5 Best Chrome extensions to bypass a paywall (2024)

So you’ve been surfing the web, exploring the vastness of the internet. Until, baam… you slammed into a paywall. The internet is no longer as free as you once thought.

In this article, you will learn about the best Chrome extensions to bypass a paywall. If a paywall can be bypassed, these extensions will help you do it.

To learn more about paywalls and how they work, check out our complete guide to bypassing paywalls.

Before we dive into the extensions themselves, here is a drill down on paywalls.

Paywalls come in two types - soft and hard. A website with a soft paywall loads the entire article into the browser and then puts a curtain over the content by visually abstracting it with a popup or an overlay. Websites with a hard paywall, on the other hand, don’t load any content until verifying that you are a subscriber.

So these extensions use different approaches to bypass paywalls. Soft paywall extensions take down the curtain or extract the content from the article’s HTML, whereas hard paywalls pretend to be a robot.

Bardeen - best for hard paywalls

Bardeen is an extension that automates your manual computer tasks with a shortcut.

Bardeen is not designed for paywall removal, but rather for powerful workflow automations such as syncing data between your apps like Google Sheets, Notion, and ClickUp.

Remove paywall

Additionally, Bardeen empowers you to incorporate AI into your workflow without coding through integrations like OpenAI.

After you install the extension and create a free account, you can use one of the playbook to remove paywall.

Unlike most extensions, this automation can bypass even hard paywalls.

Here is how it works. Most articles get scrapped regularly by public web archives. Bardeen will find your article in those web archives and open them.

Save the currently opened Fiverr search page results to Google Sheets

Try it out! Pick any article from the Economist to see this playbook in action.

Download Bardeen to get started.

ReaderMode - best for soft paywalls

ReaderMode makes articles easier to read. And coincidentally by stripping the design from websites, ReaderMode also removes soft paywalls that come in the form of popups and overlays.

We love ReaderMode because it makes articles easier to read and helps you focus on the actual content you read. You can use both Bardeen and ReaderMode in a combination. First, bypass a hard paywall with Bardeen. And then launch Reader mode to make it pretty.

Unpaywall - scientific articles

Unpaywall is a Chrome extension that unlocks access to 30+ million scientific articles and makes science more accessible.

Here is how it works. You do your research the same way as before. Then, when you open a scholarly article, Unpaywall automatically looks for a copy in its database.

If the extension finds it, a green “unlock” icon will appear on your screen. Click it to get redirected to the full article.

And in case you are wondering, it’s entirely legal. Turns out that most scholarly journals allow their authors to “self-archive" papers on university and government web servers. So technically, you can think about “bypassing the paywall” as finding that article elsewhere on the internet where it’s free.

Bypass Paywall - works with tricky websites

Bypass Paywall will bypass paywalls on 160+ news websites. The creator of this extension went through the most popular news outlets manually and wrote custom logic to bypass paywalls.

The extension pretends to be a Google search bot, which unlocks articles in most cases.

_useGoogleBotSites = useGoogleBotSites.concat(items.customSites);

The extension is open-source on Github and is not in the Chrome store (pretending to be Google isn’t kosher).

So you will need to install BypassPaywall manually. Here is how:

  1. Download the zip from Github
  2. Unzip the file on your computer
  3. Manually install in Chrome.
    Extensions → Enable “Developer Mode” → Click on “Load unpacked”


uBlock

uBlock Origin stops annoying popups on almost all websites. The extension, by default, can prevent paywall popups from loading. With this extension, you won’t even know there was a popup in the first place.

5 Best Chrome extensions to bypass a paywall (6)

How to bypassing a paywall manually

Beyond browser extensions, there are other ways to bypass a paywall. Here are a few additional methods to try.

Try these websites

Try the incognito window

In the incognito mode, cookies are cleared and disabled. And thus, you can often just open a paywalled article in the incognito mode to remove the paywall.

To open an incognito window with a shortcut, press Shift + Command + N.

Remove cookies

Some websites like Medium have metered paywalls. You can read a few articles but then need to subscribe to see more content.

Websites with metered paywalls use cookies to keep track of how many articles you open.

You can usually bypass those paywalls by removing those cookies. Cookie Remover is a great extension to do exactly that.

Paste the article title in Google search

Google ranks articles based on engagement these days. Imagine someone goes to Google, clicks on the first search result, and then bounces right away because of a paywall.

This is obviously suboptimal for the website’s reputation and SEO, so webmasters often make exceptions for visitors coming directly from Google.

Try copying the article title into Google search and open it from Google. Doing this in the incognito mode can help too.

Pro Tip: if you can’t find the article based on the title, add the domain to search “site:https://www.economist.com/”

Emulate social media

Some websites unlock paywalls when people come from social media websites. Imagine some with a subscription shares an article on Facebook, but his friends can’t read it because of the paywall. To prevent this, some news outlets unlock paywalls for those use cases.

To pretend as if you are coming from Facebook, use this URL and add your article link at the end:

https://facebook.com/l.php?u=

Endnotes

Paywalls often disrupt our flow and force us to sift through many alternatives to find basic information.

You can install extensions to bypass the majority of paywalls, both hard and soft. We recommend you to install multiple extensions from this list above as each extension works differently. This way, you don’t have to think about paywalls ever again. If a paywall can be bypassed, the odds are that these extensions above will successfully do it.

Finally, it’s important to support the journalists you love. It takes hard work to write quality content. If you find someone's article really useful (even if you bypassed the paywall to read it), consider contributing. It does make a difference!

Meanwhile, the traditional media will keep trying to stay afloat with paywalls competing with literally everyone on the internet, which is a losing battle. New sustainable ways to monetize content need to be developed without costs to user experience.

If you want to learn more about bypassing paywalls, check out our complete guide here.

5 Best Chrome extensions to bypass a paywall (2024)

FAQs

5 Best Chrome extensions to bypass a paywall? ›

Are all Chrome extensions legal? Yes, but they must comply with laws and Google's policies. Extensions used to distribute malware, steal data, or violate copyright and privacy laws through unethical practices like data scraping are illegal. Always verify an extension's source and read user reviews before installing it.

How do I remove the paywall in Google Chrome? ›

16 ways to bypass paywalls for free
  1. Use a virtual private network (VPN) ...
  2. Open an Incognito window. ...
  3. Turn on Reader Mode in your browser. ...
  4. Delete your browser cookies. ...
  5. Use the Wayback Machine. ...
  6. Get access through your library. ...
  7. Use 12ft Ladder. ...
  8. Try the Bypass Paywalls Clean browser extension.

What is the best free Chrome extension? ›

The best Chrome extensions
  • Bitwarden.
  • Ghostery.
  • Grammarly.
  • Dark Reader.
  • Pocket.
  • Loom.
  • Momentum.
  • OneTab.
Jun 24, 2024

Are all Chrome extensions legal? ›

Are all Chrome extensions legal? Yes, but they must comply with laws and Google's policies. Extensions used to distribute malware, steal data, or violate copyright and privacy laws through unethical practices like data scraping are illegal. Always verify an extension's source and read user reviews before installing it.

How do I install bypass paywalls in Chrome? ›

Download the extension as a crx-file from GitFlic (right-click > save link as). Enable Developer Mode. Drag your crx-file anywhere on the page to import it (when you have an active 'load unpacked' installation, first remove it (and backup your custom sites); for automatic updates).

What is the best Chrome extension to remove paywalls? ›

PaywallHub Chrome Extension lets you have your favorite paywall removers all in the same place. Legally browse an archived version of articles in the Internet Archives, 12ft.io, and google caché. Use the one best for you!

How to unlock articles for free? ›

18 Free Ways to Get Around a Paywall to Read an Article
  1. Paste the headline into Google. The simplest ways are often the best. ...
  2. Try a Facebook redirect.
  3. Open the link in an incognito window. ...
  4. Disable JavaScript in your browser. ...
  5. Enable "reader mode" ...
  6. Use a VPN. ...
  7. Use Bypass Paywalls from GitHub. ...
  8. Try another browser add-on.
Aug 14, 2024

What is the Chrome extension to bypass blocked sites? ›

Overview. Stealthy allows you to see blocked websites from a click of a button.

What is the most popular extension? ›

When looking at direct popularity, the Ad Block extension with 67 million users is the most widely used extension. Other ad blockers are also popular: AdBlock Plus has 46 million users, and uBlock Origin has 36 million users.

Is Google getting rid of Chrome extensions? ›

The extensions will still work, but Google says it will disable them on your browser in the “coming months” before removing the ability to use them completely. The stable version of Chrome will eventually get these changes, with a full rollout set for the beginning of 2025.

Are there unsafe Chrome extensions? ›

How safe are Google Chrome extensions? Two new reports reveal distinctly different opinions about the safety of Chrome browser extensions. Google says that less than 1% of all installs include malware, while university researchers say 280 million users have installed extensions with malware over a three-year period.

Are Chrome extensions being discontinued? ›

Google Chrome is shutting down its current extension platform, Manifest v2, and replacing it with the latest version, Manifest v3. After several delays, Google has confirmed that the transition has resumed in June 2024 in beta versions of Chrome.

Can Chrome extensions see my passwords? ›

To put it simply, no, extensions cannot steal your information by default. However, when you download an extension, it requests various permissions. Once you accept the terms, you may have given the extension access to sensitive information—including credentials.

What is bypass paywalls clean? ›

Bypass Paywalls Clean is a wonderful extension that enables you to do just what the name says. However, last month the developer's repo got deleted by Gitlab due to a DCMA takedown (ridiculous imo) and removed from Mozilla Addons. Luckily, the extension is still being updated and works fine.

How do I access blocked sites on Chrome for free? ›

FAQs
  1. Open the Chrome app.
  2. Select More on the right (the three vertical dots).
  3. Click on Settings.
  4. Go to Privacy and Security.
  5. Select Site Settings.
  6. Unblock your desired website.

What is the extension to bypass medium paywall? ›

FreeMedium. The FreeMedium Chrome extension allows you to read Medium articles for free by bypassing the paywall thanks to Freedium. It adds a button to Medium articles, allowing you to access the full content without a subscription.

How do I get rid of the search box in Chrome? ›

To remove the Google search bar from the Chrome browser, you can follow these steps:
  1. Open the Chrome browser on your computer.
  2. Right-click on the empty space on the Chrome toolbar at the top of the window. ...
  3. In the context menu, hover over the "Toolbar" option. ...
  4. Uncheck the "Google" option in the submenu.
Mar 26, 2023

How do I remove blocked sites from Google Chrome? ›

To unblock a site on Chrome, assuming you have administrator privileges:
  1. Open the Chrome app.
  2. Select More on the right (the three vertical dots).
  3. Click on Settings.
  4. Go to Privacy and Security.
  5. Select Site Settings.
  6. Unblock your desired website.

How do I remove FunctionLogInput from Chrome? ›

For Google Chrome:

Open Chrome and click on the three dots in the top-right corner. Navigate to More tools > Extensions. Locate the FunctionLogInput extension or any unknown/unwanted ones. Click Remove to uninstall the browser extension.

How do I stop Chrome blocking content? ›

In the drop-down menu, click "Settings." On the Settings page, click on the Privacy and security section and then click "Security." In the Safe Browsing section, click "No protection (not recommended)" to turn the feature off.

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