Platform Review : Vocal Versus Medium

I have been publishing my poems, fiction and non-fiction writing on Vocal and Medium since May and June 2021 respectively, so after three years I feel I have a handle on both platforms.

They are both very similar and both very different.

Here are my list of pros and cons :

Earnings

Let’s face it, we deserve to earn for all our hard work and I feel for any writers, this point is important.

It may come as a shock to many to learn that I earn on average every month on Medium, what I have earned throughout the entire three years on Vocal.

Wow……let that sink in!

It has taken me three years to earn on Vocal what I earn monthly on Medium.

Website Stability

Sadly, Vocal’s website is considerably more unstable than Medium. Vocal regularly has issues with the site, sometimes making it totally unusable, whereas I don’t remember having an issue with Medium’s site in the entire three years I’ve been a member.

Challenges

This is an area that Vocal does reign over Medium as they do have their regular challenges. Not up to the same standard as they used to when I first started with Vocal, not even close, but it’s not an area that Medium competes in.

In fact, in three years I’ve only ever seen Medium hold one challenge.

Publications

Medium is the forerunner in this area as Vocal hasn’t even attempted to branch out to accommodate publications, which is a shame, because it’s a popular avenue for Medium writers.

Tagging

Medium allows writers to tag fellow members, albeit very carefully I must admit, but Vocal does fall down in this area, severely.

Top Story

Vocal’s Top Story is very popular with some of its members. Sadly, this has become more of a popularity contest, rather than a recognition of good writing, but it does give the cool kids on the block the means to stand out and shine.

Editing

Medium allows a writer to edit any detail of their story at any point in the publication process, which is a bonus as mistakes do slip through on occasion. However, the real bonus is that images and titles / sub titles can be swapped out and refreshed as the need arises.

Vocal does allow the general body of a story to be edited after publication but unfortunately swapping out the main image or title / subtitle is frustratingly harder. It’s a matter of sending an email, requesting the story be put back into Drafts and patiently waiting, before this type of editing can take place.

Images

Vocal favours Unsplash for their images and have this site built into its editor. Unfortunately Unsplash’ images are pretty plain when compared to other sites that house free images for the general public to use.

This is not usually a major issue as you can use images saved locally and then uploaded, unless of course, the site is having issues. Currently, Vocal doesn’t have the ability to save any stories with uploaded images embedded. You can only save and publish if you use an Unsplash image.

Medium, on the otherhand, has the ability to use any legal image with the right credits linked to the image.

Followers

Both platforms allow you to follow and accumulate followers. The main differences here is that Medium allows full transparency in viewing those who follow a writer. Vocal, however, hides this information and a member cannot see, at any given time, who is following them.

Stats

Both platforms allow you to drill down on the stats of each published story, which is helpful. Medium is again more transparent with the ability to differentiate between views and reads.

Vocal doesn’t have this ability.

Reader interaction

Here the platforms differ significantly.

Again, Medium is a lot more transparent and you can drill down to see who commented, who highlighted to a certain extent and who clapped.

Vocal only allows full transparency in the comments section. The hearts that a writer gains cannot be drilled down upon and unless you remember through your notification menu, you often have no idea who hearted, which is Vocal’s equivalent to Medium’s claps.

Subscription Fees

This is where Vocal does fall down as their subscription fees are double that of Medium, but it does give you the ability to enter the challenges, if you so wish.

I do hope this review helps writers who are not familiar with one or the other platform to explore the various pros and cons of each site.

Is one better than the other?

It depends what you are looking for from publishing online in these communities and what is important for you.

I, personally, feel Medium is a far better fit for what I deem as important for my writing but that’s solely my personal preference.

I utilise both sites because I am writing for Medium anyway, so why not publish to Vocal also, as I pay my membership to Vocal solely so I can enter the challenges. Therefore, the pennies I do make for the reads on Vocal are a bonus to supplement my Medium earnings.

If you like this review, why not check out my latest book, due to be published on 30 May 2024.

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