Are you new to Usenet and confused by all the choices out there?  Perhaps a friend has recommended a Usenet provider or you’ve read about services on Newsgroup Reviews but haven’t quite decided yet.

Free Usenet trials are a great way to test newsgroup services and help make a buying decision.  Most top providers offer free Usenet access for new customers.  As with any free trial you’ll want to understand the terms prior to signing up.  That’s where this guide comes in.  Below we will list the top newsgroup trials from NGR along with details for each trial.  First though we want to cover some general Q & A.

Why do Usenet provider’s require so much information for a free trial?  Why not just ask for my email address?

Fraud prevention.  A trial based simply on email address would be abused.

Alright they need some personal information but why collect billing information for a free trial?

Free Usenet trials are similar to Netflix, Blockbuster, Rhapsody and other brand name subscription services.  While signing up for a free trial you will choose a plan and enter billing information.  Some will even preauthorize charges prior to activating the trial.

Why would I choose a paid account type for a “free” trial?

The “paid” subscription applies if you exceed the trial terms (either in days or usage) before canceling service.  In other words if you exceed the trial terms they assume you want to keep the service and bill accordingly based on the plan chosen during sign up.

That one really seems to catch some people.  They sign up for a free trial and forget to cancel or exceed the download limit by accident.  Then are confused when the provider bills them.  Please be clear that it is your responsibility to cancel during the trial period to avoid charges.  That means if the trial is 14 days and up to 10 gigs you shouldn’t exceed either one.  There isn’t typically a warning sent when you get close to the download or time limit.  Exceeding either one will transition the free trial into a paid account.

More general tips on how free Usenet trials work:

Most Usenet veterans seem comfortable with the way trials work.  Probably because they’ve tried a few through the years.  New users sometimes get frustrated.  Thinking the free trial will expire without any action on their part.  That isn’t the case.  You have to cancel the account during the trial period to avoid being charged.  Before exceeding the time or download limit.

The cancellation process varies between services but you normally visit the website, log in to your account and cancel service.  Each provider should have clear instructions on the site.  If you are considering a service that doesn’t make it clear you might want to avoid them.

Also pay attention to the account choices during sign up.  Some provider’s will offer discounted annual plans.  Most include one time billing.  Meaning if you exceed the free trial terms without canceling the company will automatically bill for a year of service.  Normally at a considerable discount which is nice if you want the service but not so good if you just forget to cancel.

Free Usenet Trial Details:

Now that we’ve covered the basics let’s take a close look at some of the top Usenet provider’s free trial offerings.

1.  NewsDemon

Trial details:  NewsDemon offers our visitors a special free trial.  They call it the “NGR Demon Trial“.  It consists of 7 days of free Usenet and up to 15 gigs of usage.  What makes the trial so special is that it combines with their “Demon Deal” which includes over 50% off unlimited Usenet access.  Meaning if you stay beyond the trial the cost is $10.95 a month versus the normal $22.99.

Pros: Trial + discount, free newsreader and free online storage.

Cons: None

2.  Newshosting

Trial details:  Newshosting also offers NGR visitors a free trial combined with discount pricing.  The trial term is 14 days with up to 10 gigs of downloads.  Followed by a discounted price of $12.95 for Unlimited or $15.95 for XL Powerpack account.  The differnce being number of connections.  Tip: go with the Unlimited account as 30 connections is plenty.

Pros: Trial + discount

Cons: None

3.  Giganews

Trial details:  Giganews offers a 14 day free Usenet trial with up to 10 GB of usage.  They also combine it with a special offer of 50% off the first month for Diamond sign ups.

Pros: Trial + discount for Diamond account

Cons: Diamond accounts do not include VyprVPN access during the trial period.

4. UseNetServer

Trial details:  UseNetServer offers a 14 day, 10 GB free Usenet trial.  We like the service a lot but what makes it a great value is the UNS special offers which include unlimited access for $10 a month or $95.40 a year.  Unfortunately if you take advantage of their free trial retail pricing applies.  In this case we suggest forgoing the trial for the lifetime discount.

Pros: Standard trial terms.

Cons: The trial ends in retail pricing.

5. Power Usenet

Trial details:  Power Usenet offers a 5 days, 10 GB free newsgroup trial.  They also combine it with a special offer that includes 50% off your first month of unlimited access.

Pros: Trial + discount.

Cons: The trial term (5 days) is a bit shorter than most.  Still plenty of time though.

6. Easynews

Trial details:  Easynews offers a 14 day free Usenet trial with up to 10 GB of downloads.  The trial only applies to Classic accounts.

Pros: Standard trial terms.

Cons: The trial only applies to Classic accounts.

I hope this guide has helped you better understand how free Usenet trials work.  We will keep a running list of the best free newsgroup trials on NGR along with the details of each trial.  Leaving you with the final advice of always reading and understanding the full terms of a Usenet trial or any other offer before signing up.