For anyone curious, here's a comparison of the signed-out, signed-in, and "members" signed-in homepage:

http://imgur.com/gallery/h3tN3

Instead of a feed of stories (recommended by people you follow) you get them in a grid layout.

Worth $5? Hell no. If I was paying for design, I'd pay it to the folks at theoutline.com (nicest media site by miles and miles). However, there are great writers on Medium and they deserve to be supported. Take my money.