe and anonymous when torrenting with its military-grade encryption and no-logs policy. My favorite one is ExpressVPN because its fast speeds and world-class security features are ideal for torrenting. Plus, its 30-day money-back guarantee lets you try it without any risk. If you don’t like it, simply ask for a refund.

Torrent Safely With ExpressVPN

The Best Pirate Bay Alternatives That Work Right Now

1. RARBG — Plenty of High-Quality Torrents That Are Verified For Safety

RARBG is arguably The Pirate Bay’s biggest competitor, and for a good reason too. Its torrent library is just as big, it attracts a similar number of monthly users and ensures fast download speeds. But where it stands out is that it gets updated more often than The Pirate Bay, as the site verifies all of its uploaded torrents. This means that every torrent has been checked for safety.

Finding and assessing torrents on RARBG is easy, too, thanks to its personalized user experience. By clicking on the various icons in each category, I could assess torrents by the number of seeders and leechers, file size, and date added. When I hovered over a file, I saw its album/movie art, screenshots, and other features.

Another thing I found useful was its top 10 rankings for each category, which means you can easily keep up to date with the latest torrents. However, please note that new torrents are usually protected by copyright and downloading them is illegal. I recommend you avoid new releases to avoid facing legal trouble.

RARBG users can also add reviews to each torrent, so you’ll get a better idea of what you’re downloading. And since both guests and registered members can contribute to the site, it’s like a mix of a public and private torrent site.

But what I found pretty irritating about RARBG was that it has so many intrusive pop-up ads. For this reason, I recommend using it with a VPN that comes with its own ad and malware blockers, like CyberGhost. This keeps you safe while browsing the site as well as when you’re actually downloading files.

Visit RARBG

2. 1337x — Extensive Torrent Library With an Active Community

1337x is a solid Pirate Bay alternative that boasts a huge library of torrents and over 53 million visits every month. You can find most types of content, including documentaries, apps, and adult content. However, it lacks in games. I like its active community, which regularly updates its torrents and encourages people to leave torrent reviews. That way, you know if a torrent is good quality or not.

Another aspect of 1337x is that its interface is well-structured and provides plenty of detail about every torrent. It was slow and outdated a few years ago, but I was happy to see that it has dramatically improved since then. You can find out if a movie has been nominated for an award and see the 100 most popular torrents for every category. You can also create your own “favorites” list of torrents, but I didn’t really find this useful since I’d already downloaded the files I wanted. Its interface was slow and outdated a few years ago, so it has dramatically improved.

The site also ranks highly from a privacy perspective. Most notably, it only contains a minimal amount of ads and runs entirely off Bitcoin donations. In other words, it won’t collect user data and respects the privacy of its donors. However, you still won’t be completely safe from prying eyes, so it’s best to use 1337x with a powerful VPN that has a no-logs policy.

But be careful, though, as 1337x used to be a dangerous torrent site that was full of malware and viruses. However, the owners gave the site a massive clean-up a few years ago — there are less ads and the site runs much smoother than it used to.

Visit 1337x

3. YTS — Excellent Pirate Bay Alternative for High-Quality Movies

YTS (also known as YIFY) is the best Pirate Bay alternative for high-quality movies. It has a global community of 75 million active users and contains a vast range of films. Most films are in 1080p, despite the file size being relatively small, making the site great for fast downloads even if you have a slow connection. But you can pair YTS with a VPN that allows you to bypass ISP bandwidth throttling for even faster download speeds.

Where YTS stands out is its interface, which is minimalistic, clean, and almost identical to Netflix. When I searched for the public domain film Carnival of Souls, I could view the movie’s trailers, synopsis, IMDB ratings, screenshots, and more. It even allowed me to search for films by quality, genre, and rating too. If you have any questions about the site or a torrent, then you can go to their contact page and ask away.

But since the site only has movies, it doesn’t have other content types like games or music. I also found the number of pop-up ads on YTS to be quite annoying, so it’s best to protect yourself with an ad blocker while browsing the site.

Visit YTS

4. Torrentz2 — Torrent Search Engine That’s Ideal for Music

Unlike the other Pirate Bay alternatives, Torrentz2 (formerly known as Torrentz) is a torrent search engine that only contains a search bar. It indexes your searches across 90+ torrent sites and displays results from those sites. Then, it’ll take you to that site by clicking on the link.

Torrentz2 displays plenty of search results, although it’s mostly good for finding music. Apart from music, it’s also good for movies and shows. I liked being able to filter my searches to see if a torrent was verified, but I couldn’t filter much else, which was a bit frustrating. But keep in mind that your searches won’t be anonymous unless you get a top-tier VPN to use with Torrentz2 that hides your real IP.

Since Torrentz2 is a search engine, it shows torrent results that are both verified and unverified, so you can’t be assured of safety. It also has a large number of pop-ups and banner ads, which are pretty annoying. However, it had a recent update that fixed a lot of security issues.

Visit Torrentz2

5. EZTV — The Best Pirate Bay Alternative for TV Shows

EZTV specializes in TV shows. You can find shows from a wide range of old and new shows and filter them by their quality, release date, genre, and more. There are movies available, too. Just be careful because new shows are often protected by copyright, so you could get in trouble for downloading them.

The site also has an active community, forum, and FAQ page. I found them helpful because they helped me find torrents that I couldn’t find. It also has a built-in privacy checker, which hides your real location and identity from prying eyes. However, a VPN like ExpressVPN provides more extensive protection, so I suggest using one instead.

I wasn’t too impressed with its old and unattractive interface. The number of ads on the site was high, too, which started to get on my nerves. Another inconvenience is that you can’t download full seasons at once, so you have to download each episode separately.

Visit EZTV

6. Limetorrents — Pirate Bay Alternate With Plenty of Torrents

Limetorrents is a well-established alternative to The Pirate Bay that has a library of over 10 million torrents, most of which are verified. This includes movies, games, software, apps, music, and more, as well as a top 100 list for each torrent category. In fact, its library is bigger than The Pirate Bay itself.

Having a massive library of torrents usually means a large number of them are new releases. Generally, new releases are protected by copyright and are therefore illegal to download, so I don’t recommend downloading them. There's also an active community and RSS feed that keeps you updated.

I found its interface to be appealing, and features like the torrent health tracker, cloud search, and top torrent lists improved my experience. However, you need to be careful because some torrents contain fake links. On top of that, my malware blocker warned me that most of the pop ups were malicious.

Visit Limetorrents

7. Torlock — Pirate Bay Alternative That Focuses on Safety

Torlock is The Pirate Bay alternative for those that are concerned about fake torrents and safety. Every time a user reports a fake torrent, the site pays them $1, which arguably demonstrates its trustworthiness and commitment to user safety.

It also has a well-established music library, e-books, games, movies, TV shows, and anime. It’s also particularly good for Mac users because of its large selection of Mac software.

You can also find the most popular torrents for each category on its homepage. When I entered a search, I could see all the specifications for each file and every torrent file that contained all of my search terms. The site boasts over 50 million torrents, which is huge.

Even though Torlock is safe, you can sometimes click on a download link that takes you to another site, which is often dangerous.

Visit Torlock

8. Zooqle — Clean Looking Interface With a Decent Library

Zooqle only gets around 5 million visits a month, but it’s rapidly growing in popularity. Like The Pirate Bay, you can find all types of torrents (especially movies), and it has an active community. If you create a Zooqle account, you can follow torrents, add torrent alerts, and see all the file specifications.

I particularly liked its simple interface, which was structured in the form of a gallery. This is great for choosing files with different resolutions. The site even claims not to have any copyrighted material, but that’s not true. Many of the files are new releases protected under copyright, so they’re illegal to download.

Visit Zooqle

9. IPTorrents — The Largest Private Torrent Site

IPTorrents attracts around 7 million visits a month, but it’s a private torrent site. This means it’s only accessible by accepting a personal invitation or making a Bitcoin donation. The benefit is that it’s generally safer because of the lack of spyware and malware. What I like about it is that it’s free of annoying pop-up ads.

It has one of the largest libraries of any torrent site as well as an active community, so you can find just about any torrent you’re looking for. The main problem is that you need to make a $20 donation to use it, regardless of your acceptance method.

Visit IPTorrents

10. Torrent Galaxy — An Easy-to-Use Pirate Bay Alternative for Movies

Torrent Galaxy is another Pirate Bay alternative that is particularly good for movies and shows. When I went to the homepage, I could see what’s trending as well as file specifications, such as file size and the number of seeders/leechers. The site will give you a list of recommended torrents and let you search for a movie by its IMDB ID, which is unique.

But since it focuses on popular and newer releases, a lot of the torrents are protected under copyright. So just be aware that you could face legal action if you download those files.

Visit Torrent Galaxy

11. Demonoid - A Pirate Bay Alternative With a Long History and Diverse Content

Demonoid is a Pirate Bay alternative that’s been around since 2003. It has over 10 million members and over a million torrents of different content types, including music, TV shows, movies, games, comics, audiobooks, e-books, and more. I especially liked the large number of movies and TV shows.

The site used to be a private torrent site that was invite-only, although this has changed now. However, non-members who use Demonoid will get bombarded with ads, so I recommend registering an account.

Visit Demonoid

12. iDope - Pirate Bay Alternative That’s Good for Mobile Phones

iDope might be a new site, but it already boasts a library of over 18 million torrents. Where it stands out is its mobile integration, which means it's suited for mobile users. When I used it on my Android, I enjoyed its clear and simple interface. You can also find the latest torrents by clicking on the “most popular” or “most recent” tab.

Where iDope falls short is its lack of seeders, so its download speeds aren’t the greatest.

Visit iDope

Best Completely Legal Pirate Bay Alternatives

If you’re worried about getting into legal trouble when torrenting, there are Pirate Bay alternatives that only host legal, free-to-download content. These sites are free to use, and their files are in the public domain, so you don’t have much to worry about. Here are a few I recommend:

1. Internet Archive — A Non-Profit Library With Millions of Legal Torrents

The Internet Archive was established in 1996 and is home to millions of legal torrents, including movies, websites, games, images, software, and more. As a non-profit library, I particularly liked its large number of digitized books, which was very extensive. It’s also an activist organization that advocates online freedoms, and it aims to provide “universal access to all knowledge.”

The site also contains a torrent option, which lets you download torrents faster and help seed them. This way, you can increase your speed and give back to the community. You can also use a separate torrent client to download torrents from the Internet Archive too, such as uTorrent, Vuze, and Transmission.

Visit Internet Archive

2. Public Domain Torrents — Good for Classic Movies

Public Domain Torrents is the main rival to the Internet Archive. However, the site’s library is much smaller because it focuses specifically on movies. This includes around 1,000 movies in the public domain that are free. However, I was a bit disappointed that it lacked other content.

The only problem is that the site is quite old and hasn’t been updated for a while. But if you’re after older content and don’t mind the unappealing interface, then it’s not too bad.

Visit Public Domain Torrents

3. Vuze StudioHD Network — Plenty of Documentaries and Comedy

Vuze is widely known as a torrent client, however, it has its own legal torrent service called Vuze StudioHD Network. You can find a lot of copyright-free content here, including mini-documentaries, TV shows, TED Talks, and comedy shows. When I checked out its library, I was pleased to come across plenty of TED talks I had never heard of before.

If it doesn’t have what you’re after, then Vuze’s Wiki page lists other niche sites that are legal. These include URLHash (HTTP link converter), Jamendo (music), and Academic Torrents (academic documents).

Visit Vuze StudioHD Network

4. Legit Torrents — A Good Selection of Copyright-Free Torrents

Legit Torrents has an extensive selection of software, movies, and games that are free to download. When I searched for a movie, it brought up the number of seeders and leechers as well as the added date, so I could pick the one that would download the fastest.

However, the site is outdated and hasn’t had any content added since 2014, so there’s nothing recent. But still, the site works well and is compatible with popular torrent clients like uTorrent.

Visit Legit Torrents

How to Stay Safe When Using Pirate Bay Alternative Sites

Using a torrent site will expose your IP address to other people downloading or uploading the same torrent. This lets them uncover your identity, which allows them to target you with cyberattacks. Therefore, the best way to stay safe on a Pirate Bay alternative site is to use a powerful VPN like ExpressVPN.

Its world-class privacy and security features will hide your actual IP address and encrypt your internet connection. With this added protection, your personal data and identity will be safe from third-party interference. If you also use a VPN with an ad-blocker, then it will protect you from fake and dangerous torrent sites that you might encounter accidentally.

These additional steps will also help you stay safe:

• Examine every torrent — If a torrent hasn’t been verified, then it could be filled with malware. Check your torrent’s verification status, seeder to leecher ratio, upload history, and user comments.
• Use a private search engine — Using a popular search engine like Google will often show dangerous mirror sites. This is due to the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act). Private search engines like DuckDuckGo will display real torrent sites and not hide their URLs.
• Use a reliable torrent client — An intuitive torrent client like uTorrent or BitTorrent adds more protection against malware, spyware, and viruses. You can also customize its features to make downloading torrents safer.
• Check files for malware — RAR, TAR, and ZIP files can be filled with malware, so always check them. It’s also best to avoid WMA, WMV, EXE, and password-protected files because they’re very old.
• Keep an eye for copycat sites — If a site demands registration, bombards you with plenty of pop-up windows, or uses a weird URL, then it’s probably a dangerous copycat site that’s best avoided.

Beware of These Fake Torrenting Sites

There are several torrent sites that I suggest you stay away from because they carry the risks above to a high degree.

• KickAssTorrents — KickAssTorrents (KAT) used to be the go-to destination for torrents and was more popular than The Pirate Bay. The site has now been taken down, and its founder, Artem Vaulin, has been charged by US authorities for serious copyright infringement. You might still see some copycat sites that make you install browser extensions to use them, which is highly suspicious, so avoid them.
• SUMOtorrent —You’ll need to download this site’s torrent client to gain access to its library, which is very uncommon and a red flag.
• PassThePopcorn — An invite-only site that doesn’t let you register properly. If something that basic is malfunctioning, then it’s probably dodgy.

3 Best VPNs to Use With Pirate Bay Alternatives

1. ExpressVPN — The Fastest Speeds for Downloading Torrents

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ExpressVPN’s ultra-fast speeds make it ideal for downloading torrents. It’s able to hide your activity from your ISP, which means they can’t slow your speeds by throttling your bandwidth. During my speed tests, I recorded a download speed of 46.8 Mbps when I downloaded the film Night of the Living Dead from YTS. If you like to download torrents quickly, then ExpressVPN is great.

You can also download torrents safely, thanks to its world-class security features. For example, its military-grade encryption will make your connection impenetrable, while its automatic kill switch will prevent accidental exposure of your data. When you’re using a Pirate Bay alternative, your personal data won’t fall into the wrong hands. All you need to do to use them is connect to a server in one click, meaning that no configuration is needed.

ExpressVPN’s kill switch is great for torrenting

Its strict no-logs policy will also stop your torrenting activity from being recorded. This is very good from a privacy perspective because there’s no way for your ISP or any third party to see what you’ve downloaded. Added to this is that it's based in the British Virgin Islands, which is outside the 14 Eyes Alliance. In short, you’ll be truly anonymous to other people on torrent sites, which greatly increases your safety.

The only problem with ExpressVPN when torrenting is that it doesn't have a built-in ad-blocker, so you have to find another way to block ads. But luckily, its website lists a number of decent ad-blockers that it’s compatible with. And if you go to its website right now, you can get 49% off your subscription!

Since ExpressVPN comes with a money-back guarantee, you can try all of its features risk-free. If you’re not satisfied you have 30 days to get a full refund. When I tried to cancel my subscription, all I had to do was answer a couple of easy questions to get a refund. After 3 business days, I was refunded in full.

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2. IPVanish — P2P Optimized Servers That Enhance Torrenting

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www.IPVanishVPN.com

IPVanish enables P2P sharing on all of its servers, making it an excellent choice for torrenting. This means that there aren’t any limits on bandwidth, server switches, or the number of servers you can access. When I tested its US servers, I didn’t encounter any issues when I downloaded torrents from 1337x and EZTV.

It also protects you on torrent sites with its military-grade encryption and advanced protocols. When you’re using a Pirate Bay alternative, I recommend using OpenVPN because it offers a good balance of speed and security. Another security feature is its automatic kill switch, which cuts you off from the internet when your VPN connection unexpectedly drops.

IPVanish comes with some robust security features

Your digital anonymity is also well-guarded due to its rigorous no-logs policy. Whether you're downloading torrents or exploring an alternative to Pirate Bay, your actions won't be logged. Consequently, your identity and location will be shielded from third parties, such as hackers and ISPs.

But what I found rather disappointing about IPVanish was that it didn’t accept cryptocurrency payments. However, other payment methods like PayPal and credit cards are widely accepted. There’s even a sale right now that lets you save 77% on your subscription!

It also comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee, which lets you test its features without risk. I liked that I didn’t even have to contact customer support to cancel my subscription and get a refund. All I had to do was log into my IPVanish account and submit a refund request without giving a reason, and I got my money back after 4 business days.

Try IPVanish Now!

3. CyberGhost — Ad and Malware Blocker That Works on Torrent Sites

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Try CyberGhost VPN >

www.cyberghostvpn.com

CyberGhost’s ad-blocker comes in handy when using a Pirate Bay alternative. To see for myself, I turned it on and noticed a huge reduction in the number of pop-up ads on sites like RARBG, YTS, and Limetorrents. It even blocked those big banner ads on the top too. Therefore, torrent sites won’t be able to target you with specialized ads.

CyberGhost has its own ad-blocker for Windows and Android

Its server network of over 9,487 servers in 91 countries includes specialized servers for torrenting. They increase your speed by preventing bandwidth throttling and keep you safe from online threats. I even noticed an increase in speeds as I was downloading torrents from RARBG and 1337x.

Thanks to its robust security features, such as advanced protocols and AES 256-bit encryption, you can use Pirate Bay alternatives safely. Leading security agencies use AES 256-bit encryption to protect sensitive data, while choosing protocols like WireGuard, OpenVPN, and IKEv2 can help you achieve the right balance of speed and security.

If you’re interested in CyberGhost, then keep in mind that its short-term plans are expensive. However, you can save money by subscribing to a long-term plan. And if you take advantage of its current sale, you can get a further 83% off your subscription.

Another benefit is that you can use its 45-day money-back guarantee and test it for free. When I tested this policy by asking customer service, they asked me 1 question before canceling my subscription. I received all of my money after 5 business days.

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Tips on Choosing the Best VPNs to use With Pirate Bay Alternatives

As you contemplate the selection of a VPN to accompany a Pirate Bay alternative, it's important to take into account the following factors:

• P2P optimized servers — This lets you torrent safely without any limits on bandwidth, server numbers, server switches, and more. Always go for a VPN that has either optimized P2P servers or enables P2P sharing on its network.
• Military-grade encryption — The strongest encryption level that the top security agencies trusted and impossible to penetrate. It protects your data from being exposed to third parties, who can then use it against you.
• Strict no-logs policy — This feature ensures that your VPN won’t track your online behavior and sell your data to third parties. Another factor to consider is if the no-logs policy has been independently audited.
• Automatic kill switch — Even the slightest exposure of your IP address can be dangerous when torrenting, so an automatic kill switch stops this from happening. It cuts you off from the internet if your VPN connection suddenly drops, making it like the last line of defense.
• Advanced protocols — Being able to choose from a number of advanced protocols will enhance your torrenting experience. This is because you can choose between the right balance of speed and security. For example, OpenVPN is ideal for a good balance, while WireGuard is for those that want faster speeds.
• Money-back guarantee — Avoid free VPNs that don't require any upfront payment, as they come with plenty of security and privacy risks. The key is to choose a VPN with robust security features and a money-back guarantee, which lets you test its features risk-free.

Start Torrenting Safely Today!

FAQs on Staying Safe Using Pirate Bay Alternatives With a VPN

What are the best Pirate Bay proxies/mirror sites?

There are several Pirate Bay proxies and mirror sites that can act as a decent backup when The Pirate Bay is either down or banned. But regardless of what mirror site you use, it's best to use a reliable VPN to keep you safe while on the site. This is because they come with significant security and privacy risks. Here are a few of them that work:

• Mypiratebay.org
• tpbpirateproxy.org
• proxybay.xyz
• thepiratebay.rocks
• TPBMirror.org
• ThePirateBay.red

Just note that anyone can host a Pirate Bay proxy and the URLs are changed often, so finding one that’s fast and reliable is difficult.

Is The Pirate Bay still working?

Yes, The Pirate Bay is still an active torrent site. But it’s not 100% safe, so it’s best to connect to a powerful VPN before using it. But if it’s inaccessible in your region, then consider using a Pirate Bay alternative instead. Since the site is one of the largest torrent sites, it attracts the attention of governments and ISPs who try to take it down. For this reason, it’s either blocked or banned in certain parts of the world.

Is it safe to use The Pirate Bay?

Like all torrent sites, using The Pirate Bay isn’t 100% safe. Therefore, I strongly advise that you use a powerful VPN with The Pirate Bay. A VPN won’t reveal your IP address to your peers that are downloading and uploading the same torrent. Without using a VPN to encrypt your data and hide your actual IP, your real identity is always visible and makes you vulnerable to cyberattacks.

The site also has some fake links that contain malware or spyware, so be careful.

Should I use The Pirate Bay Browser?

The Pirate Bay browser was released in 2013 and last updated in 2019. Currently, no records exist of it, which means it’s no longer available. However, there are plenty of safe and secure browsers available that you can use instead. The Pirate Bay Browser’s purpose was to bypass censorship and recorded over a million downloads within the first few months of its release.

Is using The Pirate Bay legal?

The legality of The Pirate Bay depends on the laws in your country. You should always check the local regulations around torrenting and accessing sites that might be blocked for legal reasons (like The Pirate Bay). In any case, it’s always a good idea to use a powerful VPN while torrenting and while browsing The Pirate Bay. It will hide your IP address so your online activity is completely anonymous.

If the site is legal in your region, then accessing it and viewing its library is no issue whatsoever. But it's what you do on the site that could be illegal, regardless of where you are. Many torrents on the site are protected by copyright, so downloading and sharing them is against the law.

Why is The Pirate Bay asking for a VPN?

Using a VPN on The Pirate Bay (and sites like TPB) makes you less vulnerable to online threats. A VPN will hide all of your data with its military-grade encryption and no-logs policy so that you can torrent safely and anonymously. If you don’t use a VPN, then anyone that is downloading and sharing the same torrent as you can see your IP address, which can reveal your personal information. This leaves you vulnerable to online attacks, so it’s best to keep this information private.

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The Bottom Line

Despite its widespread popularity, The Pirate Bay is frequently targeted by governments and ISPs that attempt to block it. In the event that you are unable to access The Pirate Bay, it is advisable to seek out alternative torrent sites.

I’ve listed Pirate Bay alternative sites that have a variety of content as well as a huge selection of torrents available. After much testing, I can say that they are all of good quality. But none of these sites are 100% safe, so I recommend using one with a VPN like ExpressVPN. It has fast speeds, robust security features, and a strict no-logs policy, which lets you download torrents quickly and safely. You can also test it risk-free as it comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

To summarize, the best VPNs to use with Pirate Bay alternatives are…

Rank

Provider

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1

9.8 /10

Save 49%!

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2

9.8 /10

Save 77%!

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3

9.6 /10

Save 83%!

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