Mail Online has hit 100,000 paying subscribers to its partial paywall in less than ten months.
The news site and its apps began restricting access to certain articles labelled as part of the Mail+ subscription for UK users at the end of January.
Mail+ launched in the UK only but rolled out in Australia and New Zealand last month. A US launch is planned for 2025.
Initially up to 15 articles per day were paywalled but now around 30 articles a day are marked as available for Mail+ subscribers only. Mail Online publishes around 1,500 stories per day with most remaining free to read.
Daily Mail editor-in-chief Ted Verity said: “The success of Mail+ is proof that readers are happy to pay for the kind of high-quality journalism the Mail has long been famous for.
“To hit 100,000 subscribers so quickly is a fantastic achievement and a huge testament to the brilliance of our journalists and the Mail+ team.
“But this is just the start – and we are hungry for much, much more.”
Mail+ currently costs £1.99 per month for a year and then goes up to £6.99 a month.
Mail Online’s paywalled articles come from some of the brand’s core content areas including showbiz and royal, real-life stories, health and personal finance advice, and its star columnists including Richard Eden and Bryony Gordon.
On Friday afternoon, Mail+ articles on the homepage included:
- EXCLUSIVE: They cut open my skull to remove my brain tumour, reveals CAPRICE. And this terrifying brush with death changed my life…
- The creepy things that Russell Brand did when I dated him that I now see as huge red flags: BRYONY GORDON
- Suffering from memory loss, fatigue and body pain? The tell-tale signs you could have Lyme disease – after Miranda Hart revealed it took her 30 YEARS to get diagnosed
- How being the golden child or the black sheep can define your life: Top experts reveal the toll your family role can take… and how to break free
- I discovered my ‘ordinary’ husband had a depraved secret addiction – and it all unravelled when he accused ME of cheating
Articles behind the paywall are clearly marked on the homepage with an M+ logo next to the headline.
In addition, the Mail has 92,327 subscribers to Mail+ editions (a version of the newspaper optimised for tablet and mobile). This also costs £1.99 per month for the first year, rising to £12.99 per month.
Mail Online had a UK audience of 18.3 million in September, marginally ahead of The Sun and The Independent and just behind The Guardian.
The Sun has recently begun rolling out a registration wall asking users to sign up with their email address to read certain articles but it does not ask them to pay. The Sun’s wall initially mainly restricted access to some of its best-known commentators and writers such as Trevor Kavanagh, Rod Liddle and Tony Parsons but it has begun to expand to other areas such as health.
UK regional publisher Newsquest hit its own 100,000 milestone for paying digital subscribers in September, four years after launching a soft paywall across most of its biggest sites. Newsquest titles include the Brighton Argus, South Wales Argus, Oxford Mail and Eastern Daily Press.
Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog
