Medium
Platform for paid long-form writing and reader subscriptions.
On the record
Checkpoint: Editor Partner Program full rollout, the test of whether new payout terms stop writer migration
The call
Medium is smaller and profitable now, but its writers are drifting to Substack and AI is commoditizing the content it built its name on.
Medium is a website where writers publish long-form articles and readers discover them. The company finally made money in late 2024 after 12 years of losses, which is real progress. However, Substack is pulling writers away by letting them keep email addresses and earn a bigger cut, and artificial intelligence can now generate thousands of similar articles automatically, making Medium's basic offering less unique. The biggest question is whether enough writers stay on Medium or leave for Substack, since writers are what readers come for.
Why
01
AI pressure: Generative AI tools (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini). AI now writes the generic how-to and listicle posts that used to fill Medium, for free, undercutting its core content type. Could AI do the core job? Yes, likely.
02
Bigger players: Substack. Substack pays writers up to 90% and lets them keep their email lists, and Medium writers are documented moving there. Could a giant copy it? Yes, easily.
03
What protects it. Medium turned profitable in August 2024 after years of losses, buying it time even with no fix for writer migration.
What would change this call
Medium's Editor Partner Program full rollout in July 2026 lands and writer reaction over following months. Shows whether Medium can slow writer migration to Substack or keeps losing creators.
Further Partner Program payout-formula changes beyond the six already made since October 2025. Shows whether Medium has found a stable monetization model or is still improvising.
Any new priced funding round or acquisition offer for Medium within the next year. Would reveal real post-restructuring valuation and investor confidence.
Further Partner Program payout-formula changes beyond the six already made since October 2025. Shows whether Medium has found a stable monetization model or is still improvising.
Any new priced funding round or acquisition offer for Medium within the next year. Would reveal real post-restructuring valuation and investor confidence.
Key numbers
- Was losing $2.6M per month before 2022 turnaround
- Headcount cut from 250 to 77 employees
- $225M in liquidation preferences sit ahead of equity
Named risks
- Writer migration to Substack accelerating, eroding content supply.
- AI-generated 'slop' flooding platform faster than detection tools can filter.
- $225M liquidation preferences ahead of employee equity leave little upside for new equity holders.
- Partner Program formula changed six times Oct 2025-mid 2026, causing 70-90% writer payout swings.
- No new priced funding round since 2016; stale $600M valuation with no reset transparency.
Rivals, as read in July 2026
| Rival | Direction | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Substack | losing to | Writers documented migrating from Medium to Substack by Dec 2025, citing ~90% revenue share vs Medium payout volatility |
| contesting | Cited by 2026 creator comparisons as a rising alternative for professional thought-leadership content | |
| Beehiiv | contesting | Competing newsletter/creator-monetization platform referenced in 2025-2026 comparison content |
| Ghost | contesting | Self-hosted publishing alternative offering platform independence writers seek |
| Google (AI Overviews) | losing to | Medium's organic discovery model faces pressure from AI-generated search summaries reducing referral traffic, 2025-2026 |
Questions people ask
- Is Medium profitable in 2026?
- Medium hit its first profitable month in August 2024, the first profit in the company's roughly 12-year history, and CEO Tony Stubblebine said it remained profitable every month through at least July 2025, after cutting staff from 250 to 77 and exiting its SF office.
- Is Medium losing writers to Substack?
- Yes. Multiple writers and editors publicly documented shifting to Substack in late 2025, drawn by roughly 90% revenue share and portable email lists, versus Medium's volatile Partner Program that some writers say cut payouts 70-90% overnight in early 2025.
- Could AI replace Medium's content?
- Medium's core product, generic long-form explainers and how-tos, is exactly what generative AI mass-produces cheaply. Medium banned fully AI-generated posts from earning Partner Program payouts on May 1, 2024, and built curation tools to fight an 'AI slop' flood on the platform.
- Who owns Medium?
- Medium is privately held (A Medium Corporation). Founder Evan Williams stepped down as CEO on July 20, 2022 to become Chairman; Tony Stubblebine became CEO. A 2022 cram-down restructuring left $225M in liquidation preferences ahead of employee equity, per Stubblebine's July 2025 account.
- What is Medium's biggest competitor?
- Substack, which offers writers about 90% revenue share and audience ownership via exportable email lists, versus Medium's engagement-based Partner Program that has changed six times between October 2025 and mid-2026, driving documented writer migration to Substack.
- Did Medium raise a new funding round recently?
- No new priced round has been publicly reported. Medium's last cited valuation, about $600M, dates to its April 2016 Series C led by Spark Capital. The 2022 restructuring was a distressed cram-down of $225M in liquidation preferences, not a new funding round.
Timeline
- 2026-06Editor Partner Program opens beyond pilot group after June 1 launch
- 2026-05-05Editor Partner Program launched June 1, 2026, paying editors 25% of story earnings
- 2026-05Boost Nomination Program discontinued, folded into Editor Partner Program
- 2025-12Prominent Medium writers/editors publicly documented moving to Substack
- 2025-07-11CEO Stubblebine details turnaround: 250 to 77 staff, $225M liquidation preferences
- 2024-08Medium records first profitable month in company history
- 2024-05-01Medium bans fully AI-generated content from Partner Program payouts
- 2023-11-28Friend of Medium $15/month premium tier launched
- 2022-08-12Medium lays off 29 employees
- 2022-08-01Tony Stubblebine becomes CEO, Evan Williams becomes Chairman
Revision history
24 July 2026
First assessed. Protection under test. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.
In the same band
Sources
- Medium's CEO explains what it took to stop losing $2.6M monthly (2025-07-11)
- Medium names technology and digital media veteran Tony Stubblebine CEO (2022-08-01)
- Medium
- Medium Stock Price, Funding, Valuation, Revenue & Financial Statements (2023-12-05)
- Medium (website) (2026-06-12)
- News about Medium Staff (2022-08-12)
- How Medium Pays Writers in 2026 (2026-07-02)
- Partner Program update (2026-05-05)
- Medium Changes Course Again by Ending Boosts (2026-05-10)
- Is The Medium Partner Program Legit? (2026-06-03)
- Tony Stubblebine, Medium (2025-12-26)
- Substack