The best Usenet providers make it simple and easy for new and experienced users to get the most out of accessing, using, and downloading from Usenet.
Usenet itself is one of the oldest parts of the Internet, and in all that time it hasn't changed much. This means it can be difficult for modern internet users to get to grips with. And with all the Usenet providers out there, how can you tell which ones are worth your money? Here are the criteria TechRadar uses when evaluating the best service options:
- Make it easy to connect to Usenet and access the posts you want.
- Have long retention periods, providing access to recent posts, along with many years of older posts.
- Grow their storage capacity to continually offer a larger Usenet archive.
- Include Usenet search capability with their service.
- Have fast network speeds because when transferring data, every millisecond counts.
(opens in new tab)Retention is one of the most important factors to look for in a Usenet provider. The longer the retention, the larger the archive of posts available to you, and the better the experience.
To get the most out of your Usenet subscription, choose a provider that has:
- Long retention periods (5,035+ days)
- The same retention level for all newsgroups
- A clear retention policy
- Day-by-day retention growth
- Enough storage to never expire posts from its servers
Many Usenet providers limit their retention, providing only a fraction of Usenet’s posting history archive. Some even delete Usenet posts at unpredictable times so you’ll never know when posts you might want will vanish from their servers.
Therefore, the best Usenet providers will offer strong retention rates, making this is a key way to differentiate them from the rest of the field. However, how do you choose from the rest that are left? This is where we hope our review coverage below will help, with more detailed and lengthy reviews linked from each provider section for if you want to find out more.
Below we'll therefore list the best Usenet providers currently available:
The best Usenet providers of 2023 in full:
Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.
Newshosting is the best Usenet provider as evaluated by our experts. A strong all-rounder of a Usenet service, it has the fastest speeds and best retention with the most complete archive of Usenet posts (over 120,000 newsgroups and almost 14 years of binary and text retention).
Newshosting has the largest Usenet archive available from any provider. Their retention grows day by day as more posts stream onto Usenet.
Other Usenet providers temporarily store files posted to Usenet and discard them after a short time if those files aren’t requested straight away by enough users. Newshosting, instead, keeps every file posted to Usenet, regardless of how old it is or how many users are requesting it. So no matter how old or unpopular the post is that you are looking for on Usenet, Newshosting likely will have it waiting for you.
Newshosting operates multiple US and European server farms for fast speeds globally. All plans include unlimited downloads and a high-quality newsreader app with Usenet search and file previewing built-in, making it easy to find articles posted to newsgroups. A free, if basic, VPN service is icing on the cake.
Through this exclusive TechRadar promo, get 3 FREE MONTHS of unlimited Usenet downloads with unlimited speeds, 100 total connections, plus a free newsreader with built-in Usenet search. A free unlimited VPN account is also included for extra online security.
More detail about Newshosting and our evaluation.
Newshosting tested the fastest during our download speed tests. We learned that they buy premium connections into all major ISP networks instead of cheaper bandwidth that gets overcrowded during peak traffic times which many providers use to lower costs.
It also passed our tests in retrieving old Usenet posts we could not find from other Usenet providers. There’s very little to complain about, save for their basic VPN client and English only tech support, but the core Usenet service is the best we found in our research.
Newshosting is well priced, especially considering you get access to the most retention and fastest speeds, a free newsreader with Usenet search, and a free VPN. You will be hard-pressed to find a better value. TechRadar visitors exclusively get 3 FREE MONTHS of unlimited Usenet downloads with no speed caps plus 100 SSL connections, saving you 70% on our top recommended Usenet provider.
Read our full Newshosting review.
(opens in new tab)- EXCLUSIVE OFFER [70% OFF]: Get 3 FREE Months of Unlimited High-Speed Downloads + a Free Newsreader with Search [Limited-Time Only] (opens in new tab)
- EXCLUSIVE OFFER [30% OFF]: Get 1 Month of Unlimited High-Speed Downloads [Limited-Time Only] (opens in new tab)
[Official Promotion - 27% Off lifetime discount] Eweka - 7 Day unlimited GB free trial, then 27% off + Free High Speed Upgrade (opens in new tab)
Eweka is an independent, EU-based Usenet provider that owns and operates the data center housing its Usenet farm. During our testing, Eweka delivered comparably high completion rates, meaning we were generally able to find posts on their servers not found elsewhere. Eweka is a good option for either primary or secondary Usenet server access.
Eweka also operates its own trans-Atlantic Usenet backbone for fast and reliable speeds regardless of your location. Our own speed tests showed that we were able to max out our local ISP’s full bandwidth speed with the unlimited download speed offered with our Usenet plan.
The retention offered at Eweka is close to the best you can get anywhere. High retention is important and determines how many Usenet posts you get access to.
Providers with low, limited retention delete older posts to make room for newer articles that are posted to Usenet. So if you are looking for an article that was not posted to Usenet within some providers’ retention time, you will not find what you are looking for on those providers’ servers. Not so with Eweka. They keep almost everything on Usenet: new and old.
There’s plenty more to like with Eweka, including the service performance during our completion and retention testing (grabbing old files).
You also get free access to the Newslazer newsreader app that includes a Usenet search tool, file previews, unlimited nzb imports and auto-downloading.
Read our full Eweka review.
Our official TechRadar offer gives you a 7-day free trial with unlimited downloads, unlimited download speeds, and a free newsreader. Subscribe after your free trial, and receive a 27% lifetime discount applied if you signed up for your free trial through the link below.
- 7 day Unlimited GB free trial, then $7.28/mo subscription (unlimited speed + free newsreader with search) - 27% TechRadar Lifetime Discount (opens in new tab)
- Or Prepaid (no free trial) for $10.58/mo (opens in new tab)
[80% Off] Easynews (Official Promotion) - Get 3 FREE MONTHS of Unlimited Access with No Download or Speed Caps + Money-Back Guarantee (opens in new tab)
Easynews is an exceptional Usenet service -- it has fast, accurate search technology and unlimited Usenet access from any web browser on any device including mobile.
The web-based Usenet search interface is well designed and simple to use. Search results include file previews to help you pinpoint the exact posts you are looking for. Also, filtering by file type, file extension, newsgroup and even file size, make Easynews Web Usenet search flexible and feature-rich.
Retention rates are well over 13.75 years and growing on all text and binary newsgroups.
The Big Gig Plan also comes with a bundled unlimited VPN service (albeit with a rather basic client) plus unlimited NNTP Usenet access for free if you prefer to use your own newsreader client like SABnzbd.
Pricing starts from $9.99 per month to $29.94 per month, depending on the monthly bandwidth you need.
Read our full Easynews review.
There is also an 80% discount available exclusively through TechRadar that gets you 3 FREE MONTHS plus unlimited access (the max you can normally get is 150GB per month) and uncapped speeds with a 30-day money-back guarantee included.
- [80% Off] Easynews (Official Promotion) - Get 3 FREE MONTHS of Unlimited Access with No Download or Speed Caps + Money-Back Guarantee (opens in new tab)
Newsleecher launched in 2002 and is a well-known provider of Usenet access with servers in the USA and EU. It also has a widely-used desktop client, which unlike competitor apps, is not locked to a particular Usenet host.
Newsleecher's text and binary retention is 5,019 days and continues to grow daily - an exceptional service level and a primary reason why they’re a top recommended provider. You also get unlimited downloads, a maximum of 500Mbps, SSL, and the SuperSearch and SuperLeech features for fast file discovery and automated download.
We tested Newsleecher on a 63Mbps connection, with a 2.1GB video file, which downloaded at an average rate of 2000Kbps, peaking at 2100Kbps.
Read our full NewsLeecher review.
Newsleecher's Usenet bundle is probably its best option, available for $9.49, with a 14GB limited 14-day free trial. PayPal or credit cards are accepted, but there is no privacy policy to refer to if you're curious about how your data is used.
- [$9.49 a month] Usenet access only (opens in new tab)
- [$11.99 a month] Usenet access + Newsreader (opens in new tab)
- [$3.99 a month] Newsreader only (opens in new tab)
If you want a dependable Usenet offering with a good core service, then look no further than this affordable provider. All plans offer unlimited downloads from multiple US and EU servers, great speeds, and high binary and text retention. There’s also an included NZB search engine with your account to find posts and create your own nzbs.
UsenetServer has among the best retention rates across all binary and text groups, 99% article completion, and no restrictions on data limits or download speeds.
You get a maximum of 20 connections, which is less than many services. That said, in testing we found UsenetServer to offer 240+ Mbps download speed performance levels anyway, so this likely won’t matter.
What may matter for beginners is that UsenetServer doesn’t include a newsreader, but it does have good tech support and step-by-step setup guides for some of the most popular clients.
While it does provide a bundled VPN for extra security, the Windows client for the latter is not as well designed as other clients out there. This is likely moot because the simplistic interface makes it easy to connect to the VPN server of your choice.
The other strength here is that UsenetServer is wallet-friendly, particularly the annual plan that has the Usenet search engine and unlimited VPN service bundled in.
Read our full UsenetServer review.
Here’s an exclusive 60% lifetime discount (opens in new tab) for you through TechRadar.
- [60% Off] 12 Month Plan (Unlimited downloads plus bundled VPN) (opens in new tab)
- [33% Off] 1 Month Plan (Unlimited downloads) (opens in new tab)
TweakNews is an independent EU-based Usenet provider with outstanding completion rates, solid features, and good prices, especially for unlimited access. All TweakNews plans come with a free newsreader with search and file preview functionality built-in as well as a free VPN -- All-in-all a great value.
We found performance to be impressive with fast download speeds, and the included VPN managed gave us decent speeds in our testing. In fact, the Tweaknews VPN compares well to a good standalone VPN provider with VPN servers in 47+ countries.
The downside is that other European providers (Eweka for example) offer more retention. We also found that the tech support was somewhat sluggish.
Read our full Tweaknews review.
Here are two exclusive TechRadar deals available at Tweaknews that are both good for the lifetime of your account. If you sign up for annual billing, you get 42% off. If you prefer month-to-month billing, there is a 23% discount.
- 10 Day Unlimited GB Free Trial, then 42% off - TechRadar Lifetime Discount (opens in new tab)
Astraweb has been operating since 1997 and boasts an easy Usenet experience. Features include unlimited speed, 50 simultaneous connections, SSL, US and EU server, and 24 hour customer support. Retention is 4,000 days on all newsgroups, which was recently upgraded from 3,750 days for all plans.
We tested Astraweb on a 39Mbps connection with a 908-day old 1.3GB AVI file which downloaded at an average 2250Kbps, peaking a little over 2500Kbps. All Astraweb bundles offer the same features, with pricing starting at $8 a month for a 12 month deal, $13 for 3 months access, or $15 for 1 month access.
Various payment options are accepted, including Bitcoin, and Astraweb subscriptions require just an email address for almost complete privacy.
Read our full Astraweb review.
GigaNews bundles a number of features into its Usenet service, such as unlimited transfer, unlimited speed, 100 connections, SSL encryption, and VyprVPN.
The cheapest pricing is $12.50 a month on a yearly subscription, or alternatively $14.99 for 6 months, or $17.99 for 3 months. A 14-Day free trial is available.
Whatever you're using it for – and even if you're doing something else online entirely – the extra layer of privacy offered by a quality VPN is reassuring.
GigaNews' server availability is another plus, with multiple redundancy on US and EU servers owned and run by the company itself. Access speeds are good, but retention on binary newsgroups maxes out at 3 years compared to 4X the amount of retention you can get with some other providers.
Read our full Giganews review.
- 10 Day Unlimited GB Free Trial, then 42% off - TechRadar Lifetime Discount (opens in new tab)
The budget, but still quality, EU Usenet service, Pure Usenet owns their own European server farms and provides unlimited downloads with no speed throttling as cheap as €5,97 per month.
Pure Usenet current retention is 4,100 days on all newsgroups. A good service level, yes, but, other providers like Newshosting have more retention and server locations in both the US and EU, plus a free newsreader.
That said, if you only need EU server access and can max out your speeds with 20 connections, which is acceptable for most users, check out Pure Usenet as a solid budget option.
Read our full Pure Usenet review.
Try Pure Usenet free for 7 days with unlimited downloads (opens in new tab).
Supernews is a veteran Usenet provider in operation since the mid-90s, with servers across the US and Europe. You get 1,095 days of binary retention, which is significantly low, but a stated 18+ years of text retention.
What’s more, Supernews keeps multiple copies of articles across its network and the firm claims that this helps to ensure a 100% completion rate, although we have been unable to validate this claim.
And on the performance front, you get unlimited speed, with the provider guaranteeing that your connection won’t be throttled.
Supernews keeps things pleasingly simple when it comes to plan choices, as well, because there’s only two: a straightforward unlimited plan with a monthly or yearly fee. It’s not the cheapest subscription around, but it is a quality service, and you get a three-day trial to test it out first. Also note that with the TechRadar Pro offer in place at the time of writing, you get your first month at half price.
Read our full Supernews review.
We've also featured the best NZB and Usenet clients as well as the best NZB indexing websites.
Usenet Provider vs Usenet Indexer: What is the difference?
A Usenet provider is a service that accepts and stores newsgroup posts uploaded to Usenet and then delivers those posts to anyone who requests them. Depending on the provider, the posts can be stored and made available (what’s called ‘retention’) for as little as a day or as much as 13 years and counting. All of our recommended providers have very high retention, grow their retention daily, and never expire posts uploaded to Usenet.
To optimize your Usenet experience with access to the biggest archive of Usenet posts, choose a provider with the most retention for the best search results.
A Usenet indexer organizes the billions upon billions of posts uploaded to Usenet to make searching for specific Usenet posts fast and efficient. Indexers can be useful, but often cost extra and/or are closed to new member registration. Fortunately, the best Usenet providers (Newshosting and Easynews, for example) include free software (called a ‘newsreader’) with similar Usenet search functionality already built-in, so having a separate indexer is a nice-to-have, not a need-to-have.
Which Usenet provider is best for you?
When deciding which Usenet provider to download and use, first consider what your actual needs are, as different providers offer different download limits, speeds, and retention rates. Although discount options are available, you may find higher-priced options deliver better for what you need, depending on what exactly you are looking for.
How we tested the best Usenet providers
To test for the best Usenet providers we first set up an account with the relevant provider. We then tested the service to see how good connection and download speeds were, as well as how easy it was to search, find, and access older data. The aim was to push each Usenet provider to see how useful its basic tools were and also how easy it was to get to grips with any more advanced tools.
Read how we test, rate, and review products on TechRadar (opens in new tab).
