The New York Times has officially launched family subscription plans, expanding its portfolio of pricing options to include multi-user access. The new All Access Family plan is priced at $10 per week (with promotional pricing available at $7.50), and the Games Family plan is offered at $2.50 per week. Each plan supports up to four individual logins, giving every user their own personalized account for articles, newsletters, recipe boxes, and game statistics.

The launch is notable for its flexibility. The Times makes clear that “family” is defined loosely: members can invite relatives, roommates, or even friends, with no household verification required. This removes a common friction point that other subscription companies often enforce.

The family tier solves a long-standing consumer frustration with shared logins. In the Times’ growing Games portfolio, for example, one person’s completed Wordle or Crossword puzzle previously ended the session for all users on the same account. Under the new plans, each subscriber can maintain individual streaks and appear on shared leaderboards.

According to executives, early tests showed that family subscribers were “much more likely to stay with us,” underscoring the role of multi-user plans in improving retention. The Times currently counts about 11.8 million total subscribers, with a public goal of reaching 15 million by 2027. Each family subscription will count as two subscribers in company reporting.

INSIDER TAKE

The New York Times is aligning itself with a broader trend across the subscription economy: leveraging multi-user plans to lock in engagement and reduce churn. For streaming video, music, and software, family or team plans have long been sticky products, creating switching costs when multiple people are tied into the same account. The Times is now applying that playbook to news and games.

Several signals stand out for subscription executives:

• Retention strategy: NYT explicitly links family plans to improved churn performance, confirming what many operators already know—multi-user plans bind subscriptions more tightly into daily life.

• Revenue management: Pricing reflects a premium over single-user access but remains a discount relative to four individual subscriptions. This balancing act aims to expand reach while limiting cannibalization.

• Defining “family”: By choosing not to enforce household verification, NYT prioritizes acquisition and engagement over strict control. This approach increases adoption but carries potential risks of over-sharing.

• Product bundling: Positioning both All Access and Games in family format highlights the role of niche products like Games as gateways to broader subscriptions.

• Market signal: Family subscriptions are no longer exclusive to entertainment and productivity services. Publishers are now adapting the model to deepen engagement and broaden audiences.

For executives across industries, the move is a reminder that shared experiences drive subscription value. Retention is strongest when a subscription embeds itself into group routines—whether that is families solving Wordle together, households managing entertainment streaming, or teams collaborating on SaaS.