20 Best Alternatives To YouTube You Must Try For Sure!

We all acknowledge that YouTube is the main platform for watching free videos online. But do you know there are several alternatives to YouTube that you don’t want to miss?

YouTube is a dominant source of entertainment and infotainment. It’s the most popular video content platform with over a billion monthly active users.

Being the 2nd largest search engine only next to Google, it’s bigger than the most popular players like Bing and Yahoo.

We all use YouTube to watch movies, news, shows, vlogs, how-to, hacks, and other general-purpose videos. Plus all the crazy stuff, to keep you hooked for hours.

Many people use YouTube to promote their business by uploading informative videos about the products they want to promote and advertise.

Considering all these benefits, why would you even want alternatives to YouTube?

The fact is, though YouTube is the most prevalent platform, this doesn’t make it the best. YouTube can be exceptional but still has some pitfalls.

Why Would You Need Alternatives To YouTube?

YouTube’s immense success has also become a pain point for the company. The website gets millions of hours of new content published every day. So, the amount of junk and useless content is increasing day-by-day.

To safeguard the quality of its content, YouTube has released several policy updates that have vexed many creators and viewers.

The new procedures have made it very hard for new content creators to grow on the YouTube platform.

The viewers are also getting served with too many annoying ads. These drawbacks are forcing more and more users to avert from the platform.

Below, I have listed some key reasons why users are looking for alternatives to YouTube.

• A vast amount of content is uploaded and not being scrutinized or evaluated for quality before getting live.
• The viewers are getting too many annoying ads.
• The cookie tracking system gives Google even more data, which adds to inappropriate ads being served.
• Instances of suspending the creators have increased to a great extent, and the worst thing is, you never get your account back.
• YouTube offers limited security and there isn’t an option to password protect our videos.
• It displays competitor’s ads next to your video content which impacts your business negatively.
• YouTube has customization limits and doesn’t offer options to change video player or channel colors for branding.
• The video player control options are limited and outdated.
• The comment section can’t be moderated and is old-fashioned.

If any of the above reasons are impacting you or your business, the purpose to find an alternative to YouTube gets more prominent.

Besides, broadening your horizons is always salutary. Remember, not all the content available on the internet is on YouTube. There are several videos available on other platforms, but not on YouTube.

The Best Alternatives To YouTube

1- DailyMotion

DailyMotion receives the second-largest video traffic, making it the best alternative to YouTube.

Users call it a European YouTube for its immense popularity on the continent. The look and feel are pretty much the same as on YouTube.

The DailyMotion has titles ranging from classics, independent movies, and premium programs from across the globe.

• UI is very similar to YouTube, so you will get used to it right away.
• Policies not very strict, and it doesn’t remove your content easily.
• Video categories make it easier to navigate around.
• Monetization option is available for creators

• HD quality video upload is only available for pro users.
• You can only upload a maximum of 60 minutes long videos.
• You can’t upload the video with a resolution over 1080p.
• Widely used in Europe but not so popular in the U.S.

2- Vimeo 

Vimeo is one of the best video hosting platforms for artists and classy filmmakers. The platform advocates professionals in fields like music, dance, cinematography, photography, etc.

The creators use Vimeo to target a niche crowd. So, if you want interest-based viewers, this is one of the best alternatives to YouTube.

What I Liked the Most

• Vimeo has a neatly designed homepage
• They have various categories to make the search easier.
• Perfect for creative content creators.
• Encourages high-quality content.
• Ad-Free and only focus on video streaming quality.
• Good for embedding on sites as the viewers don’t see ads.
• Has unlimited bandwidth.
• The video player had great controls.

What I Disliked

• No option to monetize.
• You need to pay for space over 5GB.
• Not suitable for the general category of content.
• Not everyone can use the platform as it caters to a targeted audience.

3- Veoh

Veoh is a relatively newer platform. You can enjoy movies, TV shows, music, and general videos.

As a creator, you will love this platform as there is no upper limit on the length of videos.

Veoh has over 9K short-length films, however, if you are looking for full-length new movies, Veoh is not the right place to search.

There are lots of social features present which will allow you to share content among friends. The website shows lesser ads as compared to its competitors.

What I Liked the Most

• Clean user interface with a lot of social features present.
• No restriction to the length and size of the video to upload.
• Download functionality is available.
• Creators can monetize their content.

What I Disliked

• The search experience is less pleasing.
• Lesser traffic compared to YouTube.
• A separate Veoh player is required to play some videos.

4- Twitch

If you love video gaming or are a professional game developer, Twitch is absolute heaven. Twitch started small but soon became a favorite among viewers and content creators.

Besides watching gaming videos, you can live chat within forums and groups. Since all the members are passionate about gaming, they make a close connection.

For monetization, Twitch might not be suitable. However, gamers can make money by paid subscriptions, donations, sponsorship, advertisements, affiliate sales, etc.

What I Liked the Most

• Great for watching live gaming videos.
• A very passionate community of gamers.
• A huge content library of games.
• Live streaming support and chat.

What I Disliked

• Payout is lesser in comparison to YouTube.
• The video player can’t rewind videos.
• Streaming performance is slower.

5- Facebook Watch

Facebook Watch is one of the best alternatives to YouTube. The videos you see here are from Facebook pages, groups, and accounts.

The only missing feature is that you don’t get too many filters to narrow down your search results. However, you can sort the videos according to the source and year.

The platform works the best for brand promotions. You can share your videos to over a billion audiences on Facebook Watch, and sometimes it gives even better results than YouTube.

What I Liked the Most

• Huge traffic and a large user base.
• Variety of videos from all the genres.
• Easily search for videos as per your requirements.
• Great for finding social media personalities.

What I Disliked

• Still under development and in a growing phase.
• Limited monetization options.

6- IGTV 

Instagram has its video streaming platform, IGTV. It’s a full-screen vertical video sharing platform for mobile devices.

If you are looking for niche-based videos, IGTV is a great place to search. For the content creators, IGTV is exceptional as they can reach a larger audience.

What I Liked the Most

• Great for watching videos on a smartphone.
• Readily available to every Instagram user.
• Great for uploading short or longer videos.
• Niche-based video content.
• Allows following popular Instagram creators in your niche.

What I Disliked

• Limited to mobile users.
• IGTV prefers only a vertical aspect ratio.
• No prominent monetization program.

7- Metacafe

Metacafe is one of the oldest video streaming sites. The company claims to get about 40 million unique viewers.

The website is best known for the short form of video content. The upper video length limit is of 90-second. You will love the platform if you enjoy quick and lighthearted content.

What I Liked the Most

• To-the-point and focused 90-second videos.
• No garbage or junk content.
• The streaming quality is good.
• Has monetization options for creators.
• Has Simple privacy policies.

What I Disliked

• 90-second seems to be too short for the limit.
• Less popular than YouTube.

8- DTube 

DTube is a decentralized platform where the content gets stored on block-chains. So it’s the best platform in terms of security and content freedom.

The interface is immaculate, with easy options to upload videos. You can either upload the content from your storage or transfer the videos from YouTube, DailyMotion, and Vimeo.

DTube doesn’t serve you with ads. They reward creators with STEEM crypto-currency for getting high engagement.

What I Liked the Most

• Safe and secure from hackers.
• Don’t serve ads.
• Monetization with STEEM Dollars.
• No censorship for creators.

What I Disliked

• Not enough content.

9- 9GAG TV 

If you’re on Facebook and Twitter, you would have come across content from 9GAG. The channel provides an abundance of entertainment as images, GIFs, memes, videos, and more.

9GAG primarily focuses on funny content. They host many weird comic videos that users share on social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook.

What I Liked the Most

• Niche-based content focused on pure fun and entertainment.
• A lot of funny content.

What I Disliked

• The content includes NSFW videos.

10- Flickr

You may know Flickr for photo sharing, but it also allows you to upload video content. Flickr limits its videos to 90 seconds. They refer to them as Long Photos.

Free users can upload two 90-second videos per month, whereas paid subscribers have no upload limits.

What I Liked the Most

• Neat and simple UI with easy searching.
• Good for first-time users.

What I Disliked

• Video upload limit of 90 seconds.
• Limited uploads for free users.

11- Photobucket 

Like Flickr, Photobucket is popular for its repository of images. However, it also hosts an impressive collection of videos.

Photobucket doesn’t apply the 90-second limit on the video uploads.

What I Liked the Most

• No limit to content duration.
• Excellent UI and browsing experience.
• High-quality diversified content.

What I Disliked

• Lesser viewership compared to YouTube.

12- PeerTube 

Like DTube, PeerTube is a decentralized video platform powered by ActivityPub and WebTorrent. As the name suggests, it’s a peer-to-peer video streaming and sharing platform.

PeerTube is a relatively new platform but looks like one of the most promising alternatives to YouTube.

What I Liked the Most

• No censoring.
• Peer-to-peer streaming and sharing.
• Easy to use UI.
• Ads free.
• Free to use.

What I Disliked

• Relatively new and still growing.
• Lesser content.

13- The Open Video Project 

If you are looking for something more educational and informative, you must try The Open Video Project.
Launched back in 1998, it’s a digital library featuring many documentaries, educational case studies, and other historical stuff.

What I Liked the Most

• Great for educational videos.
• Free to use.
• Large library of videos.

What I Disliked

• UI is old-fashioned and not very pleasing.
• Not a direct replacement to YouTube.

14- The Internet Archive 

The Internet Archive is the house of many old movies and TV shows that do not have any copyright.
You are free to download the content with a single click or as a magnet link.

What I Liked the Most

• Largest library of old movies.
• Direct download available.
• Well categorized genres and titles.

What I Disliked

• Fresh and latest content not available.
• The video quality not great.

15- Vevo 

If you love music videos, Vevo is one of the best alternatives to YouTube. It hosts an endless supply of music videos literally at your fingertips.

Mostly you will find videos from Sony Music Entertainment and Universal Music Group. You can either watch the latest hits or explore video clips categorized by artists.

What I Liked the Most

• Absolute heaven for those who love music videos.
• High-quality content.
• Simple to use UI.

What I Disliked

• Not as varied as YouTube.
• You cannot upload your music videos.

A Few More Alternatives To YouTube

16- TED Talks 

TED Talks is a leading video website that features videos on topics, such as technology, business, design, science, and global issues.

TED is a non-profit organization that hosts conferences and lectures worldwide. The recordings of these events get featured on TED Talks.

It’s a great platform if you are looking for fresh ideas or wish to learn something new.

17- MySpace

On MySpace, you will mostly find celebrity interviews.

It features artists from varied fields including films, TV, music, art, sports, literature, and more. You can also listen to your favorite music.

18- Hulu

On Hulu, you can find several popular video clips from popular movies and TV shows.

Currently, it is only available in the US.

19- Mixer

Owned by Microsoft, Mixer is a gaming platform that offers an interactive feature where you can watch and play the games alongside the players.