Browsing the web without ads is nice. We get that. But as you can imagine, TechSpot costs quite a bit to run - we're a small team of editors and writers, we buy hardware and software to put tests together, pay for multiple servers, web development (we like speed, too!), and so on.
Today, we are asking you to consider supporting TechSpot by becoming a subscriber. We've often been asked if we'd offer such an option, so here you have it. The tiers are as follows:
- Free: Continue reading TechSpot supported by ads. All content remains free as usual. Enjoy a clean experience that very few tech sites offer. We won't overwhelm you with ads or ugly pop-ups. Reader experience comes first.
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One year of TechSpot Elite ($24/year): Only $2 per month. Get an ad-free TechSpot experience while supporting our work. No ads, no trackers.
New: Get two free games, courtesy of GOG. Download and play Superhot & Superhot: Mind Control Delete, free of charge. - One month of TechSpot Elite ($3/month): Pay month to month, support the tech site you love with a small contribution and offer all the same perks.
In announcing Elite, we want to reaffirm our commitment to readers. This is not a paywall. All content will remain free and we're simply giving you the option to contribute to our efforts.
Our promise: All proceeds we receive from readers' contributions will go toward funding more content. That means: more tech features, more reviews, benchmarks and analysis.
Along with TechSpot Elite, we're debuting a new dark mode that looks simply gorgeous. Just select it from the user menu.
Clearly TechSpot couldn't exist without its readers, and we're very proud of what we've built together over the years. 2019 marked a new milestone for us when we received a record 9+ million readers in a single month (!). Thank you for your consideration and support. A brief FAQ follows below...
What do you mean ad-free?
You'll see zero, zilch, zip, nada, no ads whatsoever.
How do I pay?
Register or login to your TechSpot account and visit the account upgrades page. We're using PayPal, so it's easy and secure to subscribe. We won't ask for any other information and all financial data remains with PayPal.
Why are you doing this?
Most of our revenue comes from advertising and a smaller portion from affiliate commissions. Advertising dollars are tighter than ever and even though we feel privileged to drive demand from high profile tech advertisers, we're not immune to the overall ad climate – plus around 30% of our readers are ad blocking today.
Ultimately our intention with Elite is to foster participation and engagement from our amazing readers.
What if I ad block?
If you want to ad block, please consider subscribing.
Over 90% of our income comes from showing ads on the pages you read on TechSpot. When you visit our site with an ad blocker turned on, we cannot show the ads and cannot charge our advertisers. If we can't show the ads, we earn NO revenue. And no revenue means no TechSpot.
You now have this alternative that won't penalize us in the process.
Tell me more...
While designing TechSpot Elite, our first decision was to make it clear the site's content would remain free and that this would be an opt-in program.
We believe TechSpot's value proposition comes in multiple forms: unique reviews and tests (that help you make better decisions when buying new hardware and save you money), informed and easy to digest tech news coverage, clean and fast downloads, superb tech features and explainers. We trust our readers will recognize this value and will consider a subscription.