The shift to video streaming services was rapid. It started out as a niche for hard-core geeks, but now it’s how almost everyone watches videos.
Downloading videos from the Internet is now easier than ever. Free video hosting is just as common (with some limitations in place). But which service will you choose? Here are the best free online hosting services for your videos.
It’s hard to think of free online video without thinking of YouTube. Much like its owner Google, the word YouTube has become synonymous with video search, if you’re looking for a song, clip, or meme, you’re likely to “YouTube” it.
It is not without reason because YouTube is a huge platform and the biggest free video hosting site in the world for everyone. You can upload videos up to 256 GB in size.
Anyone can search your downloaded videos. You can keep it private or unsubscribe it so only people with the link can see it. YouTube also supports live streaming to a live audience and then saves the videos to the user’s channel.
Any content creator can use advertisements to generate revenue on the video hosting site. YouTube Premium removes these ads for a monthly fee. Premium members also get access to YouTube Original programs and a premium music service, as well as downloading and background playback.
Vimeo has a reputation as the video platform for people serious about video. It earned this reputation because for a while it was the only platform to provide super high quality video hosting services for free.
This has made Vimeo a favorite of filmmakers and animators. Although Vimeo no longer has the edge over YouTube in terms of quality, it is still the second name in video hosting on the web.
With a free Vimeo account, you can only upload 500MB per week, with a cap of 5GB. There are four levels of paid account: Additionally, Pro, Business and Premium. Each level increases the download limit, while adding additional features such as customizable players to embed into websites and social media. The best plans allow for a gigantic 7TB of downloads.
When you think of Twitch, you probably think of live streaming first. It is one of the favorite live streaming platforms for gamers and esports. The service has taken off in recent years, with many people choosing to watch their favorite content creators live rather than pre-recorded.
Twitch TV is a subsidiary of Amazon. Capitalizing on their success, Twitch started offering free hosting services to their users, and now you can find as much pre-recorded content as live streams on the site.
Free video download is available for Twitch Affiliates free. The videos range from previous broadcasts to videos filmed entirely offline and uploaded after editing. You are limited to 5 simultaneous downloads per user, with a maximum of 100 downloads in 24 hours.
For a while, Dailymotion was a direct competitor to YouTube. Dailymotion provided a counterpoint to YouTube at the start of Internet copyright law, providing access to content that YouTube was beginning to suppress.
Dailymotion’s reputation as a YouTube cowboy is now a thing of the past, with many companies and new services using the service for embedded content. Dailymotion also allows users to monetize their content based on the number of views.
While Google Drive is ostensibly a way to back up personal files, it’s also well suited for hosting videos. With Google Drive, you miss out on the community aspect of traditional video sites and social media, but there’s an upside.
Place a compatible video file in your Google Drive and it will automatically turn into a YouTube video. You can then share the videos with a link or embed them in websites and social media posts.
There’s no hard limit to Google Drive video sizes, as long as they fit in your Drive, you’re good to go!
Facebook has done so much with the platform since its inception (security issues and all) that it might be easier to list a service they’re not trying to provide. Facebook provides simple video downloading and live streaming services for free to all its users.
Uploading a video to Facebook is as easy as sharing any other post to your timeline. Videos can be embedded and HD download is available on desktop and through Facebook apps for Android and iOS.
Instagram has exploded in popularity in recent years. It’s no surprise that the Facebook-owned platform is moving to video. In addition to the familiar Instagram Stories feature, Instagram added IGTV, a longer video service, in 2018.
Videos on IGTV can be between 15 seconds and 10 minutes long and, unlike the norm, must be portrait rather than landscape. Popular Instagram users have embraced the service, but all users can post videos by creating an IGTV account in the Instagram app or website.
Twitter may not be known as a video service, but in fact, a considerable portion of the video watched daily passes through the platform. The limit of two minutes and twenty seconds does not seem to prevent the daily sharing of thousands of videos on the site.
You can record and upload videos through the Twitter app or the browser. Twitter owns Periscope and uses the same technology to enable live streaming natively on Twitter. Live streaming is available natively through the Twitter app.
VideosHub (formerly Metacafe) previously occupied an online space similar to YouTube and DailyMotion. Since its acquisition in 2012, the site has seen fewer users. Despite this, the videos still get tens of millions of views.
Accounts are free, but videos are limited to less than ten minutes. Those hoping to find an NSFW equivalent to YouTube will be disappointed. Just like the other sites on this list, it does not allow sexually explicit videos. Videos depicting unlawful acts of violence and death are also prohibited.
Wistia started out as a site for artists to store their video portfolios, but it quickly turned to businesses. Now, Wistia is aimed at business users, who want a place to upload videos and receive useful statistics for business growth.
Wistia offers a free tier that anyone can use to host videos to embed on their site or blog. Paid tiers allow for custom and personal branded video players and high-level analytics for marketers and advertisers.
Make quality videos first
Downloading a video is easy to do. In many ways, choosing the right format for your videos is a more difficult task.
There are so many online platforms to choose from with your videos that it’s easy to get overwhelmed. Remember, you must first learn how to produce quality content, especially if you’re trying to build an audience.
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