The free Evening Standard and Metro newspapers were the only UK titles to see a growth in circulation in August, according to the latest ABC figures.
The Evening Standard, edited by former Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne, saw the biggest growth of 1 per cent year-on-year to a distribution of 858,557 last month.
Its free newspaper rival the Metro topped the circulation figures for the fourth consecutive month, growing slightly year-on-year with a distribution of 1,453,926 (up from 1,450,004 in August 2017).
Ted Young, editor of Metro said: “This is another huge achievement for Metro, consolidating its position as the biggest national newspaper in the country.
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“Our product continues to engage young, professional commuters every weekday morning with the right content to satisfy their daily news appetite.”
The Sun remains the UK’s best-selling newspaper with a circulation of 1,447,959, despite a 7 per cent year-on-year drop.
The Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph recorded the biggest year-on-year circulation drops, down 22 per cent and 17 per cent respectively, but this comes after the publisher’s decision in January to stop selling bulk copies.
The Mail and Mirror titles also no longer feature bulks in their circulation figures.
UK national newspaper circulation figures for August (source: ABC):
| Publication | Total circulation August 2018 | Year-on-year % change | Bulks |
| Metro FREE | 1,453,926 | 0 | |
| The Sun | 1,447,959 | -7 | 118,215 |
| Daily Mail | 1,270,418 | -11 | |
| The Sun on Sunday | 1,233,369 | -8 | 118,217 |
| The Mail on Sunday | 1,065,958 | -13 | |
| London Evening Standard FREE | 858,557 | 1 | |
| The Sunday Times | 722,197 | -5 | 85,548 |
| Daily Mirror | 558,457 | -11 | |
| Sunday Mirror | 465,811 | -13 | |
| The Times | 427,668 | -5 | 91,827 |
| The Daily Telegraph | 370,929 | -22 | |
| Daily Star | 361,202 | -15 | |
| Daily Express | 338,843 | -10 | |
| Sunday Express | 299,222 | -10 | |
| The Sunday Telegraph | 291,190 | -17 | |
| i | 244,060 | -10 | 53,270 |
| Daily Star – Sunday | 222,944 | -14 | |
| Sunday People | 183,761 | -14 | |
| Financial Times | 175,441 | -5 | 30,229 |
| The Observer | 165,840 | -7 | |
| The Guardian | 134,943 | -8 | |
| Sunday Mail | 131,416 | -16 | |
| Daily Record | 126,800 | -13 | |
| Sunday Post | 113,935 | -15 | 538 |
| City AM FREE | 83,854 | -7 |
UK news websites daily average unique browsers (source: ABC):
| Website | Daily Avg. Unique Browsers (August 2018) | Year-on-year % change |
| MailOnline | 11,701,163 | -17 |
| Reach digital (formerly Trinity Mirror) | 8,998,926 | -7 |
| The Sun | 4,916,114 | -8 |
| Metro | 2,333,363 | 0 |
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