Usenet Servers (1)

Company Speed Cap Connection Cap Daily Download Cap (2) GB/mo Limit Cost/Month (11) Yearly plan cost (11) Headers Included in GB/mo?(20) Notes:
airnews 300Kb

450Kb

1000Kb

2500kb

4000Kbp

3

3

4

5(28)

6(28)

None  none $9.95

$14.95

$39.95

$69.95

$99.95

$112.30

$168.70

$426.70

$789.00

$1,127.40

n/a 9, 14, 29, RTR, RET
altopia 32Kbps- 256Kbps  1-10 None  none $12.00 -$960.00 No n/a 8, 13, 14, RTR
easynews No  None  None  20.00  $9.98 (10) $120.00 (12) No 3, 9,  14, 15, 21, 25, 26, RTR
giganews No  10

10

10

None  3.00

5.00

15.00

30.00

$3.95

$5.95

$10.99

$20.99

(10)

$42/95

$65.95

$119.95

$229.95

 No 9, RTR
meganetnews   No  8 250MB

500MB

1500MB

5000MB 

7.50 

15.00

45.00

150.00 

$7.95

$9.95

$21.95

$64.95

$79.50

$99.50

$219.95

N/A

Yes     25
newscene 8KB

No 

2

9

None  none

5.00 

10.00 

40.00 

80.00 

$12.99

$12.99

$16.99

$39.99

$69.99

$143.09

$143.98

$191.98

$467.98

$827.98

n/a

No

8, 13, 23, 25 
newshosting No 

2Mb

8

4

None 

None

10.00

25.00

50.00 

none

$10.00

$20.00

$30.00

$14.95

$95.00 (27) 

$190.00 (27) 

$285.00 (27) 

$155.40

No 9, 10
newsguy No  32 None  3.00

30.00

$5.95

$9.95

$39.95

$99.95

No 3, 9, 13, 26, 30
newsreader No  8/Server None  30.00 $9.95 n/a No 3, 9, 10, RTR
octanews No

No

No

512Kb

1Mb

10

10

10

4

4

None 8.00

100.00

200.00

None

None

$7.95

$49.95

$79.95

$12.95

$16.95

n/a No

No

No

N/a

n/a

9, 13 25
flash   No  8 None   25.00

None

$9.95

$12.95

$99.95 No 9, 13, RTR 
supernews No  4 None  3.00

5.00 

15.00 

30.00 

$3.95

$5.95

$10.95

$20.95

$42.95

$65.95

$119.95

$229.95

Yes 9, 16, 22, 26, RTR, RET
usenetserver No 10 None none $14.95 $159.80 Yes 9, 13, 14, 25, RTR, RET

Always consult the service's Web page for their latest information and ALL plans! Various providers are now including other services with your usenet like e-mail and ways to get 'free' extra bytes to download, so check the providers site to see what extras they offer.

Notes:

(RTR) Reverse Trace Route. Click this link to see the current connectivity from the provider's servers to your machine.

(RET) Retention. Click this link to see the current retention data from the provider. Retention can varry by plan with some providers. Other providers vary retention based on the type of binary (single/muiltipart) or if the group is classed as a dump group.

(COM) Completeness. Click this link to see the current completeness as measured by the provider.

(1) Usually subject to TOS conditions. One point to remember about posting articles. Each provider has their own rules concerning filters. So while they may not directly limit what you post, they will delete anything that they consider to be spam. In some cases their criteria are defined on their web pages. In other cases you are shooting in the dark. Many services offer some kind of trial period, either a few free days or a refund for the unused time/bytes. Check the provider's Web site for details. Also, since this data is of value mainly to binary users, text issues may not be considered for inclusion. If you are looking, please check the providers web site since details may have changed. The providers web site also may list other features and options not listed here.

(2) Usually for a single user. Sucking feeds are not considered to be acceptable use.

(3) HTTP included

(4) HTTP available as a separate plan

(5) TOS defines more then 5GB/mo as abuse

(6) Binary retention <2 days

(7) Binary retention <5 days

(8) Binary retention 10 days or less

(9) Binary retention >10 days

(10) Price is for 30 days or GB, whichever comes first. Account automatically renews when this happens. Depending on the company, you may need to authorize the renewal. See the provider's Web site for details.

(11) Usually the yearly rates are discounted. These rates can include restrictions such as auto payment. This table does not list shorter plans (e.g. 3 month or 6 month) that may be available from many providers, even if they do not have a yearly rate. Users need to check the provider for a complete list of rate plans. In some cases, the yearly rate listed could be for two 6 month or four 3 month plans. Some plans are for 30 days.

(12) Price is for 1 year or 72GB, whichever comes first. May be available by mail only.

(13) Other rate plans are available. See the provider's Web site for additional plans and rates..

(14) Includes clari.* news feed. (Clari is now owned by YelloxBrix and not clarinet.)

(15) Posting limit of 200 per day can be changed to 5,000 by request. Multiparts count as 1.

(16) Downloaded data size is based on the encoded data size.

(17) Downloaded data size is based on the unencoded data size (i.e. real or smaller)

(18) Multiple options available. Consult the provider's Web site.

(19) Accepts third party cancels into their database. This is considered bad by many users.

(20) Yes means that header bytes are included in your byte quota. No means that they are not (i.e. You are not directly charged for them). N/A means that for speed limited accounts there is no GB limit.

(21) Downloaded data size is calculated by multiplying the downloaded size by .75 to get bytes downloaded.

(22) Supernews binary retention is for the lowest type of binary retention. This will be for multipart binaries. Users should see longer retention for single part binaries. If you need details, check out their web site.

(23) Speed limited plan not listed on web page. Contact the provider for details if you want this option.

(24) Provider offers an option that gives you an extra 50% of bytes if you use a special server farm. Contact the provider's web page for details if you want this option.

(25) Provider offers NNTPS, a more secure way to connect to the server using SSL..

(26) Provider allows access to the server on ports other then 119 which is the standard port. This is of value to users where the isp caps speeds on port 119 or blocks it completely. Check the provider to see what ports are available. Some allow any port while other provide only a few.

(27) Yearly plans allow the user up to 12 months to use the block of bytes.

(28) Access not restricted to one IP at a time.

(29) Header access is either not speed capped at the server or is capped at a faster speed than body retrieval.

(30) Unused bytes may carry over.

This data is from users, web pages or support staffs. If you are aware of any corrections/errors/omissions please contact me at the address below. Since all of the data is not available for all of the providers, it is only provided when I'm reasonably sure of its accuracy. I'm hoping that the support teams will point out errors quickly so that all users will have access to correct data.

If you are a provider and you do not wish to be included on the list please let me know and I'll remove the data for your entry. I will keep the company in the list for completeness.

At the present time, I'm not including newsfeeds, nntpserver or similar services and their resellers. Previous resellers who went out on their own may be included after an extended period as an independent nsp. Most of these services require you to use multiple servers to get good completion rates. This makes the normal readers that users have difficult or impossible to use easily. This is not what many users are looking for, so for now they are not included.

This is my personal web page. I include services that most users can select and get a level of service that they will find to be acceptable. So, to some extent, it does reflect my opinions about the services listed. There is currently no criteria in place to remove a service. There is no guarantee that if you choose a provider listed you will be completely happy. Likewise, there are services not listed, but listed on some of the links below, that may better suit your needs.

The WebUseNet, aka usenetserver, pages that displayed the daily posting volume and the post origins are now password protected so they are no longer available to the general public. As a result those links have been removed.

Links Description
Jeremy's list of pay usenet servers. 
newreaders.com maintains a very complete list of usenet servers. 
A site that attempts to offer additional information about a limited number of usenet servers. 
   
For selected servers, how much do you really get for your buck.  This site is really out of date and I really, really do need to update it!
   
A way to see who is feeding whom. Note that all of the feeds are links. Need help try the info page link. 
Visi.com feed volumes 
A site with some additional information about various providers 
Retention and completion data for a few servers  http://nntpstats.boolah.net/ is no longer avaiable.
A list of free news servers. 

Feedback

All information is believed to be correct as of 10-08-2007.