# Medium vs Spotify for Creators

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Spotify for Creators at none against Medium's 6. Spotify for Creators also leads on review sentiment (74% vs 62%). Medium's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and chart position (#16 vs #53). On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Medium sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Spotify for Creators asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Medium against 4.8 for Spotify for Creators. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 157K and 118K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 62% of Medium's written reviews are positive against 74% of Spotify for Creators's.

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly weekly. Both last shipped on October 19, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Medium | Spotify for Creators |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.8 (157K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/medium-read-and-write-stories/id828256236/reviews) | [4.8 (118K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/spotify-for-creators/id1056182234/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **157K** | 118K |
| Positive reviews | 62.1% of reviews | **74.3% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Weekly | Weekly |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | **#16** | #53 |
| Size | 119 MB | 65 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 18.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [A Medium Corporation](https://appshunter.io/developer/828256239) | [Spotify](https://appshunter.io/developer/324684583) |

## What reviewers say

### Medium

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/medium-read-and-write-stories/id828256236)

**Currently charting:** #16 Top Grossing · News, #45 Top Free · News (US App Store)

Access a vast collection of human stories, expert advice, and inspiring insights. Discover new topics, follow your interests, and connect with a global community of readers and writers. Publish your own work and reach a wide audience.

**Highlights:** Distraction-free reading, Curated content on tech, culture, news, Unlimited story access with membership, Personalized reading library, Community engagement (claps, comments), Publishing platform for writers, Audio versions of stories (Member feature)

**In-app purchases (5)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Medium Membership | $4.99 | per month |
| Medium Membership | $4.99 | per month |
| Friend Membership | $14.99 | per month |
| Medium Membership | $49.99 | per year |
| Friend Membership | $149.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 📚 Excellent content and writing quality
- 🌐 Wide variety of topics and perspectives
- 🧠 Thought-provoking and informative articles
- 🤓 Useful for learning and personal growth
- 🎨 Clean and minimalist design

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔒 Paywall limits access to content
- 📥 Difficulty finding and accessing past articles
- 🔍 Lack of effective search and filtering options
- 🤖 Concerns about AI-generated content
- 🖥️ Suboptimal experience on larger screens

**Reported bugs**

- Frequent app crashes and freezes
- Login and authentication issues
- Syncing and data loss problems
- Compatibility problems with newer OS versions
- Unreliable push notifications

**Requested features**

- Offline reading mode
- Better organization and navigation of content
- Improved personalization and recommendation system
- Integration with other platforms and services
- Enhanced writing and publishing tools


### Spotify for Creators

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/spotify-for-creators/id1056182234)

**Currently charting:** #53 Top Free · News (US App Store)

This app helps podcast and video creators manage, grow, and monetize their content. It offers tools for audience engagement, performance tracking, and seamless content publishing. Creators can host their shows for free and distribute them across platforms.

**Highlights:** Host and distribute podcasts for free, Reach and engage new audiences, Monetize content with subscriptions and ads, Track podcast analytics and audience insights, Manage multiple shows, Customize show appearance on Spotify, Interact with fan comments and create polls

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Easy to use
- 🚀 Seamless podcast distribution
- 👍 Great for beginners
- 👍 Customizable podcast features
- 👍 Helpful customer support

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Buggy recording and editing
- 🐛 Unreliable connection during group recordings
- 🔋 High battery consumption
- 🔒 Lack of accessibility features
- 👎 Aggressive branding and monetization

**Reported bugs**

- Recordings getting lost or corrupted
- Inconsistent performance across devices
- Inability to delete or recover deleted content
- Syncing issues between mobile and web versions

**Requested features**

- Pause and resume recording functionality
- Advanced audio editing tools
- Ability to manage multiple podcasts
- Improved podcast discovery and analytics
- Better integration with external audio tools


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Medium free?

Medium is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Spotify for Creators free?

Spotify for Creators is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Medium or Spotify for Creators?

Medium and Spotify for Creators are both rated 4.8 out of 5 on the App Store, from 157K and 118K ratings respectively.

### Do Medium or Spotify for Creators have ads?

Spotify for Creators shows ads; Medium does not.

### Which is updated more often, Medium or Spotify for Creators?

Medium ships an update weekly, and Spotify for Creators weekly. Most recently, Medium was updated on October 19, 2026 and Spotify for Creators on October 19, 2026.

### Which is more popular, Medium or Spotify for Creators?

Medium currently peaks at #16 in the App Store charts, and Spotify for Creators at #53. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

---

*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*