Newshosting Review

What Is Newshosting?

Newshosting is a Usenet service provider that gives you access to over 110,000 text and binary newsgroups via a proprietary Newshosting newsreader. This allows you to easily search for files and information on old Usenet forums and download them. Content goes back over 12 years!

Newshosting has been around since 1997 and has deservedly built up a loyal following thanks to its user-friendly service. The long list of extras certainly helps a lot, too.

To start with, it has straightforward plans to suit everyone. It is one of the few to currently offer unlimited plans. I.e. you can download as much as you want each month, starting at $12.95/mo if you pay for a year upfront. That’s surely among the top reasons why it is so highly praised in Newshosting user reviews.

It has data centres in the US, Germany, the Netherlands, and other parts of Europe. Finding a Usenet news server that’s optimal won’t be a problem.

To use the Newshosting Usenet browser you will need to install it on Windows or macOS. There is even Newshosting for Linux. You can’t get a native mobile app currently, but you can easily use your own third-party app if you prefer. Either way, it is not difficult to use binary Usenet, i.e. download files. 

Just remember there is no Newshosting Android app or for other mobile devices, though our Newshosting review certainly found the computer software to be top-notch.

Newshosting Retention

The Newshosting Usenet services have no trouble with retention, offering the industry maximum of 4616+ days, which is over 12 years. That means you can dig back deep into the archives with their search feature to find gaming, film, podcasting, and practically any other type of file. This, of course, includes text posts if you’re more interested in old chats, academic research, and other odd information. 

Not all newsgroups remain active. It’s a very niche section of the internet. But if there are Usenet binaries or text posts out there to find, the Newshosting browser will deliver them quickly and efficiently. 

Newshosting Speed

At no point during the writing process of this Newshosting review did we run into any speed issues. They promise no throttling or capping of speeds and promote this as ‘unlimited’. Other Newshosting reviews put the real speed below 100Mbps, but most people’s ISPs don’t reach these speeds anyway. 

You may experience an ever so slight speed drop when using the bundled VPN service. That’s the same for any VPN, however, whether you’re on a Usenet server or not. If you’re into peer-to-peer filesharing, online gaming, or other services, speed rarely maxes out, so this is no different.

As far as Newshosting connections, you are routed through US and EU news servers, so most users aren’t going to have any problem with stability. Furthermore, their first two plans offer a more than acceptable 30 simultaneous Newshosting SSL connections. If you go for the top plan you get 60. While this is a little bit redundant (nobody needs that many), it does demonstrate their commitment to a reliable service.

Customer Support

If you are a subscriber, you get a special member’s web-based account. From here you can easily contact customer support via a ticket system. They also have a wealth of genuinely helpful ‘knowledge’ articles if you are a complete newbie to Usenet service providers.

This will help you set up the Newshosting indexer and search software and teach you how to best use the Usenet search engine or third-party Usenet browsers.

During the research for our Newshosting review, we found the ticket response time was not the fastest. We can’t, however, fault the helpfulness and staff’s ability to get the job done.

Newshosting Pricing

The Newshosting cost depends on the plan. This is, however, one of the more affordable Usenet provider options out there for North American and European customers.

Newshosting plans break down as follows:

All plans come with their software to use Usenet to search sites for text and binaries. You also get a Newshosting free VPN on the XL Powerpack plan. Those on other plans must pay $4.99 extra per month to use this feature. It is not available on the Newshosting free trial unless you subscribe to the XL plan.

Note: There is no Newshosting lifetime plan.

Newshosting Review – Verdict

This service is a great all-rounder. Although it doesn’t have an Android or Newshosting iOS app, its powerful newsreader works on all common computer and laptop operating systems - such as the Newshosting MAC software. The fact it has a bundled VPN is great for privacy. The downside is you have to pay extra on the cheaper plans for this feature. 

It has the industry standard when it comes to the length of retention and we cannot falter its speed. Overall, it’s one of the best Usenet provider/news software combos on the World Wide Web right now.

Read more to find the best Usenet provider for you.