Video is one of the easiest ways to connect with your audience online. It helps people understand what you do, builds trust faster, and makes your website more engaging. That is why so many small business owners are using video on their websites and in their marketing.
But before you add your own videos to your site, there is one important decision to make: Where should those videos be hosted? YouTube is often the first choice, but Vimeo is another strong option. In this article, I will compare the two so you can choose the best fit for your business website.
Hosting Your Own Videos For Your Website
Uploading raw video files to your own website hosting account server can really slow down your site, drain bandwidth, and ruin your visitors’ experience. Video files (like MP4s) are large, and traditional web hosting isn’t optimized for streaming. Using a third-party platform avoids these issues and is the way to go.
YouTube and Vimeo are two of the most popular options for video hosting. Both let you upload videos and embed them on your website, but they work a little differently, and each has pros and cons depending on your goals.
So which one is better for your business website?
YouTube
At the time of this writing, YouTube has over 2 billion monthly active users – it’s the largest video platform online.
Pros of Using YouTube
1) Huge audience reach – If your goal is visibility and discovery, YouTube can expose your videos to the largest possible audience.
2) Free video hosting and embedding – YouTube does not charge you to upload or embed your videos.
3) Great for search visibility – YouTube is the second biggest search engine after Google, so videos often show up in search results on both Google and YouTube.
4) Built-in analytics and performance data – You can get metrics on views, watch time, audience retention, and more.
Cons of Using YouTube
1) Ads on Your Videos – Unless you have a premium plan, ads may show up on your videos and distract viewers.
2) Limited Control of Appearance – YouTube Player just looks like YouTube, so you don’t have control over the appearance.
3) Less Privacy Control – Even unlisted videos may not be fully private and could be accessed if someone shares a link. This would be a problem if you have a paid membership site where videos should be accessible only to paying members.
Best For: Public, discoverable videos where you want as much attention and reach as possible
Vimeo
Pros of Using Vimeo
1) Cleaner, More Professional Look – Vimeo will not show ads in your video, so it’s going to have a more polished, professional appearance
2) More Privacy Controls – You can restrict who sees the video and where they can be embedded
3) Customizable Player – Vimeo lets you adjust the look of your video to match your website’s style
4) Good quality playback – Vimeo has high-quality video presentations and professional tools.
Cons of Using Vimeo
1) High Cost for More Features – While there’s a free plan for Vimeo, it’s limited to 1 user and 1 GB of lifetime storage. To access more features and more storage, you’ll need to upgrade your plan. Plans start at $12-$20 per month. You can see current pricing here: https://vimeo.com/upgrade-plan
2) Less Search Visibility – Vimeo videos generally do not rank as high in search results as YouTube videos
Best For: Professional websites where quality, presentation, and privacy are more important than cost.
Other Options
For my private, members-only videos, I have also used Amazon S3. Amazon S3 is not a video-sharing platform like YouTube or Vimeo. It’s a large cloud storage for videos. I don’t recommend it for beginners. It can be expensive and techie.
Copyright Issues to Think About
You can store your videos on YouTube or Vimeo and embed them on your website without copyright issues, provided you created and own the content. Embedding is generally considered legal, as the video remains hosted on the platform.
To steer clear of copyright issues, make sure you created the video (you hold the copyright), use appropriate privacy settings, avoid using music or images in your video that may be copyrighted, and use the embed code provided by the platform.
And if you are wondering about the copyrights of using other people’s videos embedded into your website, read this article here on why embedding YouTube videos is not a copyright violation.
Final Thoughts…
Choosing where to host the videos you embed on your website really comes down to your goals.
If cost and audience reach are big factors, YouTube is often the best place to start. It is familiar, free, and trusted by viewers, so it’s ideal for public content. But if you want a more professional look, strong privacy controls, and a better viewing experience on your website, Vimeo is the best option.
You don’t have to stick with just one platform. Many business owners use YouTube for free, public videos, and Vimeo for more private or professional content. You can start small, test what works best, and adjust as your business grows.
The most important thing is not to get stuck on the decision. Pick one option, start using video on your website, and keep moving forward.
(Originally Published April 2017, Updated Jan 2026)
