Clients continually ask us, “Which is better? Vimeo or YouTube?” While there are pros and cons to each, it really comes down to the end goal of the video. Will it be used as a product demo for prospects, media and journalists? Do we want to simply embed the video into a blog, or do we want it to go viral with hundreds of thousands of views?
More often than not, however, YouTube offers more opportunities for B2B companies. Vimeo is really more of a platform for artists and filmmakers, and any videos that promote products or services can only be uploaded with a PRO account ($199/yr). Vimeo also has significantly fewer videos and viewers than YouTube. Recent stats put Vimeo at 60 million unique visitors per month, with top brands on YouTube averaging 884,000 monthly views. Although this means less competition for views on Vimeo, it also means far less reach.
Despite the lower viewership, Vimeo has a leg-up on YouTube in terms of production quality and aesthetics. Vimeo doesn’t have ads, it has a sleek embedded player and you can choose the thumbnails for your videos. With YouTube, you have to accept the fact that there will be ads you can’t control and other videos displayed alongside yours – regardless of their content or quality.
Vimeo also does not limit video lengths, whereas YouTube cuts them off at 15 minutes. For B2B companies, this shouldn’t be a huge issue, as the industry standard for a video is between 30 seconds to 3 minutes. But, this may be something to consider if a company is uploading longer product demos or tutorials that push the 15 minute mark.
In summary, if B2B companies care more about great-looking content that they can embed on their site/blog in a sleek player and don’t mind the $199/yr fee, Vimeo is the way to go. But, if they want to generate traffic where the videos are hosted and not just on their company site/blog, YouTube is the better choice.
Here’s a quick high-level run down of the pros and cons of each:
YouTube Pros
- Roughly 800,000 unique visitors/month
- Free
- Fares better in search because it is owned by Google
- YouTube analytics (limited, but at least available)
- Stronger name recognition
- Opportunities for paid promotion of videos
- Fast load times
- No upload limits
YouTube Cons
- Enormous amount of content to compete with
- Cannot control content that shows up adjacent to yours
- 15-minute video limit
- Ads placed before or after your videos
Vimeo Pros
- Much higher video/production quality
- More aesthetically appealing video player
- Choose your own thumbnails
- Profile pages are cleaner and more professional
- Can host your own domain
Vimeo Cons
- Only about 60 million unique visitors/month
- Seen as more of a community for artistic vids/filmmakers
- Need a PRO subscription to upload vids that promote products/services ($199/yr)
- Upload limits depending on subscription
If you’re a B2B company, which do you prefer?
Read more: