Vimeo and YouTube: The Ultimate Showdown

Vimeo vs YouTube: Which is Better?

Ollie Mattison

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Lots of people nowadays use videos to share with people all around the world. Two of the main platforms are YouTube and Vimeo. This article tells you the difference between both so that you can decide which the best platform is for you. Whether you are a marketer, video producer or gamer you will find the information useful to find your target audience easily.

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Detailed View of YouTube and Vimeo

1 Communities

YouTube: When it comes to users YouTube comes out on top with over a billion views each and every month. You are able to interact with your viewers by using the comments and people are able to follow you so that they are notified of new videos and comments. As there is already a huge following on YouTube it’s easy to get a good following if you have great content. It’s harder to control public content which is a downside to using YouTube and there is very little customer support. With the comments being moderated rarely it can cause a distraction from your video. Businesses tend to internally block YouTube video’s which means you won’t get the viewings from people on their lunch breaks.

Vimeo: With higher quality content and no advertisements video owners can quickly build a valid following and gain comments from people that are contributing high value information. You have more detailed analytics which makes it easier to see where you are going wrong should you not have the following you want and you are able to use your own domain. With Google owning YouTube you are unlikely to get the same exposure you would, however the followers tend to be valid giving you a real idea of where you are going right or wrong. Because of the higher quality followers you are less likely to get negative or abusive comments when you use Vimeo, however it is a paid subscription with each tier giving you more space to upload.

2 Membership

YouTube: YouTube on the other hand is free for all to use because the main focus is getting their equity through advertisements. There is however the option to take out a subscription which is known as YouTube Red. This lets you watch as many video’s as you want without having to view the ads and also gets you the ability to download so you don’t have to go online to view your favourite videos, a music app and original programming facilities.

Vimeo: There are 4 different membership options with Vimeo allowing you to tailor it to your needs; there is the basic, plus, pro and business. The higher the cost, the greater level of support and storage capacity you will get. There is a free membership available but you will only be able to use up to 500MB each week.

3 Advertising

YouTube: What makes YouTube free is the fact they get their money from the advertisements they put not only on their sites but before video’s that people have to watch a set amount of seconds for before they can view their video of choice. This is great news if you are a marketer as it will allow you to reach out to viewers on video’s that are relevant to your brand/product/service, however for those that are viewing the sheer amount of ads can be off-putting.

Vimeo: As a paid subscription service and even the limited free package, you won’t have to view or show viewers ads, which means that your videos are more likely to be seen in their entirety not abandoned due to advertisements.

4 Updating video

YouTube: If you upload videos to YouTube you do not have the same benefits as the only way to amend a video is to take it down, delete it and re-upload a new one. This unfortunately takes with it any statistics such as views that you have gained. If you do choose YouTube for your videos then do make sure you check everything vigorously before you upload it as there’s no way to change it.

Vimeo: Occasionally an uploaded video may need some changes made. This could be due to changes to the offer you have or you have noticed something else that needs amending. With Vimeo if you need to update a video you can do so without losing the statistics it has already gained, which is great news if you notice an error later down the line or need to add or take something away.

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Conclusion

When it comes down to making the final decision between using YouTube or Vimeo you will need to look at the type of audience you want to attract. With Vimeo you are more likely to attract creators and film makers, whereas with YouTube you will have a bigger audience to target which gives you a better chance of a higher rank on search engines.

Ollie Mattison

Ollie Mattison is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Ollie Mattison