Academia Reviews 832

I strongly advise anyone considering Academia.edu Premium to read the fine print — and check the price twice.
In April 2025, I was charged €269.37 for an automatic annual renewal of their Premium subscription. The previous year, I paid only €44.50 for the same plan. There was no prior notice, no email, and absolutely no consent requested for this massive increase.
Even more concerning, at the time of renewal, Academia was publicly offering the same Premium subscription for €89/year on their official website and even €88.99/year via Apple Store. That means I was charged three times more than a new user would be, for exactly the same service.
When I contacted my bank to dispute the transaction, Academia simply submitted screenshots of my account - but never proved they informed me about the price change. Their documents were accepted without question.
I have now escalated the matter to the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman in Ireland, because I believe this is not just a billing error - it’s a clear case of unfair commercial practice and predatory subscription renewal.
Shame on Academia.edu for treating long-time users this way.
And shame on them for hiding the true price behind vague auto-renewal terms.

I had a free Academia account for more than 10 years. On April 2nd, 2025, I found myself billed with a premium subscription of 246.76€ under unclear circumstances and terms, without the Premium advantages. In my account settings, it was mentioned that I did not have an Academia Premium subscription and no billing for a premium subscription. Despite my two online requests for correction or refund, they refused both. The lack of a professional attitude concerning the accounts and subscriptions is outrageous and inadequate to the academic standards.

I was charged for an annual premium plan after a $1 trial without clear warning. There was no reminder email before or after the charge, and canceling was confusing. When I requested a refund, they refused—even though I canceled right after noticing the charge. It feels dishonest and tricky, like they’re using the $1 trial to trap users. Very disappointing for a platform that claims to support the academic community.

After I cancelled my subscription, I was still charged an annual payment of £146. Apparently, the cancellation process requires multiple confirmation steps, which is a misleading UX tactic used to manipulate users. The app has refused to issue a refund. A very discouraging experience with a service that has become unreasonably overpriced.

I wish i could give it a zero stars, but it's not possible.

I remember i was trying to get the 1 month subscription, but in my pc. there was saved my old credit card, so i didnt.

Then one day passed and i see that academia edu charged me 120 euros. I chechekd all my acounts but there was no subscription premium on any of them.

I contacted their support, but they are not answering. I'm gonna talk wiht my bank account to get the refund.

THEY ARE BAD.

(I wish I could rate this zero — unfortunately, 1 star is the lowest option.)

I fell into their “Try Premium for $1/month” trap, thinking it was a low-risk way to explore the service. Unfortunately, I was never able to cancel the subscription — no confirmation, no working cancel button, and no way to remove my card.

Here’s what happened:
I cancelled my Premium subscription two days before deadline, and repeated (because i didnt get any confirmation email) the process, yet I was still charged.

The “Cancel Auto-Renew” button disappeared from my account, making it impossible to complete the process.

I never received any confirmation email, even though I followed all listed steps.

I contacted support six times — and every time I received the same generic, copy-paste reply.

My payment method remained saved in the account with no way to delete it manually.

I was denied a refund, even though I acted within the legal 14-day cancellation period.

Only after filing a chargeback with my bank did the subscription finally stop.

And here’s the worst part:
If you’ve ever given them your card, they will continue charging you indefinitely — unless you change your card, dispute the charge, or cancel it through your bank. Their system gives you no real control over billing or cancellation.

This is a classic dark pattern, and a complete violation of consumer trust.

Academia.edu should not be offering any paid services under this kind of predatory model. I strongly advise everyone: do not give them your payment information, even for a trial.

Academia just unilaterally upgraded me to premium BUT charged and without my consent debited money from my credit card. This is plain highway robbery!!!

I did not realize the payment I made was a subscription, and I was charged again $159. There is no person you can speak with at the number they provide, you can only leave a message with all your information. I wish I read the reviews before I gave them any money!.

TERRIBLE. They're lying, they're spamming, and they're trying to charge you some options that other friends have for free. They also promise perks when publishing papers they invite you to, and then they don't send you information or data, except how to find a sponsor, and eventually ask you for money. And for what? For initial numbers of start point journals, without any proven rating or indexing. A Shameful Model Under Every Dignity Level- this is Academia.edu

Spamming and sending papers for review, in a roundabout way, without tracking the submitted documents, a dysfunctional system, perfidious techniques of forcing to activate premium and pay membership fees, despite the principled agreement to be exempt from participation. The bottom of behavior.

The site is EXTREMELY underhanded and misleading. I was looking for a particular handbook for cosmology, and thought I had found it. In order to access it, I had to go through the trouble of creating an account. After I did so, I go to download the book, all to find out they only had the first two pages of the book!!! What good is that going to do me?!

I couldn't see that it was only two pages until AFTER they made me sign up and AFTER they tried to coerce me into signing up for a membership. That is EXTREMELY shady and clearly intentional. They knew if I saw it was only 2 pages, I wouldn't have wasted my time, which is why they didn't show me it was only 2 pages until after it was already downloaded (that very last window after the download tells you how many pages it's supposed to be, which could've just as easily had been posted on the file itself).

Lack of transparency like that is a perfect example of a company that can't be trusted. Then, seeing all these people on here who made the mistake of giving the company their credit card, all to be locked into paying with an inability to stop it, further drives that conclusion.

Companies like this need to be shut down, and those that conduct these underhanded business practices need to be locked away in prison where they belong.

BEWARE - They misuse information for selfish gains - do NOT engage - no compassion shown

I was shocked to receive an autorenew yesterday and a price-hike to £250 from a company I mustakenly thought that I could trust. I did not realise that I was signed to a scam. I came here and saw that many others have suffered exactly the same experience. Their subscriotions should fall off a cliff and thisbshould be publicised. We all get those emails from our streaming services apologising for 10% price increases and the produce programming, but this company merely “shop-window” your work and then push you off a cliff with, in my case, an increase, without warning, from £150 (already expensive) to £250 a year. I swore I had cancelled this subscription, but will do so again and block my card. I am looking forward to the automatic reply to this review. I never realise that I was signed up to sucha company using the connotations of “academia.” I have recently retired, and so this payment has taken a lot away from me

I never authorized the most recent charge from Academia Premium, and I was not notified before it was billed. *My credit card number had changed, and they still managed to charge my new card, which I never entered on their site.* That’s deeply concerning and feels like a serious breach of trust and security.
I reached out to request a refund and was told that they do not issue refunds under any circumstances, even for unauthorized transactions. That is completely unacceptable. This constitutes a scam.
This is not a subscription I actively signed up for, and there is no way to manage it through Apple or any standard platform. You are forced to navigate their confusing website just to attempt cancellation, and even then, they make it difficult to confirm.
Avoid this company at all costs. Never give them your credit card as they will use it for unauthorized charges, and their customer support will do nothing to help you.

Wish I'd read and understood the details of the Academia.edu autorenew program. I received notice of autorenewal on the last day of my subscription, and canceled immediately ... only to be told that's not the deal. They say I've now paid for 365 days of nothing I want. In my opinion one gains NOTHING by being on autorenew, so SHOULD NOT do it. Clever-lawyer-drafted language screws the customer. If you think you may want to renew, let them ask you to do so .... I imagine you might get a significantly better price offer.

I attempted to cancel my auto-renewal and believed I had successfully done so. However, it turns out the process required scrolling to the bottom of the page and clicking “confirm” or “cancel” a second and third time—something that was not made clear.

Frankly, this feels like a textbook case of dark patterning and confirmshaming, which has no place in an academic platform. Academia.edu should be held to higher standards. This kind of design erodes trust and is unbecoming of an institution that claims to support scholars.

Premium subscription taken despite having cancelled my Premium account. This company is a predatory company. Beware

I was charged for an annual Academia Premium subscription on May 18, 2025, despite believing I had canceled it. It could’ve been helpful if they sent reminders or even just receipts for the billing like other ethical websites and companies. Academia.edu has refused my refund request, and their cancellation process is confusing and unclear. As a student, this unexpected charge caused financial hardship. I signed up for Academia.edu Premium and later attempted to cancel the subscription during the trial period. However, I recently discovered that I was still charged an amount of 358,630.37 MNT (~$104 USD) on May 18, 2025, despite believing I had successfully canceled. I received no email notification before the renewal and was unaware that two separate steps were required to cancel properly.

I contacted Academia.edu support immediately after noticing the charge. They acknowledged the payment and confirmed that auto-renewal was turned off but refused to issue a refund, citing their policy. I explained that the cancellation interface was unclear, and I thought I had completed it. As a student, this is a significant amount of money for me, and I never intended to continue the subscription.

Every person here should ban together for a lawsuit if they do not get reimbursed for these sudden hike charges. Horrible, and a shame as i found it to be useful, but not $500 by any means. No one would pay that in any class of society for a website built on the work of the academics on it.

Academia.edu renewed my Premium subscription without clearly informing me of a massive price increase from €107 to €434 per year. That’s almost a 400% jump — and I received no direct notification or warning about this change.

This practice violates European consumer law, which requires that any price increase be clearly, individually, and timely communicated before an automatic renewal is processed. Despite this, Academia refuses to offer a refund.

I've filed a formal complaint with PayPal and will also report this to the European Consumer Centre (ECC).

My advice:
If you’re in the EU, assert your legal rights and file a complaint via your national consumer agency or the ECC. Be extremely cautious with Academia Premium — their billing practices are unethical at best, and potentially illegal.