7 Best Alternatives to Medium
Image created by author
“OMG, why is Zulie, who is obsessed with Medium, writing an article about alternatives to Medium? Has Medium crashed? Does she hate Medium now? Did Medium run out of money???” — what I imagine people who know me well to say when they see this article, lol.
I love Medium. But I also love knowing about the best Medium alternatives…just in case Medium ever decides not to love me back.
If Medium were to go down tomorrow, or if I were to be shadow-banned, or somehow I got blocked from the platform, I have a plan. And you should too.
I've been writing on Medium for almost four years now. That time has been incredible. I've earned unbelievable, life-changing amounts of money. I've made friends there that I'm inviting to my wedding. I built an entire business off the back of it.
But there are three reasons to be familiar with alternatives to Medium:
There are a lot of things wrong with Medium. You don’t own your own audience; you have very little control over the distribution of your articles.
There’s no guarantee it will always be there.
There are other platforms that might be better suited to what you really want.
These three factors should be enough to convince you to have alternatives to Medium in your back pocket.
Let’s talk about the top alternatives to Medium in 2022 and beyond.
Medium
“It's just silly, Zulie, to include Medium on the list of the alternatives to Medium!”
No, reader, it isn’t! I want to give you a level basis for comparison. You're never going to be able to spend your time on all the alternatives to Medium I'm about to mention, so I want you to be able to compare apples to apples. This will help you choose the right platforms to go for.
Medium is great because it combines all the benefits of social media with all the joys of writing. The audience is already there, all you have to do is show up.
Medium works in a really similar way to YouTube. You can write about anything you want and then publish it, barring hate speech. You get paid through a royalty system. When a paying member reads your writing, you earn a small portion of their membership fee.
How can you get paid?
You get paid when you enroll in the partner program. To do that, you need 100 followers and a story published in the last six months.
Then, every time a paying Medium member reads your story, you get some of that monthly membership fee. Roughly speaking, views = money.
In my experience, you get about around 2.5c per view, or $250 for every 10k views.
Another way to get paid is through referral links. If you become a paying Medium member through someone’s referral link (like mine!), they get $2.17 every month at no cost to you.
The final way is through external methods. You can use Medium to post affiliate links, though you have to disclose them.
Once you hit $10 per month, you get paid on the 7th of each month through Stripe.
Does it cost anything?
No! Medium is free to join and write on. To earn money on Medium, you have to join the Medium Partner Program, which is free.
I do recommend you join the Medium Membership program, which allows you to read unlimited articles for $5 per month. This is nice because you get to support other writers, and it’s also helpful because by reading successful stories, you get a better sense of what you can write about that will go viral and earn lots of money.
Is it easy?
It’s one of the easiest platforms to earn money on. But no, it’s not easy.
It’s easiest because all you have to do is write and find readers. You don’t have to worry about formatting, HTML, sales, SEO, or anything else. You don’t need to buy a domain. You can just start writing.
But it’s still tough. You have to learn how to be distributed, how to be accepted in publications, and get followers.
What are the downsides?
Certain niches do better than others here. First of all, fiction and poetry don’t have wide readerships. Self-help and programming, meanwhile, are hot topics.
You also don’t own your audience, and you can’t sell stuff. Unlike your own blog, where you can do pretty much anything you like, you have to play by Medium’s rules. They don’t like clickbait (and they define what they think “clickbait” is). If you publish in publications, which can help you get more views, you also have to play by their rules as well. Some don’t like calls to action. Others need you to write more than 600 words. And if you don’t like that, well, tough.
You also have very few ways to contact your followers. If someone “subscribes” to you on Medium (different from following – this means they get your articles as emails when you publish) you can export their email address to your own email provider. But if they just follow you, you have no way to contact them other than hoping they happen to see your article, which may or may not happen. Despite having 55k followers, I rarely get 55k views on any one article.
You own the rights to your own work, of course, but you have very little ownership over anything else.
Summary
Great for beginners due to ease of starting. No experience needed. But not good for anyone who writes fiction or poetry, and not great if you want more ownership over your brand or audience.
Vocal
I covered this platform briefly in comparison to Medium and Newsbreak some time ago - here’s the video and article if you prefer that format.
Vocal is very similar to Medium: you write whatever you want, and you earn money when someone reads it. It’s smaller, and I don’t see as much potential there to earn, but if you love writing and want a place to post (or repost!) content, Vocal is a great home for that writing.
Why is it a good alternative to Medium?
Vocal is better than Medium in three regards:
There’s a higher entry barrier. On Medium, you write and can hit publish immediately. Most writers don’t abuse this, but there is some plagiarism, spam, and miscellaneous garbage there. On Vocal, your work has to be reviewed and accepted before it’s published and sorted into one of their communities. If a Staff member likes it, it can be highlighted as a Staff Pick.
There’s room for other topics. Self-help dominates Medium. On Vocal, there’s more of an appetite for personal stories and tales.
There are other ways to earn. You can win one of their Challenges or you can receive a Tip. Challenge prize money can be anywhere from $500 to over $20,000.
How can you get paid?
On Vocal, you get paid by reads, Tips, and Challenges. I discussed the latter two above, so I’ll go deeper into reads. Unlike Medium, you get paid when ANYONE reads your story on Vocal, so if you know anything about SEO, this can be a real coup.
The average amount works out to $3.80 per 1000 reads (or $6.00 for 1000 reads if you’re a Vocal + member, which I’ll get into below).
As you can see from my screenshot below, it’s not a huge amount of money. But if you can work the Challenges, it might be better for you.
Once you earn $35 (or $20 if you’re Vocal+) you can withdraw your balance.
Screenshot was taken by author displaying Vocal earnings. Not super impressive!
Does it cost anything?
You can write and publish for free. However, they offer a Vocal+ membership for creators. This comes with a whole host of benefits:
Screenshot taken by author displaying the benefits of shelling out $49/year to be a Vocal+ creator.
But Vocal + membership costs $49/year (down from $99 per year as I write this). So unless you get a lot of Tips, or you’re getting at least 10k reads per month, it’s not worth it.
Is it easy?
If you enjoy writing for Challenges or you like the look of their Communities, it is easy-ish. Personally, I found it quite hard to figure out what does well on Vocal, or what readers enjoy. Unlike Medium, not many creators talk about their earnings, nor do they show how many reads something has.
Challenges are also, well, a challenge to win. But the potential is there.
Overall, I’d mark it as harder than Medium, but not terribly tough.
What are the downsides?
I have not found any writers who earn very much on Vocal, so the cap is low. Also, Vocal itself seems quite confused about what kind of platform it wants to be. I also object to making people pay money to be able to quick-edit their articles (regular Vocal writers have to re-submit their articles every time they want to correct a typo).
Summary
A good platform for people who just enjoy writing about whatever they like and aren’t too concerned about cracking the algorithm code. It’s also great for folks who enjoy writing to prompts like Challenges.
Simily
Let’s talk about a good fiction alternative to Medium! While you can publish any kind of content on Simily, it’s primarily aimed at fiction readers and writers as you can see from my screenshot below:
Screenshot taken by author, showing the different variety of stories that can be published on Simily. As you can see, it’s mostly fiction.
Why is it a good alternative to Medium?
On Medium, there’s no real avenue to earning money writing fiction. Medium prefers standalone stories, so it’s not great for chapter structure. Most publications are nonfiction. Most of the top writers are nonfiction.
You CAN make money on Medium with fiction, but it’s much easier and simpler on Simily.
How can you get paid?
Once you reach the $10 payout cap, you get paid through Tipalti’s payment portal. You’ll earn about 2c per view, or $20 per 1000 views. A view is anyone - member or not - who spends 5 seconds on the page.
Eight whole cents, people! Dinner’s on me.
The payment system is the same as Medium: you don’t have to pay money to write, but you do if you want to read unlimited stories.
Does it cost anything?
To become a paying member and read unlimited stories costs $6.99 per month. Otherwise, it’s totally free.
Is it easy?
If you enjoy writing fiction, yes! If not, then it won’t be easy. Overall, I found the submission process to be very straightforward and easy. There’s no gatekeeping; you can publish whatever you like. I haven’t yet worked out if there’s any distribution, or how readers find your work. The only guidelines are: “…adding a featured photo, category, and tag to your story will greatly help it to be discovered on our platform…”
What are the downsides?
Since it’s a very new platform, they’re still ironing out the kinks. There’s very little guidance, and it’s unclear how good - or how bad - the earnings are. (If you’re a Simily writer, reach out! I’d love to hear from you.)
I also didn’t see a huge amount of engagement. It’s not obvious how many readers there are here. Few stories had any comments at all.
If you don’t like fiction, this isn’t the place for you either.
Summary
This is one of the most exciting places I’ve seen to publish fiction in a while. Getting paid per view is awesome. I’d consider this the Medium for fiction writers. However, there’s still a lot of growth to come.
Newsbreak
I covered this platform briefly in comparison to Medium and Vocal some time ago - here’s the video and article if you prefer that format.
This is one of the fishiest platforms that I’ve come across, but it merits a mention. Last year, I was offered $1,000 per month to publish once per week. This contract was good for three months. Then I was on my own. They changed the contracts every other week, and everyone had a slightly different story.
It was sketchy AF but it was also $3,000.
I know some folks like Matt Lillywhite eventually went all-in on Newsbreak by writing Texas-based articles (he’s British, interestingly) but he stopped posting about a month ago and now seems to be back on Medium. Make of that what you will.
Why is it a good alternative to Medium?
It seems like certain types of content – local, trending, spicy in some way, appealing to angry Republicans – perform very well. I’d heard rumors of writers like Lillywhite and Ash Jurberg making tens of thousands per month, at least temporarily.
Newsbreak is a good mishmash between Vocal and Medium. You publish work, it undergoes some kind of review process before it gets published, and you get paid based on page view.
They prefer local content. They prefer trending content. The comments section is very messy.
Screenshot of a comment on one of Lillywhite’s Newsbreak stories, taken by author.
How can you get paid?
They pay through bank transfer. I’m no longer active on Newsbreak because it gave me the heebie-jeebies, but according to Walter Rhein, it works like this:
“Articles rated 1–4 receive $4 for 1,000 views. Articles rated 5–10 receive $10 per 1,000 views. This is actually very generous, but I usually stop for the month when I hit my $1,500. The most I’ve been paid between base pay and incentives in a month is $1,631.25.”
You also get a flat fee of $25 per article rated 1-4, or $60 if you get a coveted 5-10. They do the rating; they do not explain exactly how the rating works. Here’s the guidance they provide. It boils down to “write local breaking news; don’t plagiarise.”
There are some allegations of sus behavior. Joe Duncan, for example, writes that Newsbreak has a bad habit of “adjusting” the views on his viral articles every time it looks like he might actually earn a decent chunk of change. Convenient!
Does it cost anything?
It’s totally free to join, read, write, anything. They earn money back through ads.
Is it easy?
This depends. Some writers say yes, and others say no. From what I gather, it looks like if you know how to write content that Newsbreak likes - AKA, local, American, new, trending content that either appeases or angers Republicans - you’re in good shape.
I personally found it very difficult to write like that, so I stay away. But it’s a good alternative to Medium because it favors a very different style of writing. If Medium isn’t working for you, I’d give Newsbreak a try.
What are the downsides?
Slightly shady/unclear earning potential; only good for local, American news. Angry commenters.
Substack
Substack is a glorified blogging platform. You write something and publish it. People can find it on the web, or they can sign up to receive it through email. You can do a free one, a paid one, or a combination.
There are no gatekeepers. There are very few rules. It’s very, very easy to start one.
Why is it a good alternative to Medium?
On Medium, there are a lot of rules about what can and cannot be distributed. There’s a lot to learn about what does well and what doesn’t. As an alternative to Medium, Substack has far fewer rules. You publish, and you get paid (if you choose to paywall your content).
How can you get paid?
The easiest way is to choose to paywall your newsletter. Subscribers can choose to pay to get access - I pay $6 per month, for example, to read Ryan Broderick’s Garbage Day newsletter. You could ostensibly use affiliate links or sell space on your newsletter to advertisers.
Does it cost anything?
No, it’s free to use and publish content there. They make money by taking a small cut of anything you earn.
Is it easy?
It’s very easy to start one. It’s much harder to grow one. It only works if you’re excellent at SEO or you can bring an external audience. You might grow through word of mouth, but it’ll be slow.
What are the downsides?
Like Medium, there are very few customization options. You can do a theme, a color scheme, maybe a font, but nothing beyond that. And certainly nothing that approaches the customization potential of a full website.
Summary
Easy to publish, hard to grow. The simplest blogging platform on this list by a long shot.
Ghost
Ghost is an intermediary between a full website and Substack. It’s trying to be a fully customizable website-cum-publishing platform. You can write anything, you can set up a newsletter functionality, you can paywall your articles, and you can design this platform to look like anything you like.
There’s no distribution mechanism, so again, BYOA (bring your own audience) or be ready to build one yourself from scratch.
I compare Ghost to Medium in this video if you’d like to check that out.
Why is it a good alternative to Medium?
If you don’t care about distribution or you already have an audience, and you want more customization options than Substack has to offer, then Ghost is a great alternative to Medium. It’s closest to a customizable Patreon than anything else.
How can you get paid?
On Ghost, the primary way you get paid is through a paid membership program. You need to get your visitors to turn into subscribers to turn into paying subscribers.
Does it cost anything?
Yes, Ghost costs $11/month at a minimum and $31 if you want to unlock full customization options. However, I don’t believe they take a cut of any of your earnings.
Screenshot of Ghost’s pricing options, taken by the author.
Is it easy?
Honestly, no. I tried it out and found it a little overwhelming, and I’d consider myself a fairly savvy web user.
What are the downsides?
You really need an existing audience for this to be valuable. If you don’t, then you may as well practice SEO on Medium or Substack until you grow your own readership and then move it over to Ghost. You can only make money by selling premium content to existing readers.
Summary
Great if you’re an established creator with a solid audience who’s willing to pay you to access your premium content. Not great otherwise.
Your own blog
Let’s end with the classic: your own blog. It’s always been an option and probably will always be an option.
Most people prefer to avoid making their own blog because it’s just so much easier to let a platform do the heavy lifting for you. If you get your own blog, you need to learn SEO, figure out formatting, buy a domain name, and so on.
It’s tiring. But it’s SO worth it.
You can publish your own work online on a website you own from top to bottom. You can go with Squarespace (my personal fave), Wix, Strikingly, or any other of the dozens of alternatives.
Why is it a good alternative to Medium?
You can write about whatever you want. Want fiction? Go for it. Want to sell your ebook every other sentence? Do it. Want to write clickbait? You go girl. There’s just one rule and it’s between you and your readers: if they don’t like what you do, they won’t come back.
How can you get paid?
So many ways. The easiest is through Google Adsense, but you can also use affiliate links, sell space on your blog to guest posters, go for affiliate links, sell your own products, sell a membership space. The list goes on.
Does it cost anything?
Yes, if you do it right. You have to pay someone to host the site, pay someone to buy the domain name, and pay extra for any additional features you want (e.g. I pay Squarespace an additional fee to be able to host my calendar to book consulting sessions).
I mean, yes, you can do a subdomain (e.g. http://contemporaryurbanism.weebly.com) which is free, but it looks a little tacky and it’s not great if you’re a professional.
Is it easy?
No. It’s the toughest option because you’re doing it all yourself. You’ll need to learn everything, and it’s a real slog to get anywhere remotely close to success. For context, I’m making about $30 per month with AdSense, but I’ve only now started taking SEO seriously on my blog.
What are the downsides?
It’s a lot of upfront work before you ever see any rewards. You’ll need to build your own audience instead of accessing an existing one.
Summary
The ultimate DIY method, high-effort, high-reward.
What’s the best alternative to Medium?
Hopefully this list proves there is no BEST alternative to Medium. There’s only ever going to be the best Medium alternative for you.
Let’s do a quick summary for all of them:
Medium: Best for writers who want to create thoughtful, evergreen nonfiction without worrying about SEO or domain names.
Vocal: Best for writers who prefer prompts or want a little more flexibility in topic.
Simily: Best for fiction writers.
Newsbreak: Best for local, trendy writers.
Ghost: Best for established creators who want to offer their audience premium content and want to customize.
Substack: Best for people who want to offer their audience premium content – and who don’t care about customizing the look of it.
Your own blog: Best for experienced writers who want to have total control over how their brand looks, feels, and reaches audiences. If you want to take your brand seriously, this is your best bet.
I recommend mixing and matching. I’ve started publishing some of my failed Wattpad fiction on Simily, but I’m still publishing on Medium. I tried Newsbreak and Vocal. I had a Substack for a year. And of course, I have my own blog here, too.
Hope you enjoyed this comprehensive if somewhat lengthy comparison. I really believe there’s a blogging platform for everyone out there, no matter who you are. I created this guide to help you find yours!
