The following is a general comparison of BitTorrent clients, which are

computer program A computer program is a sequence or set of instructions in a programming language for a computer to execute. Computer programs are one component of software, which also includes documentation and other intangible components. A computer program ...

s designed for

peer-to-peer file sharing Peer-to-peer file sharing is the distribution and sharing of digital media using peer-to-peer (P2P) networking technology. P2P file sharing allows users to access media files such as books, music, movies, and games using a P2P software program th ...

using the BitTorrent protocol. The BitTorrent protocol coordinates segmented file transfer among peers connected in a

swarm Swarm behaviour, or swarming, is a collective behaviour exhibited by entities, particularly animals, of similar size which aggregate together, perhaps milling about the same spot or perhaps moving ''en masse'' or migrating in some direction. ...

. A BitTorrent client enables a user to exchange data as a peer in one or more swarms. Because BitTorrent is a

peer-to-peer Peer-to-peer (P2P) computing or networking is a distributed application architecture that partitions tasks or workloads between peers. Peers are equally privileged, equipotent participants in the network. They are said to form a peer-to-peer ...

communications protocol A communication protocol is a system of rules that allows two or more entities of a communications system to transmit information via any kind of variation of a physical quantity. The protocol defines the rules, syntax, semantics and synchr ...

that does not need a

server Server may refer to: Computing *Server (computing), a computer program or a device that provides functionality for other programs or devices, called clients Role * Waiting staff, those who work at a restaurant or a bar attending customers and su ...

, the BitTorrent definition of ''client'' differs from the conventional meaning expressed in the

client–server model The client–server model is a distributed application structure that partitions tasks or workloads between the providers of a resource or service, called servers, and service requesters, called clients. Often clients and servers communicate ove ...

Bram Cohen Bram Cohen is an American computer programmer, best known as the author of the peer-to-peer (P2P) BitTorrent protocol in 2001, as well as the first file sharing program to use the protocol, also known as BitTorrent. He is also the co-founder of ...

, author of the BitTorrent protocol, made the first BitTorrent client, which he also called BitTorrent, and published it in July 2001. Many BitTorrent programs are

open-source software Open-source software (OSS) is computer software that is released under a license in which the copyright holder grants users the rights to use, study, change, and distribute the software and its source code to anyone and for any purpose. Op ...

; others are

freeware Freeware is software, most often proprietary, that is distributed at no monetary cost to the end user. There is no agreed-upon set of rights, license, or EULA that defines ''freeware'' unambiguously; every publisher defines its own rules for t ...

adware Adware, often called advertising-supported software by its developers, is software that generates revenue for its developer by automatically generating online advertisements in the user interface of the software or on a screen presented to the ...

or shareware. Some

download manager A download manager is a software tool that manages the downloading of files from the Internet, which may be built: into a Web browser A web browser is application software for accessing websites. When a user requests a web page from a par ...

s, such as

FlashGet FlashGet (formerly JetCar, from the literal translation of the Chinese phrase ) was a freeware download manager for Microsoft Windows. It was originally available in either paid or ad-supported versions, the latter of which included an Interne ...

and GetRight, are BitTorrent-ready. Opera 12, a

web browser A web browser is application software for accessing websites. When a user requests a web page from a particular website, the browser retrieves its files from a web server and then displays the page on the user's screen. Browsers are used o ...

, can also transfer files via BitTorrent. In 2013 Thunder Networking Technologies publicly revealed that some of their employees surreptitiously distributed a Trojan horse with certain releases of

Xunlei Xunlei Limited () is a Chinese multinational technology company and an online service provider founded in 2003. The subsidiary of Xunlei Limited, Shenzhen Xunlei Networking Technologies, Co., Ltd. () was formerly known as Sandai Technologies (She ...

, the company's BitTorrent-ready download manager. Xunlei is included in the comparison tables.

Applications

General

Operating system support

Interface and programming

Features I

Features II

Libraries

; General ; Operating system support and programming language ; Supported features 1 ; Supported features 2

Notes

References

{{Use dmy dates, date=December 2019 BitTorrent BitTorrent clients it:BitTorrent#Client