To access the wealth of information held in newsgroups on Usenet, you will need a subscription to one of the best Usenet providers. Platforms like Giganews offer excellent retention times, fast networks, and global connectivity, but even the most popular service providers are far from equal.
In our Giganews review, we take a closer look to see if this provider deserves its reputation as an industry leader. We analyze its prices, features, user interface, support, and more to help you decide whether it’s the best Usenet provider for your needs.
Giganews: Plans and pricing
Giganews has a very simple price structure, with one plan and a 14-day free trial. Small discounts are available with longer subscriptions. Monthly subscriptions cost $9.99 a month, and small discounts are available with longer terms.
All three subscription options come with the same features, which include unlimited transfer, 100 newsgroup connections, and full SSL encryption to secure all file transfers. You will also receive a free subscription to the no-log VyprVPN, which you can use to add an extra layer of security.
It is worth noting that you will have to enter payment information before you can access the free trial. This isn’t a huge deal, but remember to cancel your account before the end of the trial period if you decide not to go ahead. The trial is also quite limited, and it doesn’t give you access to VyprVPN or Usenet posting abilities.
| Plan length | Price per month |
|---|---|
| One month | $9.99 |
| Six months | $9.17 |
| 12 months | $8.33 |
Giganews: Features
Giganews is one of the world’s leading Usenet providers, and it naturally comes with a load of great features. For example, all subscriptions include unlimited transfers, and your upload and download speeds will only be constrained by your network speed.
On top of this, Giganews boasts large data centers in North America and Europe. This allows for low latency, further boosting speeds and performance. We downloaded an open-source media file at speeds of around 10MB/s, and this was likely constrained by the speed of our internet connection.
Giganews also boasts excellent retention times, including more than 18 years of text retention and three years of binary retention. It enables you to connect to tens of thousands of different Newsgroups, and the VyprVPN software will help secure your browsing.
Giganews: Key features and highlights
All Giganews subscriptions even come with access to the Mimo newsreader, which enables you to search, browse, and delve into the depths of your favorite Newsgroups. It’s a downloadable program that can be used on Windows and Mac devices, and it’s very easy to get the hang of.
Giganews: Interface and in-use
To get started with Giganews, simply create a new account with the free trial, or sign up for a premium subscription. After confirming your account, you will be able to log straight into your dashboard.
Our immediate impression of the main user interface was that it was a little outdated. It’s text-heavy and appears confusing initially, but it actually isn’t. In fact, it took no more than a few minutes for us to orientate ourselves with everything. On the left of the screen, there’s a menu that you can use to access various tools. There are four tabs at the top of the dashboard.
Under the main Dashboard tab, you will find an overview of your Usenet usage and the status of your VyprVPN. The Usenet tab provides slightly more advanced tools, and the VyprVPN tab enables you to manage various technical settings for your VPN.
All Giganews subscriptions come with the Mimo Usenet browser, which enables you to browse all corners of the Usenet. It’s very easy to use, and it’s optimized for Giganews to ensure you have the best experience possible.
Giganews: Support
Giganews offers 24/7/365 live chat and email support, and we were very impressed with the level of service we received. To test the customer service, we reached out via live chat. We were connected with an agent in just seconds, and they were friendly and able to answer our questions in no time.
On top of this, Giganews has dedicated support areas for Usenet-related questions, VyprVPN, and the Mimo newsreader. Within each area, you will find numerous articles and guides that are cleverly categorized for easy navigation. There’s also a search bar that you can use to find the resources you require.
Giganews: Security
Usenet is naturally quite a secure information-sharing medium, so there’s not usually a large expectation on Usenet service providers to offer advanced security. Giganews does boast 256-bit AES encryption with all transfers, ensuring your files are secure.
On top of this, all plans come with a VyprVPN subscription. Using a VPN like this adds a bunch of extra layers of security to your Usenet browsing. It enables you to keep your connection secure, prevent third parties from monitoring your activity, and access geo-blocked content. This level of privacy might not be a priority for you, but it’s always a good idea to use a VPN when you can.
Alternatives to Giganews
Giganews is a leading Usenet service provider, but there are numerous great alternatives on the market that are at least worth considering.
If you’re on a tight budget, for example, you might like to go for a cheap option like Newshosting. It offers 12-month plans for just $5.99 a month, although its annual plans cost the same as those offered by Giganews. It also comes with a free newsreader, and its 4,900+ day retention is among the best we’ve seen.
A provider like Eweka could also be a great choice, especially if you’re looking for some more obscure Newsgroups. It provides access to more than 125,000 groups, significantly more than the 100,000 or 110,000 that most other providers offer. It’s also quite affordable, coming in at $7.72 a month.
Giganews: Final verdict
Giganews is often named among the best Usenet providers, and it’s easy to see why. It offers streamlined Usenet connections backed by excellent speeds that are only limited by your network speed, rapid downloads, and a suite of other neat features.
A Giganews subscription will cost you under $10 a month, and its prices are comparable to those of most other leading providers. All plans come with the Mimo newsreader included, which makes Usenet browsing easier than ever. And the customer service is excellent, so you will be able to get rapid assistance with any problems that arise.
Overall, we’d highly recommend checking out Giganews if you’re looking for a reliable Usenet service provider that has great retention times and unlimited transfer.
Further reading on Usenet
Want to learn more about Usenet? Learn what Usenet groups are and what Google Groups is; discover the best Usenet newsgroup readers; and learn how to download from Usenet, as well as how to access Usenet for free.
