Paywall glossary
Updated September 2026
The word "paywall" hides a lot of different designs, and which one you are facing decides whether an article is readable. Here are the terms you will run into, in plain English.
Why the type matters
Whether you can read an article free depends almost entirely on which kind of wall it uses. The definitions below map to how each one behaves — and whether the article text is recoverable at all.
Paywall terms, defined
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Soft paywall | The full article is in the page, hidden by a JavaScript overlay. Usually removable — the text is already there. |
| Metered paywall | A set number of free articles per month, tracked by a cookie. Free reads are fully delivered; then the wall drops. |
| Hard paywall | The server sends no article text without a login. Not recoverable except via an existing public archive. |
| Dynamic paywall | The wall adapts per reader — how many free reads you get depends on your behaviour, scored by a "propensity" model. |
| Freemium | Some articles are always free, others always subscriber-only, with no meter. Common at business and specialist outlets. |
| Gift link | A subscriber-generated URL that legitimately unlocks one article for a non-subscriber. See our gift-links guide. |
| Reader mode | A browser feature that re-renders a page as clean text, which can strip a soft-paywall overlay. |
| Archive (archive.today / Wayback) | A public snapshot of a page saved earlier — often ungated, and frequently the only route to a hard-walled article. |
See how each behaves in practice in our guide on how paywalls work.
Live success rates
Unlike other tools, RemovePaywall shows how often it actually works, from real usage — recent examples: The New Yorker ~98% · WIRED ~98% · The Atlantic ~97% · Business Insider ~92% · The New York Times ~64%. See the full live list.
FAQ
What is the difference between a soft and a hard paywall?
A soft paywall leaves the article text in the page (recoverable); a hard paywall never sends it without a login (not recoverable except via an archive).
What is a metered paywall?
One that gives you a set number of free articles per month before blocking the rest, usually tracked by a cookie.
What is a dynamic paywall?
A wall that varies the number of free reads per person based on a model of how likely you are to subscribe.