Seedbox Vs. VPN (What Is Better For Downloads?)

Seedboxes and VPNs are the most used tools for torrenting, besides torrenting clients. Not only do both of these services let you fileshare safely and privately, but they can also give you much better speeds in the case of seedboxes. On the other hand, VPNs give you much more protection for ALL your online activities. 

Keep on reading to see what else is different or the same between the two and what are the major advantages and disadvantages of both VPNs and seedboxes. We also have a couple of our recommendations with the best deals on the market.

SeedboxVPN
SpeedFastOK
TorrentingYes, fast downloadsYes
EncryptionNoYes
Security & PrivacyOnly for torrentingYes
Unblocking websitesNoYes
StreamingNoYes

What Is a Seedbox?

server room

A seedbox is a server that is primarily used for downloading, uploading, and seeding torrents. It consists of a two-step process. When you want to download a file, you first have to use the seedbox to obtain it and then download it from the seedbox to your computer (or other devices).

Generally, seedboxes are VPS (virtual private servers), but some seedboxes use physical servers too.

Not only are seedboxes are extremely popular with torrent users because of their high speeds but they also make torrenting safer in general by hiding your real IP address from anyone in the swarm (other peers and seeders) from seeing your IP. 

Best VPN Overall
Best VPN Features

Similar to VPNs, others can only see the IP address of the seedbox as it’s a middleman between you and the torrent site or client.

The traffic you share through some seedboxes is also encrypted by FTPs (FTP with TLS encryption), sFTP (secure FTP), and SSH (Secure Shell).

What Is a VPN?

vpn diagram

A Virtual Private Network, or VPN, is a network of private servers that encrypt all your traffic, data, and everything else you do as you use the Internet. 

Every time you connect to the Internet, the data request from your smartphone, computer, game console, or even a smart home device travels through your router and directly to the server you’re requesting data from. 

All of this data, including your IP address and everything you do online, aren’t encrypted, and anyone that knows how to intercept that traffic can see what you’re doing.

Public WiFi networks are notoriously suspect to hackers. But, even more so, if you live in a country where the government is known to routinely intercept and store your data, it’s easy for them to find your identity and for you to be compromised. 

However, when you use a VPN, your data request isn’t sent directly to your ISP but to remote servers owned by the VPN provider. Your data is encrypted in the process on these servers and forwarded to its destination. You get a different IP address that can’t be traced back to you, and none the wiser. 

VPNs can and are used for torrenting but that is not their main purpose. Their main purpose is to encrypt ALL your data (not only when torrenting) and to hide your real IP address. 

The 2 Main Seedbox Advantages

1. Fast speeds 

People use seedboxes to download and upload files privately without using a torrent client

Most seedboxes have incredibly fast speeds that allow users to download large files very fast. The speeds offered by seedbox providers are usually between 100 Mbps and 1 Gbps.

If you have more money, you can get a more expensive seedbox package that can get you speeds of up to 10 Gbps or more with added features that are more or less useful.  

2. Hides IP address

Apart from super-fast speeds for torrenting, another vital component is privacy and anonymity. While a seedbox can provide a level of privacy, it isn’t as safe as a VPN. It doesn’t encrypt your connection, there are no kill switches, no DNS leak protection, and you can’t pick the servers you want to connect to.

A seedbox will, however, hide your real IP address and prevent other peers and seeders, but also the government and institutions from knowing who you are.

The 2 Main Seedbox Disadvantages

1. Only useful when working with torrents 

Seedboxes are used for one thing – filesharing. They are basically a one-trick pony that is excellent at this one thing that they’re doing. There’s nothing wrong with that because not every application has to do multiple things at once.

2. Two-step process

Torrenting via seedboxes isn’t as straightforward as downloading a file. You actually have to get the said file twice. First, it goes to the seedbox storage, and then you can download it to your computer. 

It’s a simple process that can be annoying at times. But there’s nothing complicated about it.  

The 4 Main VPN Advantages

1. VPNs improve your privacy and protect you from cyber attacks

A VPN, as we know, encrypts and routes your internet traffic through remote servers that you select, and that can be even on the other side of the world if you wish. 

When you connect to the internet through this go-between, your internet service provider (ISP) can’t see what you do online, what apps or programs you’re using, or any other online activities that you’re taking. 

Because no one will know your real IP address, they won’t know vital information about you that can be easily identifiable otherwise. Your city and country (if you choose a server outside of it), your ISP, and other data will stay hidden from spying eyes.

READ NEXT: Will a VPN Protect You When Torrenting (Explained)

Using a VPN while you’re connected to a public WiFi or hotspot will keep your data secure because the encryption will make the data gibberish even if attackers were able to intercept it.  

Most VPNs also come with many security features that prevent or block trackers, adware, malware, or even ads or features that prevent malicious apps from snatching your phone’s screen.

2. They bypass online censorship 

A VPN can efficiently bypass all online censorship and let people browse and see the whole internet without worrying that they’ll get caught. Whoever is spying on you won’t know that you’re on a banned website. All that they can see is that you’re connected to a VPN server. 

RELATED: Does NordVPN Work In China?

3. ISPs can’t throttle your bandwidth

Anyone that downloads torrents frequently, wouldn’t do so without using a VPN. That’s because anyone downloading the same torrent as you are, and that could be thousands of people, can see your IP address. 

VPN, as we know, hides your IP address and no one can see what you’re doing online. Not the IPS, not the lawyers, and not the institutions. This also prevents ISPs from slowing down your bandwidth which is another important component.

4. No more geo-restrictions

Geo-restrictions are a reality on today’s internet and many websites and services implement them for one reason or another. The biggest streaming service in the world, Netflix has even vastly distinct libraries in different countries. Some have much more content than others. 

RELATED: Best Cheap VPNs for Netflix (That Work in 2021)

The 4 Main VPN Disadvantages

1. Your VPN provider can see your data

Probably the biggest downside of VPNs. When you connect to a VPN, you’re basically moving information about your online activities from the hands of ISPs and into the hands of VPN providers. 

If you don’t pick the right VPN, or you pick a free VPN service, you could be in a world of hurt. Dubious VPN providers can put your privacy and even security in danger. Remarkably,  there’s still plenty of VPNs that keep logs of your internet activity (your browsing, buying, reading, watching history) and sell it to third parties. 

You simply MUST be sure to select a VPN that’s audited by a third-party auditing company that ensures that they walk the walk, and don’t talk the talk. A VPN’s website can say that they enforce a strict no-logs policy, but that is often not the case.   

2. Cost

It’s a public secret that free VPNs are up to no good. They can often be unscrupulous, as I’ve already mentioned. 

They keep logs (although saying that they don’t) and sell them to third parties for presumably a lot of money. 

READ ALSO: Why Do VPNs Cost Money (Explained)

3. They can be blocked

There are thousands of VPN providers on the market and the differences can be very stark. Although more money doesn’t mean better service, free isn’t good at all. I often wonder why people choose some dodgy, no-name VPNs when even the most well-known ones are dirt cheap (with multi-year contracts).

It’s best to simply stick to well-known VPNs with tens of thousands of reviews from people that use them and from credible outlets.  

Popular VPNs also have infinitely more resources to fight the war against governments and especially streaming services that are trying to block VPN access to their websites or services. We’re looking at you Netflix. 

RELATED: What To Do When VPN Is Blocked? (The 7 Options)

4. VPNs might slow down your internet connection

This point is also very often repeated, and some people still believe that a VPN will make your internet connection extremely slow. The truth is, major VPNs that have fast speeds, will only slightly slow down your connection.

Is Seedbox as Safe as VPN?

Both services have their place in the torrenting world and when using them for that purpose, both are really safe. VPNs have much more features outside of torrenting space that keep you safer when browsing the internet. 

Seedbox vs. VPN? The Bottom Line

The choice between a VPN and a seedbox is very simple. If you’re torrenting large amounts of files every month and you want to do it with much greater speeds, be sure to use a seedbox. They can be extremely cheap for what they give in return, ie. bandwidth, anonymity, and cloud storage.

On the other side, if you’re looking for a complete security and privacy package that will let you torrent at high speeds but also protect your other online activities, a VPN would be the best. 

Of course, no one’s stopping you from getting both of these services and staying protected at ultra-high speeds. And that’s exactly what we recommend as the best solution for 99 percent of the people that need fast torrenting and secure and private internet connection for their day to day use. 

Check out our recommendations for the best VPNs and the best seedboxes on the market. 

The Best VPNs 

Surfshark

surfshark

Surfshark is our top choice and of the most well-known and most economical VPNs on the market that has several thousand servers globally and the latest VPN technology that will help you reach the internet even from the most repressed countries.  

The company lets you use their VPN on an unlimited number of devices with the best encryption available today. They also have a strict no-logs policy which means that they aren’t monitoring and, more importantly, logging anything you do online. 

Find out more about Surfshark VPN in our full review.

NordVPN

nordvpn

NordVPN is yet another prime choice for people that value their privacy, security, and capital. Not only is NordVPN at the cutting edge of technology, but it’s also extremely inexpensive and all in all an excellent investment. 

NordVPN will keep snooping eyes at bay and keep your information and location safe and hidden. There’s a NordVPN app for all important operating systems that will let you connect to one of almost 6,000 servers around the world. 

The company has made a total package that ticks all the boxes for seamless browsing, streaming, torrenting, speed, privacy, and security.

Black Fridays come and go but you can always get a great deal with NordVPN as they are running promotions constantly. Read more in our NordVPN review or go straight to their website.  

The Best Seedboxes

Seedbox.io

Seedbox.io is one of the most popular seedbox services out there and for good reasons. It offers its services at extremely ambitious prices, but it also promotes much more than torrenting. There are FTPS extensions and web access.

Seedbox.io has various price plans, so it’s always easy to find the one that suits you the best, depending on your bandwidth requirements. The company supports a minimum of 20Gbit uplinks on all servers with no limits and no restrictions to data usage.

RapidSeedbox

Each RapidSeedbox subscription comes full of all the great features you’d expect from one of the leaders on the market. 

The service offers superior network performance, very low latency, highest availability, and protection from cyber-criminals. RapidSeedbox offers real value for your money with six different plans to choose from that are suitable for every pocket. Seedbox Vs. VPN

Best VPN Overall
Best VPN Features
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