Medium.com Vs Steemit: Which To Choose & Which To Avoid

Deciding which blogging platform to use can be a tough decision—especially when it comes to Medium and Steemit.

Medium.com vs Steemit: Which is better for you?

Medium is overall better than Steemit as a blogging platform. Medium allows bloggers to write about a wider range of topics and pays in US dollars. On Medium, bloggers earn from reading time, tips, referrals, and affiliate marketing. Steemit is more limited in topics and pays in cryptocurrency.

However, it’s not always as clear-cut as it sounds.

In this post, we’ll go over the pros and cons of Medium.com and Steemit, so you know which one to choose (and which to avoid).

Medium.com Vs Steemit: Comparison

(This post may have affiliate links. Please see my full disclosure)
Medium and Steemit Logos - Medium.com vs Steemit
I created this image on Canva – Medium.com vs Steemit

Before you can choose the perfect platform for your blog, you need a basic understanding of Medium and Steemit.

So, here is a quick overview and comparison of both blogging sites.

What Is Medium?

Medium.com is a blogging platform with content behind a low monthly paywall.

It has a clean, ad-free format. Many bloggers, including yours truly, make a good living from Medium. The platform was founded by Evan Williams in 2012. Incredibly, Williams is also a co-founder of Twitter.

You might have heard of it. 😉

Originally, Medium was intended to be a collaborative publishing platform. That didn’t quite work out, but what did emerge was a popular site for long-form articles and essays.

On Medium, you can blog about nearly anything:

  • Self-improvement
  • Business
  • Money
  • Writing/Blogging
  • Poetry
  • Short stories
  • Relationships
  • Technology
  • History
  • Coding
  • And much more!

The truth is that you can blog about anything on Medium.

Medium places emphasis on the quality of content and the overall engagement of readers. And that’s how you get paid, along with membership referrals, tips, and affiliate marketing.

I’m currently making between $2-3k per month on Medium.

Check out Medium for yourself.

What Is Steemit?

Steemit is a blogging and social networking website that uses blockchain technology to reward its users for their content.

Launched in 2016, Steemit is still relatively new but has already gained a large following.

The website is based on the principle of “proof of brain,” which means that users are rewarded in Steem, a cryptocurrency, for creating and curating content.

The more engaged a user is, the more Steem they earn.

Steemit is a blogging platform that uses an upvoting system to reward content creators. When a user upvotes a post, they are essentially giving the author a monetary tip.

The more upvotes a post receives, the more Steem the author earns.

Once a post reaches a certain level of popularity, it will start to attract traffic from outside of the platform. This can include things like Google search traffic and social media shares.

This makes Steemit an attractive platform for both content creators and curators. As a result, it has the potential to become the go-to platform for online content.

Medium & Steemit: Similarities

Medium.com and Steemit have a few things in common.

Both allow you to earn money by publishing content, and both reward you for reader engagement. In addition, both platforms are easy to start using, which makes them a good choice for anyone who wants to get started with blogging.

Medium.com vs Steemit: Differences

There are some key differences between the two platforms.

For starters, Medium pays its contributors in USD, while Steemit pays in cryptocurrency. This means that if the value of Steem goes up, so does the amount you earn from your articles.

Of course, the value of Steem can also go down.

Additionally, on Medium you can write about almost any topic, while Steemit is more focused on cryptocurrency and blockchain-related content.

This means that if you’re looking to reach a wider audience with your writing, Medium is probably the better option. However, if you’re specifically interested in writing about cryptocurrency and blockchain technology, then Steemit may be a better fit.

Ultimately, the decision of which platform to use is up to you and depends on your specific goals and interests.

Medium.com and Steemit: Pros and Cons Comparison Chart

Next, let’s look at a chart of the pros and cons for Medium and Steemit:

Medium.comSteemit
Write about any topicFocused on cryptocurrency
Monthly costFree
Earn in multiple ways (tips, engagement, referrals, affiliate links)Limited earning potential
Paid in US DollarsPaid in Cryptocurrency
Easy to useEasy to use
Medium.com vs Steemit: Pros and Cons Chart

As much as I love Medium, there are some drawbacks:

  • You must gain 100 followers before you can monetize your articles (not that hard but will take some time)
  • You must pay $5 per month to get full access to Medium
  • There are many rules and guidelines to follow (again, not that hard once you get used to them)

Steemit, too, has downsides:

  • It’s less well-known and less trusted
  • You get paid in crypto (which can be bad if you don’t know much about it)
  • You are much more limited in what you can write about that will earn money (Steem)

Medium.com vs Steemit: Which Is Better?

Ultimately, what you want to know is which blogging platform is better.

But “better” depends on your intention and purpose:

  • Which is better for new bloggers?
  • Which is better for making money?
  • Which is better for affiliate marketing?
  • Which is better for SEO?
  • Which is better for cryptocurrency experts?

Let’s dive in and talk about each category so that you know which blogging platform to choose and which to avoid.

Medium or Steemit: Which Is Better for New Bloggers?

Medium is better than Steemit for new bloggers.

In general, Medium is a more user-friendly platform than Steemit. It’s easier to set up and use, and it has a more intuitive interface. Medium also offers a greater degree of community support than Steemit.

If you’re having trouble with something or you need advice, it’s easy to find someone who can help you on Medium.

Medium also takes care of the formatting and audience building for you.

That saves new bloggers a lot of time and headaches messing around with technology, formatting, and SEO. Medium handles almost all of this for you so that you can focus on producing the best content.

Try Medium for yourself.

Medium and Steemit: Which Is Better for Making Money?

Medium has a major advantage over Steemit: it offers multiple ways for new bloggers to earn money from their posts.

On Steemit, users can upvote each other’s posts, and the author of a post earns a portion of the income from those upvotes. This means that if your content is popular on Steemit, you can earn a sustainable income from your writing.

In contrast, Medium allows you to monetize your posts in many ways:

  • Reader engagement (default monetization from Medium)
  • Earn residual commissions by referring new Medium memberships
  • Earn tips from readers
  • Add affiliate links in your Medium posts (just make sure you follow the rules by adding a clear disclaimer before the links)

Reading time is pretty straightforward—the more time people spend reading your articles, the more money you make.

Tips, on the other hand, are voluntary payments that readers can make if they enjoy your article.

In addition to these two sources of income, Medium also offers membership referrals and affiliate marketing. Membership referrals give you a commission for every person who signs up for Medium’s premium membership program through your unique link.

Affiliate marketing, meanwhile, allows you to earn small commissions by referring products and services in your articles.

While both of these income streams require a bit more work than simply writing articles, they can be extremely lucrative for those who are able to take advantage of them.

With more ways to make money and higher earning potential, Medium is the clear winner when it comes to making money from writing online.

In fact, you can make money fast.

Here is a video where I share how much money I made in my first month on Medium:

YouTube video by WritingSecrets – Medium.com vs Steemit

Medium vs Steemit: Which Is Better for Affiliate Marketing?

Medium is the better option for affiliate marketing.

This is because Medium covers a wider range of topics, which means you can reach a wider audience. Steemit, on the other hand, is focused primarily on cryptocurrency.

While you can still do affiliate marketing on Steemit, it will be more difficult to reach potential customers.

Start affiliate marketing on Medium.

Medium.com vs Steemit: Which Is Better for SEO?

When it comes to SEO, there are a lot of different factors that you need to take into account.

But at the end of the day, there are really only two things that matter: traffic and engagement. And when it comes to those two things, Medium is hands-down the better platform.

Let’s start with traffic.

Medium has a much higher SEO than Steemit, which means that you’re more likely to show up in search results and get organic traffic from Google.

Additionally, Medium allows you to immediately benefit from SEO by getting traffic from featured stories and recommended stories. In contrast, on Steemit, your articles can get buried under a ton of other content and it can be very difficult to get any traction without actively promoting your own articles.

When it comes to engagement, Medium also has a clear advantage.

You can get organic traffic from Google the moment you publish your post on Medium. That means you get traffic from both Medium itself and all of Google.

The platform is designed in a way that encourages people to read and interact with articles.

For example, Medium has things like claps, comments, and responses which make it easy for readers to engage with your content.

Steemit, on the other hand, has a less user-friendly interface and lacks features that encourage engagement.

As a result, when it comes to SEO and engagement, Medium is simply in a league of its own.

Medium or Steemit: Which Is Better for Cryptocurrency Experts?

If you’re a cryptocurrency expert looking for a place to blog and be paid in cryptocurrency, Steemit is probably a better option than Medium.com.

Here’s why.

First, Steemit is a platform that is built on cryptocurrency, so it makes sense that they would pay their contributors in cryptocurrency. On Medium.com, you can blog about cryptocurrency, but since the platform isn’t built on cryptocurrency, they don’t have the same incentive to pay their contributors in cryptocurrency.

Second, Steemit has a much higher potential cryptocurrency payout than Medium.com.

With Steemit, the value of Steem can shoot through the roof at any moment. This means that if your post is popular and gets a lot of upvotes, you could potentially earn a lot more than you would on Medium.com.

Finally, with Steemit, you have the potential to earn ongoing cryptocurrency income from your posts through author rewards.

Every time someone upvotes one of your posts, you’ll earn a small amount of STEEM (Steemit’s native currency). This can add up over time and provide you with a nice stream of crypto income from your posts.

Medium.com vs Steemit: Which Is Better for Building an Audience?

When it comes to reach, Medium.com definitely has the edge.

There are millions of people all over the world using Medium, and that means there’s a good chance that your target audience is on there.

Plus, Medium makes it easy to share your content with other people.

You can grow an email list, embed your YouTube videos, or refer people to your other social media sites like Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, etc. Basically, if someone stumbles across your content on Medium, they can easily find your other platforms and follow you there.

Another thing I like about Medium is that you can download your Medium email list and use it off-platform.

Start building an audience on Medium.

Medium vs Steemit: Which Is Better for Fiction or Poetry?

If you’re a fan of fiction or poetry, you might be wondering which blogging platform is better for your work: Medium or Steemit?

While it’s true that neither platform is particularly friendly to writers of these genres ( it can be hard to make money on either site with poetry and fiction), there are some important differences to consider.

First and foremost, Medium has a much wider audience than Steemit.

There are simply more people who might be interested in reading your work. In addition, the layout of Medium makes it easier to engage readers.

Final Thoughts: Medium.com vs Steemit

Of course, there is no rule saying that you can’t blog on both Medium and Steemit. That way, you double down on both platforms to see which one works best for you.

If you decide to go with our recommendation, then you will need to know how to start a blog on Medium.

I also put together this list of articles for you about Medium:

Sources

Medium.com
Steemit