Medium Paywall: Member-Only Stories Had Higher Adjusted Clap Rates

Member-only, or paywalled, Medium stories reached at least 10 claps 56% of the time, compared with 25% for free stories, after adjusting for author audience size. Member-only stories had the higher adjusted clap rate in this comparison.

For a writer weighing free against member-only publishing, that is the central result. The answer to “Do paywalled stories get less engagement?” is no by this particular measure—but the measure matters.

The comparison measures crossing a clap threshold

Here, clap engagement means reaching the threshold, rather than a story’s total clap count. Each story either reached that mark or did not; the rates describe how often stories in each access category reached it.

This keeps the result specific. A higher rate means member-only stories more often cleared the mark. It is not a comparison of average claps, and it should not be described as one.

The audience adjustment matters to the question, too. We are comparing member-only and free stories after accounting for author audience size, rather than presenting an unadjusted comparison as though audience size were irrelevant.

Correlation is not causation: the difference does not establish that paywalling caused more claps, because writers who paywall may differ in topic, experience, or other ways we cannot fully control for.

Paywalled stories make up a substantial minority

36% of recent stories were member-only. Paywalled publishing was common, but it was not the majority choice.

That figure provides context, not an explanation for the clap result. The share of stories behind the paywall describes how frequently that access setting appeared; the adjusted rates describe how frequently stories reached the engagement threshold.

Keep those questions separate when considering your own publishing decision. How common a setting is and how its stories performed on the measured outcome are different pieces of information. The relevant result for the engagement question is the adjusted clap comparison, not the prevalence of the paywall.

The low-follower subgroup has its own comparison

In the separately measured low-follower subgroup, member-only stories reached the threshold 45% of the time, versus 16% for free stories.

This is a subgroup result, distinct from the overall audience-adjusted comparison. If you are considering the question as a writer with a small following, keep that distinction in view: an overall result and a result for a particular audience group answer related, but different, questions.

Use the chart to compare the share of stories reaching the clap threshold. For a closer look at the rates by author audience, consult the table.

Author audience	Member-only stories	Traction	Free stories	Traction
under 100 followers	1,904	45%	9,821	16%
100–999 followers	2,508	66%	1,562	37%
1K–10K followers	1,846	80%	573	45%
10K+ followers	415	93%	128	45%

Claps answer the engagement question only in part

Claps are a proxy for engagement; we cannot see reads or Partner Program earnings, so this comparison cannot establish how many people read the stories or whether the Medium Partner Program is worth it financially.

That boundary is especially relevant if your publishing decision is primarily about income rather than claps. The outcome measured here needs to match the question you want answered. A clap comparison is useful for a clap question, while a financial decision calls for a financial measure.

For details on the audience adjustment and how we measured the comparison, see our methodology. The distinction to retain is between an observed difference across stories and a prediction about what will happen to a particular story you publish.

What to do with the comparison

• Include member-only publishing in your clap-based assessment. The adjusted comparison favored member-only stories, so these results do not support expecting lower clap engagement simply because a story is paywalled.
• Keep the low-follower result attached to its subgroup. Use it as the audience-specific comparison reported here, rather than extending it to every writer.
• Make the decision fit the measured outcome. Weigh the higher observed clap rate as a limited engagement signal, not as a promise that changing your access setting will improve your results.

How we measured this

Compared 6,673 member-only and 12,084 free stories at least three days old, within the same author-audience bands.

Limitations.

• Claps are a proxy for engagement; we cannot see reads or Partner Program earnings.
• Writers who paywall may differ in other ways (topic, experience) that we cannot fully control for.

Data: WriterPulse scan of 2026-10-20. Full details in our methodology.