Ranked: The Most Popular Subscription News Websites
While paywalls are becoming increasingly more popular among news websites, most consumers still aren’t willing to pay for their online news.
In fact, a recent survey by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism reveals that only 20% of Americans pay for digital news, and of those that do, the majority subscribe to only one brand.
This begs the question—which news outlets are audiences willing to pay for?
Using data from FIPP and CeleraOne, this graphic looks at the most popular news websites across the globe, based on their total number of paid subscriptions.
*Note: This report relies on publicly available data, and should not be considered an exhaustive list.
The Full Breakdown
With 7.5 million subscriptions, The New York Times (NYT) takes the top spot on the list. 2020 was an exceptionally strong year for the outlet—by Q3 2020, the NYT had generated the same amount of revenue from digital subscriptions as it had for the entire year of 2019.
| Rank | Publication | Paid Subscriptions |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇺🇸 The New York Times | 6,100,000 |
| 2 | 🇺🇸 The Washington Post | 3,000,000 |
| 3 | 🇺🇸 The Wall Street Journal | 2,400,000 |
| 4 | 🇺🇸 Game Informer | 2,100,000 |
| 5 | 🇬🇧 Financial Times | 1,100,000 |
| 6 | 🇺🇸 The Athletic | 1,000,000 |
| 7 | 🇬🇧 The Guardian | 790,000 |
| 8 | 🇯🇵 Nikkei | 769,000 |
| 9 | 🇬🇧 The Economist | 516,000 |
| 10 | 🇨🇳 Caixin | 510,000 |
| 11 | 🇩🇪 Bild | 494,000 |
| 12 | 🇬🇧 The Sunday Times | 337,000 |
| 13 | 🇬🇧 The Telegraph | 320,000 |
| 14 | 🇺🇸 The Atlantic | 300,000 |
| 15 | 🇮🇹 Corriere Della Sera | 300,000 |
| 16 | 🇫🇷 Le Monde | 300,000 |
| 17 | 🇺🇸 The Boston Globe | 270,000 |
| 18 | 🇦🇷 La Nacion | 260,000 |
| 19 | 🇦🇷 Clarin | 260,000 |
| 20 | 🇫🇷 L'equipe | 259,000 |
| 21 | 🇺🇸 Los Angeles Times | 253,000 |
| 22 | 🇸🇪 Aftonbladet | 250,000 |
| 23 | 🇺🇸 The New Yorker | 240,000 |
| 24 | 🇵🇱 Wyborcza | 240,000 |
| 25 | 🇧🇷 Folha de S.Paulo | 236,000 |
| 26 | 🇸🇪 Dagens Nyheter | 208,000 |
| 27 | 🇺🇸 Business Insider | 200,000 |
| 28 | 🇫🇷 Mediapart | 170,000 |
| 29 | 🇳🇴 VG | 150,000 |
| 30 | 🇺🇸 Wired | 142,000 |
| 31 | 🇨🇦 The Globe and Mail | 139,000 |
| 32 | 🇩🇪 Welt | 132,000 |
| 33 | 🇳🇴 Aftenposten | 119,000 |
| 34 | 🇫🇷 Le Figaro | 110,000 |
| 35 | 🇺🇸 Chicago Tribune | 100,000 |
| 36 | 🇺🇸 Star Tribune | 100,000 |
| 37 | 🇳🇴 Dagbladet | 100,000 |
| 38 | 🇫🇮 Helsingin Sanomat | 100,000 |
The Times is the most popular by a landslide—it has over double the number of subscriptions than the second outlet on the list, The Washington Post. Yet, while WaPo is no match for NYT, it still boasts a strong following, with approximately 3 million paid subscriptions as of Q4 2020.
Japanese outlet Nikkei ranks number one among the non-English news websites. It’s the largest business newspaper in Japan, mainly focusing on markets and finance, but also covering politics, sports, and health.
Legacy Papers: Which Websites Come From Traditional Media?
Most of the websites on this list stem from traditional media. Because of this, they’ve had years to establish themselves as trusted sources, and win over loyal readers.
Interestingly, more than half of the outlets included in this ranking are at least 100 years old.
| Publication | Year Launched | Age (Years) |
|---|---|---|
| 🇬🇧 The Guardian | 1821 | 200 |
| 🇬🇧 The Sunday Times | 1821 | 200 |
| 🇫🇷 Le Figaro | 1826 | 195 |
| 🇸🇪 Aftonbladet | 1830 | 190 |
| 🇬🇧 The Economist | 1843 | 178 |
| 🇺🇸 Chicago Tribune | 1847 | 173 |
| 🇺🇸 NYT | 1852 | 169 |
| 🇬🇧 The Telegraph | 1855 | 166 |
| 🇺🇸 The Atlantic | 1857 | 164 |
| 🇳🇴 Aftenposten | 1860 | 160 |
| 🇸🇪 Dagens Nyheter | 1864 | 157 |
| 🇺🇸 Star Tribune | 1867 | 154 |
| 🇳🇴 Dagbladet | 1869 | 152 |
| 🇦🇷 La Nacion | 1870 | 151 |
| 🇺🇸 The Boston Globe | 1872 | 149 |
| 🇮🇹 Corriere Della Sera | 1876 | 145 |
| 🇺🇸 Washington Post | 1877 | 144 |
| 🇯🇵 Nikkei.com | 1876 | 144 |
| 🇺🇸 LA Times | 1881 | 140 |
| 🇬🇧 Financial Times | 1888 | 133 |
| 🇺🇸 Wall Street Journal | 1889 | 132 |
| 🇫🇮 Helsingin Sanomat | 1889 | 132 |
| 🇧🇷 Folha de S.Paulo | 1921 | 100 |
| 🇺🇸 The New Yorker | 1925 | 96 |
| 🇨🇦 The Globe and Mail | 1936 | 85 |
| 🇫🇷 Le Monde | 1944 | 77 |
| 🇦🇷 Clarin | 1945 | 76 |
| 🇳🇴 VG | 1945 | 76 |
| 🇫🇷 L'equipe | 1946 | 75 |
| 🇩🇪 Welt | 1946 | 75 |
| 🇩🇪 Bild | 1952 | 69 |
| 🇵🇱 Wyborcza | 1989 | 32 |
| 🇺🇸 Game Informer | 1991 | 30 |
| 🇺🇸 Wired | 1993 | 28 |
| 🇺🇸 Business Insider | 2007 | 14 |
| 🇫🇷 Mediapart | 2008 | 13 |
| 🇨🇳 Caixin | 2009 | 12 |
| 🇺🇸 The Athletic | 2016 | 5 |
Yet, undeterred by these well-established outlets, a few scrappy websites made the cut despite a shorter history. Four out of the 38 websites are less than 20 years old.
The Athletic is the newest outlet to make the ranking. Established in 2016, the outlet’s target demographic is die-hard sports fans who miss the days of in-depth, quality sports writing.
The Need For Trusted Sources
Amidst the global pandemic, issues involving misinformation and fake news have helped reaffirm the important role that trusted news sources play in the dissemination of public information.
With this in mind, it’ll be interesting to see what the future holds for digital media consumption. With paywalls becoming increasingly more common, will consumers jump on board and eventually be more willing to pay for their news?
Technology
Mapped: Europe’s Social Media Gap by Country
An overwhelming majority of Europeans are on social media today. Germans and Italians, however, are more reluctant.
Published
6 days ago
on
May 2, 2026
Mapped: Europe’s Social Media Gap by Country
See visuals like this from many other data creators on our Voronoi app. Download it for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.
Key Takeaways
- Social media use in Europe ranges from 56% in Italy to 90% in Denmark.
- Northern Europe leads adoption, with several countries above 80%.
- Germany (59%) and Italy (56%) trail the European average of 74%.
Social media use across Europe varies sharply by country, creating a clear gap between the continent’s most and least connected populations.
This map shows the share of adults active on social networking sites across Europe, based on 2025 data from Eurostat and Ofcom. Being “active” in this case involves creating a profile, posting messages, sharing, commenting, or otherwise contributing to a social networking site.
While adoption exceeds 80% in several northern countries, it drops to 56% in Italy and 59% in Germany, two of Europe’s largest economies. Overall, the European average sits at 74%, masking these wide differences in usage.
Northern Europe’s Social Media Craze
Northern Europe stands out as the region with the highest social media adoption rates.
Denmark leads the continent in social media use (90%), followed closely by Norway (89%). Sweden and the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania trail slightly behind in the 70–79% range.
This data table shows social media usage rates across European countries.
| Rank | Country | Social Media Use (% of Adults) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇩🇰 Denmark | 90 |
| 2 | 🇬🇧 UK | 89 |
| 3 | 🇳🇴 Norway | 89 |
| 4 | 🇨🇾 Cyprus | 87 |
| 5 | 🇲🇪 Montenegro | 84 |
| 6 | 🇲🇹 Malta | 82 |
| 7 | 🇫🇮 Finland | 81 |
| 8 | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | 81 |
| 9 | 🇹🇷 Turkey | 80 |
| 10 | 🇮🇪 Ireland | 80 |
| 11 | 🇷🇴 Romania | 80 |
| 12 | 🇱🇻 Latvia | 79 |
| 13 | 🇭🇺 Hungary | 79 |
| 14 | 🇲🇰 North Macedonia | 78 |
| 15 | 🇷🇸 Serbia | 76 |
| 16 | 🇸🇪 Sweden | 75 |
| 17 | 🇨🇭 Switzerland | 74 |
| 18 | 🇬🇷 Greece | 73 |
| 19 | 🇪🇪 Estonia | 73 |
| 20 | 🇧🇬 Bulgaria | 71 |
| 21 | 🇫🇷 France | 71 |
| 22 | 🇵🇹 Portugal | 71 |
| 23 | 🇱🇹 Lithuania | 70 |
| 24 | 🇨🇿 Czechia | 70 |
| 25 | 🇪🇸 Spain | 70 |
| 26 | 🇦🇹 Austria | 68 |
| 27 | 🇧🇪 Belgium | 68 |
| 28 | 🇱🇺 Luxembourg | 67 |
| 29 | 🇸🇮 Slovenia | 65 |
| 30 | 🇵🇱 Poland | 63 |
| 31 | 🇸🇰 Slovakia | 62 |
| 32 | 🇭🇷 Croatia | 62 |
| 33 | 🇩🇪 Germany | 59 |
| 34 | 🇮🇹 Italy | 56 |
Northern Europe’s high usage reflects early and widespread adoption of digital technologies.
Estonia, for example, has earned the moniker “e-Estonia” due to its tech-savvy society and government, while companies ranging from Finland’s Nokia to Sweden’s Spotify rank among Europe’s leading digital success stories.
Even with this reputation, some Scandinavian governments are considering social media bans for children. Denmark, as the continental leader in online activity, is weighing a ban on children’s creation of social media profiles before age 15, or 13–14 with parental consent.
Social Media in Western Europe
Western Europe has long included some of the continent’s most globalized countries. In 2005, university students in the United Kingdom were the first outside North America to join Facebook. Today, 89% of UK adults are active on social media.
However, beyond the UK, social media activity is more limited than in the Nordics. France counts 71% of its adult population on social networking sites, just ahead of Spain and Portugal (both 70%).
For their part, the Benelux countries show an interesting contrast: 81% of Dutch adults use social media, compared to 67–68% in Belgium and Luxembourg.
Italians: The Least Online Europeans
Italy has the lowest social media usage rate in Europe, with just 56% of adults active on social networks. This represents a gap of more than 30 percentage points compared to countries like Denmark, Norway, or the UK.
The contrast also appears generational, as over three-quarters of Italian teens self-report being addicted to their phones.
Germany (59%) is the only country near Italy’s low rate of social media usage. German society appears more divided on the benefits and drawbacks of social networking sites, with nearly half of surveyed Germans in 2025 saying they would rather live in a world without social media.
Learn More on the Voronoi App 
To learn more about this topic, check out the What are Gen Z’s Favorite Social Media Platforms? on Voronoi.
Technology
Mapped: Social Media Use Among Europe’s Youth
Social media has always depended on young adults. Today, there’s a clear gap between France and the UK versus countries like Italy.
Published
1 week ago
on
April 29, 2026
Mapped: Where Young Adults Use Social Media Most in Europe
See visuals like this from many other data creators on our Voronoi app. Download it for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.
Key Takeaways
- Social media use among Europe’s young adults is near-universal in many countries, often exceeding 95%.
- Italy (80.3%) and Germany (84.2%) have the lowest rates on the continent.
- Northern Europe and the Balkans lead, with several countries approaching full adoption.
Social media use among young adults (aged 16–29) in Europe is nearing saturation, with many countries approaching universal adoption.
But two of Europe’s largest economies stand apart.
Data from Eurostat and Ofcom shows a clear gap. While countries in Northern Europe and the Balkans lead, major economies like Germany (84.2%) and Italy (80.3%) lag behind their peers.
Nearly Universal Adoption With Two Exceptions
In countries like Denmark or Czechia, social media use is close to universal among young adults.
Germany and Italy break from this pattern, highlighting how cultural and structural factors continue to shape digital behavior.
Below is the full ranking of 34 European countries by social media use among young adults:
| Rank | Country | Use of Social Networks in 2025 among young adults |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇨🇾 Cyprus | 98.3 |
| 2 | 🇲🇰 North Macedonia | 97.7 |
| 3 | 🇨🇿 Czechia | 97.2 |
| 4 | 🇷🇸 Serbia | 97.2 |
| 5 | 🇬🇧 UK | 97.0 |
| 6 | 🇩🇰 Denmark | 96.9 |
| 7 | 🇫🇮 Finland | 96.6 |
| 8 | 🇦🇹 Austria | 96.1 |
| 9 | 🇲🇪 Montenegro | 96.1 |
| 10 | 🇨🇭 Switzerland | 95.8 |
| 11 | 🇳🇴 Norway | 95.7 |
| 12 | 🇮🇪 Ireland | 94.4 |
| 13 | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | 94.2 |
| 14 | 🇫🇷 France | 93.9 |
| 15 | 🇱🇻 Latvia | 93.8 |
| 16 | 🇹🇷 Turkey | 93.4 |
| 17 | 🇷🇴 Romania | 92.1 |
| 18 | 🇲🇹 Malta | 91.9 |
| 19 | 🇪🇸 Spain | 91.6 |
| 20 | 🇵🇹 Portugal | 91.6 |
| 21 | 🇪🇪 Estonia | 91.4 |
| 22 | 🇭🇺 Hungary | 91.1 |
| 23 | 🇸🇮 Slovenia | 91.0 |
| 24 | 🇭🇷 Croatia | 90.7 |
| 25 | 🇬🇷 Greece | 90.6 |
| 26 | 🇵🇱 Poland | 90.5 |
| 27 | 🇱🇹 Lithuania | 89.8 |
| 28 | 🇧🇬 Bulgaria | 89.4 |
| 29 | 🇸🇰 Slovakia | 88.7 |
| 30 | 🇸🇪 Sweden | 88.4 |
| 31 | 🇧🇪 Belgium | 88.3 |
| 32 | 🇱🇺 Luxembourg | 84.8 |
| 33 | 🇩🇪 Germany | 84.2 |
| 34 | 🇮🇹 Italy | 80.3 |
| -- | Average | 92.4 |
Cyprus and North Macedonia have the highest rates of young-adult social media use in Europe, followed closely by Czechia, Denmark, Finland, Serbia, and the United Kingdom.
In these countries, social media functions as essential infrastructure, used for everything from coordinating study groups to maintaining social circles. Being offline can make young people effectively invisible in networks that increasingly operate online.
Germany and Italy: The Exceptions
While social media use exceeds 90% across much of Europe, Germany and Italy stand apart.
Germany, Europe’s largest economy, has 84.2% of young adults on social media, well below many of its neighbors. Italy is lower still at 80.3%, meaning one in five young adults are not on any social platform, the highest share on the continent.
In Germany, stricter privacy norms shaped by GDPR have contributed to a more cautious approach to online presence. Policymakers are even considering restrictions on youth access, with leaders citing the dangers of online socialization.
In Italy, lower usage may reflect a stronger role for offline social life. Everyday interactions, from evening strolls to time spent in cafes, continue to provide alternatives to digital connection.
Migration’s Relationship With Social Media
High social media use in the Balkans is partly linked to emigration.
Roughly a quarter of Western Balkan citizens, for example, move abroad in search of higher wages and better job opportunities. For families split across different countries or even different continents, social media plays a key role in maintaining communication.
Diaspora has helped social media usage overcome the digital skepticism seen in countries like Germany or Italy.
Learn More on the Voronoi App
To learn more about this topic, check out the We’re Spending More Time Watching Videos on Social Media on Voronoi.