Partner Program writers earn based on Medium member activity on eligible paywalled stories. This article explains how earnings are calculated and when payouts are processed.
Medium's earnings model is updated periodically. This article reflects the current calculation method.
How earnings are calculated
Earnings are based on the following components:
Member reading time
The more time members spend reading or listening to your story, the more you earn. Reading and listening times are combined into a single "member reading time" metric. A member read is counted when a paying member reads or listens to your story for 30 seconds or more.
Engagement points
Calculated based on member reading and listening time, combined with the number of claps, highlights, and replies your story receives from members.
Boost bonus
Stories that are Boosted earn engagement points at a higher rate than non-boosted stories, but non-boosted stories now receive a larger share of Partner Program earnings than before. See Medium's Distribution guidelines for more details.
External traffic bonus
Member reads originating from outside Medium — such as social media, search engines, or direct sharing — earn at a higher rate than reads from within the platform. The bonus varies by source:
- Any external source — 5% bonus on member reads from outside Medium.
- Search engines — An additional share of the Partner Program budget is allocated to stories members discover through search engines like Google.
- Email notifications — Member reads that come from email notifications sent to your subscribers earn at a higher rate than reads from the Medium app or feed.
To take advantage of these bonuses, share your stories externally, optimize your SEO settings, and enable email notifications when publishing.
New member conversions
When a non-member views your paywalled story and becomes a paying member to read it, that story earns an additional one-time amount from the Partner Program. Members who cancel their membership shortly after joining are excluded from this bonus.
This is different from the previous referral program (2021–2025), which paid a recurring share of the new member's subscription fee. Conversion earnings are a one-time amount, after which the member's subscription fees return to the general Partner Program pool.
Member read ratio adjustment
The percentage of members who read your story for 30 seconds or more on a given day adjusts the total value of points earned — either up or down.
The member read ratio is calculated by dividing the member reads by the member views.
How reading time is calculated
Reading time is based on the time a viewer actively spends on the page, taking into account scrolling behavior and activity. Medium differentiates between natural pauses in reading and periods where the viewer has stepped away, so idle time is not counted.
A read is counted when the reader has spent 30 seconds or more on your story.
How listening time is calculated
Listening time is calculated the same way as reading time. Since scroll pauses cannot be tracked during audio playback, a maximum of two full listens per member is applied toward earnings.
Earnings updates and timezone
Earnings are updated daily, based on activity from midnight to 11:59 PM UTC. Calculations may take up to 48 hours to be finalized.
For practical examples of how stories earn, see Partner Program earnings examples.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Reads from a Friend Link are treated the same as regular reads. Members who read your story through the Friend Link will still contribute to your earnings, while non-members' reads will still not contribute to them.
Yes. Paywall eligibility is not affected by whether a story is published independently or within a publication.
Stories are eligible to earn only during periods when they are public and set to earn as part of the paywall.
- If a story is made ineligible for legitimate reasons (for example, you choose to unlist it), any earnings accrued up to that point will still be paid out at the end of the month, provided your account is in good standing and your tax documents are approved.
- If a story is made ineligible due to a policy violation, Medium reserves the right to withhold payment.
In both cases, the story will not accrue additional earnings for the period during which it is ineligible.