btwvsWriteFreely
Two self-hosted Medium alternatives, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| btw | WriteFreely | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 45/100 | 65/100 |
| Rank in category | #5 of 6 in Website Builder | #2 of 24 in Blogging |
| GitHub stars | 1 254 | 5 276 |
| Stars, last 30 days | — | +19 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 0 | 3 |
| Latest release | — | v0.17.2 · 10 Aug 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes |
| License | GPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Main language | JavaScript | Go |
Which one should you pick?
WriteFreely scores 65/100 against 45/100 for btw, so it is the safer default.
WriteFreely ships more often: 3 stable releases in the past year, against 0 for btw.
If you want the quickest setup, WriteFreely is easier to run; btw needs more configuration.
WriteFreely is growing faster right now (+19 stars in 30 days).
btw details →WriteFreely details → All Medium alternatives →
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