The Athletic Reviews

The Athletic has an overall rating of 4.6 based on 24 reviews. Customer feedback on The Athletic is mixed: The Athletic reviewers highlight positive aspects like in-depth sports coverage, knowledgeable writers, ad-free experience, user-friendly interface, which strongly appeal to sports enthusiasts, dedicated fans, readers seeking detailed analysis. However, The Athletic is often criticized for its high subscription cost, limited team coverage, no live game updates, occasional content delays.

4.6/5.0

24 reviews

5 Stars

17

4 Stars

2

3 Stars

4

2 Stars

0

1 Star

0

All The Athletic Reviews (24)
chandra2001
May 14, 2026
"Alerts I actually want"
The Athletic’s notifications are legit useful. I get game updates, big news, and team articles fast, no random spam. Makes it easy to stay caught up without constantly checking.
hello_wanda946
May 13, 2026
"Personalization is fine, but misses the mark"
My snap judgment after using The Athletic for a while: it’s good, but the personalization isn’t as sharp as I expected. It usually knows my main teams, but then it’ll still toss in a bunch of stories I have zero interest in.

I wouldn’t call it bad, because the writing is still solid and that’s what keeps me around. I just wish the feed felt a little smarter, like it actually understood what I follow instead of making a decent guess.
clydesimpson2685
May 05, 2026
"Offline reading works exactly how I hoped"
I saved a few articles before a flight, and they opened without any issues once I was offline. To me, that’s the whole point of the feature—it just quietly does what it’s supposed to do without making me think about it
josiahwescott2790
May 01, 2026
"Video playback passed the vibe check"
I mostly use The Athletic for match clips and quick analysis videos, and my snap judgment after using it a bunch is: yep, it just works.
The videos load fast, even on my phone, and I haven’t dealt with annoying buffering or those random quality drops that make you want to give up.

I’ve had enough bad experiences with clunky sports video players elsewhere, so this has been a nice change. Nothing flashy, just simple and reliable.
KristenBrough
April 30, 2026
"Fair moderation that makes it easier to participate"
The moderation feels fair overall. It’s not perfect, but the rules seem to be applied consistently whenever I comment, which makes it easier to know what’s okay and avoid wasting time guessing.
hector_Morales93
April 25, 2026
"Covers way more than I expected"
I was surprised by how many teams and leagues are included here, even the smaller ones I actually follow. It makes it way easier to keep up without having to jump between a bunch of different places. If anything is missing, it feels like the kind of thing that’s totally preventable with a quick update, but overall I’ve been really happy with it
mabel_Fitzsimmons76
April 23, 2026
"I use The Athletic pretty much every..."
I use The Athletic pretty much every day, and my account has just worked without much fuss. I switch between my phone and laptop and haven’t run into any random lockouts or password headaches. Maybe that’s a basic thing, but it’s one of those small details I really appreciate when it goes smoothly.
Kathryn_powell82
April 05, 2026
"I signed up for the trial and, of..."
I signed up for the trial and, of course, completely forgot when it was supposed to end. But the billing info was actually clear, and canceling took maybe a minute. No confusing pages, no annoying runaround, and no surprise charges after. i was ready to be irritated. I was not. Happy with how easy it was.
tracey1980
March 29, 2026
"I really like The Athletic overall, especially..."
I really like The Athletic overall, especially the articles, but the audio side can be a little frustrating. Sometimes podcasts randomly stop or don’t resume where I left off, which gets annoying after a while. It doesn’t happen every single time, but it’s happened enough that I’ve noticed. The content is still solid, I just wish the app worked a bit more reliably for listening. Anyone else running into this?
hello_david429
March 25, 2026
"Live updates come through fast"
I’ve been using The Athletic to follow match live updates, they’re usually really quick. It’s made watching games so much easier for me because I’m not constantly jumping between random sites and refreshing over and over.
hello_theresa634
March 25, 2026
"Cleaner than I expected"
I was expecting the usual pop-ups and ads interrupting everything, but the articles load cleanly and nothing gets in the way. It’s been a much nicer reading experience than I thought it would be
Zola-lucas
March 18, 2026
"Really glad the same writers are still here"
I’ve been reading for years, and it was a relief to see the same beat writers sticking around after I gave it a try. It makes the coverage feel familiar and consistent, like you know who you’re reading, and that’s what makes it feel worth paying for.
Irene.bourdier
March 15, 2026
"The main thing I remember is that..."
The main thing I remember is that the paywall was upfront. It showed up before I started reading, so there weren’t any weird surprises or hidden catches later. I appreciate that.
emily2002
March 14, 2026
"Great value and easy to stick with"
I’ve been really happy with this. I end up reading it most days, and it’s been a nice part of my routine. The content is clear, easy to follow, and there’s enough useful detail that it actually feels worth coming back to. For the price, it’s been a great value and I definitely don’t regret getting it.
brandi_Morrow83
March 04, 2026
"Great podcasts, but the app messed up my plans"
I really do like the podcasts on here, but the ads get annoying fast. I was trying to listen during a long walk I’d planned to relax, and the constant interruptions kind of ruined the whole vibe. Good content, but the app makes it harder to enjoy than it should be.
FrancesPlater_59
March 03, 2026
"Good reads, but not always enough for my teams"
I’ve had a solid experience with The Athletic overall. The writing is usually really good, and you can tell a lot of the reporters actually know what they’re talking about. I usually assume the longer features are going to be better than the quick news updates, and that’s mostly been true for me. The deeper pieces are the main reason I keep checking it. That said, I’ve noticed a pattern where some teams get a lot more attention than others, and for the teams I follow, there isn’t always as much new stuff as I’d like. Every now and then an article also feels a bit like filler. It’s still decent, but it’s not something I find myself using every single day.
Maris_thruston75
February 28, 2026
"Feels like they work independently"
The writers seem to handle things on their own for the most part, which I really appreciate. It’s not always perfect, and sometimes there are little things that could be better, but overall it feels like they know what they’re doing. I came away feeling confident and satisfied with the experience.
hello_mildred143
February 24, 2026
"Easy to use, though it can lag a bit"
I mostly use The Athletic on my phone, and from day-to-day use it’s been solid. Once I spent a little time with the app, the layout started to feel natural, and I can usually find the articles I want without digging around too much. The website is fine too, but the app is where I’ve had the better routine with it.
The main thing I notice is that it can be slow to load sometimes, especially when I’m just trying to quickly check a story. Search also feels like it could be more helpful. Still, based on actually using it regularly, it’s a good app overall and not overly cluttered, which I appreciate.
hello_sara081
February 04, 2026
"Works great no matter what mood I’m in"
I use The Athletic on my phone, laptop, and sometimes my tablet, and it’s been smooth across all of them. When I’m just relaxing or half-awake trying to catch up on sports, the articles load fast and the app doesn’t give me any annoying issues. It’s nice not feeling stuck to one device.
Bernice_anderson74
January 24, 2026
"Quick and helpful support"
I had a small issue with my account and, umm, I thought I’d be waiting around for a while. But support got back to me quickly and fixed it without turning it into a whole hassle. It was nice to actually get a real response and some help.

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