The Comparison
Feather vs. Medium
Feather turns a Notion page into a blog that Google can find and you fully own. Medium turns a post into an entry in someone else's feed, ranked by a curation algorithm and paid out by a formula that changes without much warning. Different jobs. Here's how to tell which one you actually need.
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Feather- Built for
- Ranking a blog on Google, on your own domain
- Engine
- Organic search
- Pricing
- One flat plan
- Best for
- A blog you control for years, not a post you rent for a week
- Built for
- Reach from Medium's existing reader network
- Engine
- Curation algorithm, email digests, Partner Program payouts
- Pricing
- Free to publish. Readers pay $5 a month past the paywall. Revenue share terms are opaque and change often
- Best for
- A short term reach boost for a single post, not a lasting audience
Read it like a spec sheet, not a pitch.
Only the SEO mechanics: not email, community, or payments.
Custom domain structure
Root, subfolder, or subdomain
yourdomain.com/blog, a subfolder that passes authority to your root domain, included on every plan.
A custom domain connects, but your root domain never earns the authority your posts build there. Google still treats it as a separate property.
Structured data
Rich snippets, article markup
Shipped automatically on every post, every plan.
No structured data or schema markup control, on any tier.
Sitemap & crawl control
How search engines find your posts
Auto updating sitemap on every plan.
No sitemap submission and no fast indexing tooling for writers.
Canonical control
Who Google decides owns a piece of content
Every post canonically lives on your own domain, full stop.
If the same words exist on Medium and on your site, Google picks one canonical version, and it is often Medium's.
0
Structured data fields Feather ships automatically on every post, every plan, that Medium gives writers to edit at any tier: zero.
How you grow
The actual distribution mechanism
Organic search. Each post is built to rank and compound over time, and the traffic is yours to keep.
Medium's curation algorithm and email digests, changed more than once in late 2025 and early 2026 with little notice. Reach for regular followers has been reported under 2 percent.
Reader experience
What happens when someone new finds your post
A post that loads and reads with nothing blocking it.
A hard paywall after a few free stories a month. Studies on paywalls put bounce rates at 60 to 70 percent.
Monetization
A real Feather gap, and a real Medium strength
Not offered. Feather has no payments or Partner Program style revenue share.
A share of membership revenue for stories members read, plus newer bonuses for search and email traffic. Payouts are opaque and some writers have reported income dropping more than 90 percent in a single month after an undisclosed change.
Pricing model
What you actually pay, or give up, to publish
One flat plan. No revenue share, ever.
Free to publish. Readers pay $5 a month to get past the paywall, and Medium keeps the algorithm and the payout formula, both subject to change without your say.
90%+
Feather has no algorithm standing between your post and your reader. One Medium writer reported a monthly income drop over 90 percent after an undisclosed late 2025 algorithm change.
Audience ownership
Who controls the reader relationship after you hit publish
Any email list or following you build lives on tools you choose and control completely.
Since 2025, Medium stopped showing or exporting new subscriber emails to writers entirely. Only lists built before that change are still exportable.
Discovery over time
Whether an old post keeps earning its keep
A post built to rank keeps compounding organic traffic for years. No algorithm change can take that away.
An older post's reach depends on whatever the curation algorithm favors that month, and that has changed several times over the past year.
2012 to 2024
Feather is one flat plan from day one. Medium, founded in 2012, didn't report its first profitable month until August 2024, the same business whose formula decides Partner Program payouts.
Most writers don't have to pick just one
Publish on Feather first. That's the version with a real address, full schema, and a sitemap entry. Then cross post the same piece to Medium with a canonical tag pointing back. You keep whatever reach Medium's network offers, and Google still credits the original to you.
Recommended if
You want a blog that keeps ranking and keeps its traffic for years, on a domain you actually own.
Not this one if
You want a short term reach boost from Medium's existing readers for a single post, and you're not counting on it as reliable income or a lasting asset.
“As a non-technical person, I can write and publish without worrying about breaking anything.”
UX Playbook · 18k → 109k organic page views · $0 ad spend
Already publishing on Medium?
Keep the reach. Own the address.
Most writers in this position don't delete their Medium account overnight. They give a post a real home on Feather first, then decide how much of Medium's network they still want.
Start publishing new posts on Feather
Write in Notion, toggle it live. Every post ships with schema, a sitemap entry, and a domain you control from day one.
Cross post to Medium with a canonical tag
Medium's own import tool supports a canonical link back to the original. Keep the extra reach, keep the credit.
Bring your best existing Medium posts over
Republish the posts you care about long term on Feather with full schema, then point the canonical field on Medium at the new home.
Build your own list, not Medium's
Grow an email list or following on tools you choose. None of it depends on a Partner Program payout formula that can change without notice.
The honest FAQ.
Should I switch from Medium to Feather?
Feather is the better home if you want a blog that keeps ranking on Google and keeps the traffic it earns, on your own domain. Medium can still help with extra reach on individual posts, just don't count on it for lasting traffic or reliable income, given how often its algorithm and payout rules have changed.
Can I use Feather and Medium together?
Yes. Publish on Feather as the original, full schema and sitemap included, then cross post to Medium with a canonical tag pointing back. You get Feather's compounding search traffic and whatever extra reach Medium's network offers, without giving up either.
Why doesn't my Medium post show up on Google?
A few structural reasons. Medium doesn't let writers control schema markup or submit a sitemap, and even with a custom domain connected, your root domain never gets the authority your posts earn. If the same content lives elsewhere too, Google may pick Medium's copy as canonical instead of yours.
Does Feather have a Partner Program like Medium?
No. Feather doesn't share ad or membership revenue, because Feather isn't a reader network, it's a way to publish your own blog. Feather isn't built to split Medium's membership revenue with you. If that's what you're after, that remains Medium's job.
Will I lose my Medium subscribers if I move to Feather?
Any subscriber list you built on Medium before 2025 can still be exported. Newer subscribers can't be, which is exactly why most writers moving to Feather focus on building a new list they actually own, on tools they control, rather than trying to migrate Medium's.
Tired of an algorithm deciding what your writing is worth?
Feather is built to rank the posts you want Google to find, on a domain you own for good. Keep cross posting to Medium for extra reach if you want, just don't depend on it. Start today, free for 7 days.
7 day trial. Runs alongside Medium, not instead of it.