Newshosting 2023 Review: Is It Any Good?

Newshosting is one of the top Usenet providers — it’s secure, fast, and easy to use. Newshosting comes with 256-bit SSL encryption and 4,800+ days of data retention for binary files, which means you can search for old files and content on Usenet that goes back more than 13 years. Plus, Newshosting allows up to 100 connections (the number of simultaneous downloads you can have on one server), and doesn’t log your traffic. In my speed tests, Newshosting provided me with very fast downloads on both unencrypted and SSL-encrypted connections.

I also like that Newshosting partners with PrivadoVPN, which is available as a separate purchase or as part of Newshosting’s most expensive plan. PrivadoVPN is a decent VPN that provides good privacy when you download files from Usenet, but it lacks advanced security features like perfect forward secrecy, extra features like split-tunneling, and it doesn’t work with popular streaming services like Netflix. If you want a really good VPN for accessing Usenet and browsing the web, streaming content, and downloading files, consider one of the top brands on the market.

Newshosting has 3-tier based subscriptions and provides a 14-day free trial with a 30 GB download limit.

Newshosting Full Review

I spent a few weeks testing and researching Newshosting to see how it compares to other top Usenet providers.

Newshosting comes with 4,800+ days of binary data retention (roughly 13+ years), which is more than what most Usenet competitors offer. It also allows up to 100 connections and has very fast download speeds. Newshosting secures your traffic with 256-bit SSL encryption and doesn’t log your Usenet traffic.

Newshosting also offers PrivadoVPN at an extra cost with its Lite and Unlimited plans and for free with the XL Powerpack plan. While PrivadoVPN is a decent VPN, there are better options out there in 2023.

Newshosting doesn’t have a refund, but it comes with a free 14-day trial that has a 30 GB limit.

Newshosting Features

Newshosting secures your data with 256-bit SSL encryption, which is the same level of security governments and militaries use. I like that Newshosting lets you easily switch between using SSL-encrypted connections (to secure your traffic) and unencrypted connections (to get faster download speeds).

I also like that Newshosting has 4,800+ days of data retention for binary files, which is above the industry average (4,000–4,500 days of binary data retention). Newshosting allows you to search for content that dates back 13+ years ago — I was able to find movies, songs, and even academic papers from 2008, which isn’t available on other Usenet services like TweakNews (4,200+ days of data retention), Pure Usenet (4,100+ days), and NewsDemon (3,000+ days).

And Newshosting is one of the only Usenet providers that comes with a VPN (PrivadoVPN). PrivadoVPN has industry-standard VPN security features like 256-bit AES encryption, a kill switch, and a no-logs policy, pretty fast speeds, and is easy to use, which makes it a decent option to use with Newshosting. But PrivadoVPN doesn’t work with a lot of streaming services (such as Netflix, Hulu, and Disney+), and it’s missing extra features like split-tunneling and perfect forward secrecy.

Honestly, if you’re looking for a really good VPN to use with Newshosting and for browsing, streaming, torrenting, and gaming, there are much better VPN options out there than PrivadoVPN. I recommend top VPNs like ExpressVPN, Private Internet Access, and ProtonVPN — they all include high-end security features, work with all of the top streaming sites, and maintain fast speeds.

Newshosting Privacy & Security

Newshosting has an easy-to-understand privacy policy — it doesn’t monitor the newsgroups you visit, the files you download and upload, and what messages you post on the newsgroups.

Newshosting logs your email address and payment data when you purchase a subscription. It also collects your connection timestamps, bandwidth usage (for Lite plan users only because Newshosting sets a limit on how much data Lite users can use), and IP address (most Usenet providers do this), but you can use any of the top VPNs to hide your IP address while you use Newshosting.

Newshosting Speed & Performance

Newshosting has servers only in North America and Europe, which means users in other parts of the world can’t connect to a nearby server. I ran multiple speed tests by downloading large files (videos, video games, and apps) using both unencrypted connections and SSL-encrypted connections.

When I used an unencrypted connection, I had very fast speeds and was able to download a 21.6 GB file in 15–20 minutes, which is really good. Here are my speeds.

When I used an SSL-encrypted connection, I still had fast speeds — I was able to download the same 21.6 GB file almost as fast as I did with unencrypted connections. Here are my speeds.

Overall, Newshosting provided me with very fast download speeds with both types of connections — I consistently downloaded 20–30 GB files in 15–20 minutes, which is really good.

Newshosting Plans & Pricing

Newshosting has 3 tier-based subscriptions: Lite, Unlimited, and XL Powerpack. The Lite plan only offers month-to-month plans, but the Unlimited and XL Powerpack plans offer both monthly and yearly plans.

The Lite plan costs $10.00 / month and comes with 4,800+ days of binary data retention, 50 GB data transfers that also let you roll over unused data (which is great if you don’t download large files very often), and 30 connections. You can also add PrivadoVPN for an additional cost, but as I mentioned earlier in this review, there are better VPN options out there than PrivadoVPN.

Priced at $12.95 / month, the Unlimited plan adds unlimited data transfers and 100 connections (and PrivadoVPN for an additional cost).

The XL Powerpack plan costs $15.83 / month and adds free access to PrivadoVPN and a free EasyNews account with a 10 GB limit (you can use EasyNews to access Usenet via web browsers instead of having to use Newshosting).

Newshosting accepts credit cards and PayPal, but I’m a little disappointed it doesn’t accept cryptocurrencies.

Newshosting doesn’t have a money-back guarantee, but most Usenet providers don’t have one. However, each Newshosting plan comes with a free 14-day trial that has a 30 GB download limit.

Newshosting Ease of Use

Newshosting has a newsreader app for Windows, macOS, and Linux. If you want to use Usenet on mobile, I recommend EasyNews since it provides access to Usenet via web browsers, so you don’t need to download and install third-party newsreaders on your Android and iOS devices.

I tested Newshosting’s newsreader on my Windows 10 PC and MacBook Pro — the installation process was simple and only took 2–3 minutes.

The newsreader has an intuitive design and is very simple to use. It’s easy to switch between binary and text files, there’s a built-in search function with multiple filters (for ISOs, videos, images, audio, and more), and there are automated downloads. What I like the most is that Newshosting shows previews of listed binaries in the search results — this way, you don’t waste time and bandwidth on downloading files you might not need.

All in all, I’m really happy with Newshosting’s newsreader. While it doesn’t work on mobile devices, it’s available on all desktop platforms and is very intuitive.

Newshosting Customer Support

Newshosting’s customer support is decent, but its tutorials could use improvement. Its FAQs and troubleshooting guides are limited, but the email support is reliable.

While Newshosting’s newsreader tutorials have good information, I’d like to see it add screenshots or video guides to make them more engaging. And since Newshosting only has a limited number of FAQs and troubleshooting guides, I often had to reach out to customer support reps to resolve my issues.

But I really like Newshosting’s email support — I tested it multiple times and always received a response in 2–3 hours, which is really fast. And the reps always provided me with good information, so I never had to follow up with more questions. Unfortunately, Newshosting doesn’t have live chat, but no other newsreaders offer this support platform, either.

Is Newshosting Any Good in 2023?

Newshosting is secure, has fast speeds, and is user-friendly. It secures your connections with 256-bit SSL encryption, provides 4,800+ days of retention for binary files, allows up to 100 connections, and doesn’t log your traffic. When I ran speed tests, Newshosting provided me with very fast downloads for both unencrypted and SSL-encrypted connections.

Newshosting also includes PrivadoVPN for an additional cost on its Lite and Unlimited plans, but you get it free with the XL Powerpack plan. I think PrivadoVPN is decent for secure and private browsing on Usenet, but that’s about it. If you want a really good VPN for using Usenet and for all of your browsing, streaming, and torrenting, there are much better VPNs on the market in 2023,

Newshosting comes with 3 tier-based subscriptions and also has a free 14-day trial with a 30 GB download limit.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Newshosting keep logs?

Yes. Newshosting logs IP addresses and connection timestamps (for troubleshooting), and it also monitors bandwidth usage (the Lite plan limits how much data you can use, so Newshosting monitors bandwidth usage for Lite users). But Newshosting doesn’t monitor what files you download and the newsgroups you post to.

If you want to hide your IP address when using Newshosting, you can use a VPN with a strict no-logs policy. Newshosting offers PrivadoVPN as an additional cost with the Lite and Unlimited plans, and for free with the XL Powerpack plan. While Privado has a no-logs policy, it hasn’t been independently audited and verified (like top VPNs such as ExpressVPN and TunnelBear).

Is Newshosting any good?

Newshosting is a really good Usenet provider — it has 4,800+ days (13+ years) of data retention for binary files, which is more than what most Usenet providers offer. It also secures your data with 256-bit SSL encryption, allows up to 100 connections, has very fast downloads, and comes with a user-friendly newsreader.

How do you use Newshosting?

Newshosting is pretty easy to use even if you’re new to Usenet services:

• Download and install Newshosting’s newsreader.
• When you log into your account, you’ll see two tabs on the left — one for binary newsgroups and one for text newsgroups.
• Pick the newsgroup you want, use the search field in the upper right to find specific files, and you can start reading or downloading the files.

Does Newshosting have a VPN?

Yes, Newshosting offers PrivadoVPN at an additional cost with the Lite and Unlimited plans and for free with the XL Powerpack plan. Privado is a decent VPN that has good security features, good speeds, easy-to-use apps, and good torrenting support — and it’s a good VPN to use for accessing content on Usenet.

That said, there are much better VPNs than PrivadoVPN — I recommend ExpressVPN and Private Internet Access — they have advanced security features like perfect forward secrecy and RAM-only servers, extra features like split-tunneling, work with all of the popular streaming sites, and provide faster speeds.