Soft paywalls
Soft paywalls limit access while still allowing some free views. The article content is loaded in the page, just hidden behind a modal or CSS overlay.
Metered paywalls give you a certain number of free articles per month. Registration walls require a free account. Cookie-based limits track your reading history in the browser.
Because enforcement happens in the browser rather than on the server, the full article text is still delivered in the page source.
Hard paywalls
Hard paywalls require payment before any content is delivered. The article text is only sent to authenticated subscribers — it never exists publicly.
Access control happens on the server, not in your browser. Web archives and reader modes cannot show content that was never sent.
There is no public copy of hard-paywalled content. Without authentication, the text simply does not exist outside the publisher's servers.
Known restricted sites
These sites are known to restrict their content to paying subscribers or approved accounts. This list is not exhaustive.
News & Publications
These publications require paid subscriptions to access articles. Content is only delivered to authenticated subscribers.
Creator Platforms
Content on these platforms is uploaded directly by creators for their paying subscribers. There is no public version of this content to access.
Private Social Media
Content on private social media accounts is only visible to approved followers or friends. This is not a paywall but a privacy setting.
Document Download Sites
These sites require payment to download documents. The files are stored on their servers and require purchase to access.
Questions
Why are some articles on a site free while others are locked?
Many publications use hybrid models where some content is free and some is premium. An article may also have been freely available for a period before being moved behind a paywall.
What is the difference between a soft paywall and a hard paywall?
A soft paywall delivers the article to the browser and restricts it client-side, through meters, registration prompts, or overlays. A hard paywall enforces access on the server: the article text is only ever sent to authenticated subscribers.
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