There are lots of video hosting platforms out there, and Brightcove is a popular option. It’s used by some of the world’s biggest companies and provides reliable streaming and monetization.
But that doesn’t mean it’s the right choice for everyone.
In fact, there are some compelling reasons to look for Brightcove alternatives. Let’s take a look at those reasons, then get into the six best alternatives to Brightcove for video hosting and the key features that set them apart.
Why Brightcove might not be the best option for you
One of the most notable reasons that Brightcove might not be the best video hosting solution is that it’s only a video hosting solution. It won’t, for example, help you build a website to share your videos with the world. It doesn’t have built-in marketing tools or community features.
Instead, you’ll need to use integrations to get your videos on your site. This isn’t necessarily a big deal if you have a lot of time and know-how, but G2 reviews indicate that those integrations aren’t always as seamless as you might hope.
In addition to needing your own website, you’ll also find that Brightcove is expensive. Reviews indicate that it starts at $200 per month, though there’s no official Brightcove pricing on the website. If you tack that on to your website builder, that could get expensive fast. (As you’ll see below, you can get started much more affordably than that.)
Finally, Brightcove is extremely powerful – but that means it’s also quite complicated. This is enterprise-level software that powers video for some huge companies. The vast majority of people who want to host videos don’t need that much power.
So what’s a better option? We have six, each of which has its own strengths and weaknesses.
| Platform | G2 rating | Best for | Basic plan pricing |
| Uscreen | 4.8 | Seamless streaming, content libraries, branded apps, and community features in an all-in-one platform. | $149/month |
| YouTube | 4.5 | Small businesses just getting started or without a budget. | Free |
| Vimeo | 4.3 | Taking the next step up from YouTube | $12/month |
| Wistia | 4.6 | When you want effective marketing tools, but not much else | $19/month |
| Gumlet | 4.7 | Businesses with a website that need a video content management system | $10/month |
| Dacast | 4.5 | Creators who want access to over-the-top, video on demand, and live streaming | $39/month |
6 best Brightcove alternatives
1. Uscreen
Best for: seamless streaming, content libraries, branded apps, and community features in an all-in-one platform.
Why choose Uscreen?
If you want to go beyond hosting videos and manage, share, and build community around them, Uscreen is a great choice. You can use this video streaming platform to not just host your videos, but build an entire streaming media business.
Uscreen is built with the end user in mind. Content libraries are inspired by Netflix and make it easy for viewers to find what they’re looking for, whether it’s an online video course, a feature-length film, or the latest news on a topic they’re interested in.
And if you want to go live, you’ll have the tools you need to natively live stream to and from any device. Building branded mobile apps ensures that your viewers can see your streams on their Android devices, iPhones, or TV apps.
Key benefits of Uscreen
- All-in-one solution: Get video storage, site building, content library organization, live streaming, membership features, and marketing all-in-one platform.
- Intuitive user experience: Because Brightcove includes so many highly advanced features, getting it set up and integrated to your site can be tough. Uscreen is designed to be as easy as possible.
- Built-in monetization options: Use subscriptions, rentals, pay-per-view, and other flexible monetization options to create a predictable revenue stream.
- Engaging community features: Engaged communities provide a great viewer experience. Connecting with others interested in your videos will drive better retention and profitability too.
Drawbacks to consider
- More expensive than some other streaming solutions
- No standalone video hosting option
- Limited educational features for online courses
Is Uscreen right for you?
If you’re looking for a user-friendly platform that supports online video streaming and plan on monetizing video content, this is a viable Brightcove alternative. It stands out from other Brightcove competitors as one of the easiest to use and most fully featured video streaming platforms.
You’ll get support throughout the entire video creation, distribution, and monetization process and present a beautiful interface that keeps your users engaged. Starting a streaming service is easy and the user experience is first-rate.
2. YouTube
Best for: small businesses just getting started or without a budget.
G2 rating: 4.5
Why choose YouTube?
Almost every audience will already be familiar with YouTube, and that’s a big bonus. Everyone knows how to use it, so if your video content is there, you don’t have to worry about educating your viewers on how to access it.
The fact that you can get started for free is another big bonus. You might not have the content management features that you’d get elsewhere, but if you don’t have the budget for a more expensive video delivery tool, you could do much worse than YouTube.
Your potential audience is also nearly limitless with this Brightcove alternative. Whether you use it just for hosting, take advantage of its features as a video streaming platform, or use the live streaming function, there are literally billions of people who could see your content.
Key benefits of YouTube
- Very affordable: You can get started for free, though you’ll end up paying more over time as your viewership grows (you’ll also need to hit a set of minimum requirements before you start a channel membership program).
- Name recognition: There’s no video platform that more people are familiar with, and saying “find us on YouTube” is extremely easy.
- Potential audience is nearly unlimited: According to Sprout Social, YouTube has 2.49 billion monthly active users.
- Some built-in monetization features: YouTube ads and channel memberships give you some earning potential, though they’re not as flexible as other streaming services.
Drawbacks to consider
- Less control over sensitive video content
- Rigid monetization structures
- No site-building capabilities
Is YouTube right for you?
It’s easy to get started, but the forced ads, somewhat limited streaming, and lack of control over your brand aren’t great – plus you have to do all the marketing and community-building elsewhere.
There’s possibly no online video platform that’s easier to get started with than YouTube – but you’ll make a lot of compromises on the way. Forced ads for your viewers, the constant fear of demonetization, limited live streaming options, and a lack of control over branding and streaming content will hamper your growth.
You’ll also need to do your marketing and community-building elsewhere. Which means YouTube doesn’t provide much other than video hosting (though it’s notably more affordable than Brightcove). In the end, it’s best for creators who need the absolute cheapest option available.
3. Vimeo
Best for: taking the next step up from YouTube.
Why choose Vimeo?
If your business is ready for taking the next step up from YouTube, Vimeo is one of the Brightcove alternatives you should consider. It offers more features for video streaming but is still quite affordable.
Most notably, you’ll get more control over branding and marketing your video content from Vimeo. For example, you can build your own over-the-top (OTT) channel that uses your branding and provides video monetization options like free trials and promotions.
It’s also worth pointing out that Vimeo doesn’t pepper your content with ads like YouTube does. Whether you’re using it as an OTT platform or a video hosting solution, you’ll get a better experience than you would with YouTube, though you’ll need to upgrade to a more expensive plan to get live streaming support.
Key benefits of Vimeo
- Price: Vimeo offers a free plan, which is nice, but its most expensive non-custom pricing is only $65 per month, significantly below other Brightcove competitors.
- Name recognition: Like YouTube, people know Vimeo and that immediately generates some trust for your brand.
- More live streaming and event support: While it’s not the most fully featured live streaming solution, you can host live events on Vimeo, which is great for engaging your audience.
- OTT options: By using Vimeo as an OTT platform, you can earn money from your recorded and live videos.
Drawbacks to consider
- No community support
- Limited live support options
- Limited site-building compared to alternatives
Is Vimeo right for you?
If you’re ready to graduate from YouTube and can afford to pay a bit more, Vimeo is a respectable streaming platform. That being said, it’s better to jump to a more full-featured platform right away.
You’ll pay more, but you may also get access to high-quality live streaming, more support for online events, advanced content management features, and dedicated customer support by choosing the right platform.
4. Wistia
Best for: when you want effective marketing tools, but not much else.
Why choose Wistia?
Wistia might be worth a look if you’re less interested in an OTT service or live event streaming and more interested in marketing. It’s lacking some key features that you’ll find on other streaming platforms, but marketers looking for a Brightcove alternative may find a lot of value here.
You can get started for free, which is nice, but it’s also worth noting that you may run into video upload limits rather quickly. That makes this particular alternative to Brightcove a good option for creators who don’t have a huge number of videos.
Where Wistia stands out is in its built-in marketing tools, like lead capture forms, calls to action, integration with platforms like Hubspot and Marketo Engage, and more advanced video analytics than you’ll find on YouTube or Vimeo.
Key benefits of Wistia
- Built-in marketing tools: Capture leads, include calls to action, and remove Wistia branding easily.
- Affordable: You can start for free, and most features are unlocked by the time you get to the Pro level at $79 per month.
- Marketing integrations on more expensive plans: If you use Hubspot, Pardot, or Marketo Engage to manage your marketing, higher-end plans will let you integrate Wistia directly with them.
- Interesting video analytics: You’ll get the standard analytics that you find elsewhere, but you can also generate heatmaps, compare different pieces of media, and even run A/B tests from within Wistia.
Drawbacks to consider
- No community features
- Limits on live streaming and events
- Upload limits are low, incurring extra costs
Is Wistia right for you?
You get access to Wistia’s most powerful and interesting tools when you get to the Advanced ($319 per month) plan, but if you’re not planning on spending that much, you might be better off with something cheaper.
On the other hand, if you do plan on spending that much, you probably want a website builder that can help you build community around your video content. Wistia is a solid video streaming platform for marketers, but if you need a video platform that will help you run an entire content-based business, you’ll want more from your solution.
5. Gumlet
Best for: businesses with a website that need a video content management system.
Why choose Gumlet?
If you’re looking for Brightcove alternatives, you might already have a website and just need video streaming capabilities. If that’s the case, Gumlet might be the video platform for you. It’s a video content management system (CMS) that optimizes your online streams and storage.
This platform enables users to manage their videos and easily embed a customizable video player into their existing sites. You can use access management tools to determine which users see which content and use advanced security features like dynamic watermarking and geo-blocking.
You can’t build a website or use community features with Gumlet, and it isn’t set up for making money with live streaming. But if you already have a site and you want an easy way to optimize and manage your videos, you’ll find it here.
Key benefits of Gumlet
- Very easy to use: Reviews praise the user-friendly interface and customizability of this video CMS.
- Advanced video security features: Use DRM, permission restrictions, watermarks, and encryption to protect your videos.
- Highly customizable video player: Make sure your video inventory matches your branding and is easy for your viewers to navigate with lots of custom options.
- Speed up your website: Adaptive bitrate capabilities, transcoding, and other features make for very efficient video streaming (there are image optimization tools, too).
Drawbacks to consider
- No site builder
- No live streams
- No community features
Is Gumlet right for you?
If you’re looking for an alternative to Brightcove because it’s too expensive, not because you need a different set of features, Gumlet could be a great bet. You can’t build a website and you’ll miss out on built-in community features, but if you just need to host and distribute your videos with adaptive streaming capabilities, you’ll find what you need here.
Unfortunately, your video monetization and marketing will be up to you. So whether Gumlet is a good fit for your business depends on your streaming strategy and what you’re looking for when it comes to video solutions. You also won’t be able to run online events with live streaming.
But if you don’t need those things, Gumlet’s ease of use, great interface, and high-end streaming technologies provide a lot of value.
6. Dacast
Best for: creators who want access to over-the-top, video on demand, and live streaming.
Why choose Dacast?
Like many of the Brightcove alternatives we’ve discussed here, Dacast is a video streaming platform and not an all-in-one solution. You’ll need to have your own website. But if you do, and you just need a streaming solution, this is worth a look.
Dacast specifically supports multiple types of streaming with key features like OTT and video on demand (VOD). This means you can offer multiple viewing experiences to your members or viewers, including on-demand recordings – but you also get live streaming, a content management system, and monetization options you may not see on other VOD platforms.
The ability to host live events is a great bonus for creators looking to boost audience engagement outside of their streaming packages.
Key benefits of Dacast
- Branding: One of the key features here is the ability to customize the branding on all of your videos, no matter which plan you pay for (many Brightcove alternatives require that you upgrade to a more expensive plan).
- Ad-free streaming: No third-party ads on any plan is a nice touch.
- Variety of video streaming types: Dacast can serve as an OTT platform, host your on-demand content, and let you stream live video.
- Paywall available: You can protect and monetize your on-demand content (or your OTT content) with a paywall on most plans.
Drawbacks to consider
- No automatic overage protection
- No site builder or community features
- Small amount of storage on smaller plans
Is Dacast right for you?
As an alternative to Brightcove, Dacast provides some great features at a very respectable cost. Live streaming, for example, is a big improvement over some of its competitors. Key features like ad-free streaming, live and VOD playlists, and simple pricing are great for smaller customers.
Other streaming services, however, offer more storage and automatic overage protection if you go over your allotted bandwidth for the month, while you’ll need to upgrade and turn on the protection with Dacast. Still, the flexibility of offering live, OTT, and VOD content from within a single platform that includes a CMS and monetization options makes this one of the best Brightcove competitors.
Choosing the best alternative to Brightcove for you
The six Brightcove alternatives above are all viable solutions for video streaming. You can use them for cloud-based video hosting or expand to live streaming, video on demand, over-the-top programming, and more.
Choosing the right Brightcove alternative for you depends on what you need, and some understanding of what it takes to build a successful video content business.
You’ll need to build a solid community around your content, for example. And audience engagement takes more than good videos. A community forum, social profiles, calendaring, and mobile apps go a long way toward building an engaged audience that’s willing to pay for your videos.
Uscreen is a good example of a Brightcove alternative that offers all of these features in an all-in-one platform.
Marketing tools are key features in building a successful video business, too. Just posting fantastic content and getting people to talk about it isn’t going to grow your business.
You’ll also need to get the word out to new members, upsell people when they’re ready to buy, and offer promotions like free trials, multi-tiered subscriptions, and bundles. Not all of the Brightcove competitors listed above give you all of these tools.
Before you choose a Brightcove alternative, make sure to think about whether you’re actually prepared to leverage your videos successfully. If you are, great! Choose a video cloud solution that gives you on-demand hosting and take advantage. If you’re not sure, though, look for a robust platform that lets you monetize content seamlessly and has user-friendly features for building community.
Build, launch and manage your membership, all in one place.
