And i didn't say they're better than torrents, as they can do both. It's just the easier overall wrapping than using the regular torrenting-way we did since torrents first came up. It makes me even able to actually use torrents (if i wanted to).

And yes, of course usenet is faster than torrent. Sure you might have a fresh torrent with tons of high-speed-seeders that downloads at fullspeed. But if that one is a year old you're often outta luck. If it's 10 years old you're most likely outta luck. Never the case with usenet. Always, everything from the last 12yrs at absolute maximum speed your line (and the provider) allows.

"Free" is relative. If you're using public trackers, then yes. Private trackers either require to share a lot (ugh, no thanks and also highly illegal here, hence i would need a vpn) or donate. I pay 5 bucks a month for usenet and 25 or so a year for indexers (plural). That's one delivered (and shitty) pizza here.