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There’s little doubt that YouTube is one of the best video sites in the world. And it’s by far the most popular. But there are some fantastic YouTube alternatives available online.
Here are the best other platforms like YouTube on the web.
1. Vimeo
Even if you visit YouTube on a regular basis, it’s worth adding Vimeo to your rotation of video sites. The site was the first on the web to support high-definition videos, and while it does include a selection of user-generated videos, it places more emphasis on high-quality content.
Vimeo also offers some TV series and supports 360-degree videos.
The site has an easy-to-browse search feature that organizes videos by category and channel. Not sure what to watch? A regularly updated selection of Vimeo staff picks can help point you in the right direction.
2. VideosHub
VideosHub is a video site that specializes in short-form video content. It is one of many video sites like YouTube.
Content includes everything from highlights of the world’s best surfers, quick and to-the-point product reviews, and tips on how to complete a difficult level on your favorite video game.
One of VideosHub’s strengths is its simplicity. Its browsing interface is fairly straightforward, with a menu bar that links to Most Viewed videos. Those who want to take a deeper dive can use the panel on the left, which features a more extensive list of video categories.
3. Dailymotion
Dailymotion is another video website like YouTube. It went live in March 2005, just one month later than its more famous rival.
Today, Dailymotion is probably YouTube’s most like-for-like competitor. There are millions of videos uploaded by both professional publishers and amateurs. Videos on the homepage are organized by category, and hot topics and trending videos are given prominence.
Dailymotion lets you create an account. The more videos you watch, the more personalized the site’s recommendations become.
4. Utreon
Utreon is a relative newcomer to the world of online video platforms.
Its big selling point is a lack of rules and regulations. That’s not to say it is a free-for-all, but the restrictions are far less onerous than those on YouTube. If you struggle to find videos you want to watch on YouTube due to the genre, Utreon is worth checking out.
If you’re a video producer, you don’t even need to re-upload your existing video library; Utreon can pull all your videos from YouTube and populate them in your Utreon profile.
5. The Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is a web-based library of all sorts of free content, including books, music, software, and, of course, movies.
Just as you might associate a physical library with doing research, one of the strengths of The Internet Archive’s video content is its vast collection of historical content. While it does also have some newer content, some of its best videos are older and obscure news reports, TV series, and movies that are typically hard to find on other sites.
Like many other sites, users can also upload videos to The Internet Archive. When uploading videos, H.264 is the common video coding format used.
6. Crackle
Crackle is an online streaming site that features original shows for the web, as well as Hollywood movies and TV series from various networks.
Some of Crackle’s original content has earned critical acclaim, including the web series Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee starring Jerry Seinfeld. It also has a solid selection of well-known TV shows such as 21 Jump Street, 3rd Rock From the Sun, Doc Martin, The Ellen Show, Hell’s Kitchen, and Peep Show.
7. Twitch
Twitch is the web’s best live-streaming platform. The site is owned by Amazon.
The main focus of Twitch is live video game streaming, eSports, and gaming-related talk shows. There are also some non-gaming content. Most notably, Twitch has broadcast several live music videos from festivals and concerts. International DJ, Steve Aoki, famously broadcast an entire set from Ibiza back in 2014. Today, Twitch is the official streaming partner for the Ultra Music Festival in Miami.
There’s also an IRL (In Real Life) category and a Creative category.
8. The Open Video Project
The Open Video Project was developed at the Interaction Design Laboratory at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill’s School of Information and Library Science. It’s targeted toward the research community, including those who work with multimedia retrieval and digital libraries.
With that in mind, most of the videos found on The Open Video Project are educational in nature. There are many videos from the archives of NASA, as well as a collection of classic TV commercials and educational films dating back to the 1950s. If you’re looking to research historical video content, give The Open Video Project a shot.
9. 9GAG TV
9GAG is a collection of all things fun and goofy: funny photos, GIFs, gaming videos, memes, anime, and more.
Most of the content is fun and frivolous. Video titles include “A Compilation of the best Commercials Starred by the Star Wars Crew,” or “This High School Love Story Will Warm Your Heart and Then Break It Before You Know What Happened.”
It’s the type of stuff that’s hard not to click on and then spend hours browsing. Before visiting, be warned: the site contains a number of videos that are somewhat risqué and may not be safe for work.
10. TED Talks
TED Talks is a leading video website. It features more than 2,300 talks covering a vast swathe of topics, such as technology, business, design, science, and global issues.
Some of the talks are funny, while others are emotional. Some talks are meant to explain how your brain works, while others are there mainly for entertainment. The one constant with all the TED Talks videos, however, is that you’re likely to take something memorable out of each one.
The TED Talks website is particularly handy if you’re squeezed for time. Videos that appear on the menu are tagged with an easy-to-see red circle if they’re shorter than six minutes.
11. DTube
DTube, which is short for Decentralized Tube, is a video site like YouTube. However, instead of all the videos being hosted on a central server, the entire site makes use of the STEEM blockchain and it thus decentralized.
Users who post videos onto the site earn STEEM crypto which they can transfer to their own crypto wallets or sell for cash on a crypto exchange.
A slight twist on DTube is the way metrics are displayed. Instead of showing how many views each video has, the site shows how much crypto each video has earned.
12. Facebook Watch
Like YouTube, Facebook Watch offers a tailored list of video content for you to dig into.
It’s a little harder to find content than on YouTube, it doesn’t have endless categories or the subscribe feature. But if you enjoy whiling away the hours scrolling through lists of easy-to-watch videos, it’s definitely a YouTube alternative worth considering.
It’s Worthwhile Trying YouTube Alternatives
YouTube is the top video website for a number of reasons, including its huge selection of videos and association with Google. However, the video sites listed above are all worthy YouTube alternatives.
Check them all out and you’ll be able to add some new types of videos to your repertoire. After all, variety is always a good thing!
Happy learning!
