VeloCMS vs Medium

Medium is their domain.
Not yours.

Every article you publish on Medium builds SEO authority for medium.com. Every reader you earn goes into their algorithm. There is no custom domain, no canonical you control, and no direct paywall — just a Partner Program that pays you per reading minute from their subscribers. VeloCMS gives you the writing experience without the platform dependency: your domain, your canonical, your Stripe checkout.

The SEO you build belongs to them

When you write on Medium, the canonical URL is medium.com/@you/your-article. Google indexes that as a Medium page, not your page. The domain authority you build through years of writing — hundreds of inbound links, thousands of reads, consistent topical signals — all of it sits on a domain you don't own. If Medium changes its algorithm, restricts your account, or eventually shuts down, that SEO history disappears. Writers who take their craft seriously understand this is a fundamental platform risk, not a minor inconvenience. VeloCMS publishes every article to your own domain with a canonical you control. The authority compounds under your name.

Monetisation that pays per reader, not per page view

Medium's Partner Program pays writers based on reading time from Medium subscribers — not from your readers specifically, but from any Medium subscriber who reads your work. Payouts are opaque and highly variable. A well-performing article might earn $50. The same article behind a $7/month paywall on VeloCMS earns $7 per reader who subscribes. The math works very differently when your readers are paying you directly. VeloCMS's native paywall gates posts behind a Stripe subscription tied to your account. You keep everything minus Stripe's standard processing fee.

Same clean writing experience, plus AI

One thing Medium does well is the writing environment — clean, distraction-free, no plugin clutter. VeloCMS's TipTap editor preserves that with a block-based editing surface that stays out of your way. The difference is that it ships Gemini-powered slash commands for outline generation, rewrite assistance, and SEO-optimised metadata suggestions. Medium has no AI editor. On VeloCMS, the AI layer helps you write faster without leaving the editor to open a separate tab.

VeloCMS vs Medium — feature by feature

FeatureVeloCMSMedium
Custom domainYesNo
Canonical tag controlFull control per postMedium controls canonical
Monetisation modelDirect paywall (100% to you)Partner Program (per read)
Platform fee0%Revenue share via Medium
AI-first editorYesNo
Email newsletterBuilt-in (Resend)Limited (notifications only)
Subscriber paywallNative (BYOK Stripe)Via Partner Program only
SEO metadata controlFull (title, description, OG, schema)Limited
Post exportJSON + HTMLHTML (images not included)
Multi-tenancyBuilt-inNo

Already on Medium? Migrate your articles in 3 steps.

  1. 1
    Download your Medium data. Medium Settings → Security and apps → Download your information. You will receive a ZIP file with HTML exports of all your posts within 24 hours.
  2. 2
    Re-host images to Cloudflare R2. Medium HTML exports reference images on Medium's CDN. VeloCMS's migration tool can fetch and re-upload referenced images to your Cloudflare R2 bucket automatically during import. No manual re-downloading required.
  3. 3
    Set canonicals and redirects. For articles still live on Medium, add a canonical import URL pointing to your new VeloCMS domain to tell Google which version to rank. The migration guide explains how to combine this with a Medium redirect notice.

Your domain from day one

VeloCMS includes custom domain support on every plan. Cloudflare for SaaS provisions TLS automatically. No more medium.com in the URL bar.

Full SEO canonical control

Set a unique title, meta description, Open Graph image, and canonical URL per post. VeloCMS generates JSON-LD Article schema automatically for every post.

Direct paywall — you keep the revenue

Gate posts behind a monthly or annual Stripe subscription. Your Stripe account receives payouts directly. No Partner Program algorithm, no opaque payout calculation.

AI-assisted TipTap editor

Write in a clean block editor with Gemini slash commands for outlines, rewrites, and SEO suggestions. Medium has no AI writing layer — you would need a separate tool.

Per-post free vs paid gating

Mark individual posts as free, member-only, or paid-only. Mix and match — offer a few free posts to grow your audience and gate premium content for paying readers.

Serif and Writer themes

Longform essay-friendly themes with generous line-height, optimised reading width, and drop-cap typography options. Built for the craft, not just the container.

What Medium migrants say

“Real customer quote coming soon. Migrated from Medium and reclaimed SEO authority on their own domain.”

— Beta user, 2026

“Real customer quote coming soon. Migrated from Medium and reclaimed SEO authority on their own domain.”

— Beta user, 2026

“Real customer quote coming soon. Migrated from Medium and reclaimed SEO authority on their own domain.”

— Beta user, 2026

Frequently asked questions

Does Medium support custom domains?
As of 2026, Medium does not offer custom domain support. Your publication lives at medium.com/@yourname or a Medium-hosted subdomain. You cannot point your own domain (e.g. yourname.com) to your Medium publication. VeloCMS supports custom domains on every plan, including self-hosted.
Who controls the canonical tag on Medium articles?
Medium controls the canonical tag on your articles. If you cross-post content originally published elsewhere, you can set a canonical import URL, but for native Medium posts the canonical is always medium.com. This means any SEO value from those articles accrues to Medium's domain, not yours. VeloCMS gives you full control over canonical tags per post.
How does Medium pay writers?
Medium pays Partner Program members based on reading time from paying Medium subscribers. Payouts vary widely — many writers earn under $5 per article unless they have a large following. VeloCMS lets you charge directly for access to specific posts or your entire publication via a Stripe-powered paywall, keeping 100% of what readers pay (minus Stripe fees).
Can I export my Medium articles?
Yes. Medium allows HTML export of your posts via Settings → Download your data. The export includes post HTML but not images hosted on Medium's CDN — those need to be re-downloaded separately. VeloCMS can import Medium HTML exports, and the migration guide covers image re-hosting to Cloudflare R2.
Is VeloCMS good for technical writers?
VeloCMS's TipTap editor supports code blocks with syntax highlighting, embedded code snippets, and AI-assisted technical writing via Gemini slash commands. Posts are served as static HTML with sub-700ms LCP, so code-heavy articles load fast. The Engineering or Hacker theme pairs well with technical content.

Write on your domain. Own the SEO. Keep the revenue.

14-day free trial. Import your Medium articles on day one. Custom domain included on every plan.