Thundernews Review
Last Updated: Jan 20, 2022
| Rating |  |
| Price | $8.99 / Month |
| Retention | 5966 Days |
| Free Trial | None |
| Features | SSL Included |
| VPN Add On | |
| Live Chat Support |
Thundernews has been in the Usenet business for ten years. This Usenet service provider offers competitive pricing and servers in both the US and Europe.
Quick Facts
- Unlimited Plans: unlimited and metered subscription plans and block access
- A large selection of Block Plans
- Metered Plans
- SSL Encryption
- Live Chat Support
- 5966 Days Retention
- Free Newsreader Software
Binary Retention
Thundernews offers 5966 days of binary retention at last check. This makes them competitive with most other providers.
Pricing
Thundernews lets you choose between unlimited and metered subscription plans and block access. Unlimited plans come with a VPN addon option. There are block access options that come without SSL for slightly cheaper than the premium SSL options. We recommend only using Usenet with an SSL port to better protect your privacy
Premium Plans with SSL Servers
| Name | Price | Download Limits | Connections | SSL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unlimited | $8.99/month | None | 50 | true |
| Unlimited + VPN | $12.99/month | None | 50 | true |
| 30 GB/mo. | $4.99 | 30GB | 50 | true |
| 60 GB/mo. | $5.99 | 60 GB | 50 | true |
| 100 GB/mo. | $7.99 | 100 GB | 50 | true |
| 250 GB/mo. | $9.99 | 250 GB | 50 | true |
Block plans (SSL and Non SSL)
| Name | Price | Download Limits | Connections | SSL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 GB Block | $3.99 | 25 GB | 50 | true |
| 25 GB Block | $2.99 | 25 GB | 10 | false |
| 50 GB Block | $6.99 | 50 GB | 50 | true |
| 50 GB Block | $5.99 | 50 GB | 10 | false |
| 100 GB Block | $10.99 | 100 GB | 50 | true |
| 100 GB Block | $9.99 | 100 GB | 10 | false |
| 200 GB Block | $19.99 | 25 GB | 50 | true |
| 200 GB Block | $18.99 | 200 GB | 10 | false |
| 500 GB Block | $38.99 | 25 GB | 50 | true |
| 500 GB Block | $36.99 | 500 GB | 10 | false |
| 1000 GB Block | £41.01 | 1000 GB | 50 | false |
Free Trial info
Thundernews currently doesn’t offer a free trial. If you just want to try the service for a low cost, however, an inexpensive block plan is a good option.
Special Offers / Coupons
Thundernews currently offers a discount on your first three months of service for the Unlimited + VPN plan. With the discount, you’ll pay $10.49 per month for the first three months. Following that, your subscription rate will go up to $12.99.
Speed Test
Thundernews does well in terms of speed. They are among the providers that have US and EU servers, so users on either continent should be able to max out their broadband connections.
Connections
Except the non-SSL block access plans, all Thundernews plans come with 50 connections. The least expensive block access plans include 10 connections. All other plans offer an SSL connection, which we recommend.
News Servers / Ports / Configuration
Standard (Non-SSL) Server Addresses:
- news.thundernews.com. with NNTP ports: 119, 23, 25, 80, 3128, 7000, 8000 or 9000
Premium (SSL) Server Addresses
- us.thundernews.com with NNTP ports: 119, 23, 443, 3128, 7000, 8000, 8080 or 9000
- eu.thundernews.com with NNTP ports: 119, 23, 443, 3128, 7000, 8000, 8080 or 9000
- secure.us.thundernews.com with SSL ports: 563, 80 or 81
- secure.eu.thundernews.com with SSL ports: 563, 80 or 81
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Do I need SSL?
A: Thundernews offers very inexpensive block access without SSL encryption. This might be suitable if you’re not worried about traffic throttling or your ISP monitoring your downloads. For most other users, however, we recommend getting a plan—block or otherwise—that includes SSL
Q: Will this service work with SANnzbd, Sonaar and other downloading apps?
A: Yes. Thundernews comes with its own newsreader software, but you can bring your own, as well.
Q: Is this service safer than bittorrent?
A: Usenet offers excellent privacy protection when you’re downloading and, unless you’re using a VPN, it’s notably safer than torrenting. However, since Thundernews has VPN options, you can get one of those subscriptions and enjoy the best of both worlds.
Q: Is Usenet faster than bittorrent?
A: Most users will have no trouble maxing out their broadband speeds when downloading off of Usenet.
Q: What is Block Access?
A: Block access allows you to purchase a given amount of data rather than purchasing a subscription that expires over time. With block access, you’re only billed for what you actually download and, for infrequent downloaders, its often a great option. We recommend the premium block access from this provider for its SSL encryption.
Q: Will my block access expire if I don’t use it?
A: No. You own it once you purchase it and you can use it any time.
Support
Thundernews has a live chat option for support, which should make it a lot easier for users who are new to Usenet and might need a bit of help getting up and running. Thundernews has plenty of information on the site about setup, as well, and many users will likely find it more than enough to get them through setting the service up.
Contact Information
ThunderNews.com
719-D E. Greenville St. #155
Anderson, SC 29621
USA
Phone: 888-418-8545 for billing questions
Fax: 888-418-2878
Thundernews recommends using their support contact form to get in touch with them.
Security /Company Privacy Policy
Thundernews has a good privacy policy. They say they don’t share or sell your information with any third parties and they don’t monitor how you use the system. Unless they’re presented with a court order or a legitimate cause—such as under the DMCA—they will not disclose your information to any official agency.
Payment Options
Thundernews accepts major credit cards, PayPal and WorldPay. They recommend using WorldPay or PayPal if you have trouble getting your credit card to process.
Our Opinion
Thundernews is a good Usenet service provider. They offer competitive pricing and more than enough connections for most users. It’s also good that they offer customers the option of block or subscription access, since not all users need an unlimited amount of download data every month. While it may not be the best Usenet service, Thundernews does have a nice VPN add-on and, when one takes the price of both Usenet and VPN through this provider and compares it to getting both services separately, the savings are apparent. Thundernews is worthy of consideration if you’re in the market for block or unlimited access and need a VPN, as well.
