YouTube is one of the most recognized websites across the globe. More than that, it’s the most used video streaming site around the world. Children, teenagers, and adults all use the site for simple entertainment, music, education, and much more.
There’s no denying that YouTube is the king of video content with the diversity and abundance of great content offered to viewers.
At the same time, content creators, businesses, and entrepreneur-minded individuals find YouTube a haven to hold their media content. All these parties can upload videos to the platform to act as marketing content, an income stream, and much more.
Although YouTube has a great user base with attractive features and quality content, it is worth looking at alternatives as a creator and a viewer.
Table of Contents:
1. Vimeo
Easy to Use 🥧
Key Specifications
PROS
CONS
Vimeo Review 📘
Vimeo is one of YouTube's biggest competitors for online content, although it operates differently. The platform was founded in 2004 and now functions as a Software as a Service company.
Vimeo is an especially attractive option for creative professionals as it is essentially a video content hosting service that offers the same functionality that website hosts offer but for videos.
Therefore, professionals who want to upload, manage, advertise, and even monetize their content online will find Vimeo on par or more attractive than YouTube.
While Vimeo may not have the same number of end-users, it still has a respectable audience with over 200 million viewers. Businesses and professionals who want to use Vimeo will have to pay for some of the premium services.
The website also limits the amount of content that can be uploaded each month, as it tries to encourage users to only upload high-quality visual content.
Fun Features 🤡
Despite some of these obvious downsides, Vimeo offers some attractive features. The platform has better video and audio quality, easy uploading and video editing, great analytics, and attractive features such as video collaboration. You can find information on Vimeo’s pricing tiers here.
For content viewers, Vimeo may be a better alternative than YouTube for several reasons. If you’re looking for true quality content, Vimeo takes the cake as the platform encourages such content from its producers. You can expect to find experimental artistic short videos, professionally shot and edited shorts, quality fitness content, and plenty more.
Additionally, there are no ads allowed on the website, so you don’t have to suffer through annoying breaks during videos from either the video creator or other sources.
2. Twitch
Face of Streaming Video Game Content 🎥
Key Specifications:
PROS
CONS
Twitch Review 📚
Twitch is a well-known online platform that can be labeled as a haven for live video content creators who want to make money. The platform is quite different from YouTube, but it remains one of YouTube’s biggest competitors, especially considering that YouTube is actively working to add streaming to their platform.
Twitch’s beginning was back in 2007 when Justin.tv was started as a live-streaming platform. In 2011, the website split and opened Twitch.tv to handle gamers who wanted to live stream.
Quickly, Twitch began to grow the number of channels of streamers and the viewers, and the rest is history as we now have the Twitch we know—the giant in streaming.
For those not familiar with the platform, Twitch allows people to create channels where they can live stream themselves doing virtually whatever. While the most popular Twitch accounts are those of gamers, many others make music, play board or tabletop games, do arts and crafts, and much more.
Essentially, Twitch is the place to go if you’re someone who wants to try your hand at recording yourself playing games, building or creating things, and talking and interacting with your viewers.
Subscription Services 💰
Twitch allows viewers to give donations to the channels they watch. Similarly, channels can create subscription services where viewers must pay to watch their streams. This has all led to a new sort of economy based on quality, live content creation.
As a viewer, if you’re someone interested in viewing live content, Twitch is your best YouTube alternative. However, it must be noted that Twitch is not a complete YouTube alternative as it doesn’t have the variety YouTube holds.
3. DTube
Crypto-Decentralized Video Platform 🤖
Key Specifications:
PROS
CONS
DTube Review 📕
Decentralized Tube, known as DTube, is the newest competitor on the list as it was founded in 2016. The platform also holds the spot as the most unique competitor on the list for the technology it’s built on. As the name suggests, DTube is built on blockchain technology and is, therefore, a decentralized platform. Specifically, DTube was built on the Steem blockchain.
The significance of DTube is that there is no sole controller of the platform. It’s not hosted by Google servers like YouTube, but rather, it runs on the Steem blockchain and IPFS network.
DTube operates just like YouTube—people can make accounts, post videos, grow their viewership, and earn money. When users earn money, they earn Steem coins instead of fiat currency like with YouTube. From there, account holders with Steem coins can do as they please with their earnings.
For example, they can trade on various crypto exchanges for fiat currency or other cryptocurrencies.
DTube's Design 🎨
Visitors to DTube’s website will notice that the platform is even designed similarly to YouTube making the switch seamless. However, beyond the visual design and blockchain, DTube users won’t be able to find the same breadth of content available. Additionally, they won’t be able to see how many views a video has.
Instead, DTube users will see how much cryptocurrency the video has earned.
While the platform is new and maybe lacking in content, it’s a viable alternative for a few key reasons, all of which point back to its decentralized nature. The platform does not allow for any advertisements, is not censored, and does not use any algorithms like YouTube.
Furthermore, the platform is secure—your information is not going to be stolen or exploited.
All in all, if you’re interested in blockchain technology and want to get away from some of the tech giants like Google, DTube should become your go-to platform for video content.
Why Should You Consider a YouTube Alternative
While YouTube is a great platform for millions of users, there are various aspects that do take away from the attraction of the platform for many users.
For one thing, YouTube is owned by Google, and many people like the idea of supporting smaller businesses rather than relying on Google for all their online needs.
Similarly, Google is an overarching giant in the tech industry that is known for collecting user information—the same is true of YouTube, naturally. YouTube has had problems with taking data without consent, which may rub users the wrong way.
As many people are aware, using a high quality VPN can help with security concerns, but it won’t be a complete solution to privacy matters.
Conclusion
It’s no secret that YouTube is a giant in the online video content industry. YouTube has seemingly unlimited content that ranges from breaking news to children’s entertainment to live streaming content. The platform does a solid job of using algorithms to suggest new content to its users as well.
Furthermore, YouTube is a great option for content creators who want to monetize their creations. Accounts can participate in YouTube’s Partner Program where they can earn money through advertisements, memberships, and subscriptions.
Nonetheless, YouTube does have several strong competitors such as those mentioned above. If you’re worried about your digital privacy or interested in seeing what else the internet has to offer in terms of video and streaming content, check out the above options!
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