That is confusing text. I assume the subscription is for the next 12 issues, so you'd get that one free as a bonus.

Hacker Monthly isn't free, but they link to all the articles, so you can consume the same content by clicking the titles listed. HM just packs it into a beautiful package.

I'm testing the susbcription plan conversion rate with the free latest issue. Will work on the text and hopefully make it clearer.