3 Months of Rakuten Magazine: How Much Our Paper Magazine Bill Shrank
1,300+ magazines for a few hundred yen a month. We logged every issue we read for 3 months and drew the line between who profits and who doesn't.
提示：以下详细内容目前仅提供英文版，中文版即将上线。
MagazinesRakuten Magazine is Japan's staple magazine subscription: 1,300+ titles, back numbers included. But whether YOUR magazines are in the catalog — and how it compares with buying paper — only shows up in actual use.
We paid for the monthly plan ourselves and logged every magazine we opened for three months, tallying weekly what the same reading would have cost in print, and testing offline downloads and multi-device use.
Pricing & free trial
¥572/mo
Annual plan ¥5,500 (≈¥458/mo); first 31 days free
* 价格均含税，为本文获取数据时各商城的标示价格。最新价格与运费请务必以各链接页面为准。
* 商品链接为联盟链接。您购买后本站可能获得佣金。
What is Rakuten Magazine? The 30-second version
Rakuten Magazine is the Rakuten Group's magazine subscription: 1,300+ titles (back numbers included) across fashion, business, food, travel and hobbies, read-all-you-want for ¥572/month. You can pay with Rakuten points and earn them too — its biggest edge.
- ¥572/month or ¥5,500/year (≈¥458/mo) for 1,300+ titles
- First 31 days free; cancel in time and pay ¥0
- One account covers up to 5 devices (phone/tablet/PC) — strong for families
- Download for offline reading (subway, flights)
- Pay with Rakuten points and earn them (ecosystem integration)
Pricing: monthly vs annual
There's a monthly and an annual plan; long-term, annual clearly wins. The figures we confirmed on our own subscription:
- Annual saves about ¥1,364 vs paying monthly for a year (~20% off)
- Cheapest route: 31-day free trial → switch to annual if you continue
- Pay with Rakuten points (incl. limited-time) to save further
| Plan | Price (tax incl.) | Effective monthly | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly | ¥572/mo | ¥572 | Trying it / short-term |
| Annual | ¥5,500/yr | ≈¥458 | Committed, want the lowest price |
Genres you can read
As a general service, Rakuten Magazine covers major genres broadly. The main ones we confirmed (the lineup rotates, so check your must-reads during the free trial):
- Fashion (women's & men's) / beauty
- Business, money, investing
- Food, cooking, health
- Travel, outdoors, hobbies (camera, cars, golf, etc.)
- Lifestyle, weeklies, entertainment
- Note: some popular manga and specialist titles are excluded; some pages are rights-blocked
Free trial, sign-up and cancellation basics
The first 31 days are free, and both sign-up and cancellation complete online. The essentials (full steps in our sign-up, free-trial and cancellation guide):
- Sign up: log in with a Rakuten ID, pick a plan, subscribe
- Free trial: first 31 days; cancel in time and it's ¥0
- Cancel: anytime from My Page; cancelling stops auto-renewal
- Note: cancelling generally ends access right away, so check the billing date first
Devices and how to use it
- Supports iPhone/Android/iPad/tablets/PC (browser)
- One account registers up to 5 devices for family reading
- Download issues in the app to read offline
- Clip (favorite) articles you want to keep
- iPad/tablet screens make magazine spreads easy to read
Versus other magazine subscriptions (the essentials)
dmagazine and Rakuten Magazine are the two leaders. Rakuten Magazine's position against the majors (full comparison in our magazine-subscription comparison note):
| Service | Monthly (tax incl.) | Ecosystem / trait |
|---|---|---|
| Rakuten Magazine | ¥572 | Rakuten points; annual is cheap |
| dmagazine | ¥580 | d points; industry-largest catalog |
| Kindle Unlimited | ¥980 | Magazines + books + manga |
| Book Hodai | ¥550 | Magazines + manga, travel guides |
优点（让人满意之处）
- 1,300+ titles covering nearly every major genre
- Our reading equated to ¥4,180/month in print — for ¥572
- 5 simultaneous devices on one subscription
- Offline downloads for subway and flights
- 31-day free trial makes it risk-free
缺点（需要注意之处）
- Some popular manga and specialist titles excluded
- Rights-restricted pages and photos exist
- In-magazine search accuracy is mediocre
实测记录（我们真的测了）
所有照片均拍摄于我们的家庭实测空间。
| Item | Claimed | Verified |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly fee | ¥572 (tax incl.) | ¥572 (confirmed) |
| Annual plan | ¥5,500 | ≈¥458/mo (confirmed) |
| Catalog | 1,300+ titles | Major genres confirmed |
| Devices | 5 | 5 environments tested |
| Free trial | 31 days | Confirmed (¥0 if canceled in time) |
常见问题
How many magazines can I read on Rakuten Magazine?
1,300+ titles (back numbers included), read-all-you-want, covering fashion, business, food, travel and hobbies. The lineup rotates, so check your must-reads during the free trial.
Can I read offline?
Yes. Download issues in the app and read them offline — on the subway, in airplane mode, anywhere without a connection.
Can my family share it?
Yes. One account registers up to 5 devices (phone/tablet/PC), so family members read on their own devices; within the device limit you can each read different magazines.
How long is the free trial?
31 days for first-time users. Cancel in time and you pay nothing. Confirm your must-reads during the trial, then switch to the cheaper annual plan if you continue.
Can I still read after cancelling?
Generally no — cancelling ends read-all-you-want access. There's no guarantee of reading to the end of the term, so check the billing date before cancelling.
Can I pay with Rakuten points?
Yes. Rakuten points (including limited-time points) can cover the monthly or annual fee, and purchases earn points. Paying via Rakuten Card earns even more.
Related notes
Magazines
Rakuten Magazine Sign-Up, Free Trial & Cancellation Guide: 31 Free Days Without Getting Caught Out
4.4Magazines
Rakuten Magazine vs dmagazine & Kindle Unlimited: Which Magazine Subscription to Pick
4.3eBooks
Rakuten Kobo vs Kindle, 3 Months Side by Side: We Price-Checked the Same Books Weekly
4.1Credit Card
One Full Year on the Rakuten Card: Every Point Earned — and the Traps
4.5
💴 Paid for with our own money from March 2026; written from three months of logged reading.