How to Cancel Medium Membership in 2026 (Bypass the Paywall for Free)
Updated 2026-02-21 · 5 min read
ℹ️ The Medium paradox: Medium charges $5/month to read articles written by unpaid (or poorly paid) writers. The platform takes most of the revenue while creators earn fractions of a penny per view. If you're paying for Medium, know that your $5/month is mostly going to Medium Inc. — not the writers you enjoy reading.
What Medium Costs
Free: 3 paywalled articles/month (used to be 5, keep decreasing)
Member: $5/month or $50/year — unlimited paywalled articles
Friend of Medium: $15/month or $150/year — same as Member plus 4× referral rewards for writers
Confirm — access continues until end of billing period
✅ Apple/Google: If you subscribed through iOS or Android, cancel through Settings → Subscriptions (Apple) or Play Store → Subscriptions (Google). Medium's website can't cancel app store subscriptions.
How to Read Medium Articles Without Paying
Several legitimate ways to access Medium content for free:
Incognito/private mode: Open the article URL in an incognito window. This resets your 3 free article count
Author "friend links": Many writers share their articles with "friend links" that bypass the paywall. Check the author's Twitter/newsletter
Cached versions: Search the article title on Google → click the cached version
Your local library: Some libraries provide free Medium access through their digital media programs
RSS readers: Many Medium articles are available via RSS before the paywall triggers
Archive.org: Wayback Machine often has cached copies of popular articles
Why People Leave Medium
Quality decline: Medium is flooded with AI-generated content, listicles, and clickbait. The signal-to-noise ratio has dropped dramatically since 2020
SEO spam: "10 Python tricks that will make you a 10x developer" and "Why I quit my $500K FAANG job" — the same recycled content in slightly different packaging
Writer payouts are declining: Writers report earning less per view each year. Many quality writers have moved to Substack, Ghost, or their own websites
Paywall fatigue: Being hit with "You've reached your limit" on content that should arguably be free (personal blogs, tutorials) feels exploitative
Better alternatives exist: Substack, Ghost, and personal blogs provide higher-quality content without a platform tax
Better Places to Read (Free)
Substack (free tiers): Most Substack writers offer free posts alongside paid content. Subscribe to your favorites for $0
dev.to / Hashnode (free): For tech content, these platforms are superior to Medium with no paywall
HackerNews (free): Curated tech and startup content, community-moderated quality
Personal blogs + RSS: Use Feedly or NetNewsWire to follow your favorite writers directly — no paywall middleman
Your library (free): Libby/OverDrive gives you free access to thousands of full books, which are more valuable than 5-minute blog posts
💰 The math: Medium membership ($60/year) buys you unlimited access to content that's increasingly AI-generated and recycled. Meanwhile: Substack free tiers ($0) + dev.to ($0) + public library card ($0) + RSS reader ($0) = $0/year for arguably better content. Save $60/year and read better writing.
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