What can I say? I love magazines.
It started as a kid with my monthly edition of Highlights Magazine, the Canadian version of a Blue Peter comic, then through my teenage years, it was YM and Sassy magazines that I would read cover-to-cover. As an adult, my tastes slowly changed, moving from Glamour and Red Magazine to Ideal Home and Good Homes.
However, magazines don’t come cheap – especially if you read several a month. And you must know by now that I hate paying more than necessary. Yes, you can spend a bit less if you opt for a monthly subscription, but I like to read a lot of magazines – admittedly also for work – so when I discovered an app that means I can access all the magazines I want every month, I knew I would save some serious cash. What’s more, I probably try new titles more often and as I can share the account with others, it’s even better value that it first appears.
WHAT IS READLY?
Readly is to magazines what Netflix is to television – unlimited access to around thousands of magazines to download and read anywhere offline via its tablet/smartphone app. With nearly 2,500 titles available, there are magazines for everyone in your family and its super handy when travelling – gone are the days of weighing down your hand luggage with reading material.
All it costs is £7.99 a month, via credit card or PayPal. New customers – and “those with new email addresses” – qualify for a free trial. Deals vary, but you can usually score yourself a free fortnight or a whole month.
WHAT TITLES ARE AVAILABLE?
With nearly 2,500 titles on offer, there is no limit on how many magazines you can download. What’s more, you can also access titles from other countries such as Canada, United States, and India as well as several European countries – at no additional cost.
New issues are available around the same time as they hit the newsstands, and you can also catch up on previous issues with just a few flicks of the finger.
Some of the UK titles on offer include:
Fashion: Red, Grazia, Marie Claire, Elle, InStyle, Harper’s Bazaar, Glamour, and Cosmopolitan
Interoirs: Ideal Home, Elle Decoration, Good Homes, House & Garden, House Beautiful, Style at Home and LivingEtc
Parenting: Mother & Baby, Gurgle, and Prima
Current Affairs: The Spectator, Newsweek and Time Magazine
Women’s Interest: Good Housekeeping, Saga Magazine, Women’s Weekly, People’s Friend, Women’s Own and Reader’s Digest
Fitness: Women’s Health, Men’s Health, Runner’s World, Rugby World, Golf World and Horse & Hound
Celebrity: OK!, Heat, New!, Now, Closer, and Reveal
Food: Weight Watchers, Delicious, BBC Good Food, and Jamie Magazine
Tech: PC Advisor, T3, Stuff, and Macworld
HOW TO GET AN EVEN BETTER DEAL
After the free trial expires, you can usually find a way to get around the £7.99 a month fee.
For instance, those of you who cleverly followed my advice and got their hands on an NUS card, can get a student discount of two months for just £5.
Bear in mind that after that, it’s full-price until you cancel.
Or you can refer-a-friend and you both get a free month’s membership. The more friends you recommend, the more you save. Find your individual referral links in “Your Account”.
Further add to your savings and sign up via a cashback website such as Quidco.com, enjoy a 14-day free trial and then earn £3 for a new, paying subscription.
SHARE YOUR ACCOUNT WITH FRIENDS
The good news is that one Readly subscription can be shared across up to five devices – so you could split the cost with a friend, or share with others in your household – and you won’t be breaking any rules.
In a previous post, I wrote about how to share other online accounts legally – have a look and save on other subscriptions too.
A FREE ALTERNATIVE
A YBFGTC reader helpfully pointed out that those who are not after a specific title, can find a similar scheme through the library.
At my local library in West Sussex, for instance, members can access over 100 eMagazine titles for free and actually Some offers titles that you can’t get on Readly, such as The Economist, Radio Times, Martha Stewart Living and O, The Oprah Magazine.
A complete list of eMagazines titles can be found online, and there is no limit on the number of magazines you can check out, or a time limit on accessing them. To see what is available locally, search your nearest library online.
Fewer titles, but it is completely free. Hard to argue with that.
Thanks Chrissie!
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