Two ways to meter delivery
SproutVideo vs Vimeo
A per-GB bill, or a threshold and outreach.
SproutVideo publishes a plan table with a bandwidth allowance and a price for every gigabyte past it. Vimeo publishes a 2 TB monthly threshold, an outreach process and a possible suspension, and no prices we could verify today. Here are both, side by side from their own pages, with the case for staying with each and a third option that does not meter viewing.
Video hosting for filmmakers · 5 GB free · Paid plans from USD 9/month
By uncompressed.io · Updated September 2026
The short answer
Both host business video;
the difference is how delivery is metered.
SproutVideo sells a fixed bandwidth allowance with each plan and bills every GB past it. Vimeo sets a monthly threshold, usually lets playback continue past it, and contacts accounts that go over repeatedly. One gives you a predictable price per GB. The other gives you no overage line, but a process that can end in a suspension.
$0.25
per GB, SproutVideo Seed
overage past the allowance, USD
$0.06
per GB, SproutVideo Forest
the lowest listed overage rate
2 TB
Vimeo monthly threshold
self-serve plans, per its bandwidth article
7 days
to resolve with Vimeo
after outreach, before a possible suspension
Side by side
SproutVideo, Vimeo and a third option,
from each company's own pages.
SproutVideo and Vimeo figures fetched 16 September 2026 from the pages listed under Sources. Vimeo's Creator and Core plans are rolling out gradually, so your account may show an older plan.
SproutVideo’s model
An allowance per plan,
and a price for every GB past it.
SproutVideo lists four plans. Each carries storage, bandwidth, seats and an overage rate, and the rate falls as the plan grows.
USD, from sproutvideo.com/pricing, fetched 16 September 2026. SproutVideo: included bandwidth resets every month for monthly plans and every year for annual plans.
The reset rule is the line to read twice. On a monthly plan, a quiet month does not carry over and a busy one starts billing overage once the allowance is used. On an annual plan, the allowance resets once a year, so a launch month draws down what the rest of the year would have used. Ask SproutVideo how the annual allowance on your plan is counted before you budget against it.
The overage arithmetic is simple and published: every 100 GB past the allowance costs $25 on Seed, $20 on Sprout, $8 on Tree and $6 on Forest. You will know the bill before it arrives, which is the main thing this model offers.
Vimeo’s model
A threshold,
and a process when you pass it.
Vimeo’s bandwidth article sets the threshold at 2 TB, measured as 2,000 GB, per month, and says that crossing it generally does not stop streaming.
When Vimeo gets in touch
After usage passes 2 TB in a month at least twice in the past 12 months, or 10 TB in a single month. Automated notifications come first, then Vimeo's team may reach out.
Seven days to resolve
You have seven days to reach a resolution with Vimeo. Your account does not change during that window.
If it stays unresolved
The account is at risk of temporary suspension. Suspended videos no longer play wherever they are distributed or embedded. You keep access to your videos.
Two details matter before you rely on the 2 TB figure. Vimeo’s newer plan articles list 1 TB of monthly bandwidth on Creator and 2 TB on Core, and the bandwidth article does not say how the Creator figure is enforced. Both plans are also described as rolling out gradually, so the plan on your account may differ. The full walk-through is in what Vimeo’s 2 TB threshold means.
There is no Vimeo price on this page. The plan articles we fetched state none, and we could not read one from Vimeo’s pricing page today, so any cost comparison would be a guess. Check the prices shown on your own account.
Honest verdict
When to stay with SproutVideo,
and when to stay with Vimeo.
Stay with SproutVideo for marketing video
Every plan lists lead capture, in-player calls to action, CRM and marketing-automation integrations, video SEO, heatmaps and a white-label player. If your videos exist to collect leads, that is a complete toolkit, and the per-GB overage makes a traffic spike a known cost rather than an outreach process.
Stay with SproutVideo for weak connections
Adaptive bitrate streaming on a global CDN is on every plan, so viewers on slow networks get a smaller version instead of a stall.
Stay with Vimeo for reach and tools
Public videos live on vimeo.com, and Vimeo describes its 7 TB individual storage as virtually unlimited for public videos. Creator lists password protection, player customization, custom video links and review links with custom expiration dates.
Stay with Vimeo for review in Premiere
Since April 2026, reviewers can comment on a Vimeo review link without an account, and every comment carries a timestamp. Vimeo's Premiere Pro integration brings timecoded comments into the timeline as markers.
The weak spot in each model
The third option
Do not meter viewing at all,
and bill for storage instead.
uncompressed.io has no bandwidth allowance and no threshold. Unlimited video streaming is included, with no per-view or bandwidth overage charges. Storage and team-seat charges are separate.
What you pay for is room. Lite is USD 9 a month for 100 GB hot plus 100 GB of archive, Pro is USD 39 for 500 GB plus 500 GB, Max is USD 99 for 1 TB plus 2 TB, and Studio is USD 199 for 1 TB plus 7 TB. Archived films must be restored before they stream, embed or go to review. The free plan holds 5 GB and one film at a time, with no card.
The player plays the export you uploaded, with no rendition ladder behind it. Browser playback uses your uploaded export without another platform re-encode. Codec, device and connection requirements still apply. That is the honest trade against both companies above: a colorist or a client on a good connection sees the file you graded, and a viewer on hotel wifi waits for it to buffer rather than dropping to a smaller version.
It is not a marketing platform. If you need lead forms and CRM sync on the player, SproutVideo is built for that. If you need a public audience, Vimeo is. If you need to send finished work to clients and embed it on your own site without watching a bandwidth meter, compare the plans, or read the full uncompressed.io vs Vimeo comparison first.
Questions
Frequently asked
Does SproutVideo's bandwidth allowance reset every month?
Only on monthly plans. SproutVideo's pricing page says included bandwidth resets every month for monthly plans and every year for annual plans. If you pay annually, check with SproutVideo how the allowance on your plan is counted over the year before you plan a launch month around it. Usage past the allowance is billed per GB, from $0.25 on Seed down to $0.06 on Forest.
Will Vimeo stop my videos the moment I pass 2 TB?
Not by Vimeo's own description. Its bandwidth article says that when users exceed the 2 TB monthly threshold, Vimeo generally does not stop their ability to stream. Outreach starts after usage passes 2 TB in a month at least twice in 12 months, or 10 TB once. You then have seven days to reach a resolution. If it stays unresolved, the account is at risk of temporary suspension, and suspended videos stop playing wherever they are embedded.
Which bandwidth figure applies to my Vimeo plan?
Vimeo's plan articles list 1 TB of monthly bandwidth on Creator and 2 TB on Core, and both plans are described as rolling out gradually, so your account may still be on an older plan. The bandwidth article states the 2 TB rule and does not say how the Creator 1 TB figure is enforced. Read the plan name in your own account.
How much does Vimeo cost compared with SproutVideo?
We do not print a Vimeo price on this page. The plan articles we fetched state none, and we could not read a price from Vimeo's pricing page today. Check vimeo.com/pricing from your own account. SproutVideo's prices, in USD, are on its pricing page and in the table below.
Is there a host that does not meter viewing at all?
uncompressed.io charges for storage and seats, not for views: Unlimited video streaming is included, with no per-view or bandwidth overage charges. Storage and team-seat charges are separate. The trade is that there is no rendition ladder. The player plays the export you uploaded, so a viewer on a weak connection waits for it to buffer instead of dropping to a smaller version.
Pay for storage, not for plays
Unlimited video streaming is included, with no per-view or bandwidth overage charges. Storage and team-seat charges are separate. Start free with 5 GB and one film at a time, or pick a paid plan from USD 9 a month.
Sources
- 1.SproutVideo pricing: plans, storage, bandwidth, seats, per-GB overage, reset rule and included features (prices in USD) (fetched 16 September 2026)
- 2.Vimeo Help Center: Bandwidth on Vimeo (updated 29 June 2026) (fetched 16 September 2026)
- 3.Vimeo Help Center: About the Vimeo Creator plan (updated 13 August 2026) (fetched 16 September 2026)
- 4.Vimeo Help Center: About the Vimeo Core plan (updated 13 August 2026) (fetched 16 September 2026)
- 5.Vimeo Help Center: About the Vimeo Free plan (updated 29 May 2026) (fetched 16 September 2026)
- 6.Vimeo Help Center: About Vimeo plans, plan comparison (player customization not on Free), updated 29 May 2026 (fetched 16 September 2026)
- 7.Vimeo Help Center: Guidelines for determining playback resolution (updated 25 November 2025) (fetched 16 September 2026)
- 8.Vimeo blog: Introducing the new, simplified Vimeo Review (23 April 2026) (fetched 16 September 2026)
- 9.Vimeo Help Center: Premiere Pro integration (updated 6 November 2025) (fetched 16 September 2026)
- 10.Vimeo pricing page (no price could be read from it today) (fetched 16 September 2026)
- 11.uncompressed.io pricing: plans, storage, seats and streaming terms (product page, verified)