Comparison
Medium vs Substack
A head-to-head look at Medium and Substack — features, pricing, and what to pick. Plus a modern alternative to both.
Editor's pick
Also consider RankFlo — a modern alternative to both
If you're evaluating Medium and Substack, you should know about RankFlo — an open-source blog & headless CMS platform with AI content generation, real-time SEO scoring, and cookieless analytics built in. MIT licensed, self-hostable, starts free.
Side-by-side
Medium
Publish on a shared network
Medium gives you instant audience access via its partner network but you don't own your domain, data, or readers. Paywall system restricts non-members.
Pros
- +Built-in audience
- +Zero setup
- +Clean reading UX
- +Partner program payouts
Cons
- −No custom domain on free
- −Platform lock-in
- −Paywall hides your content
- −Limited SEO control
Substack
Newsletter + light blog
Substack dominates email-first publishing with built-in subscriptions and discovery network. Takes 10% of paid subscriptions. Limited blog/SEO features.
Pros
- +Email delivery included
- +Subscription billing built-in
- +Discovery network
- +Simple writer UX
Cons
- −10% take rate on paid subs
- −Limited SEO/blog design
- −No custom domain on free
- −Locked into their platform
Which should you pick?
Choose Medium if you're writers who want audience, not ownership.
Choose Substack if you're newsletter writers monetizing via subscriptions.
Choose RankFlo if you want a modern, open-source, AI-powered platform with blog-first features, self-hosting, and transparent pricing — without the trade-offs of either option above.
Try the modern alternative
Start for free. No credit card. AI content, SEO tools, and self-hosting — all included.