Top 12 Video Sites That Are Better Than YouTube
Here are some alternative video sites to YouTube. They each occupy a different niche, but are worth adding to your bookmarks.There 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 that you may like to try. So we've put together a list of the best YouTube alternatives out there.
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, like YouTube in its early days.
Content on VideosHub includes highlights of the world's best surfers, quick and to-the-point product reviews, and tips on completing 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 dive deeper 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, with over 300 million monthly users, according to CSI Magazine. There are millions of videos uploaded by both professional publishers and amateurs. Videos on the homepage are organized by category, with featured videos, news, sport, entertainment, and music being given prevalence.
Dailymotion lets you create your own 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, having been founded in late 2019.
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) Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is a web-based library of all kinds of free content, including books, music, software, and of course, movies.
Just as you might associate a physical library with research, one of the strengths of the Internet Archive's video content is its vast collection of historical material. While it also has some new content, some of its best videos are old and obscure news reports, TV series and movies that are usually 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. Overall, you will find that Crackle is also one of the best free video streaming services that you need to try.
Some of Crackle's original content has received critical acclaim, including the web series Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, starring Jerry Seinfeld. It also has a solid selection of popular TV shows.
For more TV series, check out our article on the best sites to watch TV via the web.
7) Twitch
Owned by Amazon, Twitch is the web's best live-streaming platform, with more than 140 million users according to Demand Sage and millions of top streamers.
On Twitch, creators post live streams in which they can do almost anything. Gaming is undoubtedly the most popular streaming category on Twitch, with a huge list of specific options like Minecraft, League of Legends and Overwatch.
But if gaming isn't your thing, there are also IRL (in real life) and creative categories where you can see people drawing, hosting casual chit-chats, singing and cooking.
Most notably, Twitch has broadcast many live music videos from festivals and concerts. International DJ Steve Aoki broadcast the entire set from Ibiza in 2014.
On Twitch, you can follow your favorite streamers for free or subscribe to their channel for a monthly fee to support their streaming venture. You can also earn channel points for the time you spend watching certain streamers.
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 on The Open Video Project are educational. There are many videos from the archives of NASA and a collection of classic TV commercials and educational films dating back to the 1950s. If you want 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 3,500 talks covering many topics, such as technology, business, design, science, and global issues. TED Talks uploads five to seven new talks every week for you to enjoy.
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. However, the one constant with all the TED Talks videos 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 is thus decentralized.
Users who post videos on the site earn Steem (STEEM) crypto tokens which they can transfer to their own cryptocurrency wallets or sell for cash on a cryptocurrency 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 you a tailored list of video content.
There are various series that you can watch on Facebook Watch, such as The Real Bros of Simi Valley, Sorry for Your Loss, and Sacred Lies. Finding content is a bit harder than YouTube, as it doesn't have endless categories to choose from. But you can follow your favorite shows to stay updated with new episodes.
But if you enjoy spending hours scrolling through lists of easy-to-watch videos, it's definitely a YouTube alternative worth considering.
YouTube's alternatives are worth a try
There is no doubt that YouTube is a top-notch video-sharing platform with a wide range of content to choose from. But this doesn't mean that you have the only option when it comes to watching videos online. So, check out the above YouTube options to add some new types of videos to your repertoire. After all, variety is always a good thing.
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