How to choose an online video platform

Audience reach and accessibility

The best video platforms allow you to share your content long-term and gain as much exposure as possible. They also have a ton of users, which helps you reach a wider, more diverse audience. Some platforms even provide video transcripts and captioning—both of which are crucial for accessibility.

Content security and privacy

Any online video platform worth using ensures your content is safe and inaccessible to unauthorized users. 

Consider platforms that guarantee security with features like digital watermarks, anti-screen recording, AES encryption, and multiple digital rights management (DRM) options. These features protect your video files and data, ensuring they’re safe from illegal file sharing or online uploads, unauthorized access, and piracy.

Monetization and revenue options

Creating videos with the goal to make money? While there are many ways to monetize your content, most OVPs provide native video monetization features that let you:

• Create premium video content playlists
• Run your own or third-party ads 
• Allow your audience to stream without viewing competitors’ ads
• Get paid to stream on over-the-top (OTT) platforms like Apple TV, Chromecast, and Roku

Analytics and insights

It’s not enough to use third-party analytics tools when evaluating how successful your videos are. Find an OVP with built-in video analytics and integration with other apps in your workflow. This way, you can view different performance metrics like:

• Total views or reach
• Audience demographics (age, gender, location)
• Viewer device metrics
• Engagement rates 
• Viewer behavior and engagement
• Video completion rates or play duration
• Click-through rates (CTRs)
• Audience retention

This data helps you adjust your video marketing strategy and refine and enhance your content to align it to your audience’s needs. For example, if a significant number of your viewers are from France, adding French subtitles can enhance their viewing experience. 

10 great video sharing platforms for creators

1. YouTube

Best for: Creators who want massive reach.

Of course it had to be number one. YouTube is the most popular free video streaming platform with over 2 billion users worldwide and an average of over 70 billion daily YouTube Shorts views. 

It’s easy and free to start a YouTube channel and upload videos. You can tap into its vast audience, enjoy unlimited storage and bandwidth, and adjust your video’s privacy settings to unlisted, private, or public. 

Plus, with the YouTube Create app, you can quickly edit and polish videos and Shorts on-the-go from your phone, for free. You also get video analytics with insights, such as the most popular content, optimal video length, new or returning fans, and time of day viewers are on YouTube, and more.

YouTube isn’t as comprehensive as other OVPs. But it’s a good place to start if you want to publish videos for search engine optimization (SEO) purposes, drive traffic to your website, or build and reach new audiences on social media.

Key features:

• YouTube Create app
• YouTube Partner program to get paid when brands advertise on your videos
• AI-powered features, including video backgrounds and soundtracks
• Live video streaming features 
• Localized versions for 100+ countries and 80 languages
• YouTube monetization tools—including Fan Funding, channel memberships, Super Chat, and Super Stickers

Pros of YouTube:

• It’s free
• User-friendly 
• Large audience and reach
• High audience engagement potential
• You can embed YouTube videos on your website
• Offers localized versions in many languages 

Cons of YouTube:

• Ads play automatically
• Monetization limits
• Basic video analytics
• Limited support
• High competition from other creators
• No branding, white label, or customization options

Pricing: Free.

2. Instagram Reels

Best for: Viral short-form video content.

Instagram Reels (formerly known as IGTV) is another popular video hosting platform where you can share short, entertaining, and easily-discoverable videos. You can introduce yourself to new audiences, display your creativity, and promote products. 

Whether you’re an amateur filmmaker or professional videographer, you can record, edit, and clip videos, add music, transitions, text, stickers, and other effects to wow your audience. Then, publish for free on Instagram to extend your reach.

For more creative freedom, Reels lets you turn photos into short video clips, add timed text and voiceovers, or create dual-frame reels for before-and-after videos. You can also co-author your Reels with other creators using the Collabs tool to further increase your reach.

To track your Reels’ performance, Instagram’s Insight tools give you a peek into recent highlights, reach, engagement, and discovery metrics for your posts. There’s also a calendar that tracks performance across different timeframes, audience engagement, and breaks down reach by content type. 

Key features:

• Video editing tools
• Remix feature to repurpose existing content
• Collabs tools to create content with other creators 
• Customizable Reels templates
• Sound effects and Dynamic Lyrics
• Monetization tools—including branded content, shoppable products, Live Badges, Instagram Shops, and follower subscriptions
• Instagram Insights to track video performance

Pros of Instagram Reels:

• Free
• Easy to use
• High audience reach
• Instagram algorithm favors Reels
• Audience can discover more Reels from creator’s Reels tab
• Doesn’t need a big budget or production value
• Reels don’t disappear after 24 hours

Cons of Instagram Reels:

• Reels are limited to 90 seconds
• Only accepts MP4 or MOV video file formats
• No direct way to include clickable links
• Potential for content ownership and copyright issues
• Doesn’t support high-quality videos in 4k resolution

Pricing: Free.

3. Vimeo

Best for: Businesses who want to share on-demand videos.

Vimeo is a video-on-demand (VOD) and live streaming platform that’s been in use for over two decades. Creators, filmmakers, and video marketers will find Vimeo’s full suite of video creation, editing, and marketing tools useful to provide viewers with high-quality video experiences. 

For example, Dmytro Svichkar, a visual content creator and producer, uses Vimeo to share video content and bring client projects to life—like this successful crowdfunding video, which raised over $500K.

You can use Vimeo to grow your site traffic, build brand familiarity with its customizable video player, and engage and convert viewers. 

The platform also offers lead generation tools, so you can collect viewers’ addresses and learn about their interests and preferences. These lead-gen tools sync with HubSpot, Mailchimp, and other email marketing providers.

Vimeo also lets you launch your own OTT platform to offer subscribers a user-friendly live or on-demand streaming service that's seamless across Apple, Android, Roku, Xbox, and other devices. You can also grow your following with exclusive content and promotions, and use its four diverse monetization models as additional income streams.

Key features:

• Create branded OTT apps for more control over the viewing experience
• Live streaming with auto-archive to save video content
• Built-in commenting features 
• Screen recording functionality
• Remote collaboration tools to work with your team
• In-depth real-time insights
• Shoppable videos to monetize your online video content

Pros of Vimeo:

• Supports multiple video file types
• Offers customization options
• Ideal for webinars and other educational content
• You can simulcast to multiple channels 
• Live sessions can last up to 12 hours
• You can embed videos on your site without showing ads
• Displays high-quality 4K, SD, and HD videos 

Cons of Vimeo:

• Free plan limited to 3 videos
• Premium plans are expensive
• Interface can be confusing for some users
• Lower reach compared to other video hosting services

Pricing: Vimeo has a free plan that includes three video uploads. For more advanced features and video uploads, you’ll need to upgrade to a paid plan. These start at $23 per seat, per month.

4. Droplr

Best for: Screen recordings

Droplr is a video hosting and sharing platform built for sharing information through visual elements. The platform’s simple and intuitive interface caters to teams working remotely and offers collaboration features for easier communication with your team. 

With Droplr’s visual assets, like screencasts, screenshots, and file transfer, you can share videos explaining ideas or feedback with team members. Then, organize files into themed boards, and set different viewing permissions for private or public access. You can also mark up image files and download or share files using shortened URLs.

If you have sensitive or confidential files, Droplr lets you schedule them to self-destruct after a certain amount of time. 

Droplr also offers analytics on every drop you create. When you open your dashboard and click on a drop, you can see when viewers open links and real-time data on when and how many times it’s been viewed or accessed.

Key features:

• Screencast to record your screen and capture screenshots 
• Cloud storage to make videos accessible anywhere 
• Desktop and mobile apps
• File transfer service to send large video files 
• Link shortener for easy video sharing
• Custom branding to white label the viewing experience

Pros of Droplr:

• User-friendly
• Industry-leading security features
• Supports long video recordings
• Drag-and-drop file sharing
• Offers up to 4K video resolution

Cons of Droplr:

• No free plan
• Limited free trial
• Detailed analytics are only in higher priced plans

Pricing: Droplr’s pricing plans start at $6 per month and include video trimming, screen recording, and up to 10GB video files. For advanced features or more team members, premium plans start at $7 per month. 

5. Dacast

Best for: Unified online video streaming. 

Dacast is a cloud-based live streaming and video hosting platform for live, on-demand, and OTT video content. Dacast broadcasters range from small content creators and medium-sized brands to enterprise businesses, government, media companies, and more. 

The platform’s live streaming video content development networks (CDNs) ensures smoother content delivery, so your audience can enjoy an uninterrupted viewing experience wherever they are. 

You can build professional workflows with live stream recording, video transcoding, and an all-device video player using Dacast’s APIs. Or build your own mobile apps or OTT platform. Then, upload, monetize, and share videos across desktop and mobile devices. 

Dacast also lets you set up multiple pay-per-view streaming prices and control viewing windows, promo codes, and rates.

Key features:

• Share live streams with your audience in real-time
• Full HD quality broadcasts
• Mobile and adaptive HTML5 video streaming
• Embed codes to share videos on your website or blog
• Powerful content management system
• Rich analytics dashboard to track video performance 
• Robust security features—including multi-user access—to keep your videos private and secure

Pros of Dacast:

• 14-day free trial available
• Monetization available on all plans
• Supports multi-bitrate streaming and multiple video formats

Cons of Dacast:

• No free plan
• Slight learning curve
• Limited storage and bandwidth

Pricing: Dacast’s pricing plans start at $39 per month. This includes 1080p broadcasting, 500GB of video storage, and advanced analytics. 

6. JW Player

Best for: Broadcasters and publishers.

JW Player is a robust end-to-end video content management platform designed for publishers and broadcasters for streaming use cases, like live events and online courses. You can streamline your video workflows, deliver superior viewer experiences, and protect your content with Studio DRM, HLS token signing, and geo-blocking—all in one platform. 

JW Player’s OTT video apps and HTML5 web video player render content beautifully on any screen, helping you drive more plays and deepen audience engagement. 

Key features:

• Live VOD streaming
• Web and OTT apps to distribute your video content
• Monetization tools, including ad placements 
• Video analytics and insights
• Social media sharing to market your videos
• Password protection for live streams

Pros of JW Player:

• Easy to learn and use
• Customizable
• Variety of analytics and insights 
• Compatible with many devices

Cons of JW Player:

• No free plan
• Some users complain of video playback issues
• Pricing isn’t publicly available, so we can assume it’s expensive
• Lacks native SEO features

Pricing: JW Player doesn’t share its pricing information publicly. You’ll need to contact its sales team for a custom quote. 

7. Dailymotion 

Best for: Bloggers

Dailymotion is a popular video-sharing platform that lets you upload your own videos for free without worrying about bandwidth. Share videos with its over 400 million users or embed them on your blog. Once you have a steady stream of viewers, use Dailymotion’s in-stream video ads and other relevant revenue-generating ads to monetize your content.

Dailymotion has a familiar YouTube-like interface, which makes for a pleasant watching experience for viewers and boosts audience engagement.

If you’re looking for a platform for encoding, hosting, managing, and delivering your video content, Dailymotion is worth considering. 

Key features:

• Live to VOD auto-recording
• Geoblocking to restrict access to viewers in certain countries
• Desktop and mobile apps to watch on-the-go
• Reporting API to track performance
• Live publication status control
• Unlimited live streams
• Password and privacy protection

Pros of Dailymotion:

• Customizable
• User-friendly
• Easy to navigate
• Less restrictive copyright policies
• Available in different languages

Cons of Dailymotion:

• Limited reach
• Distracting ads can ruin the viewing experience
• Slow load times for videos
• Limited monetization options
• Videos are limited to 60 minutes in length

Pricing: It’s free to upload videos to Dailymotion so long as you’re sharing less than 96 videos per day. If you’re an enterprise business looking to share videos on behalf of a company, you can workaround these limits—and get more advanced features—on paid plans that start at €6,000 per year.

8. Twitch

Best for: Sharing gaming content.

Twitch is an interactive livestreaming platform for sports, music, entertainment, and gaming content. You can broadcast a live stream and connect with viewers through the sidebar chat box. 

The platform offers a fun, social way for viewers to watch their favorite creators perform live play-throughs or broadcast matches while offering running commentary—like this example from TommyInnit, a popular Twitch streamer, who shares Minecraft and comedy videos and entertaining livestreams.

You can share long-form live broadcasts that last an hour or two and access a dedicated fanbase of Twitch users from across the world. Viewers who discover your channel can follow your account and get alerts when you go online. 

Each Twitch channel comes standard with a chatroom, so viewers can communicate with you in real-time and use emotes and memes. Depending on your streamer level, viewers can subscribe to your channel at a set price per month and enjoy member-only perks. 

Plus, you can monetize your channel and earn money as a partner or become an affiliate and generate income by running ads on your channel.

Key features:

• Chat room to communicate with viewers
• Custom cheermotes to personalize the viewing experience
• Verified and subscriber badges to build viewer loyalty
• Regular and custom emotes
• Custom go-live notifications to increase viewership

Pros of Twitch:

• Easy to use
• Ideal for new streamers
• Large viewership
• Monetization options
• Supports mobile and desktop devices

Cons of Twitch:

• Works best for gaming content
• Not the most professional interface

Pricing: Free.

9. Vidyard

Best for: Enterprise videos—particularly marketing and sales videos.

Vidyard is an online video platform for creating, editing, and instantly sharing videos, presentations, and other engaging content. 

Whether you’re prospecting or creating proposals, you can use Vidyard’s Video Messages to connect with and qualify leads, and close more deals. Or record and share personalized screen recordings and videos in a few clicks to sell better. 

Add videos to your sales outreach to deliver better intros, pitches, proposals, and demos that impress your audience. Pre-made video scripts are included to create high-impact videos for each stage of the sales cycle, saving you time and money.

Plus, you can share your videos directly from platforms like Gmail, LinkedIn, and Outlook, so it’s easier to connect with customers and prospects.

Key features:

• Screen recording functionality
• Editing tools to trim and customize videos before sharing them
• AI Script Generator to save time in pre-production
• Analytics to monitor audience behavior and watching habits
• Vidyard hosting to save and distribute your video content online

Pros of Vidyard:

• Free to use
• Easy to record and share videos
• Detailed analytics
• Connects to CRMs and other business apps

Cons of Vidyard:

• Expensive
• No unlimited videos in free plan
• Limited recording length on some plans

Pricing: Vidyard does have a free plan that gives you 25 video uploads, sharing, and editing tools. For more advanced features and unlimited video uploads, paid plans start at $19 per month.

10. Facebook

Best for: Cross-posting video content.

Facebook offers a platform for creators to make, share, and connect with their audiences through video. You can publish video content to build and maintain engagement, easily monetize using in-stream ads and other ad formats, and tap into the platform’s 500 million viewers who watch video on Facebook every day. Because Meta, Facebook’s parent company, also owns Instagram, it’s easy to cross-post Reels between the two platforms.

Facebook supports most video file formats. To maintain video quality and speed up upload times, use MP4 files with a resolution of 1080p or less, and file sizes up to 10 GB. 

Key features:

• Facebook Live to connect with your audience in real-time
• Monetization options, including ads, subscriptions and Stars 
• Creator Studio to track video performance and schedule content
• Video series and playlists to improve retention
• Video polls to engage with your Facebook followers 

Pros of Facebook:

• Free
• Simple and user-friendly
• Works on web, desktop, and mobile 
• You can upload HDR videos
• Limitless file storage

Cons of Facebook:

• Limited file formats
• No boosted posts in Professional Mode
• Some features are only available on Facebook Pages

Pricing: Free.

So, what’s the best video platform?

Generally speaking, YouTube is the best video platform for modern creators. It has a captive audience of over 2 billion users, unlimited storage and bandwidth, and a variety of live and on-demand video editing and sharing tools. 

But while YouTube is the obvious choice and may have the most visitors, it doesn’t mean they’ll all watch your videos. It’s not necessarily the one best suited to your requirements.

You may find a platform with a niche-specific audience that proves to be a better choice for your needs. For instance, Vimeo might appeal more to creators who prioritize customization, privacy, and security, while Vidyard might be better if your videos are intended for marketing and sales purposes.

Video editing software for high-quality content on any platform

Before sharing your videos online, you need to ensure they’re engaging, high-quality, and the ideal length for your preferred platform. That’s where Descript comes in.

Descript is an all-in-one solution for planning, recording, transcribing, editing, collaborating, and sharing video content. 

There’s very little Descript can’t do. It’s got: 

• Intuitive video and audio editing tools
• Automatic AI-generated transcription to edit your video like a document
• AI features like Studio Sound and AI Voices
• Clip creation tools to repurpose your YouTube videos for social media
• A compelling free plan for fast edits 

Plus, you can export your videos in various file formats to upload to an OVP or publish directly to YouTube and podcast hosting platforms.

Ready to create your first video? Take a free trial of Descript today, where premium features come as standard.