What millennials want from subscriptions in 2025

Millennials—the original digital natives—once drove the subscription boom. They were the first to embrace paid streaming, support crowdfunded journalism, and unbundle media experiences across platforms. But in 2025, their expectations are changing.

Now in their thirties and forties, millennials face different pressures: rising costs of living, information overload, and a glut of subscription fatigue. The pandemic years accelerated digital adoption, but they also sharpened value sensitivity. As a result, this cohort is no longer subscribing just to support journalism or unlock content. They’re looking for something more grounded, more personal, and more worth their time.

Publishers who continue to treat millennials as one homogenous, tech-loving group risk missing the nuances of what this generation actually wants now: meaningful engagement, flexible models, and membership with purpose.

Utility is no longer enough

Access used to be the value proposition. Subscribe, and you get the paywalled articles, the archive, the newsletter, the app. But by 2025, access is assumed. It’s table stakes.

Millennials now expect something more active in return—whether that’s deeper personalisation, unique experiences, or content that anticipates their needs. They want subscriptions that fit into their lives, not just sit in their inboxes. A daily newsletter or podcast drop has to earn its place in a crowded routine. Relevance is everything.

Publishers must ask: are we delivering something that makes our subscribers feel seen, heard, or helped? Or are we simply publishing at them?

Transparency builds trust—and retention

This generation has grown up watching media brands overpromise and pivot. Trust is hard-won. Millennials are happy to pay for content—but only when they understand where their money goes and why it matters.

Publishers like Tortoise, The Daily Maverick, and De Correspondent have built loyalty by showing their inner workings: what it costs to do good journalism, how editorial decisions are made, and how members shape coverage. This kind of openness resonates far more than splashy perks.

In 2025, transparency isn’t a bonus—it’s the buy-in. If readers don’t feel respected or informed as subscribers, they leave. And increasingly, they tell others why.

Subscription models need to flex

Rigid, one-size-fits-all subscriptions don’t cut it anymore. Millennials expect flexibility: rolling monthly options, pause buttons, discount tiers, or subscriber “credits” they can allocate how they want. Bundles, too, are being reassessed—not just for savings, but for coherence. A bundle has to make sense together. A podcast, a newsletter, and an event pass that feel aligned? Great. A pile of unrelated extras? Not so much.

There’s also growing interest in earned subscriptions—where engagement, referrals, or contribution unlock access. It’s not just about payment; it’s about participation. Publishers that build in these feedback loops and flexible access models are seeing stronger retention and deeper affinity.

Millennials don’t just want to pay. They want to feel like they chose to support something worthwhile—and that the model respects their autonomy.

Community beats content

Millennials came of age online, but they’re also tired of digital isolation. Subscriptions that offer community—forums, live chats, reading groups, or small-scale events—often outperform those that just deliver content.

This doesn’t mean every publisher needs to build a Slack group or Discord server. But it does mean understanding that belonging is part of the product. Whether through access to editors, behind-the-scenes newsletters, or member-only meetups, successful media brands in 2025 are those that blur the line between audience and organisation.

Community doesn’t scale easily—but it retains fiercely.

Values drive the decision

Finally, values aren’t a nice-to-have. For millennials, they are often the deciding factor. In an era of ethical consumption and heightened awareness, a publisher’s stance on climate, DEI, labour practices, or platform ethics can make or break the subscription decision.

This generation is paying attention. To tone, to coverage decisions, to who is quoted and who is left out. Subscriptions are increasingly seen not just as purchases, but as endorsements. Publishers that waffle, hedge, or obfuscate will find themselves excluded from the shortlist—not because the journalism isn’t strong, but because the values aren’t clear.

A new equation for loyalty

Millennials in 2025 are pragmatic, politicised, and media-savvy. They don’t need more subscriptions. They need better ones—grounded in transparency, aligned with their values, and designed for how they actually live.

For publishers, the challenge is to stop thinking about subscriptions as transactions—and start thinking about them as relationships. That means listening harder, iterating faster, and delivering not just content, but connection.

Because in the end, millennials aren’t asking for endless perks. They’re asking to feel something when they hit “subscribe.” And they’re telling you, in no uncertain terms, what that needs to be.