7 Best YouTube Alternatives to Stream Videos

It’s unsurprising that YouTube is the most popular video streaming site in the world. Not only is it one of the best ways to stream free movies online, but you can also use it as a DIY resource. Despite its dominance, some of the best YouTube alternatives allow you to watch content you may not find on the streaming giant.

If you’re looking for new and free video streaming sites, this post shares a few of the best sites like YouTube to get content.

Best YouTube Alternatives

YouTube does one thing well – it offers a lot of content. Roughly 100 hours of content is uploaded to the site every ten seconds, according to Inc. That is a lot of videos!

You can use the site for virtually anything, including:

• DIY videos
• Educational content
• Free movies
• TV shows

And, of course, all those funny cat videos.

However, YouTube is not the only resource to stream videos online. There are dozens of other options that allow you to watch content online. Here are seven of the best YouTube alternatives to watch free videos online.

1. Crackle

Crackle is one of the best free movie streaming sites online. The platform is an excellent option to utilize if you want to watch TV shows and movies.

YouTube only offers a select number of movies for free and most must be bought or rented. That’s not the case with Crackle.

Crackle was founded in 2004 and has both original content and programming from other companies. It has a large selection of videos and shows to choose from, allowing you to watch hours of content.

The amount of free material offered on the site makes Crackle one of the best video streaming sites to use. The site also creates their own original content, with series such as:

• Sequestered
• Snatch
• StartUp
• The Oath

Since the service is free to use, Crackle does show ads every so often. This advertising is a big reason why Crackle has lasted this long.

Crackle is available outside of the United States in Australia, Canada, and in 18 countries across Latin America.

Since companies like Hulu and Netflix have had considerable success producing original content, they charge a monthly subscription fee.

However, Crackle puts all the work in on their shows and still allows people to view their content without a monthly fee, which is great.

If you’re okay sitting through commercials and advertisements occasionally, give this site a try as it’s one of the best ways to get free cable TV legally.

2. TED

You may have heard of TED Talks. TED began in 1984 as a conference with people sharing ideas. The company started highlighting categories like technology, entertainment, and design during these conferences, but have since expanded to cover even more.

TED seems like an odd choice for video sites like YouTube, but it’s a great option for motivational or informational content. TED users can select which category interests them and then have videos delivered straight to their email.

When it comes to streaming the videos online, TED visitors can also select from a playlist as well. There are only a few playlists, but each has at least a few videos.

One of the largest ones is “25 of the Most Popular TED Videos” and is a collection of the best of the best videos that TED offers. Titles like Your Body Language May Shape Who You Are and The Power of Vulnerability are a few of the most popular videos on the playlist, reaching nearly 50 million views.

Another playlist created by TED is “The Revolutionary Women”. This is a collection of some of the standout TED videos featuring women fighting for equality and justice. Whether it is searching by category or simply checking out a playlist, TED has a lot of educational or inspirational content you can watch for free.

3. Vimeo

Vimeo is one of the best YouTube alternatives if you’re looking for artistic or independent movie content. If you want funny cat videos, you may want to look for other options. But, if you want HD user-generated content, Vimeo is a platform to check out.

Similar to other YouTube alternatives, you can view content on Vimeo on your computer. You can also use other platforms, such as:

• Amazon Fire TV
• Android TV
• Apple TV
• Chromecast
• Roku

You can use other alternatives to Fire Stick as well, depending on your preferences. There are many videos to choose from, and you can add those videos to your “watch later” list if you need to watch them at a later time. The site also makes it easy for people to interact with each other and allows comments and likes to be added to certain videos.

Vimeo has an on-demand platform where you can watch films and other types of content. You do have to purchase each video, but the money goes directly to the person who created it.

4. DailyMotion

DailyMotion is one of the best video sites like YouTube and works similar to the streaming giant. Not only can you watch hours of content on the platform, you can stream music from popular artists like:

• Ariana Grande
• Drake
• Mumford & Sons
• Sam Smith

To find music to stream and listen to, go to the artists section on the site.

*Related: Love college football? Check out our guide on how to stream college football without cable to catch all the action without a pricey contract.*

DailyMotion also has a Daily Pulse section where they highlight news like big sports events, award shows, new music, and celebrity news.

The site is filled with a ton of trending news and has a nice collection of videos for people to view. If it has been in the news the last few days, DailyMotion probably has video content on the subject.

DailyMotion visitors can share videos that they find interesting straight to a blog by simply copying a URL directly into a text editor. It’s as simple as that.

Like YouTube and other best video streaming sites, they have their fair share of advertisements so expect to see ads between consecutive videos. You do have the option to skip the ad after ten seconds of watching it.

5. Vevo

If you’re looking to stream music from your favorite artists, Vevo is one of the best sites like YouTube to do this. They are the self-proclaimed “world’s leading all-premium music video and entertainment platform.” Their main content is music videos, of course, and is a joint venture between EMI, Sony, and Universal Music.

Over 350,000 videos have been loaded onto Vevo, and the site gets around 26 million views per month. You may even see their logo on YouTube videos that you stream as well since that’s where they get some of their content from.

For an artist to be featured on Vevo, they have to be syndicated through Vevo. And in order to do that, they have to go through one of Vevo’s official partners. Fortunately for viewers, YouTube is one of those partners and artists gets a ton of views as a result.

A majority of the content on Vevo is music videos, but they also have live performances and interviews as well.

If you want other content, you might be disappointed, but it’s a great resource for music lovers.

6. Veoh

Veoh is one of the best YouTube alternatives to use if you want to watch free content. Similar to Crackle and DailyMotion, the streaming sites offers a considerable number of short to mid-length videos and is one of the best Netflix alternatives to use.

Veoh, like many other video streaming sites, has their content organized in a user-friendly way so you can scroll through to find the category or genre you want. A mix of videos, movies, and music make up the entire library.

Their short movies and clips are categorized by genre and include crime, drama, comedy, and more. Like YouTube, you can search for channels that match your interests to stream more content related to that topic.

You can also use Veoh for educational purposes since they have videos related to drawing, animals, and even how-to videos.

7. Metacafe

Metacafe is one of the older alternatives to YouTube. The streaming platform began in 2003, and focuses on shorter-form content. If you want shorter content that’s similar to YouTube, Metacafe is a good option to consider.

*Related: Looking for a cheap cable alternative that carries local channels? Read our review of Hulu Live to see why they’re a great solution to cut the cord.*

The interface is more minimal than what you’ll find with other alternatives, but it’s an awesome resource for video content from sports, movies, TV clips, and user-generated content.

The three main categories of videos are trending, popular, and latest so you can always stay on top of what everyone is responding to. Trending and popular may occasionally have some of the same videos.

There’s also a family filter option on this site which is great for parents who want to monitor what their kids watch.

Bottom Line

While YouTube is the best option to use when you want to stream videos on different topics, it’s not the only way to watch videos online. These best YouTube alternatives are also quality video streaming sites that you can use for free or a low fee.

Depending on what type of content you want to view, some of these other legitimate sites may have better options – especially if you’re looking to watch movies or TV shows online since YouTube often charges for this feature.

How often do you watch content online? What are some other sites like YouTube you watch? How much do you spend on cable and television content each month?