We all are familiar with KickassTorrents, but for those of you who aren’t; KickassTorrent was a popular website with a directory providing torrent and magnet links.
The site had established a name as the “Most Visited BitTorrent Directory”, even surpassing The Pirate Bay. Sadly, the fame of the title was short-lived and the site has been rendered inaccessible for almost 3 years now.
In the world of torrents, few names have been as prominent and controversial as KickassTorrent. Over the years, it’s been a beacon for those searching for specific content and a source of consternation for copyright holders. Let’s delve into the history, benefits, and concerns surrounding KickassTorrent.
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What is KickassTorrent?
KickassTorrent, commonly abbreviated as KAT, was a torrent website that provided a directory for torrent files and magnet links for peer-to-peer file sharing through the BitTorrent protocol. Established in 2008, it quickly became one of the world’s largest and most popular torrent download sites.
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7 Best KickassTorrent Alternatives
Now, what to do for our insatiable need for Torrent? Don’t worry, we have the best 7 alternatives for you to use and satiate your Torrent needs. Here, is the list of the KickassTorrent alternatives that is present below.
1. The Pirate Bay
Landing on the web in 2003 and marking its spot till 2021, The Pirate Bay is undeniably the best alternative you have for KickassTorrent. It is loved by its users, all over the globe. The reason is only the provision of digital content? Not quite.
ThePirateBay owes its user love to its set of creators who share their concerns from time to time and advocate digital freedom, winning hearts cross-country. Now, the layout- it’s actually pretty simple, similar to Google Search.
The search results are displayed in categories, such as by name, by most downloaded, etc, simplifying the search. To support the site, a crypto mining script is run by the site. The script can be blocked using adblocker, but it’s better if you don’t as it will support the site.
| Thepiratebay Mirrors | Speed | SSL |
| thepiratebays3.com/torrents | Very Fast | On |
| pirate-bay.net | Fast | On |
| pirate-bays.net | Fast | On |
| pirate-bay.info | Fast | On |
| torrentscan.com | Fast | On |
| piratebay.live | Fast | On |
2. RARBG
KickassTorrents boasted a huge collection of torrents of all categories; sadly most of these were of bad quality. Some of these even contained malware, therefore a good population of file sharing enthusiasts preferred RARBG, a torrent provider founded in 2008, over KickassTorrent.
RARBG provides a much more curated experience as compared to Kickass Torrent. The forte of the site is movies and TV shows. The site also has diversified options for games, software, etc. RARBG has been accessible ever since its inception, minus 2008 when it was barred due to legal proceedings.
Proxies and mirrors-
- https://rarbgmirror.com/
- https://rarbgprx.org/
- https://rarbgunblock.com/
- http://rarbgmirror.xyz
3. 1337x
Try to find a better-looking Kickass Torrent Alternative, I promise you, you can’t. As of 2018, 1337x rose to fame as the third most popular torrent site on the web with its attractive design playing a key role in it. The site is your all-in-all for movies to games.
Everything you need wrapped up and served hot. The homely feeling might be the reason why users often leave comments under the content they download, a discussion about quality and content, warnings about malware, helping other users in the way.
The files on 1337x come with descriptions, which makes it easier further for the user to skim through files and choose their file.
Proxies and Mirrors-
- https://1337x-to.prox1.info/
- https://x1337x.eu/
- https://1337x.st/
- https://x1337x.ws/
4. Zooqle
The baby of the file transfer world, Zooqle, formerly known as BitSnoop, is an emerging Torrent tracker and a good Kickass Torrent Alternative. Zooqle has over 3.5 million verified torrents and 2000 torrents are added every day but still has managed to attract very little mainstream attention.
Owing to this, Zooqle has been able to use .com domain but still has a set of alternative domains for the same. It owns a collection of 36,000 movies and 160,000 TV shows.
The site makes use of TMDb to show information about the headliners. Users can be registered on the site to create subscriptions and add content to an RSS feed so as to know when there are new torrents of things that interest them.
5. TorrentZ2
It’s a little different than kickass torrent, but more or less serves the purpose. Basically a torrent search engine, Torrentz2 combines millions of search results from a bunch of torrent sites.
Thus, this is best suited for finding less popular content. The drawback here is that there is no guarantee for the quality of the content and there is a risk for content containing malware. Thus, you need to be more careful.
6. ExtraTorrent
ExtraTorrent had its inception in 2006 by an administrator acting under the alias “SaM”.The original Extratorrent was a site holding popularity, just after Kickass Torrent and reached its height in 2016, bagging the second position in the highest popularity site.
But months later was voluntarily shut down by the owners. In place of the website, there was just a message from the administrator, which stated that the website was to shut down permanently and all data relating to the website and its content would be erased.
The website had been down reportedly for days, due to an emergency maintenance situation, just two days prior to the permanent website shut down. The versions that are accessible are nothing but various mirrors of the same site.
ExtraTorrent.si, one of the many mirrors, is claimed to be the only mirror that is run by the moderators of the original site. Some of the mirrors are said to mine cryptocurrencies and distribute malware and therefore it is highly recommended that you stick to the given mirror.
7. LimeTorrents
Last on our list is Limetorrents, another veteran in the field of torrents, launched in 2009, still in power. It offers a large selection of movies, TV shows, games etc. The main search page of the site is undeniably attractive but the attraction soon wears put as we perform a search on the site.
As soon as a search is conducted via the site, its span becomes evident. Even though the site lacks polish and hasn’t definitely aged well, it still continues to be a very reliable source for file transfer.
Going by statistics, as per a study performed by Alexa.com, Limetorrents holds a global rank of 99,316, based on a large amount of internet traffic. Additionally, it is found that 1.0 pages are browsed daily per user, and the time 0:30 minutes.
Does KickassTorrent Still Work?
KickassTorrent faced numerous legal challenges over the years. In 2016, its domains were seized, and the site’s alleged owner was arrested. Since then, various mirror and clone sites have emerged, claiming to be the “new” KickassTorrent, but their authenticity and safety are not guaranteed.
Who is the Founder of KickassTorrent?
The original KickassTorrent site was founded by Artem Vaulin, a Ukrainian national. In 2016, Vaulin was arrested in Poland for his association with the site, charged with copyright infringement, and money laundering.
Benefits of KickassTorrent:
- Vast Library: One of the primary reasons for KickassTorrent’s popularity was its comprehensive library of torrents, spanning movies, TV shows, music, and more.
- Active Community: KAT had a vibrant community. Users could comment on torrents, offering insights, reviews, and verification.
- User-Friendly Interface: The site was known for its clean, organized interface, making it easy for users to search and download torrents.
- Global Reach: KickassTorrent had versions in multiple languages, catering to users worldwide.
Is KickassTorrent Safe?
Safety concerns surrounding KickassTorrent are twofold:
- Legal Implications: Downloading copyrighted material without appropriate licensing can lead to severe legal consequences. Users must be wary of their local laws and regulations regarding torrenting and copyright infringement.
- Malware and Security Risks: Like many torrent sites, KickassTorrent had its share of fake torrents that could contain malware or phishing threats. Users had to be cautious and ideally have updated anti-malware software.
Is KickassTorrent Free?
Yes, KickassTorrent was a free platform. The site generated revenue through advertisements, some of which could be intrusive or lead to dubious websites.
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Final Words
Here is our pick for KickassTorrent alternatives. Since not all torrent sites are safe, we highly recommend you to stick to these. Happy Browsing!
KickassTorrent was once the crown jewel of the torrenting community, known for its vast content library and active user base. While the original site has been taken down, its legacy persists, reminding users of the golden age of torrenting.
Those who venture into the realm of torrents should always prioritize their safety, both in terms of digital security and legal implications. Torrenting, when done responsibly and legally, can be a valuable resource, but it’s essential to tread with caution.
