Torrent sharing consists of sharing large files, like movies, software, or games with other peers. The file you want to download is cut up into small segments shared by users, creating what is called a swarm, and does not go through a central server, significantly reducing the bulk of file transfers. The Bittorrent client was actually the first P2P application to use this technology and became immensely popular when it was released.

Thanks to a straightforward, uncluttered interface BitTorrent for Mac appears as a friendly torrent client that beginners will feel comfortable with. In fact, the latest version looks uncannily like uTorrent although the functionality is nowhere near as good unfortunately.

Once you’ve found the torrent you want, download it to your Mac, open it up inside BitTorrent for Mac and let the client do its job. The speed at which you download will depend on the number of seeds, that is people who have the complete file and are sharing it. The more seeds there are the quicker files will download. However, a frequent complaint with BitTorrent for Mac is that downloads rarely start and when they do, they can be notoriously unstable.

You can improve things slightly by changing the settings of multiple torrent downloads but there are few diagnostic tools to help you work out the problem. At the very least, you should choose the right port and setting upload and download rate limits to avoid hogging your bandwidth. It’s also good to set your downloads by priority to monitor more precisely how your torrents are doing.

Compared to the exhaustive Azureus, Bittorrent is very simplistic. And compared to uTorrent, it doesn't work half as well despite similarities in appearance. It doesn’t provide many statistics and doesn’t let you customize the interface. Integrating a search box is a great idea, but it limits searches to the BitTorrent website, not considered the most thorough source by torrent aficionados.

Note that BitTorrent gives you access to a huge number of digital files and should only be used for sharing legal P2P content.

BitTorrent for Mac may have once been a good starting point in the P2P world but there are now several other clients which are far more effective.

Download BitTorrent for Mac 7.3.1 Build 27506 in Softonic

In fact, FrostWire has more than just a few similarities to Limewire although unlike the latter, it does not carry advertising and there are no annoying pop ups. Just as Limewire was, FrostWire is straightforward and easy to use. A simple search bar, divided by category, makes it a breeze to browse for a file, whether it is a video, image, audio, or program. FrostWire also has a What’s New button to check out what popular files users have recently exchanged.

One particularly handy feature of FrostWire is a special direct connect option. If you know the IP address of one of your friends, type it in the box and FrostWire will browse to that user’s files. This is a quick way of sharing files with someone you know although it would be even better if you could enter the username of a user rather than the IP address.

In terms of speed, much will depend on the speed of your own connection. It definitely helps though if you've correctly opened your router’s ports and whether you’re downloading a popular file or not. To avoid the risk of downloading copyrighted or adult material, FrostWire also allows you to apply content filters. Another handy feature of FrostWire is a built-in media player. Video and audio can be tested using Frostwire’s media player which gives you an immediate preview of your file.

However, one major annoyance with Frostwire is the number of fake files on it. Many songs and files look genuine but are in fact either completely fake or in the worst case scenarios, malicious. You should be very careful when opening files. It should also be noted that FrostWire is basically a stripped-down version of Limewire, but is a not-for-profit project. The developers claim it will never support Digital Rights Management (DRM) or any type of advertising. However, the demise of Limewire due to legal issues mean that FrostWire may well be targeted in the future for closure.

FrostWire for Mac is a hugely popular alternative for anyone who misses Limewire but there are a lot of fake files and it doesn't quite measure up to the latter in most areas.

Download FrostWire 5.3.6 in Softonic

uTorrent for Windows has been a big success on PCs for years and uTorrent for Mac includes all the same features that made it such a success. It's lightweight, extremely easy to use, very fast, requires no configuration and generally just makes downloading torrents very easy. If you have used the Windows version, the main difference you'll notice is that uTorrent for Mac is slightly stripped down compared to the Windows version.

For example, down the left hand side of uTorrent you have all the same menus that you have in Windows that allow you to select exactly what you see in the uTorrent window. You can choose to view only those downloads that have completed, those that are currently downloading, those that are active and finally those that are inactive. Of course, you can also choose to view all of these at the same time too.

However, along the top of the interface, some of the controls that you find in Windows have been removed such as the button for RSS downloads, the create your own torrent wizard button and a preferences button. Preferences can be accessed via the menu bar although there is no RSS downloader or create your own torrent wizard unfortunately.

Everything else is the same as you get in uTorrent 's Windows version including a detailed stats windows giving you details of your download which you can toggle on and off via the info symbol on the top right of the interface. You'll also find the search box which simply takes you to a Google search results page.

The preferences dialog offers the same controls as in Windows with options to limit the bandwidth uTorrent uses, network settings and BitTorrent settings. Most importantly, downloads in uTorrent for Mac are lightening quick (if you have plenty of seeds for your file) although of course, this will also depend on how fast your internet connection is. It takes little more than a few seconds for uTorrent to start finding seeds and get on with downloading your files.

Finally, the uTorrent website offers you several different skins to choose from, an extensive FAQ and a full guide to using uTorrent for beginners. There are few drawbacks to uTorrent but one problem is that there is no way to add or remove torrent components once they have started.

Note that uTorrent provides access to a huge number of files but should only be used for sharing legal digital content.

If you've used uTorrent in Windows, you won't be disappointed by uTorrent for Mac. If you've never used it, then give it a go and you may never go back to your old torrent client again.

Download uTorrent for Mac 1.5.14 in Softonic

There's no doubt that Vuze offers some spectacularly fast download times but this comes at a price. Mainly the fact that Vuze is extremely bloated and tries to install two toolbars when you install it. On the upside, because Vuze is an open source project, there is a large community of programmers, designers and users who are continually testing and improving it and there's an excellent FAQ.

You receive comprehensive stats about every file that's downloaded with Vuze (most of which will mean nothing to you though) but most importantly it gives you the all important Estimated Time of Arrival and Share Ratio which tells you how much of a particular file you have uploaded or given back to the community. Apparently, in a perfect world, every file should have a share ratio of two which means for each file you download, two users download it from you.

Possibly the most notable feature of Vuze, however, is the media website that's embedded into the application. It looks like an entertainment website and that's pretty much what it is only the entertainment can be downloaded via Vuze. These include gameshows, user generated content, sports and more.

Vuze has a rather overwhelming interface as a result. It's far more bloated than other P2P clients such as uTorrent and Transmission. It takes some getting used to at first the upside is that it is much more customisable than most Mac P2P apps. For example, if you want to configure Vuze to work only with a VPN, you can do unlike uTorrent and Transmission.

Vuze is generally an excellent P2P application that may be a bit more bloated than most but works well and has plenty to offer.

Download Vuze (Azureus) 4.7.0.0 in Softonic

This new version doesn't support OS X 10.4.11 anymore (although you can download the 10.4.11 version here) but brings many more improvements to an already solid release. You can set different priority levels for torrents and establish stall limit times. Transmission's speed limit mode, represented by a turtle icon at the bottom of the interface, is extremely useful if you're looking to control the amount of bandwidth you use for uploads and downloads. The option for anonymous connections has been removed in this latest version however.

Transmission has consistently improved over time, offering many more options to view your torrents. You can now filter your torrent list according to downloading, seeding, or paused. The client can also organize transfers by queue order, date added, name, process. Transmission also allows you to label, filter and sort torrents by groups and total activity. You can also encrypt your torrent activity in case you want it to stay private.

We really like the new interface, which blends in perfectly to the new Mac OS X Leopard. Transmission manages to display all the essential information without actually seeming crowded, which is no easy feat. The only little nag we'd have with it is that it doesn't offer as many advanced statistics as you'd find in Vuze.

Despite no advanced statistics, Transmission is a beautiful and incredibly intuitive torrent client for Mac.

Download Transmission 2.52 in Softonic

MP3 Rocket is very similar to FrostWire and the now-defunct LimeWire, so if you are familiar with them, using the app will be a piece of cake. Even if you are not, it’s an easy-to-use application and suitable for anyone who wants to start downloading movies, music and other content – as long as there are no copyright issues, of course!

MP3 Rocket is based on tabs that allow you to quickly access the search engine, lists of popular files and torrents, your library of shared files and even online TV, radio, games and chat. MP3 Rocket can also be used as an audio and video player, but judged on these features it’s not very interesting and offers nothing that really make it stand out.

However, the main problem with MP3 Rocket is that it simply doesn't work properly. Although it installs fine in Lion, searches fail to return any results with a message informing users that a Firewall may be blocking communication with the server.

MP3 Rocket is a rather outdated way to get your music but still remains a popular app on Windows, although the Mac version doesn't seem to work properly.

Download MP3 Rocket 5.1.9 in Softonic

By now everyone who has ever used a computer surely knows about Peer to Peer file sharing and the controversy it has stirred up since the days when Napster rocked the music industry. Although it's still illegal and you run the risk of being taken to court if you're caught with substantial copyrighted material, there are still plenty of file sharing networks and clients you can use to obtain free music, video and files like FrostWire.

What is special about aMule?

Using the eDonkey network, aMule stands out from most of its rival P2P clients because it is open source. This frees you from pesky spyware and adware, leaving you able to get on with your downloading in peace. In addition, aMule doesn't rely on one central server like many older clients. By using a multitude of different servers, the network is virtually impossible to shut down and is consequently very secure.

aMule is simple to use. This doesn't mean it lacks depth though, and aMule's features are some of the most advanced to be seen in a P2P client. For example, you can view all kinds of information on machines you're downloading from, call up charts outlining downloading stats and check download status through aMule's advanced progress bar.

What are the results like?

Since aMule uses a large network of servers its search results are pretty vast. There's one major annoyance that can come up with aMule though: it's very slow at downloading files. This is largely because of the way aMule handles download priority, which looks at the number of servers you're connected to, the connection speed and the size of the file.

aMule also relies heavily on a credit scoring system, where people who use the service a lot are rewarded with faster downloads. While some may champion this as being in the true spirit of file sharing, the system makes it frustrating for new users who get penalized with ultra slow downloads.

Still, with its simple interface and loads of features, it's not difficult to see why aMule has become a very popular P2P app.

Download aMule 2.2.6 in Softonic

Your network, downloads and uploads are easily accessible from the menu on the left. Elements in these sections will be displayed in a list in the center of the interface.

The search box on the top left is the best way to look for content, and given that Cabos makes use of Gnutella, the third biggest peer to peer network, you're guaranteed to find what you're looking for.

Thanks to iTunes integration, you can search for tracks or videos stored in Apple's media player directly from Cabos.

What worries us though is that the client has not been updated for a while, and could be in need of some improvements.