YouTube Is Not Your Only Option — There Are Plenty of Alternatives

With its more than 2 billion active users, it would be ignorant not to say that YouTube is a universally known and loved video platform. In fact, it wouldn’t be that far-fetched to state that it has become a worldwide phenomenon. YouTube is indisputably the sole reason for the global online video craze that’s been going on recently. But if YouTube is so popular and well-established, why would people be looking for an alternative video platform?

It’s safe to say that they’re doing that with a heavy heart. As accessible and successful as YouTube is, the platform is currently in its worst state since its launch in 2005. There are plenty of problems plaguing it, and YouTube hasn’t made any progress in solving them. If anything, these issues have only gotten worse over the last few years.

This unfortunate deterioration of YouTube has led to much discontent among its creators and many people looking for alternative video platforms. Don’t trust us? Just look at how many people in the U.S. alone Google the word “youtube alternative” and “youtube alternative site” each month:

The above proves how many creators or businesses are at their wit’s end due to the platform’s overwhelming issues. But what are these problems exactly?

Problems With YouTube

The issues that plague YouTube aren’t technical. If they were, they’d be easy to address. Unfortunately, the problems are much harder to fix because most involve customer relations. Here are just some of the issues millions of creators have with YouTube:

• Vague community guidelines and their inconsistent enforcement — YouTube often takes down videos that fully adhere to their community guidelines without elaborating on the reasoning behind the action. That often happens even when videos get manually reviewed, which most creators find unacceptable.
• Unfair demonetization penalties — YouTube’s automated monetization bot is extremely flawed and often demonetizes creators’ videos that follow the community guidelines to the T. That has led to many creators’ being in constant anxiety over potentially having their livelihoods taken away.
• Abusable DMCA flagging system — YouTube’s copyright flagging system is one of the worst on the internet. Anyone (even fresh creators) can copyright claim any video without any proof of ownership of the material. The long and sluggish copyright strike appeal system can often lead to immense frustration, revenue loss, and sometimes even to a full channel deletion due to false flagging.
• Lack of communication — One of the biggest gripes content creators have with YouTube is its lack of communication. The primary concerns are with YouTube’s refusal to communicate and explain their community guidelines better and unhelpful and sluggish customer support (particularly for smaller creators).

These and many more horrible YouTube trends are the primary reasons so many people have been looking for alternative video platforms.

Why Having Alternatives Is Essential

We know it’s hard to leave something you have fond memories of and love, but who says you have to? Yes, people might be searching for alternative video platforms to YouTube, but that doesn’t mean they have to leave the platform. No — it’s just wise to have a backup if something goes awry. But why else is having alternatives vital except for the obvious? 

Firstly, diversifying your income by becoming a part of other video-sharing websites is an excellent way to have some funds on the side if your YouTube channel gets demonetized or worse.

Also, building an audience on some YouTube alternatives or a personal website will futureproof your career if YouTube ever shuts down. Don’t forget — nothing lasts forever, and the same applies to YouTube. 

Finally, did you ever wonder why YouTube isn’t doing anything to fix the platform’s jarring issues? Because it has no competition. That is why turning toward platforms similar to YouTube and building a following on them may give YouTube the incentive to address the issues they have to keep creators from leaving.

With all of the above in mind, it should be evident why having a presence on multiple platforms can only be positive for all creators. Doing that doesn’t require much effort on your part but can prove invaluable at preserving your income should something unfortunate happen on YouTube. 

It’s always best to have options.

Best YouTube Alternatives for Content Creators and Brands

When it comes to video platform alternatives to YouTube, there are many out there. They are all widely different, so before deciding to try one out, you should first ask yourself what you need from a video platform. Are you looking for a video-sharing website to promote your content and expand your audience? Are you interested in finding the best monetization alternative to YouTube? Or do you need a very specifically-oriented community for it to enjoy your content?

All of the above are things to consider when looking to get started on another video platform, so ensure that you have all the answers before you start. Now, we’re going to give you some alternative video platforms to consider. Do note that even though we have sorted them into categories “for creators” and “for businesses” purely on our intuition, feel free to pick any that you find suitable for your needs regardless of whether you’re a content creator or a major online publisher.

Best YouTube Alternatives for Creators

Here are three video platforms that creators who are failing to fit in on YouTube might find appealing:

Bitchute

Bitchute is a free video-sharing website similar to YouTube that has more lenient content rules and policies. This platform prides itself as being a free speech YouTube alternative and accepts all types of content creators. Bitchute is a popular destination for YouTube creators who got their channels banned or demonetized because of its like-minded community.

Unfortunately, as with all YouTube alternatives, this platform doesn’t have a huge audience, so that is a downside. However, that also means that the competition is low, which might prove an excellent way to build a presence on the platform.

Pros:

Cons:

Lbry.TV

Lbry.TV is a decentralized platform where users can upload digital content, including videos. This website prides itself on being one of the best YouTube alternatives without censorship, so if you’re having trouble keeping your videos on YouTube, this platform might be an excellent alternative for you. Two of the best aspects of Lbry.TV are that the platform has various monetization options, such as locking your content behind a paywall, and many different types of content available.

At Lbry.TV, you can enjoy anything from short video game compilations to various tutorials. Unfortunately, this platform only pays creators via bitcoin, so if you’re not versed in cryptocurrency, you might have some difficulties setting yourself up.

Pros:

Cons:

Storyfire

Storyfire is currently one of the best alternative video platforms to YouTube for a wide range of popular video content creators. The platform has more relaxed community guidelines, gives creators a higher cut from ad revenue, and has numerous big YouTube creators on it already. 

Storyfire allows you to enjoy high-quality content free of charge. However, if you’re a creator looking to get started on the platform, you might be up for a bumpy ride. Storyfire has some troublesome limitations for new content creators, making getting started on the platform more challenging than it should be.

Pros:

Cons:

Odysee

Odysee is a brand-new video-sharing site like YouTube that launched just recently. This platform adopted a creator-first business model and was built on Lbry.TV’s blockchain technology, making it one of the first decentralized video platforms created for global audiences. In just a few months since its launch, the platform managed to accrue over eight million users, and that number is only growing by the day.

Odysee’s creators believe that the technology they used to create the platform is the future of online video platforms as it allows for better privacy and is censorship-resistant. Aside from that, the platform introduced a superior monetization method to YouTube, where creators earn revenue per-view and through referrals and get paid in bitcoin.

If you are looking for a site similar to YouTube with a bright future, Odysee is likely the best choice!

Pros:

Cons:

Best YouTube Alternatives for Businesses

Here are three online video platforms that businesses can use to build their brands and revenue further:

Vimeo 

Vimeo is one of the largest video hosting platforms on the web, aside from YouTube. This video giant has been on the market since 2004 and is still the go-to platform for various businesses worldwide.

Some of the reasons Vimeo is excellent for businesses and publishers is because it offers plenty of customization and branding options. That is perfect for brands looking to get noticed. On top of that, Vimeo provides some handy features like video analytics, social integration, and excellent video quality. This video giant even has a handy mobile app, which means users can enjoy it on the go!

However, where Vimeo falls flat is in its price and the monetization department. Like most video platforms for businesses, Vimeo is a premium service that comes at quite a steep fee for its upload limits. Also, Vimeo doesn’t have plenty of monetization opportunities, which means publishers and creators won’t earn much revenue.

Pros:

Cons:

Brid.TV

Brid.TV is a video monetization platform solution that focuses on ad-based monetization. So if you’re a publisher or content creator looking for a more secure and versatile YouTube alternative for your website, Brid.TV is the best solution for you!

Brid.TV platform has a simple, user-friendly CMS and provides a fully white-label video player, allowing brands to customize and brand it at will. And if you have any live streaming needs, Brid.TV’s HTML5 player also supports HLS live streaming at multiple quality renditions.

But where Brid.TV shines is in the video monetization department! If your primary source of revenue is ads, we at Brid.TV have the widest variety of video monetization options for creators and supports all the latest video advertising technology. Instream and outstream ads, VAST and VPAID support, ad pods, video carousel, and more await at Brid.TV.

Unfortunately, Brid.TV is not a video-sharing platform, meaning you will need to have a website to use our services. Also, the most advanced features are only available to higher-tier subscribers.

Pros:

Cons:

Brightcove

Brightcove is another popular video hosting platform particularly suitable for enterprise-level businesses. 

The best part about this platform is that it’s an all-in-one solution with plenty of features like video analytics and live streaming options. This enterprise video hosting platform also offers seamless integration with various marketing automation tools, making it particularly useful for marketers. On top of that, Brightcove even allows its users to monetize their videos, though that feature is quite limited.

Perhaps one of the most significant downsides to this tech giant is that it’s not beginner-friendly with its clunky UI and non-transparent pricing. Also, if you want to learn how much their services cost, you have to contact them to get an estimate. Finally, another significant flaw for businesses without a well-established audience is that Brightcove is not a video-sharing platform but a hosting one. That means it doesn’t have a native audience, meaning you’ll need to take your content to a self-built website.

You can contact Brightcove to learn more about their pricing scheme here.

Pros:

Cons:

Social Platforms as YouTube Alternatives

Believe it or not, social media platforms can be excellent YouTube alternatives nowadays. That is because the growth of video wasn’t limited to YouTube. Many social networks have introduced significantly better support for video on their platforms, making some of them well-worthy contenders as YouTube alternatives.

Social media platforms are a particularly wise choice if you already have a substantial social following as a content creator or brand. That is why if worst comes to worst, using popular social networks as alternative video platforms to YouTube could be an excellent solution.

Here are our recommendations on what we think are currently the two best social video platforms:

Facebook — An Excellent Alternative for Creators

According to Statista, Facebook has over 2.7 billion users, making it the largest social media platform globally. With such a massive user base, it shouldn’t be surprising that Facebook was the first social network to push for change.

Ever since Facebook started giving higher exposure to native videos, video content has been flourishing on the platform. There are currently more than eight billion video views daily on Facebook, and that number is sure to grow even further! Even live streaming has gotten off the ground on the platform recently!

So if you ever end up stuck in a rut on YouTube, consider making Facebook your new home!

LinkedIn — A Worthy Alternative for Businesses

Similarly to Facebook, LinkedIn’s algorithm has started favoring videos quite a lot recently. Lately, video campaigns on LinkedIn have seen 50% higher view rates, and video content is everywhere!

Although this social network is substantially smaller than Facebook (around 675 million monthly users), it is business-oriented and is a heaven for B2B entrepreneurs. So if you’re a business or brand looking for an alternative video platform to YouTube, getting started with LinkedIn video is a sound choice!

Having Alternatives Will Prove Worthwhile!

As you can see, there are many YouTube alternatives out there, regardless of the content you’re creating. Whether you’re an independent content creator looking for a new home or a business wanting to take your revenue generation to the next level, you’re sure to find a suitable YouTube substitute on this list!

Whichever platform you end up considering, remember one thing — regardless of what you do in life, you will never truly be in control until you have alternatives… So do you want to be helpless, or do you want to take your future into your own hands?

Best of luck to you!