November 25, 2007 by sharky
Our Top Ten Best Free P2P File Sharing Programs
This is a review of our top ten free P2P file sharing clients, with the PROs and CONs of each and the rankings. All programs were tested in October 2007 (and are thus deemed to be working). The list below represents the main “client” programs to connect to most of the major networks available.
And The Winner Is…
Limewire Pro 4.14 wins this race, but Bearshare 5.2.5 was right behind at #2. It’s too bad that they both connect to the same P2P network; the search results are very similar. And since they run on the largest network - Gnutella - naturally it contains highest number of search results and best speeds. And Shareaza offers perhaps the most comprehensive search results because it incorporates multiple networks, yet Limewire has more users (and thus more search results). But in pursuit of the obscure, other smaller networks offer a diverse ’set’ of search results from an entirely different clientele base.
Voted #1
Get the Limewire ‘Pro’ version, you can find it on various P2P sites. Ding Ding!! We have a winner! PROs: Great simplistic interface (Everything is on one screen - you don’t have to jump to other parts of the program, it’s all right in front of you); fast searching; awesome search filter options; side-by-side multiple searches; file preview during download; host browsing (to view files from a specific peer); in-program media player; spam blocker (to get rid of unwanted results) and fast downloads make this P2P application a winner. CONs: Still a lot of junk results in the searches, just like all P2P programs. Connects to the Gnutella network.
#2
Whatever you do, avoid that Bearshare Pro 6.1 version (see iMesh below). It even says “Legal P2P” on their webpage! For shame! Download the proper lite version from Filehippo.com. PROs: Bearshare Lite has the fastest speed of any P2P program. Songs were done in 17 - 25 seconds; no adware; search continues to update automatically; multiple search windows; loaded with options, easy to navigate. CONs: No in-program media player; launches Windows Media Player when you play a song. Connects to the Gnutella network.
#3
PROs: Opens *.torrent files; users can click the ’search more’ button for endless results; has search categories unlike others; uses different networks (with the ability to download the same file across them); has a nice status column feature. CONs: Fast and slow speeds for the same file (sometimes it was lightning fast, other times it seemed to lose the connection). No ‘bitrate’ column for songs; search was erratic (and not customizable). Connects to the Gnutella, Gnutella 2 and eDonkey2000 (eD2K) networks. NOTE: It has been reported that the original ‘Shareaza.com’ website has been hijacked by the same company (MusicLab) that owns the new pay-versions of iMesh (v7+) and BearShare (v6+). Avoid at all costs, and don’t search for Shareaza in a search engine - download it from the sourceforge.net website instead. Read the whole story at torrentfreak.com.
#4
The first thing after installing eMule is to go to OPTIONS > CONNECTION and check out your up/download speed settings. They’ll be set WAY too low even if you set it up correctly in the installation wizard. PROs: Completely freeware. Diverse search results with different servers in the main menu. Not bad speed. CONs: Takes a couple minutes to connect to both networks; is more complicated than some other P2P programs, but worth it! Connects to the eDonkey2000 (eD2K) and KAD networks. NOTE: There are other versions of eMule that we review as well - aMule, eMule Plus and iMule.
#5
TruxShare is a totally free P2P program that contains no adware or spyware. Looking for a program with lots of bells and whistles, wrapped up in a stylish GUI? Look elsewhere. Looking for good speed combined with LOADS of search results? Then TruxShare it is!! We generated 4,100 search results just for ‘metallica’! PROs: Completely freeware; great speeds (for our tested popular files); search ‘refresh’ for new results. CONs: Takes a few minutes to connect to all available ‘nodes’; default max. concurrent downloads is set to 4 (you’ll want to change this); no bitrate column for music. Connects to the Gnutella (G1) and Gnutella 2 (G2) networks.
#6
KCeasy is a Windows P2P program for the giFT file sharing system. Plugins allow giFT to support different file sharing networks. PROs: lots of information columns in the search results; multi-network connectivity; loads of search results; very easy-to-use. CONs: Only average but consistent download speeds. The installation is somewhat insidious as it hijacks the ‘TCP max. allowable connections‘ during install, and modifies registry settings such as ‘launch when Windows starts’. Users are then forced to change these things back. My firewall and antispyware programs were mortified. Connects to the Ares, Gnutella and OpenFT/giFT networks.
#7
Ares is not a bad little P2P program. PROs: In-program media player; fast searching; in-program web browser (what for?!); compatible with *.torrents, no adware; completely freeware. CONs: Just average speed, even with the most popular songs. Songs took about 1 minute on average. I don’t like the fact that there is no column for ‘bitrate’ in the search results; you have to ‘hover’ over each file with the mouse to see them. Search results are erratic, and NOT customizable whatsoever. This application needs some work. Connects to the Ares network.
#8
Soulseek is a P2P program on its own network, primarily focusing on independent and underground music, but most mainstream stuff can also be found here. Users need to “log in” to use Soulseek, giving a community feel to it, with a variety of user-created chat rooms. PROs: Lots of REAL independent music to be found here from unsigned artists offering demos, live tracks and mixes. Use Soulseek to search for that really hard-to-find stuff. Decent speed too >60KB/s. No adware/spyware. CONs: It’s more comparable to mIRC than P2P; users download from a one-on-one type scenario. Translation: Lots of queues - users have to wait ‘turns’ to download. Unlike regular P2P services, it is highly recommended to ’share’ music here - this factor weighs heavily on waiting times. Connects to its own network.
NOTE: For Mac users, use the SolarSeek program to connect to the SoulSeek network.
#9
Blubster v2.69 (Free version)
Blubster is a P2P program that carries music ONLY. You need not search for applications or movies. Also note that the free version contains ads and launches full-screen pop-ups. PROs: Full encryption of all file transfers (I like this!); way above average speed; lots of search results; easy-to-use interface; in-program media player; ‘bitrate’ column. CONs: Modifies the registry to engage on startup (among others); extremely annoying pop-up ads quite regularly make you feel like you’re on a porn site (except, of course, without the porn). Connects to the MP2P/Manolito network.
#10
Zultrax is a new P2P program, completely free of adware. PROs: Has at least some features for filtering the search; speeds are so-so (up and down); connects to a different network than the rest (ZEPP) for different search results. CONs: Absolutely NO way of knowing the bitrate of a song until it’s finished downloading; not many changeable settings; very few features; search comes back with a maximum of 200 results (and this cannot be changed), so customizing the search string is crucial. Keep an eye on their homepage - future updates may include newer features. Connects to the ZEPP and Gnutella networks.
iMesh v7.1 - No Rating
I include iMesh in this review because I remember it being a fairly decent P2P program. And it still is, if you like shelling out for your songs. I did a search for Metallica (yes, I like to use Metallica for these ‘tests’ because of the band’s opinion of P2P file sharing). The results? The only FREE downloads were the bootlegs. All the songs from the studio albums you have to pay for. PROs: Great quality search results if you like paying. CONs: Great quality search results if you like paying. A joke, no? Connects to the RIAA network. Another joke, no?
A different, more comprehensive list of tested P2P applications is on our Other P2P Methods page.
Another list of P2P programs can be found on Wikipedia here. Note that some of the applications and networks listed there are long since working, and also some of them do indeed contain adware, spyware and/or third-party bundled applications.
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