Bypass Paywalls Clean alternative (2026)
Paste an article link — read it free:
Bypass Paywalls Clean (BPC) is a popular paywall extension, but it was removed from the Chrome Web Store — so installing it now means sideloading a .zip from GitHub and updating it by hand. RemovePaywall is a simpler, maintained alternative.
Why look for a BPC alternative?
BPC is no longer on the Chrome Web Store. Using it means downloading from GitHub, enabling Developer Mode, and re-updating manually. It is a rules-based extension, so its per-site rules need constant upkeep as publishers change their pages.
How RemovePaywall differs
RemovePaywall is reader-first: paste a link (or use our one-click extension) and it extracts the clean article, then falls back to archive.today and the Wayback Machine, then a sandboxed proxy. No sideloading, no per-site rule maintenance, and it publishes live per-site success rates.
One click, no sideloading
Our browser extension installs normally from the store and opens any article in a clean reader with one click. Prefer not to install? The web tool works the same way — just paste the link.
Free paywall tools compared (2026)
| Tool | How it works | No install | No login | Languages | Shows success rates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RemovePaywall | Reader-first extraction, then archive.today + Wayback, then a sandboxed proxy | Yes (web; optional extension) | Yes | 7 | Yes — live, per site |
| archive.today | Public archive lookup only | Yes | Yes | — | No |
| Bypass Paywall Reader | Aggregator — redirects you to archives (Wayback, archive.today, others) | Yes | Yes | 5 | No |
| Smry.ai | AI reader + article summaries | Yes (also an extension) | Free tier; Pro is paid | — | No |
| Bypass Paywalls Clean | Browser extension with per-site rules | No — sideload from GitHub | Yes | — | No |
Live success rates
Unlike other tools, RemovePaywall shows how often it actually works, from real usage — recent examples: The New Yorker ~100% · WIRED ~100% · The Atlantic ~98% · Business Insider ~97% · The New York Times ~97%. See the full live list.
Got an article in mind? Try it now: