The Verge subscription turns one

"We've spent a lot of time this year trying to iterate on our subscription and make it more valuable. We launched with full-site access, a lighter ad experience, two subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and RSS feeds. Since then, we've added the top-requested new feature with ad-free podcasts, added commenting badges for subscribers, and started testing subscriber AMAs. We've also expanded our subscriber-exclusive newsletter offering with Optimizer, The Stepback, Regulator, and Installer, which are all essential reading."

"We've also been able to hire more incredible reporters and editors: Hayden Field, Tina Nguyen, John Higgins, Dominic Preston, Terrence O'Brien, Stevie Bonifield, Marina Galperina, and Todd Haselton all joined our team this year, delivering in-depth reporting, rigorous analysis, up-to-the-minute news, and the occasional shitpost that overperforms everything else on the site. (We are still The Verge, after all.)"

"We're one year into the experiment of running The Verge with subscriptions, and so far things are going quite well - but we've heard a lot of feedback so far, and we've got some exciting changes in store to try and make this thing even better. We hit our subscriber goals for 2025, and an astonishing 85 percent of you are choosing annual plans, which is the sort of durable, long-term relationship we can count on as we hire more reporters, get in more trouble, and pay for David's podcasting greenscreen. (Just kidding, that's his real house. We think.)"

The Verge's subscription program reached its subscriber goals for 2025, with 85 percent of subscribers choosing annual plans, creating durable revenue. The offering started with full-site access, a lighter ad experience, two subscriber-only newsletters, and RSS feeds, then added ad-free podcasts, commenting badges, subscriber AMAs tests, and more newsletters like Optimizer, The Stepback, Regulator, and Installer. The publication hired multiple reporters and editors to increase reporting capacity and maintain lively coverage. Subscriptions fund newsroom growth while preserving an industry-leading ethics policy that prevents companies from influencing coverage or buying fake reviews.

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