Alternatives to rTorrent

A fast ncurses-based BitTorrent client for the terminal, widely used on servers and seedboxes. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.

Replacements

Listings that take over the same core job as rTorrent.

  • Transmission

    A light BitTorrent client that behaves like a native app on each platform, with a headless daemon for servers.

    FreeOpen sourceWindowsmacOSLinuxCommand lineSelf-hosted

    Transmission offers a headless daemon with a built-in web interface and native desktop apps, and is quicker to learn than rTorrent's terse configuration.

  • Deluge

    Plugin-driven BitTorrent client that can run headless with several front ends.

    FreeOpen sourceWindowsmacOSLinuxSelf-hosted

    Deluge runs as a daemon driven from desktop, browser or console clients and adds plugins, though its setup takes some work and releases are infrequent.

  • Porla

    A headless BitTorrent client for servers and seedboxes, with a web interface and Lua scripting.

    FreeOpen sourceLinuxWebSelf-hosted

    Porla is a headless server client with its own web interface and Lua scripting, built for thousands of torrents, but it is a small project.

  • qBittorrent

    A full-featured BitTorrent client with no ads, built as an open source replacement for µTorrent.

    FreeOpen sourceWindowsmacOSLinux

    qBittorrent is a graphical client with a web interface for headless use, integrated search and regex RSS filters, but uses more memory with heavy libraries.

  • rqbit

    A BitTorrent client written in Rust with a CLI, HTTP API, web interface and desktop app.

    FreeOpen sourceWebSelf-hostedCommand line

    rqbit is a Rust client with a CLI, HTTP API, web interface and desktop app, but has fewer features than long-established clients.

Similar software

Related functionality, not a direct replacement.