The Information at $399/yr ($33.25/mo on annual billing or $42.25/mo monthly) ships the industry-deepest reporting on technology, AI, and venture capital plus the Org Charts product mapping 700+ private tech company structures. The interesting question is whether the tech-only depth matches your reading enough to justify the price; for tech founders, VCs, and senior tech executives whose work depends on Silicon Valley plumbing and OpenAI scoops, it does, and you should stay. For everybody else, the picks below cover the four switching cohorts where the price-and-scope ratio flips.
Where alternatives win
WSJ Digital at $12.99/mo or $155.88/yr Annual is roughly 39 percent of The Information annual but ships the largest US business newsroom in publishing across business, finance, retail, energy, and tech as one beat among many; the right answer for The Information subscribers whose role moved away from tech-only or who want broader business context. Saves $243/yr against The Information annual on the cheapest path.
Financial Times Essential Digital at £19/mo native UK or $39/mo USD is price-parity with The Information's monthly billing but ships the strongest international business newsroom in publishing alongside European, Asian, and global trade reporting; the right answer for subscribers whose work crosses borders or who care about how non-US developments shape the tech and finance agenda The Information's San Francisco lens treats as background.
Bloomberg Digital Annual at $349.99/yr ($29.17/mo equivalent) is roughly 88 percent of The Information annual but ships real-time markets data plus the strongest finance newsletter portfolio in business publishing (Money Stuff by Matt Levine, Hyperdrive on EVs and clean tech, New Economy Daily on China and global trade); the right answer for subscribers whose interest extends to finance and active markets where the data and newsletter mix justify the small price step-down.
The Economist Digital at $24.99/mo or $189/yr Annual is roughly 47 percent of The Information annual and trades tech specialty entirely for global politics, economics, and macro analysis on a weekly cadence with the tightest editorial voice in international journalism; the right answer for subscribers whose reading interest extends beyond tech to broader macroeconomic forces and who want the big-picture frame that The Information's daily tech news flow does not provide.
By Subrupt EditorialPublished Reviewed
The Information charges $399/yr (or $42.25/mo if you go month-to-month, $33.25/mo equivalent on annual billing) and trades on a single sentence: industry-deepest reporting on technology, AI, and venture capital. For tech founders, VCs, and senior tech executives whose work depends on Silicon Valley plumbing, OpenAI scoops, and private-company org charts, that promise pays back. For subscribers whose actual reading drifted toward broader business or global news, the question is whether the tech-only scope still matches your reading enough to justify the price.
WSJ Digital at $12.99/mo covers US business broadly with the largest newsroom in publishing including a solid tech beat. FT Essential at $39/mo for US readers ships global business depth at price-parity with The Information's monthly billing. Bloomberg Digital at $349.99/yr ships real-time markets plus the strongest finance newsletter portfolio in the category. The Economist Digital at $189/yr trades tech entirely for global affairs and macro thinking on a weekly cadence.
The annual-price ladder runs $156, $189, $350, $399 across these four picks plus The Information at the top. The Information is not unreasonable for the audience it serves; on monthly billing the gap widens because The Information charges $42.25/mo against WSJ's $12.99 and Economist's $24.99. The reason readers come looking for alternatives is rarely that The Information is overpriced for tech professionals. It is that their actual reading is broader than tech, and they keep trying to justify $399/yr on stories another paper covers equally well.
If your reading drifted toward broader US business, WSJ at $155.88/yr is the cheapest credible step. If your work crosses borders, FT Essential covers global. If you want real-time markets and the Money Stuff newsletter, Bloomberg's $349.99/yr is the lateral move. If your reading expanded to global affairs and economics, The Economist at $189/yr is the right downgrade. Subscribers using the Org Charts product or attending TI:Live should stay; those features have no peer.
Affiliate disclosure: Subrupt earns a commission when you switch to a service through our recommendation links. This never changes the price you pay. We only recommend services where there's a real cost or feature advantage for you, and our picks are based on the data on this page, not on which programs pay the most.
Quick pick by use case
If you only have thirty seconds, find your situation below and skip to that pick.
WSJ Digital at $12.99/mo or $155.88/yr Annual ships the largest US business newsroom in publishing including a solid tech beat; saves $243/yr against The Information annual.
FT Essential Digital at £19/mo native UK or $39/mo USD ships the strongest international newsroom plus European, Asian, and global trade reporting; lateral switch on price, very different on scope.
Bloomberg Digital Annual at $349.99/yr ships real-time markets data plus Money Stuff plus 30+ widely-read finance newsletters; saves $49/yr while replacing tech depth with markets depth.
The Economist Digital at $24.99/mo or $189/yr ships the tightest editorial voice in international journalism plus weekly long-form synthesis plus Espresso daily briefings; saves $210/yr while trading tech for macro entirely.
Skip these picks if: Stay with The Information when the tech-industry-deepest reporting is doing real work for your job, the Org Charts product mapping 700+ private tech companies is being used, you attend TI:Live or member events, or your firm reimburses the subscription.
At a glance: The Information alternatives
Quick comparison across pricing floor, best fit, and switching effort. Tap a row to jump to the full pick.
Cancellation frictionOnline cancel without phone call
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Cost at your volume
Approximate cost per pick at typical Annual cost (USD) at the cheapest realistic billing tier.
Pick
First year1 Annual cost (USD) at the cheapest realistic billing tier
Two years cumulative2 Annual cost (USD) at the cheapest realistic billing tier
Cost diff vs The Information over 2 years0 Annual cost (USD) at the cheapest realistic billing tier
Wall Street Journal
$156/mo
$312/mo
$-486/mo
Financial Times
$468/mo
$936/mo
$138/mo
Bloomberg
$350/mo
$700/mo
$-98/mo
The Economist
$189/mo
$378/mo
$-420/mo
Modeled at each pick's cheapest annual path. Compare to The Information Annual = $399 ($33.25/mo equivalent, the cheapest realistic 1-year cost; Monthly billing times 12 would be $507/yr at the verified $42.25/mo monthly rate). Auto-renewal pricing on premium news subscriptions typically holds closer to flat than software subscriptions; The Information, WSJ, FT, Bloomberg, and The Economist all renew at rates close to their intro Annual. WSJ saves $243/yr at one-third the price, The Economist saves $210/yr at less than half, Bloomberg saves $49/yr in a near-lateral move; FT US is the only pick more expensive than The Information annual ($69 more) because FT does not offer an annual discount. Pricing verified 2026-05-02 against vendor sites.
WSJ Digital at $12.99/mo or $155.88/yr Annual is the cheapest credible alternative for The Information subscribers, at roughly 39 percent of the annual price.
The trade: You give up the tech-industry-deepest reporting. WSJ's tech beat covers Big Tech, AI labs, and VC but does not match The Information on Silicon Valley plumbing, private-company org structures, or industry-source scoops. M&A and regulatory coverage are deeper at WSJ on the financial side; raw tech specialty is deeper at The Information.
The upside: You get the largest US business newsroom in publishing across business, finance, retail, and energy plus a Markets dashboard plus the WSJ Audio app for podcast-format reading. For subscribers whose reading moved away from tech-only or who want broader business context, WSJ delivers materially wider coverage at one-third the price.
“A price of $399 a year was close to a fully loaded subscription at the WSJ, which felt about right.”
Strengths
+39% of The Information annual ($155.88/yr vs $399/yr)
+Largest US business newsroom in publishing
+Solid tech beat across Big Tech, AI, and VC
+Markets dashboard plus WSJ Audio app
Trade-offs
−Less tech-specialty depth than The Information
−Editorial-page voice can be polarizing
−International tech and AI coverage thinner than The Information's San Francisco focus
Digital
$12.99/mo ($155.88/yr Annual)
Print + Digital
$22.49/mo ($269.88/yr Annual)
Best for
US business readers wanting breadth
Pricing verified
2026-05-02
Migration steps
Subscribe at wsj.com/subscribe; first three months are typically discounted to $4-7/mo and Annual auto-renewal lands at $155.88.
Install WSJ apps for iOS and Android plus the WSJ Audio app for podcast-format reading on commutes.
Forward The Information's email newsletters to a folder for archive search later, then cancel via your Account Profile or by emailing support@theinformation.com.
Set WSJ alerts on tickers and topics you previously tracked through The Information; the WSJ alert system covers public-company news that The Information's private-company focus does not.
Not for: Skip WSJ when tech-industry-deepest reporting is the lever you pay for. The Information's tech specialty has no peer in industry; WSJ is broader business with a tech beat, not the other way around, and the depth gap on private-company coverage is structural.
Financial Times Essential Digital at £19/mo native UK or $39/mo USD is roughly the same as The Information's monthly billing rate but ships global business depth instead of tech-industry depth.
The trade: You give up Silicon Valley specialty entirely. FT covers tech as one beat among many alongside European industry, Asian markets, global trade, and corporate governance. The tech reporting is competent but not deep in the way The Information's is. The price-parity makes this a lateral switch on dollars, very different on scope.
The upside: You get the strongest international business newsroom in publishing, the Lex column on the Complete tier for company analysis, and FT Edit (separate app) for shorter daily reading. For subscribers whose work crosses borders or who care about how non-US developments shape the tech and finance agenda, FT covers what The Information's San Francisco lens does not. UK readers paying £19/mo native get the same product at roughly $285 USD/yr equivalent, meaningfully cheaper than every option except WSJ.
Strengths
+Strongest European, Asian, and global trade coverage in the category
+Lex column on Complete tier for company analysis
+FT Edit app for shorter curated daily reading
+GBP-native price (£19/mo) is roughly $285/yr USD equivalent for UK-billed readers
Trade-offs
−Same monthly price as The Information for US readers
−Tech specialty significantly less deep than The Information
−FT does not offer an annual discount on Digital tiers, so US Annual is $468/yr
Essential Digital
£19/mo or $39/mo USD
Complete Digital
£35/mo or $75/mo USD
Best for
Global business and cross-border roles
Pricing verified
2026-05-02
Migration steps
Subscribe at ft.com; introductory promotional rates are usually heavily discounted (often £1/mo or similar promo) for the first 1-3 months.
Install the FT app plus FT Edit (separate app for curated short reads); the two apps together cover both deep reading and quick scanning.
If you read a lot of European or Asian business and are a US resident, consider GBP-native billing at £19/mo essential (roughly $285 USD/yr) by signing up via ft.com with UK address handling; this is meaningfully cheaper than the $39/mo USD-billed price.
Cancel The Information via your Account Profile or by emailing support@theinformation.com once FT's international scope confirms it covers your reading.
Not for: Skip FT when tech-industry specialty is the lever. The Information's depth on Silicon Valley plumbing has no peer; FT is global business first and tech is one of many beats, not the headline product.
Bloomberg Digital Annual at $349.99/yr ($29.17/mo equivalent) is roughly 88 percent of The Information annual and meaningfully cheaper than monthly billing on Bloomberg ($34.99/mo would be $419.88/yr).
The trade: You give up tech-industry-deepest reporting in exchange for real-time markets data and the Bloomberg Terminal-adjacent journalism. Bloomberg's tech beat is competent but covers tech as one of several major beats; The Information covers tech as the only beat. M&A and regulatory depth are strong at Bloomberg, especially on financial-services tech and IPO coverage.
The upside: You get real-time markets data and tickers, Bloomberg Businessweek included, and the strongest finance newsletter portfolio in business publishing. Money Stuff by Matt Levine is the most-read finance newsletter in technology and finance, widely quoted across both industries. Hyperdrive on EVs and clean tech, New Economy Daily on China and global trade, plus dozens of focused beat newsletters round out the lineup.
Strengths
+Real-time markets data and tickers
+Money Stuff by Matt Levine plus Hyperdrive plus 30+ widely-read finance newsletters
+Bloomberg Businessweek included in the subscription
+Strong M&A and IPO reporting on financial-services tech
Trade-offs
−88% of The Information annual ($349.99 vs $399)
−Tech reporting is competent but less deep than The Information's specialty
−Annual price requires upfront payment (saves $69.89 against monthly billing)
Monthly
$34.99/mo
Annual
$349.99/yr ($29.17/mo equivalent)
Best for
Active markets readers and finance professionals
Pricing verified
2026-05-02
Migration steps
Subscribe to Bloomberg Annual at bloomberg.com/subscriptions; the $349.99/yr saves $69.89 against monthly billing, so monthly is rarely the right choice.
Install the Bloomberg app and follow Markets, Watchlist, plus subscribe to Money Stuff and Hyperdrive newsletters; the newsletter portfolio is half the value.
Check whether your employer covers Bloomberg before paying individually; many financial firms, banks, consultancies, and corporate legal teams have firm-wide licenses that include Digital access.
Cancel The Information via your Account Profile or by emailing support@theinformation.com once Bloomberg's markets-and-finance coverage confirms it covers your reading.
Not for: Skip Bloomberg when you specifically need tech-industry reporting. The Information's depth on Silicon Valley plumbing and private-company structures has no peer; Bloomberg is markets first and tech second, and the gap on tech-only scoops is structural.
The Economist Digital at $24.99/mo or $189/yr Annual is roughly 47 percent of The Information annual and trades tech specialty for global politics, economics, and macro analysis on a weekly cadence.
The trade: You give up tech-industry specialty entirely. The Economist covers tech as one beat in a broader macro frame; the weekly cadence means no daily news flow on what just happened. For subscribers used to The Information's scoop tempo and source-driven daily reporting, the rhythm change takes adjustment and breaking news will lag by up to a week.
The upside: You get the tightest editorial voice in international journalism, strong economics and global politics, the Espresso app for short morning briefings, and the audio edition where every weekly issue is fully narrated for commute-time listening. For subscribers whose reading interest extends beyond tech to broader macroeconomic and geopolitical forces, The Economist covers that better than any other consumer publication.
Strengths
+47% of The Information annual ($189/yr vs $399/yr)
+Tightest editorial voice in international journalism
+Strong economics, global politics, and macro analysis
+Espresso daily briefing plus full audio narration of weekly issues
Trade-offs
−No tech-industry specialty
−Weekly format vs daily news flow, so breaking news lags up to a week
−Single editorial voice can feel monolithic over time
Digital
$24.99/mo or $189/yr Annual
Format
Weekly print plus daily Espresso plus full audio
Best for
Global affairs and macro readers
Pricing verified
2026-05-02
Migration steps
Subscribe at economist.com/subscribe; the $189/yr Annual is usually discounted to $99-149 for the first year, then renews near $189.
Install the Economist main app plus Espresso (separate app for weekday morning briefings); Espresso is the closest thing to daily news The Economist offers.
Try the audio edition (every weekly issue is fully narrated) for commute-time listening; this is a meaningful quality-of-life feature The Economist invests in heavily and The Information does not match.
Cancel The Information via your Account Profile or by emailing support@theinformation.com; if you still want daily tech news, pair The Economist with a free or low-cost tech newsletter (Stratechery free tier, Platformer free articles, Hacker News) for under $20/mo combined.
Not for: Pass on The Economist when the tech-industry-deepest daily news flow is the load-bearing reason you pay The Information. The weekly format is a structural mismatch for daily-news readers and breaking tech news will lag by up to seven days; pair, do not replace, if both matter.
Paid plans from $24.99/mo
When to stay with The Information
Stay with The Information when the industry-deepest reporting on technology, AI, and venture capital is doing real work for your job, the Org Charts product mapping 700+ private tech company structures is being used by you or your team, the member events plus annual TI:Live conference are part of how you stay networked in Silicon Valley, or your firm reimburses the subscription. The picks below are honest exits for subscribers whose actual reading drifted toward broader business, global news, real-time markets, or macro affairs and whose work no longer requires the tech-only depth The Information's narrow positioning is built around.
The Information alternatives are scored against the four cohorts that drive cancellation: broad US business readers whose reading drifted away from tech-only where WSJ Digital at $12.99/mo plus the largest US business newsroom in publishing close the gap at $243/yr savings, cross-border business readers whose work depends on international depth where Financial Times Essential at £19/mo native or $39/mo USD ships European and Asian and global trade reporting at price-parity with The Information, finance and active-markets readers where Bloomberg Digital Annual at $349.99/yr ships real-time data plus Money Stuff plus 30+ widely-read finance newsletters at a near-lateral price, and macro and global-affairs readers whose interest is understanding economic forces rather than tracking specific tech companies where The Economist's weekly format plus tightest editorial voice in international journalism plus proprietary econometric forecasting deliver the synthesis The Information's daily tech news cycle structurally cannot. Each pick leads on one cohort; subscribers whose lever is tech-industry-deepest reporting, the Org Charts product mapping 700+ private companies, TI:Live access, or scoop-driven daily news flow on Big Tech and AI labs and major startups should stay.
Pricing is taken from each publication's site on the review date and re-checked quarterly. The Information Individual Monthly $42.25/mo and Annual $399/yr verified 2026-05-02 (the catalog had stale $39/mo monthly; annual unchanged). The Information Pro tier $749/yr verified (Best Value, includes Org Charts plus subscriber data and charts). WSJ Digital $12.99/mo ($155.88/yr Annual) and Print plus Digital $22.49/mo ($269.88/yr Annual) verified. FT Essential Digital £19/mo native UK or $39/mo USD verified (FT does NOT offer an annual discount on Digital tiers, so US Annual is $39/mo × 12 = $468/yr; £-native is roughly $285 USD/yr at recent FX). FT Complete Digital £35/mo or $75/mo USD verified. Bloomberg Digital Monthly $34.99/mo and Annual $349.99/yr verified. The Economist Digital $24.99/mo or $189/yr verified. Auto-renewal pricing on premium news subscriptions typically holds closer to flat than software subscriptions; all five publications renew at rates close to their intro Annual. Editorial quality is assessed by reading 10-15 representative pieces from each across one month per quarterly review cycle. The page is reviewed quarterly and whenever a recommended publication ships a major editorial change, paywall restructure, or pricing update.
Update history2 updates
Major revision to full Stage 2 schema. Trimmed picks from 5 to 4 (kept wsj, financial-times, bloomberg, the-economist; dropped business-insider because the audience-fit gap is too severe, since tech-deep readers paying $399/yr do not downgrade to generalist news at one-fifth the cost; that swap belongs on Business Insider's own page where The Information is the upgrade pick). Pricing fully re-verified against vendor sites: The Information Individual updated to $42.25/mo monthly billing or $399/yr annual ($33.25/mo equivalent), since the catalog had stale $39/mo monthly; annual unchanged. Pro tier added at $749/yr (Best Value, includes Org Charts plus subscriber data and charts). WSJ Digital $12.99/mo or $155.88/yr verified. FT Essential £19/mo native or $39/mo USD verified (no annual discount on Digital tiers, so US Annual is $468/yr; £-native is roughly $285 USD/yr at recent FX). Bloomberg Digital Monthly $34.99/mo and Annual $349.99/yr verified. The Economist Digital $24.99/mo or $189/yr verified. Added structured verdict with deep-links to picks, quickVerdict (4 entries plus skipIf), featureMatrix (8 dimensions across wsj / financial-times / bloomberg / the-economist), usageCosts (annual cost in USD over 1-2 years vs The Information annual baseline). Reformatted rationales to anchor / trade / upside structure with varied openings per pick. Added authorRating per pick. Fixed missing _derived-from-editorial row for bloomberg pick (the prior 5-pick entry shipped bloomberg in editorial.ts but no DB row, so the bloomberg card was silently dropping per the renderer's altsBySlug filter).
Initial published version with 5 picks (wsj, financial-times, bloomberg, the-economist, business-insider).
Frequently asked questions about The Information alternatives
Is The Information worth $399 a year?
For tech-industry professionals (founders, VCs, executives, senior product and engineering leaders) whose work depends on industry-deepest reporting on Silicon Valley plumbing plus OpenAI and AI-lab scoops plus private-company org structures, yes. The Org Charts product mapping 700+ private tech companies plus TI:Live plus member events justify the price for the audience the publication is built for. For subscribers outside tech-industry roles or whose actual reading drifted toward broader business or global news, alternatives at one-third to half the cost cover broader needs better.
Why is The Information $399 a year?
Founder Jessica Lessin anchored the price to a fully loaded subscription at WSJ when launching the publication in 2013 (a Columbia Journalism Review profile records her saying 'A price of $399 a year was close to a fully loaded subscription at the WSJ, which felt about right'). The publication is built on a subscription-only model with no advertising, which means the price has to support the cost of a 50+ person tech newsroom; corporate subscriptions and Pro tier ($749/yr) cover the bulk of revenue and individual subscriptions are priced to discourage casual readers.
What is The Information's Org Charts product?
Org Charts is a research product showing the organizational structures of 700+ private tech companies (OpenAI, Anthropic, SpaceX, Stripe, Databricks, and many more). The data is researched and updated by the publication's reporters; for VCs, recruiters, sales teams, and competitive analysts, the data is unique and not reproducible from public sources. Individual subscribers get access to all Org Charts at no additional cost; Pro tier ($749/yr) adds deeper data and charts plus team access.
Is The Information's monthly billing really $42.25?
Yes. The standard rate is $42.25/mo on monthly billing or $399/yr on annual billing ($33.25/mo equivalent). Going annual saves about $108/yr against monthly times 12 ($507/yr). Promotional offers occasionally drop the first year to $225 or similar; the cancellation funnel sometimes offers retention pricing. The catalog had stale $39/mo monthly which is what Subrupt updated 2026-05-02 against the live pricing page.
How does The Information compare to Stratechery?
Stratechery (Ben Thompson's individual analysis at $12/mo or $120/yr) covers tech strategy through Thompson's analysis of major tech companies and trends. The Information is a multi-reporter newsroom doing daily news flow on tech specifically. The two complement rather than compete; many tech professionals subscribe to both. If your reading is strategy-and-analysis-led, Stratechery alone is often enough; if your reading is news-and-scoops-led, The Information is the right pick. Substack newsletters from former Information reporters (Eric Newcomer, Joanna Stern at WSJ, others) cover specific beats at $10-20/mo each and can substitute for narrow slices of The Information's coverage.
How do I cancel The Information?
Cancellation can be done via your Account Profile (self-service) at theinformation.com or by emailing support@theinformation.com with your account details (username, real name, billing address, account email). Following cancellation, your Subscription access continues until the end of your current billing period; The Information does not offer prorated refunds for unused time, with the exception that EU and UK consumers are entitled to a 14-day refund period commencing on purchase. Trustpilot reviewers have noted occasional autorenewal complaints; emailing support directly with a cancellation request and saving the email confirmation is the cleanest path.
Ready to switch?
Our top The Information alternative: Wall Street Journal
WSJ Digital at $12.99/mo or $155.88/yr Annual is roughly 39 percent of The Information annual but ships the largest US business newsroom in publishing across business, finance, retail, energy, and tech as one beat among many; the right answer for The Information subscribers whose role moved away from tech-only or who want broader business context. Saves $243/yr against The Information annual on the cheapest path.
The team behind subrupt.com. We track subscriptions, surface cheaper alternatives, and publish comparisons where the score formula is on the page so you can recompute it yourself. We do not claim 30,000 hours of testing. What we claim is live pricing from our database, a transparent composite score, and honest savings math against a category baseline.
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Wall Street Journal
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