10 Best YouTube Alternatives For 2024 (Comparison)
Tired of YouTube and looking for something new? You’re in the right place.
In this post, we’ll be sharing a roundup of the best YouTube alternatives on the market.
We’ve included a mixture of video hosting platforms where you can upload videos, as well as platforms where you can browse and watch videos from other creators.
So whether you’re a brand, content creator, or casual viewer, you should be able to find something that fits your needs in this list.
TL;DR:
- Spotlightr – Best for entrepreneurs and businesses that want video hosting without distractions like ads.
- Vimeo – The best direct YouTube alternative. Created by some of the original team that built YouTube.
#1 – Spotlightr
Spotlightr is the best YouTube alternative for video hosting. It’s our go-to recommendation for businesses that want to embed videos on their website without distractions like ads.
Spotlightr is an all-around much better video hosting platform than YouTube. Here’s why.
First off, it lets you host videos under your own branding.
When you use YouTube to host videos, any videos you embed will feature the YouTube-branded video player. But with Spotlightr, you create your own branded player and watch page, complete with your brand colors and logo.
Secondly, unlike YouTube, Spotlightr won’t run ads on your own videos. So you don’t have to worry about your viewers getting distracted and clicking away.
And thirdly, it’s much easier to update Spotlightr videos than YouTube videos. With Spotlightr, your videos get an evergreen link and embed code. So when you need to update your content, you can do so without having to go back and change the embed code.
That’s not the only reason to use Spotlightr either. It also offers super-fast servers, auto-optimized resolutions (up to 4K), built-in marketing tools and analytics, password protection, watermarks, pay-per-view support, and much more.
And thanks to the free Spotlightr WordPress plugin and native LearnDash integration, it’s super easy to add your encrypted videos straight to your WP site or online course.
Pros
- Brandable video player
- No ads (distraction-free videos)
- Ideal for embedding videos on your site or course
- Excellent integrations
- Advanced marketing and analytics tools
Cons
- Not a free alternative (plans start from $15/month – yearly discounts available)
- Limited bandwidth and storage
#2 – Vimeo
Vimeo is our top pick for the best direct YouTube alternative. It was created by some of the original team members that worked on YouTube. So, unsurprisingly, it shares a lot of the same strengths.
Vimeo is an all-in-one video solution with an ad-free player, marketing and monetization tools, and a bunch of neat features.
Like Spotlightr, it’s arguably a superior solution to YouTube for brands when it comes to hosting videos, with a better embeddable player, password protection options, analytics, etc.
And Vimeo Watch is a pretty solid alternative to YouTube for casual viewers that are just looking for somewhere to watch videos for free too.
The search function is pretty neat, and there are no annoying ads. And like YouTube, there’s a built-in community so viewers can leave comments, share videos, etc.
The audience size of Vimeo is only a fraction of the size of YouTube at just 200 million users, and the community isn’t as active. But on the flip side, a smaller user base can be a good thing if you’re hoping to be part of a more close-knit community.
Pros
- Customizable player
- Good discovery tools
- Supports 4k resolutions
- Advanced marketing features
Cons
- No ad monetization option for creators
- Community is not as active as YouTube
- Free plan capped at 500 MB video uploads
#3 – Dailymotion
Dailymotion is the best free, like-for-like alternative to YouTube. It’s also our top-recommended YouTube alternative for viewers who want to watch videos online.
What’s great about Dailymotion is that there’s a lot of video content on there. So if you’re looking for a specific show that you can’t find on YouTube, there’s a good chance you’ll find it on Dailymotion.
The flip side of that is that Dailymotion seems to be a little more lax when it comes to copyright, so there tends to be a lot of pirated movies, tv shows, and music videos on there. If you’re ethically against that sort of thing, you might not be into it.
With hundreds of millions of monthly viewers, Dailymotion is definitely one of YouTube’s biggest competitors. The layout is pretty similar, and the search function works well.
Pros
- Thousands of high-quality videos
- Similar interface to YouTube
- Great for casual viewers
- Large audience size
Cons
- Not ad-free
- You can’t use ad-blocking software on the site
#4 – Facebook Watch
Most people think of Facebook as a social network. But over the last few years, they’ve switched things up and doubled down on video. And with the introduction of Facebook Watch, the social network has become a serious YouTube alternative.
Facebook Watch is Facebook’s own video-on-demand service. It’s a space where creators can upload short-form videos and where users can browse and discover new video content.
That said, there are a couple of things that make it different from YouTube. First off, videos on Facebook Watch tend to be much shorter—often around 3 minutes in length (whereas it’s more common to see 10-minute videos on YouTube).
This is because Facebook is all about easy-to-watch, digestible content that viewers can finish quickly while they’re scrolling through on their phones.
One good thing about Facebook Watch is that, because it’s fairly new compared to YouTube, there’s still a lot of room for growth. Hundreds of creators and influencers have seen huge success on Facebook, which makes it a good choice for new creators who are trying to build an audience from scratch.
The algorithm also works a little differently. The search function isn’t as good as YouTube (in my opinion), but the recommendation engine is solid.
Facebook Watch’s interface is also very different from YouTube’s; the mobile interface is great but the desktop version seems a bit clunky. Uploading videos is a breeze.
Pros
- Huge audience (with a potential reach to rival YouTube)
- Native video sharing
- Monetizable through ads
- Supports live streaming
- Great for short-form videos
Cons
- Desktop app is clunky
- Embeds aren’t as good
- 1080p max resolution
#5 – Wistia
Wistia is another great YouTube alternative for hosting videos. It’s a complete video marketing platform built for businesses, with a bunch of useful design, engagement, and marketing features.
Like other video hosting solutions, all Wistia plans let you host videos and embed them using a customizable player, so you can share them with your audience under your own branding.
And you get basic analytics even on the free plan, so you can keep track of how many people are watching and engaging with your videos.
But on top of that, select paid plans also come with a bunch of other useful marketing features, like lead capture forms and video heatmaps.
You can use Wistia to run A/B tests and see which videos perform best, create beautiful video galleries with Wistia Channels, add CTAs and annotations to your videos, and more.
Wistia also automatically optimizes your videos for search to help maximize your organic reach. Plus, native Facebook and Google integrations make it easy to get your videos in front of viewers across all the most important channels.
And one of our favorite features of all is Wistia Turnstile. It’s a built-in email collector that adds email opt-in forms within your videos, so you can collect subscribers and grow your list directly through your video content.
To help you create your video content, Wistia also offers their browser-based screen recorder, Soapbox, and a built-in video trimmer that you can use to edit your videos.
Pros
- Customizable embeds
- Lead capture tools
- Advanced analytics
- Complete video marketing toolkit
Cons
- No audience
- Higher-tier plans are expensive
#6 – Uscreen
Uscreen is a video-on-demand YouTube alternative that makes uploading content and monetizing it extremely easy for creators.
This all-in-one platform has all the key features that video creators need to succeed including live stream capabilities, video hosting, monetization tools, marketing and analytics, membership sites, and more.
Uscreen has tons of monetization options for creators from one-off payments and subscription models to pay-per-view, rentals, and more. The platform is best suited to people that want to host their own online courses or create educational content, but don’t want to rely on YouTube’s monetization options.
What’s great about Uscreen is that you really do have everything that you need to build a community in one place.
It’s more than just a video platform, you can create membership sites for your viewers, chat and engage with your viewers in real time, and host livestream events with ease. You can even distribute gift cards and coupons to your community.
Uscreen also has all the marketing tools you need to grow and nurture your audience including email automations, and over 1000 integrations. There are also mobile and TV apps so that viewers can engage with your content on any device.
Although it’s quite different from YouTube, Uscreen is a really good option for hosting videos and building a thriving community.
Pros
- Video hosting and livestreaming
- Analytics and marketing tools
- Good monetization options
Cons
- Paid tool (quite expensive)
- Mostly suitable for businesses
#7 – Jetpack Video Press
If you usually use YouTube to host videos to embed on your WordPress site, then Jetpack VideoPress is the perfect YouTube alternative for you.
Jetpack VideoPress allows you to host your videos directly on your WordPress site, rather than going through a 3rd party host like YouTube.
The plugin has everything you need to host videos on your website, and it supports HD videos up to 4K resolution and comes complete with unlimited storage and bandwidth. It makes life a lot easier for WordPress users, as you can add videos quickly and easily just by choosing the video blocks in the WordPress post editor.
Another useful feature of Jetpack VideoPress is that it comes complete with an analytics tool that allows you to view in-depth and insightful video analytics directly from your WordPress dashboard.
The main drawback of Jetpack VideoPress is that it is a premium plugin feature, meaning you’ll have to pay for a Jetpack plan in order to access the video features. However, plans start from around $50/month and include tons of other useful features that any WordPress site owner would benefit from, including security and growth tools.
Pros
- Perfect for WordPress users
- Great video analytics features
- Supports HD and 4K videos
Cons
- Jetpack Complete plan required to access VideoPress
- Fairy basic feature set
#8 – Odysee
Odysee is an open-source video-sharing platform that’s known as the best-decentralized alternative to YouTube. Odysee was originally created by the Blockchain company LBRY, before being separated into an individual business in 2021.
The Odysee platform is intuitive and easy to use, just like YouTube. It has content split into categories and you can follow your favorite creators to stay up to date with their content.
Not only is Odysee a good option for watching videos, but it’s also a great option for creators and businesses too.
Signing up for a channel is easy, and you can even sync your YouTube channel to share all of your old content on your Odysee channel. However, monetization on the platform is not so easy.
The monetization program is very much geared around LBRY’s blockchain technology, so users are awarded credits in exchange for views.
Although these credits can be cashed out, leaving them locked in your Odysee account ” it increases its trust and discovery on the platform”, meaning that cashing out your credits will make you less likely to grow and succeed as an Odysee creator.
Overall though, it’s an interesting YouTube alternative with lots of potential, and it’s particularly good for viewers looking to discover new creators that aren’t using YouTube
Pros
- Easy-to-use interface
- You can sync your YouTube channel and reuse content
- Similar functionality to YouTube
Cons
- Monetization options are quite unclear
- The platform is not very well-known
#9 – Twitch
Twitch is an interactive livestreaming content platform that’s a great option if you’re looking for an alternative to YouTube Live.
The platform was initially a hub for gamers looking to stream their gaming sessions and monetize them, but it’s fast becoming a go-to for anyone that likes to stream live content.
Like on YouTube, viewers can follow and subscribe to their favorite creators and get notified of new content. Twitch not only allows you to livestream, but it also creates an internet archive of your past streams, just like YouTube channels do.
One of the biggest bonuses of Twitch is that the monetization options are much better than that of YouTube. Viewers can donate to your stream, much like a Super Chat on YouTube, but the cut that Twitch takes of these donations is much smaller.
Around 30% of Super Chat donations are taken by YouTube from streamers, whereas, streamers on Twitch only have to pay the PayPal transaction fee. Users can also pay to subscribe to your channel on Twitch, and the platform takes a cut of this payment.
Pros
- Good monetization options
- Creators have channels just like on YouTube
- Users have to pay to subscribe to your channel
Cons
- Only really supports live content unless you’re an affiliate or partner
- Mainly popular with gaming streamers
#10 – TikTok
TikTok exploded onto the social media scene in 2020, and since then, many video-based social media platforms have been struggling to keep up with the demand for short-form video content.
YouTube was once a place for long-form content of 10+ minutes, but the company has recently introduced ‘Shorts’ which is very similar to the TikTok app. If you’re keen to include short-form video clips in your social media strategy, then TikTok is a great alternative to Shorts.
Firstly, it’s a lot more popular than YouTube Shorts, and although YouTube has been pushing the new feature, TikTok still reigns supreme as the go-to place for short-form video.
Not only that, but TikTok has tons of great features that make it a useful platform for businesses and creators alike.
TikTok business allows you to track analytics, run ads, and more on the platform, just like you can on YouTube. You can also make use of features like TikTok LIVE and donations to connect with and monetize your audience.
Pros
- Free to use
- Very popular app
- Potential to go viral and grow your following
Cons
- Not great for long-form content
- Highly competitive platform
Final thoughts
Although YouTube is the most popular platform for viewing video content there are tons of YouTube alternatives out there that have a lot of potential. If you’re thinking of moving away from YouTube, but you’re not sure which platform to choose, here’s a recap of our two top picks:
- Spotlightr – Video hosting for businesses and entrepreneurs with minimal ads
- Vimeo – The best direct YouTube alternative with tons of similar features.
If you’re keen to learn more about video hosting or video marketing, check out some of our other articles including 9 Best Video Hosting Sites Compared (Top Picks) and 60 Latest Video Marketing Statistics: The Complete List.
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