- What is Medium, and how does Medium work?
- How does Medium make money?
- Subscription Revenue (Medium Membership)
- Medium subsidiaries, acquisitions, and exits
- Medium profit and revenue
- What is the Medium business and revenue model?
- Medium funding, net worth, and valuation
How does Medium.com make money and how is it free to read? Here is a full, in depth, breakdown of their main revenue stream and services they offer, as well as the Medium business and revenue model, how much Medium makes per year, and how Medium works.
What is Medium, and how does Medium work?
Medium is an online publishing platform that allows users to easily write their own blog articles and or read others they find of interest.
Founded in 2012 by Evan Williams, Medium now attracts more than 100 million readers per month.
So, how does Medium work? To read or write on Medium, users must first either visit their website; or download their mobile app in the Apple App Store or Google Play store and create an account.
Once signed up, readers and writers can follow topics they’re interested in, follow and subscribe to writers they like, and start writing and building their own readership. In addition, readers also have the option to upgrade to a paid membership that offers a few extra perks.
Some of Medium’s competitors include Substack, Wattpad, Tumblr, Twitter, Quora, Reddit, Blogger, and other online publishing platforms.


How does Medium make money?
According to Medium, Medium.com attracts more than 100 million readers per month to their website, mobile app, and newsletter.
So how does Medium make money off of all these readers and traffic?
Below is a breakdown of how much money Medium makes and its revenue model. Including their main revenue stream and how much they charge for their services.
Here is how Medium makes money in 2022
Medium has a revenue model that makes money in just one (1) way; through their subscription revenue with Medium Membership.
#1. Subscription Revenue (Medium Membership)
Medium makes all of its money from the subscription revenue they generate from their paying members.
For a subscription fee of $5 per month, members get access to read any article in Medium’s entire published library across all devices; including unlimited “members-only” stories and an ad free experience.
On top of that, Medium says, a portion of all subscriber membership fees go directly towards supporting the writers they read the most.
Medium.com Subscription Cost:
- $5 per month, or $50 per year
Note: Of the more than 100 million monthly readers, Medium does not make public how many of those are paying members.
Medium subsidiaries, acquisitions, and exits
To date, Medium has made a total of 8 acquisitions.


Medium profit and revenue
Medium has not released any official reports in regards to company earnings.
Note: Because Medium is a privately held company, they are not required to make their annual reporting, such as Form 10-K’s, pubic.
What is the Medium business and revenue model?
Medium makes money through a few revenue models that they combine within their company, they are:
- Freemium business model
- Subscription based business model
- Revenue sharing business model
- Advertising business model
- Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) business model
Medium funding, net worth, and valuation
According to Medium’s Crunchbase profile, Medium has raised $163 million over 4 rounds and has a post-money valuation of $500 million to $1 billion as of April 21, 2016.