What is a good ratio for upload to download when using torrents

Nathanpete · May 18, 2021

For context, I used to pirate, like a lot. But now I don't anymore. I now have a VPN and am still seeding various things though, although most of them are just free and publicly accessible photo albums, but comprised into an easily downloadable .zip file rather than a bunch of individual images. I use qbittorrent and other than I just learned it can still leak your IP address until you fix a setting, it has been fine. However, I learned a couple weeks ago, before I got a VPN, that qbittorrent was using more data a month than everything else was, and I just downloaded like 250GB worth of games on steam. Turns out I had seeded about 200GB and had only downloaded 100GB. So now I have a very tight upload limit in place because Comcast's 1200GB per month is very easy to hit when I have a roomate who normally uses 250GB a month. (According to his phone and computer when combined).

Anyway, now that I am pretty much a leecher, I was wondering what is considered a good or even great ratio for torrents. Like I once pirated CP 2077 v1.1 without a VPN, and I was seeding at full speed for almost 4 weeks before I got a DMCA alert, and had a ratio of >12:1

tikker · May 18, 2021

9 minutes ago, Nathanpete said:

I used to pirate ... Like I once pirated CP 2077

"Used to" sounds so distant yet CP came out barely 6 months ago lol.

Anything 1:1 or greater is "good" as then you've provided an equal or more amount as what you gained. If it's a private tracker or some community they may have put rules in place specifying how much you have to seed. For public stuff it's, well, up to the public