
Work with different types of Usenet indexing services and extract data from them via the suite serving as a standalone application or an API for third-party software. Automation options are available for the downloading process. NZB files and RSS feeds are supported.
SABnzbd is intended to download contents from Usenet newsgroups. In this respect, the app is specifically intended to support NZB files, a common file type used to distribute any kind of contents. Thus, the idea behind SABnzbd is not to browse Usenet directly; instead, you can get the desired data via NZB files. Likewise, it allows subscribing to RSS feeds.
The tool runs in the background. This way, it does not matter how slow the server is because it can continue downloading even when the app is not visible. Likewise, it supports scheduling data transfers to take place at the most convenient hours. The application has the advantage of automating the whole process. Thus, besides downloading NZB files, it takes care of verifying and extracting their contents without needing your intervention.
SABnzbd is accessed via web interface, which has the advantage of allowing remote control from other machines in the same network. Since it is full of features and settings, it may have a steep learning curve, so you may need some time to familiarize with its features. To make it work, it is indispensable that you subscribe to a Usenet account, as it is necessary to provide the name of your host as well as authentication data.
Compared with other similar tools, SABnzbd has the advantage of allowing smoother streaming. On the other hand, some users claim that download speeds could be somewhat slower with SABnzbd. Likewise, it seems to require more hardware power than others.
All in all, SABnzbd is a great choice if you need to download NZB files. Since the app was developed in Python, it is available for various operating systems, like Windows, macOS and Linux. Moreover, it is opensource with a huge community devoted to its constant improvement.