Add to ChromeWhen comparing Torch Browser vs aria2, the Slant community recommends aria2 for most people. In the question“What are the best Torrent clients?” aria2 is ranked 4th while Torch Browser is ranked 20th. The most important reason people chose aria2 is:
Has support for lots of download protocols including BitTorrent, Metalink, HTTP, HTTPS and FTP.
Specs
Question Ranking
Pros
Pro Enables streaming media while it's downloading
Torch supports sequential downloading that allows users to download files in sequential order. That means that media such as video or audio can be streamed a the same way it can be with any other streaming service.
Pro Combines a social media obsessed web browser with a BitTorrent client
Torch is a Chromium-based web browser designed for heavy consumers of social media. It includes a features such as a media grabber that is capable of downloading videos from video sharing sites such as YouTube or Vimeo, a built-in player that's capable of streaming media while it's still downloading and of course a download manager that's capable of handling torrents. And since it has the same backbone as Google's Chrome, Opera, Safari or Vivaldi browsers it safe to say that it's reliable and fast. It's also compatible with all Chrome add-ons.
Pro Built-in search
Built-in search engine allows finding torrents to download right from withing the torrent client.
Pro Supports multiple download protocols
Has support for lots of download protocols including BitTorrent, Metalink, HTTP, HTTPS and FTP.
Pro Free and open source
Pro Small memory footprint
Due to aria2 being a CLI only tool it uses very little memory.
Pro Remote control over simple standartized RPC
XML or JSON-based RPCs can be used to control aria2 remotely with both APIs completely documented. Simplest client that uploads torrent to be downloaded is 3 Python lines long (no 3rd-party libraries, only stdlib).
Run aria2c --help=#rpc to see more.
Pro Third parties offer a clean web interface
Some web interfaces consist of pure HTML+JS, no server-side needed (except aria2c of course). It uses the same RPC that can work even over WebSockets.
Cons
Con More memory usage since there is a browser running with it
Con Unknown underlying technology
It is unclear what BitTorrent protocol features or extensions are supported by the browser.
Con Ads
The development of Torch Browser is supported by ads placed within the browser.
Con No native graphical user interface
While there is a web-based GUI, there is no native interface.
Con Ugly interface
Con Confusing to use
Built By the Slant team
Our AI does all the product research work so you don’t have to.
