5+ Best Private Video Hosting Platforms for Embedded Content (2024)

Are you looking for private video hosting platforms? Maybe you've got a course you are teaching for video and you would like to host it to only a restricted audience?

Recently, we were looking for a way to embed private video courses on our blog a while back. However, embedding a private video on YouTube is difficult, cumbersome and is not the best way to get his done.

As a result of this, we started looking for private video hosting platforms and services to host our online courses. Let's take a look at the best options we discovered!

1. Vidello

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When it comes to private video hosting, Vidello is without a doubt our first choice. They have a $39/m plan that includes analytics as well as split-testing! As we go through this list, you'll notice that it includes more features than most others at a lower cost.

They promote their software as being designed specifically for course creators who want to embed private videos on their websites. Jackpot! This is surprisingly difficult to come by, and one of the services they provide that few others do is domain protection. Your videos are only accessible through your website! Finally!

Vidello is extremely easy to use. Simply upload your video and copy the embed code to complete the process. Analytics is simple to use. It's fantastic!

If you want to give it a shot, they also offer a free trial!

2. Wistia

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Our second choice for private video hosting is Wistia. And the first three videos you embed are completely free! If you don't care about price, it's actually our favorite piece of software on the list.

They have a comprehensive feature set. Their privacy settings are simple to understand and assist in preventing your video from being shared without the embed code.

The issue with Wistia is that it quickly becomes costly. The cost of ten video embeds per month is $100! We needed to contact Wistia about their 100 video embed plan. On December 21st, 2021, they quoted us $400 per month.

However, prices vary depending on what you require.

If you have enough cash, or you have a good source of investment and revenue from your course, we believe Wistia's software is the best. However, the 10 video option costs four times as much as Vidello (who gives you 200 videos). The 100-video option costs 16 times more.

If price is an issue for you, we don't think this is a good option.

3. SproutVideo

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When it comes to hosting private videos, SproutVideo is a good budget option.

There isn't a free tier. However, the $24.99 per month plan includes enough features to host a course behind a paywall on your website. Given the feature set, you'll find that it's a competitive price when compared to the other options.

The software is also simple to operate. It comes with built-in analytics. It doesn't have all of Vidello's features, but it does have the ones we care about at a reasonable price.

4. Vidyard

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Another budget-friendly option is Vidyard. You can embed 5 videos on your website for free with their free tier. There is also a $15 per month plan that allows you to embed 20 videos.

The website is simple to navigate. Vidyard, on the other hand, does not appeal to me as much as SproutVideo. The price for more than 20 embeds per month isn't disclosed. Hidden pricing, in my experience, means expensive.

On the free tier, they also can't make your videos private. Your video could go viral if someone came across the link. When embedding, we couldn't find the public link. However, we'd like to be able to mark the video as private so that we know it's not being viewed.

5. Vimeo

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Vimeo irritates me. Their product was difficult to use, and their pricing was confusing as well. However, because they are well-known, we felt compelled to include them on the list.

To upload commercial content to Vimeo, you must first sign up for one of their Vimeo Pro, Business, or Premium plans. The annual fees for these plans are $240, $600, and $900, respectively. They also don't offer monthly plans for those plans, so if you want to use them, you'll have to pay in full right away.

Even worse, embedding a Vimeo private video is difficult. To get the required settings, you'll need the $900 per year plan. If you're going to spend $900 on this, Wistia's $100/m plan looks more appealing than Vimeo's.

Vimeo just rubs me the wrong way.

6. Amazon S3, Google Cloud Platform, etc.

If you're looking for the cheapest way to serve video at a massive scale, cloud computing platforms are ideal. Setting up these embeds on a cloud platform, however, is difficult. You'd be much better off paying for one of the very low-cost services listed above.

Are There Any Free Private Video Hosting Options?

YouTube is a fantastic video hosting service that is completely free. The only issue with YouTube is that embedding a private YouTube video on your website is not practical.

If you don't care if the video is private or not, use YouTube. You can't get to the video without the link because YouTube has an unlisted option. The problem with that strategy is that your course's visitors will quickly discover the public link. They can then freely distribute it to whomever they want.

Free Public Video Hosting That Won’t Work For Embedding Private Videos

We attempted to hack the following public video services in order to see if we could use them to embed private videos. When it comes to making the video private, they all fail.

Twitch: Twitch was encouraging because they allow video clips to be embedded. The clips, however, are public and there is no way to make them private.

YouTube: Is an outstanding video hosting service. However, embedding private videos is too difficult, so you're better off looking elsewhere.

Google Drive: As of 2022, there is no way to embed a video on Google Drive, and the service has no associated player.

Facebook: Facebook is almost functional. The issue is that if a post or video isn't public, you can't embed it.

Instagram: You can't embed non-public videos on Instagram.

Twitter: You cannot embed non-public tweets on Twitter.

DailyMotion.com: We couldn’t even get a video uploaded when we tried to use it.

Conclusion

Wistia is the service we'd use if money wasn’t an issue, but Vidello is our choice if money is a factor and you'd like to go for a private video hosting platform which is good enough for most people.

Private Video Hosting Platforms FAQs

What is the motive of a private video hosting platform?

Users can easily manage the safety and monetization of their content with a private video hosting platform for businesses. These are typically paid solutions that provide broadcasters with the speed, security, analytics, password protection, and consistency they require to fully exploit their video content. 

What is the cost of hosting a video website?

The price of a video hosting website varies depending on the platform. These video hosting platforms offer paid plans ranging from $7 to $99 per month, with additional premium features available to users. 

What is the most effective method for hosting a private video?

A professional-grade online video platform is the best way to get private video hosting (OVP). These specialized solutions include all of the tools you'll need to manage and distribute your video content.

About the Author
Daniel Luke
Daniel is a web designer and developer. He has been a developer for the last 10 years working with various WordPress themes that allows him to compare and contrast different themes, understand the strengths and weaknesses to develop factual, real-world reviews. He is also a mobile app developer and technology reviewer. Over several years, he has developed his own mobile apps, both on Android and iPhone. This hands-on specialisation in mobile and web development allows him to be an authoritative voices when it comes to technology reporting.

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