What Newspapers.com is and who runs it
Newspapers.com is a searchable database of historical newspaper pages owned and operated by Ancestry.com. It holds digitized copies of newspapers from across the United States and some international publications, dating back to the 1700s in some cases. You search by keyword, date range, location, and publication name to find articles, obituaries, birth announcements, and advertisements from specific papers and time periods.
The site does not publish newspapers itself. It licenses and scans archives from libraries, historical societies, and newspaper publishers, then makes those images searchable online. Ancestry.com, which also owns other genealogy and historical record sites, handles the subscription billing and access.
Key Takeaways
- Newspapers.com charges a monthly subscription fee that varies by plan, with options ranging from single-month access to annual prepayment.
- A free account lets you view a limited number of articles per month, but a paid subscription removes that limit and adds advanced search filters.
- The database includes newspapers from all 50 states and some international titles, with coverage gaps depending on which publications have been digitized.
- You can read and save article images to your computer, and create collections to organize clippings by topic or research project.
- Access is tied to your account login, so you can search from any device with an internet connection once you have paid.
Subscription pricing and payment options
Newspapers.com offers three main subscription tiers. A monthly plan costs a set amount per month and renews automatically unless you cancel. An annual plan requires payment upfront for 12 months and usually costs less per month than the monthly option. A 7-day trial is sometimes available at a reduced rate, though the terms change periodically.
Exact prices vary by region and change over time, so the amount you see when you visit the site may differ from what another person sees or what was charged last year. Ancestry.com does not publish a fixed price list on the Newspapers.com homepage; you see the current rate only when you begin the checkout process. If you have a subscription to Ancestry.com itself, you may have access to Newspapers.com included, depending on which Ancestry plan you hold.
Payment is by credit card, debit card, or PayPal. Subscriptions renew automatically on the same date each month or year unless you cancel through your account settings before the renewal date.
What you can do with a free account
You can create a free Newspapers.com account without paying anything. A free account lets you search the entire database and view article previews. You can save a limited number of articles per month to your account — the exact number changes, but it is typically fewer than 10 per calendar month.
Free accounts cannot use advanced filters such as searching within a specific newspaper title, narrowing by county, or filtering by article type. You also cannot read full-resolution images of articles or create organized collections. If you reach your monthly save limit, you must wait until the next calendar month to save more articles, or you can upgrade to a paid subscription to remove the limit when ready.
What a paid subscription adds
A paid subscription removes the monthly cap on saved articles, so you can save as many as you want. You gain access to advanced search filters: you can search within a single newspaper, limit results to a specific state or county, filter by article type (obituary, birth announcement, advertisement), and set date ranges more precisely.
Paid subscribers can read full-resolution images of articles and print them. You can create multiple collections — folders organized by topic, person, or research project — and share collection links with other people. You also get priority customer support, though response times vary.
Coverage and what newspapers are included
Newspapers.com holds digitized pages from more than 8,000 newspaper titles. Coverage is heaviest for the 20th century and varies significantly by state and region. Some states have nearly complete runs of major papers from the 1800s onward; others have only scattered titles or limited date ranges. The database includes major metropolitan papers, small-town weeklies, ethnic newspapers, and specialty publications.
The site does not include every newspaper that ever existed, and not every issue of included papers has been digitized. Gaps occur because some papers were never preserved, some archives are held by institutions that have not licensed them to Newspapers.com, and some digitization projects are ongoing. You can search the "Newspaper Directory" on the site to see which titles are available and what years are covered.
How to search and save articles
On the Newspapers.com homepage, enter a keyword, name, or phrase in the search box. You can narrow by publication, state, county, and date range. Results show thumbnail images of newspaper pages with your search term highlighted. Click on a result to view the full page image.
To save an article, click the save icon on the article page. Free accounts can save up to a monthly limit; paid subscribers have no limit. Saved articles appear in your "Clippings" folder and can be organized into custom collections. You can add notes to each clipping, tag it, and read the image file to your computer in JPEG or PDF format.
Cancellation and refund policy
You can cancel your subscription at any time through your account settings. Cancellation takes effect at the end of your current billing period — if you pay monthly and cancel on the 15th of the month, your access continues until the end of that month. Ancestry.com does not issue refunds for partial months or years already paid.
If you cancel and later want to resubscribe, you can do so by logging back in and selecting a new plan. Your saved articles and collections remain in your account even after your subscription ends, but you cannot save new articles or use paid features until you resubscribe.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use Newspapers.com on my phone or tablet?
Yes. Newspapers.com works on mobile browsers, and Ancestry.com offers free apps for iPhone and Android that include Newspapers.com access if you have a subscription. The mobile experience is functional but smaller screens make reading full newspaper pages more difficult than on a desktop.
What if I find an error in a digitized newspaper article?
Newspapers.com has a feedback tool on each article page where you can report errors in the text transcription or image quality. Ancestry.com reviews reports but does not may provide corrections. The original newspaper text is what appears in the database; corrections to the source material are not possible.
Do I need an Ancestry.com account to use Newspapers.com?
No. Newspapers.com has its own login separate from Ancestry.com, though both are owned by the same company. You create a Newspapers.com account directly on the site. If you already have an Ancestry account, you can link it, but it is not required.
Can I share my login with family members?
Your subscription is for personal use only. Sharing login credentials violates the terms of service. Family members can create their own free accounts or purchase their own subscriptions. Some institutions like libraries offer free Newspapers.com access to cardholders, which may be an option if you want to avoid paying individually.
How far back do the newspapers go?
The oldest digitized newspapers on the site date to the 1700s, but coverage is sparse that far back. Most content is from the 1800s and 1900s. The most recent newspapers available are typically from the current year, though some publications have a lag of several months before their pages are added to the database.