UsenetExpress is a recent addition to the industry, but the team behind the service is no stranger to Usenet. They have been deeply involved in the Usenet scene since the early 2000s. UsenetExpress represents a new venture that differs from most of the market. There are only a handful of tier-1 Usenet providers and UsenetExpress is the latest to join this group.
UsenetExpress provides unlimited Usenet and VPN access for $10 a month. You can save by signing up for a longer term. A six month subscription costs $50 and a full year of access costs $90. The annual term brings the price down to just $7.50 a month which is quite a value. You can also purchase a 500 GB block for $20. You can add VPN access to a block for $2.50 a month.
Binary Retention – UsenetExpress gives users access to 1,100 days of binary retention across 110,000+ newsgroups. This is well below other tier-1 providers in the United States, but their retention is still over 3 years. Most Usenet users will find 3 years of binary retention to be more than adequate.
Speed – our ISP connection caps at around 60 Mbps which is below the capabilities of UsenetExpress. They offer unlimited Usenet downloads and 50 connections. You can upgrade to 150 connections which seems unnecessary. You will find that using the minimum number of connections it takes to reach your desired download speed will produce the best results. Otherwise you will put undo stress on your system and could actually slow things down.
Security / Privacy – UsenetExpress members can connect using 256-bit SSL (TLS 1 or 2) at no additional cost. We highly recommend using SSL to help protect your privacy while downloading from newsgroups. The UsenetExpress team also plans to add Bitcoin as a payment option soon.
News Servers / Ports – Connect to a UsenetExpress news server for binary Usenet access using port 563 (SSL) or 119 (standard). You can also use alternate ports as shown below. For now you will need to connect to servers in the United States. The UsenetExpress team is working to add servers in Europe in the near future.
- News server address: news.usenetexpress.com
- SSL ports: 563 and 443 for TLS, 564 for old SSL clients
- Standard ports: 119, 23, or 80
Support – UsenetExpress has a support page on their site to help you get started. You will find connection info and contact information. You can also reach out to the technical support team using the email address listed in the support area or their site. They also have an email address for billing questions during business hours.
UsenetExpress Pricing
- 500 GB block – $20 one-time (you can add VPN for $2.50/mo.)
- Monthly – $10 a month (unlimited Usenet + VPN)
- 6 months – $50 every 6 months (unlimited Usenet + VPN)
- Yearly – $90 a year (unlimited Usenet + VPN) Best Value
Payment options – members can subscribe to the service with a major credit card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover) or PayPal. The ability to use Bitpay is coming soon.
Bottom Line – UsenetExpress is the first new tier-1 Usenet provider to launch in the U. S. in several years. It will be interesting to see how the service develops. The best selling point is the combination of Usenet and VPN for a very reasonable price. We look forward to the upcoming servers in Europe. The addition of Bitcoin as a payment option will also be nice. All new members are covered by their 30 day money back guarantee so give UsenetExpress a try.
