How to Cancel Medium

A 8-step walkthrough with real screenshots from the live cancel flow.

~2 minutes Time
1 month ago Updated
Verified Working flow
Open Medium Cancel Page Read the 8 steps See Medium pricing & tiers

Quick answer

Sign in to Medium on the web, go to medium.com/me/membership/cancel, click Cancel membership, answer both survey questions, then click the green Confirm cancellation. You keep member benefits until the end of your billing cycle — Medium does not refund partial months.

Wondering if you're paying more than you used to? the subscription price index.

See Medium's pricing, tiers, and difficulty score in one page. Medium ranks #65 of 117 by cancellation difficulty.

Step-by-step instructions

1

Sign in to Medium on the web

Cancellation must happen on whichever platform you originally subscribed through. If you signed up via the iOS or Android app, jump to the optional steps at the bottom — the web cancel won't work for an app-billed subscription. If you subscribed on the web, open medium.com in a browser and sign in.

2

Open Settings → Membership and payment, then click Cancel Medium Membership

Click your profile picture in the top right and choose Settings. Open the Membership and payment tab. You'll see your Membership status, Renewal details (date and amount), and a red Cancel Medium Membership link with an arrow icon. Click that link.

Medium Settings page on the Membership and payment tab showing Active member status, Auto renews date with renewal amount, and a red Cancel Medium Membership link with an external-link arrow icon
3

Click Cancel membership on the "Cancel your membership." page

Medium routes you to the cancel page (medium.com/me/membership/cancel). Under the "We're sorry to see you go" intro, click the underlined Cancel membership text link. A "Resume your membership at any time to..." callout below it also has a Cancel membership pill button — either one works.

Medium "Cancel your membership." page with the body text "We're sorry to see you go. If you cancel your membership, you'll still have your benefits until the end of your current billing cycle." and a Cancel membership underlined link, plus a Resume callout below containing Learn more about Medium membership and Cancel membership pill buttons
4

Answer BOTH survey questions, then click Confirm cancellation

The "Before you go..." survey has two required questions: "Why are you cancelling your membership?" (5 reasons + Other) and "Are you interested in becoming a member again in the future?" (Yes / No / Maybe). The green Confirm cancellation button stays grayed out until both have a selection. Pick whichever fits for each and click Confirm cancellation.

Medium "Before you go..." survey with "I'm cutting costs" selected for the cancellation reason, "Maybe" selected for future membership interest, and the green Confirm cancellation button active beside the Stay a Medium Member button
5

Verify the "Your membership has been cancelled." confirmation

You'll land on a confirmation page reading "Your membership has been cancelled." with the exact date your access ends. Medium also emails a cancellation receipt to your account address — if it doesn't arrive within a few minutes, the cancel may not have registered; retry the flow or check your billing platform.

Medium "Your membership has been cancelled." confirmation page reading "Your membership benefits will continue through [date], the end of your current billing cycle. We hope we'll still see you around." with a green Return to Medium button and a "your settings" link to resume
6
If this applies to you

If you signed up through the Apple App Store or Google Play

The web cancel will not work for app-billed subscriptions. On iOS: Settings → [your name] → Subscriptions → Medium membership → Cancel Subscription. On Android: open the Google Play app → tap your profile icon → Payments & subscriptions → Subscriptions → Medium subscription → Cancel subscription. Medium's own help center is explicit: "Uninstalling the app or deleting your Medium account will not automatically cancel your membership subscription purchased through iTunes." Same applies to Google Play.

7
If this applies to you

Friend of Medium ($15/mo or $150/yr): same flow, different tier

Friend of Medium is Medium's higher tier — it includes all Member benefits plus 4x writer earnings and Friend Links to bypass the paywall for non-members. Canceling uses the exact same steps above, and you keep Friend benefits (including any in-flight Friend Links) until the billing cycle ends.

8
If this applies to you

Gift Memberships don't auto-renew — no cancel needed

A $50 one-time Gift Membership runs for 12 months from activation and expires automatically. It is not a recurring subscription, so there's nothing to cancel. Per Medium's Membership Terms: "Recipient may cancel their Gift Membership at any time following registration. There is no refund or credit for partially used periods." If you bought one to bypass a bank that blocks recurring charges, it simply lapses.

Frequently Asked Questions

Not if the cancel actually registered. Medium's Membership Terms confirm "you will retain access to the Member Services from the time you cancel until the start of the next billing period, and will not receive a refund or credit for any remaining days in your current billing period." The common gotcha is app-billed subscriptions: if you signed up via iOS or Android, the medium.com page can't cancel anything — only the App Store or Google Play Subscriptions screen can. Medium's help center is explicit that uninstalling the app or even deleting your Medium account does NOT cancel an iTunes or Google Play subscription. Always verify in the store's Subscriptions screen after canceling.

Officially no — Medium's Paid Terms state "subscription fees paid are final and nonrefundable, unless otherwise determined by the Medium." In practice the same Terms paragraph gives a refund-request back-channel: "Refund requests should be submitted via yourfriends.medium.com." Several r/medium users report successful refunds when requesting within hours of an unintended renewal. EU and UK users also have a 14-day right of withdrawal on new subscriptions. For app-billed subscriptions, Apple and Google handle refunds — both have one-tap refund request forms. If all official routes fail, your bank can usually dispute the charge.

All preserved. Cancellation only removes member benefits — your account, published stories, drafts, followers, lists, bookmarks, and Partner Program earnings (if any) stay exactly where they are. What you lose: unlimited access to member-only stories (you'll hit the metered paywall), audio narrations, offline reading on the Medium app, me.dm Mastodon access, custom domain for your profile or publication, and (Friend tier only) the ability to share Friend Links. You can still publish stories and earn through the Partner Program where it's available.

You must cancel where the billing lives. On iPhone: Settings → [your name] → Subscriptions → Medium membership → Cancel Subscription. On Android: open Google Play → tap your profile icon → Payments & subscriptions → Subscriptions → Medium subscription → Cancel subscription. Medium's help center says in bold: "Uninstalling the app or deleting your Medium account will not automatically cancel your membership subscription purchased through iTunes." Same warning applies to Google Play. After canceling, the store sends a confirmation email — if you don't get one within a few minutes, the cancel did not register.

Two different actions with two different outcomes. Canceling stops the recurring charge but keeps your account, stories, and followers intact — you drop to the free tier at the end of the billing cycle. Deleting the account removes everything (stories, profile, followers, history) but does NOT cancel an iTunes or Google Play subscription — Medium's help center is explicit that the bill keeps coming until you cancel through the store. If you want both, cancel first via the right billing platform, wait for the cancellation email, then delete the account at medium.com/me/settings/account.

Yes, anytime. Sign back in and go to medium.com/membership to resubscribe — your stories, followers, and reading history are still there. Worth knowing: r/medium has seen a wave of writer cancellations in early 2026 tied to Partner Program changes (the writer-payout program closed to new entrants in several regions and reopened/closed unpredictably). If you canceled because earnings dried up rather than because of cost, the platform-side issue won't have changed by the time you consider rejoining — check the Partner Program eligibility for your country first.
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