HackerNoon
Depends
Confidence: Medium
Free to read and publish, so use it as a distribution channel if you want SEO reach and tolerate heavy editing.
Comparison
HackerNoon vs Medium
HackerNoon and Medium both land on Depends.
Medium
Depends
Confidence: Medium
Buy it as a reader or hobbyist writer who wants zero-setup publishing and a built-in audience.
| Compare | HackerNoon | Medium |
|---|---|---|
| Verdict | Depends | Depends |
| Best for | Founders chasing SEO backlinks | Casual writers wanting zero setup |
| Who it's not for | Teams needing polished, controlled brand pages | Businesses needing an owned, SEO-friendly blog |
| Privacy | No known public vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.14 | No known public vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed. |
| Support quality | Only truncated Trustpilot evidence | Complaint sites flag hard-to-reach support |
| Public sentiment | App-store users praise the content and app, while some Hacker News commenters harshly criticize its sponsorship practices.⁴ | Users like the reading catalog and easy publishing, but many question whether the membership and Partner Program earnings are worth it. |
| Biggest gotcha | Business Blogging pricing isn't public . expect a sales call before knowing cost.² | Paywall model means you never fully own your content's reach or SEO value. |
Pick HackerNoon when
- Founders chasing SEO backlinks
- Content marketers republishing blog posts
- Tech and crypto writers wanting an audience
- Free tech learning
When HackerNoon is not a fit
- Teams needing polished, controlled brand pages
- Buyers expecting guaranteed traffic from paid posts
- Non-tech audiences
- Anyone wanting SaaS-style support and SLAs
Pick Medium when
- Casual writers wanting zero setup
- Avid readers of long-form essays
- Hobbyists testing ideas with a built-in audience
When Medium is not a fit
- Businesses needing an owned, SEO-friendly blog
- Writers trying to live on Partner Program earnings
- Anyone wanting full design control or easy content export
Sources
- HackerNoon official sitehackernoon.comofficial
- HackerNoon Business Bloggingbusiness.hackernoon.comofficial
- HackerNoon's Editing Protocoleditingprotocol.comofficial
- Hacker News: 'HackerNoon is a bit of a scam'news.ycombinator.comreview
- Trustpilot reviews of hackernoon.comtrustpilot.comreview
- App Store: HackerNoon reviewsapps.apple.comreview
- Google Play: HackerNoon reviewsplay.google.comreview
- Product Hunt reviewsproducthunt.comreview
review
- IdeaProof: How to Submit to HackerNoon (DR 82)ideaproof.ionews
- G2 case study: Appknoxsell.g2.comnews
- Caplight: HackerNoon fundingcaplight.comnews
- Crunchbase: HackerNooncrunchbase.comnews
- HackerNoon product security pagehackernoon.comsecurity
- Medium review 2025 | TechRadartechradar.comreview
- Medium Reviews - 38 Customers Rate 2.5/5 | SmartCustomersmartcustomer.comreview