The 15 Best Medium Alternatives You Can Use in 2024
Medium has become a go-to platform for both readers looking to consume content and writers wanting to publish their work.
However, Medium does have some limitations that have prompted many to look for alternatives.
Best Medium Alternatives 2024
In this comprehensive guide, we explore 15 of the top Medium alternatives available in 2024 for readers, writers, and publishers.
An Introduction to Medium and Its Alternatives
Launched in 2012, Medium is an online publishing platform that allows anyone to publish their writing and find an audience. It has grown tremendously in popularity over the years among independent writers and even publishers like major media outlets.
However, Medium isn’t for everyone. The platform offers limited customization options for writers and you don’t own your content. You also can’t earn money directly from your writing without going through Medium’s partner program.
That’s why both readers and writers have started considering alternatives that offer additional features, more control, and better money-making opportunities. This guide covers the top options across categories so you can find the right fit.
Best Medium Alternatives for Readers
If you love reading content on Medium but want to explore other options, here are some great alternatives offering rich content in 2024:
1. Quora
Quora is likely the closest platform to Medium in terms of offering community-driven question and answer content. Users can post questions on any topic and get answers from subject matter experts as well as regular users.
- Pros: Best alternative to Medium for readers, ask questions and get expert answers, popular platform
- Cons: Inconsistent content quality, too much noise
- Platforms: Web, Android, iOS
- Pricing: Free + $6.99/month for Quora+
- Visit Quora
2. LinkedIn
While known primarily as a professional social network, LinkedIn offers extensive learning content focused on career and self-improvement topics apart from networking.
- Pros: Get educational content on career development, online courses
- Cons: Feed can get cluttered quickly
- Platforms: Web, Android, iOS
- Pricing: Free, Premium plans from $29.99/month
- Visit LinkedIn
3. HubPages
HubPages features long-form articles and stories from passionate writers seeking to share expertise and unique perspectives outside mainstream media.
- Pros: Community-focused alternative to Medium, vast content library
- Cons: Strict approval guidelines for writers
- Platforms: Web
- Pricing: Free
- Visit HubPages
4. DEV Community
DEV is the best Medium alternative for developers and technologists focused exclusively on software engineering and related topics.
- Pros: Read/write development tech content, find mentors
- Cons: No option for custom domains
- Platforms: Web, Android, iOS
- Pricing: Free
- Visit DEV Community
5. Vocal Media
Vocal features fresh stories and confessions on trending topics and promises better money-making opportunities for creators.
- Pros: Writer-focused, content monetization
- Cons: Not ideal for building a personal brand
- Platforms: Web
- Pricing: Free, $9.99/month for Vocal+
- Visit Vocal
Best Medium Alternatives for Publishers
For writers and publishers who want more customization, ownership, and monetization options, here are the top alternatives to Medium worth considering:
6. Substack
Substack allows writers to publish newsletters and charge subscriptions with minimal cuts, making it hugely popular in recent years.
- Pros: Leading alternative to Medium for writers, content monetization, community-driven
- Cons: Growing audience organically can be difficult initially
- Platforms: Web, iOS
- Pricing: Free, paid subscriptions start at $5/month
- Visit Substack
7. WordPress
The world’s most popular web publishing platform, WordPress offers unparalleled customization powered by themes, plugins, and integrated tools.
- Pros: Extensive customization, premium themes, easy monetization
- Cons: Can be time-consuming to manually customize, premium themes cost extra
- Platforms: Web, Android, iOS
- Pricing: Plans start at $5/month
- Visit WordPress
8. Ghost
Ghost provides a beautiful publishing platform focused on creators who want more features than Medium without the complexity of WordPress.
- Pros: Feature-rich, design focus, easy monetization
- Cons: Currently fewer themes compared to other platforms
- Platforms: Web
- Pricing: Plans start at $9/month billed yearly
- Visit Ghost
9. Notion
While Notion isn’t built solely for publishing, its simplicity allows anyone to turn workspace pages into public websites easily.
- Pros: Extremely easy to publish instantly
- Cons: Can’t build an audience and brand like focused blogging platforms
- Platforms: Web, Android, iOS
- Pricing: Free, paid plans from $4/month yearly
- Visit Notion
10. Write.as
Write.as offers a minimal, no-frills writing and publishing experience similar to Medium but with more reader engagement features.
- Pros: Minimal and distraction-free, anonymous publishing
- Cons: Expensive monthly plans, lacks customization
- Platforms: Web
- Pricing: Free, $6/month billed yearly
- Visit Write.as
Other Notable Medium Alternatives
Here are a few other platforms that can work as alternatives to Medium depending on specific use cases:
- Telegraph — Anonymous publishing like Medium with a simple editor
- Tumblr — Long-form blogging with custom themes
- Squarespace — Build a custom website/blog easily without coding
- Wix — Easy drag and drop website builder with 500+ templates
Frequently Asked Questions about Medium Alternatives
Here are answers to some common questions when evaluating alternatives to Medium:
Which is the best free alternative to Medium?
Quora, DEV, and Tumblr are top free Medium alternatives for reading and writing diverse content.
Can I easily transfer my content from Medium?
Unfortunately, exporting Medium content to other platforms is challenging. Copy-pasting posts manually is the easiest method.
Which alternative helps publish newsletters like on Medium?
Substack is the leading platform for publishing and monetizing newsletters with email subscriptions.
What is the best alternative to own my content?
Self-hosted WordPress and Ghost provide full content ownership and control compared to Medium’s restrictions.
Which platforms help earn money directly from my writing?
Substack, Ghost, WordPress along with Vocal and HubPages facilitate direct reader payments to writers and content creators.
Which Medium competitor is completely free?
Quora, Tumblr and DEV allow free publishing while platforms like WordPress offer generous free tiers to get started.
What alternative is ideal for anonymous publishing?
Write.as and Telegraph have anonymous publishing options for those seeking privacy.
Can I use a Medium replacement just to read content?
Yes, platforms like Quora, LinkedIn, DEV and HubPages are primarily focused on serving as rich content repositories for readers rather than publisher-centric features.
How easy is it to get started writing on these platforms?
A vast majority of these alternatives make signing up intuitive and allow instant publishing with minimal barriers.
Do these support importing Medium content easily?
Since most publishing platforms have incompatible formats, importing Medium posts into other platforms remains a manual process.
Conclusion
Medium led the way in simplifying online publishing and building engaged reader communities.
However, over the years creators and readers have sought greater flexibility, customization and ownership.
The good news is the alternatives featured in this guide fulfill those needs across niches while retaining ease of use.
Whether you want to read enriching stories or publish professionally to grow an income, options like Quora, Substack, Ghost and more merit consideration if Medium’s limitations bother you.
Give these platforms a try to see if they serve your requirements as a good Medium replacement.
With more reader-centric and creator-first models available now, there’s never been a better time to find an alternative perfectly tailored for your needs.
