Comparison of Usenet newsreaders

This is a comparison of Usenet newsreaders.

Name User interface Client type Downloading headers XOVER PAR NZB unZip or unRAR Integrated search service (retention / $$$/yr) IPv6 SSL/TLS Audio video streaming Price Platform License Other
Arachne GUI Traditional newsreader Yes No No Free DOS, Unix-like GPL
BinTube GUI Binary Grabber No Yes Yes Yes Yes
(3200 days / free)
Yes Yes Yes $59.95 / Free with subscription Windows Proprietary Streams media while downloading; free with Usenet service
Claws Mail GUI Traditional newsreader Yes [1] No No No No Yes No Free Cross-platform GPL
Forté Agent GUI Combination Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes $29 Windows Proprietary Shareware, includes 3 month newsgroup service trial
Gnus Text-based Traditional newsreader Yes No No No No Yes Yes No Free Cross-platform GPL Runs in Emacs; also does Email
GrabIt GUI Binary Grabber Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

( 30 days / $24.99/yr )

No Yes Free (searching extra) Windows Proprietary Usenet search service
GroupWise GUI Traditional newsreader Yes No No Varies Windows, Unix-like Proprietary
HCL Notes GUI Traditional newsreader Yes No No Varies Windows, Unix-like, macOS Proprietary
KNode GUI Traditional newsreader Yes No No Yes Yes Free Unix-like GPL KDE
Lynx Text-based Traditional newsreader Yes No No Yes Yes Free Cross-platform GPL Limited USENET support
Mozilla Mail & Newsgroups GUI Traditional newsreader Yes No No No No Free Cross-platform MPLGPLLGPL tri-license Replaced by SeaMonkey Mail & Newsgroups
Mozilla Thunderbird GUI Traditional newsreader Yes No No No No Yes Yes Free Cross-platform MPL Plugin support
Newsbin Pro GUI Binary Grabber Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

( $10/yr )

Yes Yes $20 Windows Proprietary Shareware
NewsLeecher GUI Combination Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Optional extra Add $10 per year

No Yes Varies Windows Proprietary Shareware
Opera Mail GUI Traditional newsreader Yes No No No Yes Yes Free Cross-platform Proprietary Part of Opera, up to version 12.17
Outlook Express GUI Traditional newsreader Yes No No No No Yes Yes Windows Proprietary Part of Windows, up to Windows Server 2003
Pan GUI Combination Yes No Yes No Yes Yes Free Unix-like, Windows GPL Gtk+
SeaMonkey Mail & Newsgroups GUI Traditional newsreader Yes No No No No Yes Yes Free Cross-platform MPL Replaced Mozilla Mail & Newsgroups
slrn text-based Traditional newsreader Yes Yes

(using macros)

Yes

(using macros)

Yes

(using macros)

No Yes Yes No Free Cross-platform GPLv2+ Highly extensible using S-Lang scripts (macros)
Sylpheed GUI Traditional newsreader Yes No No Yes Free Cross-platform GPLLGPL Gtk+
tin text-based Traditional newsreader Yes No No No Yes Yes Free Unix-like BSD Free software
Unison GUI Combination Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes

(audio only)

Free macOS Proprietary Development ceased; free, unsupported
Usenet Explorer GUI Combination Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

( 1500 days / $23.34/yr )

Yes Yes $35 Windows Proprietary Shareware
Windows Live Mail GUI Traditional newsreader Yes Yes Free Windows Proprietary
Windows Mail GUI Traditional newsreader Yes Yes Windows Proprietary Part of Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008; Windows 10 omits newsgroup and Usenet support[2][better source needed]
Xnews GUI Combination Yes No No
(Can create NBZs)
No Free Windows Proprietary
XPN GUI Traditional newsreader Yes No No Yes Free Cross-platform GPL
Name User interface Client type Downloading headers XOVER PAR NZB unZip unRAR Integrated search service (retention / $$$/yr) IPv6 SSL/TLS Audio video streaming Price Platform License Other

Legend:

active product
Discontinued support for newsgroups

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Claws Mail release notes". NNTP: Fetch XOVER and XHDR data in batches of 5000...
  2. ^ "Windows 10 Mail + Newsgroups". Microsoft.