15 Best Alternatives to KickAss Torrents
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KickAss Torrents affectionately known as KAT, exploded from being just another torrent site to getting a million users a day at its peak in 2015. Founded in 2008 it overtook Pirate Bay to become the most popular torrent site.
Over the years KAT has been banned in multiple countries, removed from Google rankings and finally taken offline by the FBI in 2016, who also arrested the alleged owner Artem Vaulin.
KAT still lives on through multiple mirrors and proxies supported by a team from around the world.
What are Torrents?
A torrent is a type of file that comes with the extension .torrent, the file itself contains no information. When used in conjunction with BitTorrent software like uTorrent or BitTorrent to initiate the download of the actual content on a remote server.
BitTorrent is the protocol for P2P (Peer to Peer) file sharing. Commonly used when transferring large amounts of data online. The software works by using a “swarm” of hosts to download or upload. These distributed networks of home computers mean that the more people download the file, the bigger the swarm and the healthier the file is to download.
The BitTorrent software uses the .torrent file to find the corresponding location of the seeder where the file is located (a seeder is a person who downloaded the file or uploaded the seed/file)
In short torrents are a quick and fast way of distributing files. Particularly useful for large media files.
Other common terms are peers and leeches. Peers are those downloading and uploading multiple files at the same time, and leeches are those who only have part of a file. Once you download 100% of a file you also become a seeder.
Are They Legal?
Yes. Torrents are perfectly legal. The illegality arises when someone uses a torrent to either download or upload copyrighted material. Torrents are commonly used for media files because they are large, often 100MB+. Which is time-consuming to download.
Torrents have become infamous as a way for distributing the latest films, TV shows, and music videos which people have to live recorded or copied and then uploaded for others to download for free.
How to Stay Private Using Torrents
Always use a VPN when using Torrents. Though not illegal your ISP will have a record of all the websites you visit and be able to monitor your internet usage. When not using a VPN, they can see spikes in your data usage and that you may be accessing sites where illegal torrents are happening.
If they catch you torrenting you could get a warning letter, have your internet throttled (the speed is limited) or even be liable for a fine or a criminal conviction in extreme cases.
Using a VPN will help to:
- Obscure your IP
- Encrypt your data
- Hide your data usage from your ISP
This is because a VPN reroutes your traffic through a server of your choosing. By changing your IP address this allows you add a layer of anonymity. Also, all traffic from your VPN client to their server is encrypted. Meaning no one can see what you are doing. An ISP can see traffic but has no idea of it’s intended destination and therefore it won’t get flagged by network monitors.
Lastly, most of the main URL’s for the torrent sites in our list will automatically be blocked by your ISP.
Why You Should Use an Ad Blocker When Torrenting
Ads are how torrent sites make money. Every time you click on a new page or go to download a torrent an ad will pop up. Some sites will ask for donations as well.
Increasingly sites may restrict content if they detect an ad blocker. But if you want a smoother experience without endless pop ups, consider using an ad blocker.
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ReviewVPN cannot attest to the legality, security and privacy of the applications discussed on this site. It is highly recommended that you use a VPN service while streaming or using Kodi.
Currently, your IP 18.97.14.84 is visible to everyone and your Browser is being tracked by Advertisers & ISP Provider.
Here are the main reasons why you must use a VPN:
- Your activities are hidden from your ISP, the government, and from the apps you are using.
- You can access additional movies and TV streams.
- ISP attempts to throttle are thrwarted thus reducing buffering issues.
- Geographically restricted content like Netflix and Hulu can be unblocked.
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Top 15 Alternatives to KAT
Here is our list of the top 15 torrent sites, if for any reason you can’t get onto KAT or the site goes down. Remember that torrent sites will go down, don’t be alarmed just cycle through the list. Thankfully proxies and mirrors give torrent sites endless URL’s you can be redirected to.
Kat.sx – KAT Mirrors
Though the main KAT site maybe down, thankfully KAT’s team run multiple mirror sites and proxies, which are constantly being updated and can at any time be down, and then go back up. A mirror is just a replica of the original site hosted on a different IP address and URL.
Here is an extended list of KAT mirrors and proxies which were currently working:
- https://kat.li/
- https://www.kickasstorrents.pw/
- https://katcr.co/new/full/
- http://proxyindex.net/
- https://kickasstorrent.cr/
- https://katcr.co/new/
- https://katcr.co/
- http://katcr.to/
- https://kickasstorrents.to/
- https://kat.sx/
- https://proxyindex.net/
- https://thekat.info/
- https://kat.am/
- https://kickass2.st/
The Pirate Bay
One of the oldest Torrent sites still in existence dating back to 2003, the founders were arrested and jailed in 2009 and released in 2015.
Still one of the Top 200 websites in the world, Pirate Bay exists on a series of mirrors and proxies and has the most comprehensive list of torrents apart from KAT.
The site doesn’t offer torrent links since 2012, instead it gives you magnet links which references the source file but means the server does not need to make them constantly available, thus reducing the load on Pirate Bay’s servers.
Due to its popularity just like KAT, expect servers to be down randomly at any time, if so you can keep moving down through the best of our 15 best alternatives to KickAss Torrents.
Pirate Bay does have a lot of ads, be prepared to close a pop up every time you click on something which can get pretty annoying.
1337x
When KAT went down in 2016 and with Pirate Bay consistently being one of the main targets for ISP blocking. 1337x has risen to become one of the top 400 websites on the internet worldwide.
Offering both torrent files and magnet links. 1337x has a clean and simple to use interface and offers a wide array of media. Their Movies and Television sections are arranged in easy access formats, with quick filters like popular today and this week and what’s trending.
Also, you won’t get as many ads as Pirate Bay which is a blessing. 1337x rates highly if you are looking for obscure files or titles in foreign languages.
RARBG
RARBG is much less well known than KAT or Pirate Bay which is a good thing. The more under the radar a torrent site is, the less likely it is to be blocked.
They tend to be unblocked in most countries and also have consistent up time, the site itself is pretty basic and looks like a blast from the past. So, you want to get the same type of smooth interface and usability as 1337x.
Also, if you want to become a seeder or upload there are some restrictions on registration. RARBG is also well known for being the favored torrent site if you are looking for high quality movies.
Extra Torrent
Extra Torrent is another site under the radar. The lay is super basic and is reminiscent of forums from the early 2000s but it’s a solid choice with a good library of content and has been around for over 10 years.
They also have a solid reputation for providing quality torrent links to high-grade material, as well as offering an enormous library of files.
Supports torrents and magnet links.
YTS
YTS caused some controversy in the torrenting community when it took the name of a previously highly popular website YIFY, meaning that many other big players in the torrent industry refused to work with it. The original YTS/YIFY group shut in 2015.
Primarily focused on films, if you are looking for tv shows and adult content you are probably better off using Pirate Bay, KAT, or 1337x.
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Torrentz2
Torrentz2 is the reincarnation of Torrentz which was shut down last year. The interface is as simple as it gets, a search engine bar allowing you to look for torrents across multiple sites including KAT.
Support Torrents only. If you are looking for a library-style Torrent site you are better off elsewhere, but if you know what you’re looking for then Torrentz2 is fast and snappy with almost no ads.
A drawback is that the interface is so simple, you’ll find you have to click on each link to see the health, downloads, and more information which is pretty time-consuming.
Lime Torrents
Lime Torrents like Extra Torrent is 10 years old and you have probably never heard of them. The site is one of the best looking out there with a nice interface and simple sections.
If you click into a simple section you get a really nice layout with multiple options and can see the health of the file as well as the number of seeds and leeches. Seeing everything on one page is great because it cuts down the time you need to make searching for the best file.
Also, some files link through to sites where you can watch them hosted online meaning you don’t even need to worry about getting the torrent.
Supports torrents and magnet links. LimeWire for us is one of the best sites out there for ease of use.
Zooqle
Zooqle is almost unique in our list, because not only does it support torrents and magnet links, but you can also download files directly. However, always use caution when downloading files as you don’t know what could be on them.
The interface is a bit dated, but it’s got a nice layout and easy to see what’s popular for TV and film, you can also register and sign up for subscriptions and create an RSS feed to get notified when your favorite shows are out.
Torrent Downloads
Torrent Downloads support torrents and direct downloads. The suite is simply intuitive and easy to use. Torrent Downloads have become popular due to their wide range of media. Which includes popular software and more obscure types of media.
You can also easily see the health of a file, as well as the number of seeds and leeches which means easily finding the best file to download.
TorLock
TorLock has become famous as the best torrent site for verified torrents. One big problem with torrents is that a lot are infected, dead, or have malicious malware installed with the file. So, you could download your favorite movie and end up having your CPU hijacked to mine cryptocurrency (if you’re lucky)
The interface is intuitive and easy to use, with a top list for categories, seeds, and peers as well as file health.
Support torrent files only.
EZTV
EZTV looks pretty old school and doesn’t have the same selection as many other torrent providers. But that’s for a reason. It has a reputation for pre-screening for quality and binning unsuitable links.
The interface is easy to use, but not so useful in terms of seeing the health of the file you want to download.
Support torrent files and magnet links.
Popcorn Time
Think of Popcorn Time more like an unofficial Netflix, use the site to stream free movies and tv shows, it does involve downloading their software, and is a good solution for anyone not wanting to torrent but simply watch media directly.
Torrent Hounds
Torrent Hounds gives you a rather basic interface but has an enormous library with almost 9 million files, you can also gain better access using their client.
We advise you to join their binary channel to get increased functionality and access torrent files.
This is not uncommon as torrent sites are regularly targeted for breaking copyright laws and consistently have to think of new and innovative ways to avoid ISP blocking.
ISO Hunt
We suspect that ISO Hunt is run by the same people who run Torrent Hounds, and also requires a client and joining a binary channel to get the best use from their service.
They have a great reputation for high-quality torrents and vetted downloads and offer a wide selection of media in an easy-to-use and modern interface.
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