NZB-Tortuga has shut down. It closed in early 2020 and it isn’t coming back, so if you were hoping to sign up or thought it was just down for the day, that’s your answer. If you need a new indexer, NZBGeek is where we’d start. You’ll still need a Usenet provider too, and we use UsenetServer. Here’s a quick look at what NZB-Tortuga was and what we’d use instead.
What NZB-Tortuga Was
NZB-Tortuga opened in late 2016. It ran on Newznab, the software a lot of NZB sites use, and it had free and paid accounts. You could pay with Bitcoin if you wanted to stay anonymous. It also had a no-log policy, so people trusted it with their privacy. For a few years it was a solid pick.
Why NZB-Tortuga Closed
The people running it posted a short notice saying things outside their control forced them to close. They never said more than that. The site’s address doesn’t even work anymore, so there’s nothing left to log in to.
What to Use Instead of NZB-Tortuga
The good news is you’ve got plenty of options. These are the indexers we’d point old NZB-Tortuga members to now.
NZBGeek
This is the safest default. It’s paid only now, but at $12 a year it’s about as cheap as a paid indexer gets. Its API works with Sonarr, Radarr and SABnzbd, so your downloads can run on their own. Our NZBGeek review goes through the pricing.
DrunkenSlug
It’s reliable, well run and has a big community. The catch is that it’s invite only most of the time. If you can get in, it’s worth having, and we explain how to get a DrunkenSlug invite.
NZBPlanet
Free sign-ups are invite only right now. But you can buy a premium account without an invite, so it’s one of the easier good indexers to get into. Like NZB-Tortuga, it runs on Newznab and has free and paid accounts. See our NZBPlanet review.
If you’d rather not pay anything, our list of free NZB indexers covers the ones still worth trying. The full comparison is on our best NZB sites page.
You Still Need a Usenet Provider
An indexer only finds the files. To download them you need a Usenet provider, which is a separate account. If you used NZB-Tortuga you probably have one already. Starting fresh? UsenetServer (linked at the top) is the one we use, and it’s 70% off for our readers with 3 free months. If you’d rather search and download right in your browser, Easynews does both, with no newsreader or indexer needed.
Easynews is our top choice among the best NZB search options. It’s a complete all-in-one service with unlimited high-speed Usenet access plus a Usenet search that gives you accurate results. It’s easy to use. Just log into your Easynews account, type what you want into the search bar, and hit enter.
Other features:
- Highest retention rates / largest Usenet archive
- Retention grows daily (no Usenet posts are expired)
- Fast and accurate results
- Easy to use, fully customizable search interface
- No NZBs, indexers, or newsreaders needed
- Can be accessed from any device (mobile and desktop)
It also saves you the hassle and cost of paying for NZB indexers, since you get unlimited access and unlimited Usenet search with your Easynews account.
Exclusively through Usenet.com: Get 3 FREE Months of Easynews – Includes 30 day MBG + Free Upgrade to Unlimited (normally 150GB/mo)