The Sun launched Sun Club as a freemium membership in 2025. One year later, the team shares what subscriber data revealed and how the product is evolving. Find out what worked, who joined, and what comes next.
Media professionals tracking digital subscriptions and audience monetization will find The Sun’s Sun Club experiment instructive. Launched in 2025, Sun Club introduced a freemium membership at £1.99 per month, aiming to generate subscription revenue and collect first-party reader data while maintaining The Sun’s large free audience.
According to Rachel Shields, UK Editorial Director, and Sarah Ransome, Principal Product Manager, the team believed UK readers were more willing to pay for quality journalism than in the past. Their goal was to convert anonymous site visitors into known users and deliver a more personalized experience. The Sun’s research suggested that as AI-generated content proliferates, the perceived value of verified journalism is rising, making the timing of Sun Club’s launch favorable.
After one year, Sun Club surpassed its initial targets. Sixty-five percent of members are women, and the product has attracted a new audience segment: subscribers acquired via TikTok are 85% female and 15 years younger than the average member, engaging with content tailored for them. The Sun reports that first-week app activity is the strongest predictor of long-term retention, with the most loyal members reading over 100 articles per week, primarily through the app.
Sun Club’s membership proposition centers on value-driven perks, which have proven vital for retention. The Sun has increased the proportion of members-only content and continues to offer unique money-saving deals as part of the package. The team is now focused on several retention projects to build on early momentum and deepen engagement during the initial weeks of membership.
The Sun maintains that a freemium model can support both advertising and subscription goals. By converting readers into logged-in users, the publisher strengthens its commercial position and enhances its ability to serve both revenue streams. Shields emphasized that while much of The Sun’s journalism remains free—especially major health and political stories—the membership model allows for a richer, more tailored experience for paying readers.
