Giganews review

There is a lot of information held in newsgroups on Usenet. But to get at it, you will need to subscribe to one of the best Usenet providers. Platforms such as Giganews offer superior retention times, fast networks, and international connectivity, but even the most popular service providers are far from identical.

In our Giganews review, we take a closer look to see if this provider earns its prestige as an industry leader. We analyse 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, which has been in business for over 20 years, 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 £7.01 a month, and there are some discounts are available with lengthier 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 big 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.

GigaNews' pricing plans

Giganews: Features

Giganews is one of the world’s most established Usenet providers, and it comes with a shedload of splendid features. For example, all subscriptions include unlimited transfers, and your upload and download speeds will only be constrained by the network speed of your internet provider.

On top of this, Giganews sports large data centres in North America and Europe. This enables low latency, further boosting speeds and performance. In a test, we downloaded an open-source media file at speeds of around 10Mbps, and this was most 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 no-log VyprVPN software will help secure your browsing.

All Giganews subscriptions even come with access to the Mimo newsreader, which permits you to search, browse, and delve into the depths of your favoured Newsgroups. It’s a downloadable app that can be used on Windows and Mac devices, and it’s very easy to get to grips with.

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 first 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 optimised for Giganews to ensure you have the best experience possible. Mimo also works on Windows and Mac; apparently there is a Linux version in the making. That side, Giganews will also support usenet browsers such as SABnzbd, NZBGet, Newsbin, and NewsLeecher.

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 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 categorised 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 £8.41 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 £6.11 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

Learn how to download from Usenet, if you're interested in downloading files from the platform. It's also worth learning about Google Groups, another modern method for accessing Usenet; and take a look at our other reviews of top Usenet providers, including Eweka, EasyNews, and UsenetServer.

Usenet can be a great platform for marketing your business and growing a community. If you would like to learn about another popular digital marketing technique, you can read our guide to SEO marketing. You might also like to delve into how to build an effective marketing strategy with the cloud.