Yes. Browsing, rating, saving, and making lists are free. Premium is optional.

Articles are rated out of 10 by readers; the score shown is the community average.

Your reading home: save to-read articles, mark read ones, and track ratings, notes, and stats.

Curated collections anyone can make and share; save others' or build your own.

Points for participating: comment upvotes, adding essays, reads/saves on your adds, reading, rating, and saves of your lists.

How ponder works

Q: How do I find things to read?

Browse by topic, writer, or publication, explore lists, see trending, or the best of the year, or search.

Q: What are the Ponder Readers Awards?

A yearly reader-voted best-of: the top 100 articles, with the top three winning a Ponder Readers Award.

Q: What does premium get me?

Favorite authors & publications with an unread feed, a premium badge, and supporting ponder.

Q: How do I add an article?

Use + add in the top bar and paste a link, or the Chrome extension while browsing.

ponder is a reader-curated catalog of the best long-form writing on the internet. Here’s a quick tour.

What is ponder?

A reader-curated catalog of the best long-form articles and essays on the internet. Readers add great pieces, rate them, and build collections, so you can find writing that’s genuinely worth your time instead of doom-scrolling.

Is it free?

Yes. Browsing, rating, saving, writing reviews, and making lists are all free. There’s an optional premium subscription with a few extra perks that also supports the site.

How do I find things to read?

Browse by Topic, Writer, or Publication; explore reader-made Lists; see what’s trending on the home page; or check the Best Articles of the year. There’s search in the top bar anytime.

How do ratings work?

Every article is rated out of 10 by readers. The score you see is the community average, so the pieces readers love most rise to the top. Rate anything you’ve read to shape the rankings.

What's my shelf?

Your shelf is your reading home: save articles you want to read, mark ones you’ve read, and keep your ratings, notes, and stats in one place.

What are lists?

Curated collections anyone can create and share, like “Best essays on grief” or “Longform crime.” Save lists you like, and build your own from any article.

What is karma?

Karma is points for taking part in ponder. You earn it from:

Upvotes on your comments
Essays you’ve added to the catalog (+1 each)
Reads & saves on essays you added
Essays you’ve read (+1 each)
Ratings you’ve given (+1 each, +2 if read)
Saves of your reading lists

What are the Ponder Readers Awards?

Each year, readers rate the year’s articles. The highest-rated 100 become the Best Articles of the year, and the top three win a Ponder Readers Award (plus a share of the award pool). Ratings lock on January 1, so the community decides the winners.

What does premium get me?

Favorite authors & publications (highlighted in gold, with a feed of their unread articles), a premium badge on your profile, and the good feeling of directly supporting ponder and the awards pool. See the premium page for details.

How do I add an article?

Hit + add in the top bar and paste a link, ponder pulls in the title, author, publication, and image for you. You can also add articles as you browse with the Chrome extension.

How do I keep up with new articles?

Subscribe to the weekly email digest (there’s a signup in the footer), or follow the RSS feed in your reader of choice.

Still have a question? Get in touch.