Medium vs Substack: Which Is Better for Writers? [2025 Update]

Last Updated: October 2025

You want to write long-form content but don’t know which one of Medium or Substack to choose?

Here’s what most people get wrong: You shouldn’t choose. You should use both.

I’ve been using both platforms, grew to 19.4k on Medium, and 9.2k on Substack – and experiencing their ups and downs firsthand.

In this article, I’ll share with you the real strategy based on what is working right now from data and personal experience.

Quick Comparison: Medium vs Substack

Feature	Medium	Substack
Monthly Visitors	~150M	~150M
Platform Type	Blogging platform	Social media + newsletter
Built-in Audience	✅ Strong	✅ Strong (via Notes)
Cost to Start	Free	Free
Monetization	Partner Program (reading time)	Direct subscriptions
Platform Fee	$5/month to join + revenue share	0 but 10% of paid subscriptions
Payment Processing	Built-in	Stripe (2.9% + 30¢)
Email List Ownership	⚠️ Limited	✅ Full ownership (you can export)
SEO Benefits	✅ Higher (DA 95)	✅ High (DA 93)
Discovery Method	Algorithm + Long-form articles	Notes (social feed) + Long-form articles + Recommendations
Publishing Frequency	Flexible	Consistent schedule expected
Social Features	Basic	✅ Notes (X-like feed)
Podcasting	❌ No	✅ Yes
Best For	SEO traffic, Publications	Community building, email ownership

🔎 What’s the difference between Medium & Substack?

Here’s the critical insight most writers miss:

Medium is a blogging platform. Substack is social media with newsletter functionality.

That’s the key difference.

Medium: Traditional Content Platform

Medium is where you publish articles that get discovered through:

Search engines (SEO)
Medium’s algorithm
Publications (like digital magazines)
Topics people follow

It’s about creating evergreen content that ranks and gets discovered over time.

Substack: Social Media That Builds Your Email List

Substack is fundamentally different. Think of it as Twitter meets email.

The game-changer? Substack Notes — a social feed where every like, comment, and restack can turn into an email subscriber.

Unlike Twitter where followers ≠ email list, on Substack every interaction builds YOUR asset.

This is why you can’t compare them directly. They serve different purposes in your content strategy.

Platform Size & Traffic Reality (2025 Data)

Here’s the truth: both platforms now have similar traffic — approximately 150 million monthly visitors each.

But here’s what matters more:

Medium’s Discovery: SEO-Driven

Traffic source: Google search + Medium’s internal algorithm
Timeline: 3-6 months to see results
Effort: Write quality content, optimize for keywords
Result: Passive traffic that compounds over time

Substack’s Discovery: Social-Driven

Traffic source: Substack Notes + Recommendations
Timeline: Immediate (can gain subscribers in 24 hours)
Effort: Daily engagement on Notes (15 minutes/day)
Result: Active growth through community interaction

Critical stat for Substack: On average, only 5.7% of free subscribers convert to paid. This means you need roughly 175 free subscribers to get 10 paying customers.

🕹️ Ease of Use

Both Medium and Substack make it super simple to publish professional-looking content without a website.

Simply sign up for a free account on either platform and you can immediately start writing and publishing.

Medium has a sleek online editor and gives your work a polished feel quickly.

Substack’s editor is more basic but allows fast publishing too:

I prefer Medium’s editor. It just feels smoother. But both are easy and quite similar.

🔎 Growing An Audience: The Real Story

This is where most advice gets it wrong. Let me break down how each platform ACTUALLY helps you grow:

Medium’s Discovery: SEO + Publications

Medium has an online newsfeed of articles like a social media feed. But the real power is elsewhere:

1. SEO Power (Long-term)

Domain Authority of 95/100 (one of the highest globally)
Your articles inherit this authority and rank on Google
Timeline: 3-6 months to see meaningful traffic
Compounds over time (articles keep bringing traffic for years)

2. Publications (Instant Audience Access)

You can tap into massive audiences by writing for Medium publications. Publications are like magazines within Medium.

Top publications to target:

The Startup (750K+ followers)
Better Humans (200K+ followers)
UX Collective (150K+ followers)

Writing for publications can instantly give you access to thousands of engaged readers.

Substack’s Discovery: Notes (The Secret Weapon)

Here’s what changed everything for Substack writers: Substack Notes.

What Are Substack Notes?

Think Twitter, but every interaction builds YOUR email list
Micro-posts up to 9,999 characters (way more than tweets)
Add images, videos, GIFs
Engagement = direct path to subscription

How Writers Use Notes to Grow:

Original Notes: Share quick insights, controversial takes, personal stories
Restacking: Like retweeting with commentary – amplifies reach
Highlight Sharing: Turn article quotes into Notes (auto-attribution drives traffic)

Real Growth Numbers:

Spend 15 minutes daily on Notes
Result: 18+ new subscribers per day
That’s 500+ subscribers monthly from social-like engagement

The Critical Difference:

Medium: Strangers find you through search over months
Substack Notes: Community finds you through engagement in hours
Twitter/LinkedIn: Build someone else’s platform
Substack Notes: Every interaction builds YOUR email list

Substack Notes (launched April 2023) isn’t just a feature—it’s THE growth engine.

This is why saying “Substack has no built-in audience” is outdated. Notes IS the built-in audience discovery mechanism.

🤑 Making Money Writing: The 2025 Reality

Let me be brutally honest about earnings, because this has changed dramatically.

How writers make money on Medium (2025 Update)

Medium has the Partner Program where readers pay $5/month for access to premium ad-free content.

Writers get paid based on member reading time.

Here’s the harsh reality in 2025: Earnings have dropped significantly.

I used to make $500-600/month on Medium. Now? You can expect roughly $0.80 per 1,000 impressions (reads).

To join the Medium Partner Program, you need:

At least 100 followers
At least 1 published article
Published within the last 6 months
Pay $5/month for Medium membership

How You Earn:

Based on member reading time (highly variable)
Boosted stories earn higher payout rates
Friend of Medium members generate higher payouts
Income is unpredictable — you might earn $50 one month, $200 the next

Reality check: Roughly 90% of Medium writers make under $100/month.

How writers earn money on Substack

The only monetization option on Substack is paid subscriptions.

You set the rate (typically $5-20 monthly) and keep the revenue minus fees:

Substack fee: 10% of subscription revenue
Stripe processing: 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction
Example: $10/month subscription = $10.00 – $1.00 (Substack) – $0.59 (Stripe) = $8.41 to you

Income Predictability:

Substack: Steady monthly recurring revenue (you know what to expect)
Medium: Variable and declining (2025 rates are much lower than previous years)

But here’s the smart strategy: Don’t rely on either platform’s built-in monetization.

Use both platforms to build your email list, then monetize through your own products, courses, or services. That’s the 6-figure path.

📊 Who Owns Your Audience?

This is critical for long-term success.

Substack: Full Ownership

You see individual email addresses of all subscribers
Export your entire list anytime (CSV format)
Take your audience to another platform if needed
No lock-in; your audience is truly yours

Medium: Limited Ownership

Medium owns the member relationship (members pay Medium, not you)
You can see emails of people who explicitly subscribed to YOUR newsletter
You cannot access emails of people who just follow you
Reality: 40,000 followers on Medium ≠ 40,000 email subscribers
Typical conversion: 40K followers = ~1K email subscribers (2.5%)

Why This Matters:
Platform risk is real. Medium’s algorithm changes and declining payouts in 2025 prove this. With Substack, you own the relationship and can migrate anywhere.

📥 Building your email list on Medium vs. Substack

Substack functions as an autoresponder, whereas Medium is more of a blogging platform.

However, on Medium, you can build your email list in different ways:

You can include a call-to-action to your landing page at the end of each article:

Medium also allows subscribers to directly subscribe to your new stories:

Medium allows you to export those email subscribers (like Substack).

Conclusion: On both platforms, you have access to readers’ emails as long as they opted into your list. But Substack makes it easier and gives you full ownership.

💎 Quality of traffic

Medium and Substack attract audiences willing to read in-depth, focused content instead of brief social media posts.

Readers on both commit time to dive deeper into topics, indicating higher interest and engagement. This makes them potentially more likely to become loyal followers.

For reader quality, both platforms deliver interested audiences.

Similar High-Quality Readers: Tie

🔍 SEO and Content Repurposing

SEO is a great way to get more traffic through Google and other search engines.

Medium actively optimizes features to help writers achieve higher rankings.

Medium’s SEO Advantage

Domain Authority: Medium has a Domain Authority (DA) of 95/100 — one of the highest-ranking websites globally. Your articles inherit this authority.

Why Medium Ranks Well:

Millions of high-quality backlinks
Fast loading speed
Clean, mobile-optimized design
Massive amount of fresh content daily
High user engagement metrics

Real Example: An article on Medium may rank #1 for “how to learn Python.” The same article on a new blog may not rank in the top 100.

I’ve noticed posts on Medium consistently appear higher on Google compared to similar content from Substack for the same keywords.

Substack’s SEO Reality

Lower domain authority compared to Medium
Each Substack subdomain (yourname.substack.com) starts with low authority
Takes time to build SEO ranking
Can use custom domain to build your own DA over time
Better for building brand, worse for immediate SEO visibility

Medium is better for SEO.

Content Repurposing Strategy

Medium allows cross-posting content without major restrictions.

Best Practices:

Publish on your primary platform first (wait 1-2 weeks)
Use Medium’s “Import a Story” feature with canonical tag if republishing
Make minor edits so content isn’t 100% identical

Smart Strategy:

Write detailed article on Medium (free, SEO-focused, broad topics)
Create expanded version with exclusive insights for Substack (paid, niche deep-dives)
Use Medium for discovery → Substack for monetization

🎯 The Winning Strategy: Use Both Platforms

Here’s the truth nobody tells you: Don’t choose. Use both simultaneously.

The Dual-Platform Strategy (2025)

Medium for:

✅ SEO traffic (long-term, passive)
✅ Writing for Publications (instant audience access)
✅ Broad topic experimentation
✅ Google discovery (3-6 month timeline)
✅ Building authority through evergreen content

Substack for:

✅ Email list ownership (you control the relationship)
✅ Substack Notes (immediate growth, social-like engagement)
✅ Community building (direct relationship with readers)
✅ Daily touchpoints (15 min/day = 18+ subscribers/day)
✅ Testing ideas before writing full posts

Why Simultaneous Publishing Works

The Old Advice (Wrong):
“Start with Medium for 6-12 months, then migrate to Substack”

The 2025 Reality (Right):
Start with BOTH from day one because:

Different Discovery Mechanisms

Medium = SEO (slow but compounds)
Substack = Social (fast but requires daily activity)
Neither cannibalizes the other

Different Audiences

Medium readers discover via Google search
Substack subscribers discover via Notes engagement
You reach both types simultaneously

Risk Mitigation

Medium payouts declining? You have Substack list
Substack changes policy? You have Medium presence
Never build on just one platform

Real-World Implementation

Daily Workflow (30 minutes total):

15 minutes: Engage on Substack Notes (share insights, restack, comment)

Result: 18+ new subscribers/day

15 minutes: Write/edit content for both platforms

Publish same article on both (with minor variations)
Medium = SEO-optimized headline
Substack = relationship-focused tone

Weekly Focus:

Medium: Submit to 2-3 publications, engage with other writers
Substack: Send 1-2 newsletters, share article highlights on Notes
Both: Cross-promote (mention Substack in Medium bio, Medium articles in Substack)

The Numbers That Matter

Medium Timeline:

Months 1-3: Minimal traffic (frustrating but normal)
Months 3-6: Articles start ranking for long-tail keywords
Months 6-12: Traffic compounds, rankings improve
Year 2+: SEO becomes consistent traffic driver

Substack Timeline:

Day 1: Can gain subscribers immediately with Notes
Week 1: 50-100 subscribers possible with consistent Notes
Month 1+: 500+ subscribers/month with daily Notes activity
The catch: Requires daily participation (but only 15 min/day)

Why Both Beat Either Alone:

Medium alone = Slow start, declining payouts, no email ownership
Substack alone = Daily content treadmill, miss SEO traffic
Both together = Fast growth + Long-term assets

Real-World Scenarios:

Brand New Writer (No Audience)
→ Start with BOTH simultaneously

Medium: Write SEO articles for Publications (leverage their audience)
Substack: Engage on Notes daily (15 min = 18+ subscribers)
Timeline: 100+ email subscribers in 30 days is achievable

Writer with Small Social Following (1K-10K)
→ Aggressive dual strategy

Announce on Twitter/LinkedIn: “Publishing on both Medium + Substack”
Drive social traffic to Medium (for SEO boost)
Drive social traffic to Substack (for email capture)
Cross-promote between platforms

Established Writer Switching Platforms
→ Strategic migration

Don’t abandon your current platform
Add the new platform alongside
Repurpose best content to new platform
Diversify your presence

⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid

Medium Mistakes

❌ Expecting 2023 Earnings in 2025
Reality: Payouts have dropped significantly. Adjust expectations.
Solution: Focus on audience building and use Medium as a discovery tool, not primary income.

❌ Ignoring Publications
Reality: Writing only on your own profile limits reach dramatically.
Solution: Submit to relevant publications to 10x your audience.

❌ Not Engaging with Other Writers
Reality: Medium is a community; isolated writers grow slower.
Solution: Comment thoughtfully, build relationships.

Substack Mistakes

❌ Ignoring Substack Notes
Reality: Notes is THE growth engine, not just the newsletter.
Solution: Spend 15 minutes daily on Notes. It’s social media that builds YOUR email list.

❌ Starting with Paid Subscriptions Too Early
Reality: You need proven value before people will pay.
Solution: Build 1,000+ free subscribers first, then introduce paid tier (or skip paid entirely and monetize differently).

❌ Irregular Publishing Schedule
Reality: Subscribers expect consistency; irregular posting = cancellations.
Solution: Commit to realistic schedule (weekly/bi-weekly) and stick to it.

❌ Treating It Like a Blog (Not Social Media)
Reality: Substack is social media with newsletter functionality.
Solution: Engage daily on Notes, build community, treat it like Twitter that builds your email list.

Universal Mistakes (Both Platforms)

❌ Comparing Yourself to Top 1%
Those “making $10K/month” articles show exceptions, not the rule. Most writers make far less.

❌ Choosing One Platform
The biggest mistake is thinking you must choose. Use both simultaneously.

❌ Copying “Viral Formula” Content
What works for others may not work for you. Authenticity beats templates.

📅 Recent Platform Changes (2025)

Medium Updates

2023: Discontinued referral program (no longer earn from recruiting members)
2025: Significant payout reduction (now ~$0.80 per 1K impressions)
2025: Enhanced Boost program, but fewer stories getting boosted
Traffic: Stabilized around 150M monthly visitors

Substack Updates

April 2023: Launched Substack Notes (social feed feature) — GAME CHANGER
2024-2025: Improved recommendation algorithm
2025: Enhanced analytics dashboard
2025: Added video support for better multimedia content
Traffic: Grew to ~150M monthly visitors (on par with Medium)
Notes Growth: Now the primary subscriber acquisition channel for most writers

👨‍⚖️ Final Recommendation: The 2025 Strategy

For everyone: Use BOTH platforms simultaneously.

Here’s why this is the only strategy that makes sense in 2025:

Medium Offers:

✅ SEO traffic that compounds over time
✅ Publications for instant audience access
✅ Passive discovery through search engines
✅ Authority building with high DA content

Substack Offers:

✅ Email list ownership (the most valuable asset)
✅ Substack Notes for rapid growth (15 min/day = 18+ subscribers)
✅ Direct relationship with subscribers
✅ Community building through social-like engagement

The Dual-Platform Funnel:

Medium: SEO brings strangers → Articles attract readers
Substack Notes: Engagement brings subscribers → Daily interaction builds list
Email List: Monetize through products/services (not platform fees)

Timeline for Success:

Week 1: Set up both platforms, publish first posts
Month 1: Engage on Substack Notes daily, submit to Medium publications
Month 3: See first SEO traffic from Medium, 500+ Substack subscribers from Notes
Month 6: Medium traffic compounds, Substack list at 1,500-3,000
Year 1: Dual traffic sources, owned email list, platform independence

Don’t choose. Build on both. That’s the 2025 strategy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I really use both Medium AND Substack?
Yes. They’re not competitors—they’re complementary. Medium = SEO traffic, Substack = email list building through Notes. You can repurpose your Medium articles there. Different discovery mechanisms, different audiences. Use both from day one.

How do I find time to post on both platforms?
You don’t post twice. Write once, publish on both. Plus 15 min/day on Substack Notes for growth.

Which platform pays more?
Wrong question. Neither pays well anymore (Medium payouts dropped, Substack requires huge subscriber base). Better strategy: Use both to build email list, monetize through your own products/services.

Is Medium dying?
No. Despite lower payouts, Medium still has 150M monthly visitors and strong SEO authority. Use it for traffic, not income.

What are Substack Notes and why do they matter?
Substack Notes is a Twitter-like social feed where every interaction can turn into an email subscriber. It’s THE growth engine. 15 minutes/day = 500+ subscribers/month. That’s why Substack is now “social media with newsletter functionality.”

How long does it take to make money?
With dual platform strategy: 6-12 months to build 3,000-5,000 email subscribers. Then monetize through products/courses/services (not platform fees). That’s the 6-figure path.

Won’t Google penalize duplicate content on both platforms?
No. Make minor variations (different headlines, slight edits). Medium can use canonical tags. They’re different domains, so no penalty.

Should I use paid Substack subscriptions?
Only if you’re a journalist or have 10,000+ subscribers. For coaches, consultants, creators: keep Substack free (max reach), monetize through high-value products. $8/month subscriptions = race to the bottom.

Article based on personal experience using both platforms, analysis of current 2025 performance data, and real results from dual-platform strategy.