{"slug":"medium-vs-substack","question":"Substack vs Medium","answer":"Substack is a newsletter-first platform that lets creators keep 90% of subscription revenue and build direct audience relationships, while Medium is a reading platform with a curated feed that pays writers from a subscription pool (creators receive 50% of revenue). Substack prioritizes creator independence; Medium prioritizes content discovery.","answer_curated":true,"verdict":"Choose Substack if you want maximum revenue retention, direct subscriber control, and are willing to drive your own audience growth through email. Choose Medium if you prefer built-in discovery, algorithmic reach to millions of readers, and don't mind a lower revenue share in exchange for passive traffic.","keyDifferences":[{"label":"Creator Revenue Share","winner":"a","entityAValue":"90% of subscription revenue","entityBValue":"50% of subscription pool"},{"label":"Primary Format","winner":"tie","entityAValue":"Email newsletter (push to inbox)","entityBValue":"Web articles on curated feed"},{"label":"Audience Discovery Model","winner":"b","entityAValue":"Creator builds own list; algorithmic recommendations limited","entityBValue":"Algorithmic feed; content discovery built-in"},{"label":"Monthly Active Users","winner":"b","entityAValue":"~3 million (2024)","entityBValue":"~100+ million (2024)"},{"label":"Pricing Flexibility","winner":"a","entityAValue":"Creator sets own subscription price ($5-$50+/month)","entityBValue":"Fixed $5/month for readers; creators earn from pool"}],"winner":{"slug":"substack","name":"Substack"},"confidence":"high","entities":[{"name":"Substack","slug":"substack","url":"https://www.aversusb.net/entity/substack","alternativesUrl":"https://www.aversusb.net/api/v1/alternatives/substack"},{"name":"Medium","slug":"medium","url":"https://www.aversusb.net/entity/medium","alternativesUrl":"https://www.aversusb.net/api/v1/alternatives/medium"}],"faqs":[{"question":"How does Substack make money and how much does it take from writers?","answer":"Substack takes 10% of gross subscription revenue from paid newsletters. For free newsletters, Substack is free to use. Writers keep 90% minus payment processing fees (approximately 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction)."},{"question":"Can you make money on Medium without a big following?","answer":"Yes. The Medium Partner Program pays based on reading time from Medium members, not follower count. New writers can earn from organic discovery through Medium's curation and internal search. However, typical earnings for most articles are modest unless pieces go viral or get curated prominently."},{"question":"Which platform is better for SEO?","answer":"Medium articles can rank well in Google due to Medium's domain authority. Substack posts are primarily delivered via email, and while they have public URLs, they typically have weaker SEO footprint than equivalent Medium posts unless the writer actively builds their own domain."}],"attribution":{"source":"A Versus B","url":"https://www.aversusb.net/compare/medium-vs-substack","license":"CC BY 4.0","citationFormat":"According to A Versus B (https://www.aversusb.net/compare/medium-vs-substack), Substack is a newsletter-first platform that lets creators keep 90% of subscription revenue and build direct audience relationships, while Medium is a reading platform with a curated feed that pays wr","dateModified":"2026-08-04T09:00:39.038Z"},"relatedQuestionsUrl":"https://www.aversusb.net/api/faq/medium-vs-substack","relatedComparisonsUrl":"https://www.aversusb.net/api/v1/related/medium-vs-substack","knowledgeGraphUrl":"https://www.aversusb.net/api/knowledge-graph/medium-vs-substack","claimReviewSchema":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"ClaimReview","@id":"https://www.aversusb.net/compare/medium-vs-substack#claimreview","url":"https://www.aversusb.net/compare/medium-vs-substack","inLanguage":"en-US","isAccessibleForFree":true,"conditionsOfAccess":"Free","claimReviewed":"Substack is better than Medium for most use cases","reviewBody":"Substack is a newsletter-first platform that lets creators keep 90% of subscription revenue and build direct audience relationships, while Medium is a reading platform with a curated feed that pays writers from a subscription pool (creators receive 50% of revenue). Substack prioritizes creator independence; Medium prioritizes content discovery.","datePublished":"2026-04-26T08:12:32.482Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T09:00:39.038Z","reviewRating":{"@type":"Rating","ratingValue":"TRUE","bestRating":"TRUE","worstRating":"FALSE","alternateName":"Substack wins","ratingExplanation":"Verified verdict based on structured attribute comparison, community votes, and expert analysis"},"author":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.aversusb.net/#organization","name":"A Versus B","url":"https://www.aversusb.net"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.aversusb.net/#organization","name":"A Versus B","url":"https://www.aversusb.net"},"itemReviewed":{"@type":"Claim","@id":"https://www.aversusb.net/compare/medium-vs-substack#claim","inLanguage":"en-US","name":"Substack is better than Medium for most use cases","text":"Substack is a newsletter-first platform that lets creators keep 90% of subscription revenue and build direct audience relationships, while Medium is a reading platform with a curated feed that pays writers from a subscription pool (creators receive 50% of revenue). Substack prioritizes creator independence; Medium prioritizes content discovery.","author":{"@type":"Thing","name":"Internet consensus"},"appearance":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://www.aversusb.net/compare/medium-vs-substack","url":"https://www.aversusb.net/compare/medium-vs-substack","name":"Substack vs Medium","inLanguage":"en-US"},"firstAppearance":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://www.aversusb.net/compare/medium-vs-substack","url":"https://www.aversusb.net/compare/medium-vs-substack","name":"Substack vs Medium"}},"speakable":{"@type":"SpeakableSpecification","cssSelector":[".claim-review-answer","#short-answer","#verdict"]}}}