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Paywall Index — October 2026

How news sites lock their articles: the 239 outlets our readers tried most, 1–31 Oct 2026 — who tells search engines its articles are paid, who never sends the article, how each wall works, and who turns the Wayback Machine away.

Original data from RemovePaywall, free to reuse (CC-BY 4.0) · download the table (CSV) · full data (JSON)

180 of 214
declare a paywall to search engines
106
run a hard wall
9
never send the article
7
refused most Wayback Machine captures

Key findings

  • 180 of the 214 outlets we could check tell search engines their articles are paid — isAccessibleForFree: false in the page's schema.org data, the signal Google asks paywalled sites to give.
  • Outlets in Dutch, French and Portuguese declare it most often: 100% of those we checked, against 74% in English.
  • 9 major outlets never send the article to non-subscribers at all — the server stops after the opening: The Wall Street Journal, The Times, The Washington Post, De Telegraaf, Die Welt, Barron's, Mediapart, Gazeta Wyborcza, Wyborcza Biznes.
  • 7 outlets refused at least half of the Wayback Machine's captures of their front page; 5 answered some with “402 Payment Required”, the pay-to-crawl answer.
  • 106 of the 239 outlets run a hard wall, keeping their articles for subscribers; the others meter them or lock only some.

Who declares a paywall to search engines

Share of outlets whose sampled articles declare isAccessibleForFree: false, by language (languages with 5+ outlets checked).

Dutch100%
French100%
Portuguese100%
German88%
Spanish87%
Italian83%
Polish82%
English74%

Outlets that never send the article

Checked from a home connection: these send readers without a subscription only the headline and, at most, the opening — the rest of the article is never sent, so no paywall remover, extension or trick can show it. A public archive is the only route, when one exists.

The Wall Street Journal · The Times · The Washington Post · De Telegraaf · Die Welt · Barron's · Mediapart · Gazeta Wyborcza · Wyborcza Biznes

Who blocks the archives

Public archives are the last free route to an article behind a hard wall, and some publishers turn them away. Of the Wayback Machine's own captures of each outlet's front page in this period, the share the publisher refused: bot protection, a login, or “402 Payment Required”, the pay-to-crawl answer (in brackets). The share moves with how often the Wayback Machine tries: in weeks it crawls heavily, more captures get through, so compare outlets within one month rather than one month with another.

outletfront-page capturesrefused
De Telegraaf162100%
Die Zeit24100%
De Standaard161100%
Het Nieuwsblad153100%
The Australian3397%
The Economist22593% (70% 402)
kicker24762%
The Atlantic48844% (32% 402)
Irish Independent41240%
Bloomberg58538%
The New York Times1,50336%
The Daily Telegraph (Sydney)2025%
The Business Journals62325%
The Telegraph2,38022% (22% 402)
NJ.com1,03118%
The Seattle Times4,04011%
Haaretz1,76610%
El Confidencial1,6479%
The Hindu1,7639%
Clarín1,7529% (9% 402)

Checked 1 Nov 2026 from the Wayback Machine's public capture index; shown with 10+ captures in the period. Every outlet is in the CSV and JSON.

All outlets

239 outlets our readers tried 30+ times, most-read first · CSV

outletlanguagewalldeclares a paywallnever sends the articleWayback refusedreads
Daily MailEnglishsoft–––7,474
El PaísSpanishmeteredyes–3%5,761
The New York TimesEnglishmeteredyes–36%5,571
The AtlanticEnglishmeteredyes–44%3,826
Financial TimesEnglishhardyes–1%3,668
The EconomistEnglishhard––93%3,215
El ConfidencialSpanishmeteredno–9%2,424
The Wall Street JournalEnglishhardyesyes3%2,121
The TimesEnglishhardyesyes2%1,853
BloombergEnglishhardyes–38%1,768
El MundoSpanishmeteredyes–0%1,741
De TelegraafDutchhardyesyes100%1,357
la RepubblicaItalianmeteredyes–0%1,120
ADDutchhardyes––1,116
The TelegraphEnglishmeteredyes–22%1,061
Corriere della SeraItalianmeteredyes–0%1,055
MediapartFrenchhardyesyes0%1,003
ABCSpanishmeteredyes–0%959
Der SpiegelGermanmeteredyes–0%908
The Washington PostEnglishhardyesyes2%881
Le MondeFrenchhardyes–0%874
elDiario.esSpanishsoftyes–0%852
El EspañolSpanishmeteredyes–0%835
The New YorkerEnglishmeteredno–0%803
The Daily BeastEnglishsoftyes–0%762
La VanguardiaSpanishmeteredyes–0%684
The Globe and MailEnglishmeteredyes–1%647
El CorreoSpanishmeteredyes–0%640
Onet PremiumPolishmeteredyes–0%600
The Courier-MailEnglishhardno––599
NBC NewsEnglishsoftyes––571
The HinduEnglishmeteredyes–9%512
The Irish TimesEnglishmeteredyes–0%497
ReutersEnglishhard––2%495
The Sydney Morning HeraldEnglishmeteredyes–2%494
BILDGermanhardyes–0%477
Le ParisienFrenchhard––1%474
Vanity FairEnglishhardno–0%446
de VolkskrantDutchhardyes––441
Gazeta WyborczaPolishhardnoyes–437
The Australian Financial ReviewEnglishhardno–0%436
The VergeEnglishmeteredyes–0%421
Le FigaroFrenchmeteredyes–0%414
MediumEnglishmetered––5%408
The Daily Telegraph (Sydney)Englishhardno–25%392
Die ZeitGermanhard––100%379
Het ParoolDutchhardyes––374
Sud OuestFrenchmeteredyes–2%371
De MorgenDutchhardyes––360
Irish IndependentEnglishhardyes–40%357
Les ÉchosFrenchhardyes–0%355
Die WeltGermanhardyesyes0%349
Het Laatste NieuwsDutchhardyes–0%338
Folha de S.PauloPortuguesemeteredyes–0%337
Herald SunEnglishhardno––336
The Indian ExpressEnglishhardyes–0%331
Business InsiderEnglishmeteredyes–0%325
The ObserverEnglishmeteredyes–0%321
BBC NewsEnglishsoftno–0%308
Süddeutsche ZeitungGermanhardyes–0%308
WIREDEnglishmeteredno–0%302
Las ProvinciasSpanishmeteredyes–0%283
South China Morning PostEnglishmeteredyes–3%278
ExpansiónSpanishmeteredyes–0%274
CNNEnglishmeteredyes–0%273
Ouest-FranceFrenchsoftyes–0%267
Der TagesspiegelGermanhardyes–0%261
LibérationFrenchhard––2%256
NRCDutchsoftyes–0%252
ClarínSpanishmeteredno–9%248
De GelderlanderDutchhardyes––246
AraSpanishmeteredyes–0%245
Los Angeles TimesEnglishmeteredyes–0%240
HotNewsRomanianmeteredyes–0%224
Heraldo de AragónSpanishhardyes–0%217
The AustralianEnglishhardno–97%209
WAZGermanmeteredyes–0%209
O GloboPortuguesemeteredyes–0%202
The Free PressEnglishhardyes–0%200
The AgeEnglishmeteredyes–8%195
HaaretzEnglishhardyes–10%194
RP OnlineGermanhardyes–0%194
Brabants DagbladDutchhardyes––190
HandelsblattGermanhardyes–0%188
La Voz de GaliciaSpanishhardyes–0%187
L'ÉquipeFrenchmetered––1%186
The GuardianEnglishsoftno––181
ForbesEnglishhard––0%180
SternGermanhard––0%172
De StentorDutchhardyes––170
Il Sole 24 OreItalianhardno–0%164
De TubantiaDutchhardyes––163
VultureEnglishmeteredno–0%158
Diario de SevillaSpanishmeteredyes–0%157
FAZGermanhardno––157
The SunEnglishmeteredyes–0%157
The CutEnglishmeteredno–0%155
El Diario MontañésSpanishmeteredyes–0%154
The Boston GlobeEnglishmeteredyes–0%151
The Canberra TimesEnglishhardyes–0%151
El Norte de CastillaSpanishmeteredyes–0%145
Het Financieele DagbladDutchhard––0%144
Harvard Business ReviewEnglishmeteredyes–0%142
Levante-EMVSpanishmeteredyes–0%142
La Voix du NordFrenchhardyes–0%141
Business Insider PolskaPolishmeteredyes–0%138
HumoDutchhardyes––138
infoLibreSpanishmeteredno–0%137
Il Fatto QuotidianoItalianmeteredyes–0%137
New StatesmanEnglishmeteredyes–7%136
The Business JournalsEnglishhard––25%134
El Diario VascoSpanishmeteredyes–0%133
VoxEnglishhardyes–0%131
The New Zealand HeraldEnglishmeteredyes–0%130
Foreign PolicyEnglishmeteredyes–0%127
RzeczpospolitaPolishmeteredyes–0%124
National ReviewEnglishmeteredno–0%123
La DépêcheFrenchsoftyes–0%122
De StandaardDutchhardyes–100%121
actu.frFrenchsoftyes–0%120
Toronto StarEnglishhardyes–0%119
Hamburger AbendblattGermanhardyes–8%118
The InformationEnglishhardyes–7%118
kickerGermanhard––62%117
Die RheinpfalzGermanmeteredno––117
Dagblad van het NoordenDutchhardyes––116
La NaciónSpanishmeteredyes–0%115
De LimburgerDutchmeteredyes–0%115
NZZGermanmeteredyes–0%114
Nordwest-ZeitungGermansoftno–0%109
Barron'sEnglishhardyesyes0%109
EstadãoPortuguesemeteredyes–0%108
Foreign AffairsEnglishmeteredyes–0%108
NatureEnglishhardyes–0%108
ZeroHedgeEnglishhardno–0%107
The Seattle TimesEnglishmeteredno–11%106
Scientific AmericanEnglishmeteredyes–0%106
Wyborcza BiznesPolishhardnoyes–106
The SpectatorEnglishmeteredyes–0%105
shz.deGermanhardyes–0%104
La RiojaSpanishsoftyes–0%100
The West AustralianEnglishhardyes–0%99
L'HumanitéFrenchsoftyes–0%97
El ComercioSpanishmeteredyes–0%97
Daily RecordEnglishmetered––0%93
La StampaItalianmeteredyes–0%93
NJ.comEnglishhardyes–18%92
Liverpool EchoEnglishmetered––0%92
Seeking AlphaEnglishmetered––0%92
WirtschaftsWocheGermanhardyes–0%91
The Economic TimesEnglishmeteredyes–0%90
La Nueva EspañaSpanishmeteredyes–0%90
El PeriódicoSpanishmeteredyes––88
Eindhovens DagbladDutchhard–––87
TrouwDutchhardyes––87
WestfalenpostGermanhardyes–0%87
Leipziger VolkszeitungGermanhard––1%87
Ostsee-ZeitungGermanhard––0%83
BusinessDeskEnglishhardyes–1%83
SlateEnglishmeteredyes–0%80
The IndependentEnglishsoftyes–1%80
De TijdDutchhardyes–0%79
Sächsische ZeitungGermanhard––0%79
Prensa LibreSpanishmeteredyes–0%78
La DHFrenchmeteredyes–0%76
Freie PresseGermanmeteredyes–0%76
The i PaperEnglishsoftno–0%73
Il MessaggeroItalianmeteredyes–0%73
Le TélégrammeFrenchmeteredyes–1%73
Midi LibreFrenchmeteredyes–0%73
El Periódico de AragónSpanishmeteredyes–0%70
TVN24Polishhardyes–0%70
AftonbladetSwedishhardyes–0%69
Le Nouvel ObsFrenchhardyes–0%69
Thüringer AllgemeineGermanhardyes–0%66
rosenheim24.deGermansoftno–0%65
Manager MagazinGermanmeteredyes–0%64
Dagens NyheterSwedishmeteredyes–0%62
Het NieuwsbladDutchhardyes–100%62
OKO.pressPolishsoftyes–0%62
The Northern EchoEnglishsoftno–0%62
heise onlineGermanhardyes–0%61
VogueEnglishmeteredno–0%61
Forbes PolskaPolishmeteredyes–0%60
New ScientistEnglishmeteredyes–0%60
BillboardEnglishmeteredyes–0%60
National GeographicEnglishmeteredyes–0%60
Bloomberg LawEnglishhardyes–0%60
Rolling StoneEnglishmeteredyes–0%60
NewsdayEnglishmeteredyes–0%60
Project SyndicateEnglishhardyes–0%59
The KenEnglishhardno––59
The ColumbianEnglishmetered––0%57
El FinancieroSpanishhardyes–0%57
Augsburger AllgemeineGermanhardyes––56
Berliner ZeitungGermanmeteredyes–0%55
FortuneEnglishmeteredyes–0%54
Belfast TelegraphEnglishhardyes–7%54
Newsweek PolskaPolishmeteredyes–0%53
Valor EconômicoPortuguesehardyes–0%53
Ruhr NachrichtenGermanhardyes–0%52
WalesOnlineEnglishmetered––0%51
MarianneFrenchhardyes–0%51
L'ExpressFrenchhardyes–0%50
San Francisco ChronicleEnglishhard––0%49
Telegram.hrEnglishmeteredyes–0%48
MARCASpanishhardyes–0%48
Le Canard enchaînéFrenchhardyes–0%47
Ostthüringer ZeitungGermanhardyes–0%47
Chicago TribuneEnglishsoftyes–3%47
Hannoversche AllgemeineGermanhard––1%47
Svenska DagbladetSwedishhardyes–0%47
GQEnglishmeteredno–0%45
Irish ExaminerEnglishhardno–0%44
Neue WestfälischeGermanmeteredyes–0%44
NewsweekEnglishmeteredyes–0%43
Krant van West-VlaanderenDutchhard–––42
La Voz de AlmeríaSpanishhardno–0%42
der FreitagGermanmeteredyes–0%41
Braunschweiger ZeitungGermanmeteredyes–0%41
Heilbronner StimmeGermanhardyes–0%40
Tages-AnzeigerGermanhardyes––40
Jeune AfriqueFrenchhardyes–0%39
National PostEnglishmeteredno––39
WWDEnglishsoftyes–0%39
LiveMintEnglishmeteredyes–0%39
The Herald (Scotland)Englishmeteredno–0%38
Business StandardEnglishmeteredyes–0%36
PolitykaPolishmeteredyes–0%36
The Business of FashionEnglishhardyes–0%35
RANE WorldviewEnglishmeteredyes––33
The BulwarkEnglishsoftyes–0%32
Gazeta PrawnaPolishmeteredyes–0%32
Mitteldeutsche ZeitungGermanhardyes–0%32
Helsingin SanomatEnglishhardyes–0%31
Berliner MorgenpostGermanmeteredyes–0%31
Illawarra MercuryEnglishhardyes–0%30
The Baltimore SunEnglishmeteredyes–0%30
ObservadorPortuguesemeteredyes–0%30

How this is measured

The outlets are the ones our readers tried most: every outlet we track that someone asked us to open 30+ times in the period. Reads only choose the outlets and show how much each was wanted; this edition publishes no success rates. Daily Mail made up 8% of all reads.

Declares a paywall: for each outlet we fetched up to 3 article links readers pasted, from a home connection, and looked for isAccessibleForFree: false in the page's schema.org data. Yes means at least one did; no means none of the 2 or more we could fetch did; a dash means too few could be fetched to say. Only the verdict is kept. Never sends the article: checked from a home connection, the outlet sends non-subscribers only the opening. Wall: how we classify the outlet's wall — hard (subscribers only), metered (some free articles, then a wall) or soft (most articles free). Wayback refused: of the Wayback Machine's own captures of the outlet's front page in the period, the share answered with 401, 403, 429, 451, 503 or 402, from its public capture index.

Cite or reuse

Free to quote, chart and republish with a link back — CC-BY 4.0. This edition's numbers will not change.

RemovePaywall (2026). “Paywall Index — October 2026.” https://removepaywall.co/paywall-index/2026-10

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October 2026 · September 2026

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