Free blog platforms compared
Outrank Blogs vs Medium
Medium is a publishing network: you write, and Medium decides who sees it. Your posts live on medium.com and build Medium’s authority, and a custom domain needs a paid membership. Outrank Blogs puts the blog on your own domain, for free, so every post works for your website.
Side by side
Free plans compared
Based on both products’ public pages. Last checked October 2026.
| Feature | Outrank Blogs | Medium |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free up to 10,000 visits a month. Autopilot plan $99/month | Free to publish |
| Address on the free plan | yourbrand.outrankblog.com, not indexed by search engines until you connect your own domain | medium.com/@yourname |
| Your own domain | Free: blog.yourbrand.com or a domain used only for the blog | Requires a paid Medium membership |
| Blog in a subfolder (yourbrand.com/blog) | Free, with Next.js, Vercel, Netlify, Cloudflare or nginx | Not available |
| Ads on the free plan | No ads. A small “Published with Outrank” badge in the footer | No ads; stories can sit behind Medium’s member paywall |
| SEO controls | Sitemap, RSS, structured data, canonical tags, 301 redirects, IndexNow and llms.txt, set up for you | Per-story SEO title, description and canonical link |
| Email subscribers | Sign-up forms, subscriber list, CSV export and webhooks. You send emails from your own email tool | Readers can follow you and get your stories by email |
| Analytics | Built-in analytics without cookies, plus Google Analytics 4 or Tag Manager | Story stats inside Medium |
| Free plan limits | 10,000 visits a month. Two months in a row over it pauses new posts; the blog stays online | Medium controls the design and who sees your posts; no custom code |
Honest take
Where each one is better
Where Outrank Blogs is better
- Posts build your own domain’s authority, not medium.com’s
- Your own design, logo, navigation and calls to action
- Subscriber list you own and can export
- Google Analytics, Tag Manager and built-in analytics
- Outrank can research keywords and publish SEO articles for you
Where Medium is better
- A built-in audience that can discover your posts
- Medium’s Partner Program to earn from member reads
- Zero setup: write and publish
Choose Outrank Blogs if
- You want readers to land on your website, not medium.com
- You want to turn readers into subscribers or customers
- You care about ranking your own domain in search
Choose Medium if
- You mainly want reach inside Medium’s network
- You want to earn from Medium’s Partner Program
- You do not need your own website
Switching
How to move from Medium
- 1Create your free blog and connect your own domain.
- 2Publish your best posts on your blog first.
- 3If you keep posting on Medium, set the canonical link of each Medium story to the original post on your blog.
- 4Add a link to your blog in your Medium profile so readers can follow you there.
Compare and set up
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FAQ
Outrank Blogs vs Medium: questions
Short answers to what people ask most.
Is a Medium blog good for SEO?
Medium stories can rank, but they rank for medium.com. A blog on your own domain builds your site’s authority, which is what helps your product or service pages rank too.
Can I use Outrank Blogs and Medium together?
Yes. Publish on your Outrank blog first, then republish on Medium with the canonical link pointing to your blog. Medium lets authors set a canonical link in a story’s advanced settings.
Can I use my own domain on Medium for free?
No. Custom domains on Medium require a paid membership. Outrank Blogs includes your own domain or a subfolder of your website on the free plan.
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