THE BEST magazine subscriptions offer a world of advice, information, tips and expertise in a delicious package and for a brilliant treat on the regular, it’s tough to beat.
Landing on your doorstep (or tablet) every month or so, there are a wealth of magazine titles to suit every possible interest and hobby, from fashion, food, gardening, fishing, craft and carpentry – if you can’t get enough of a certain subject, you’re guaranteed to find a magazine to suit.
The right magazine will add to your passion and offer you expert guidance, tips, ideas and insider information. Often subscribers can also get exclusive access to extra content, hidden subscriber areas of the magazine’s website, invites to subscriber events, offers and competitions.
The vast majority of magazines can now be read online or via a tablet through a digital subscription, and modern services like Readly offer you access to thousands of magazines for a set monthly fee (Readly’s is just £7.99).
- Readly, two months free then £7.99 per month – claim here
Or if you like things the old fashioned way (and who doesn’t love post), you can order a print subscription, which will be delivered to your door.
We’ve rounded up some of the best magazine subscriptions available right now, whether you’re buying for yourself or for someone special.
1. Best gardening magazine subscription: Gardeners' World
- Gardeners' World subscription, six issues for £24.50 from buysubscriptions.com – buy here
If you’re considering a subscription to Gardeners World, chances are you already know your hyacinths from your hydrangeas, but brand new gardeners will find plenty to love about the magazine too.
Make your garden the best it can be with features from TV favourites like Monty Don, Alan Titchmarsh and Carol Klein. Discover what gardening kit you need, how to deal with wildlife, solve your gardening woes and find out what all those flowers that spring up in your back yard are actually called.
As the UK's number one gardening publication, it’s full of ways to fuel your passion every issue and it’s published 12 times a year.
2. Best magazine subscription for fashion: Vogue
- Vogue trial subscription, six issues for £9 from Magazine.co.uk – buy here
- Subscribe to Vogue on Readly for £7.99 a month (with two months free) – buy here
The original fashion bible and influencer, since its launch in Britain in 1916, Vogue has set the style agenda.
The iconic magazine is an authority on new fashion trends and every issue is packed with celebrity interviews, fashion news, top buys and breathtaking photoshoots, which attract the best photographers and models in the world.
Published 12 times a year, a Vogue subscription offers the lucky recipient a glorious slice of glamour, high-fashion, beauty and major escapism.
3. Best magazine subscription for consumer info: Which?
- Full Access Which subscription, £5 for the first month and £9.99 thereafter from Which – buy here
Deciding to buy anything new these days can feel like a big research mission, with the deep dive into online reviews and relentless weighing up of competitors and prices you have to do before you can finally add to basket.
And that’s where Which? Magazine comes in – the brand’s product testing sets the standard with its rigorous, thorough and in-depth analysis of a huge range of items, from big household buys like washing machines and hoovers, to cars and technology and many other categories.
There are different levels of subscription that give you varying degrees of access to the app, website and print magazine, but Full Access lets you view the mammoth Which? online database of test results and buying guides, the brand’s app and a monthly copy of the magazine.
4. Best magazine subscription for royal news: HELLO!
- HELLO! subscription trial offer, 12 issues for £12 from Magazine.co.uk – buy here
Are you a sucker for a royal wedding? Love an A-lister engagement? Known as the premier publication for all things monarchy-related, a subscription to HELLO! offers a weekly insight into the royal universe, from birthday photos of Prince George to birth announcements from Princess Eugenie – there’s no better place for full-colour photos of the royals.
It’s also one of the best titles for A-lister news and gossip, celeb interviews, fashion and gossip.
With over 8 million subscribers around the world, you’re in good company becoming a HELLO! subscriber and it’s a weekly treat you can get either digitally or to your doorstep.
5. Best magazine subscription for younger kids: CBeebies
- CBeebies magazine subscription, £46.75 for six issues from Unique Magazines – buy here
For a children’s magazine that finds the perfect balance between educational and entertaining, you can’t go far wrong with the BBC Cbeebies magazine.
A weekly title, it includes all your preschooler’s favourite characters from the channel’s best shows, including Mr Tumble, Go Jetters, Bing and Hey Duggee.
Children are guaranteed to squeal in delight when the weekly treat drops on their doormat and they’ll be kept busy with the fun puzzles, stories, drawings and craft projects inside, so parents will be happy too.
6. Best magazine subscription for older kids: LEGO Life
- LEGO Life subscription, four issues a year absolutely free – sign up here
Got a LEGO enthusiast in your midst? Make them very happy with a subscription to LEGO Life magazine, which is delivered to your door four times a year. The best thing of all? It’s totally free.
Aimed at children aged five to nine, there’s LEGO magic squeezed into every page with comics, puzzles, famous LEGO characters, posters and building ideas.
Simply sign up for an account and you can download a digital copy of the latest issue while you wait for the next print edition.
If you're shopping for a LEGO fan, you might also be interested in our roundup of the best LEGO gifts for kids.
7. Best magazine subscription for fitness inspiration: Women’s Health
- Women’s Health subscription, £12 for five issues from Hearst Magazines – buy here
If numerous lockdowns have left you reaching for the remote and not your gym gear, firstly – we hear you – secondly, a Women’s Health subscription is just the ticket for serious fitspo.
There are 11 issues a year and each edition includes workout guides from famous trainers, interviews with nutrition and fitness experts and in-depth health tips and advice to fire up your motivation and get you on the path to your healthiest self yet.
8. Best magazine subscription for recipes: BBC Good Food
- BBC Good Food subscription, five issues for £5 from buy subscriptions – buy here
Foodie or not, the UK’s number one food magazine will have something to appeal to your palette; every issue contains a treasure trove of delicious recipes that have been tried and tested to ensure maximum taste value.
The photography alone is enough to whet your appetite, but paired with expert chefs and an in-house cookery team and it’s clear that BBC Good Food is one of the best magazine subscriptions you can buy.
There are 12 issues a year and whether you’re trying to pack in your five-a-day, you need to whip up a winning dinner party menu, or simply spice up your everyday cooking, the BBC Good Food magazine has it covered.
9. Best magazine subscription for your coffee break: Yours
- Yours subscription, £34 for 26 issues a year from greatmagazines.co.uk – buy here
Light-hearted, interesting, fun and sometimes shocking – we can’t think of a better companion for a coffee break than Yours magazine.
Aimed at women aged 40 and above and published every two weeks, Yours is full of celebrity interviews, recipes, real life stories, fashion, beauty, puzzles and giveaways.
There’s a friendly, community feel about the magazine with its thriving letters page and when you subscribe, you join the Love Yours club with handpicked offers and prizes.
10. Best magazine subscription for adventure seekers: National Geographic Traveller
- National Geographic Traveller subscription, three months for £6 – buy here
- Subscribe to National Geographic Traveller on Readly for £7.99 a month (with 2 months free) – buy here
Travel might have been put on the backburner for a while, which if you ask us, makes a subscription to the National Geographic Traveller feel all the more essential.
Dream of skipping onto an aeroplane and diving into an unknown land within the marvellous pages of Nat Geo Traveller, which is filled with facts, amazing photography, history, maps and diaries.
The magazine is informative and helpful about the practical aspects of travel, yet gloriously dreamlike, creating the perfect fuel for wanderlust.
11. Best magazine subscription for celebrity stories: OK!
- OK! subscription, trial offer 13 issues for £13 – buy here
Situated at the beating heart of all things celebrity, there’s no better subscription than OK! for the A-list obsessive in your life.
Read by around two million people in the UK each week, OK! is a powerful force in print and often exclusively covers celebrity weddings, birth announcements, engagements and other milestone moments in the lives of the rich and famous.
For a weekly dose of A-list photos and behind-the-scenes glimpses of famous faces, fashion inspiration from the stars and beauty news, OK! is your one-stop shop.
12. Best magazine subscription for women’s lifestyle: Red
- Red subscription, six issues for £12 from Hearst Magazines – buy here
A lifestyle brand with a style that’s warm, witty and feel-good, Red magazine describes itself as a title that ‘informs, advises and supports its Gen X readers through life.’
An authentic, interesting, informative monthly read, a Red subscription brings you gorgeous fashion and beauty tips, insightful features, home styling and smart conversation on important topics.
A fab mood-boosting treat to perk up your month, you can get access to both the digital and print edition when you subscribe.
How to cancel magazine subscriptions
It’s always worth checking the T&Cs of the specific publication you’re subscribing to before signing up, as each magazine has its own cancellation policy.
The vast majority of magazine subscriptions can be cancelled anytime without any incurred fees, although you usually need to give around 28 days notice of your intention to cancel.
Which magazine subscription should I get as a gift?
It all depends on the person you’re buying for – budding gardeners will love you for a Gardeners World subscription, while fashionistas would much prefer a monthly dose of style from Vogue. There is truly a magazine subscription for every interest, so shop around to find one that suits.
Almost all magazines have the option to buy as a gift so they can be paid for by you and sent directly to the recipient each month.
How much are magazine subscriptions?
This varies wildly and depends whether you’re subscribing to a weekly or monthly magazine and whether you want both the print and digital copy of a magazine or just one. Sometimes subscription prices cover both print and digital copies, while for other titles, you have to pay more for both.
Alternatively, if you’re only interested in digital access and want to read a number of different publications, a service like Readly charges a set monthly fee for access to over 5,000 magazines.
Are magazine subscriptions worth it?
If you love a particular magazine and would buy it anyway, then yes, a subscription is definitely worth it. Subscriber deals over a longer period of time are generally much cheaper than buying it on the newsstands every issue.
Where to buy magazine subscriptions
Online is your best bet for finding the latest subscription deals and signing up as a new subscriber. Online services like buysubscriptions.com have a great range of BBC titles, craft magazines and other niche publications, while WHSmith also has a decent range of magazines, including Vanity Fair, GQ and Tatler. Other websites where you can find subscription offers are: magazine.co.uk, magazinesdirect.com and isubscribe.co.uk.
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