Usenet-blokaccounts Explained

A Usenet block account is a one-time data purchase with no recurring billing and no expiration date. You buy a set amount of download capacity (100GB, 500GB, or 1TB), and you use it at your own pace. There is no monthly fee, no auto-renewal, and no deadline. If it takes you six months to use your 500GB, that is fine.

Block accounts are the opposite of subscription plans. With a subscription, you pay monthly for unlimited or metered access. With a block, you pay once and use it until it runs out. Both types of account get the same features on NewsDemon: 50 SSL connections, full retention, free posting, and free VPN.

As a backup provider

The most common use. If you already have an unlimited plan with another provider, a NewsDemon block account fills in the gaps. When your primary provider is missing an article, your newsreader automatically tries the backup. Because NewsDemon runs its own independent backbone, our article inventory is different from the shared network that most providers use. Articles missing on your primary provider may be available on NewsDemon.

For light or occasional use

If you only use Usenet a few times a month, a block is more cost-effective than a subscription. A 100GB block at $5 lasts a long time if you are only downloading a few files per week.

To try NewsDemon before committing

A 100GB block lets you test our speed, retention, and completion rate without committing to a monthly plan. If you like it, you can switch to a subscription later or just buy more blocks.

100GB Block — $5 one-time. Good for testing or occasional use.

500GB Block — $15 one-time. Popular for backup provider setups.

1TB Block — $25 one-time. Best per-GB value. For heavy users who prefer blocks over subscriptions.

All blocks include the same features: 50 SSL connections, full retention, free posting, free VPN, and 24/7 support. Paying with crypto gives you 25% more data. See the full pricing page for all options and currencies.

In SABnzbd

Go to Config > Servers. Your primary provider should be Server 0 with Priority 0. Add NewsDemon as Server 1 with Priority 1 (higher number = lower priority, tried second). Set connections to 10-20. SABnzbd will only use NewsDemon when your primary fails to deliver an article.

In NZBGet

Go to Settings > News-Servers. Add NewsDemon as Server2 with Level set to 1 (Level 0 is primary, Level 1 is backup). NZBGet will only query NewsDemon for articles that Server1 could not deliver.

Conserving block data

Keep connections lower on your backup server (10-20 instead of 50). This ensures your download client tries your primary provider first and only falls back to NewsDemon for missing articles. Every article downloaded from NewsDemon counts against your block.

If you use more than 200GB per month consistently, an unlimited subscription ($5/month annual, $10/month monthly) is more cost-effective. If you use less than 100GB per month, blocks may be cheaper. If you already have a primary provider and want a backup, blocks are the standard choice.

You can also combine both: an unlimited NewsDemon subscription for primary use and a block account on a different backbone for backup. Our provider guide explains why backbone diversity matters.