Magazine advertising rates, 2026
This is the tier by size grid every cost blog fakes. We fill a cell only when a retrievable published rate card covers it. In 2026 that grid is mostly empty, which is itself the finding: magazine pricing has gone quote-only, and the printed cells below are the last public anchors you can negotiate from.
| Tier | Full page 4C | Half page 4C | Quarter page |
|---|---|---|---|
| National glossy (Reader's Digest, 1.4M rate base) | $44,331 | $27,710 | Not on published card[1] |
| National niche edition (RD Large Print, 175K circ) | Not on published card | $11,700 | Not on published card[1] |
| Regional / city titles | Quote-only | Quote-only | Quote-only[2] |
| Local / community titles | Quote-only | Quote-only | Quote-only[3] |
| Trade / B2B titles | Quote-only | Quote-only | Quote-only[4] |
How to read the grid
The published cells are open rates: the price on the card before any discount. Open rate is the ceiling, not the market price. Frequency discounts, first-time rates and remnant space all land under it; Step 02 of the playbook covers how a rate card works and Step 03 covers how to buy under it.
Position moves price. Covers and front-of-book placements carry premiums over run-of-press (ROP, the ordinary inside pages); the cover positions folio explains the mechanics. Circulation moves price more than anything: verify it against the AAM statement[4] before you accept any cell, published or quoted. Tier detail: national, regional, local, trade. Size detail: full, half, quarter.
Check a quote against the grid
Been quoted a rate? Check it.
Benchmarks: published cards on file onlyEnter the price on the proposal in front of you. The desk positions it against a published rate card from the rate ledger, not an invented industry average.
Last checked and change history: updates.
Sources on file
- [1]Reader's Digest 2026 Media Kit, Trusted Media Brands. 2026 rate card, published October 2025. Retrieved 2026-07-31. Evidences: Reader's Digest full-page and half-page 4-color gross rates, 1,400,000 rate base, RD Large Print rates and 175,000 circulation.
- [2]Texas Monthly advertise page. Current site; kit gated behind a sales contact, retrieval attempt 2026-07-31 returned 403. Retrieved 2026-07-31. Evidences: Kit request route only; no archived rate card on file, so Texas Monthly figures are quote-only on this site.
- [3]Mediabids performance print marketplace. Current site, model description. Retrieved 2026-07-31. Evidences: Per-inquiry print model: advertisers pay per qualifying call or lead, terms set per campaign; no public rate card; free for publications; payouts via Tipalti.
- [4]Alliance for Audited Media (AAM). Ongoing audit bureau. Retrieved 2026-07-31. Evidences: Publisher statements and audited circulation used to verify any title's claimed distribution.