Publii vs Medium

Publii builds the finished 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.

A custom domain changes the address. It does not change who runs the platform.

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.

That distribution can extend a story's circulation, but it is not guaranteed. Medium decides how its recommendation and indexing systems work. Medium's statistics FAQ says that a new writer may receive few or no presentations, especially without submitting the story to a publication.

Publii does not promise discovery. It gives you the technical base for earning it: a site on your domain, crawlable pages, direct links, an XML sitemap and the freedom to connect your preferred email, analytics and promotion tools.

Medium can add platform distribution. Publii keeps the original article and the traffic it earns on your domain.

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.

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.

Medium publications have 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.

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 also limits which content it makes available to external search engines. Its help center says a new creator may need time to meet the internal quality threshold for indexing.

That does not make Medium unsuitable for search. It means the final indexing decision includes a platform-level filter the publisher does not control.

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.

The import tool backdates the Medium story to the original publication date and automatically 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.

This keeps the original URL as the canonical source while the Medium version remains eligible for distribution through publications, feeds and recommendations. Review the imported draft, including its formatting and media, before publishing.

In this workflow, Publii is the publishing home and Medium is an additional channel.

The Medium dashboard reports presentations, views, reads, followers and subscribers. Detailed story statistics can also show traffic sources, read ratio, claps, highlights, responses and 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.

Eligible writers accepted into the Medium Partner Program can place stories behind Medium's paywall and earn according to member engagement. Participation requires an active Medium membership, at least one published story, a complete profile, age and location eligibility, and acceptance of the program terms.

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.

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 normally consists of static files, so there is no Publii login, application server or database to patch online.

Medium can change platform features, rules and distribution. If a Publii host or service no longer fits, you can deploy the site files elsewhere. Medium reduces infrastructure work; Publii preserves the choice of infrastructure.

Medium lets you export your stories as HTML files in a ZIP archive. That is a real exit path for the writing. 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.

Content ownership answers who holds the rights. Platform ownership answers who controls the place where the content is published. They are not the same question.

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 apply to 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.