Growing an audience
Running the business
Both cover video hosting. Here is what separates them on price, billing, what you can take with you, and coverage.
| Vimeo | Wistia | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | From $12 | From $79 |
| Pricing model | Free plan, paid tiers | Free plan, paid tiers |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Billing | Annual only | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial | Not stated | Not stated |
| API | Not stated | Yes |
| Data export | Not stated | Not stated |
| Their cut | Not stated | Not stated |
| Runs on | Web, iOS, Android | Not stated |
| Covers | Video Hosting, Media Storage & Review | Video Hosting, Analytics |
| Works with | Nothing in particular | Nothing in particular |
| Founded | Not listed | Not listed |
| Reader rating | No reviews yet | No reviews yet |
| Live deals | None right now | None right now |
Video hosting with a player nobody advertises on
Vimeo is where a video goes when it has to sit on your own site without YouTube's suggestions appearing over the end of it. The player is customisable, privacy controls are real, and the review tools are decent. Its audience discovery never materialised, so treat it as hosting rather than as a place people will find you.
Only on this side
Video hosting for video your own site depends on
Wistia puts video on your pages with a player you control and analytics counted per viewer rather than per view, which is the difference between hosting and uploading to YouTube. Heatmaps show the second people stop watching. It is priced for a company rather than for one person, and the step from free to $79 is where most creators make their decision.
Our note
The price is the whole argument. Wistia earns $79 a month when video is doing sales work and the heatmaps change what gets made next; when it is doing brand work, host it free somewhere and spend the difference on the edit.
Only on this side
Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.