Later this year, Ars Technica will turn 20 years old. Our success has always been inextricably linked to the dedication of our readers, with 15 million of you arriving each month from around the world. To all of us who work here, that loyalty is profoundly humbling. We work hard to live up to it, including in the way we fund our operations.

Today, we are asking you to consider supporting Ars Technica by becoming a subscriber. We've made some changes to the program in 2018, including lowering our prices and adding more goodies. Here is our new line-up:

Free: Read Ars supported by ads, using one of the lightest ad loads of major media sites. All content remains available without rate-limits or gates. Ars Pro for $25/year (or $3/month): Read Ars ad-free and get access to full-text RSS feeds along with our subscriber-only forums for just seven cents a day. If just 1 percent of people blocking ads on Ars subscribed to this option, we'd be able to hire five more journalists. Ars Pro++ for $50/year: Read Ars ad-free, get a yearly tech gift from Ars (this year, it's an Ars-branded YubiKey 4, a $40 value), gain access to full-text RSS feeds and article PDFs, and read in "clean reading mode"—a special ad-free layout designed for pure readability. All that for the price of a latte each month!

You can review the details and sign up for the new subscription tiers here.

Now, let's answer some common questions. (Post your "less common" questions in the discussion thread below, and we'll try to address them, too.)

How ad-free is “ad-free”?

Completely. No display ads of any kind on the site. No pre-roll ads on video. When we say "no ads," we mean it.

Tell me about “clean reading mode”!

The $25 ad-free subscription tier has no ads, but it uses the same basic Ars layout as the free tier. With "clean reading mode," we've got a new layout optimized from the start for a site without ads. We think you'll like it, but we'd love your suggestions on how to make it even better.

What is a YubiKey?

A YubiKey is a tiny piece of hardware that provides two-factor authentication (2FA) codes for use with popular services like Facebook, Gmail, Dropbox, and GitHub. Yubico is providing Ars Pro++ subscribers with branded YubiKey 4s, which plug into your computer's USB port and provide the "second login factor" when you touch the YubiKey's gold button. There are no codes to type in, no apps to install, and you won't need to keep whipping out your phone to sign in with 2FA. YubiKeys work with macOS, Linux, Windows, and ChromeOS. Did we mention that these are made in the USA and Sweden? And that they normally cost $40? You can learn more about YubiKey here.

YubiKey fulfillment will start in mid to late February. Once fulfillment begins, it should be a maximum of 3.5 weeks from the time a subscription comes in until the YubiKey is sent out.

All subscription benefits, including YubiKey, are available to subscribers outside the US and North America.

I recently subscribed. Do I miss out on the YubiKey?

Anyone who subscribed to Ars between December 1, 2017 and today will receive a YubiKey free of charge. All other current subscribers will receive a YubiKey (or whatever promotion we are offering at the time) when their subscriptions renew.

What about existing subscribers?

Without our existing subscribers supporting us for the past several years, we would never have the confidence to continue this program. Indeed, we are eternally grateful to those of you who have supported us in this way.

The new subscription system features some big changes on the payment-processing side of things. If you signed up with Pin Payments (or Spreedly) and are happy with your current recurring plan, you don't have to do anything. You'll continue to have your perks. Monthly subscribers at the $5 level have been moved to the Ars Pro tier at $3/month. If you're an annual subscriber at the $50/year level, you'll stay at the same price and be moved into the Ars Pro++ tier.

If you want to change tiers, please reach out to us for help at the contact page. Select "Technical/Subscription Support" from the dropdown and we'll respond as quickly as we can.

Why are you doing this?

Here's the short answer: we need revenue! Journalism is more expensive, advertising pays less, and more readers are blocking ads than ever before.

Now, a longer answer... first and foremost, although Ars Technica is owned by Condé Nast, we run ourselves independently. When we were acquired nearly 10 years ago, some readers assumed that we'd be bankrolled by a giant corporation with magically endless pockets. Unfortunately, that's not how it works. It's every tub on its own bottom at Condé Nast. Ars Technica lives or dies by its readership, its sales efforts, and its subscriptions. Aside from sharing some sales personnel with Wired, we are on our own—which is just the way we like it.

Ars Technica first launched a subscription program over a decade-and-a-half ago, at the collapse of the great tech bubble of 2001. Without a doubt, that program sustained Ars for several years during financially tough times. It is now time to take that program to the next level so we can grow our staff, improve our operations, and remain incredibly persnickety when it comes to the kinds of ads we run.

Why would I pay for something I get for free?

We believe that Ars Technica is a tremendous value to its readers, and we believe that a number of you are willing to recognize that value in the form of a subscription. There are several reasons we believe this. First, we have the highest return-reader rate in the business; the average Ars reader hits the site multiple times a day, for 90 visits a month on average. Second, a massive percentage of our readership has been with us for five or more years. Third, and most important, throughout 20 years, we have been blessed with readers who engage with us in the comments, in emails, and elsewhere. Putting this all together, we firmly believe that Ars Technica offers a value that, for many of you, is worth supporting with a few dollars.

We anticipate there may be technical glitches with this new system launching today. Please help us by submitting a support ticket via the contact us page, rather than adding to the comments section. On the support form, select "Technical/Subscription Support" and provide as much information as possible about the problem.