Self-hosted alternatives to Medium
A self-hosted blogging platform, with no third-party paywall. Below are 12 open source options you host on your own server — with no monthly per-user fee and full control of your data.
Ghost
★ 54,083Ghost is a publishing and newsletter platform built for creators, with paid subscriptions built in. Self-hosted, it's the alternative to Medium and Substack with no cut taken from your subscribers.
WriteFreely
★ 5,187Writing software for starting a minimalist, federated blog — or an entire community.
Ech0
★ 2,007Lightweight federated publishing platform focused on personal idea sharing (documentation in Chinese).
HTMLy
★ 1,344Databaseless PHP blogging platform. A flat-file CMS that allows you to create a fast, secure, and powerful website or blog in seconds.
Known
★ 1,120Collaborative social publishing platform.
Haven
★ 791Private blogging system with markdown editing and built in RSS reader.
Chyrp Lite
★ 486Extra-awesome, extra-lightweight blog engine.
Mataroa
★ 354Naked blogging platform for minimalists.
fx
★ 316Micro-blog tool offering built-in syntax highlighting, mobile publishing and more (alternative to Twitter, Bluesky).
PluXml
★ 233XML-based blog/CMS platform.
Serendipity
★ 226Serendipity (s9y) is a highly extensible and customizable PHP blog engine using Smarty templating.
FlatPress
★ 210A lightweight, easy-to-set-up flat-file blogging engine.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free self-hosted alternative to Medium?
Yes. We've gathered 12 self-hosted, open source alternatives to Medium — including Ghost, WriteFreely, Ech0. You run all of them on your own server.
What is the best open source alternative to Medium?
Ghost is one of the most popular (54,083 GitHub stars). The "best" depends on your case — compare the options below.
Do I need a server to replace Medium?
Yes. You can use a home server (homelab) or a cheap VPS (from ~€4/mo). See the hosting suggestions on this page.