The biggest increases in traffic were at USA Today (34%), CNN (33%), Newsweek (21%), Fox News (20%) and The New York Times (15%). It nonetheless remained the most-visited news site in the US, a position it has held since Similarweb updated its data model in June and pushed the site ahead of The New York Times. It was followed by The Independent (down 12.4% month-on-month) and Business Insider (64.3 million, down 11.8%).
Substack, now the fourteenth biggest news site in the US, saw the biggest year-on-year boost in visits, up by almost half (42%) to 72.7 million visits in August compared to the same period in 2024. Just five of the top 50 US websites saw year-on-year traffic growth in August 2025, according to the latest data from Similarweb. In August, just five of the top 50 sites had year-on-year growth but in September 18 had an increase in visits compared to a year earlier. Among the biggest month-on-month web traffic declines were also the New York Post (down 15% to 97.7 million visits), followed by Newsweek (67.8 million) and CNN (297.1 million), both down 14%. Just one site among the top ten saw month-on-month growth, with Yahoo Finance (in fourth place) increasing its traffic 10% on September to 145.7 million visits. The New York Times was the only site of the top 11 most visited sites to see month-on-month growth, up 1% to 444.9 million visits.
But the picture is rosier over a longer timespan, with three-quarters of the top 50 publishers seeing year-on-year growth in visits in August. The two top ten sites to see year-on-year traffic declines were Fox News (down 0.7%) and Mail Online, where visits dropped 7.2%. New top ten entrant Forbes was also the fastest-growing site in the group, seeing visits rise 48% compared with September 2023.
- Long-running magazine The Atlantic also saw a strong March with 30 million visits, an increase of 26% month-on-month.
- Athlon Sports (up 218.4% year-on-year to 35 million) was the fastest riser in the ranks of the top 50, jumping eight places to 33rd on the back of 18% month-on-month traffic growth, the second most growth of any publisher in the top 50.
- The BBC was up 27% month on month and 19% year on year to a total of 118.6 million visits in the US in September, making it the eighth biggest site by this metric.
- Forbes recorded the third highest month-on-month increase in visits, up 15% to 59.3 million.
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Among the top 50, Newsweek, which has topped the list for growth in several of the past months, was only the third fastest growing site year-on-year despite another strong month. While the New York Times remained the biggest newsbrand in the US by number of visits followed by CNN, a strong monthly performance from Fox News led it to overtake MSN (261.3 million visits) into third place, pushing MSN into fourth. The New York Post saw the biggest decline – dropping 11% of traffic month-on-month – followed by The New York Times, which dropped 10% to 336 million visits. All but two of the top 50 news websites in the US saw visits grow month-on-month amid an eventful July for political news. The four sites that dropped off the top 50 to make room for them were climate site The Cooldown, which had been enjoying a rapid traffic rise in recent months, local publishers Patch.com and KSL.com, and current affairs magazine The Atlantic. In July every site in the top ten saw month-on-month traffic growth, likely driven by blockbuster news events including the first assassination attempt on Donald Trump and Joe Biden’s departure from the presidential race.
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Newsweek was followed by Axios (25 million visits, up 88% year-on-year) and Politico (50.7 million, up 51%). Visits to People.com were up 27% year-on-year to reach 145.7 million, according to data from digital intelligence platform Similarweb. The remainder of the top ten either declined year-on-year or in the case of the New York Times (up 1%) and the New York Post (down 1%) registered virtually no change in traffic. Since November Similarweb has excluded the figures for edition.cnn.com in its report to Press Gazette since they are counted under the main domain. AP News (98.8 million, up 21%) and Variety (43.8 million, up 19%) also saw growth of over or close to a fifth.
It was followed by financial news and advice site Moneywise (27.6 million visits, up 334% year-on-year). Visits to the news magazine’s website were up 198% compared to May 2023 to 95.5 Empowering Women For Agriculture million but it was beaten by two specialist newsbrands. Celebrity-focused newsbrand People.com was the fastest-growing news website in the US in May, according to Press Gazette’s latest ranking. Celebrity-focused People.com saw the most year-on-year growth in the top ten, growing visits 37% to 142.1 million. All the top-ten sites by total visits grew year-on-year in July, seven of them by double-digit percentages.
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