Vimeo vs. Youtube: What to Choose for Your Business Videos?

82% of global web traffic is expected to be driven by video by 2022, with consumers turning to video not just for entertainment but for accessing information about businesses, products, charities, and more.

Vimeo and YouTube are two of the world’s leading social media platforms specifically designed for video. Both allow you to upload your video content, share it on other social media platforms, embed it on your website, and send it via email.

Naturally, it might be difficult to make the right decision – Vimeo or YouTube?

In this Vimeo vs. YouTube for business analysis, we’ll explore the costs, the features, and the considerations that come into play when deciding which platform is right for your business.

So whether you’re hosting questionnaire videos for your website or publishing regular promotional material and marketing content, you can be sure you’ve chosen a platform that suits your needs best.

Vimeo and YouTube Cost Comparison

When you compare Vimeo and YouTube for business purposes, you’re probably going to want to know about the cost – and there’s a stark difference. Both are free to use, and while YouTube has a paid service for consumers, it’s entirely free for creators to upload videos to the website.

At no cost at all, you can upload videos, become eligible to be a YouTube partner and make ad revenue, and continually unlock upload limits until you can post videos as long as 12 hours.

With Vimeo, however, the free plan has some limitations. At $7 per month, the Plus plan gives you 5GB of uploads per week and 250GB per year. This increases to $20 per month for the Pro plan, $50 per month for the Business plan, and $75 per month for the Premium plan.

The best plan available on Vimeo gives you 7TB of storage, unlimited live events, live streaming to multiple platforms direct from Vimeo, audience chat, and more.

If you’re looking for a simple and free option, YouTube is great for you. For something more feature-rich and with restreaming capabilities, consider Vimeo.

Vimeo Users vs Youtube

A Vimeo and YouTube comparison wouldn’t be complete without an analysis of users – and both platforms have a substantial base. There are over 175 million users on Vimeo globally, with more than 60 million video creators.

Vimeo has attracted an increasing number of premium video creators, too, with more than 1.4 million creators accessing premium services as of 2020.

YouTube, however, definitely wins when it comes to userbases, with more than 2.3 billion users globally.

If it’s your intention to get your video onto the screens of as many people as possible, then YouTube might be your best option, with 79% of all Internet users now having their own YouTube account.

Comparing Vimeo and YouTube Communities

Beyond the sheer number of users, Vimeo and YouTube are different in terms of the kinds of people and communities on the platform.

On Vimeo, the community funds the platform. On YouTube, the platform is funded by ads.

The Vimeo community, therefore, is typically more focused on art, production, and professionalism. YouTube, on the other hand, is more of a consumer platform for content consumption.

If you’re looking to reach a wide and varied audience, then YouTube is a good bet.

If you’re looking for a specialist audience, advanced features, and an opportunity to become a part of a community, Vimeo might be a better option for you.

Is Vimeo’s Video Quality Better Than YouTube?

While YouTube does allow you to upload video in high quality, including 4K, Vimeo is known for offering better encoding and video quality overall. This is a result of Vimeo putting a limit on the amount of video footage that can be uploaded by free users.

If you subscribe to Plus, Pro, or Business plans on Vimeo, the quality of your video will be dramatically improved with a higher bitrate.

So, is Vimeo better than YouTube for video quality? The short answer is yes…but it also doesn’t mean that YouTube’s upload quality is particularly poor.

How Is Vimeo Search Optimization Different From YouTube?

YouTube has a natural advantage over Vimeo when it comes to search optimization owing to the fact it is run by Google.

The YouTube platform is deeply integrated into the Google search engine, making it much easier for people to find your video content by searching for relevant keywords in a Google search.

If you’re trying to find new audiences, and if your video content is designed to be a marketing tool, then YouTube’s search optimization is excellent.

Vimeo does still appear in Google searches, but mostly if people search the “Videos” tab in a search engine.

If you’re looking to increase your organic traffic to your videos, then YouTube is a good option for finding that traffic through search engines.

Which Service Has a Better Mobile Version – Vimeo or YouTube?

YouTube is hugely popular for mobile users. In fact, over half of all views on YouTube come from mobile devices, even for longer videos.

It’s hard to know what the mobile audience is like for Vimeo, as the platform doesn’t reveal information about that.

And, both platforms have excellent mobile applications that are available on all major app stores. Furthermore, mobile versions of YouTube and Vimeo websites are also accessible on all modern web-connected devices.

It may not be wise to choose between Vimeo or YouTube for website users as both sites have great online platforms. But that’s a good thing.

Vimeo vs YouTube Monetization

There are ways to make money from your content on both platforms, but only YouTube uses ads. Through the YouTube Partner Program, you can generate revenue by placing advertisements on your videos once you qualify.

You’ll need 10,000 total views on your channel before you qualify for monetization, and once you qualify, you will also need to ensure that you stay within YouTube’s guidelines and policies to stay monetized.

There are no ads on Vimeo, meaning you can only generate money from your videos through the Vimeo On Demand service. This allows you to sell your film to viewers for full access, making it particularly popular for filmmakers.

This alone should help you decide which platform is right for you, depending on the kind of video you produce.

Difference Between Vimeo and YouTube Analytics

YouTube and Vimeo both allow you to view analytics, meaning you can get an overview of how many people watch your videos, how people respond to them, and how people find them.

If you’re a Premium Vimeo subscriber, you’ll be able to see impressions, plays, likes, and a range of other metrics. You can even see where your viewers come from and see which parts of the video that people typically skip. This is a fantastic tool for finding out what your viewers like and don’t like.

YouTube has all the same features, and then some. You’ll be able to see how you’re making your revenue, where visitors are coming from, and much more.

YouTube has the edge over Vimeo, but that also doesn’t mean that Vimeo analytics are particularly limited – they are both quite advanced.

Vimeo Live vs YouTube Live

YouTube offers a live streaming feature for users for free, while Vimeo users must subscribe to a premium plan to access it.

However, one benefit of Vimeo over YouTube is that there are ways to restream your Vimeo live stream to other online platforms. Vimeo allows you to publish your live streaming video to three different platforms at the same time through its RTMP stream, which is an advanced feature that requires dedicated software for YouTube users.

YouTube allows users to stream live to their platform, premiere videos at specific times and dates, and interact with users through a live chat or SuperChat donations.

Which Platform Is Best For You? Let’s Check the Pros and Cons

Got the idea yet? This YouTube/Vimeo comparison hopefully offered you an insight into the difference between these two dominating online video platforms, but if you’re still not decided, this list of pros and cons might help make you make your decision.

YouTube Pros

Gigantic Audience

YouTube is the biggest online video platform in the world, and that won't be changing any time soon. If you intend to reach as many people as possible, YouTube can definitely help with that. And it's much easier to promote YouTube videos because of this fact.

Connected to Google’s Search Engine

YouTube is intertwined with the Google search engine. It’s also the second most popular search engine in the world. So if you’re looking to increase your organic traffic, YouTube could be the answer.

Create Revenue from Ads

If your videos are popular, you can generate revenue by becoming a part of the YouTube Partner Program and placing ads on your videos.

Great Mobile Platform

Most views on YouTube come from mobile users, and Internet traffic is increasingly coming from mobile devices. To stay ahead of the curve, YouTube is a great platform for your brand videos.

It’s Free

It’s free. Totally free. Combined with the other benefits, it’s hard to see how YouTube could be a bad option for your company’s online video content, and this is also why YouTube s one of the best video marketing platforms.

YouTube Cons

There’s a Lot of Competition

Sure, YouTube has billions of users and millions of videos, but that means there is a huge amount of competition.

Ads Aren’t Always Popular

If all your videos are preceded by ads, you may put off potential viewers. Vimeo has the benefit of being completely ad-free, while YouTube’s ads can become a nuisance for any consumer who isn’t paying for an ad-free experience.

YouTube Isn’t Universally Available in Offices

If you’re publishing professional content, you may want to consider the possibility that some professional users may not have access to YouTube on their work network.

Given that YouTube has a lot of non-business-related content, you may not be able to reach the audience you need.

Vimeo Pros

Great Community

Vimeo is the video platform of choice for many professionals and artists, meaning it’s a great place to become a part of a community. If your videos are extremely targeted towards a specific demographic, then Vimeo might be for you.

No Ads

No ads mean users can get straight to watching your video, and you don’t risk losing viewers based on those ads. You can still generate revenue from your videos, too, if you become a part of the Vimeo On Demand service.

High-Quality Video Content

Vimeo allows you to publish high-quality video content with high bitrates. With space limited to free users, you’ll be able to publish your video in the quality it was designed to be viewed in.

Vimeo Cons

Niche Audiences Aren’t for Everyone

If you’re not catering to a specific niche audience, then Vimeo may not be for you. YouTube has a much larger and much broader audience, and users may not turn to Vimeo just to access your content.

Ranked Lower On Google

Vimeo doesn’t enjoy the benefit of being owned by Google, ranking higher in Google searches. While your videos will still appear in search, they won’t rank as high as YouTube.

Chosen the Right Platform? Now Choose the Right Video Producers

We hope this YouTube/Vimeo comparison helps you find the right platform for you, but if you’ve still not started producing high-quality video marketing content for your business or organization, Gillespie Productions could help.

With years of experience in the television broadcasting industry, Gillespie Productions takes your brand to the next level with high-quality video productions, webcasts, event filming, and much more.

From pre-production and filming to editing and preparing online streaming, Gillespie Productions does it all.

For a free quote or to learn more about our video production services across the Midwest, call the team today at (920) 857-2224!

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