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Toronto Star Review

Depends

Should I use Toronto Star?

thestar.com is one of Canada's largest online news sites and 100% Canadian-owned. Live news, investigations, politics, sports and the heartbeat of Toronto, Canada's largest city. - thestar.com

· 1 week ago

Buy it if you closely follow Toronto politics, sports, or investigations and want Canadian-owned journalism at the promo price. Skip it if you're a casual reader — free outlets like CBC cover much of the same ground, and cancelling is reportedly painful.

Confidence

Medium. Based on ~14 public sources. Note: this is a news subscription, not software — fit judged as a consumer purchase.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of useNo reliable evidence
  • Feature depthNot applicable to a news subscription
  • Support quality
  • Security postureNo findings either way in sources

Pricing

$39.99/yr promo (reg. $125)

Digital subscription

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierNo
MicropaymentsPay per article

Best for

  • Toronto locals tracking city hall and crime
  • Blue Jays and sports fans
  • Readers prioritizing Canadian-owned media
  • Occasional readers using micropayments

Not for

  • Casual news readers — free outlets cover most of it
  • Anyone who might need to cancel; process is reportedly awful
  • Non-Canadian readers wanting broad national coverage
  • Teams shopping for software — this is a newspaper subscription

Gotchas - check before you buy

high

Cancelling a subscription is widely reported as deliberately difficult

medium

Promo $39.99 vs $125 regular rate — verify renewal terms before subscribing

low

Paywall in place since 2013 limits free articles

Pros and cons

Pros

  • 100% Canadian-owned newsroom covering Toronto politics, investigations, and sports
  • Annual digital plan has dropped to $39.99 in promotions
  • Micropayments let occasional readers pay per article without subscribing
  • Trust Project partner with disclosed ownership and funding

Cons

  • Regular rate $125/yr is steep for a regional paper
  • Cancellation widely reported as a painful, drawn-out process
  • Paywall gates most articles behind payment
  • Only 26 Trustpilot reviews, mixed tone

Sources & method

- 10 sources - No known vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.

official x2review x4security x1news x3

Key stats

  • Value for money: 3/5

    Rating

  • $39.99/yr promo (reg. $125)

    Starting price

  • 10

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 3/5. Promo $39.99/yr cheap; regular $125 stings
  • Ease of use. No reliable evidence
  • Feature depth. Not applicable to a news subscription
  • Support quality: 2/5. Cancellation widely reported as painful
  • Security posture. No findings either way in sources
  • $39.99 Annual digital sub (promo) Regular rate $125/yr
  • No Free tier Paywall since 2013; micropayments added 2024
  • 26 Trustpilot reviewers Small, mixed sample
  • 1892 Founded One of Canada's largest news sites

Pricing

Digital subscription

$39.99/yr promo (reg. $125)

  • Unlimited article access
  • App access
  • Promo rate seen Nov 2023

Micropayments

Pay per article

  • For occasional readers
  • Launched 2024

Security

No known vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.

What users say

Readers value the journalism but frequently complain that cancelling a subscription is unnecessarily hard.

“Cancelling a Toronto Star subscription is a huge pain in the ...”
Reddit, r/toronto

Alternatives

Compare Toronto Star with each alternative.

  • CBC News

    Free public broadcaster with strong national and Toronto coverage

  • The Globe and Mail

    National daily with deeper business coverage; pricier

  • National Post

    National daily, lighter paywall

Full analysis

Based on ~14 public sources. Note: this is a news subscription, not software — fit judged as a consumer purchase.

Cheap at $39.99/yr promos, solid Canadian journalism — but cancelling is reportedly a pain and free alternatives abound.

Methodology

Based on ~14 public sources. Note: this is a news subscription, not software — fit judged as a consumer purchase.

Read how a report is made.

Sources

  1. Toronto Star - Annual digital subscription for $39.99 (reg. 125)forums.redflagdeals.com
    review
  2. PSA: Cancelling a Toronto Star subscription is a huge painreddit.com
    review
  3. Toronto Star Reviews - Trustpilottrustpilot.com
    review
  4. Toronto Star - App Store Ratings & Reviewsapps.apple.com
    review
  5. The Toronto Star launches micropaymentsamediaoperator.com
    news
  6. Torstar says it will launch Toronto Star paywallvancouver.citynews.ca
    news
  7. Torstar agrees to $52M sale to NordStar Capitalcbc.ca
    news
  8. Toronto Star | The Trust Project News Partnersnetwork.thetrustproject.org
    official
  9. Entertainment News | The Starthestar.com
    official
  10. thestar.com/security - no security page foundthestar.com
    security

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