“What are Medium alternatives?” – I asked myself a year ago when I started side hustling.
By chance, I’ve figured out anyone can make money writing on Medium posting personal thoughts, inspirational stories, helpful guides, etc.
Medium gives established writers and newbies an opportunity to reach thousands of people worldwide and get paid for it. It’s unbelievable. You can literally make money sitting on your couch!
Many Medium top writers tell their stories on how the platform changed their lives and opened up new business opportunities.
Inspired by Medium success stories, I’ve started looking for Medium alternatives or sites that publish for free, like Medium.
This article will recommend proven platforms where you can make money writing about anything you like. These sites are like Medium. They might have different content publication rules, registration requirements, and monetization programs. Still, they support creators by helping them get paid for their writing.
I found lots of suggestions from fellow writers on alternatives to Medium on Google. You, too, will stumble upon suggestions, like Fiverr or WordPress, etc. Let me tell you a thing – these sites are not Medium alternatives. They are independent platforms with their business model and monetization strategies.
Fiverr is an online marketplace for freelancers. WordPress is a content management system. I run my website using WordPress, but it has nothing to do with the way Medium works.
Be critical about anything you read online, as it’s easy to get trapped by others’ opinions.
The platforms I share below are Medium alternatives. I would even say personal blog alternatives that pay writers for views.
Medium alternatives to consider
- Vocal.media
- Newsbreak
- Quora
Vocal.media
Vocal.media website is an online platform for content writers, musicians, artists, instapreneurs, and anyone willing to share their message with the world.
Vocal is an upgraded alternative to Medium, as you have many more options to monetize your content besides views.
If you, let’s say, run your online store, you can easily promote and sell your products on Vocal. If you would like to utilize the power of affiliate, you can write listicles and include your custom links to receive commissions.
If you are passionate about fiction writing, Vocal runs endless writing challenges with rewards up to $20,000 per story. You can check their challenges page here. It’s worth mentioning that some challenges are only for the Vocal+ members.
Vocal does not have an internal content distribution system, like Medium. It pays you to bring readers on site. Hence, both internal and external views are paid on Vocal.
I use Vocal as a Medium alternative to republish my former articles and write unique SEO-optimized content. It ranks high in Google and continuously brings readers to my posts.
I have an extensive Vocal.media review that might be interesting for you to read if you haven’t explored the platform yet. I cover the pros, cons and share how much I made in my first month on Vocal.
Newsbreak
Newsbreak is a local news website to read about the latest news, events, deals, governmental updates, etc.
Newsbreak is a relatively new website that took off in October 2020, when its creator partner program launched.
I remember the buzz going around Newsbreak last year. They promised to pay off $1000 to approved writers who consistently publish twelve stories within three months. Do you know what the weirdest thing was? You could copy-paste your old blog posts since Newsbreak did not require your stories to be the new ones.
In short, with the Newsbreak creator program, you could earn $1000 for twelve, not necessarily original, articles a month.
I could not benefit from this luring offer as Newsbreak mainly looked for US-based writers who could lighten the local news.
If you’d like to join Newsbreak and make money writing, it’s an excellent Medium alternative. However, their old registration rules are gone, the same as their luring payment offer.
Under the newest policy, you should have at least 200 followers and ten published articles to apply for monetization on Newsbreak. The following is a screenshot from my creator’s account on Newsbreak.
Some writers say it’s challenging but not impossible to earn money on Newsbreak. My fellow Medium writer, Toby Hazlewood, makes four figures monthly by sharing local news, his experiences, and opinions on Newsbreak.
In short, if you are up to writing US local news content, consider Newsbreak as a platform to reach a wider audience and monetize your effort.
Quora
Quora is a California-based digital question and answer platform that’s been live since 2009.
Back in 2017, I was actively using Quora to promote educational services. I believed I could nail the platform by adding value with my answers and inserting links back to my website.
I created multiple fake accounts to post more answers on Quora and occupy all top spots. I thought I was smarter than the platform until I was irreversibly banned from using Quora.
My experience taught me to play long-term and never violate the rules. After all, quick wins are never worth spoiling a reputation.
These days, I occasionally post answers on Quora, share my published articles in spaces, and grow my follower base using white hat techniques only!
Some of my posts reached thousands of readers without me doing practically anything. I view Quora as a platform to grow your personal brand, boost your website traffic, and generate leads. Not bad, right? Yes, you can do it all on Quora.
Since July 2021, Quora has launched its Partner Program and made thousands of writers happy. From now on, you can monetize your Quora content through their brand new creator’s program.
Where does the money come from, you might wonder. Quora + membership was launched to make knowledge sharing more sustainable for creators. According to Techcrunch, Quora+ members pay $5 monthly or $50 yearly to read the answers behind the paywall.
Quora+ membership is a pure Medium alternative, and even the rates are the same.
As a content creator, you are compensated every time Quora+ members read and interact with your content. Besides, Quora additionally rewards its creators if new users decide to become paid members through your answers.
According to the Quora Help Center, the following countries can join the creator’s program:
You must live in an eligible country to participate; the program is active in the following countries: U.S., Japan, Germany, Spain, France, United Kingdom, Italy, Canada, Australia, Indonesia, India, Portugal, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Colombia.
Stripe or a PayPal account is required to receive payments from the platform. You will get paid on the first Monday of the month. However, it might take a few days for you to receive your payout. The minimum amount to be transferred is $10.
The program is relatively new, and many questions are rising about how it will work and how much creators can earn. I suggest going through Quora’s FAQ page, as you might find answers to some burning questions.
I’ve already applied, and I am waiting for my country to be added to the partner program. However, if your country is supported, go ahead and be among the first paid creators on Quora.
“What can I use instead of Medium?”
Let’s recap Medium alternatives
If you search for websites like Medium online, you’ll be exposed to thousands of articles mentioning Medium competitors, like WordPress or Hubpages. In fact, these websites use different business models and monetization opportunities. They are not Medium alternatives. They are rather blog sites like Medium. They can help you achieve the same goal – get paid for writing. However, the methods differ.
The following three websites are Medium pure alternatives. You can republish your old stories, write new content and benefit from many monetization opportunities.
- Vocal.media
- Newsbreak
- Quora
I also have a guide about low-cost and free online writing tools that I, as a non-native English speaker, use to improve my writing. I hope you will find it handy too.
Get some questions? Let me know in the comments. Familiar with the platforms mentioned above? Share your experience below. I am curious to hear your opinion.
Hello there!
My name is Victoria.
I am an SEO expert, Medium top writer, solopreneur, and the founder of Self Made Millennials. I help companies create optimized content and attract potential customers through organic search results. In addition, I share how content creators can monetize their writing skills.
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5 Responses
Hi Victoria, I love your deep exposition on Medium publications
Going through the partner countries I realised that West and Southern African countries are not included
Can you confirm if indeed it is the case. I am a Ghanaian living in South Africa so I will want to know of there is an opportunity for me to publish on Medium.
Hi Priscilla,
Thank you for reading my article!
Currently, enrollment in the Partner Program is only available in the following countries:
Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States.
I checked it on the Medium official website.
If your country is not on the list, you can still publish on Medium and grow your presence there. However, you won’t be paid through the Medium Partner Program.
Best,
Victoria
Hello, Victoria I discovered you on Medium. How does Substack compare to Medium, I wonder? Although I recently signed up, I haven’t yet used the platform because I wanted to be more certain of how to use it. I adore your writing because it’s simple to read and comprehend. You are succinct and to the point.
Hi Victoria, I found you over on Medium. I’m wondering – how does Substack compare to Medium? I recently signed up but haven’t used the platform yet as I wanted to be more sure on how to use it. Love your writing as it’s easy to follow and understand. You get right to the point 🙂
Hi Lisa!
Thank you for reading my article and for your comment.
I did not mention Substack for a reason. Its business model is different from Medium and the monetization opportunities for writers are also different.
Substack is basically an online platform that provides you with a publishing environment, payment methods, performance stats, and built-in design infrastructure to support subscription newsletters. Basically, it is a paid newsletter or a blog with an email, depends how you see it. You can publish your content there, grow your subscriber’s list and put some of your content behind the paywall. If someone wants to learn more from you, they will be eager to pay some fee to unlock your paid content.
Substack does not pay you anything for content views. Instead, you have to monetize your content by making your subscribers switch to a paid plan.
In my opinion, it’s always better to grow your own email list (I use Convertkit) and have full control over it. You can promote, sell and share anything through your newsletters, without saying “look I have some great content for you, but first you have to pay for it.”