Looking for a Usenet provider that’s easy to use, yet offers class-leading performance at the same time? TweakNews, a newcomer from the Netherlands, has managed to quickly make a name for itself in the industry – and with good reason. Here, long retention times and generous rates meet a level of performance that even some of the most innovative and successful Usenet providers would find difficult to improve upon. And as if that wasn’t enough, the aforementioned rates include many features that even top competitors won’t provide out of the box – if you’re looking for the best value for your money, TweakNews is the place to go.
– Little info concerning the company is a disappointing blow to trustworthiness
TweakNews makes sure to offer a wide palette of payment plans that are truly compatible with any budget. Flexibility is a top priority here, as you can already tell at first glance. Even without a TweakNews coupon, it is possible to start using the service with only a negligible financial commitment up front. Just under eight to ten euros can be due if you decide on one of the subscriptions here. A major advantage is that TweakNews lets you select the runtime of your plan – from just one month, up to six or the more common twelve-month terms. This way, you are not forced to commit to an annual subscription if you don’t want to. Particularly from a financial perspective, this greatly cuts down on risks and makes taking the leap onto Usenet that much easier. However, one thing should be made clear: Shorter payment plans invariably go for higher monthly rates, even though you are billed less overall. Conversely, the longer the subscription term, the lower the rates – even without a TweakNews coupon.
However, TweakNews does not stop at solely the above subscriptions. There is still an entirely different set of payment plans to discover, the so-called block plans. With these, you purchase a certain amount of data volume – a “block” – at a fixed price. You are free to make use of this data credit for as long as you please, and only once it is fully exhausted will you be prompted to recharge your balance. For those who would like maximum flexibility, and don’t see themselves regularly burning through large amounts of bandwidth on Usenet, these block plans can be a true godsend. The only downside? Download speeds are limited on block plans, to a maximum of 100 Mbit/s. Also, the TweakNews VPN is absent here as well.
On the other hand, TweakNews does allow you to try out their software for free. As you can tell from my reviews on Alynsmith.com, almost every reputable provider these days offers some sort of free trial or demo period for potential customers to get some hands-on experience with their product before they commit financially. While usually only 10GB, in some rarer cases up to 30GB of data volume are provided for the sake of this test period, TweakNews distinguishes itself with some generous data volume during the free trial.
Try it out for free for 10 days
If you want to try out TweakNews for free and experience it for yourself, you can make use of up to 50 GB of data volume for ten days here. This offer is considerable in comparison to anything you will find with any other provider on the market – especially as TweakNews still offers you the same high-speed connections during the trial period as you would get under one of the paid subscriptions.
Another great thing about TweakNews is their flexibility with regards to payment methods. Six different options are at your disposal here. By comparison, rival provider Newshosting only allows two different payment methods, which not every customer will have access to – so TweakNews holds a significant advantage here. The available payment methods include:
This should cover all major payment methods used by the vast majority of consumers these days.
So what distinguishes TweakNews from other Usenet providers? I took a close look at every detail over the course of my TweakNews review and can now say with confidence: The provider relies on an excellent retention rate, first and foremost. To be specific, the official TweakNews retention number currently lies at around 4,200 days for binaries, which is more than eleven years. This means that billions of articles can be found through the TweakNews network. In addition, TweakNews continuously invests immense sums into their server storage to expand the retention rate by the day. That way, they can make sure to always stay head-to-head with the world’s other top providers.
What else makes TweakNews stand out in particular? There is the fact that high network speeds are never throttled based on data limits. With premium subscription plans, the data volume itself is also entirely unlimited. Especially for power users, this is a huge boon to productivity, efficiency, and the overall user experience. The only drawback is that TweakNews refuses to release any official numbers on how many newsgroups in total are accessible through their software. Whether this was a simple oversight or a deliberate attempt to hide a shortcoming is up to anyone to guess for themselves.
Those freshly signed up to TweakNews can choose from four different newsreader clients. Three of them are free to download, while the last represents a paid alternative. Options include Grabit and SABnzbd, as well as Unison and Newsbin Pro. The latter is the paid outlier, and in fact a very capable newsreader with lots of advanced features for veteran users. But which of these will suit your particular device and operating system the best?
A note worth mentioning is that Newsbin Pro, whilst not free itself, does offer a free demo. This lets you try out the app for 14 days. And in any case, TweakNews is also compatible with other newsreaders if you have any particular preference. However, remember that many newsreaders might charge prices of their own in that case. Also, you might not necessarily be able to re-use your TweakNews login details for accessing the newsreader if it is a third-party program that isn’t officially supported by the provider.
The company’s customer service has also proven itself as an excellent part of the overall TweakNews experience throughout my review. They are available in four different languages – English, French, Dutch, and German – and can assist with any inquiry or issues of any sort. However, they are only reachable via the contact form on the TweakNews website, or alternatively by email under [email protected]. There is also a comprehensive FAQ section on the aforementioned website, which can help with simple or particularly common queries.
TweakNews does offer an integrated VPN service, however, this is only included in the Premium subscription plan and cannot be used via the other packages, including the block plans. Those who consider a VPN to be an important part of the Usenet experience should therefore take a good look at the provider’s premium plan. It doesn’t hurt that that subscription option also comes packaged with unlimited data volume, full-speed downloads and all the other bells and whistles TweakNews has to offer.
No. TweakNews is an entirely legal business headquartered in the Netherlands that has been active on the market for quite some time. The provider delivers access to Usenet in the same way as any traditional telecommunications provider, and operates on a similar legal basis to do so.
If you want to cancel TweakNews during the trial period, you should definitely do so while you still have sufficient data volume. This is because the trial is automatically converted into a paid subscription once you have used up all your allowance. It is also important to remember that the cancellation must be effected within the ten-day window of the trial period, otherwise the same outcome – automatic subscription to a paid plan – occurs. The cancellation request must be filed in writing, and I would always recommend to ask for a written statement of cancellation at the same time, just to be on the safe side.
Which TweakNews newsreader you should choose depends entirely on your operating system and your experience with Usenet. You want to enjoy easy handling and use a clear, modern and simple interface? Then the Newsreader Grabit is definitely a great choice. This is also a free newsreader, so you don’t have to bear any additional burdens.
TweakNews works with 256-bit SSL encryption, which protects your data in the best possible way. Advertising and tracking are not found on Usenet, so you can generally expect more privacy here. With the premium package from the Usenet provider, you also get full access to Zero-Log TweakNews VPN software, so you can protect yourself even better. For all these reasons, the company can be considered reputable and safe.
In fact, you can also use your TweakNews login details for the newsreader, provided it is one of the three free options. However, if you decide to use the Newsbin Pro newsreader, you will have to create a separate account here.
If you are looking for a Usenet provider that can keep up with TweakNews, especially with regards to the excellent TweakNews retention rate, there are several alternatives. One is the provider Usenext, which has a ten-year retention period and keeps investing in new storage space, so it will remain one of the top companies in the future. On the other hand, the provider Eweka offers even more retention time than TweakNews with 4,540 days retention. Whichever provider you ultimately choose, both companies offer numerous advantages that make them top providers in my ranking.
Are you rather looking for a company that provides you with access to as many newsgroups as possible and clearly states this? This is only understandable, because TweakNews itself hardly provides any information on this. As an alternative, the providers Usenet.nl with over 220,000 newsgroups and Usenext with over 200,000 newsgroups come into question for you. While Usenet.nl is also a Dutch company, Usenext is somewhat better known worldwide and can boast six of its own servers in Europe and the USA. Both providers have in common that they use 256-bit SSL encryption and offer more than ten years retention – and are thus on the same wavelength as TweakNews. So you don’t have to make any compromises with these alternatives.
In conclusion, what can I say about TweakNews? First of all, the provider makes itself heard with some strong advantages like the flexible rates and payment options. The company also scores with the fact that it has maintained a stellar customer service record and also answers common questions on its own website. The fact that VPN software, newsreaders and SSL encryption are included in some of the rates also speaks in favor of TweakNews.
However, TweakNews also has small but important disadvantages. For example, the website does not state how many newsgroups can be found after logging in – content is also somewhat confusingly arranged throughout important sections of their website. Newcomers might not immediately get to grips with TweakNews, which could certainly be improved in the future. However, because these are minor issues and the provider otherwise offers a comprehensive and effective service, I can safely award four out of five stars.
“TweakNews should be more in focus simply because of the good retention time.”
4.0 / 5.0 rated by Alyn Smith
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