UsenetBucket
It’s disappointing when a Usenet platform is limited to a particular region or language, but fortunately, UsenetBucket is different to many competitors, putting flexibility first. Although it’s based in the Netherlands, the website can be accessed in languages including English, German, Swedish, French, Dutch and Portuguese.
As well as being available to an array of different users around the world, the company prides itself on customer service. If you have an issue that you need addressing or a simple question about pricing, you can access an experienced support team that’s available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Another thing that sets UsenetBucket apart is the fact that it relies heavily on automated systems. When you sign up for a membership, an account is made available and ready to use within minutes. You don’t need any prior tech knowledge to be able to access all the Usenet services this provider offers.
Performance
Just as we always say in our Usenet reviews, retention is one of the most important considerations when choosing a Usenet service. Retention simply refers to the length of time that articles will remain available to download. UsenetBucket offers 1,200 days of binary retention to all its users, and there’s a completion rate in excess of 99% promised.
That’s not bad, although there are more powerful offerings out there. Eweka, which is another European Usenet company, provides 3,157 days of retention for example. Whatever the case, it’s worth noting that these numbers are constantly changing. So there’s nothing to say that UsenetBucket’s retention won’t grow in the foreseeable future.
Security and UI
When using a newsgroup service, you’re constantly downloading, accessing and sharing data. This is why security is important. Like most providers nowadays, all of UsenetBucket’s accounts come with SSL protection for secure access to files. And this also means third-parties can’t track the things you download. Unfortunately, there isn’t an additional VPN service here, but that’s not to say that UsenetBucket isn’t as secure as other companies. A VPN just adds another layer of protection.
This provider has also made a commitment that it won’t share any of your data with external organisations. In fact, UsenetBucket claims to put the customer at the heart of everything it does. On its website, the firm writes: “Our mission is to give you the best Usenet experience in the business … by giving you full control over your account and letting you take part in improving our services.”
There are some great Usenet services out there, but many of them still lack decent user interfaces and are complicated to use. UsenetBucket’s UI is not only easy on the eyes, but it also gives you access to a dedicated control panel. This is a quick and simple way for you to access newsgroups, but it also houses your account information. You can sign in with your email address or a Facebook account, which is something that many providers don’t allow.
Pricing and speeds
You can choose from plenty of payment methods too. UsenetBucket supports the likes of Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Bitcoin, MyBank, GiroPay, WebMoney, Dotpay and iDeal. Thanks to partnerships with Stripe, Pay.nl and Bitpay, all transactions you make are also secure. There’s nothing worse than your payment details being exposed, so it’s great to see all these options.
UsenetBucket is relatively affordable, and there are only three plans to choose from. The first, which is described as the ‘basic bucket’, costs €2.95 (£2.50, $3.10) a month. For that, you get 10Mbps in terms of speed, unlimited downloads and 25 connections.
Next up, you have the ‘comfort bucket’ (yes, the plan names are strange) costing €4.95 (£4.25, $5.25), giving you up to 40Mbps of speed and 25 connections. Last of all, there’s the ‘ultimate bucket’, which is priced at €12.95 (£11, $13.70) and provides you with a maximum speed of 400Mbps and 50 connections.
Final verdict
UsenetBucket isn’t the most powerful newsgroup platform on the market, but that’s not to say it disappoints. It’s a mid-range offering that lets you access Usenet groups quickly and easily, although more experienced users may want to look elsewhere, and the retention rate is rather low compared to rivals.
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