Launched in 2004, Vimeo is a video-sharing platform tailored for content creators. In the early 2000s, the main place to share videos was YouTube, which didn’t give users much control or high-quality uploads. Founders Jake Lodwick and Zach Klein wanted a platform that catered exclusively to videographers, filmmakers, and artists to showcase their work and manage their content.
Today, Vimeo has grown into a much larger platform that streams a diverse array of high-quality content, all without users having to sift through shaky camera videos or subpar uploads. Vimeo has built a reputation as the place for professional artists to upload content like films, music videos, and portfolios. The control and customization options of the upload settings allow content creators to fine-tune their videos so others can watch their content exactly how it was meant to be presented.
For this reason, many professional artists and content creators prefer Vimeo over YouTube. The control also extends to monetization. Creators can set up pay-per-view models or subscription services for their content, placing specific videos behind paywalls that can be purchased directly from the site. While YouTube offers monetization features, Vimeo’s approach is often seen as more artist-centric.
You can find hours and hours of content exclusively uploaded to Vimeo, and you’ll know that it’s typically going to be a higher quality compared to the billions of videos on YouTube.