What's uTorrent Plus?

Martin Brinkmann
Dec 3, 2011
Updated • Dec 2, 2012
File Sharing, Internet
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38

If you have been to the uTorrent website these days you may have noticed an advertisement for uTorrent Plus placed prominently on the site. But even if you have not visited the main site recently, you may have spotted the uTorrent Plus application in the client itself.

So what's uTorrent Plus, and how does it compare to uTorrent Free? Both programs use the same core, you could say that all features of uTorrent Free are included in uTorrent Plus.

When you look at the comparison chart, you will notice that the company lists four additional uTorrent Plus features. The exclusive features are built-in antivirus protection, a HD media player, a mobile device converter and the option to download contents remotely.

These new features come at a price; The company is asking for $24.95 for a 12-month subscription to uTorrent Plus (with six additional months for pre-orders). It is clear that the company is not targeting tech savvy users with the plus version of uTorrent, as they would not really have problems finding and running alternatives to what Plus offers.

But even inexperienced users who may benefit from the all-in-one application approach that uTorrent Plus offers may be left in bewilderment about the additional features. The program is currently in testing and that may explain the absence of information on the uTorrent website.

Questions that remain unanswered include:

  • Which antivirus solution is integrated into the client. How does it compare, and how compatible is the feature with other antivirus software installed on the computer system.
  • What exactly does remotely downloaded content mean?
  • Which functionality is provided by Convertor?

You need to look around quite a bit to find answers to those questions. According to an Extreme Tech article the antivirus solution is provided by BitDefender. uTorrent Free users can download the Virus Guard app for their client which provides basic virus detection. The built-in antivirus solution of uTorrent Plus includes a larger database and virus removal options, which the free version does not offer.

Remotely downloaded content adds capabilities to uTorrent Remote, the web-based control panel of the software. It allows uTorrent Plus users in particular to download files remotely from the web interface. Users can log in from any computer to transfer files to that computer right from the client running uTorrent.

The convertor adds device specific conversions to uTorrent. The idea is simple. You add your mobile and external devices, like your smartphone, gaming console or hardware media player to the list of devices in uTorrent. You can then use uTorrent to transfer optimized contents to those devices.

The features that uTorrent Plus offers can make the life of uTorrent users more comfortable. Especially the ability to convert media before it is transferred to external devices from inside the software, and the ability to download uTorrent files remotely are noteworthy.

The antivirus protection on the other hand and the HD media player are additions that may not be necessary for the majority of users. It does not really make sense to use a built-in antivirus solution if system wide antivirus protection is running on the system. I personally like some of the features provided by uTorrent Plus, and do not have issues with the commercial version as long as it is not limiting the free version in any way.

What's your take on uTorrent Plus? Let me know in the comments.

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Comments

  1. milgie said on February 12, 2017 at 2:02 pm
    Reply

    Lol i remmber way back when i downloaded limewire pro from limewire haha..

  2. vsx said on September 10, 2015 at 5:24 pm
    Reply

    Get the free uTorrent, install, find and download uTorrent Plus if you know what I mean.
    Such vicious circle…

  3. roger said on December 4, 2014 at 6:49 am
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    Don’t bother no change to basic u torrent Just a con to get your money stay well away from u torrent plus

  4. Anonymous said on October 1, 2014 at 5:52 pm
    Reply

    They should cloud . . . that would make it worth it . . .

  5. Vamp said on May 18, 2014 at 6:30 pm
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    Face it dude it’s Verizon that busted you and you can’t get around it. If you use Verizon they can see what you’re connecting to and what you are uploading because they own your bandwidth and you just rent it from them. The only thing you could do would be sign up for direct downloads where you don’t share. The downloading is not the problem for you it’s the sharing/uploads. From what I’ve read you get like 6 times being busted with Verizon (first they will slow your speed) then they will cut you off completely. So I would advise against you using torrents anymore.

    1. Anonymous said on May 19, 2014 at 8:06 am
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      Thanks, that’s what I thought. Be well.

  6. harree said on May 18, 2014 at 8:36 am
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    I continually get notices from Verizon that the information that I have received from U-torrent is ‘stolen’. I have had them turn off my ability to connect to the internet until I completed a form on line, and promised to remove all traces of u-torrent from my computer. Will I get around this problem if I ‘purchase’ this (U torrent plus)program?

    1. Martin Brinkmann said on May 18, 2014 at 9:50 am
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      No, that won’t change that.

  7. kmo911 said on March 9, 2013 at 8:21 am
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    the speed on downloading main program lies at 12 kb/s. smells like a faker. a 5mb adsl line should be done in 40 sek not in 12-40 minits. yeah utorrent bugs us. same does skyepe in wista 7 and so on. win 8 does not pop up with comersials. plus are for idiots. somehow its to exspensive. no garanty for you get coaght by sopa pipa acta. if you use proxy and still you can be tracked it dangerous to be on net. just go offline and look for a whs movie then

    1. Vamp said on May 6, 2013 at 3:47 pm
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      kmo911,
      I could barely read what you wrote. Does wista 7 mean Windows 7 ? WTF are you talking about ? Please spell check from now on.

      1. TazzyUK said on May 15, 2016 at 2:14 am
        Reply

        He meant ‘Vista, Win 7 and so on’ I would think

  8. Frank George said on November 23, 2012 at 8:48 pm
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    Sorry. I have Utorrent 3.1.3 and I’m happy with what I have. Sure, extra addons to a previous program may help somewhat, but with an already superior antivirus, I don’t need another.

    Plus, 25 smackers a year may sound too much, but I’d be convinced if it were 15. You have online file deposit websites that give you more premium perks if you were to subscribe to them than having Utorrent plus anyday. with that price.

    Until I see a “lighter” version of this- the same way Kazaa did it back in the days before it all went downhill- then I simply won’t be convinced.

  9. flashcraft said on October 1, 2012 at 11:10 am
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    I think it’s way over the top expensive. $25 per year subscription for an antivirus you don’t need, another media player, another media converter. Downloading remotely? Well, I’m not sure how that would compare to running an FTP client, but who knows? If you really needed it, perhaps but $25 and by subscription? Somebody’s dreaming. There is no value here.

    A better model would be something similar to cell phone apps. Maybe charge $6.99 for a one time fee or $1.99 per year. Something people won’t even notice. There’s a reason cell phone apps aren’t $25 per year. mobiThinking and IDC.com report that in 2010 300,000 apps were downloaded 10.9 billion times (ya, with a ‘b’). Why not take the same model and apply it to utorrent? They would make more in the short and long run.

  10. V said on July 10, 2012 at 10:51 pm
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    Thanks Martin for this. Very helpful. Do you recommend any virus protection software as alternatives for the built-in protector? I am thinking of one that will pop up right away when I am downloading a torrent that has a virus/trojan in it.

    1. Vamp said on May 19, 2014 at 2:57 am
      Reply

      Not sure if it’s #1 but I use Vipre Internet Security 2014. Bought it on eBay for less than $30 for a LIFETIME, not yearly, for this computer (has built in firewall). Do some research and you’ll find it’s rated pretty high. I’m sick of updating every year and this seemed like a good deal. I won’t buy programs with built in antivirus scanners. I used to use Norton which wasn’t too bad but I wasn’t happy with their support. Vipre is a little better because I’ve written them before and they helped me. I wish they hadn’t sold the company to another because it was better back then.

  11. jctmi said on May 30, 2012 at 5:35 pm
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    I Was “Shocked” When The Website Of uTorrent Got A “uTorrent PLUS!” Version Endorsed/Advertised… Well, The Features Might NOT Needed For Everyday Normal Torrent Users (I DON’T NEED THAT). And BTW, If That Will Get Worse, I’ll Change My Default Torrent Client :(

    By Now, I’m Downgrading My uTorrent Into v1.8 And Starting “Deluge” Torrent Client As A Default.

  12. AngryBird said on April 14, 2012 at 7:08 am
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    if client gets bad in the future because of the money making i change the client…

  13. Htet Aung said on January 14, 2012 at 11:56 am
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    why do we need extra features plus version. My version v 3.1 is also compatible for me and I’ve considered no need extra cash for new features of plus……

  14. matt said on January 13, 2012 at 9:15 pm
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    does this mean you can save movies to an xbox because thats where im getting confused?

    1. Martin Brinkmann said on January 13, 2012 at 9:22 pm
      Reply

      You can convert movies so that they can be played on the xbox.

  15. farizko said on December 21, 2011 at 6:29 am
    Reply

    Excellent information

  16. Macco said on December 5, 2011 at 1:35 am
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    I wonder if they will add bloatware to the free version of utorrent when this goes live, and if so which will replace utorrent as the main client for most people?

  17. garth said on December 4, 2011 at 9:27 pm
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    why do developers insist on bloating a good software with “features” that are not needed? did someone from MS take over development?
    this is a bad, very bad money losing move

  18. John said on December 4, 2011 at 12:14 pm
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    Wouldn’t it be ironic to use a torrent to download utorrent plus?

    1. Rick said on December 4, 2011 at 7:36 pm
      Reply

      Ironic yes. Possible – probably not. Since utorrent went closed source many years ago, there are certain IP addresses that utorrent hooks into without showing up on their IP connections window.

      I’m guessing that these belong to utorrent – if so, you’ll need a crack and working cracks for online programs (say for example IDM) are not plentiful.

  19. Ben said on December 4, 2011 at 5:38 am
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    I’d say the only feature worth checking out Utorrent plus for is the remote capabilities. The other three can be achieved by installing external applications. It’s definitely not worth paying 24.95 every 12 months for…

  20. zack said on December 3, 2011 at 11:14 pm
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    uTorrent free is the best, I like Trasmittion very much!

    http://www.ideageek.it/nuovo-client-torrent-trasmittion/

  21. Mohamed Tair said on December 3, 2011 at 9:34 pm
    Reply

    thanks ^^

  22. Roman ShaRP said on December 3, 2011 at 8:55 pm
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    It seems that I just don’t need any of the features of uTorrent Plus. There are many external apps for that functionality, and I don’t need it built-in.

  23. Robert Palmar said on December 3, 2011 at 6:21 pm
    Reply

    Less is more for sure in this case.
    The “Plus” features are pointless other
    than the attempt for µTorrent to generate
    revenue which is their right should they chose.

    I still use µTorrent v1.7.7.

    1. Martin Brinkmann said on December 3, 2011 at 6:37 pm
      Reply

      I agree, I do not mind the idea at all and if they can make money out of it, even better. As long as it does not have influence on the free version of course.

      1. Rick said on December 4, 2011 at 6:18 am
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        They of course line themselves up squarely with the legal issues by receiving payment – regardless of whether they say it’s for the “other” features.

        One of the significant reasons for courst siding with content owners was that piratebay etc. were receiving payment for providing what torrent sites called links.

        This grab for money might be the start of the end of utorrent in its current form. I would keep those older versions around just in case….

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