How to Download Torrents on Chromebook – All Four Available Options!

Even though some of the most popular torrent clients like uTorrent or BitTorrent don’t have native Chromebook applications, torrenting isn’t impossible on Chrome OS. This lightweight operating system has its own set of powerful tools that you can use to become part of the BitTorrent protocol. Without any further ado, let’s see how to download torrents on Chromebook computers.

Worried About Getting Caught Torrenting? You Need a VPN – And Here’s Why!

The world of torrenting is full of obstacles. You’ll often find torrent websites to be blocked in your country, and receiving a cease-and-desist letter from your ISP is always a threat. Getting caught torrenting can also force your ISP to cut off your connection to the Web.

That’s why, due to the following reasons, we strongly recommend you connect to a VPN in order to be safe while torrenting.

A VPN will prevent your Internet provider from tracking your online activity. This means that you won’t have to worry about receiving a cease-and-desist letter or any similar legal consequences of downloading torrents.
A VPN will unblock any website, including torrent repositories. This is especially important in countries where torrent sites are taken down regularly. Using a VPN, you can connect to a server in a different country and unblock what was previously inaccessible.
A VPN will unleash the full power of your Web connection. It’s no secret that ISPs apply selective throttling based on what kind of online activity they detect. Since VPNs hide your Web traffic, you’ll get to make your Web connection faster and more reliable.
A VPN is an all-in-one solution! There’s no need to spend hours trying to configure torrent clients or trying to build a solution to protect your torrenting. A VPN is the best and the most effective way to protect your torrenting.

Finally, don’t make a mistake thinking that all VPNs are the same. Based on our years-long experience of reviewing VPNs, the best VPN right now is ExpressVPN. This especially goes for fans of torrenting, who’ll find that ExpressVPN meets practically ALL their needs.

Right now, subscribing to ExpressVPN lets you save 49% OFF its regular price. On top of that, you get 3 EXTRA MONTHS! That means that now’s the best time to act and protect your torrenting activities.

How to Download Torrents on Chromebook?

In this article, we will talk about four of the most popular torrenting options for Chromebooks. Some of these are paid subscription services that offer cloud storage as well. In other words, you can download and then stream those files from your personal cloud. Then, we’ll go over two Chrome extensions. These come free of charge and can be used if you have plenty of storage to store big files.

1. Bitport.io

The first option to download torrents to your Chromebook is Bitport.io. This is a paid service but does come with a free trial. However, the trial is quite limited and doesn’t come with some of the best features this service offers. You’ll get 1GB of storage, one download slot, and you can download one torrent per day. Still, you should definitely try the free trial before committing.

Paid plans start at $5 and come with 30GB of online storage, unlimited torrents, unrestricted bandwidth, and five download slots. In addition, Bitport.io encrypts your HTTP traffic and even scans the files before you open them. It’s great to see that there’s an antivirus included, especially when it comes to torrent downloading. Even though the $5 plan should be enough for average torrent users, there are also more advanced plans. For $10, you get 100GB of storage and 10 downloads slots, while $15 will get you 250GB and 20 slots.

Upon downloading a torrent, you can open it in your Web browser and stream it. However, this can’t be done while the download is in progress. In case you’re dealing with a non-standard video format, the service will convert it for you. However, this can take some time.

How to Use Bitport to Download Torrents on Chromebook?

Here’s a short overview of how to download torrents on Chromebook using Bitport. As you are about to see, the process is very simple.

First, you need to register for a new account. Open Bitport.io in your Web browser and click on the ‘Create an account’ button in the top-right corner;

Once you get to your dashboard, you’ll need to copy and paste the torrent download link and then click on ‘Add new torrent’. You can copy and paste the torrent download link from any of the popular torrent websites. In other words, once you find a torrent to download, right-click on it and pick ‘Copy link address’ using Chrome. Then paste that link to Bitport;

In case you find the previously explained step too complicated, you can also click on the ‘Upload torrent from PC’ and upload a torrent file that you’ve previously downloaded using Chrome;

Now, go to ‘Torrents for download’ section, make sure that all details are correct and then click on ‘Download to my cloud’;
At this moment, you will be redirected to your download queue and torrent will begin to download. Be patient and wait;

Once the torrent downloads, you can watch a video by clicking on the thumbnail. Alternatively, you can also download the video to your Chromebook by clicking on the download button (it appears when you hover the mouse over the thumbnail);

In case you decide to stream it, the chances are that Bitport will need to convert it. Click on the ‘Convert’ button and wait until the service gets the job done. Enjoy!

2. Put.io

Next, on our list, we have Put.io. This is yet another paid solution that lets you download torrent files to your personal cloud storage. In comparison to Bitport, it brings numerous advanced features that owners of media streaming services will especially like. However, there isn’t a free trial. To test-drive this service for 5 days, you’ll need to pay $3.99.

The most affordable plan starts at $9.99 and brings 100GB of storage. The top-tier plan brings 2TB of cloud storage. The good news is that all that storage isn’t reserved for torrents alone. You can use it to back up files and sync them between different computers as well. In addition to that, there’s a vibrant community of developers who are creating integrations with devices using Put.io. For example, this includes Apple TV, Amazon Fire devices, Plex, and even Kodi. If you’re using any of these apps or devices, you can use them to play downloaded torrents.

Last but not the least, Put.io is known for its fast download speeds. The company has servers all around the world, so you can count on using the nearest one. This is a very useful thing, especially for downloading large torrent files.

How to Use Put.io to Download Torrents on Chromebook?

Here’s a quick overview of how to use Put.io to download torrent files on your Chromebook. As you are about to see, the process is very straightforward;

As you can imagine, you need to register for a new account on Put.io. Then, access your account and you’ll see a dashboard;

On your dashboard, you will see a button that says ‘New Transfer’ in the top-right corner. Click on it;
You’ll be asked to paste the torrent or magnet link in a large text field. This means that you need to find a torrent file on the Web, and copy/paste that torrents link. Alternatively, you can download the torrent file to your Chromebook, and upload it to Put.io (on this same page);

Once you’ve pasted the URL or uploaded the file, click on ‘Start Transfers’;
All there’s left is to wait until the download ends. Then, click on the ‘Go to file’ button;

Finally, you will arrive at the website’s media player. You can stream it right there, or you can download it to your computer (in many different file types).

3. JSTorrent

In contrast to previous suggestions, JSTorrent isn’t a cloud service. Instead, this is a full-featured Chrome extension that acts as an app for your Chromebook. What this means is that you can download torrents locally – they’ll be saved on your Chromebook’s hard drive. For some, this will be a good thing since they don’t have to deal with cloud storage. However, those with very low disk storage might be better off with a cloud involved.

To begin with, we recommend using JSTorrent Lite that acts as a trial version with a maximum of 20 downloads. This is a good way to test-drive the extension and see how well you can handle it. It’s also worth noting that the Lite version isn’t restricted, and you’ll get to download and stream torrents at the same time.

If you decide to use JSTorrent, you can buy it for $2.99. This is a one-time purchase and you can download it from the Chrome Web Store. Alternatively, you can install the full application from GitHub, if you know a thing or two about unpacked Chrome extensions.

How to Use JSTorrent on Chromebook?

Here’s how to download torrents on Chromebook using JSTorrent. We will provide full step-by-step instructions, so keep on reading.

First, you need to install JSTorrent on your Chromebook. Go ahead, install the Lite version of the paid version. In addition, you need to install the JSTorrent Helper extension from the Chrome Web store.

Now, you need to find a torrent file that you’d like to download. Once you do that, you need right-click on the torrent download link and select ‘Add to JSTorrent’ from the drop-down menu;

JSTorrent will appear. First-time users will need to select a file download location first. In addition, this is a good moment to go over all of the options. Once you’re done, exit the settings menu;

Return to JSTorrent’s window. For some reason, you might see an error once you download a torrent. However, you can click on ‘Start’ (top-left corner) and the torrent will begin to download in an instant;

Once the download is complete, JSTorrent will copy the torrent data to the previously specified download folder. Go to that folder, and you’ll see all of the files;
As said earlier, you can also stream torrents (as they download). To do that, click on the ‘Files’ tab in the bottom half. On the right side of the video files, you will see a ‘Stream’ button. In case your Chrome OS recognizes the format, it will begin to play the movie file.

4. Bitford

Bitford is the last option on our list, and there’s a reason for that. Even though there are many users who are perfectly happy using this torrent downloader, there are lots of those who aren’t. In fact, Bitford’s Chrome store rating isn’t stellar (3 start out of 5). However, we want you to explore all of the popular options for downloading torrents on Chromebook. Therefore, we think that Bitford deserves a place on this list.

What you need to know about this Chrome extension is that it comes free of charge. As you can see by now, free of charge options are scarce. You will be able to download torrents, even individual files within torrents, and more. What you can’t do is download magnet files, which is worrisome because websites like The Pirate Bay are starting to rely heavily on magnet files. Finally, you should also expect some download speed limitations. As users are reporting, Bitford can be very slow at times which means that you’ll need to be more patient than with other options.

How to Use Bitford to Download Torrents on Chromebook?

Bitford is a very simple Chrome extension. Even though not everyone is going to be thrilled about it, we feel that many of you will be happy to have this option.

Make sure to add Bitford to Chrome;

Next, you need to open this extension. You can go to ‘chrome://apps’ and click on the extension’s icon. This will open Bitford in a new tab;

Now you need to download a torrent file to your Chromebook. So, visit your favorite torrent tracks and save the file locally;
Return to Bitford and click on ‘Load Torrent’, at the bottom of the screen;
You will need to find your recently downloaded torrent file. Then, add it to the extension and it will begin to download in an instant;

Wait for the torrent to be downloaded, or you can stream it along the way. That’s it!

Additional Info on Downloading Torrents on Chromebook

We'll do our best to make this article as helpful as possible. This is why we'll make sure to answer some commonly asked questions about downloading torrents. So, keep on reading to learn more.

What Are The Best Torrent Sites Right Now?

To get started, check our article on the best torrent sites of 2018. This is where you'll find 10 options that bring different kinds of file libraries. Even better than using torrent websites, you can rely on search engines. To learn more, here's our comprehensive guide to the best torrent search engines.

Will Downloading Torrents on Your Chromebook Get You in Trouble?

Downloading torrent (P2P) files is not illegal - and it will never be. However, the truth is that P2P files are often associated with copyright infringement, which is why many ISP block this kind of Internet activity.

As you can see in our complete guide to torrenting, there are certain things to keep in mind to stay legal while torrenting. In the center of this are websites that act as torrent repositories. With this mind, try to stick to legal torrent websites.

What Are VPNs & Why You Should Use Them?

When talking about how to download torrents on Chromebook, we also must talk about staying safe online. To help you with this, we have a few useful resources. First of all, make sure to learn how VPNs work. Then, you can check the best VPNs for torrenting and cross-reference that list with the best VPNs for Chromebook.

Final Thoughts

Dear readers, that would be all. We hope that you found this article to be useful and that you now know how to download torrents on Chromebook. If you have any questions or doubts, feel free to post a comment below.

Finally, feel free to share this article with other Chromebook users, if you think they’re interested in torrenting. Also, make sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Thanks!