Hosting
Video hosting platform.
What it is, the kinds that exist, how to choose.
A video hosting platform stores your videos and plays them to other people, in its own player, on its own site or embedded on yours. That simple job is done in very different ways: some platforms pay for it with ads, some with marketing tools, some with per-seat fees, and most change your file on the way in. This guide explains the differences and how to pick.
Video hosting for filmmakers · 5 GB free · Paid plans from USD 9/month
By uncompressed.io · Updated October 2026
Short answer
What is a video hosting platform, and which one should a creator use?
A video hosting platform is a service that stores your videos and streams them to viewers in a player, on its site or embedded on yours. Creators should choose by job: YouTube for reach, and for showing films as exported with no ads or logo, plus selling them at 0% commission, uncompressed.io.
- Stores video and streams it through a player
- Kinds: social, professional, marketing, review, OTT, drives
- Most re-encode uploads; Vimeo caps 4K H.264 at 22 Mbps
- Check ads, privacy modes, meters and exit
- uncompressed.io streams the file as exported
- Starter free; Lite USD 9 a month
The kinds
Six kinds of video hosting platform
and who each serves
They all store and play video. They differ in who pays, what they optimise for and what they do to your file.
Figures from each platform's own pages, read 12 October 2026.
How to choose
Five questions
before you upload anything
What happens to the picture?
Most platforms re-encode uploads into their own copies. Vimeo publishes a 22 Mbps maximum for 4K H.264. Ask for the ceiling, or for a host that streams the file as uploaded.
What appears around the video?
Ads, the platform's logo, suggested videos. Check the plan you will actually be on.
Which privacy modes are on your plan?
Vimeo's help center lists Password, Unlisted and Embed only as available with paid plans. Some hosts include them free.
What is metered?
Storage, bandwidth, seats, subscribers or sales. The meter decides what a good month costs you.
Can you leave?
Original downloads, a buyer list you can export, links you control. Exit is part of the price.
Where uncompressed.io fits
A professional host that also sells
for filmmakers and creators
uncompressed.io is a video platform for filmmakers and creators: it hosts films without re-encoding them, runs your own streaming service with purchases, rentals and memberships at zero commission, and offers Leak Shield, a per-buyer watermark and leak search add-on.
0
Re-encodes of your upload
the export streams as is
0%
Commission on sales
purchases, rentals, memberships
Free
Starter
5 GB, one film at a time
Every core feature on every plan; plans differ by storage, seats and caption minutes. Yearly is one month free.
The player has no logo, no feed, no related videos and no ads on any plan, with your own name, colour and logo. Password, unlisted and embed-only modes are on every plan, the free one included. Uploading a new cut keeps the link, views, embeds and settings, and a Vimeo library can be imported in one step.
Choose it for
Portfolios, client delivery and review, festival screeners, and selling films, series or memberships from your own shop.
Choose something else for
Finding an audience from zero (YouTube), marketing automation (Wistia) or live streaming and community, which uncompressed.io does not offer.
Read next
uncompressed.io for creators who sell
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.
Questions
Frequently asked
What is a video hosting platform?
A video hosting platform is a service that stores video files online and streams them to viewers through a player, either on the platform's own pages or embedded on other websites. It handles storage, delivery to different devices and connections, privacy and usually analytics.
What is the difference between video hosting and YouTube?
YouTube is one kind of video hosting platform: free and ad-supported, built for discovery. Its terms allow it to display ads on your content and its player suggests other videos. Professional hosts charge a plan instead and keep the player clean.
What should I look for in a video hosting platform?
Five things: what happens to the picture (re-encode or not, and the maximum bitrate), what appears around the video (ads, logos, suggestions), which privacy modes are on your plan, what is metered (storage, bandwidth, seats), and whether you can download your originals and leave.
Which video hosting platform is best for creators and filmmakers?
For reach, YouTube. For showing the work as it was graded, with no ads, logo or suggestions, and selling it from your own shop at 0% commission, uncompressed.io. For marketing, Wistia; for team review, Frame.io.
How much does a video hosting platform cost?
From free to several hundred dollars a month, depending on the meter. uncompressed.io is free on Starter (5 GB) and USD 9 a month on Lite. Wistia lists Business at USD 79 a month billed annually; Frame.io Pro is USD 15 per member a month.
Does uncompressed.io re-encode my video?
No. The uploaded file is stored and streamed without an additional video or audio re-encode. It does not restore detail lost at export, and playback needs a supported codec and a fast enough connection; an optional lighter copy can serve slow links.
Host your films as exported.
Starter is free with 5 GB and one film at a time, no credit card. Paid plans: Lite USD 9, Pro USD 39, Max USD 99, Studio USD 219 a month.
Sources
- 1.YouTube Terms of Service (read 12 October 2026)
- 2.Guidelines for determining playback resolution, Vimeo help center (read 12 October 2026)
- 3.Video privacy settings, Vimeo help center (read 12 October 2026)
- 4.Wistia pricing (read 12 October 2026)
- 5.Frame.io pricing (read 12 October 2026)
- 6.Vimeo OTT pricing breakdown, Vimeo help center (read 12 October 2026)
- 7.Play videos stored in Google Drive, Google Drive Help (read 12 October 2026)