Memberships
Paywall video.
Purchase, rental or membership, and only the preview for everyone else.
A video paywall decides who may watch a film and what everyone else sees instead. The difference between a good one and a leaky one is where the check happens: on the server, before the full file is sent, or in the page, after it has already arrived.
Video hosting for filmmakers · 5 GB free · Paid plans from USD 9/month
By uncompressed.io · Updated October 2026
Short answer
How do I put a video behind a paywall?
Choose a model, purchase, rental or membership, and use a platform that checks access on the server before it sends the film. On uncompressed.io a non-buyer only ever receives the free preview cut; the full film is sent only to someone who paid, and payments go to your own payment account with 0% commission.
- Three models: purchase, rental, membership
- Access checked on the server, before the film is sent
- Non-buyers get the free preview cut only
- Buyers sign in with their purchase email
- 0% commission, paid into your own account
- Optional per-buyer marked copies with Leak Shield
Three models
Purchase, rental or membership
and when each one fits
A paywall is only as good as the offer behind it. Pick the model that matches how people watch what you make.
You can offer all three on the same film: rent it, sell it, and include it in a membership tier.
Where the check happens
What a non-buyer receives
never the full film
Many paywalls hide the player in the page but still serve the file to anyone who asks for it. A real paywall decides on the server, before a single frame of the full film is sent.
Page-level paywall
The player is hidden or blurred until payment, but the video address is still reachable. Anyone who opens the browser's network panel can find and save the file. This is common with simple website plugins.
Server-side paywall
The server checks the buyer's access each time playback starts. Without it, the full film is never sent. A non-buyer receives only the free preview cut, a separate short file.
On uncompressed.io the second model is the only one. Each film can carry a free preview whose length you pick, made as a separate cut file, and that cut is all a visitor without access can play. A purchase, a rental still inside its window, or an active membership tier that includes the film is checked before the full film streams. When a rental window closes or a membership is cancelled, the check fails and the full film stops being available to that viewer.
What a paywall cannot do
Setting it up
From upload to paywall
in an afternoon
Upload the film
Upload the export you graded. It streams as exported, without a re-encode.
Choose the preview length
Pick how long the free preview runs. It is made as a separate cut file, so the full film is never part of it.
Set prices
A purchase price, a rental price and window, a download price, or add the film to a membership collection.
Connect your payment account
Buyers pay into your own payment account. uncompressed.io takes 0% and never holds the money.
Share the shop
Send people to yourname.uncompressed.io/on-demand or your own domain. Country rules can limit where a film is sold.
Buyers watch on the web and on branded apps for Apple TV, iPhone, Fire TV, Samsung and LG, built and submitted under your own developer accounts (the stores' own developer fees apply). Plans include viewing hours each month (Lite 1,000, Pro 5,000, Max 15,000, Studio 25,000); above that, playback never pauses and an extra block is added.
Everything behind the paywall
Read from the live price list. Verified 2026-10.
| Commission on sales | 0 percent, at any volume. Buyers pay into your own payment account; your card processor's fee applies. |
|---|---|
| What you can sell | Purchases (stream forever), downloads, rentals with a viewing window, memberships with monthly or yearly tiers, bundles and series. |
| Member tools | Free trials per tier, coupon codes, gift memberships, refunds and free access from your earnings page. |
| Your storefront | A shop under your name at yourname.uncompressed.io/on-demand, or on your own domain. Buyers need no account. |
| Picture quality | Films stream as you exported them: no re-encode of video or audio, with an optional lighter copy for slow connections. |
| Viewing hours included | Lite 1,000, Pro 5,000, Max 15,000, Studio 25,000 hours a month, then USD 29 per extra 20,000-hour block. Playback never pauses. |
| Plans | Starter free (5 GB, one film at a time); Lite USD 9, Pro USD 39, Max USD 99, Studio USD 219 a month; yearly is one month free. |
| Leak Shield (optional) | Every buyer gets their own invisibly marked copy; the open web and torrent indexes are searched; a confirmed leak names and blocks the buyer and sends the takedown. USD 99 a month or USD 1,188 a year, any paid plan. |
| Inclusion window | The streaming platform is included with every paid plan for members who switch it on before 31 December 2026, and stays included for them afterwards; after that date new activations add USD 39 a month. |
Plans and add-ons: pricing. The whole cluster starts at the creator platform guide.
Fit
Who this suits
and when another tool is better
Good fit
Filmmakers and creators selling films, series, concert films, lessons or archives who want the money in their own account and the picture as exported.
Look elsewhere
If you need a paywall on written articles, a course with quizzes, or live events, a publishing, course or live-streaming platform will fit better. uncompressed.io is for recorded video.
The streaming platform is included with every paid plan for members who switch it on before 31 December 2026, and stays included for them afterwards; after that date new activations add USD 39 a month.
Questions
Frequently asked
What is a video paywall?
A video paywall is a check that lets only people who have paid watch a video, and shows everyone else a preview, a trailer or a payment page instead. Paid access can be a purchase, a rental with a viewing window, or a membership.
How do I put a video behind a paywall?
Use a platform that sells access and checks it on the server. On uncompressed.io you upload the film, set a purchase, rental or download price or add it to a membership collection, and share your shop link. Non-buyers see the free preview cut; the full film is only sent to people who paid.
Can people get around a video paywall?
A paywall that only hides the player in the page can be bypassed by anyone who finds the file address. A paywall that checks access on the server before sending the film cannot be bypassed that way. A paying buyer can still record or share what they watch; per-buyer watermarking makes that traceable.
Should I sell, rent or use a membership?
Sell when people will rewatch or want to keep the film. Rent when it is a one-time watch and a lower price brings more viewers. Use a membership when you publish regularly and want recurring income from a library.
Do buyers need an account to watch?
Not on uncompressed.io. They sign in with the email address they bought with; there is no password to remember.
Can I put a paywall on a video embedded on my own website?
Yes, by sending buyers to your shop at yourname.uncompressed.io/on-demand or by serving the shop on your own domain, so the paywall, checkout and player all live under your name.
Put your films behind a paywall today.
Purchases, rentals and memberships come with the streaming platform on every paid plan (Lite USD 9, Pro USD 39, Max USD 99, Studio USD 219 a month), with 0% commission. Buyers pay into your own payment account.
Sources
- 1.VOD Streaming, uncompressed.io pricing (read 12 October 2026)