The Guardian has reported a bumper year for digital reader revenue, up by 22% from £88m in 2023/2024 to £107m in the year to the end of March 2025.
It revealed in its annual report that it now has 1.3 million “recurring supporters” (up 150,000, or 13%, year on year).
While most of The Guardian’s online journalism remains free, it also offers three main levels of supporter/subscription.
For £4 a month readers can simply support The Guardian’s liberal journalism mission and for £12 per month readers can avoid intrusive pop-up supporter messages and gain access to ad-free reading and unlimited stories on The Guardian app (plus access to paid-for food app Feast). For £27 per month readers get full digital benefits plus the Guardian Weekly print magazine.
Overall, Guardian financial performance was in line with unaudited figures released in May.
Total revenue rose 7% to £276m and annual losses (which The Guardian describes as operating cash flow) fell to £24m, from £37m in the year to March 2024.
The value of The Guardian’s endowment fund fell by £30m in the year and now stands at £1.25bn.
The Guardian said more than half of its paying supporters and subscribers are now outside its home market: with 529,000 in the UK, 430,000 in the US/Canada, 182,000 in Europe, 158,000 in Australia/New Zealand and 31,000 in the rest of the world.
US and Canada revenue rose 23% year on year to £55.5m.
The Guardian picked up two prizes last night at the Press Gazette Future of Media Awards – for its relaunched app and for its success at driving new reader revenue.
The Guardian app is now said to have one million daily active users and sits within a paywall (free users can only read 20 articles per month).
The Guardian ramped up email campaigns to more than six million registered readers last year, notably with an appeal from US editor Betsy Reed for financial support after the title endorsed presidential candidate Kamala Harris, raising $1.8m in 72 hours.
Another email campaign around The Guardian leaving X, due to it becoming a “toxic” platform under owner Elon Musk, is also understood to have performed well.
The Guardian has driven up its total number of contactable readers via compulsory app sign-ins and the launch of a Saturday edition email newsletter.
Advertising revenue was said to be up 2% year on year to £68.4m with growth coming from direct sales (rather than programmatic).
Print reader revenue also grew (with cover price rises offsetting falling circulation). It was up 1.5% year on year to £68.4m
The accounts, which include figures for The Observer which was sold to Tortoise Media in April, show overall editorial headcount grew in the year (despite a round of redundancies in summer 2024).
The Guardian employed 913 editorial staff on average in the year (versus 907 in 2024/2025).
Total pay for editor in chief Kath Viner and CEO Anna Bateson each rose by 2.8% to £601,386 and £720,060 respectively.
The Guardian said median average pay for employees was £70,289.
The full Guardian figures are contained in the annual statement of its owner The Scott Trust Ltd.
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