Supernews Review
Top10Usenet is a world expert in testing Usenet providers. Our picks have been featured on TechRadar, LifeHacker, How-To Geek, Tom’s Guide, and more.
Verdict: 2 out of 5
Supernews was founded in 1995, making it one of the oldest Usenet providers. At one point they were top tier, but have recently slid into more of a budget Usenet niche. Still, there are enough features that make Supernews worth a look.
Supernews Category Ratings
| Retention | 1/5 |
| Performance | 2/5 |
Privacy and Security
|
2/5 |
Pricing
|
3/5 |
| Getting Started | 2/5 |
Pros
- Unlimited downloads & speeds
Cons
- Lower retention than other providers
- Not many features
Supernews Features
- Cheap Usenet – Supernews is very inexpensive and sits on the lower end of the mid-tier Usenet providers.
- Up to 30 Connections – Supernews includes up to 30 fast SSL encrypted Usenet connections.
- One Plan – Available in monthly and annual pricing makes it easy to choose.
Rating
|
2 out of 5 |
| Retention | 1,100 Days in binary newsgroups and 5,000+ in text newsgroups* |
|
Security
|
SSL |
| Discount | 25% savings |
|
Price
|
$6.19/mo |
Usenet Search?
|
No |
* Number is an estimate since Supernews doesn’t advertise their exact retention rate.
Retention
| Retention Length | 1,100 Days Binary, 5,000+ Days Text |
Binary and Text Retention
|
Access to over 100,000 newsgroups. |
Providers have been racing to raise retention in an effort to distinguish themselves. Our recommended providers are offering 10+ years of binary retention rate, and growing.
However, Supernews has been a bit slow to raise retention. Their website advertises only 3+ years of binary file retention (and buries that number deep in the site). Even though retention is growing day-by-day, it is currently one of the lowest seen on the market.
We recommend a provider with spooling retention and a larger archive of Usenet posts like Newshosting or Eweka for better completion rates.
Performance
Supernews currently offers 30 256-bit SSL connections to help “defeat bandwidth throttling”. Having so many connections is a good way to attain maximum download speeds.
Unlimited download speed and download limit have long been appealing to Usenet users. While many providers choose to limit their community’s downloads, Supernews’s unrestricted download access is perhaps one of their strongest selling points.
Our tests showed excellent speeds. In fact, Supernews consistently maxed out our Google Fiber connection once we figured out the ideal number of connections.
Privacy and Security
Privacy is certainly one of the key concerns when discussing any Usenet services.
Supernews provides the signature SSL encryption to all 30 of their connections. This gives you enough security for your Internet service provider to not be able to distinguish the content of your downloads or track your Usenet activity.
Supernews doesn’t offer a VPN for additional online security, which is disappointing. Many other providers, including most of our best Usenet providers, include a VPN with their service these days, so it feels like Supernews is falling behind.
Pricing
Supernews package prices are slightly above average compared to other plans on the market. Their month-to-month payment will cost you $5.99 and their year plan costs $74.25.
Currently, Supernews is offering a discount of 50% for their first month and a discount of 25% for the year plan.
Bottom Line
Past their simple pricing model and proven reliability history, Supernews offers nothing particularly remarkable. For the same price, other providers will give you much more.
For a new user, the simplicity of the package may be attractive. However, the lack of VPN and newsreader may soon cause more headaches and decision fatigue than it is worth. On the other hand, for a veteran user, the unlimited downloads and speeds may be enough incentive to switch over, but the lower retention might be a turnoff. All in all, Supernews has long been a strong candidate for a Usenet provider. They have, however, failed to stay current with the community’s needs.
If you would like to sign up with Supernews, simply go to their website.
