Returning to Readly: Why I’m making the most of a two-month free trial to magazine subscription app

Discover thousands of magazines and newspapers on Readly | Readly

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I’ve always been a great lover of magazines - at university I subscribed to Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Company and was an avid reader of any other glossy women’s titles I could get my hands on.

I’ve never lost my love of magazines, but nowadays subscribing to the print editions is just so expensive. I tend to subscribe to magazines for a trial period when there’s an offer on, and then cancel before I’m faced with a whopping bill for a year’s subscription, as I suspect many of us do.

For those of us who love a magazine but can’t afford multiple subscriptions, digital magazine app Readly is a great find.

You get access to a huge 7,500 magazines and newspapers online, all for £12.99 a month - and there’s currently a two-month free trial so you can try before you buy.

Thousands of magazines at your fingertips | Readly

I first signed up in 2021 (on a free trial, of course), and loved it so much I kept it going for a while. Eventually I cancelled as we all did when the cost of living hit hard, but now there’s a new two-month free trial, and it’s available to previous subscribers if you’ve been away for a while (I axed my subscription over a year ago).

When I saw I was eligible, I relished the chance to give Readly another whirl as I’m always impressed at the range of magazines and newspapers on offer and love an excuse to nose through my old favourites.

If you’re a women’s mag aficionado like me, you’ll find Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, Cosmopolitan and Vogue, as well as back-issues of Glamour UK, which sadly ceased publishing for good in 2020 (RIP).

There’s also a great range of parenting magazines there for those of us with kids - hello Green Parent - as well as a huge selection of hobbyist magazines. I’ve never been compelled to pick up BBC History Magazine in the newsagents but I’ve really enjoyed digitally flicking through a copy on Readly and discovering things I never knew about The Tudors or the Suffragettes.

I’ll never have a garden like Monty Don, but it’s nice to thumb through Gardeners’ World and take some inspiration from the gardening messiah, and you can mentally redesign your home when browsing Ideal Home.

You’ll also find the daily editions of The Guardian, The Daily Mirror and Daily Express, and the associated weekend magazines - as well as news round-up mag The Week, which is always worth a read if you want to stay on top of current affairs.

You can download the app on your phone if you’re on the go (download your favourites for your commute), but if you’ve got a tablet it’s a much more authentic reading experience as you can flick through without having to zoom in and out to read the articles.

It’s worth having a look to see if your favourite magazines are included - they most likely are - and there’s something for everyone, whether it’s motoring, cooking, running, tech, travel, interiors.

Take advantage of the two-month trial - it’s free! - and enjoy returning to familiar old friends and exploring new titles - you might find a new favourite.