Medium vs. Substack

What they are, how they differ, and what’s best for you

Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash

Substack and Medium are two popular platforms for writers to publish their work and potentially earn money. While Medium is more of a blogging platform with built-in audience discovery, Substack is tailored specifically for newsletter creators.

Let’s go for a detailed comparison of the two platforms, from the perspective of a writer seeking to monetize his/her content:

Substack Overview

How It Works

• Subscription Model: Substack allows writers to create newsletters where subscribers can sign up for free or paid subscriptions. Writers can sednd their content directly to the subscribers’ inboxes, i.e. directly by email.
• Ownership: Writers retain full ownership of their email list, which means they can move their list to another platform if needed.
• Content Control: Writers have complete control over their content, deciding what to send to free subscribers and what to reserve for paying subscribers.

Monetization

• Subscription Fees: Writers can set their own subscritpion fees. Common pricing models include monthly and yearly subscriptions.
• Revenue Split: Substack takes a 10% commission on the subscription fees, and payment processing fees (via Stripe) add approximately another 3%.
• Freemium Model: Writers often offer some content for free to attract a broader audience and entice some of those readers to become paying subscribers.

Medium Overview

How It Works

• Publishing Platform: Medium is a blogging platform where writers publish articles that are then available to all Medium users. It uses a mix of follower-based and algorithm-based discovery. Note that writers can build email lists and then send their new posts to their followers, a point kind of similar to Substacks’ core approach.
• Medium Partner Program: Writers can join the Medium Partner Program to earn money based on the engagement their stories receive from Medium members.

Monetization