Current Usenet/Newsgroups Provider Deals (Updated 01/03/2008)

The goal of this thread is to have an ongoing list of the current deals/specials on Usenet providers/search engines/etc. The listed deals are just the specials. The providers also offer standard monthly accounts which usually cost around $15 per month.

Please post new deals and I will add them to the original post.

Special Usenet Provider Deals:

Ngroups.NET - $39.97 for 3 months

-- Unlimited access
-- 100+ Days Retention
-- 12 connections
-- SSL

BlockNews.Net - $28.95 for first 3 months, $42.00 thereafter

-- Unlimited access
-- 100+ Days Retention
-- ??? connections
-- SSL

NewsRazor.net - $10.95 per month for 3 months

Expires: Unknown
After 3 months subscription price automatically increases to $14.95 per month

-- Unlimited access
-- 60+ Days Retention
-- 10 connections
-- NO SSL

Astraweb.com - $25 for 90GB block account

Block account does not expire

-- 115+ Days Retention
-- 50 connections
-- Headers are not counted towards quota
-- NO SSL

Megabitz.net - $23.95 for 100GB block account; $28.95 for first 3 months, $39.95 thereafter

Block account does not expire

-- Unlimited Access
-- 110+ Days Retention
-- 20 connections (block account), 8 connections (quarterly account)
-- SSL
-- 8 day free trial (user must actively cancel)

Usenet-News.net - $24 for 100GB block account

Block account does not expire

-- 100+ Days Retention
-- 20 connections
-- 10% of your download is not counted against quota to make up for headers
-- SSL

UsenetServer.com - $39.95 for 3 months; $3.00 for 3 days

Expires: Unknown
UsenetServer is one of the big players in Usenet. The are a big Usenet reseller.

-- Unlimited access
-- 101+ Days Retention
-- 10 connections
-- SSL

POWERUSENET.com - Power User: $9.99 per month for 2 months; Secure Power User: $12.99 per month for 2 months

Prices increase to $14.95 (Power User) and 19.99 (Secure Power User) after two months.

-- Unlimited access
-- 105+ Days Retention
-- 6 connections (Power User); 12 connections (Secure Power User)
-- SSL (Secure Power User)
-- 5 Day free trial (user must actively cancel)

Giganews.com - $19.99 for 1st month, $29.99 thereafter

Expires: Unknown
Giganews is another big player in Usenet. Pricey but they have an excellent reputation and are known for their very long retention rates.

-- Unlimited access
-- 200+ Days Retention
-- 20 connections
-- SSL
-- 3 day free trial (user must actively cancel)

Agent Premium Newsgroups - $9.95 for 60GB block account

Block account does not expire

-- 40+ Days Retention
-- Headers count AGAINST the block account quota
-- 4 connections
-- NO SSL
-- Free trials offered (user must actively cancel)

UseNeXT.com - See website. Strange pricing.

-- Up to 120 Days Retention
-- Site does not specify number of connections
-- NO SSL
-- 14 day free trial offered (user must actively cancel)

Teranews.com - 50MB per day for one time $3.95 charge

This looks like a good deal for someone who needs text/discussion group access. No details on retention, SSL, etc.

Triton.net - $1 first month, $8.95 thereafter

Website does not give specifications. One user reported 100+ days retention for some groups and 6mb+ download speeds.

Special Usenet Search Engine Deals:

Newzbin.com - Half price access (Roughly $12 USD for a year of service)

-- Expires Dec 28, 2007

If any of y'all know of other good Usenet deals, please post. Would be nice to morph this thread into an ongoing Usenet deals thread. similar to the FAR HD enclosures thread or similar.

Good deal on the Ngroups. Which I had known about that before I switched my provider to:

UseNetServer - $39.99 for 3 months
Uknown expiration (Never?)

Unlimited Bandwidth
101 day retention
10 Connections
SSL

I've been using them for the past 2 weeks and they're pretty good. I can always max my bandwidth out at will, but I always seem to have problems connecting to them. Sometimes two or three connections will connect but the other seven won't. They all eventually do connect, but it is just a small hassle. However, I have not had any problems with, nor do I think any company's service can compare to:

Giganews - $29.99 month/$19.99 first month
Unknown expiration (Never?)
Unlimited Bandwidth
200 days retention (WOW! This made binsearch.info expand its search records to go further back.)
20 Connections
SSL

Clearly, not a "hot" deal by any means, but for top notch service, Giganews takes the cake with ease. All 20 connections always connect. The servers have never been down to my knowledge, oh and did you see the 200 days retention?!?! Comes in handy much more than once, believe me.

I've always found EasyNews to offer a great interface. Has anyone had any problems with EasyNews?

DonBlack said: I've always found EasyNews to offer a great interface. Has anyone had any problems with EasyNews?

Yeah, though I do not have service with them, I like to use their nfo daily archive list too. It's a great summary of what was uploaded/available daily.

For block account, I like www.megabitz.net. 110Gb for $23.95. Free headers, free SSL.

zhelder said: I'll admit I've been out of the Usenet loop for a few years now, but don't most ISPs provide Usenet access or has that changed? My use dropped pretty dramatically between AOL's dropping access and the proliferation of site-based forums and blogs, but I've been thinking about checking out my old haunts. But at these prices? YIKES!

If you just want to participate in discussion newsgroups, you can access usenet newsgroups for free with Google Groups.

Anybody know of another provider that rivals Easynews' Global Search feature - They make it so painless and easy, I can't imagine not being able to use it. But, lately my FiOS speeds have not been maxed out with them, so if there's someone else that can offer the same feature, and better speed, they might be worth looking into...

Thanks..

I use Newshosting.com. They're pretty damn good. I max out my connection (1.3MB/sec) and their retention rates are pretty decent (100+ for NHXL service).

I pay $100 every 6 months block payment. Comes out to $16.66/mo. A little steep, but worth it IMO. If I had lots of $ to burn, I'd definitely go with Giganews. They're the best provider, hands down.

seekay said: Does anyone have any real experience with Ngroups.Net? I've been with Astraweb for a few years now (before that UsenetServer.com for a few years) and really like it... But the $5.00/month savings is rather tempting, especially since my usage has drop substantially in the last year.

As of this posting I have had them for ~24 hours. With my 5mb cable modem connection I seem to get ~4.5mb consistently. Of course I know 24 hours of experience doesn't really mean much but I am happy so far.

DonBlack said: All of these sites claim not to log IPs. Still, I wonder if they can be subpoenaed by the RIAA...Any one can subpoena any one, but the problem is if they really do not have information they will just write so. Thus, the question is if they required by the (Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism) law to collect the information.

poohbie said: Do any of these newsgroup providers include a search engine, so you don't have to download a ton of headers to find what you want?
Or are binary search engines only a separate for-pay service?
I'm not sure if these providers do, but you could always use newsleech.com or binsearch.net to search for .nzb files to open with GrabIT or NewsBinPro or whatever.

Just to chime in, Astraweb has given me no issues for the last 2 years. At $15/mo and unlimited bandwidth, no complaints!

I do use newzbin myself, however a free nzb search is Free NZB search engine

UseNext.com is what I use and the application that they provide works great, very easy to use.
75 gig a month special right now
$24.05 *
19,95 € (EU price)
per month
Term 3 months

http://Usenet-News.net is a great site. They count header downloading, but to make up for it, they don't count 10% of your downloads. So, if you strictly use NZBs, you come out ahead. For a block provider, $24/100GB is not a bad deal.

I use Usenetserver.com for the past 3 years or so. It has been fantastic up until the past couple months. They had some hiccups with 400 connection errors.

Besides that (which now seems to be fixed), it always maxes me out. Their retention is 100 days, but I have found that it seems to be a little longer. I have grabbed files being 110 days before. Their usenet search is among the best I have seen, and for $39.95/3 months is a great deal.

2 thumbs up!

I have been using readnews.com for the last 16 months. The service has been steady and I have always received the full stated bandwidth. It is an unlimited account which gives you 4 streams of 1 mbit each. I have found it delivers on that rate exactly and never any less. It costs $12.50 per months or $120.00 per year. I have found multipart binary retention to be about 45 days at the minimum no matter what they state. It may not be the longest, but it is inexpensive and they have proven stable for me.

I've used newshosting.com for the last couple years. $14.95/mo (cheaper for 6 or 12mo) unlimited, 8 connections, 99+% completion. No SSL though. I get 70+ days retention, but new accounts state 45 days for that tier. I think I'm probably just grandfathered or something. At either rate, it used to be one of the best deals all things considered, but I have seen better lately. It has proved to be very reliable and always no worse then advertised retention and completion, so that may be a good thing for some people worth forgoing a few features from smaller less stable outfits. Somone once pointed me to a place that was also $14.95/mo normal price with like 90 day 99+% retention, 8 or 12 connections (cant remember),SSL, and unlimited of course, but I cant remember for the life of me what it is. I think whatever one that was would be the way to go for a new account.

I was ready to sign up for Ngroups ($30/quarter), until I read your post. Can someone point me to which host Etch mentioned below?
Etch said: I've used newshosting.com for the last couple years. $14.95/mo (cheaper for 6 or 12mo) unlimited, 8 connections, 99+% completion. No SSL though. I get 70+ days retention, but new accounts state 45 days for that tier. I think I'm probably just grandfathered or something. At either rate, it used to be one of the best deals all things considered, but I have seen better lately. It has proved to be very reliable and always no worse then advertised retention and completion, so that may be a good thing for some people worth forgoing a few features from smaller less stable outfits. Somone once pointed me to a place that was also $14.95/mo normal price with like 90 day 99+% retention, 8 or 12 connections (cant remember),SSL, and unlimited of course, but I cant remember for the life of me what it is. I think whatever one that was would be the way to go for a new account.

It's that time of year again at Newzbin: the HALF PRICE SALE is now on at http://www.newzbin.com

So we've rolled around to that time of year again already. Apparently there's a growing tradition that we have a half price sale at this time of year, so being eager to please, here is this years!

As of the posting of this news item, until 31st December 2009 23:59:59 GMT, all topups cost 15 pence sterling a week instead of the usual 30 pence! (15 pence is about 25 US cents, or 16 eurocents)

That is, when the clocks roll over to 2010 in the UK, the price will revert. For the avoidance of doubt, that will be 7pm on New Year's Eve in New York, or 11am on New Year's Day in Sydney. I hope this is clear this year

So this year you have nearly a full month to get your topups in, our longest ever sale!

Clearly the current and future climate are going to be rather more turbulent than the economic boom we've all enjoyed for the past decade. No company can guarantee they're going to exist in the years to come and sadly Newzbin is no exception. However, we're still here now, and we have every intention of that remaining the case for the forseeable future.

So have a merry Christmas if you're that way inclined, or happy holidays if you're not, and do have a beer in our name at your New Year's party

Update #1: Please note that manaul bank transfers and Amazon gift certificates are not included in this sale, because we have to credit them manually which takes up time. If we had a deluge of these then we'd be sat here till the New Year sorting them out. The few that we've had so far have been honoured at the sale rate because I forgot to mention it, but none after today will. Bank transfers and Amazon certs are still 40p a week.

Update #2: Invites have been relaxed so most of you will be able to invite new friends to the site. You'll get new invites either immediately or within a few days; just keep checking back.

Update #3: Anyone who topped up before the sale started will have to wait 7 days from that date before they can topup again.