We have heard again and again that video is critical for your business marketing. 85% of all internet users in the U.S. watch online video content monthly. Videos are the favorite content of most users on social media. Video marketers get 66% more qualified leads per year. [Oberlo]
But where do you place your videos? Most social media platforms allow you to post natively. But when it comes to video sites, the two main platforms are YouTube and Vimeo.
Vimeo was founded by filmmakers, and that start has influenced how they have grown their business. Vimeo now has 170 million monthly viewers with 90 million registered viewers.
YouTube has 1.3 billion users. YouTube gets over 30 million visitors per day.
Both YouTube and Vimeo have a large archive of videos that are free to view. Viewing videos for both sites is easy, and no account is needed to view public videos. You do need accounts if you are going to upload videos to either site. Both allow you to embed videos into places such as your website.
Vimeo allows videos up to a size of 500 MB to be uploaded, YouTube lets you upload videos as big as 20GB. However, Vimeo offers its users different premium packages that come with a higher weekly and annual space.
YouTube allows for better quality video including HD, HDR, 4K, and 8K. Vimeo allows the upload of videos up to 720p only. YouTube also supports 3D and 360° videos which Vimeo doesn’t.
Monetization strategies for YouTube and Vimeo are very different. YouTube allows you to run ads and get paid (assuming you have videos with lots of views). YouTube allows content creators to sign up for Google Adsense to monetize their videos. Video creators get a share of the revenue of the ads displayed on their videos. In addition to the normal monetization of ads, publishers can sell products in their videos, add paid reviews, join affiliate programs, get sponsors for their videos, ask for donations, and more. However, you’ll first need to accumulate at least 10,000 views for your channel before you can join the ad program.
Vimeo offers an ad-free video platform. Vimeo gives you the ability to charge people for watching your videos called Video on Demand (VoD). You’ll need at least a Vimeo Pro account to join the program. Vimeo Plus is $9.95 per month, and Vimeo PRO is $199 per year. Vimeo also allows you to mention sponsors in your videos, add links in the video description, and ask users to support your channel.
Privacy settings are key to certain types of businesses. YouTube offers three privacy settings for videos you upload: public, unlisted, and private. Public videos are accessible by anyone. They can be searched, listed, and displayed across the YouTube platform. Unlisted videos can be accessed by anyone who has the URL. They do not appear in YouTube search or related videos. Private videos are only visible to you, and specific users you choose.
YouTube allows you to disable comments on your videos as well as prevent embedding of your videos on any websites. However, this will also block you from embedding videos on your own website.
Vimeo offers more privacy options than YouTube. Their privacy settings allow you to make videos public, private, or unlisted. You can also share video only with users you follow. You can also password protect videos, and users will need to enter that password to view the video. You can then add those videos into password protected posts on your website.
Both platforms offer great tools to upload, edit, and manage your videos.
YouTube offers powerful video editing features. They offer a video editor that allows you to create videos from your previously uploaded videos, photos, title, and more.
YouTube also allows you to add links, annotations, captions, and subtitles to your videos. It also offers a live streaming feature where you can live broadcast events, news, or just casual vlogs.
Vimeo does not offer as many video editing features like YouTube. It allows you to add video title, description, category, tags, license, and audience rating. You can also upload captions and subtitles to your videos. Vimeo does not have annotations features so you cannot add clickable links into your videos.
For anyone that has ever had to replace a video on YouTube, you will love this feature on Vimeo. Vimeo allows you to replace your video with a newer version without having to change the video URL or stats. This is something that you cannot do on YouTube without uploading a new video on a totally new URL.
So which platform is right for you?
If you are a blogger, business owner, or influencer who wants to use videos to build a subscriber base and reach a much larger audience, then YouTube will be better for your goals.
If you are creating a membership website or selling online courses, then you need more privacy and a quality (i.e. ad-free) viewing experience. That’s when Vimeo is a better choice.
Or maybe the right choice is do both! Put some videos on YouTube, some on Vimeo, and some on both.