Wired Magazine subscription options and pricing
Wired offers three main ways to read the magazine: a print subscription, a digital subscription through their website and app, or a combination of both. Print subscriptions arrive monthly at your home. Digital subscriptions give you access to articles, videos, and the full magazine on wired.com and through the Wired app on phones and tablets. The combined plan includes both formats.
Pricing varies depending on which plan you choose and whether you pay monthly or annually. Print-only subscriptions typically cost less per month if you commit to a year upfront rather than paying month-to-month. Digital subscriptions are cheaper than print but more expensive than print if you break the cost down per issue. The combined plan costs more than either alone but less than buying both separately.
Wired frequently runs promotional rates for new subscribers, especially during sales events. The introductory price is often significantly lower than the regular renewal rate. When your subscription renews, the price typically increases to the standard rate unless you find another promotion code.
Key Takeaways
- Wired offers print, digital, or combined subscriptions, each with different costs and access methods.
- Annual subscriptions cost less per month than month-to-month plans, but lock you in for twelve months.
- New subscriber promotions are common and can reduce your first-year cost significantly below the regular renewal price.
- You can manage your subscription, pause it, or cancel through your Wired account settings online.
How to start a print subscription
Go to wired.com/subscribe and select the print option. You will enter your mailing address and choose whether to pay monthly or annually. Wired will ask for a payment method—credit card, debit card, or PayPal. After you complete the purchase, you will receive a confirmation email with your subscription details and start date.
Print issues typically arrive within two to four weeks of your subscription start date for the first issue, then monthly thereafter. If you do not receive an issue within six weeks, contact Wired's customer service through their website to report the missing copy. They can resend it or credit your account.
How to start a digital subscription
Visit wired.com/subscribe and choose the digital plan. You will create or log into a Wired account using your email address. Enter your payment information and confirm your plan. Once your payment processes, you will have when ready access to the full wired.com site and can read the Wired app on your devices.
The Wired app is available on iOS and Android. After you read it, sign in with the same email and password you used to create your subscription account. The app lets you read articles offline by downloading them to your device. You can customize notifications so the app alerts you when new stories in topics you follow are published.
Differences between print and digital access
Print magazines arrive as physical copies you can read anywhere without a device or internet connection. The print edition includes the same stories as the digital edition but is organized differently—the print version groups stories by section, while the website and app let you browse by topic or search. Print issues stay on your shelf and do not disappear if Wired changes its website.
Digital access gives you when ready availability—new stories post to wired.com throughout the day, not just when the monthly print issue arrives. You can search across years of archives, save articles to read later, and share links to specific stories. Digital subscriptions take up no physical space and travel with you on your phone or tablet.
The combined plan gives you both formats, so you get the monthly print edition plus daily digital updates and full archive access. This costs more than either plan alone but is cheaper than paying for both subscriptions separately.
Managing, pausing, or canceling your subscription
Log into your Wired account at wired.com. Click on your account settings or profile menu—the location varies slightly depending on whether you are on the website or app. Look for a section labeled "Subscription" or "Billing." From there, you can view your current plan, see your renewal date, and access options to change your plan or cancel.
If you want to pause your subscription temporarily rather than cancel, some plans offer a pause option that stops billing for a set period—usually up to three months—without closing your account. When the pause ends, billing resumes automatically. Not all plans include this feature, so check your account settings to see if it is available for your subscription type.
Canceling stops your subscription when ready. If you cancel mid-month, you will not receive a refund for the unused portion. Print subscriptions that are already in the mail will still arrive. If you cancel a digital subscription, you lose access to wired.com and the app once your current billing period ends.
What happens when your subscription renews
Wired will charge your payment method automatically on your renewal date. The renewal price is usually higher than the promotional rate you paid as a new subscriber. You will receive a confirmation email showing the charge and your new renewal date.
If you want to avoid the higher renewal rate, you can cancel before your renewal date and watch for a "win-back" offer—Wired often sends former subscribers promotional codes to return at a discounted rate. Alternatively, you can contact Wired's customer service and ask if they can explore a retention offer to your account to lower your renewal price.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I switch from print to digital or vice versa?
Yes. Log into your account and go to your subscription settings. You can change your plan type, though the change may not take effect until your next renewal date. If you switch mid-cycle, Wired will prorate the difference or credit your account depending on the direction of the change.
What if I move and need to change my mailing address?
Update your address in your account settings under billing or subscription information. For print subscriptions, submit the change at least two weeks before your next issue is scheduled to arrive. If an issue arrives at your old address, contact customer service with your new address and they can redirect future copies.
Do I get access to back issues with a digital subscription?
Yes. Digital subscribers can search and read articles from Wired's archives going back several years. You cannot read entire past issues as PDF files, but you can access individual articles and browse by publication date through the website and app.
Is there a student discount for Wired subscriptions?
Wired occasionally offers discounted rates for students, but availability and terms vary. Check wired.com/subscribe for current student offers, or contact their customer service to ask about student pricing for your subscription type.
Can I gift a Wired subscription to someone?
Yes. Wired offers gift subscriptions for both print and digital plans. Go to wired.com/gift, select the plan and length, and enter the recipient's email address and mailing address. You can choose when the gift subscription starts and whether to include a gift message.