Comparing Medium and Substack for Writers' Platforms

Substack offers higher earning potential than Medium, with more control over audience and consistent income through newsletters.

### Medium vs. Substack: Comparing Platforms for Writers
* 📝 "Medium is a revenue-sharing platform where you can write about whatever you want and get paid based on the **read time of paying Medium members**."
* 💌 "Substack is a newsletter-based platform, meaning you need to **promote your newsletter to get views**, and to get paid, you must either **sell products, promote affiliate links, or convert paid subscribers**."
* 💰 "Medium is a great place for beginners, and with consistent posting, you can expect to **earn a few hundred dollars a month**."
* 🚀 "Substack, on the other hand, is seen as more of an **intermediate to advanced platform**, and if you can convert paid subscribers, it becomes **much more consistently lucrative** than Medium."
* 📊 "Medium has around **170 million average monthly visitors**, with the majority coming from the US via **organic search**, and the top interests being **tech, programming, and software**."
* 📈 "Substack, on the other hand, only gets around **60 million average monthly visitors**, with the majority coming from **direct search**, and the top interests being **news, media, tech, and lifestyle**."
* 💡 "Since Medium's changes in 2023, it's become increasingly difficult to earn consistently, with most writers now earning anywhere from **$100 to $1,000 per month**."

a few weeks ago, I decided to go all in on Substack to explore its capabilities, and I must say, I've been quite impressed by what it has to offer. So, in this video, I'll be comparing the pros and cons of Medium and Substack to help you decide which platform may be best for you. Let's get into it. If you've seen any of my past videos, you know that I've been writing on Medium for quite some time and have been an advocate for the platform, despite not loving some of its recent changes. But I'm also a big proponent of exploring your curiosities. So, in February of this year, I started a Substack newsletter called Writer Hub, and I've been posting bi-weekly articles on how to make money as a writer. It's essentially an extension of this channel where I explore all sorts of ways to, well, make money as a writer. And instantly, I fell in love with the idea of having my own newsletter. Although I love the pace structure on Medium, there's a stark disconnect between readers and

writers, and even having nearly 20,000 followers. If I don't write about the right topics, my stories will get next to no views. But with a newsletter, you own your audience, and if you're able to create content people want to consume, it's a much more steady way to earn an income. Plus, after exploring Subst, I believe the ceiling is much higher for overall earning potential. If you haven't heard of either platform, here's a high-level overview of each. Medium is a revenue-sharing platform where you can write about whatever you want and get paid based on the read time of paying Medium members. Medium has a great community, fi built-in discoverability, and stories naturally rank very highly on Google, making it a great place to promote products or affiliate links as well. Subst is a newsletter-based platform, meaning you need to promote your newsletter in order to get views. And to get paid, you must either sell products, promote affiliate links, or convert paid subscribers. So, at a basic level, I look at Medium as a great place for beginners who want to

safe place to post their writing. And with consistent posting, you can expect to earn a few hundred a month. If you're interested in getting started on Medium, I've made a beginner's guide which you can watch here. I'll also add it to the description below. Substack, on the other hand, I look at as more of an intermediate to Advanced platform. It's a great place to host your newsletter, especially if you already have an Engaged audience. And if you can convert paid subscribers, it becomes much more of a consistently lucrative platform than Medium. With that said, each platform has its own Vibe and specific features that may make it the right or wrong choice for you, regardless of where you are in your writing Journey. So let's dive into some of the numbers, starting with Medium. To accurately portray Medium's overall Vibe, let me show you some numbers and statistics. As of today, Medium has around 170 million average monthly visitors, with the major majority of them coming from the US via organic search. The top interest of viewers are Tech, programming, and software. Now, there are a few caveats.

to these metrics, Medium has a members-only model, meaning to read paywall stories, you must be a paying Medium member. So, as a writer, this means two things: these numbers account for all visitors, but the amount of paying Medium members is actually closer to around 1 million. Which means if you're hoping to earn from the Medium Partner Program, your pool of readers is actually much smaller. And although these numbers reflect the total viewers on Medium, the vast majority of them come from organic search. And in my experience, paying Medium members are much more interested in health and wellness, lifestyle productivity, and how to make money as a writer. So if you're looking to be successful on Medium, there are two main routes you can take. Number one: Medium's Partner Program. This is the most popular way to earn on Medium as it has the lowest barrier to entry. But if you'd like to earn from the read time of paying Medium members, you'll only be writing for about a million members, which can become lucrative if you nail down a good niche. But it's nothing

compared to the traffic on other social media platforms, and you'll always have that hurdle of them having to become a paying member for you to get paid from their reads. The second option is to leverage this organic traffic and earn from selling products or affiliate links because the majority of overall readers who find themselves on Medium are non-paying members. You can always turn off the paywall on your stories to reach a larger audience. You won't be able to earn from The Medium Partner Program, but it can be a powerful tool as Medium stories naturally rank very highly on Google. If you would like to leverage this method, I have another video which will pop up here, and I'll also add it to the description below. Now let's break down the same metrics on Substack. Substack only gets around 60 million average monthly visitors, with the majority coming again from the US. Only on Substack, the vast majority come from direct search as opposed to organic, with the top interest being news media, Tech, and lifestyle. So immediately you can see that Substack is more of a niche.

website, and a lot of the traffic you'll get on Substack comes from readers who are already on the platform. The user base is smaller, but that also means less competition. And because Substack is a newsletter-based platform, readers who subscribe to your newsletter want to hear from you. And because you pop up in their emails, you have a closer connection with them, as opposed to Medium, where they'll come and go based on what the algorithm feeds them. This means less organic traffic but more consistent views. Now, Medium does have a newsletter feature, but in my experience, those emails fall into the junk or spam category very easily, whereas Substack has put a lot of effort into making sure your readers actually get those emails. Essentially, on Substack, you'll have to build your audience either from sharing your newsletter on social media or via notes, which is Substack's version of Twitter and how the majority of newsletters grow on Substack. And when compared to Medium, Substack offers many more tools for its writers. Now, the important part: How much

you can expect to earn. If you were to ask me this question last year, I would say hands down Medium was the more lucrative option. It's super easy to use, has a built-in user base, and earning money really comes down to understanding how to write headlines and format your writing. It's also a lot easier to get started and start earning money on Medium, although there is a definite cap to how much you can earn. But since Medium changed to a members-only model, it's become increasingly difficult to earn consistently. Speaking from personal experience, with just under 20,000 followers, I generally earn anywhere from $500 to $1,000 USD posting once per week. And from the writers I've spoken to, that's pretty much what you can expect to earn on the upper end. Since Medium's changes in 2023, I haven't heard of any writers consistently earning any more than a few thousand per month, even as popular and full-time writers. It seems today the average writer can expect to earn anywhere from $100 to $1,000

posting one to three times per week now on substack. The earning potential is much higher, although it's a lot harder to get started. The top newsletters on substack pull in tens of thousands of dollars each month via paid subscribers, not to mention the opportunity to promote affiliate links, sell products, and write sponsored posts. With that said, there's no guaranteed pay on substack; you have to make it yourself. So, I look at it more as an intermediate to Advanced platform, or if you are a beginner, a long-term growth strategy. But since you are sending your posts directly to your readers, it's easier to build a close-knit community. Personally, since starting my substack newsletter, I've aage about a 30% open rate, meaning with a newsletter of 2,000 subscribers, I can guarantee at least a few hundred views every time I post. As opposed to Medium, where success is almost entirely contingent on the algorithm, so if you don't like writing for an algorithm, write about smaller Niche topics, especially if you write about news media or politics.

Substack is a great option for you. Albeit a long-term strategy, or if you're still unsure, you can always post to both platforms. I know many writers who repurpose their work between the platforms to get the best of both worlds. I really hope this video gives you a baseline understanding of which platform may be right for you. For a full breakdown of my experience on Substack thus far, you can watch this video. And for more tips on how to make money as a writer, join the Writer Sub community. That is the end of this video. I really hope you found it valuable. If you did, like, comment, subscribe, and share it with someone who may find it valuable as well. That's all for me. Thanks for watching, and I'll see you in the next video. [Music]

A Complete Breakdown of Medium vs Substack | How to Make Money as a Writer

Hey, I’m Hudson! I explore all sorts of ways to make money as a writer. 👨‍💻💰

I didn’t go to school for writing and I started with zero experience. So, if I can do it, you can too. 🙂 

Personally, I don’t like freelancing, selling courses, or running websites. So, instead, I write articles on revenue-sharing platforms like Medium, Newsbreak, and Substack. 

👉🛎️ Subscribe and hit the bell icon to be notified of new posts. And, leave a comment letting me know what topics you're interested in seeing. 

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Hudson Rennie

Medium offers a revenue-sharing model based on read time, with a strong community feel and built-in discoverability.

On the other hand, Substack is a newsletter platform where writers need to promote their work for views and income, offering the potential for higher earnings and ownership of the audience.

Medium is suitable for beginners, while Substack provides a more steady way to earn income for those who can create engaging content.

Comparing Medium and Substack for Writers

Medium offers a members-only model with around 170 million average monthly visitors, but only about 1 million of them are paying members.

The platform's top interests are tech, programming, and software, making it important to niche down for success.

On the other hand, Substack is seen as a more consistently lucrative platform, especially for hosting newsletters and converting paid subscribers.

Each platform has its own vibe and specific features, so the right choice depends on where you are in your writing journey.

Earning Money on Medium and Substack Compared

Medium offers the option to earn from the partner program, but it requires readers to become paying members, while on Substack, the majority of traffic comes from existing platform users.

Substack provides a closer connection with readers through newsletters and offers more writer tools compared to Medium.

Medium was previously more lucrative due to its user base, but its shift to a members-only model has made consistent earnings difficult.

Writers with around 20,000 followers generally earn $500 to $1,000 USD per week.

On the other hand, Substack offers higher earning potential, with top newsletters making tens of thousands of dollars monthly, but success requires more effort to build.

Substack also provides the opportunity to build a loyal readership, with a guaranteed open rate for posts, unlike Medium's algorithm-dependent success.

Using Substack for Long-Term Writing Success

Substack can be a great long-term strategy for writers.

Many writers repurpose their work between platforms to maximize their reach.

Joining the Substack writer sub-community can provide more tips on making money as a writer.