Comparison
Usenet Free Trials in 2026: Length, Data Caps and Card Rules
Short answer
On 7 Nov 2026, Giganews, Supernews, Usenet.Farm, NewsXS and Thundernews showed a free trial on their own sites. Only Usenet.Farm asks for no payment details: 10 GB, no card. Giganews gives 14 days on longer plans, and NewsXS gives 14 days and 150 GB to Dutch residents. Newshosting, Eweka and Easynews offer refunds, not trials.
Which Usenet providers offer a free trial right now?
Five providers showed a free trial on their own site on 7 Nov 2026: Giganews, Supernews, Usenet.Farm, NewsXS and Thundernews. Only Usenet.Farm lets you start with no payment details at all, and it limits you to 10 GB. Three more sell a short trial for a small fee: UsenetBucket, EasyUsenet and XS News.
Plenty of well-known brands have no trial at all, even if a button says otherwise. Easynews has a "Try for Free" headline and a "Get a FREE Trial" link, and both end at a paid checkout with a 30-day refund. We count a refund as a refund here, because you pay first and your card is already charged.
Trial terms side by side
Every term below comes from the provider's own site, read on 7 Nov 2026. Where a site says two different things, we show both. "Not stated" means we could not find it on that site.
Free to start
| Provider | Backbone | Trial length | Data cap | Speed and connections | Card or payment | When it ends | Source, checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Usenet.Farm | Usenet.Farm | Not stated, the limit is data | 10 GB | Not stated. No posting | None needed | No charge and nothing to cancel. You choose a product if you want to stay | usenet.farm, 7 Nov 2026 |
| Giganews | Certida | 14 days on 6-month and yearly plans, 3 days on monthly. One help article says 14 days for all first-time customers | 200 GB in its Oct 2026 help article. Older articles say 10 GB | Unlimited speed, 100 connections. No posting | Card or PayPal, not billed during the trial | Bills your plan: $100 for a year, $9.17 a month for 6 months, $9.99 for a month. No refunds. Cancel in the Control Panel first | Giganews help, 7 Nov 2026 |
| Supernews | Certida | 14 days on yearly, 3 days on monthly. Its support page mentions only 14 days | 10 GB | Unlimited speed and 30 connections on its plans. Trial limits not stated | Card, not charged during the trial | Home page: $74.25 for the first year then $99 a year, or $5.99 for the first month then $11.99. Signup pages show only $99 a year or $11.99 a month. No refunds. Cancel in the Member Center first | Supernews support, 7 Nov 2026 |
| NewsXS | Not on our map | 14 days, Dutch residents with a peered internet provider only | 150 GB | Depends on the account type. No posting | The trial form has payment method and IBAN fields | Turns into a paid account automatically. The price is not stated, and list prices run from €4.50 to €9.50 a month. No refunds on new accounts. Cancel by logging in during the trial | NewsXS trial page, 7 Nov 2026 |
| Thundernews | UsenetExpress | 3 days, only on request through support | Not stated | Not stated | Payment method on file, with a $1 or $10 authorization | Accounts renew until you cancel, at least 3 days before billing. No refunds | Thundernews FAQ, 7 Nov 2026 |
Short trials you pay a little for
| Provider | Backbone | What you get | Data cap | Speed and connections | When it ends | Source, checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UsenetBucket | Base IP | 2 days for €1. The same page's plan box also says "7 Days" | Unlimited | 400 Mbit, 25 connections | No automatic renewal | UsenetBucket trial page, 7 Nov 2026 |
| EasyUsenet | Abavia | 3 days for €1.98 | Unlimited | Full speed, 100 connections | Carries on at €5.98 a month unless you cancel, which takes one click in your account | EasyUsenet 3-day page, 7 Nov 2026 |
| XS News | Abavia | 5 Day Pass for €5 | Unlimited | Unlimited speed, 100 connections | Expires by itself, one-time purchase | XS News 5 Day Pass, 7 Nov 2026 |
Giganews and Supernews both had Black Friday text sitting unpublished in their page code on the check date, so their trial terms may change later this month. Look at the signup page on the day you join.
We could not read NewsDemon on the check date, because its site blocked our check, so it is not in these tables either way. Sunny Usenet and ViperNews have conflicting trial wording. ViperNews has a try page that says seven days without charge, but that page describes its money-back guarantee, and Sunny only has traces in its page code. We left both out, so ask them directly if you were counting on one.
What happens when the trial ends
This is where a free trial can cost you. Giganews, Supernews, NewsXS and EasyUsenet all move you onto a paid plan by themselves, so put a reminder in your calendar two days before the end. Giganews and Supernews also give no refunds, so a forgotten trial on a yearly plan means a full year's fee with no way back.
Giganews signs you up for a plan on day one, and that choice sets both the trial length and the bill. Pick the monthly plan and you get 3 days, then $9.99. Pick the year and you get 14 days, then $100. The longer trial is only worth having if you are ready for the bigger bill or you cancel in time.
Usenet.Farm, XS News and UsenetBucket are the safe ones to forget about, because nothing renews. That makes them the better choice if you only want to check that your downloader connects.
Refund guarantees that look like trials
A refund period is still useful, as long as you know you are paying first. These providers showed one on 7 Nov 2026 and no free trial:
| Provider | Refund period | Read this first |
|---|---|---|
| Newshosting | 30 days | Its FAQ says there is no free trial. Terms section 15.4 calls fees non-refundable |
| UsenetServer | 30 days | Terms section 15.4 calls fees non-refundable |
| Easynews | 30 days | Crypto payments are excluded. Terms section 15.4 calls fees non-refundable |
| Eweka | 30 days | Terms exclude daily and monthly plans |
| Pure Usenet | 30 days | Its terms page has no refund clause |
| TweakNews | 30 days | Terms say pre-paid service, no refunds |
| XLned | 30 days | Terms say refunds cannot be offered |
| XS News | 14 days | Terms say refunds are generally not provided |
| NewsgroupDirect | Headline 30 days, FAQ condition under 7 days | Under 15 GB used, subscriptions only, not blocks |
| ViperNews | 7 days | Plans are prepaid and end by themselves unless you chose auto-renew |
Notice how often the guarantee page and the terms disagree. Before you pay for a year on the strength of a refund, ask support to confirm it in writing and keep the email.
Trials compared with a cheap block or a first-month deal
A trial answers one question: does this work on my line, with my downloader? It tells you little about how many downloads will complete over months, and 10 GB is not much of a sample. Use it to test the connection, then a few posts from last week and a few from several years ago.
If you want a longer look without a yearly bill, a short paid start often beats a free trial. The cheapest ways to start are listed separately, along with what "free Usenet" can and cannot mean. Current first-term prices are on the deals page, and a block that never expires gives you a test that does not run out on a date.
Trials are also a poor way to compare two brands on the same network. Giganews and Supernews both sit in the Certida family on our backbone map, so trying both mostly tests the same stored files twice. If your first trial misses posts, try one on a different backbone. Free vs paid Usenet explains what the money buys once the trial is over.
Common questions
Which Usenet provider has the best free trial?
For the least risk, Usenet.Farm: 10 GB with no card and nothing to cancel. For a longer test, Giganews gives 14 days on its 6-month and yearly plans, but you enter a card or PayPal and it bills you when the trial ends. Dutch residents can look at NewsXS, with 14 days and 150 GB.
Does Newshosting have a free trial?
No. Its own FAQ says it does not offer one. You get a 30-day refund guarantee instead, so you pay first and ask for the money back. Check the terms too, because they describe subscription fees as non-refundable.
Does Eweka have a free trial?
Its pricing page showed none on 7 Nov 2026. Eweka offers a 30-day refund, and its terms exclude monthly plans from that refund, so the guarantee is worth more on a longer plan.
Is there a Usenet free trial without a credit card?
Usenet.Farm is the clear one: its site says no card or other payment details are needed and there are no automatic payments. The other free trials in our table ask for a payment method or, in the case of NewsXS, have payment fields on the trial form.
What does a Usenet trial cost if I forget to cancel?
That depends on the provider. Giganews bills the plan you chose, for example $100 for a year. Supernews bills $74.25 for the first year or $5.99 for the first month. EasyUsenet moves to €5.98 a month. Usenet.Farm, XS News and UsenetBucket do not bill you afterwards.
Can I download everything I want during a trial?
The data cap stops you before the calendar does on most free trials. 10 GB is enough to test your setup and a handful of old posts, not to fill a library. Giganews, Usenet.Farm and NewsXS also block posting during the trial.