How to Get the NY Times for Free (Updated for 2024/2025)
Reliable news is hard to find these days with the news changing every hour. The Chronicle and SFGate are great, but The New York Times does an excellent job of coverage should you want a more national perspective.
Free 72-Hour Pass to NY Times Online
The San Francisco Public Library provides free online access to The New York Times for up to 72-hours with a code – you can renew this as many times as you like. Yes, it’s a little bit of a pain to have to get a new code every 3 days, but that’s the price you pay for free. This works for both the website or the mobile app. Get more info
Please note that periodically the codes don’t work and the system is taken down for a few days with no explanation.
How to get a free NY Times 72-Hour Pass
- Click on the New York Times Digital code redemption link on the SF Library page
- Click Redeem to get 72 hours of continuous access.
- Register with your personal email address, or click on “log in here” if you have already created an account.
- Then you’ll get you log-in for your free pass
What happens after 72 hours? After the first 72 hours have passed, you will need to redeem another code for another 72 hours of remote access (i.e. Repeat Step 2). This is the licensing model that New York Times has negotiated with public libraries.
What do you get?
- Unlimited articles – Enjoy unlimited articles on NYTimes.com and in the New York Times app.
- Countless topics – Find something for everyone — from coverage of critical issues to sports to opinions.
- Subscriber exclusives – Access exclusive features and newsletters, along with early access to new media releases.
What’s excluded? Your code will give you free Basic Digital access to The New York Times with no commitment required. While the library subscription includes access to many areas of New York Times Digital, there may be some features and sections reserved for individual subscribers. We think that this excludes the Cooking section and the Crossword.
