| Ratings | |
| Overall |  |
| Price |  |
| Retention | |
| SSL | |
| Speed | |
| Anonymity | |
| Extras |  |
Astraweb has been around for a very long time. However, until a few years, it was known as a mediocre provider in terms of price and retention, even though you got a solid access to the largest data archive on the planet, the Usenet. Still, they stated to have tens of thousands of customers.
This changed drastically when they announced that they were raising their retention by over 4000%, which triggered a chain reaction among Usenet services to do the same. Now they claim to offer almost 3 years of retention while still providing you with high speeds and good completion.
Plus they offer refunds for 24 hours upon purchase.
So, let’s do a little checkup on the hard numbers, shall we?
Important: Although we still believe Astraweb is a good provider, we found a provider which offers you the same service for significantly less…If you use the “sneaky” discount link we found!
Plus, you get an exclusive newsreader for free, which we think is a great deal. Since we have no idea how long this hidden deal will be available, please check it out as quickly as possible:
Or want it even cheaper? Check out Newshosting.com – Same quality, under $10/month!
Read our review here or click here to lock-in the discount immediately.
Retention: 1214 days (over 2 years)
Anonymity: Since SSL is included and logging has been deactivated on their servers, downloading is 100% secure.
Speed: We were able to max out a 50 MBit connection using only a few connections, and even a 100 MBit connection we tested with delivered really high speeds, so downloading a whole BlueRay or DVD is a question of just a few minutes, which is pretty much as good as you can get with regular Internet. Also they offer two different server farms for EU and US so that you should get fullspeed whether you live in either region.
(Speedtest on a 100 MBit connection using the EU server. Click to enlarge)
Pricing: Now, here is where it gets very interesting:
Normally, an unlimited account with which you can download as much as you want costs $15 a month, but using a special (or “secret” is you want) URL you can now get a huge discount:
- Unlimited: $11 using our special URL, or $96 for a year ($8 a month) (Offer expired!)
- Block account (a good choice for casual users): 25 GB for $10, 180 GB for $25
This “loophole” to secure this pricing may be removed at any time, so we cannot guarantee it will last for long. Notice that the cheapest of both deals was already taken down, so you should take action NOW. Just use the link at the top to lock in the discounted price for a lifetime.
Refund Policy: Hidden in the helpdesk faq they give 100% refunds but only within the first 24 hours.
Other Nice Features: Astraweb offers both servers for the USA as well for the EU, so you can get maximum speed no matter where you are located.
There are 20 connections available, though this is not necessary to get a decent speed.
Recommendation:
Astraweb is definitely one of the best providers out there.
If you’re looking for top retention, incredibly high speeds and a very low price, Astraweb is definitely for you. Just click on the banner to signup.
7 positive user reviews 
1 negative user reviews.
Having only just discovered Usenet, I was a little concerned about how I would cope with something so new to me. I needn’t have worried, Astrawebs support were extremely helpful and provided guidance for me all the wayy. They were so good that I decided I would stick them and didn’t even check out any other providers, but from what I’ve heard they are one of the best. I sure am getting the best deal anyhow as my downloads are very fast indeed and I am more than happy to pay around $10 dollars a month to get all the episodes and music my kids wanna have at the click of a button. Thank you Astraweb.
I’m currently getting the Astraweb three month block as it is cheaper than the regular package, unlimited downloads for 3 month, all for 40 bucks. But it’s awesome that with your link there is a way to pay even less, thank you guys! I prefer to pay some money and get a great service, than have to wait around for my downloads with rapidshare and Megaupload. I get full speeds, almost 100% completion rate so far. Great customer service as I had a few minor issues with how I would pay for this, but got it all sorted out quickly and opted for the block. Great privacy for downloading anything you want too. I have no issues with Astraweb whatsoever!
The 11$ offer is awesome man!. ..I couldn’t have thought of a better deal……Thx!
Personally, I think the $96/yr plan is a little better than $11 a month, lol. Super glad to see the deal is back on!
Oh, don’t worry
Astraweb is *so* much faster than Megaupload, so don’t even worry about that. You’ll be amazed! It’s definitely worth the $10.
I’m mainly concerned with how well the privacy aspect of this service is handled. Has anyone run into any problems, or have any information to share? It looks like a good buy for the money otherwise…
I have similar questions – plus, how are the payments handled?
I love the long retention time! Two years is definitely long enough.
As a user in the IK, I’m glad that the download speeds are still good over here. Astraweb is the best there is in that dept, considering the price and all the other features.
Looks like Astraweb has made a complete turnaround! I remember them from a while back, and they weren’t really as great as I’d hoped… but now it looks like they’ve totally revamped their business. I’m strongly considering trying them out again, and using your “secret” link of course!
I’m also a UK user, and I love the fast speeds. There are companies that are just as fast here, but not with Astraweb’s amazing retention time.
Great reciew, it really answered a lot of my questions. I don’t think I’ll be putting Astraweb to the test as thoroughly as you have (although I’d definitely download more if I had the unlimited package, lol), but I’m sure they’re good for my needs.
I’ve been with them now for around 4 years and been very satisfied with retention,speed, and completions. Unfortunately, since around October, I have noticed their completion rate decreasing. Now I need to sign up with a second party in order to get 99%+ completions.
I too signed up for the yearly deal and looking to get a refund and out of Astraweb. Btw, I’m in Canada. The US Servers are terrible, but the European ones seem to have more retention.
Decent speeds, hit or miss on completion though. Seems to have gotten better recently.
Account management is basically non-existent. No notifications when your account is coming due and no refunds – just got billed $96 for service that I no longer want or need (switched to a cheaper provider that has proven to be just as good). Awaiting resolution but I don’t expect good news. Because of that, overall I have to give them 1 star.
Was very happy with them for 2 years, but found a cheaper provider that offers the same unlimited downloads with connections and the same retention. Plus billing is monthly so I can cancel at any time.