Vimeo

Vimeo is a streaming service for user-curated videos, but it's managed to carve a niche distinct from YouTube thanks to its focus on offering a platform for serious creatives. The barrier to entry may be a bit higher, but Vimeo occupies an interesting space between the carefully curated selection of streaming content providers like HBO Max or Netflix and wild and chaotic content landscapes like YouTube. The cost to entry for content creators brings with it a luxury mystique.

In terms of functionality, viewers won't notice much difference between the viewing interface on Vimeo if they've used YouTube before. There are the requisite options for sorting through trending videos, videos from people you follow, and categories that interest you, but Vimeo does a great job of maximizing the real estate and letting the video dominate the screen.

A similarly utilitarian approach has been taken towards the dashboard that video creators will be using. That's by design. There's no built-in editing tools or advanced features beyond abilities to upload and organize videos. Fortunately, that focus on the fundamentals means those fundamentals work very well. Vimeo can comfortably upload 8K and 360-degree video content, and easy integration with most major cloud services allow you to essentially just set up your Vimeo account and let it ride. The organizational options may not be particularly exciting, but they are substantive. Different albums can be organized and shared for more targeted results.

Essentially, Vimeo's value to a creator is really going to depend on what they're looking to do. Creators who excel in the current ad-driven model won't find a lot to like on Vimeo, but those with more substantive content and a desire to build out an authentic brand identity will find a lot to love about Vimeo. The smaller user base and higher barrier to entry means both that its categories aren't filled with videos past the saturation point and that the quality of videos tends to be higher. That's further accented by the fact that Vimeo doesn't come with any ads.

Videos in Vimeo are neatly organized and cover a very broad range of categories. While artists and professionals looking to share their services are an obvious target group for Vimeo, the service is used by everyone from advertisers to traditional artists and craftspeople. Vimeo offers an arguably premiere-class experience for people hungry for video content, but it's the creators that foot the bill. Fortunately, it offers further options for creators to directly monetize their content by flagging their videos as on demand and charging directly for their use.

Pros:

• Delivers an ad-free experience for all content
• One of the most responsive video players around
• Quality metrics for tracking the success of specific content

Cons:

• A potentially expensive choice for content creators
• Still some bugs with the mobile app
• Doesn't have the built-in audience of YouTube