Paywall & Subscription Benchmark

Paywall & Subscription Benchmark

Compare global media paywalls with explainable pricing, friction, and revenue data — aligned to your taxonomy, confidence-scored, workflow-ready.

Compare global media paywalls with explainable pricing, friction, and revenue data — aligned to your taxonomy, confidence-scored, workflow-ready.

Why this matters

Why this matters

Digital news outlets rely on subscriptions, but pricing, trial paths, and paywalls vary widely by country. Traditional benchmarks are fragmented, often anecdotal, and miss the link between model, subscriber base, and revenue.

This segment standardizes outlet data across geographies: paywall type, trial availability, pricing tiers, conversion friction, and estimated subscriber revenue. Each field is aligned to a common taxonomy, scored for confidence, and ready for strategic or operational use.

How Starzdata solves this

How Starzdata solves this

  • Normalize outlets and domains with standardized taxonomy.

  • Enrich with paywall type, trial, pricing tiers, and subscriber base.

  • Add friction score and comments to explain conversion barriers.

  • Model revenues with transparent rules, FX-normalized.

  • Provide confidence scores per field, source, and method.

This segment is activated with a blend of trusted sources and your own inputs

AI reasoning

Curated APIs

Web intelligence

What you get:

What you get:

  • Comparable paywall and subscription data across markets.

  • Transparent pricing tiers in local and normalized USD.

  • Subscriber and revenue estimates with confidence scoring.

  • Friction scores to compare onboarding experiences.

Your benchmarks, structured and decision-ready.

Sample data for this segment

#outlet nameoutlet name confidenceprimary domainprimary domain confidencegeo countrygeo country confidencepaywall typepaywall type confidencetrial availabletrial available confidencesubscription currencysubscription currency confidencesubscription price min localsubscription price min local confidencesubscription price max localsubscription price max local confidencesubscription price median localsubscription price median local confidencesubscription price median usdsubscription price median usd confidenceconversion friction scoreconversion friction score confidenceconversion friction commentconversion friction comment confidenceactive paid subscribersactive paid subscribers confidenceestimated subscription revenue monthlyestimated subscription revenue monthly confidenceregulatory contextregulatory context confidence
1The New York Times99%nytimes.com99%US99%metered96%true96%USD99%9.9997%29.9996%15.9997%15.9997%3592%Account creation + card before trial; 2 email step...85%950000080%15180000078%No specific federal constraints on paywalls.85%
2The Times UK98%thetimes.co.uk99%UK99%hard97%97%GBP99%2695%3895%3195%39.394%4891%No trial; multiple verification screens; limited p...84%45000070%1395000072%No paywall constraints; consumer fairness rules ap...88%
3Le Monde98%lemonde.fr99%FR99%metered96%true95%EUR99%7.9996%19.9996%11.9996%13.295%3292%Trial available; card capture after paywall; clear...85%55000075%659450075%France encourages free crisis info; no general ban...86%
4El País97%elpais.com99%ES99%freemium94%true95%EUR99%895%1895%1295%13.295%2891%Straightforward flow; Apple/Google Pay supported.84%30000070%360000072%No specific paywall limits.85%
5The Hindu97%thehindu.com99%IN99%freemium95%95%INR99%9995%19995%14995%1.894%4291%Multiple OTP steps; limited wallets; no trial.84%22000065%3278000070%No national restrictions on digital paywalls.84%
6Folha de São Paulo97%folha.uol.com.br99%BR99%metered95%true95%BRL99%24.995%49.995%34.995%794%3892%Requires CPF; payment form lengthy; trial present.84%35000070%1221500072%No paywall restrictions.85%
7The Australian97%theaustralian.com.au99%AU99%hard96%96%AUD99%2896%3996%3396%21.894%5091%No trial; forced card; newsletter opt-in default o...83%30000065%990000070%No material constraints on paywalls.85%
8Asahi Shimbun97%asahi.com99%JP99%freemium94%95%JPY99%280095%480095%380095%26.594%3791%Clean flow; domestic cards preferred; no trial.84%60000070%228000000072%No formal limits; consumer protection applies.85%
9South China Morning Post97%scmp.com99%HK99%metered95%true95%HKD99%19895%32895%29895%38.194%4192%Account + card; optional phone; clear pricing ladd...84%18000065%5364000070%Unrestricted digital paywalls.85%
10Mail & Guardian97%mg.co.za99%ZA99%freemium94%true95%ZAR99%4995%9995%6995%3.894%4691%Third-party gateway; mobile UX inconsistent; trial...84%8500060%586500068%No formal constraints.84%
Showing 1 to 10 of 11 entries • Click row for details

Each row = one outlet. Columns show:

  • Identity: outlet name, domain, country.

  • Paywall & Pricing: type, trial availability, min/max/median price (local + USD).

  • Conversion friction: numeric score (0–100) plus short explanatory comment.

  • Subscribers & Revenue: modeled estimates for active paid users and monthly revenue.

  • Regulatory context: notes on local rules.
    Every enriched field includes a confidence % based on source availability, freshness, and methods.

... or explore the segment structure:
... or explore the segment structure:
... or explore the segment structure:
Your questions on this segment, answered

What about DIY scraping or internal tracking?

What about DIY scraping or internal tracking?

How does this compare to analyst reports?

How does this compare to analyst reports?

Can I request additional outlets or geographies?

Can I request additional outlets or geographies?

How do you model subscriber revenue?

How do you model subscriber revenue?

Do you include free or ad-funded outlets?

Do you include free or ad-funded outlets?

How is the conversion friction score calculated?

How is the conversion friction score calculated?

Can I use this for market sizing and benchmarking?

Can I use this for market sizing and benchmarking?

What makes this dataset reliable?

What makes this dataset reliable?

How often is the paywall dataset refreshed?

How often is the paywall dataset refreshed?