Research has shown that video content tends to do better in terms of engagement, and with Instagram’s recent announcement about moving to be a more video-based platform you may want to think about your video content strategy. There are a lot of options if you are looking to house your video on a third-party platform, but YouTube and Vimeo are the most popular options. There are many factors to consider from cost to customization to support. We’ve broken down the differences to help you decide which video platform is most ideal. 

Audience 

YouTube has more than 1B+ monthly users which equates to about 1/3 of people on the internet. Vimeo has drastically less with about 715M monthly viewers, and while their audience is smaller, it’s also more niche. 

With its primarily professional audience, Vimeo’s community is drastically different than YouTube’s. Vimeo also has community guidelines in place where even when comments are negative, they are constructive and respectful. You have a higher chance of meeting trolls and getting spam comments from YouTube. 

Winner: Tie 

 

Search/SEO 

YouTube has the advantage of being favored since it’s owned by Google. If you have a Vimeo Business account, there are SEO capabilities that can help your videos. Even so, Vimeo videos rank much lower in search. Try to recall the last time you searched for a video, and any of the top results were a Vimeo video. 

Furthermore, YouTube, as its own entity, is considered the second most popular search engine, behind Google. 

Winner: YouTube 

 

Cost 

YouTube is free (including for a business account) with unlimited storage.  

Vimeo has different level of accounts varying in cost and storage. Free Vimeo accounts allow for a limited number of videos to be uploaded and stored, no more than 500MB a week. Paid Vimeo subscriptions cost between $7-$75/month and allow between 250GB – 7TB a year depending on subscription level. 

Winner: YouTube 

 

Customization 

YouTube lets you easily add an interactive call-to-action button while a similar option is available on Vimeo with a Business account. 

Along with paid Vimeo subscriptions, you can also do more video customization such as with colors, logos, thumbnails, video chapters, end-screens, etc. No such customizations are available with YouTube. 

Winner: Tie (more options are available with Vimeo, but they require a subscription) 

 

Ads 

YouTube is known for its video ads, often necessary to watch before viewing a video, sometimes interrupting in the middle of a video, and often following a video view. Vimeo is ad-free without any ads before, during, or after a video.  

At the same time, because Vimeo doesn’t have ads, you wouldn’t be able to personally advertise on that platform. It should also be noted that if you would like to create ads on YouTube, a YouTube account is required.  

Winner: Tie (YouTube from an advertiser’s perspective; Vimeo from an organic creation view) 

 

Quality 

When it comes to content, you are more likely to find overall quality videos on Vimeo because anyone can—and will—create and upload a YouTube video. Vimeo is a platform primarily used by professionals.  

For video quality, YouTube has full HD and Ultra HD 4K with an audio quality of 256kbps. Vimeo also has full HD and Ultra HD 4K with 320kbps.  

Winner: Vimeo 

 

Select viewing 

While YouTube videos default to public, there are private/exclusive viewing options. Vimeo videos are generally not available for public searches on their site. They can also be password protected for additional protection. 

Winner: Tie 

 

Analytics 

YouTube offers general views, likes, demographics, and locations analytics for free. Vimeo also offers basic metrics for free but provides more with a paid subscription. With a Business account, Vimeo users also have access to Google Analytics.  

Winner: Vimeo (albeit with paid) 

 

Resources 

YouTube has plenty of free resources through documents and its community. Vimeo has on-demand help with a Pro account. 

Winner: YouTube 

 

YouTube and Vimeo both have their pros and cons, and to decide which platform is best for your videos, you must first decide what your priorities are when it comes to needs, as well as budget. If you need additional help deciding, or even managing your video content, Springhill Digital is happy to help!