A note on subscription prices from LWN
We adopted the subscription model in late 2002; it was one of the best decisions we have ever made. This model makes us independent of the volatile (and surveillance-driven) advertising market and aligns our interests with those of our readers. But it does depend on support from those readers; if you have not yet subscribed to LWN, please consider doing so now — our subscribers are the only reason we continue to exist.
We have only increased prices twice in the 24 years since adopting this model; the last increase was in early 2022, nearly five years ago. That increase helped to keep us on a stable footing, and a lot more besides. We were able to hire Daroc Alden and Joe Brockmeier, and they have greatly increased the depth and range of our coverage. The LWN site has been improved in a number of ways, with features like articles in EPUB format, markdown formatting for comments, the kernel source database, full-text email and RSS feeds, dark-mode support, the public topic list, and more. A lot of effort has also gone into keeping the site alive, responsive, and reader-friendly in the face of escalating scraper attacks.
Since the 2022 price change, according to the undoubtedly reliable numbers from the US government, consumer-price inflation has added up to almost exactly 20%. Some costs (health insurance, naturally) have gone up rather more than that. We will be matching the inflation number, though, and increase prices by approximately 20%; the new monthly prices will be:
Prices for group subscriptions will be increased by the same amount.
All subscriptions purchased ahead of the change will remain valid through the original expiration date. The policy for individual monthly subscriptions is a little different this time; all monthly subscriptions that were active before this announcement went out will be charged at the old rate for the following six months. Reminders will be sent out to monthly subscribers before the new rates take effect.
There are few things we like less than raising prices, which is why we have done it so rarely. It would be far better to keep LWN as inexpensive as possible and make it up in volume. Subscriber growth has stalled, though, in recent years, making that strategy unworkable for now. We are working on schemes to bring in more subscribers again, but that is a long-term process; getting there requires some short-term help.
In January, LWN will begin its 30th year of publication. There is really only one reason why we are still here and vital after all that time: it is because our readers have always supported us. There are not many people who have had the good fortune to write for such a loyal community, and we are deeply grateful for it. Thank you, as always, for supporting LWN.
Posted Sep 1, 2026 19:21 UTC (Tue) by comex (subscriber, #71521) [Link] (4 responses)
That said, I’m going to soapbox a bit: I think it would have been nice if the title of the article said it was a price increase. Vague titles for bad news are standard in corporate communications, but to me they feel… obfuscatory. Perhaps the goal is to set an apologetic or personal tone, but I think it better respects the reader’s time to make the title a useful summary of the article.
But this is basically just an aesthetic preference of mine; I wouldn’t be surprised if others see things differently. I’m not claiming that my time was wasted: I would have read the article either way. :)
Posted Sep 1, 2026 19:58 UTC (Tue) by quotemstr (subscriber, #45331) [Link] (1 responses)
Posted Sep 2, 2026 7:35 UTC (Wed) by magi (subscriber, #4051) [Link]
Posted Sep 2, 2026 13:39 UTC (Wed) by rsidd (guest, #2582) [Link]
My subscription lapsed recently. I will resubscribe after 15 September.
Posted Sep 2, 2026 14:00 UTC (Wed) by rgh (guest, #13511) [Link]
Posted Sep 1, 2026 19:35 UTC (Tue) by hossbeast (subscriber, #137045) [Link]
Posted Sep 1, 2026 19:57 UTC (Tue) by lambert.boskamp (subscriber, #131534) [Link]
Posted Sep 1, 2026 19:58 UTC (Tue) by sdalley (subscriber, #18550) [Link]
[1] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1j1kjy7gewo
Posted Sep 1, 2026 20:08 UTC (Tue) by phm (subscriber, #168918) [Link]
Posted Sep 1, 2026 20:10 UTC (Tue) by amacater (subscriber, #790) [Link]
Keep on keeping on, please.
Posted Sep 1, 2026 20:50 UTC (Tue) by ejr (subscriber, #51652) [Link]
Posted Sep 1, 2026 21:08 UTC (Tue) by ScienceMan (subscriber, #122508) [Link]
Posted Sep 1, 2026 22:00 UTC (Tue) by mbunkus (subscriber, #87248) [Link]
I’d like to echo what the others have said here: I’m more than happy to pay the increased price. I’m incredibly glad journalism like yours can still exist today, skillfully covering topics I care deeply about. With great insights & deep respect, humorous and knowledgeable. I have always been and will continue to be a proud supporter of LWN.
A big thank you to the members of the community here as well. While comment sections can get off-topic, can get a bit personal at times, it’s nothing compared to the cesspool of most other comment sections out there. Most of the time it’s quite the opposite: respectful discussions, technically well-founded, including a lot of prominent of various fields & projects I very much admire. So again, thank y’all!
Posted Sep 1, 2026 22:17 UTC (Tue) by DouglasJM (subscriber, #6435) [Link] (1 responses)
As has been mentioned above, my initial fear when I read the title was that you were going to shutdown or something, that would have broken my heart for sure.
I’ll be upping my subscription level after September 15 to help maximize what is a nominal fee for such high quality content!
Keep up the good work.
Posted Sep 2, 2026 12:29 UTC (Wed) by wodny (subscriber, #73045) [Link]
Same here. I will gladly wait extra 3 days until 15th to renew.
Posted Sep 1, 2026 22:49 UTC (Tue) by flewellyn (subscriber, #5047) [Link]
Posted Sep 1, 2026 23:00 UTC (Tue) by rgmoore (✭ supporter ✭, #75) [Link]
I’m paying the “Maniacal supporter” level, and I intend to continue doing so. Quality journalism like this deserves support from those of us who can afford to support it.
Posted Sep 1, 2026 23:09 UTC (Tue) by cesarb (subscriber, #6266) [Link]
Posted Sep 2, 2026 3:06 UTC (Wed) by cypherpunks2 (guest, #152408) [Link] (3 responses)
If there are issues with the environmental impact of proof-of-work mining, there are many alternatives that use proof-of-stake algorithms that do not have a negative environmental impact (and surely are less economically unethical than, say, Paypal).
Posted Sep 2, 2026 9:44 UTC (Wed) by fredi@lwn (subscriber, #65912) [Link]
@cypherpunks2 Solvable, I can pay it for you, and you pay me back in crypto. If this works for you, give me an email address where we can comunicate privately.
Posted Sep 2, 2026 11:59 UTC (Wed) by teknohog (subscriber, #70891) [Link] (1 responses)
I also understand that adding new payment methods may be a nontrivial undertaking for a small website/team, regardless of what they personally think of the methods.
Posted Sep 2, 2026 12:40 UTC (Wed) by daroc (editor, #160859) [Link]
It definitely can be done, we just haven’t gotten to it yet. With several people expressing their desire to subscribe with cryptocurrency in these comments, maybe we should move the priority up the list.
Posted Sep 2, 2026 9:21 UTC (Wed) by greggyb (subscriber, #173803) [Link]
My circumstances have changed since I first subscribed, but I never revisited my subscription. I’ve just increased my subscription level, prompted by this note. It’s worth every penny (:
Posted Sep 2, 2026 10:07 UTC (Wed) by hiddenengine (subscriber, #87942) [Link]
I’ve been a quiet reader for many years, but I hardly every post. I’m definitely one of the “silent consumers”, but please keep up the good work.
This site makes excellent training material for AIs, so I hope that those companies are in your corporate sponsor lists. If they aren’t, they should be!
Posted Sep 2, 2026 10:57 UTC (Wed) by q3cpma (subscriber, #120859) [Link]
Posted Sep 2, 2026 12:16 UTC (Wed) by demiguru (subscriber, #176724) [Link]
Posted Sep 2, 2026 13:28 UTC (Wed) by antacon (subscriber, #138885) [Link]
Posted Sep 2, 2026 13:48 UTC (Wed) by tgall (subscriber, #217) [Link]
Posted Sep 2, 2026 13:54 UTC (Wed) by karim96 (subscriber, #153187) [Link]
Long live LWN!! The only subscription I never think twice about.
Posted Sep 2, 2026 14:06 UTC (Wed) by karim (subscriber, #114) [Link]
From my point of view, whatever it is that you guys deem is necessary to keep this running is something that requires little justification.
Posted Sep 2, 2026 14:35 UTC (Wed) by 0x3333 (subscriber, #158599) [Link] (3 responses)
The price is totally in line with the quality you guys deliver. Go for it.
Posted Sep 2, 2026 14:39 UTC (Wed) by corbet (editor, #1) [Link] (2 responses)
Thanks (to all of you) for the nice words…
Posted Sep 2, 2026 15:22 UTC (Wed) by chris_se (subscriber, #99706) [Link]
I read it similarly, not as far as “we’re going to shut down completely”, but my initial reading was along the lines of “there’s something unfortunate that’s going on we have to tell you all”. Then I read the article and thought “oh good, it’s just a modest price increase, nothing bad is happening” and my heart rate went right back down. :-)
Posted Sep 2, 2026 19:10 UTC (Wed) by 0x3333 (subscriber, #158599) [Link]
Take this as a compliment on your hard work.
Posted Sep 2, 2026 16:58 UTC (Wed) by babywipes (subscriber, #104169) [Link]
Posted Sep 2, 2026 20:07 UTC (Wed) by LA1ZJ (subscriber, #178576) [Link]
I’m even upgrading my subscription tier. Time to give something back. Thank you so, so much for this site. Keep it up!
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