Substack vs. Medium: The Ultimate Showdown 2025

Where should you publish

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You’ve come across Substack and Medium. Those are the top two blogging destinations in 2025.

Both platforms have become go-to choices for writers, but they serve different purposes and operate in different ways.

So, which one should you choose?

Let’s compare Substack vs. Medium in detail—covering monetization, audience growth, customization, hidden tricks, and more—so you can decide which platform is best for you.

What’s the Difference?

At their core, Substack started as a newsletter platform, while Medium began as a blogging and publishing site. But they’re both much more than that in 2025.

Let’s dig a little deeper into what that means.

Substack: Direct-to-Reader Publishing

• Best for: Writers who want control over their audience and the potential to make money through paid subscriptions.

• How it works: You own your email list and send newsletters directly to your readers. People can subscribe for free or pay for exclusive content.

• Main appeal: No algorithms deciding who sees your work. You have direct access to your audience.

Medium: Built-in Audience, Algorithm-Driven

• Best for: Writers who want to be discovered by a wider audience and aren’t necessarily focused on monetization.

• How it works: You publish articles on Medium, and the platform’s algorithm helps distribute them to interested readers. You can also earn money based on how much engagement your articles get.

• Main appeal: Exposure. Medium already has millions of readers, so your work has a better chance of being discovered organically.

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1. How Do You Get Paid?

If making money from your writing is a top priority, this section is for you.

Substack: Subscription-Based Model

Substack lets you charge readers for access to your content. You set the price, and Substack takes 10% of your earnings (plus Stripe’s payment processing fees).

• Pros: You have full control over your pricing, and your audience belongs to you (email list).

• Cons: You need to actively build and maintain your subscriber base. No built-in discovery system.

💡 Tip: Start with free content to build an audience before switching to a paid model. Offer bonus content or early access to encourage people to subscribe.

Medium: The Partner Program

Medium pays writers through the Medium Partner Program (MPP). Earnings are based on how much time paying Medium members spend reading your articles.

• Pros: You don’t need to sell anything or ask for subscriptions. Medium handles everything.

• Cons: Your income depends on Medium’s algorithm, and it can be unpredictable.

💡 Tip: Write engaging, valuable content that keeps readers hooked. Longer articles that get people to stay on the page tend to earn more.

2. How Easy Is It to Get Readers?

What’s the point of writing if no one reads your work? Let’s see how both platforms handle audience growth.

Substack: You’re on Your Own (Mostly)

Substack gives you an email list, but you have to do the work of attracting readers. It doesn’t have a built-in discovery system like Medium does.

Best Growth Methods:

• Promote your newsletter on social media and elsewhere online.

• Write guest posts on other platforms and link back to your Substack.

• Offer valuable content for free to attract more subscribers.

💡 Tip: Use Substack’s Recommendations feature to cross-promote with other newsletters. This can help you get more readers quickly.

Medium: Discovery is Built-In

Medium has an algorithm that pushes articles to readers based on their interests. If you write high-quality content, Medium will do a lot of the marketing for you.

Best Growth Methods:

• Write about trending topics in your niche.

• Use tags (Medium allows 5 per article) to reach the right audience.

• Publish consistently—successful writers post at least once a week.

💡 Tip: Join Medium publications (large curated collections of articles) to get more exposure. Many of them accept submissions, even from new writers.

3. How Much Control Do You Have?

If branding matters to you, this is a big one.

Substack: Some Control Over Your Brand

Substack lets you customize your newsletter’s look and feel in a few (simple) ways.

You can:

✅ Choose your own URL

✅ Design your newsletter and website layout

✅ Change fonts, link styles, and colors

✅ Own your email list (important for long-term growth)

💡 Tip: Use a custom domain (instead of “yourname.substack.com”) to make your brand look more professional.

Medium: Limited Branding Options

Medium is more uniform—you can’t customize much beyond your profile and bio. Everything looks the same, which is good for consistency but bad if you want to stand out.

• Medium used to have a custom domain option, but that seems to be gone now (it did return a while ago, so you never know)

• Limited design options

• Medium owns your audience for the most part, apart from your subscriber list that you can and should build

💡 Tip: If you want more control over branding but still like Medium’s audience reach, consider cross-posting—write on your own site/Substack and republish on Medium for exposure.

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4. Who Controls Your Work?

This is one of the biggest differences between the two platforms.

Substack: You Own Everything

On Substack, you fully own your content, your email list, and your audience. Even if Substack shuts down, you can export your subscribers and move elsewhere. Now, of course, it’s still a somewhat moderated platform, so you’re bound to some rules, or you can be banned.

Medium: Medium Owns the Platform

Medium gives you exposure, but they own the platform. If Medium changes its algorithm (which happens often), your traffic and income can take a hit. You own your subscriber list, but that’s it.

💡 Tip: Always keep backups of your content—you never know when a platform’s policies might change.

Which One is Right for You?

Choose Substack if…

✅ You want full control over your audience and content.

✅ You’re willing to put in effort to grow an email list.

✅ You want to monetize through subscriptions.

Choose Medium if…

✅ You prefer a built-in audience and organic discovery.

✅ You don’t want to handle email lists or marketing.

✅ You want to earn based on engagement rather than direct subscriptions.

Why Not Both?

I don’t like decisions. That’s why I use both 😜

Kidding aside, if you’re serious about writing, there’s no rule that says you have to pick just one platform.

Many writers use both—they publish newsletters on Substack and repurpose their best content on Medium for extra exposure.

💡 Pro Tip: Use Medium to attract readers, then direct them to your Substack newsletter for exclusive content.

This way, you get the best of both worlds—reach and control.

At the end of the day, the best platform is the one that fits your goals. Whether you go all-in on Substack, stick with Medium, or use both, the key is consistency.

And it never hurts to have a backup!