How to Read Medium Articles Without Paywall (Free, 2026)

Medium locks most articles behind a “Sign up to read for free” or “Already a member? Sign in” wall. If you just want to read an article someone linked you, that wall is annoying — but it’s also avoidable.

Here’s how to read Medium articles without hitting the paywall, for free, in 2026.

Why Medium has a paywall

Quick context: Medium makes most of its money from paying members, not writers. So articles are written to be locked until you sign up. About 60% of Medium articles are exclusive to paying members.

Three categories of articles:

• Free — no lock, anyone can read
• Member-only — full lock, “Become a member” prompt
• Metered — first 3-5 free per month, then locked

For the second and third categories, here’s what to do.

Method 1: Use a Medium paywall bypass tool (fastest)

This is the most reliable method in 2026. Tools like Freedium have been doing this for years, and there are several free alternatives.

→ Try our free Medium reader

What you do:

1. Find the Medium article URL (looks like medium.com/@author/title-abc123)
2. Paste it into the Medium reader tool
3. The article loads with no paywall, no signup, no popup

The tool works by routing your request through a mirror or archive service that doesn’t enforce Medium’s paywall. You see the full article content — same text, same images, same links — just no paywall.

It works on:

• Articles behind the “Sign up to read” prompt
• Articles behind the “Already a member?” login prompt
• Articles that are technically member-only

It does NOT work on:

• Articles removed for Terms of Service violations
• Articles in private publications you don’t have access to
• Drafts

Method 2: The Freedium shortcut (no tool needed)

A handful of services expose Medium articles via direct URL transformation. The most popular is Freedium.cfd — a small site that mirrors Medium content for free reading.

How to use:

1. Copy the Medium article URL from your browser
2. Replace medium.com with freedium.cfd
3. Open the new URL — article loads clean, no paywall

Example: https://medium.com/@author/some-article-abc123 becomes https://freedium.cfd/https://medium.com/@author/some-article-abc123

This works for most public Medium articles. If Freedium is down (it happens), try the Medium reader tool which uses multiple fallback services.

Method 3: Google cache or web archives (sometimes works)

If the article has been around for a while, Google or the Wayback Machine may have a cached copy.

Google Cache:

1. Search for the exact article title in Google
2. Click the small arrow next to the result
3. Choose “Cached”
4. Read the article from the cache

Cached versions are usually full content. Downside: only works for indexed articles, and Google is reducing cache visibility over time.

Wayback Machine:

1. Copy the Medium URL
2. Paste it into web.archive.org
3. Look for a snapshot date — usually the most recent
4. Read the archived version

Downside: only works for articles that have been crawled and archived. Newer or less popular articles may not have snapshots.

Method 4: Reader mode in your browser (last resort)

Modern browsers have a “reader mode” that strips clutter. It doesn’t bypass the paywall — it just cleans up the page around it. For the actual lock, you’ll still need a paywall bypass.

Some people report that enabling reader mode before the paywall appears can sometimes reveal more of the article. YMMV.

What about Medium’s “free reads per month” meter?

Medium gives non-members 3-5 free articles per month (it varies by reading history). After that, you’re locked out.

Three options when you hit the limit:

• Wait until next month. The reset is automatic.
• Use a paywall bypass tool (Method 1) for the rest.
• Use incognito mode. Medium tracks “free reads” via cookies. Incognito resets the counter — works once.

Should you pay for Medium membership?

Honestly, sometimes yes. If you read Medium regularly (more than 2-3 articles a week), the $5/month membership pays for itself:

• Unlimited reading
• Offline access on mobile
• Support writers directly (via the Partner Program)
• No ads

The paywall tools are great for occasional reading — one-off articles someone linked you, an interesting headline you found, a piece you want to share. They aren’t a long-term replacement for membership.

Saving the article for later reading

If you want to read the article offline (plane, commute, no wifi), Medium reader has a save feature — paste the URL, get a clean Markdown or PDF file to download. The “free reads per month” meter doesn’t apply to saved files you read locally.

What about authors?

A note on supporting writers: Medium pays writers based on member reading time. When you bypass the paywall, writers don’t get paid for your reading. If the article was valuable:

• Share the link with others (helps the writer’s reach)
• Clap for the article (if you have an account)
• Subscribe to the writer’s email (if they have one)
• Pay for membership if you read regularly

Try it now

Got a Medium article you want to read but it’s locked?

1. Copy the article URL
2. Paste into our Medium reader
3. Read the full article — no paywall, no signup

Total time: 15 seconds.

Related tools: Medium Reader · Read Medium Without Paywall · Medium to PDF