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Substack vs Medium for writers (2026): how each pays you, what it costs, and who owns your readers
Last verified against official pricing pages · published 29 Oct 2026
Prices change often. Each price was checked on the platform's official pricing page on the date shown; plans, promos and taxes vary. Confirm on the official site before you buy. Not financial advice.
Short answer: Substack and Medium pay writers in different ways. On Substack you charge your own readers and Substack keeps 10% plus Stripe's fees, with no monthly bill, and you can export your whole email list at any time. On Medium you pay $5/month (or $50/year) for a membership, which the Partner Program requires, and you earn a share of members' fees based on reading time and engagement on your paywalled stories, with no price of your own. The biggest difference is ownership: Medium only lets you export subscribers you imported or who joined before April 2025.
Substack prices from Substack: How much does Substack cost? (checked 2026-10-27). Medium rules from Medium's help center (checked 2026-10-29). Neither platform pays us for this comparison.
Side by side
| Substack | Medium | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to publish and earn | $0 per month; 10% of paid subscriptions + Stripe fees | $5/mo or $50/yr membership, required for the Partner Program |
| Who sets the price | You | Medium (readers pay Medium's membership) |
| How you earn | Your paying subscribers | Share of member fees by reading time, engagement, Boost and traffic source |
| Readers who don't pay | Get your free posts by email | See a preview of paywalled stories; their reads earn nothing |
| Email to subscribers | Full posts by email | A preview linking to the story on Medium |
| Export your subscribers | Full list, any time (no names) | Only imported emails and pre-April-2025 subscribers |
| Custom domain | One-time $50 | Needs an active membership |
| Payouts | Directly through your own Stripe account | Monthly once you reach $10, via Stripe, eligible countries only |
What Substack's cut costs as you grow
Our standard scenario: 5% of the list pays $8/month, monthly billing.
| Subscribers | Paid revenue | Substack's 10% | Total incl. Stripe |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | $400/mo | $40/mo | $69.40/mo |
| 5,000 | $2,000/mo | $200/mo | $347/mo |
| 25,000 | $10,000/mo | $1,000/mo | $1,735/mo |
The total adds Stripe's card and Billing fees, which you'd also pay on beehiiv or Ghost. There's no matching table for Medium because Medium doesn't publish a per-read rate, and we don't guess one.
What Medium costs you
- Membership: $5/month or $50/year. You need an active one to join the Partner Program and to connect a custom domain.
- Your list: new subscribers since April 2025 can't be exported, so if you leave Medium you can't take them with you by email.
- Who it pays for: only reads by paying members of 30 seconds or more count. Reads from search engines, email notifications and other outside links earn at a higher rate than reads from inside Medium.
- Payout rules: $10 minimum, a connected Stripe account, verified taxpayer information, and a bank and tax residence in a supported country.
Substack vs Medium vs beehiiv, Ghost or a blog
If owning a paying email list is the goal, the fair comparison for Substack is other newsletter platforms. beehiiv and Ghost charge a flat monthly fee and keep 0% of subscriptions, so they get cheaper than Substack once your paid revenue grows. Numbers for three list sizes are below; for the full break-even see Is Substack worth it? and Substack vs beehiiv vs Ghost cost.
| Subscribers (5% pay $8) | Substack | beehiiv | Ghost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | $69.40 (Free + 10% of paid revenue) | $88.40 (Lite) | $64.40 (Publisher) |
| 5,000 | $347 (Free + 10% of paid revenue) | $256 (Lite) | $222 (Publisher) |
| 25,000 | $1,735 (Free + 10% of paid revenue) | $934 (Lite) | $904 (Publisher) |
Per month, monthly billing. Paid totals = plan + platform cut + Stripe card fees (2.9% + $0.30 per payment, estimate) + Stripe's 0.7% Billing fee on recurring payments where confirmed (beehiiv, MailerLite, Ghost, Buttondown, Substack, AWeber and Flodesk); not added for GetResponse (not confirmed); Kit's 3.5% + $0.30 is all-in. How we model fees.
Try your own list size and price in the calculator →
Exporting before you switch
- From Medium: Settings → Security and apps → Download your information gives your stories as HTML in a zip. The subscriber export is on the Audience stats page (web only) and covers only imported and pre-April-2025 subscribers.
- From Substack: see Substack to beehiiv or Substack to Ghost for the export and paid-subscriber steps.
Related: Substack fees explained · Substack vs Patreon · Substack alternatives · beehiiv vs Substack · Substack vs Ghost · Substack pricing
Sources
- Substack help: How much does Substack cost? (checked 2026-10-27) and How do I export my email list?
- Medium help: Become a Medium Member, Partner Program eligibility, earnings calculation, payouts (checked 2026-10-29)
- Medium help: Audience stats, Email notifications, Custom domains, Export your account data (checked 2026-10-29)
- beehiiv pricing and Ghost pricing (checked 2026-10-27)
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FAQ
Is Substack or Medium better for writers?
They pay in different ways. On Substack you set your own subscription price and keep everything except Substack's 10% and Stripe's fees, and you can export your email list at any time. On Medium you don't set a price: you earn a share of Medium members' fees based on how long members read and engage with your paywalled stories. Choose Substack (or beehiiv/Ghost) if you want to own a paying list; Medium if you want Medium's own readers and recommendation system to find you.
How much does Medium cost for writers?
To earn through the Medium Partner Program you must be a paying Medium member: $5/month or $50/year (Medium Member), or $15/month for Friend of Medium. A custom domain on Medium also needs an active membership. Substack has no monthly fee; it keeps 10% of paid subscriptions and a custom domain is a one-time $50.
How much does Medium pay per read?
Medium doesn't publish a fixed rate. Earnings come from member reading and listening time (a read counts after 30 seconds by a paying member), claps, highlights and replies, a higher rate for Boosted stories, a 5% bonus for member reads from outside Medium, higher rates for reads from search engines and email notifications, and a one-time amount when a reader becomes a member to read your story. Reads by non-members earn nothing.
Can I export my subscribers from Medium?
Only partly. Medium's audience page lets you export the emails you imported and readers who subscribed before April 2025; Medium says the export is empty if all your subscribers joined after April 2025. On Substack you can export your full email list at any time (the CSV has no names).
Can I use Medium and Substack together?
Yes, nothing stops you publishing on both. Medium stories that are behind the paywall earn from member reads, and Medium lets you import subscribers you collected elsewhere (only people who signed up to hear from you directly). Keep in mind that Medium emails to subscribers send a preview that links back to Medium, and Partner Program writers aren't paid for time spent reading that preview.
When does Medium pay out?
Once your earnings reach $10; smaller balances roll over to the next month. Payouts usually start by the 10th of the month for the previous month's earnings and go to a connected Stripe account. You also need verified taxpayer information and a bank in one of Medium's supported countries.
Related guides: Substack vs beehiiv vs Ghost · Substack fees (2026) · Is Substack worth it for writers in 2026? The 10% cut vs flat-fee platforms, and how to leave · Substack vs Patreon fees (2026) · Substack to beehiiv migration · Substack to Ghost migration · beehiiv to Substack migration · beehiiv price increase 2026 · all guides
Comparisons: beehiiv vs Substack · Substack vs Ghost · beehiiv vs Ghost · Cheapest for 500, 1,000, 2,500, 5,000, 10,000, 25,000 subscribers
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