Transmission vs. Qtorrent, which one is better to download .torrent files?

To download files, one of the most used options are the torrent downloads. There are many programs that allow us to carry out this type of download but, as usual, there are not so many options available in Linux. In any case, the options we have available are not lacking in quality, far from it, and they offer us everything we could want in a .torrent file client. But, which torrent client do we choose for our Ubuntu? Two great options are Transmission and Qtorrent and in this article we will put them face to face.

Installation

Both programs are available in Ubuntu's default repositories, which means that we can install them easily and quickly with a simple command from a terminal or search for it in the Software Center (If you have to look for it I prefer from Synaptic). The command is the same, but with the logical change of the application to be installed.

Transmission

sudo apt-get install transmission

qtorrent

sudo apt-get install qbittorrent

Integrated

In terms of design, to be honest, neither of these two .torrent file clients looks very attractive, but this is relatively normal in many Linux applications. Transmission shows us a very very simple window. As you can see in the following image, once we open it we only see a window with the File, Edit, Torrent, View and Help menus. Just below the menus we have the options of Open a torrent file, Start, Pause, delete and the Properties of the torrent. The Transmission image does not vary much if we are in a Unity environment (the one that comes by default in Ubuntu) or Mate (like the Ubuntu Mate flavor).

On the other hand, Qtorrent has more options in sight. In addition, on the left side we can also see all the states of a .torrent, the labels and the trackers. Qtorrent has taken care of the image a little more, but this is something that is not very important, at least from my point of view.

Features

Although Transmission looks very simplified, this is not to say that it is lacking in features. Both in Transmission and in Qtorrent we can:

• Open a .torrent file.
• Open from a Magnet link (both pasting the link and clicking on the magnet icon on any website).
• Create .torrent files to share them.
• Custom the priority.
• Set speed general maximum and minimum.
• Remote Control.

On the other hand, and although it may surprise by its more simplistic image, Transmission has the possibility of programming when to start and when to stop the downloads, something that is not possible in Qtorrent. What's more, Transmission notifies me when a download ends seamlessly, which Qtorrent doesn't do (it can send an email when the download is done).

Easy to use

In this sense there are two readings. On the one hand, Transmission is very simple for users who only want to download a .torrent from time to time. The good thing about Transmission is putting it to download and forgetting that we are using it. In addition, its "crappy" design gives it an agility that is difficult to match, and with this I am not saying that Qtorrent is going bad, but that Transmission is very very light.

On the other hand, Qtorrent is easier to use for users who want to have the options more visible. Actually, almost 100% of the functions that one has the other has, but the difference is that, if we want to consult or perform different actions, Qtorrent has everything more at hand than Transmission.

Speed

Long gone are those p2p programs in which we made long queues to download a file like eMule. In those networks, there were great differences between one program and another, but that is something that does not happen in the Torrent network, unless we find a really bad client. Regarding speed, Qtorrent and Transmission they are tied And, if we were to compare them to uTorrent, for example, I would also say that they all go just as fast. The speed in the three cases will depend on the seeds and, although it is not usually necessary, on whether we have the application ports open on our router. I have not opened the ports for a long time and I have no speed problems.

Which is better: Qtorrent or Transmission?

As Jarabe de Palo said, «It depends on how you look at it«. For a user like me who only wants a .torrent once in a while and doesn't want to complicate it, the choice should be Transmission. I click on the Magnet link and I forget. When the download finishes, it alerts me with a notification and that's it. I know where all the options are, although it must be recognized that they are more hidden than in Qtorrent.

If, on the other hand, you are a bit more demanding users and you don't mind sacrificing very little (minimal) performance, your choice should be Qtorrent. You will have more options in sight and less clicks away. Ultimately, you will manage multiple .torrent files better at the same time in Qtorrent than in Transmission.