FrostWire
Free
Absolutely Free
FrostWire overview
FrostWire performs a smart search upon the most relevant torrent search results that come from BitTorrent search engines, meaning it remembers every file contained by every torrent it scans, increasing greatly the odds of finding what you are looking for, super-fast.
As FrostWire fetches search results from the search engines, it uses these results to crawl the Azureus DHT to learn about the contents indexed by these torrents. FrostWire will not use the bandwidth of the search engines in this process; it will only use the torrent info hash to perform DHT queries, meaning .torrent files are fetched only from the DHT, not from the search engines' Web servers. Its search power will not depend upon a central entity.
FrostWire is also capable of downloading directly from cloud sources [YouTube, Soundcloud], has a full file library and file player built in. There's also an Android app that can transfer files easily [on Wi-Fi] between their Macs and their phones using the FrostWire application.
Note: While the software is classified as freeware, it is actually donationware. Please consider making a donation to help support development.
What’s new in version 6.13.1
Updated on Oct 19 2023
- Release notes were unavailable when this listing was updated.
Information
App requirements
- Intel 64
- macOS 11.5.2 or later
- Version for Apple Silicon
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User Ratings
Oct 17 2023
Version: 6.13.0
The download links here at MU go 404. New links: (1) ARM version: https://www.frostwire.com/download/?os=mac_arm64& (2) x86 version: https://www.frostwire.com/download/?os=mac_x86_64&
Apr 30 2022
Version: 6.9.8
Note there is an ARM M1 native version available at the developer website.
Dec 31 2020
Version: 6.8.10
Since years the time is over for p2p - my opinion
Jul 15 2020
Version: 6.8.5
it opens and crashes since june previously used for past seven years
May 15 2015
Version: 6.1.0
I have been using Frostwire for years and have been happy, However, I launched Frostwire this morning and it notified me that there was an update available. So I clicked update and it proceeded to download the App which was about 50mb. (Twice as large as the normal download) I then was prompted to run the installer which I did. Al of a sudden I was notified by Drive Genius that there was am addition to my startup items and that Mackeeper had been installed. Also a larger window opened up and wanted to perform a MacKeeper scan. I removed the software immediately and will no longer use Frostwire again. Any software that installing MacKeeper without asking for permission is deplorable. Be aware of the update to new version feature.
May 11 2015
Version: 6.1.0
Google Chrome now flags this site as a MALWARE provider. I emailed the developer and they were very defensive about it. "We've always had adware inside the app. It's just Google is saying we're distributing it."
Personally, it's a lot cleaner than Vuze. I downloaded 6.1 anyway, despite the Chrome warning.
Jan 19 2015
Version: 6.0.2
MU> Current version is 6.0.4
I've just installed it so I can't see anything new except the installer also installs something called ZipCloud, which I've already trashed ;-) and changes your default Safari page to Yahoo...
Jan 13 2015
Version: 6.0.2
MU> Current version is 6.0.3
Globally works ok but ratios reset themselves sometimes on quit.
Also still crashing on quit, occasionally.
Nov 12 2014
Version: 6.0
Requirements are not correct. Frostwire 5.7.4 was the last for OS X 10.6.8. You can still download this release here: http://mac.filehorse.com/download-frostwire/4236/
Oct 11 2014
Version: 5.7.7
The "crash on quit" bug has returned with version 5.7.7, the trick I mentioned in my last post is still working. ;-)
Oct 3 2014
Version: 5.7.7
This latest version, 5.7.7, launches, but then immediately crashes under Snow Leopard 10.6.8.
The last version which ran fairly reliably under Snow Leopard was 5.7.4.
Color me disappointed.
Nov 28 2013
Version: 5.6.8
Well it's far from being perfect, but I could find some rare old stuff not re-released on CD, thanks to it!
Browsing Youtube and extracting the audio for you is definitely a great feature!
Bad things: weird behaviour if you resize the window, and crashes on quit.
Actually, I seem to have found a little trick to avoid crash on quit: close the main window first then quit! ;-)
Sep 25 2013
Version: 5.6.5
I think I am first here to give it 5 stars! But oh well! I am not a super savvy torrent person, but I get the concept. My objective is to download what I want, the easiest & fastest way possible.
I like that FrostWire let's me download just a few files from a big torrent.
I like that I can download from YouTube and Soundcloud too!
I like that I first get to search and then narrow down my search results by audio or video or torrent.
I like that all my music goes directly to iTunes, although I do find myself using the FrostWire player more often [still little buggy]
---
I don't like the chat - feels like something I would use in high school 10 years ago!
I don't like that the software closes for a long time. But I guess these are not a big deal.
Jun 21 2013
Version: 5.6.1
Utter garbage and still slow and clunky using java.
Mar 10 2013
Version: 5.5.5
Why do I ALWAYS have to use the setup assistant with every update? This sucks.
With version 5.5.5 the assistant can not be completed, so the whole app can't be used.
Sep 19 2012
Version: 5.4.0
Wow, I didn't know people were still using bittorrent. There are far better ways to get whatever movie or file you want without the risk of being sued and without relying on the snail slow speeds of seeding. There isn't a single Bluray movie I don't have access to without using this old, slow & insecure torrent protocol. Am I bragging? You betcha!
Mar 27 2012
Version: 5.3.4
It's fine for what it does, but without encryption control, stay away from this thing. Use Vuse (with manually forcing it off public channels) or Transmission (with full encryption and manually searched torrents).
Aug 25 2011
Version: 5.1.4
I seem to remember LimeWire and FrostWire both being Gnutella clients.
I guess it makes sense to become BitTorrent clients, as that is the only peer-to-peer file sharing system with any kind of claim to having a legitimate purpose.
Free
Absolutely Free
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