Substack and Medium Are Becoming Two Camps
And they compete…
My Medium friends can read this story over there as well.
Brought to you by WriteStack* – the #1 Substack add-on for anyone who wants to take their Substack o the next level
If we look at how writers talk online, it’s pretty clear that Substack and Medium aren’t just two writing platforms anymore.
They’ve turned into two camps with different values, different expectations, different writing cultures, and different definitions of what “success” means.
I am sure nobody planned this. But it happened anyway.
And it affects how we write, how we think about our audience, and sometimes even how we see ourselves as creators.
Substack is built around personal relationships
Substack still feels kind of intimate. It’s not. But it feels like it.
The writing seems slower, more reflective, more personal. People subscribe because they like the writer, not just the topic. And the whole system is structured to support that.
Email is the core.
Communities grow sideways, not upward.
Paid subscriptions reward trust and value, not just volume.
Writers on Substack (me included) tend to think in terms of:
regular readers
consistent voice
long-term connection
a stable writing habit
a slowly growing list of people who actually care
It’s not built for virality. It’s built for the long run. If we remove Notes from this equation.
If you want readers who stick around for years, Substack makes sense. The whole environment reinforces that mindset.
Tired of the iOS Icons?
Here’s a fresh take! Try these Vision OS icons* instead.
Medium is built around reach
Medium is the opposite energy.
It’s about discovery, exposure, and spreading ideas to people who’ve never heard of us.
When we write on Medium, we’re tickling the algorithm. The question with every post is whether we can grab the attention of it, and get a viral hit.
Medium pushes writers toward:
tighter structure
broader topics
clean hooks & (good) clickbait
scannable paragraphs
pieces that appeal to new readers
It’s not as much about building a personal relationship as it is about growing and gaining new readers. Reaching as many people as possible and seeing who sticks around.
Two platforms, two writing identities
These two platforms create different identities in the minds of the writers using them.
On Substack, people start to think like hosts.
On Medium, they start to think like broadcasters.
Both identities are valid. But they pull us into different modes of thinking. And most writers unconsciously pick a side.
They start to believe one platform represents the “real way” to write online.
That’s where the divide comes from.
Why this divide is happening
1. Different incentives
Most crucial: Substack pays through subscriptions. Medium pays through member reading time.
Those two models incentivize completely different behavior.
Subscriptions reward long-term relationships. Reading time rewards volume, accessibility, and virality.
No wonder the writing cultures drift apart.
2. Different audiences
Substack readers usually follow specific writers. Medium readers follow topics and recommendations.
Is it necessary?
The divide is real, but it’s also unnecessary.
Substack gives us depth. Medium gives us reach.
Why choose only one?
Most writers should probably exist in both worlds. And even though the platforms work differently, we can publish the same content on both.
What matters more than the platform
Tone. Consistency. Depth. Clarity. Curiosity. Consistency.
These things don’t belong to Substack or Medium. They belong to the writer.
The Bottom Line
Substack and Medium are two different writing cultures.
One prioritizes depth and personal connection. The other prioritizes reach and idea distribution.
We writers often treat these differences like a choice between identities, even the best way to use Substack and Medium is… to use them together.
Brought to you by WriteStack* – the #1 Substack add-on for anyone who wants to take their Substack o the next level