BitComet proxy settings come with something most clients do not have: separate switches to skip the proxy for trackers or for peers. That puts a cheap, tracker-only setup one click away, and a leaky one just as close. Add BitComet’s headline feature, long-term seeding, which is precisely the thing that eats a per-GB balance, and this is a client where reading the meter is not optional.
Checked against BitComet’s Options help page and its changelog (version 2.22, dated 4 September 2026) in October 2026.
The fine print on our side
- TCP only, as far as you should assume. We have not verified UDP relay on our SOCKS5, so DHT, UDP trackers and uTP will not work through us. An HTTP proxy cannot carry UDP at all.
- Per-GB lines charge both directions of a seed. That is residential, and traffic past a shared IP’s allowance. The metering explainer has the rule.
- No encryption. A proxy relays; it does not hide the contents of anything.
- Your real IP shows on anything outside the proxy, including the two bypass options covered below.
- Not a copyright shield. qBittorrent’s own wiki recommends a VPN for that worry; see proxy vs VPN. And using our proxies to share files you have no right to share is not allowed, per the acceptable use policy.
Where the BitComet proxy lives
BitComet runs on Windows, macOS, Linux and Android. The proxy is a Proxy section inside the Options dialog. How you open Options in the current version, we could not confirm from BitComet’s documentation, so look in the main menu for it rather than trusting an old screenshot.
- Open Options and go to the Proxy section. The default is Proxy Type: No Proxy.
- Change the type to Socks5. The supported types are Socks4, Socks4a, Socks5 and HTTP1.1.
- Enter the proxy IP and port from your dashboard.
- Authentication is not covered by BitComet’s help, so we cannot tell you where it lives. No password field? Add your own IP to the order’s IP allowlist instead.
- Leave both bypass options, “Don’t use proxy for tracker/peer-to-peer connections”, switched off.
The bypass switches are a cost dial
BitComet’s help describes the option as letting you “bypass the proxy server for connections to the tracker or for connections to peers”, and it has been there since version 1.20. Each setting moves the meter and your exposure in opposite directions:
| Bypass | Through the proxy | Who sees your real IP | On the proxy meter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nothing | Trackers and peers | Nobody on those connections | The whole swarm, both ways |
| Peers | Trackers only | Every peer | Tracker requests: almost nothing |
| Trackers | Peers only | The tracker operator | The whole swarm, both ways |
| Both | Nothing | Everyone | Nothing |
The second row is tempting because it is nearly free. Just be honest with yourself about what it is: a tracker-level change, not a different face in the swarm.
What BitComet’s docs do not tell you
- Whether SOCKS5 or HTTP authentication is supported, and where.
- What happens to DHT, UDP trackers and uTP when a proxy is set.
- Whether the installer or the app carries ads or bundled offers.
- The exact menu that opens Options in the current version.
The UDP question is the one that can leak. Until you know, assume DHT and UDP trackers go direct from your real IP. Pick torrents whose trackers start with http:// or https://, switch DHT off if your version has a switch for it, and check what the tracker sees with a tracker-based IP check, a test torrent whose tracker echoes back the address it saw.
Long-term seeding vs your balance
BitComet sells long-term seeding as a feature: its site says the technology “can find more seeds”. Lovely for a distribution that needs keeping alive. On a per-GB proxy, every hour of it is paid upload.
Run the numbers on a 10 GB open-source distribution seeded to a ratio of 2.0 over a few weeks: 10 GB in, 20 GB out, 30 GB through the proxy before any overhead. The smallest residential order that covers it is 30 GB for $102.00. A dedicated datacenter IP is $1.90 for 30 days with no traffic meter; if your client really has to seed through a proxy for weeks, that is where the numbers make sense. Check the thread count on the order first, since more threads are a paid add-on. P2P is fine on our residential IPs and on dedicated IPs with no traffic meter, as long as what you share is lawful.
Keep the seed on a leash:
- Set a global upload rate cap before the download finishes.
- Stop proxied tasks at a ratio you chose on purpose.
- Save long-term seeding for tasks on your own connection, where the upload never touches our meter.
- Once a week, put BitComet’s own transfer totals next to the usage view and CSV export in your dashboard. More than a few percent of difference is worth raising; the honesty page says what we do when our number is too high.
The cheaper path: skip the swarm
BitComet also does HTTP and FTP downloads in the same app. If the project publishes an HTTP mirror and you only want the file, that is one download, metered once, with nothing to seed. Whether those downloads use the same proxy setting, BitComet’s docs do not say; your dashboard will tell you after one test.
Verdict
BitComet can be pointed at a proxy properly, and its bypass switches make it easy to pick exactly how much you pay. The gaps are on the UDP and password side, so test before trusting. For one ISO, go direct. For a client that must leave from another IP, use SOCKS5 with no bypass, a dedicated datacenter IP rather than per-GB residential, and a ratio you decided before the meter did. Comparing clients? The Tixati guide covers another client with tracker-or-peer proxying, and one documented leak.
Quick answers
Does BitComet take a SOCKS5 username and password?+
We could not confirm it from BitComet’s own documentation, which lists the proxy types and nothing about authentication. If your version has the fields, use them. If not, add your own IP to the order’s allowlist and connect with no password.
What does "Don’t use proxy for tracker/peer-to-peer connections" do?+
It lets you bypass the proxy for trackers, for peers, or both. Bypass peers and only tracker requests use the proxy: cheap, and every peer sees your real IP. Bypass trackers and the tracker sees your real IP. For a proxy that actually stands in for you, bypass neither.
Does BitComet send DHT through the proxy?+
Not documented. BitComet’s help does not say what happens to DHT, UDP trackers or uTP behind a proxy. Through our gateways, treat SOCKS5 as TCP only, so UDP will not work through us whatever BitComet does with it.
Should I use long-term seeding on a proxied task?+
Only if you have budgeted for it. Long-term seeding exists to keep a torrent alive and find more seeds, which on a per-GB line means more paid upload. Keep it for tasks running on your own connection or on a flat-priced IP. P2P is fine on our residential IPs and on dedicated IPs with no traffic meter, as long as what you share is lawful.
Top-ups start at $5.
One shared datacenter IP for 30 days is $1.25. A single gigabyte of residential is $5.50. The balance never expires.