Wistia vs. Brightcove: Which Is Better for My Business?

When choosing an online video platform for your business, two names are likely to appear on your short list: Wistia and Brightcove.

They both provide robust video hosting and live streaming services and are based in Greater Boston. But if you dig a little deeper, you’ll find some key advantages that set Wistia apart from other Brightcove competitors, especially in the realm of video marketing.

As we explore Wistia and Brightcove, consider the features included, the potential return on investment (ROI), usability, and how well each platform aligns with your business goals and resources. Ultimately, the real winner will be the platform that fits seamlessly into your business model while enhancing your marketing efforts.

So which one will it be? Let’s find out!

Why Wistia delivers more marketing ROI

Wistia is a platform that wears its heart on its sleeve: It’s all about video marketing. The developers behind Wistia have honed in on this singular focus, crafting a product that assists businesses in creating, managing, distributing, and measuring video content.

Wistia automates all of the complicated technical stuff so you can focus on what really matters: being more creative and maximizing your video investments.

“Wistia automates all of the complicated technical stuff so you can focus on what really matters: being more creative and maximizing your video investments.”

The beauty of Wistia lies in its simplicity. You don’t need advanced technical skills to use the platform and embed your Wistia-hosted videos onto your website. It’s a plug-and-play affair, making it an attractive option for businesses of all sizes.

On the other side, Brightcove adopts a more generalist approach. The platform offers video hosting and delivery, catering to a broader range of use cases. Brightcove has found its niche in providing services to large media companies that aim to monetize their content with ads and live stream content to television.

How the video hosting platforms compare

Beyond their business approach, the difference between Wistia and Brightcove becomes more evident when we dive into their wide range of features.

Video galleries

When you use Brightcove Galleries, you have to create separate subdomains on your website. This leads to a situation where your videos end up siloed and running on a different content management system (CMS) from your main website. A number of issues can arise from this scenario:

• SEO challenges: Having videos on a subdomain can weaken your overall site’s SEO because search engines might see it as a separate site.
• Extra maintenance: Managing updates, changes, and troubleshooting across different platforms can be more complex and time-consuming.
• Poor navigation: If users have to bounce back and forth between your main domain and subdomains, they might find it a disjointed and confusing browsing experience.
• Complicated analytics: Tracking user behavior across separate domains can lead to fragmented, less useful analytics.

Conversely, Wistia Channels makes it easy to put a video gallery on any web page and with any CMS — all enabled by a simple embed code. This results in videos that are more accessible and integrated with your website content without the need for developer help.

Usability

For ease of use, Brightcove is often seen as being code-heavy. This means you might need to pay for additional customization or secure the most scarce resource of all: time from a developer!

“Brightcove is often seen as being code-heavy. This means you might need to pay for additional customization or secure the most scarce resource of all: time from a developer!”

In contrast, Wistia video embeds are user-friendly and avoid code-heavy complications.

Analytics

Regarding video analytics, Wistia zeroes in on the video metrics that matter to marketers. It provides detailed viewer data, including view count, play rate, who watched your videos, and how much of each video they watched. You can automatically integrate this viewer-specific data into your customer relationship management (CRM) or marketing automation platform like HubSpot.

“Wistia zeroes in on the video metrics that matter to marketers. It provides detailed viewer data, including view count, play rate, who watched your videos, and how much of each video they watched.”

Brightcove also offers analytics, but the specifics of its data and how it compares to Wistia’s granularity are worth further exploration based on your business needs.

Streaming

Brightcove’s product is primarily focused on live video for broadcasting purposes. This means you would likely need to collaborate with external production agencies to put it to good use.

Wistia Live, however, is built specifically for webinars and virtual conferences. It offers features like a backstage area, an interactive question and answer (Q&A) feature, and different permissions for hosts, panelists, and audience members.

“Wistia Live is built specifically for webinars and virtual conferences with a backstage area, an interactive Q&A feature, and different permissions for hosts, panelists, and audience members.”

This tailoring toward webinars and virtual conferences can make Wistia Live a handy option for businesses that want to connect directly with their audience without going through the hassle of teaming up with external production agencies.

Which is better, Brightcove or Wistia?

Both platforms offer strong features and capabilities for high-quality video hosting, so the choice ultimately boils down to your business needs, goals, and budget.

If you’re on the hunt for a Brightcove alternative that’s all about video marketing, has a super user-friendly interface, and offers detailed analytics, Wistia might just be the perfect match for you. With Wistia, you’ll find it a breeze to navigate the platform and integrate your video content right into your website.

At Wistia, we believe in the quality and value of our product. We’re happy to let you kick the tires before buying — no funny business.

“At Wistia, we believe in the quality and value of our product. We’re happy to let you kick the tires before buying — no funny business.”

On the other hand, if your needs extend to broadcasting and monetization of over-the-top (OTT) content, particularly if you’re a large media company, Brightcove might be the more suitable platform.

Both Wistia and Brightcove have a lot to offer. As businesses continue to leverage high-quality video content in their marketing strategies, the right video platform can make a significant difference. Whether it’s Wistia or Brightcove, make sure your choice fits your needs, goals, and how you want to connect with your audience through video.