Updated: Apr 23, 2025
We’re big fans of Medium. It’s home to in-depth essays, thoughtful analysis, personal storytelling, and voices from across the globe. But sometimes, you’ll run into the Medium paywall — especially if you’ve hit your free article limit. Luckily, there are a few ways to get around it.
We keep this guide updated regularly. If you know of other methods that work for accessing Medium content for free, feel free to reach out to us at [email protected].
1) Use removepaywalls.com
Head to removepaywalls.com and paste in the Medium article URL. The site will attempt to show you the full content by locating archived versions or using paywall-suppression techniques.
If the first attempt doesn’t work, it also provides links to try alternative archive services or client-side methods like disabling JavaScript.
2) Chrome Extension
The removepaywalls.com Chrome Extension lets you bypass paywalls on supported sites with one click. Once installed and pinned to your browser, just click the button whenever you’re reading a Medium article behind a paywall.
📌 If you haven’t pinned it yet, click the puzzle piece icon in your browser bar and pin it for easier access.
This method works on desktop browsers only.
3) iOS shortcut for iphones
iOS users can install the removepaywalls.com Shortcut to bypass Medium’s paywall directly from the share menu.
Here’s how:
- Visit the Shortcut link on iCloud
- Tap “Get Shortcut”
- Tap “Add Shortcut” on the popup
- Now, when on a Medium article, tap the Share button and select “Removepaywalls.com”
- You’ll be taken to a clean version of the article
Social Media Share Trick
Medium sometimes loosens its paywall for traffic that arrives via social platforms, to encourage sharing and engagement. Try this:
Just take your Medium article URL and add this in front of it:
https://facebook.com/l.php?u=
For example:
https://facebook.com/l.php?u=https://medium.com/@writername/article-title-abc123
Then paste that full link into your browser. It might just load the full article.
Let us know how it works
Medium’s paywall system changes from time to time. If you’re a frequent Medium reader, tell us which of the methods worked for you — and which didn’t. If possible, include the link to the article you tried accessing.
We’ll keep testing, updating removepaywalls.com, and sharing what we learn with you. Reach us anytime at [email protected].