Publii vs Medium
Publii is a free, open-source Medium alternative for writers who want their own website. You edit in a desktop CMS and publish to your chosen host. Medium provides a hosted editor, reader network and shared publication tools, with the site running on its platform.
Your own website or Medium’s network?
Choose Publii for a blog, company publication or resource site you want to host and customize yourself. Choose Medium when you want to publish within its reader network and use a shared browser workflow without arranging hosting.
Choose Publii
For an independent blog, documentation site, portfolio or company publication with your choice of hosting, design, URLs and analytics.
Choose Medium
For its reader network, publication submissions, shared editing and Partner Program, subject to the relevant eligibility rules.
You can also publish on your own site first and import selected articles into Medium with a canonical link to the original.
Publii vs Medium at a glance
Publii generates a complete website that you deploy to a host of your choice. Medium stores, hosts and presents your stories inside its own service, even when you connect a custom domain. Compare the costs, publishing workflow, SEO controls and options for moving your content.
| Publii (Static CMS) | Medium (Hosted platform) | |
|---|---|---|
| Main purpose | Build an independent content website | Publish within an existing reader network |
| Software and publishing cost | The app is free and open source; domain, hosting, themes or services may still cost money | Writing from a personal profile is free; an active membership is required to create a publication or connect a custom domain |
| Hosting control | You choose and can change the host | Medium hosts the publication and controls the platform |
| Custom domain | Yes, through your own hosting configuration | Yes, with an active Medium membership; one domain per profile or publication |
| Design and code control | Themes, Handlebars templates, CSS and JavaScript can be customized; you also receive the generated site files | Layouts, header, logo, accent color and sections can be adjusted; custom scripts and Google Analytics are not supported |
| Built-in audience and distribution | No platform feed; you build traffic through search, links, email and your own promotion | Stories are eligible for distribution to followers, publication audiences, topic pages, digests and recommendation surfaces |
| Browser-based editorial team | Not built in; Publii is primarily a local desktop workflow | Built in through publication owners, editors, writers and submissions |
| Offline editing | Built in, including local preview | The normal writing workflow uses Medium's website or mobile app and saves drafts to the account |
| SEO control | Page titles, descriptions, robots directives, URLs, XML sitemap and social metadata are configurable | Canonical links and story preview settings are available, but Medium controls the technical platform and applies its own indexing thresholds |
| Analytics | Choose your own service, including supported Google Analytics, Matomo, Plausible and Umami integrations | Built-in story and audience statistics; no Google Analytics or arbitrary tracking scripts |
| Reader engagement | Comments and other community features use plugins or external services | Claps, highlights, responses, follows and email subscriptions are built in |
| Newsletter | Connect the email platform and signup flow you choose | Publications include a newsletter system for editors and publication subscribers |
| Monetization | You choose the business model and integrations | Eligible writers enrolled in the Medium Partner Program can earn from paywalled stories |
| Content portability | Local project backups plus deployable HTML, CSS, media and other site files | Medium lets you export personal data and stories as HTML files in a ZIP archive |
Medium features, eligibility rules and subscription prices can change because Medium operates the service. Publii is free software, but the cost and capabilities of an independent site also depend on the hosting, theme and third-party services you select.
Where your website runs
Publii builds a standalone static website. Medium hosts your stories as part of its publishing service.
Publii builds the complete static site on your computer. You select the theme, configure the URLs and publish static files to your own hosting account, object storage service, Git-based host or a local folder for manual deployment.
Medium publishes the story through Medium's infrastructure. You can use a medium.com address or connect a domain you own, but custom-domain pages remain hosted on Medium. You cannot add a proxy, inject your own scripts or turn that address into an independently operated Medium installation.
Medium's custom-domain guide explains the membership requirement, supported addresses and restrictions on custom code.
Publii publishing path
Publii: build locally, publish to your host
- Write and preview in the desktop app
- Generate the finished static site
- Deploy to the host and domain you choose
The public server receives website files, not the Publii application or its working project.
Medium publishing path
Medium: publish within the platform
- Write and save the draft in Medium
- Medium stores and hosts the story
- The platform may distribute it across its network
A custom domain can replace the visible address, but the story remains on Medium's platform.
Building an audience
An independent website begins without a built-in audience. Medium begins with a network, but distribution beyond your followers is not guaranteed.
Medium readers can follow writers, publications and topics. A published story may appear in follower feeds, email digests, Medium search, topic pages and recommendation surfaces. Stories accepted by an established publication can also reach that publication's followers.
Medium's statistics FAQ says a new writer may receive few or no presentations, especially without submitting to a publication. A platform account gives you access to the network, not a promised readership.
With Publii, you build your audience through search, links, email and promotion. Your articles have crawlable HTML, direct URLs and an XML sitemap, and you can connect the email and analytics tools you prefer.
Publii and Medium publishing costs
A free Medium account can publish stories from a personal profile. Creating a publication or connecting a custom domain requires an active Medium membership.
| Publii (Static CMS) | Medium (Hosted platform) | |
|---|---|---|
| Publishing software or account | $0 for the Publii app; free and open source | $0 to publish from a personal profile |
| Publication and custom-domain access | No Publii subscription; use the domain and hosting you arrange | Active Medium membership required; the standard plan is $5 per month or $50 per year |
| Hosting | Choose free or paid static hosting and change provider when needed | Included in the service; Medium hosts and controls the publication |
| Domain registration | Purchased separately if you want a custom domain | Purchased separately, in addition to the required membership |
Publii itself is free under the GPL-3.0 license. A small static site can use free hosting, but a production budget may also include a domain, premium theme, storage, email service, analytics, comments or technical support.
Neither option is automatically cheaper for every publisher. Medium bundles infrastructure and platform features into one service. With Publii, the total depends on the hosting, domain, theme and external services you select.
Designing beyond a publication page
Medium provides a consistent interface and a defined set of publication layout controls. Publii lets you replace or modify the theme and its code.
A Medium publication can have a logo, description, header image, accent color, navigation, subpages and configurable homepage sections. These controls can organize a magazine or company blog, but the result still uses Medium's publication system and templates.
Publii themes control the entire website. You can build custom landing pages, navigation systems, article templates, author archives and content sections, then edit the underlying Handlebars, CSS and JavaScript when the theme settings are not enough.
This distinction matters when the publication supports a wider business. Product pages, documentation, resources, campaign landing pages and a blog can all share one Publii site and design system. Medium is better treated as a publication channel than as a general-purpose company website.
Your domain, design and services
Domain and hosting, themes and templates, site navigation, generated files, analytics provider, custom scripts, consent setup and the surrounding website.
That control also makes you responsible for configuration, backups, service selection and deployment credentials.
Medium’s hosted publication
Hosting, page templates, recommendation surfaces, supported embeds, analytics definitions, platform navigation, account rules and most of the reader experience.
You receive a consistent managed service and built-in network features, but fewer ways to change how the system works.
Solo writing and editorial teams
Publii supports multiple author profiles and assigns each post to an author, but its standard workflow is built around a desktop project rather than a shared browser dashboard.
Medium's publication tools support an owner, editors and writers. Writers can submit drafts or published stories. Editors can review submissions, request changes, accept or reject work, publish stories, edit publication content and view publication statistics. That workflow is available anywhere the contributor can sign in.
Publii stores the working project locally, and a site backup can be restored on another computer. Simultaneous editorial collaboration is not its native model. Teams need their own process for handing off drafts, controlling the project copy and deciding who publishes.
Publii suits a single publisher or a team that can use a clear handoff. Medium provides shared roles and submissions for publications with many contributors.
SEO controls and search visibility
Search visibility is possible with both. Publii exposes the site controls; Medium supplies the technical platform and decides which content is eligible for external indexing.
Publii's site settings cover page titles, meta descriptions, robots directives, URL patterns, pagination, XML sitemap content, Open Graph data and Twitter Card data. The generated HTML is deployed on the domain and host you choose.
Medium handles the page templates and technical delivery. Authors can set a canonical link when a story first appeared elsewhere, adjust its display title and subtitle, select topics and use a custom story URL. They cannot configure the platform's sitemap or install an SEO plugin.
Medium's SEO guidance describes a quality threshold that controls which content it makes available to external search engines. New creators may need time to reach it.
Medium controls that platform filter; search engines make their own indexing decisions. On your Publii site, you control the site-level directives and hosting access, without a separate publishing platform deciding which articles to expose.
Publish on your site, then import to Medium
If you want an independent archive and a presence on Medium, publish the original on your own domain and import a second version into Medium.
Publish the original article on your Publii site, where it becomes part of the domain and archive you control. Then use Medium's import tool to create a Medium version.
Medium's import tool backdates the story to the original publication date and adds a canonical link pointing to the source. If the importer cannot read the page correctly, you can paste the article manually and set the canonical URL in the story's advanced settings.
The canonical link signals your preferred source to search engines; it does not force them to select that URL. Review formatting, media and the canonical setting before publishing the Medium copy.
Owned-first distribution
Cross-publish with a canonical link
- Publish the original on your Publii site
- Establish its permanent URL on your domain
- Import that URL into Medium and review the draft
- Set the Publii URL as the preferred canonical source
Medium becomes the distribution copy. Your Publii site remains the original home.
Analytics and audience data
Medium's built-in statistics report activity within its own distribution and engagement systems.
Medium's statistics dashboard reports presentations, views, reads, followers and subscribers. Story-level reports add traffic sources and engagement details, with Partner Program earnings where applicable.
Medium does not support Google Analytics or arbitrary scripts, including on custom domains. You receive the metrics Medium provides, using Medium's definitions.
Publii does not include a central hosted analytics dashboard. You can leave the site untracked or connect Google Analytics, Matomo, Plausible or Umami through supported plugins, with custom code available for other setups. Consent, configuration, data quality and regulatory compliance remain your responsibility.
Newsletters, comments and revenue
A Medium publication can collect followers and newsletter subscribers, send newsletters, receive submissions and host reader responses without connecting a separate stack of services.
Writers who meet the Medium Partner Program requirements can enroll and earn from eligible paywalled stories based on member engagement. Requirements include an active membership, at least one published story, a complete profile, age and location eligibility, and agreement to the program terms and content policy.
Publii does not provide a native audience marketplace or revenue-sharing program. Advertising, sponsorships, affiliate links, paid downloads, memberships or subscriptions require compatible hosting, third-party services or custom integrations. You choose and operate that setup.
The same pattern applies to comments and email. Medium provides its own system. Publii supports several external comment services, while forms and newsletters require a service or custom integration selected by the publisher.
Hosting and maintenance
Medium manages the hosting platform. Publii removes the need to run a live CMS on the host.
On Medium, you do not patch a CMS, configure a CDN or manage uptime. Medium handles those systems and can change their features, rules, pricing and distribution logic.
With Publii, you update the desktop app, theme and plugins, keep project backups and maintain access to your hosting account. The public website consists of static files and runs without PHP or a CMS database. There is no public Publii login or CMS runtime to patch.
If a Publii host or service no longer fits, you can move the generated files to another compatible provider. Check redirects, HTTPS and integrations as part of that move.
Content ownership and moving your site
Medium's terms state that authors retain their rights to submitted content. Publishing there also grants Medium a license to display and distribute that content through its services.
Medium lets you export your stories as HTML files in a ZIP archive. It does not export the Medium platform, publication design, recommendation history or a standalone replacement for the hosted site.
A Publii project lives locally and can be saved as a restorable backup. The generated website is also a separate collection of ordinary files that can be moved to another compatible host.
Keep both the editable project and a copy of the published files. They serve different purposes when restoring or moving a Publii website.
Publii vs Medium FAQ
Does a custom domain turn Medium into an independent website?
No. The domain replaces the visible medium.com address for the profile or publication, but Medium still hosts the pages and applies its terms, features and technical restrictions.
Do you have to pay to write on Medium?
No. Medium says membership is not required to read or write. An active membership is required to create a Medium publication, connect a custom domain or enroll in the Medium Partner Program.
Does Publii have a Medium importer?
No. Publii does not have a dedicated Medium importer. Medium can export stories as HTML files in a ZIP archive, but moving them to Publii is a manual process. The posts or pages, metadata, formatting and media must be recreated and checked in the Publii project.
Can you publish the same article with Publii and Medium?
Yes. Publish the original on the Publii site, then import its URL into Medium or set the canonical link manually. Check the imported draft before publishing because page-specific formatting and embeds may need adjustment.
Which should you choose?
The permanent publishing home
Your own hosting, broad design control, configurable SEO, selectable analytics, local editing, portable site files and the freedom to combine the blog with a larger website.
A managed channel and network
A hosted editor, eligibility for Medium distribution, browser-based editorial roles, built-in engagement and Partner Program eligibility.
For a publication that needs its own design, integrations and hosting, choose Publii. For a managed publication inside an existing reader network, choose Medium. If you want both, keep the original articles on your own site and import selected copies into Medium.