Vimeo logo and website on laptop screen
Vimeo offers free and subscription based tiers that let you customize your experience as a creator.
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  • Vimeo is a video-sharing platform geared towards artists and creators that also offers a host of subscription-based tools and features, including an editing suite. 
  • The video-hosting platform’s front-end and back-end editing features are geared towards storage, post-production, collaboration, and monetization.
  • Vimeo offers these features to individual users through a tiered subscription program, beginning with a free option and going to a Pro level, which features an advanced and expanded video toolkit. 
  • Visit Business Insider’s Tech Reference library for more stories.

Launched in 2004 by a group of filmmakers, Vimeo is an online video streaming and editing site built with artists and creatives in mind. Whether you’re a certified auteur or just starting to dip your toes in the content creation realm, Vimeo has something to offer everyone one. 

Around 80 million users and nearly 1 million paying subscribers can upload, host, and share their original and custom video content daily. With a sleek and artsy front-facing aesthetic, Vimeo focuses on customizing the video editing and sharing experience, unlike any of its competitors. 

The video platform offers multiple storage, management, post-production, collaboration, marketing, and monetization tools. Users can upload their content from any device or even a cloud storage platform, password-protect videos, make bulk changes to embed settings and licensing, exchange time-coded notes, select custom end screens, determine domain and geo-restrictions, and more. Viewers can use the player’s speed controls, download content, or watch it in 4K Ultra HD. 

The kind of features you and your viewers have access to depends on your membership level. 

For those who are new to Vimeo, here’s a rundown of the platform’s perks by tier, from the ones available to all using their “freemium” model to their exclusive offerings for paid subscribers.

What comes with Vimeo's basic free membership

If you're not yet a serious content creator, Vimeo Free is probably your best bet.

Despite its more limited offerings, you're given 500 MB of storage per week toward uploading videos. Basic members can also make their uploads password-protected — a feature YouTube doesn't grant.

What comes with Vimeo's Plus membership 

At just $7 a month, you're allocated more weekly storage, capped at 5 GB storage per week. Unlike the free plan, Plus members are also granted unlimited bandwidth in the Vimeo player, 4K & HDR support, and no ads on your video. You're also given the ability to embed your videos anywhere and customize the player's elements and your video's end screen. 

What is Vimeo and its subscription tiers 1
Vimeo lets you know the day and time your weekly upload limit resets by hovering your cursor in your screen's bottom-left corner, over the "i" symbol.
Melanie Weir/Business Insider

Additional privacy offerings include private link sharing and video file transfer permission, which lets you and your collaborators privately and securely share and download your videos at various video qualities. If you want to share your videos natively across social platforms, Plus members can do that on Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Pinterest. You can also embed your videos as a single playlist on your website. 

This tier also gives you access to an analytics dashboard where you can see how people play, like, reshare, and post your video, in addition to receiving custom reports on those social sharing stats. 

What you can get with Vimeo Pro

Rounding out the options designed to be used by individuals is Vimeo Pro. Although the service will run you $20 a month, your viewers will thank you — you get to present the pristine-quality video to your audience.

This tier includes all the features and tools of Vimeo Plus, with even more helpful tools and features. At this tier, you can create and publish unlimited videos up to 20 GB per week, also with no caps on bandwidth. It also comes with unlimited access to stock photos, videos, and licensed music. When it comes to video customization, you can add your logo and video chapters to your page, offer playback speed control for viewers and get third-party player support. 

Some of Vimeo Pro's most significant advantages lie in its collaboration options. Not only can you host private team projects, but have up to three team members upload, manage, and collaborate directly through your account, with you setting their various levels of permission. Review and approval tools let you privately share your work review pages, get time-coded feedback, track approvals, and keep old versions organized. 

Those looking for more analytics support are in luck, as the Pro tier offers engagement and duration grapes to track how your videos perform over time. You can also see their location, what devices they're watching on, and how they find your content. 

A few other upgrades include selling your videos directly to fans worldwide and distributing your video on streaming apps like Roku and Amazon Fire. 

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