Videos have become one of our main sources of learning, marketing, and entertainment. With more and more people watching online videos now than ever before, its craze has doubled. YouTube was launched in 2004 and has become one of the leading platforms with over 1.8 billion active users. Its popularity continues to grow due to its user-friendly interface, minimal equipment requirements, and mobile compatibility, with 75% of video playing on mobile devices. Well, the pandemic has also contributed to a certain extent to its increased usage. Although many of us only know about this platform but there are various YouTube alternatives that you can try.
However, the rise in YouTube’s user base has led to more complaints. Users are frustrated with frequent changes to guidelines and the increasing length and frequency of ads. This has led many to seek YouTube alternative video platforms or consider creating their own. As dissatisfaction grows, the demand for other video streaming options is on the rise.
Here is the list of top 7 YouTube alternatives:
Vimeo
Vimeo is among the leading YouTube alternatives with over 175 million users in 150 countries. It’s a top choice compared to YouTube. It offers a safe platform where users can upload, host, and customize videos. Vimeo has various features like password protection, bulk embeds setting changes, and domain and geo-restrictions. It’s known for ad-free streaming and strong privacy and security settings. Vimeo provides solutions for professionals, media houses, and businesses, with plans ranging from Plus to Enterprise and up to 7TB of storage, it becomes a great YouTube alternative.
Here are some of the pros and cons:
| Pros | Cons |
| You will get high-quality content | It has a little less variety than on YouTube |
| Professional user base | You have to pay a subscription fee to avail of premium features |
| Ad-free viewing options | It offers limited social networking features. |
Dailymotion
Dailymotion was launched in 2005, and within no time it became the world’s second-largest video streaming platform, known for entertainment. It has about 300 million unique users every month. Also, it allows its users to upload up to 2 hours of video daily, with a maximum of 96 uploads per day.
The website layout and navigation on Dailymotion are almost similar to YouTube, making it one of the most popular YouTube alternatives. Like YouTube, users can watch and upload videos. Dailymotion offers features like an age gate to protect children from sensitive content, and videos can be set as Public, Private, or Password Protected for privacy.
Note: Well, for downloading videos, Dailymotion doesn’t provide a direct option, but users can use a simple browser extension.
Here are some of its pros and cons:
| Pros | Cons |
| It offers a variety of content | Its Ads can be irritating sometimes. |
| It has almost similar features to YouTube. | Less organised content in comparison to YouTube. |
| It has a user-friendly interface | Limited live streaming options. |
DTube
DTube, or we can say Decentralized Tube, is a video-sharing platform that runs on community support. It was launched in 2016. One of its cool things is that it lets users vote for their favourite videos, and creators earn cryptocurrency rewards as a result—a win-win situation.
One of its standout features is its ad-free experience, which sets it apart from competitors. Unlike other platforms that count views, DTube focuses on votes to determine a video’s popularity. Once uploaded, videos cannot be deleted due to the voting system. While DTube is smaller than YouTube, it attracts a diverse group of online creators who are exploring new ways to share content and engage with audiences.
Here are some of its pros and cons:
| Pros | Cons |
| It is a decentralised platform that offers more security. | It has a smaller user base. |
| It has an anti-censorship policy. | It offers variable content quality. |
| In rewards, you will get cryptocurrency. |
PeerTube
PeerTube was launched actively in January 2021. It supports 28 languages and operates on ActivityPub and WebTorrent technologies. Similar to YouTube, it’s an open-source platform that uses a peer-to-peer model, which reduces server load and ensures smooth video streaming. While PeerTube is still establishing itself among video-sharing platforms, it offers an ad-free experience and doesn’t track user activities, distinguishing it from competitors like YouTube. Users can connect with others watching the same videos, enhancing community interaction. All these features make it a good YouTube alternative.
Here are some of its pros and cons:
| Pros | Cons |
| You will get to see diverse content. | It has a smaller user base. |
| It is a community-driven decentralised server. | The users often face some content discovery issues. |
| It is less commercialised than YouTube. |
Veoh
Veoh is an online video platform founded by Dmitry Shapiro. It was launched in 2004 and over the years it has become quite a famous platform. It offers customizable video streaming and features unique studio content, independent video productions, and user-generated videos. Unlike many YouTube alternatives, Veoh allows users to upload videos of any length.
However, the Veoh platform has recently been criticized for having too many ads. If Veoh addresses this issue, it has the potential to become one of the best online video platforms like YouTube.
Here are some of its pros and cons:
| Pros | Cons |
| You will get to see a wide range of content. | It has limited community features. |
| It offers social networking features. | User complain about variable video quality |
Twitch
Another YouTube alternative is Twitch, which is a subsidiary of Amazon Inc. It is a live video streaming platform founded in 2011, mainly for gamers. It’s run by Twitch Interactive and is popular for its live-streaming features.
Twitch is one of the largest live-streaming platforms, offering an easy interface for chatting and sharing content. It recommends popular streamers and requires users to be at least 13 years old. However, it doesn’t allow photo or thumbnail editing.
Here are some of its pros and cons:
| Pros | Cons |
| It offers live streaming and real-time interaction options. | A new user can be overwhelming for new users. |
| It has a large gaming community. | Competitive monetisation. |
| It has monetisation option | Requires consistent streaming for growth. |
Bitchute
It was launched in 2017 with its mantra- “Creators first.” Bitchute is a YouTube alternative using peer-to-peer technology. It prioritizes more the video creators, allowing them to freely express their ideas. One of its good things is that the registration is optional, so users can browse and watch videos without signing up. Bitchute doesn’t use ads and lets creators accept payments from users.
Here are some of its pros and cons:
| Pros | Cons |
| Supports free speech | Contains controversial content |
| Uses peer-to-peer technology | It has less moderation |
| Offers diverse viewpoints | Attracts a niche audience |
Conclusion
Hopefully, you will find the above-mentioned list useful and discover new video platforms. On the internet, you would find long lists of YouTube alternatives. But here in this blog, I have covered the most relevant ones.
Also Read: 7 Best Alternatives of Omegle
