Some people, a lot of people even, can get by just fine downloading files for free. After all, most premium account filehosting sites do offer free download options, albeit with some significant limitations and varying levels annoyances.

My goal here with this post is to help shed some light on why people might want to pay for premium accounts or multihoster accounts when a lot of files can be downloaded without cost with some luck and patience.

Reason #1 – Security and Privacy

Because of the way multihoster services have to work, there is a built-in measure of anonymity or online downloading privacy provided with each premium multihoster account. As represented by this crude graphic from our anonymous multihoster FAQ, when you download a file using your multihoster account, their IP address is what is shared with the filehosting site:

Anonymous downloads using a multihoster account

The filehosting site is represented by the server / box on the right. Unless you’re using a VPN or anonymous proxy to download files normally, your own IP address is shared with each and every site you download files from. This can be a security risk, and is certainly a privacy risk.

Using a multihoster account to download files effectively allows you to hide your IP address because you’re downloading using their proxy servers. This is true for all multihosters I know of, from LinkSnappy to PutDrive to Zevera.

Reason #2: Increased Download Speeds

Downloading files free from filehosters, especially those that sell premium account packages, you’re going to experience slow, low-priority downloads. Now, if you only download a few smaller files every now and then, or maybe download large files but don’t care about how long it takes or worry about them timing out before you get them fully downloaded and saved to your computer, then download speed is probably not that big of an issue. Or, if you have slow internet – like a 3Mbps connection or slower (384KB/s max download speed) – high-speed downloads won’t do you much good, honestly. For the rest of us, however, fast downloads are a great thing.

A single multihoster account can support downloading from 15 sites to 60+ sites to over 100 different sites. Some or many of these sites are premium account filehosters, meaning that you’re going to get the best-available download speed every time you download a file from the list of supported hosters. I don’t know about you, personally, but I know that a lot of people, when they download files, they like them to download quickly: usually as quickly as possible. This is what a multihoster account does for a large number of sites.

Reason #3 – Download More Files

Even though most premium account filehosting sites offer free download options, not all files available for download from those hosters are available to free members. They are what are called “premium only” downloads. If you’ve never encountered these limited-to-premium-members-only downloads, they are downright annoying. Sure, you might be able to find the files elsewhere, but chances are it’s going to be a tough search.

The solution when you encounter these premium-only downloads is one of two things:

  1. You wind up purchasing a premium account to download the files you want
  2. You just say, “forget it” and don’t download the files

But, if you use a premium multihoster account like Linksnappy and others offer, for instance, you can download those premium-only files with your multihoster account (provided the multi-host supports downloads from that filehoster site), plus you get all the other perks that come with using a multihoster for about the same cost as a premium account with an individual filehosting site.

Reason #4: Best Value for High-Speed Downloads

All things considered, multihoster services provide the best value for high speed downloads. At least, if you’re concerned with speed and privacy when downloading files. There’s almost no comparing the value of multihosters if you’re already purchasing or considering purchasing a premium account: 30 days with a multihoster and 30 days with a premium account filehoster cost almost exactly the same across the board. You get 10x, 50x or 100x the value and significantly more freedom and privacy with a premium multihoster account.

What’s more is that some multihoster services, such as PutDrive and LinkSnappy give members the option of direct-downloading torrents using their multihoster account. These multihosters, in a way, function as a seedbox of sorts, with the similar perk of anonymous bittorrent downloads. Sure, you could purchase a VPN for private downloads, but you’re then still spending money and won’t get nearly the same download speeds that a multihoster account will offer.

Why choose a multihoster service?

If you’re a regular or even semi-regular downloader, purchasing a premium multihoster account just makes sense. More freedom with downloads, better download speeds and an additional layer of privacy for you when you’re downloading files from filehosting websites. Which multihoster service will be best for you, I cannot say, but you can check out our list of multihost providers to see which service might best meet your download needs.

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