No. 29of 33 ·Peer-to-Peer File Sharing Software

rTorrent

Mac · Linux · Self-hosted · API

Freedom report

One barScore 5.5

Runs widely2 of 6 device platforms
DocumentedPlans, terms and facts published

rTorrent is ranked #29 of 33 in peer-to-peer file sharing software on Freedom251. It runs on API, Linux, macOS, Self-hosted.

Compared on peer-to-peer file sharing software

Supported platforms: Linux, macOS
Magnet links: Yes
Selective download: Yes
Remote control: Yes
DHT support: Yes
VPN binding: Yes

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The record

Product: rTorrent is a BitTorrent client described by its project page as a high performance, ncurses based command line client.
Torrent management: Users can add torrents from a URL or file path, start and stop downloads, and remove stopped downloads.
Transfer controls: The client provides global upload and download throttles; its user guide says throttling is applied globally rather than per torrent.
Monitoring: The interface displays torrent status, transfer rates, uploaded data, estimated completion time, peers, trackers, and chunk availability.
Daemon mode: The wiki says versions 0.9.7 and later have a built in daemon mode that disables the user interface and can be controlled via XMLRPC.
Terminal companions: The wiki describes rTorrent as ideal for use with tmux, screen, or dtach.
Distribution: The wiki lists packages for Linux distributions including Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, Gentoo, Arch Linux, and NixOS, and also mentions FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD, and macOS via Homebrew.
Installation: The project provides source releases and documents compiling the client or deploying it with Docker.
Dependencies: The repository README lists libcurl, a matching-version libtorrent, and ncurses as dependencies.
License: The repository identifies the project as GNU GPL and links to its GPL-2.0 license.
Support: The official site directs users to the project wiki to learn how to use rTorrent.
Project maintenance: The official site says the project is maintained by rakshasa and invites donations to support development.
Bandwidth controls: The client offers upload and download throttles, which the user guide says apply globally rather than per torrent.
Peer controls: The peer list supports snubbing, kicking, and banning peers.

Where it ranks on Freedom251

Best Peer-to-Peer File Sharing Software in 2026#29 of 33

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Sources

github.com/rakshasa/rtorrent· checked 10 Oct 2026
github.com/rakshasa/rtorrent/wiki/User-Guide· checked 10 Oct 2026
github.com/rakshasa/rtorrent/wiki· checked 10 Oct 2026
rtorrent.net· checked 10 Oct 2026
github.com/rakshasa/rtorrent/wiki/Using-DHT· checked 11 Oct 2026
github.com/rakshasa/rtorrent/wiki/RPC-Setup-XMLRPC· checked 11 Oct 2026
github.com/rakshasa/rtorrent/wiki/Protocol-Encrypt· checked 11 Oct 2026