For those of you who have a raised eyebrow at this point, Torrentz “was” one of the longest-standing torrent meta-search engine alongside other popular sites like The Pirate Bay and IsoHunt. Founded in 2003 by Flippy and based in Finland, Torrentz indexed links to other leading torrent hosts. It achieved the title of the “Second most popular torrent website” twice; first in 2012, and later in 2015. In my opinion, the best thing about the site was the autocomplete feature in the search bar which prompted suggestions as per the latest or trending torrent searches related to the keyword. The UI was super simple and smooth to use with the most efficient filtering system based on parameters such as recentness, quality, safety, and whether verified or not. People raved about how fast and quality-rich the downloads were. Recently, we also shared 5 methods to download torrent using IDM. In case you’re still unaware of why and how was Torrentz taken down, we’ve got you covered.
How Did Torrentz Meet its End?
In August last year, Torrentz’s operators announced the termination of this highly appreciated site by displaying a note that read “Torrentz will always love you. Farewell.” We all know that the act of distributing and downloading copyrighted content is against the laws, making torrent sites illegal! Since 2016, authorities have been actively tracking down such websites in order to eradicate piracy. While Torrentz’s rising popularity gave the site an even wider user base, it also brought the site under the radar of the concerned forces. In 2013, Paramount Pictures sent them a DMCA notice. Later in 2014, the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit got their domain name suspended sans a court order. After repeated strikes, Torrentz threw in the towel.
The Most Popular Torrentz Alternatives Online at Present:
Whether you’re a regular torrenteer or a newbie, the following torrent sites will definitely make you miss Torrentz a little lesser:
The Pirate Bay –
The Pirate Bay, a.k.a TPB, was founded around the same time as Torrentz way back in 2003, by a Swedish company called Piratbyrån. Similar to other torrent indexing sites, TPB also enables users to browse, download, and share torrent files and magnet links on its platform. Ever since Torrentz as well as Kickass Torrents shut down (Though, you can access it via Kickass Proxies), The Pirate Bay has been said to be the number one site out there with perhaps the biggest library of torrents including music, TV shows, movies, games, and applications. We love how clean and straightforward the interface is. That said, the site has undergone its own share of crackdowns. But despite all that, it is still very much operational.
YTS.ag –
Certain contributors in the world of piracy can never be forgotten. First there was aXXo; then came Yify. Each time we come across torrent files uploaded by Yify, we know it means quality (HD/Blu-ray). What’s more? These files were also significantly smaller in size! Yify climbed the ladder of success so quickly that they created their own website called “YTS”. Unfortunately, the leader of the “Yify” group was tracked down by MPAA in 2015. They ceased to upload new releases, leaving a void in the hearts of us content pirates. Since then, many proxy sites have popped up but few have gained as much as momentum as YTS.ag. The quality is as good as its original counterpart.
SeedPeer –
SeedPeer has witnessed a slow, but steady growth as far as popularity is concerned. It is one of the few old torrent sites to have lived for so long, in spite of being slammed with copyright infringement notices and lawsuits. As with most sites on this list, SeedPeer has also shifted their domain name several times due to domain seizures. Speaking of the user interface, it is extremely easy to use and is equipped with an uncluttered page design, complete with a fairly efficient browsing system. You could simply go to the “verified” section to ensure that whatever you download would be safe and fast, as claimed by fellow users.
1337x –
Founded in 2007, 1337x’s journey to fame has been a rather gradual one. But thanks to Kickass Torrents’ closure, 1337x garnered a lot of attention recently. In fact, it was even reported to be the 6th most popular torrent sites in June last year. Later that same year, 1337x revamped its web design and layout, backed by an even better functionality. While the site may not be displayed in the results when searched using Google, you can directly enter its new domain into your browser for it to work, i.e. 1337x.to. In our opinion, this website has a striking resemblance to the good old TPB so in case the latter kicks the bucket, you know what to do.
RARBG –
Established only a year after 1337x, RARBG initially kicked off as a KAT proxy site which was later transformed into a separate torrent directory. The website facilitates torrent file downloads whilst also providing magnet links for P2P file sharing. Shortly after its launch, RARBG closed down post a legal notice from BREIN. Currently, the site is still blocked in many countries including Saudi Arabia, the UK, Denmark, Portugal, Pakistan, Bulgaria, and Indonesia. However, it can still be unlocked in the aforementioned regions by means of VPN.
isoHunt –
isoHunt is yet another long-established website that indexes torrent files from various sources. Founded in the same year as Torrentz, isoHunt amassed massive acclamation from compulsive torenteers and was ranked as the 3rd most popular BiTorrent site in 2008. Just like most of the torrent sites, isoHunt too was busted, which eventually led to its closure in 2013. Soon after that, news of two mirror sites was doing the rounds out of which one of them, i.e. isoHunt.to, came to be known as the genuine successor of isohunt.com. That said, the original isoHunt staff has absolutely nothing to do with this new clone.
ExtraTorrent –
Founded in 2006, ExtraTorrent was considered as the “Next big thing” after Torrentz and KAT went down. Sadly, the de facto site closed its doors to torrent users in May this year and we still don’t exactly know why. While it is true that an identical site with quality content exists, you must know that the creators are not affiliated with the actual ExtraTorrent site in any way. In fact, it looks like a Pirate Bay proxy disguised as an ExtraTorrent clone. Having said that, the experience is still quite similar to the original site with minimal ads and an easy discovery process. Recently, we have also shared Extratorrent proxy sites.
YourBitorrent –
Another major player in the torrent microcosm, YourBitorrent was born out of a disagreement between the owners of the erstwhile myBittorrent site. The disagreement in turn was a result of the fear in the mind of one of the owners, arising from the legal actions faced by The Pirate Bay then. The site is an excellent Torrentz alternative that does not host the torrent files but indexes them from other places. You can download all latest movies, TV series, software, anime, and even e-books.
Limetorrents.cc –
LimeTorrents works on a similar model as Torrentz; i.e. it doesn’t host torrents but instead aggregates them from other sources. This site boasts of an incredible large repository of torrents with content ranging from anime to games to apps to music to movies. Although LimeTorrents was never as famous as other torrent oldies such as Kickass Torrents, it managed to win many hearts after several sites were taken off, including KAT. The interface is quite user-friendly and snappy. The site was stated to be amongst the top ten torrent sites earlier in January, by TorrentFreak.
Demonoid –
Demonoid is a BitTorrent tracker that has received a lot of appreciation in the recent times for its premium interface, especially the “torrent file uploading” feature that encourages content sharing. The site also allows users to search for torrents across genres from a colossal library. Though it is currently operational, Demonoid was offline for nearly two years (2012-2014). As you might have already guessed, the site had plenty of domain-shifts to avoid being traced. What stood out for us is the fact that Demonoid condemns torrent links to pornographic content and harmful software.
Torlock –
A rising torrent-site star, Torlock may not be as well-entrenched as others on this list but it is surely a site worth mentioning. Personally, we were quite impressed with how well the content is laid out and categorized. The homepage displays a list of the most popular torrents with a search bar in case you simply wish to search by title/keywords. Alternatively, you could go to the “Categories” tab on the top-right corner and select from genres such as Anime, Music, Television, Games, E-Book, Adult, Audiobook, and Movies. It even has a sub-category called the “Top 100”. Torlock asserts that it is a “No fakes torrent site” and we can see that it is true.
Zooqle –
Zooqle is relatively a new entrant in the microcosm of torrent websites. The site is extremely easy and safe to use. You’d be surprised to know that some users have even gone ahead and said that the Zooqle is even safer than Torrentz itself. This is because the site verifies the torrent files before publishing them on its platform. The UX is quite satisfactory and it is safe to say that this is a great alternative to Torrentz. Most of the sites mentioned above will get the job done for you; perhaps even more efficiently. However, we know that the closure of Torrentz has left a hole in the majority of your hearts. And no matter how many alternatives exist, you’ll always long for the experience that Torrentz offered. The good news is that there exists a Torrentz clone by the name Torrentz2.eu and it works just as great! Final Word: So what if Torrentz is no more, there will always be other awesome torrent/proxy sites to download content from. And we shall make sure that you know the majority of them! That said, you’re still at the risk of receiving a notice from the DMCA through your IP address. We know this sounds redundant given the number of times we’ve mentioned it, but the only way to use torrent sites safely is by subscribing to a VPN service or using any proxy site, thereby turning anonymous. Happy Torrenting!
