10 Best YouTube Alternatives (Similar Sites And Apps)

This is the complete guide to YouTube alternatives. 

So if you’re looking for: 

• How to make money on YouTube alternatives
• The best YouTube alternatives (free and paid)

Then you would love this complete guide about alternatives to YouTube to make money.

Let’s dive right in.

What Is The Best YouTube Alternative, Similar Site, App, Or Website?

YouTube has become the go-to video platform for all folks around the globe. However, it has its “pros and cons.” That is to say, if you’re looking to make money or monetize your video content besides YouTube, I’ve got your back covered.

Here are the best YouTube alternatives to try out.

1. TikTok

TikTok emerged as the most visited site according to Cloudflare’s top ten most visited sites in 2021. 

Therefore, as a creator, an influencer, or a business owner, you need to tap into TikTok’s potential this year. So if you are looking to: 

• Promote and advertise your products
• Increase sales or 
• How to make money

Then TikTok is your best bet this year.

TikTok is especially worth looking into if you’re a creator or an influencer. Since 2018, TikTok’s user base has increased exponentially and continues to do so. That’s why you’d have the upper hand if you consider TikTok as an alternative to YouTube. 

As a result, if you’re from any eligible country with 100K authentic views in the last 30 days, you can get a share of TikTok monetization.

Therefore let’s look at TikTok’s monetization methods:

TikTok’s Monetizations Features

Some of the monetizations are:

• Video gifting. Video gifts allow you to be rewarded by TikTok based on videos. 
• Tips. Tips have a positive outcome for the video creator and the Viewers. They gain value from watching your videos and therefore give you rewards through tips that you can redeem for dollars.
• TikTok creator fund. This creator fun is an all-in-one monetization feature on TikTok. It includes all the monetization methods on TikTok.
• TikTok payouts are Paypal or Zelle once you hit over $10 in your account.

In addition to TikTok, Utreon is a next-generation platform built to revolutionize video through outstanding technology, beautiful design, and excellent features. Founded in September 2019, Utreon is based in Toronto, Canada. 

Most importantly, Utreon excels on the user-interface front, which places it at the top of running from a design point of view. Therefore, this makes it easy to import existing content from YouTube, making switching between the two platforms as frictionless as possible. 

However, creators monetize their content with subscriptions, allowing them to earn reliable revenue from their fans. 

On the other hand, “Ultra Chats” affords creators the chance to earn revenue from live streaming. So if you’re looking for the best YouTube alternative, Utreon could be a strong contender.

3. Vimeo

Vimeo is known to most of us. It has an active user base in different niches. Therefore, making it an eligible audience-building platform for creators, influencers, and businesses. Vimeo focuses on creative and artistic niches. It has a free plan to upload your videos to reach a global audience. However, the free plan has its limits.

You can upgrade to a premium plan if you exhaust the free plan. In addition, Vimeo has around 200 million users, which falls below YouTube’s audience base. You can also embed Vimeo’s videos in your website or blog, making it the go-to choice for most bloggers.

Vimeo is an excellent alternative for animators, visual artists, videographers, and other creative professionals. To clarify, you can monetize your videos on Vimeo with these methods:

• Subscription Video On Demand (SVOD). With SVOD, subscribers pay a recurring fee on a monthly or annual basis to enjoy unlimited access to premium content (if they continue to pay)
• Transactional Video On Demand (TVOD). This is a pay-per-video or pay-per-series method. Therefore, you allow your audience to gain permanent access to a piece of content with a one-time payment. Also, you can do “Download to rent,” where the audience can access a piece of content for a smaller fee but for a limited time.
• Ad-Supported Video On Demand (AVOD). This is like Google ads, where advertisers pay to place ads in front of your viewers either in the beginning or somewhere in the video. With AVOD, it’s not required that your audience pays a monthly subscription fee, but they would be required to watch a few ads in addition to your videos. The higher your viewers, the more ad agencies will be willing to pay you. Next on our list is Uscreen.

4. Uscreen

From filmmakers to teachers, fitness instructors, and documentary directors, Uscreen helps you understand your audience and realize the value of the content you produce. Above all, Uscreen is easy to use, making it possible to upload videos, customize them, and organize the look and feel of your brand. With that said, here are some monetization features on Uscreen:

• You can launch branded O.T.T. apps on mobile devices and T.V. devices.
• Monetize video-on-demand(V.O.D.), and live streaming.
• Create apps that fit your brand for iOS and Android on mobile, Apple, Roku, and Android TV.
• Moreover, Uscreen also allows you to create your website and customize it to host your videos and other content.
• In addition, you can also create a landing page to direct customers in line with your sales funnel.
• Further, you can access various payment methods like Paypal, Stripe, and authorize.net, plus the Uscreen payment gateway.
• Above all, you’re in charge of how much to price your content.
• Most importantly, you get access to your audience data, like email addresses, lifetime value, and your subscribers’ demographics. Let’s explore Patreon.

5. Patreon

With Patreon, fans can pay you a monthly membership for access to exclusive content. Using Patreon is free, but they take between 5% and 12% of your revenue, depending on the plan you choose. The people who use Patreon include video creators, bloggers, podcasters, gamers, and artists. Some ways Patreon creators make money are:

• Your audience can pay a monthly, up-front membership fee or an annual subscription to access your content.
• Above all, payments are handled by Patreon and automatically followed up in case of any missed payments.
• In addition, Patreon uses various payment methods, including Visa, Discover, Amex, Mastercard, Payoneer. and the most well-known Paypal. This variety makes it possible and accessible to a global audience. 

Patreon Pricing

Patreon has three pricing models: Lite, Pro, and Premium, each with benefits.  

Firstly, the lite plan. With the lite plan, you pay Patreon 5% of your earnings and get access to:

• Creator page
• Patreon communication tools
• Patreon workshops

Secondly, the pro plan costs you 8%. In addition to everything in the lite plan, you get the following:

• Memberships tiers
• Analytics and insights
• Special offers promo tools
• Creator-lead workshops
• Unlimited app integrations
• Priority customer support.

Thirdly, the premium plan costs you 12%, and you get:

• Everything in the pro plan 
• Dedicated Partner Manager
• Merch For Memberships
• Team Accounts

6. Facebook Watch

This is one of my favorites, Facebook has boiled down on videos for the past few years, and they even released the Facebook watch. The Facebook watch allows you to watch videos based on your interests and viewing history.

Moreover, with nearly 3 billion active users, Facebook is the best alternative with an audience base than YouTube at the time of this writing. Facebook can also be an excellent avenue for businesses to reach new audiences with their video marketing efforts. Most importantly, Facebook is a great contender for:

• Travel bloggers and other content creators
• Businesses that want to reach new audiences with their videos
• Marketers who are looking to up their marketing campaigns. 

Above all, Facebook has a great reach, and with the proper marketing and promotion strategy, you can get more customers in line with your sales funnel and convert them into paying customers. However, you’d need to produce a lot of content to stand up against the competition and build a loyal audience.

Here are some ways to monetize your content on Facebook:

• First, you decide whether to place ads in all or just some of your video content.
• You can also go back to place ads in your old video once you’ve qualified and decide where to place them.
• There’s also no problem with having different types of ads in your videos, such as images, pre-, mid, or post ads.
• Also, you get paid on the 21st of every month through bank transfers in U.S. dollars. Facebook also provides analysis to understand the performance of your videos better.

So if you’re looking for the best YouTube alternative, Facebook could be your best bet. 

7. IG T.V. (Instagram T.V.)

Instagram is a sister to Facebook, which all belong to “Meta.” I.G. T.V. is an Instagram video-sharing platform launched in 2018 and designed with mobile in mind. You can make up to 55% by placing ads in your videos.

Also, IGTV is an excellent tool for building loyal relationships with your audience through mobile video. IGTV could be a great alternative to YouTube for:

• Content creators who want a younger audience
• Businesses that can’t afford a video production crew.

8. Twitch

Twitch is a live streaming platform that was created to focus primarily on gaming but has since doubled up over only gaming content. Twitch has an audience base of 140 million monthly active users, making it a great place to start your creator or streaming career.

It’s free to join and allows creators to monetize their content by being either an affiliate or a partner. Most importantly, affiliates can accept donations, sell merchandise, and receive monthly subscriptions. On the other hand, partners earn a share from ads placed on their videos. However, Twitch does not disclose how you can earn from being part of their program.

Twitch is an excellent platform. However, it’s highly competitive to get to the top, but with seriousness and persistence, it’d pay off in the long run. 

9. Twitter Video

This list won’t be complete without mentioning Twitter. As the creator economy continues to strive and grow, every platform or social media platform wants to have a share of the massive billion-dollar industry. For this reason, Twitter also released the Twitter video to care for the creator economy.

If you don’t like producing long-form videos, Twitter might be your best alternative to YouTube. Twitter is great for short and snappy videos in addition to live streams. Twitter may be an excellent alternative for:

• Those who find it hard with long-form videos
• Professionals who can answer quick, specific questions and
• Creators who thrive and grow with short-form videos

10. Ko-fi

You get cash on Ko-fi to support your life dreams and creative endeavors. On Ko-fi, your fans pay to access your feed and other exclusive content you create specifically for them. Some of the monetization features of Ko-fi include the following:

• Sell your products and merchandise through your Ko-fi page
• Have fans pay monthly subscriptions and collect one-off donations
• Connect your Ko-fi page to Google Analytics to analyze user activity.
• Withdraw your money at any time through Stripe or Paypal.
• Ko-fi doesn’t take any percentage of your income. So you decide to donate to their donation page if you appreciate their service.

Other Alternatives To YouTube

There’s no denying that YouTube is the jack of all the online video platforms. However, when it comes to choosing the best alternative, no size fits all. What is considered best for you may not necessarily be best for someone. It all boils down to what you want to achieve with your videos. With that said, here are some other alternatives worth mentioning:

• Thinkific (for course creators)
• Brightcove
• Wistia
• JWPlayer
• Kaltura 
• D Tube
• Daily motion
• Odyssey, etc.

How To Make Money On YouTube Alternatives: 5 Top Tips

Learn exactly how to make money on YouTube alternatives (Top Monetizations). There are many ways to make money on various video-sharing platforms if you don’t want YouTube to be your mainstream. Here are some tips.

1. Grow Your Audience Base

This one is obvious. To make money on any video platform, you need a substantial audience to effectively start your creator’s journey. If you already have a YouTube audience, you can tap into them and offer paid memberships or subscriptions.

Other platforms also allow you to sync your YouTube audience to their platform, making it easier to sell subscriptions to them.

2. Explore The Platform Monetization Features

Due to the rise in demand for video, almost all platforms have monetization features. Indeed, to make money on those platforms, you’d need to look at and assess their monetization methods to see which one fits your needs.

While you can earn a living from YouTube ads, you may not be able to do that on other platforms. In addition, you also have to consider how much you pay to get on those platforms ( If it’s a paid one) and charge accordingly for your premium content.

3. Supplement With Your Blog (Website)

If you already have a blog, it would be a great idea to blog about it. With the right S.E.O. tactics, you’d grow a substantial audience you can upsell with your premium content. You can also capture their email addresses to do ongoing email marketing. You can also offer them free trials and upsell with your premium content.

4. Use Paid Ads

The old saying: “you need money to make money,” is true when it comes to making money on the best YouTube Monetization Platforms. You send traffic to your creator’s page with paid ads to increase your exposure rate. From social to search engine marketing, you can reach a global audience to maximize your return rate.

More than ever, TikTok has a massive audience you can tap into (by using TikTok ads) if you want to earn some cash from creating videos. Other ad platforms include Meta(Facebook & Instagram), Pinterest, Snapchat, Google, Bing, etc.

5. Cross Video Promotion

The beauty of the creator economy is that you can create one video and upload it to almost all video monetization platforms, including YouTube, Vimeo, Twitch, TikTok, D-tube, and others simultaneously. The beauty of this is that it allows you to tap into the platform’s monetization methods and make money from all, especially the free platforms.

Using social media tools like Buffer, Sprout Social, Aggorapulse, and Hootsuite, you can schedule your videos in advance to save time. However, don’t limit yourself to only one platform.

Summary 

YouTube is undoubtedly the central video-sharing platform. However, this doesn’t make it the end-all-be-all of online video. For example, as pointed out earlier, TikTok overtook Google by traffic in 2021.

The best YouTube alternative depends on your needs or why you’re creating your videos in the first place. Choose from the above alternatives and create content for your audience to enjoy.