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The Ultimate Showdown: Blogger, Medium, or beehiiv?
Find the best home for your writing, build an audience, and monetize your craft
Aaron Nichols
February 23rd, 2025
6 Key Comparisons: Blogger vs. Medium vs. beehiiv
If you want to share your writing online and build an audience, you have plenty of platforms to choose from.
Three of the most popular options are Blogger, Medium, and beehiiv. Each has different strengths and works better for certain writers or content creators.
To help you decide, we'll compare these three platforms based on the six most important factors you should consider when choosing a platform. We'll also look at for whom each platform is best.
Choose wisely—it’s always better to start with a platform that grows with you than to start growing and have to migrate to a better platform later.
Table of Contents
Why Listen to Me?
I’ve written on Medium for years and made money from the platform through the great fortune of having several stories go viral. I’ve also written for beehiiv for more than a year now and know the ins and outs of the platform. You can connect with me on LinkedIn here.
Cost and Pricing Models
Blogger:
Blogger is free—no monthly fees, no hidden costs. Google owns it, so you can start a blog and keep it running without paying anything. This is great if you're on a tight budget or just starting.
The downside is that it's very bare-bones. You don't get any fancy features or premium support. But if you want to spend nothing and just write, Blogger is a good choice.
Medium:
Medium lets anyone write for free. Readers can also read three stories per month for free. However, Medium also has a membership plan that costs $5 a month.
Members get unlimited access to all the articles on the site. Writers who pay the $5 membership fee can join the Medium Partner Program and earn money based on how much readers engage with their stories.
If you want a built-in audience and a way to make some (likely minimal) money from your writing, Medium might be for you.
beehiiv:
beehiiv is made for newsletters and includes a website builder that writers can optimize for SEO discoverability. The Launch plan is free for writers until they hit 2500 subscribers.
If writers want more advanced tools, better analytics, and the ability to handle more subscribers, they can pay for the "Scale" or "Max" plans, which include many more features.
Writers who are serious about growing a newsletter and making money from it will likely need a paid plan. beehiiv works best for those who want to invest in building an email list and eventually earning income from their email newsletter.
Ease of Use and Setup
Blogger:
Blogger is very simple to use. You can create a blog in minutes if you have a Google account.
It's easy to pick a template and begin writing right away.
You don't need any special skills or coding know-how. Blogger is a friendly choice for beginners or people who want to start writing without any fuss or fancy gadgets.
Medium:
Medium is also straightforward to use. Signing up is quick, and their text editor is clean and simple. Writers can focus on writing without worrying about technical issues like hosting or site design.
Adding images, videos, and quotes is as simple as pasting in a link. If you want a good-looking online place for your writing with no hassle, Medium is a great option.
beehiiv:
beehiiv focuses on newsletters rather than blog posts. It's also quite easy to set up. It's easy for new users to create an account, pick a template for their newsletter, and start sending emails to their subscribers.
Writers can also use the website builder to create organically discoverable pages to drive growth.
Even for writers who've never done email marketing before, beehiiv's easy to use.
beehiiv was made to help writers get started fast, so they can spend more time writing newsletters and less time figuring out how everything works.
Customization and Design Options
Blogger:
Blogger offers a few templates with very basic customization options. Writers can change colors, fonts, and layouts, but it only offers a lot of options if writers know some HTML or CSS.
Blogger's choices will be fine for anyone happy with a simple look that doesn't need a ton of design freedom.
Medium:
Medium's design is clean and simple. It looks clean on both mobile and desktop. However, Medium keeps a consistent style across all blogs, so writers can't really create a unique brand look.
Medium might be good if you want to focus on writing rather than design. But for writers who want a customized, unique look, Medium may feel limited.
beehiiv:
beehiiv offers user-friendly templates for all newsletters. Writers can change colors, fonts, and layouts to match any imagined style.
Writers get more freedom than on Medium without the complexity of building a website. Writers can still have their own custom "brand feel" without needing to be design experts.
Blogging Features and Tools
Blogger:
Blogger has all the basic features writers need to write posts, add images, and let readers leave comments. It has no advanced features or fancy tools. But for writers who want a simple blogging tool without extra distractions, Blogger's basic setup might be just what you need.
Medium:
Medium puts writing first. Its editor is made to focus on telling a great story and makes it easy to add images, videos, and links.
Medium also has a strong community of readers and writers. While there aren't any extra widgets or plug-ins, Medium's built-in community makes publishing content fun.
beehiiv:
beehiiv is focused on sending newsletters. Writers write newsletters for their subscribers that are hosted on a native website and searchable after publishing. They can also lock content behind a paywall for their most engaged subscribers.
beehiiv offers tools to help writers manage their email lists, schedule sends, and even set up automatic emails. If your main goal is building an email list, beehiiv's tools are perfect for that.
SEO Capabilities and Performance
Blogger:
Since Google owns Blogger, it works smoothly with Google Analytics and Google Search Console. These tools help writers see how their site is doing in search results and understand their readers better.
Blogger's blogs usually load fast, and writers don't need to fiddle with page speed. There aren't a lot of advanced SEO tools; but for simple needs, it's enough.
Medium:
Medium has strong "domain authority," which means that search engines trust the site. Posts can rank well if they get good engagement within Medium and match what people are searching for.
Medium handles sitemaps and meta tags behind the scenes. Writers can't add SEO plug-ins, but posts on Medium often do well on their own because it's a trusted platform with lots of readers.
beehiiv:
beehiiv is all about emails and SEO discoverability. Writers’ newsletters are also published on a simple native webpage to make them visible to search engines.
beehiiv’s website builder allows writers to optimize their content for search engines by writing custom meta descriptions and titles for each post and choosing whether or not to allow site indexing.
Audience Engagement and Monetization
Blogger:
Blogger has a simple comment section where readers can leave feedback. Writers can also put Google AdSense ads on their blogs to earn money.
However, there aren't any built-in ways to monetize. Writers must promote their blogs elsewhere and build blog revenue the old-fashioned way—through affiliate partnerships and cross-promotional content.
Medium:
Medium is all about community and interaction. Readers can "clap" for posts they like and leave thoughtful comments. Medium also recommends articles to people who might enjoy them, which helps with discoverability.
Writers who join the Medium Partner Program can earn money when paying members spend time reading their stories. It's tough to make a full-time living doing this, but a few people have.
beehiiv:
beehiiv lets writers track how many people open their emails, click their links, and subscribe or unsubscribe. This data helps writers understand what their readers like and don't like, making monetizing easier than Blogger and Medium, where stats and data are minimal.
Writers can also earn money by offering paid newsletters, showing ads, or using other built-in money-making tools. beehiiv was designed to help writers start, grow, and monetize newsletters, and we're very, very good at it.
4 Advantages of Using Blogger
Blogger may not be as flashy as some newer platforms, but it still has a lot going for it—especially for anyone new to blogging who just wants something simple to use.
Free Platform With Unlimited Storage
Blogger costs nothing, and writers can host as many posts as they want for free. This is great for anyone who doesn't want to spend money on a blog or just wants to share their thoughts without worrying about paying for anything or dealing with complex algorithms.
Integration With Google Services
Blogger directly integrates with Google tools. Writers can use Google Analytics to see how many visitors they've had and where they came from (though anyone who's had to use GA4 knows it's no picnic).
These limited tracking and analytics tools can help writers develop a basic understanding of their audience.
Simple User Interface
Blogger's dashboard is easy to use. Writers who've never created a website can pick it up quickly, making it a smart choice for beginners who don't want a steep learning curve.
AdSense Monetization Options
Since Blogger is a Google product, it's easy for writers to integrate AdSense ads into their blog. It’s possible to earn a bit of money if readers click on these ads.
While it will not make the blog's owner a millionaire, AdSense is a simple way for writers to start monetizing their content.
4 Benefits of Using Medium for Writers
Medium is known for its strong reading and writing community. It's a place where good writing can really shine without writers needing to take on the headaches that come from building and maintaining websites.
Built-In Audience for Content Discovery
When writers post on Medium, their work appears on a platform that readers trust.
Medium can share their stories with people who are already interested in the topic, so they don't have to start from zero when looking for readers.
Clean and Minimalistic Design
Medium's style is simple and straightforward. It puts words front and center.
Writers don't need to fuss with design. The lack of choices make it easy for writers to forget about design and branding and focus on telling authentic stories.
Easy Clapping and Interaction
Readers can "clap" to show they liked a story, and they can leave comments to share their thoughts. This connects readers and writers and encourages more interaction between them. It also makes it easier for writers to build community around their work.
Monetization Through the Medium Partner Program
If writers join the Partner Program, they can earn money when paying Medium members spend time reading their stories. The more people like the content, the more writers earn!
Since the Medium algorithm measures read time to decide on engagement, it's a great way to learn how to write compellingly.
5 Reasons To Choose beehiiv for Newsletters and Content
If writers want to send content directly to their audience's inboxes, build a loyal subscriber base, and monetize fast, beehiv is their best bet.
beehiiv is built for sending emails, not just posting on a blog page. This makes it easier to reach subscribers directly and build a community rather than locking content behind a strict writer/reader relationship.
User-Friendly Templates for Customization
beehiiv allows writers to pick from a vast buffet of ready-made templates and adjust colors, fonts, and layouts. Writers can make their newsletters look unique without knowing design or needing to code.
Advanced Analytics for Subscriber Engagement
beehiiv's 3D Analytics tool offers insights that aren't normally accessible to newsletter writers, including a comprehensive view of newsletter content performance and key metrics like open rates, click-through rates, subscriber acquisition channels, and engagement trends.
beehiiv allows writers to segment their audiences based on their behaviors and preferences, so they can tailor their newsletters for better engagement.
High Deliverability and Engagement Rates
beehiiv works hard to ensure that writers’ emails don't land in spam folders. That means more people see their newsletters and can engage with their content, making it easier for writers to monetize that engagement, in turn.
Flexible Monetization Options
Using beehiiv, writers can charge for unique, "premium" newsletters, join beehiiv's Ad Network, set up paid boosts, offer cross-promotions, and more.
Writers can earn money from an email list in many ways, and beehiiv has made it easy to do all of them without leaving the platform!
Conclusion: Which Platform Should You Choose?
Think about what you want to achieve with your writing:
Pick Blogger if you're a beginner or hobby blogger who wants a free, easy-to-use platform. Blogger is perfect if you don't need a lot of extra bells and whistles and simply want a place to write.
Pick Medium if you're a writer who wants a built-in audience and a clean, simple place to publish. Medium is great if you want people to find your work easily and simultaneously earn a bit of money through the Partner Program.
Pick beehiiv if your main goal is to build a newsletter and monetize your writing. If you want to grow an email list and earn money from subscriptions or ads, beehiiv is your platform.
No matter which one you choose, remember that your success ultimately depends on creating great content and connecting with readers.
Whether you like the simplicity of Blogger, the community feel of Medium, or the focused tools of beehiiv, each platform can help you share your voice and grow your audience.
Since beehiiv is free for anyone with less than 2500 subscribers, why not try it?
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