Ah, those pesky paywalls! Always getting in your way when you’re trying to read. If you’d like to bypass them (who wouldn’t?) then keep reading, because that’s what this article is here to show you.
Without further ado, here are the best sites to bypass paywalls.
What Happened to 12ft Ladder (12ft.io)?
The popular paywall bypasser, 12ft Ladder, was taken down on July 14th, following the efforts of News/Media Alliance. The organization claims it was hurting revenue, though it’s likely most users of 12ft.io and similar tools would subscribe if they couldn’t access the content for free.
Fortunately, like with similar stories, several 12ft.io alternatives are already available.
Best Sites to Bypass Paywalls: 12ft Ladder Alternatives
Whether you’re simply looking for the best way to accessed paywalled content without paying/subscribing, or you’re interested in a 12ft ladder alternative in particular, one or more of these sites should have you covered.
RemovePaywall(s)
RemovePaywalls is one of the most straightforward 12ft.io alternatives. Just copy/paste the URL of the article you want to read, and let it go to work.
Update: RemovePaypalls seems to have gone down some time in August 2026, but there's no explanation on why or how. As of now, RemovePaywall.com works, but to our knowledge, it's a separate site, despite the very similar names.
Archive.today
Archiving websites and web pages is a popular way to preserve online continent, since it keeps it alive even after shutdowns or edits. But did you know it can also help you bypass paywalls with Archive.today? It’s as simple as searching for an archived version of the page you want to read.
Bye Bye Paywall
The thing that sets Bye Bye Paywall apart is that it operates like an aggregator of other paywall bypass tools, including some of the other entries on our list, like RemovePaywalls and Archive.is. This is good news if you’re looking for a convenient, one-stop shop for bypassing paywalls.
Though if you’re already tried those sites and it didn’t work for your content, well, you may be out of luck.
Freedium
If you’re specifically interested in bypassing Medium paywalls, then Freedium is the site for you. For any other type of paywall, you’ll need to try one of the other options on the list.
How to Bypass Academic Paywalls
If you’re a student, professor, researcher, or are otherwise interested in accessing academic content in particular, then give these two a try.
Unpaywall
Unpaywall is a Chrome/Firefox extension that targets paywalls for academic content, like research papers. It doesn’t have the name recognition of SciHub, but it’s highly effective at what it does.
Sci-Hub
Sci-Hub has built up a huge reputation over the years, due to its consistent efforts to make academic content, which would usually require a pricey subscription or fee. Unfortunately, it has been having its own issues in recent years, due to the amount of scrutiny its popularity has put it under.
But it is still up and working, just not necessarily as well as it used to.
Best Sites to Bypass Paywalls: Wrap-Up
From online editorials to Medium to academic journals, the above sites should give you everything you need to bypass any paywalls that may pop up in your path.
Is there one we missed? Fill us in down below, in the comment section!