Video streaming service comparison

Video continues to be an immensely popular and powerful channel for communicating with your audiences, and can have a huge impact on your marketing, conversion and engagement. This article discusses the different platforms and services and gives our view on what to use and when.

YouTube, Vimeo, and Wistia are all popular video hosting and sharing platforms, but they cater to different audiences and offer distinct features. Here's a comparison of these three platforms:

1. YouTube:

YouTube started out in Feb 2005 as a video streaming platform, and since its acquisition by Google in October 2006 has evolved to become a major influence on popular culture.

We believe one of the biggest commercial benefits of using Youtube, is that it can influence the organic search performance of your website.

• YouTube is the largest and most popular video-sharing platform in the world, owned by Google.
• It allows users to upload, view, and share videos for free. It accommodates a vast range of content types, from user-generated videos to professionally produced content.
• The platform's primary focus is on user-generated content and viral videos, making it ideal for a broad audience.
• YouTube has a robust search and discovery algorithm, making it easy for users to find content on various topics.
• While it offers a monetisation program for creators through advertising revenue, it also displays ads to viewers, which can be disruptive for some users.
• YouTube's content policies are known to be strict, and they enforce copyright and community guidelines.

2. Vimeo:

Vimeo was founded in November 2004 by Connected Ventures, the parent company of the humor-based website CollegeHumor, as a side project of web developers Jake Lodwick and Zach Klein to share and tag short videos with their friends.

• Vimeo is a video-sharing platform that primarily targets creative professionals and businesses.
• It places a strong emphasis on high-quality, artistic, and professional content.
• Vimeo offers free and paid subscription plans, with the paid plans providing more advanced features, such as better video quality and customization options.
• The platform is known for its clean and ad-free viewing experience, making it more appealing to content creators who want to showcase their work without interruptions.
• Vimeo has a more niche audience compared to YouTube, but it can be a great platform for artists, filmmakers, and businesses looking to showcase their portfolios or host private videos for clients.
• It also provides video analytics and customization options for embedding videos on websites and social media platforms.

3. Wistia:

Wistia has come a long way since Brown University graduates and best friends Chris Savage and Brendan Schwartz launched the company in Brendan's living room way back in 2006.

• Wistia is a video hosting platform designed specifically for businesses and marketing purposes.
• It focuses on helping businesses leverage video for lead generation, marketing, and sales.
• Wistia offers features like video analytics, customizable CTAs (Call-to-Actions), and email capture forms, allowing businesses to gather leads and track engagement.
• The platform emphasizes privacy and allows users to control who can access their videos through domain restrictions, password protection, and other privacy settings.
• Wistia provides a professional and polished viewing experience, free of third-party advertisements.
• While it has a free plan, many of the advanced marketing features are available through paid plans.

In summary, YouTube is best suited for a broad audience and viral content, Vimeo caters to creative professionals and businesses seeking a high-quality and ad-free showcase, while Wistia focuses on providing marketing-oriented features for businesses looking to leverage video for lead generation and engagement. The choice between these platforms depends on your specific needs, target audience, and content goals.