We are the people of a digitalized age where one absolutely must capture any and everything we come across. Right from our grandparents to a 5-year-old kid, everyone knows how to operate a smartphone and, on it, mainly, shoot videos. And that’s how video sharing platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and Vimeo see millions of active users. But today, we’re here to talk about Vimeo specifically. So, if you’re contemplating where to showcase your videography skills, make sure you read our Vimeo review till the end!
Contents
What is Vimeo?
Vimeo is a video hosting sharing and services platform based in New York City for those who aren’t already familiar with its popularity. It focuses on creating and delivering high-definition videos across various devices, and its business model is a software as a service (SaaS).
Founded by Zack Klein, Jake Lodwick in 2004, Vimeo now has garnered over 200 million users. Along with hosting videos, it also provides video professionals with tools for editing, video creation, broadcasting, and ways to connect with clients and other professionals. It is slightly like YouTube, but not really.
Because it’s different in many ways in which creative professionals and budding artists can showcase their talent. One of its biggest highlights is that the video quality is top-notch. You can upload 4K ultra HD videos, follow creators worldwide, save videos offline and upload videos on the go on your smartphones. The web interface is clean and clutter-free with its blue and white theme and zero ads all around. It is user-friendly as it is easy to navigate through. The main page, i.e., the Home Screen, consists of your recent videos and feed (the content of people and channels you follow). On the left, you have options like Videos. Create, Live events and Showcase.
However, its biggest competitor is YouTube, and with that comes the apparent comparison between the two.
Audience reach
YouTube has a massive community of 1 billion users, which is 1/3rd of the internet. With that comes a lot of pressure and competition as a creator. Along with it comes many opinionated audiences who won’t think twice before giving you negative feedback. It is pretty easy to get overwhelmed with that kind of exposure.
However, with Vimeo, although it is not as vast as YouTube, it is still a growing community. With over 200 million users, it has created a niche for itself among artists, content creators, filmmakers, cinematographers, etc., who are supportive and encourage constructive criticism. Apart from Vimeo channels, it also has a Groups feature where users can create and participate in groups and limit group content visibility to its members.
Membership
One of the reasons why YouTube is so popular is because it is free. It’s comparatively easy to make and upload videos on YouTube as it is free with unlimited storage. However, YouTube does offer a $9.99/month subscription service called YouTube Red that allows you to watch videos ad-free.
On the other hand, on Vimeo, it’s pretty different. Along with a basic plan that is unpaid, It provides many memberships offers such as Vimeo Plus, PRO, premium, and business. With each plan, the services upgrade. (More on that later)
Upload limits
You can upload unlimited videos ok YouTube by default; however, each video should be under the limit of 15 minutes. If you verify your account, you can upload videos with up to 12 hours of playback or 128GB file size.
On Vimeo, the process isn’t as straightforward. It offers a range of pricing and memberships that you can choose from to decide how much you can upload.
Video updating and flexibility
Ever uploaded a video only to realize there’s been a typo or missed out on a beautiful edit in the process? Yes, it happens to the best of us. But if the platform you have uploaded on is YouTube, then there’s nothing you can do about it. Re-uploading a video on YouTube means deleting the video, losing stats and views.
Alternatively, on Vimeo, the job is more manageable. You can replace the video and re-upload without losing any of its statistics and views, which is very helpful and makes it less frustrating.
Advertisements
We all know how YouTube monetizes through its content. It is entirely ad-driven. You are bombarded with ads on YouTube before, during, and after the videos.
Vimeo, on the other hand, takes pride in its ad-free UI. Naturally, as a viewer, the viewing experience is less cluttered and overwhelming. Instead, Vimeo monetizes on its membership plans and offers.
Privacy settings
Privacy and security concerns are a given, no matter what. YouTube offers three privacy options in this domain- public, private, and unlisted. Private means only those with an active YouTube account that you invite can view your upload, while unlisted means only those with the link or URL can watch it- Meaning it won’t appear in YouTube search or related videos.
Meanwhile, on Vimeo, there are a handful of features. You can allow specific people to view your content, people that you follow. You can also hide your videos from Vimeo itself. Or keep the content visible only to yourself and people on your account. What’s more? It offers password-protected content too.
Copyrights
YouTube is stringent when it comes to copyrighted materials as it immediately detects and automatically disables a video if it’s a case of copyright infringement. You cannot post a video with specific media on YouTube if you don’t have permission to use them. However, Vimeo isn’t as restricted when it comes to this issue. Your videos on Vimeo won’t get disabled, although whenever using someone else’s art/music, make sure you get their consent and due credits are given.
Analytics
As a creator, geographical and analytical data such as stats on views, comments, likes, shares, total plays on your videos hold a great deal. On the upside, YouTube provides maximum data like insight into traffic sources, audience retention, what devices your viewers are using, etc.
Unfortunately, on Vimeo, one must be a member of Vimeo Plus to receive advanced analytical stats.
Plans and Pricing on Vimeo
As I mentioned earlier, the Vimeo platform is not free since they monetize by selling video hosting services. Although you want to make the best out of what it has to offer, you will have to go ahead with either one of these custom-priced plans.
Vimeo offers a varied range of pricing plans starting from the free basic plan, which is limited to 500 MB of storage per week and 25GB per year.
After that, you have the Vimeo Plus, which costs $7 per month and will give you 5 GB of storage per week. Along with it, you have additional features like more privacy controls and player customization.
The upgrade version, Vimeo PRO, offers 1TB of storage for $20 per month. With Vimeo PRO, you can collaborate with up to 3 other creators or team members, make private team projects, and offer customizable showcase sites.
Vimeo Business provides 5TB of storage every day for $50 per month if you want more liberty and privileges. It allows you to team up with ten other members and offer various features, including google analytics.
In need of more? Then Vimeo Premium is the ultimate choice for you. It offers 7TB of storage for $75 per month with unlimited live views and much more.
You can see the detailed map of pricing, features and their comparison here.
Pros & Cons
It is crucial to weigh in all the points before choosing Vimeo as your video hosting platform, and here are some valid points for you to consider.
Pros
- Vimeo is ad-free! No interruptions during your video or any hindrances throughout the platform.
- You are likely to find better quality videos and content. Vimeo is home to some of the best filmmakers, known for its “quality over quantity” maxim.
- The range of membership plans offers plenty of options and value. With the business plan, you can get up to 5TB of storage which is a lot. Based on which plan works best and for you, you can get a wide range of features.
- Vimeo’s privacy settings give you reasonable control over your content as well as who gets to watch what at any point. Along with it, it provides password protection on your videos, or you can even specify which accounts or people you follow can view your content.
- This point can be a pro as well as a con. The limited reach of its audience here can do good for you as a creator, as it will only expose your work to professionals in the related field who will offer healthy feedback.
- Vimeo allows you to set up a portfolio In your account with your domain name and branding.
- It promotes content that is of your taste and not what is generally “trending” out there. The videos recommended are mostly staff picked and related to your line of work.
Cons
- The visibility and reach, when compared to YouTube, is less. It has a relatively smaller audience, lesser views hence standing low in Google’s search results.
- You don’t have the liberty to limitlessly upload as Vimeo imposes limits on the storage amount you can use. However, with a suitable plan or membership, you can upgrade.
- While it does have an array of editing tools, it is still limited and could include better and advanced features.
Vimeo: Mobile Application
The Vimeo app on iOS looks good with its blue and black theme. The main screen consists of Home, Videos, Plus icon, Analytics, and Watch. Watch containing people and Channels that you follow, kind of like your Feed. You can also minimize the current video as you scroll through the feed.
By selecting the Plus icon, you can upload an existing video or record a new one. The analytics covers everything from views, impressions to view rates and likes, etc. The UI is more or less similar in Android.
However, if you want to do some hardcore editing, the web browser is the better option with its multiple tools for creators. The phone app is suitable for on-the-go quick uploads.
So…Is Vimeo for you?
All in all, it depends on the requirements of a creator. What exactly are you looking for? As a creator or a filmmaker, you have to ask a couple of questions: Who is my audience? Do I want my content to reach maximum views? Do I like to provide quality content to my audiences etc.?
Vimeo is the platform for creative people, artists, and those who want to connect with like-minded professionals. And if that is what you’re looking for? I’d suggest, go ahead and give it a whirl.
Get 15% off on your Vimeo purchase.
Let us know in the comments below which platform has worked the best for you.