Compare developer publishing platforms and blogs (dev.to, Hashnode, Medium, In Plain English, freeCodeCamp)

Here’s a practical comparison of dev.to, Hashnode, Medium, In Plain English, and freeCodeCamp for developer publishing.

Quick take

• dev.to: best for community-driven developer posts and easy engagement.
• Hashnode: best if you want a personal developer blog with strong ownership, custom domain, and modern publishing features.
• Medium: best for broad reach beyond developers, but it’s less tech-specific.
• In Plain English: best for accessible technical explainers and audience distribution across a developer-media network.
• freeCodeCamp: best for high-quality, educational tutorials if you can pass editorial review.

Side-by-side comparison

Platform	Primary strength	Audience	Ownership / control	Monetization	Best for
dev.to	Community interaction, developer-first discussions	Mostly developers	Medium control; hosted community profile	No native creator payout focus	Posts that benefit from comments, discussion, and discoverability in dev community
Hashnode	Personal blog + developer CMS + SEO + custom domain	Developers and teams	Strong content ownership and flexible publishing setup	Not the main draw; platform value is publishing/branding	Building a long-term author or company blog
Medium	Large general readership and simple publishing	Broad audience, not just devs	Limited control compared with self-owned blog	Medium Partner Program available for eligible writers	Thought leadership, opinion pieces, broad technical essays
In Plain English	Developer-friendly editorial/distribution network	Developers, especially learners	Mixed: platform plus publication network	Depends on publication arrangement, not the main selling point	Beginner-friendly tutorials and explainers
freeCodeCamp	High editorial credibility and educational depth	Learners, aspiring developers, broad tech audience	Low control; editorially curated	Not a typical creator-monetization platform	Deep tutorials, learning-focused content, evergreen guides

Platform notes

dev.to

DEV describes itself as a community of software developers helping one another, built on open-source Forem software. That makes it especially strong for discussion, comments, and quick community feedback. (dev.to)

Hashnode

Hashnode is explicitly positioned as a blogging platform for developers and engineering teams, with features like markdown editing, analytics, GitHub integration, custom domains, headless mode, and team collaboration. Its Pro tier also adds things like webhooks, GraphQL API, scheduling, and multiple blogs. (docs.hashnode.com)

Medium

Medium’s Partner Program pays writers based on engagement from paying members, and Medium is designed more around quality storytelling than developer-specific networking. It’s strong for distribution, but it’s not specialized for technical audiences the way the others are. (help.medium.com)

In Plain English

In Plain English says it focuses on making complex technical topics accessible, and it runs both its own publishing platform and a network of Medium publications. It’s a strong fit for beginner-friendly developer education and practical tutorials. (plainenglish.io)

freeCodeCamp

freeCodeCamp is generally more selective and editorially curated than the others, so it’s better suited for polished tutorials and educational articles than for casual blogging. It tends to favor long-form, learning-oriented content.

Which one should you choose?

• Want comments, community, and fast feedback? → dev.to
• Want your own branded developer blog? → Hashnode
• Want the biggest non-technical audience? → Medium
• Want accessible tutorials with strong developer reach? → In Plain English
• Want editorial credibility and educational depth? → freeCodeCamp

Best strategy for most writers

A strong approach is:

1. Publish the article on your own primary blog or on Hashnode.
2. Syndicate it to dev.to or Medium if their canonical-link rules fit your goals.
3. Pitch especially educational or evergreen tutorials to freeCodeCamp or In Plain English.

If you want, I can also make this into:

• a scoring table,
• a “best platform by goal” matrix, or
• a recommendation for your specific use case.