When comparing WebTorrent Desktop vs BitTorrent, the Slant community recommends WebTorrent Desktop for most people. In the question“What are the best Torrent clients?” WebTorrent Desktop is ranked 7th while BitTorrent is ranked 15th. The most important reason people chose WebTorrent Desktop is:
Before the torrent is complete, you can stream the video and audio. It even supports seeking - it prioritizes the current location instead of always going in sequential order. You can also stream to Chromecast, DLNA, and AirPlay.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Streaming supported
Before the torrent is complete, you can stream the video and audio. It even supports seeking - it prioritizes the current location instead of always going in sequential order.
You can also stream to Chromecast, DLNA, and AirPlay.
Pro Insanely fast
Download multiple torrents simultaneously, efficiently and fast.
Pro Open Source
The developers have their files stored on GitHub.
Pro Beautiful interface
Pro Support webrtc peers
It supports webrtc peers which increases the swarm to allow for websites to stream.
Pro Comprehensive test suite
Runs completely offline, so it's reliable and fast.
Pro Exposes files as streams
Fetches pieces from the network on-demand so seeking is supported (even before torrent is finished).
Seamlessly switches between sequential and rarest-first piece selection strategy.
Pro Supports advanced torrent client features
- magnet uri support via ut_metadata
- peer discovery via dht, tracker, and ut_pex
- protocol extension api for adding new extensions
Pro Full-featured
BitTorrent covers basics such as Prioritization, Selective Downloading, DHT, PEX, LPD and Magnet URIs as well as Broadcatching, Sequential downloading and Search. It includes MSE/PE for security. It has graphical and web interfaces. Has UPnP, NAT-PMP, NAT traversal for automatic router configuration. Has UDP tracker and µTP data transfer protocol support. Even covers IPv6, web seeding, Embedded tracker, Super-seeding and proxy servers. And it auto-updates.
Pro Clean and easy to navigate user interface
A clean, visually-appealing interface that’s incredibly simple to navigate and cuts down on clutter by allowing unwanted elements to be hidden.
Pro Easy to make your own skin
Pro Additional features with the purchase of BitTorrent Pro
If you pay $19.99, you will get features such as removal of advertisements and added support for an internal HD media player.
Cons
Con Missing some more advanced controls
For those who like fine-tuning something simple into something crazy.
Con No tracker exchange
Tracker exchange functionality allows peers to exchange information about trackers of a given file. It is another way of ensuring that the file is downloaded from the optimal source. BitTorrent lacks this functionality.
Con Proprietary
No source code is publicly available. As such there's no way to independently check what security and privacy features are implemented and how as well as whether there's any malicious code or not.
Con Data Leech
Uses way too much background data, while task manager and bittorrent up on the foreground and Bittorrent showing a combined 300kb/s up/download avg on the torrents & TaskManager showed it was actually using an avg of 1000kb/s. There is no way it should be using this amount, and makes one wonder what it's up to.