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Medium vs NewsBlur

Medium logo

Medium

News

The best place to read and write stories on the internet

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
NewsBlur logo

NewsBlur

News

A personal news reader bringing people together

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Medium unlimited access to stories requires a paid Medium membership; NewsBlur the free account is limited to 64 sites
  • They diverge on capability: Medium covers Story publishing, NewsBlur covers Intelligence training.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Medium and NewsBlur actually diverge.

Attributes where Medium and NewsBlur differ
AttributeMediumNewsBlur
PlatformsWeb, MobileWeb, Ios, Android
Founded20122010

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (freemium), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (News).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Medium

  • Story publishing
  • Member program
  • Earning potential
  • Reading time estimates
  • Clap reactions
  • Highlighting & annotations
  • Story recommendations
  • Following system

Only in NewsBlur

  • Intelligence training
  • Story sharing
  • Original site view
  • Text view
  • Blurblogs
  • Pocket
  • Instapaper
  • Evernote

Both cover

  • Twitter
  • Web support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Medium

  • Publishing articles without running your own blognot NewsBlur
  • Reading long-form writing across technology, culture and newsnot NewsBlur
  • Earning from writing through the Medium Partner Programnot NewsBlur

NewsBlur

  • Reading RSS feeds with training that filters by author, tag or titlenot Medium
  • Archiving full article content from followed sitesnot Medium
  • Following a large number of feeds with fast refreshnot Medium

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Medium

  • Unlimited access to stories requires a paid Medium membership
  • Audio versions of stories are a member-only feature
  • Earning money from writing requires joining the Medium Partner Program rather than being automatic
  • The iOS app requires iOS 17.0 or later

NewsBlur

  • The free account is limited to 64 sites
  • Search and text view extraction require Premium at $36 per year
  • Premium is capped at 1,024 sites and Premium Archive at 4,096 sites
  • Full content archiving and the Daily Briefing require Premium Archive at $99 per year
  • The fastest 5 to 15 minute feed refresh and regex training require Premium Pro at $29 per month
  • Site following is capped at 10,000 even on the top tier

Pricing, plan by plan

Medium

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Unlimited reading
    • Publishing platform
    • Story drafts
  • Medium Membership$5/month
    • Unlimited access
    • Exclusive stories
    • Member earnings

NewsBlur

Free
  • Free TierFree
    • Follow up to 64 sites
    • Real-time RSS updates
    • Train stories by author, tag, title
  • Premium$36/year
    • Follow up to 1024 sites
    • 5x more frequent updates
    • River of News, search, saved stories with tags
  • Premium Archive$99/year
    • Follow up to 4096 sites
    • Web feeds from any website
    • Story clustering, daily briefing, full archive and search
  • Premium Pro$29/month
    • All Archive features plus up to 10000 sites
    • Feeds fetched every 5 to 15 minutes
    • Regex training, priority support

Which should you pick?

Choose Medium if

  • You need story publishing.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Mobile.
  • You also want member program.
Medium review

Choose NewsBlur if

  • You need intelligence training.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want story sharing.
NewsBlur review

Questions people ask

Is Medium or NewsBlur better?
Neither clearly leads. Medium starts at Free and NewsBlur at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Medium or NewsBlur?
Medium starts at Free and NewsBlur at Free.
Does Medium or NewsBlur run on more platforms?
Medium runs on Web, Mobile. NewsBlur runs on Web, Ios, Android.
Can I use Medium for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Medium best used for?
Medium is most often used for publishing articles without running your own blog, reading long-form writing across technology, culture and news, earning from writing through the medium partner program. Of those, publishing articles without running your own blog and reading long-form writing across technology, culture and news are not what NewsBlur is typically brought in for.
What can Medium do that NewsBlur cannot?
Medium covers Story publishing, Member program, Earning potential, Reading time estimates. NewsBlur covers Intelligence training, Story sharing, Original site view, Text view. Both handle Twitter, Web support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

NewsBlur: Is NewsBlur free?

NewsBlur offers a free tier allowing users to follow up to 64 RSS feeds with real-time updates, story training, and public sharing.

Source
NewsBlur: What does Premium plan include?

Premium plan costs 36 dollars per year and includes following up to 1024 sites with 5x more frequent updates, River of News feature, search functionality, and saved stories with tags.

Source
NewsBlur: Is there a free trial?

Every new NewsBlur account starts with a free 30-day premium trial. No credit card is required to start.

Source
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