8 Best OTT Platforms for Video Content in 2023

The best OTT platforms offer a fantastic way for companies to share video content with fans and build an engaged online community. An excellent alternative to working with cable companies, OTT solutions have quickly become the go-to option for countless consumers.

With an OTT platform, content creators can build online hubs for their videos, monetize their work in a range of different ways, and explore the benefits of both live streaming and video on demand. If you’re familiar with Disney plus, Hulu, and Netflix, you’ll already have a basic knowledge of over-the-top streaming technology.

As customers have begun to embrace the benefits of digital content in droves, the number of OTT platforms available for business leaders and innovators has evolved. Today, there are countless fantastic products to choose from. The challenge is finding the right tool for your needs.

What are the Best OTT Platforms?

• Muvi
• Wowza
• Setplex
• Brightcove
• Dacast
• Vimeo OTT
• IBM Wtson Media
• Uscreen

Here are some of the best OOT platforms to consider right now.

1. Muvi

A leading OTT platform provider with support for white label multi-device streaming, Muvi offers everything from video on-demand, to live streaming, CDN, DRM, and countless monetization options. To help you get the most out of your content creation strategy, Muvi even allows you to create audio streaming platforms for podcasts and music too.

Muvi is an easy-to-use ecosystem for content creators just getting started with the new age of audience engagement. You can broadcast or stream live, directly to your target audience, with a powerful cloud hosting system. There are ad-supported subscription plans, in-depth analytics and reports, and the option to bring your own server into the app.

Websites and native apps are included for both mobile and TV, so you’ll have no problem taking advantage of some of the biggest streaming solutions, like Fire TV, Roku, Chromecast, and more. You can broadcast on smart TVs, through apps like iOS Apple TV, and more. Plus, Muvi even has its own AI recommendation engine to assist you in making the most out of your new creative business.

Pricing

Like many OTT services, Muvi has a free trial for beginners, followed by a series of plan options. You can save 15% by paying annually, or 10% by paying every six months. Packages include:

• Standard: $399 per month for unlimited users and content, and 2000 concurrent users. There’s a shared hosting server with 1TB a month of bandwidth, 20,000 free API calls per month, and 2 admin accounts.
• Professional: $1,499 per month for all the features of Standard, plus 10,000 concurrent users, 2TB per month of bandwidth, free encoding for up to 1TB per month, and 5 admin accounts. You also get your own CDN solution.
• Enterprise: $3,900 per month for 5TB of bandwidth per month, all the features of Professional, and security and stress testing. You can also create a staging environment, access advanced customer support, and support 50,000 concurrent users.
• Ultimate: $8,900 per month for a dedicated server with auto-scaling, 10TB of bandwidth per month, unlimited admin accounts, advanced stress testing once per month, and a dedicated account manager.
• Black: Custom pricing for discounted storage and data fees, as well as a range of advanced support options.

2. Wowza

Another popular option for OTT video streaming services, Wowza is reliable, scalable, and powerful. The company makes it easy to migrate to a cloud-based streaming platform, with lots of guidance and support. You can also build your own framework for content and configure your own server.

The integrated video platform at the heart of the platform gives you all the core streaming technology you need in one place. There’s also a fantastic content management system for keeping on top of all your videos. Users can unlock everything from ABR and passthrough streaming, to interactive apps where they can engage their audience.

There’s global availability provided by the CDN, and an agnostic encoder service so you don’t have to worry about quick streaming. All plans also include in-depth analytics so you can track the performance of every video and update your content strategy accordingly.

Like many of the top OTT options, Wowza integrates well with the top player technologies too, such as Roku, Chromecast, and many others. You’ll have no problem reaching customers on smart tvs, tablets, and mobile devices.

Pricing

Wowza offers both on-premises and cloud-based packages depending on your specific needs. The pricing options are quite unique, as you can choose between monthly and pay-as-you-go streaming. Options include:

• Pay as you go: $25 per month for flexible streaming with ABR and passthrough options. You’ll spend $5 per hour to stream, and all usage is billed separately.
• One month: $149 gives you access to 15 hours of video streaming and 500 viewing hours. You’ll also need to pay for your storage as-needed, which can quickly increase the cost.
• Annual: $130 for access to the service for one year, with 300 streaming hours, 10,000 viewing hours and 150GB of storage.
• Enterprise: This package offers custom rates for viewing, streaming, and storage requirements. You’ll also get excellent support and guidance.

3. Setplex

Promising a powerful, simple, and affordable approach to OTT streaming, Setplex is a flexible tool for content creators. There are tools for IPTV operators, MSOs and ISPs, and content owners and syndicators all in the same place. You can also access various multi-screen capabilities and interactive services to help you generate growth online.

Setplex is designed to help organizations avoid the complexity and high costs typically associated with launching a video service worldwide. There’s excellent speed and flexibility built into the environment, and you can manage your technology either through the cloud or on-premises.

Multi-screen apps are included to ensure you can deliver your content across all major app stores. Plus, there’s a multi-CDN strategy to deliver video to viewers worldwide. Users even gain access to multiple levels of content protection and authentication.

As an added bonus, companies gain access to fantastic real-time analytics for understanding viewing habits, subscription details and revenue. If you want to set up a streaming service similar to HBO max or Amazon Prime video, without dealing with TV channels and complex service providers, this could be the product for you.

Pricing

Setplex is one of the more complex solutions on the market for companies looking to plan an effective budget. The company unfortunately keeps pricing private, so you’ll need to contact the team directly to get a quote. This could mean you’ll end up spending a little more than expected.

4. Brightcove

Brightcove claims to be one of the most powerful video platforms in the world, designed to help you engage your audiences, monetize more content, and convert prospects. The company provides an all-in-one video platform where you can sell products, list your videos, and set up monetization through bundled packages, advertising, and one-time purchases.

With Brightcove, you can deliver your content seamlessly to any device at any time. There are 16 global data centers handling the content supported by the company, so you know you’re going tog et excellent reliability. Creators can deliver video on demand, and flexible streaming solutions. You’ll also gain access to an excellent back-end environment for asset management.

Brightcove’s technology also comes with the “Beacon” function, which allows you to deliver a single piece of content as an on-demand or live asset across 11 devices and platform over 175 countries. The company even provides in-depth analytics and reporting to help users learn more about their customers viewing strategies.

Pricing

Like some of the other top OTT solutions on the market, Brightcove doesn’t have a specific pricing page where you can choose from a range of packages. To ensure they can support every company correctly, the business focuses on delivering customized plans to each user.

This means you’ll need to connect with the company directly to ask them for a quote.

5. Dacast

Dacast is one of the top streaming platforms for large organizations and smaller creators alike. The company provides state-of-the-art secure video hosting with an all-in-one platform that’s easy for users to access. You can stream live events, or simply play your top content on-demand to users in a range of different formats.

Dacast has its own dedicated HTML5 player to work across all devices. There are top-tier CDNs built into the ecosystem to ensure you always deliver an excellent stream, and users can access extra support whenever they need it too. The platform even includes various ways to engage your audience and increase your views, such as live countdowns and real-time analytics.

You’ll be able to access unlimited concurrent viewers on most plans, as well as various options for how to display ads within your content. The technology is also reasonably affordable compared to some of the other OTT options on the market. It’s great for showcasing your own TV shows and content however you like, with excellent transcoding capabilities.

Pricing

There’s a free 14-day trial to get you used to some of the top features on the platform, followed by a range of paid packages for different user needs. Your options include:

• Starter: $39 per month when billed annually for 1.2TB of bandwidth per year, 50GB of storage, 1080p broadcasting, live streaming and video hosting, and unlimited concurrent viewers. You also get 24/7 support.
• Event: $63 per month for 6TB of bandwidth, 50GB of storage, and everything you get in Starter. You’ll also have real-time analytics, VOD playlists and live streaming, live countdown, payrolls, and advertising options.
• Scale: $188 per month for 24TB of bandwidth per year and 1000 GB of storage. You also get everything in Event plus phone support, unlimited channels, chapter markers, advanced library management, and up to 3 team members.
• Custom: Bespoke pricing for everything in Scale plus added support, special features, migrations, integrations, 5 team members, and custom SLAs.

6. Vimeo OTT

Definitely one of the most popular and well-known online video solutions available, Vimeo is great for helping content creators to thrive online. You can use Vimeo to host online events, store online videos for on-demand streaming, and more. The platform is wonderfully easy to use for beginners and comes with all the basics you need to get started.

The world-class video platform ensures your videos look fantastic on any device, and there are powerful CDNs to deliver your content around the world. You can access in-depth views of analytics to learn more about your target audience and their viewer preferences. There are also various advanced selling options like subscriptions, one-time purchases, and ads.

Users gain access to fantastic mobile SDKs and API support. You can also unlock features like video chaptering and SEO, engagement and social analytics, templates for content creation, and password protection for peace of mind. As one of the top OTT apps around, Vimeo supports everything from SVOD and AVOD, to subscriptions.

Pricing

Vimeo offers a 30-day free trial to get you started, so you can test out all the functionality with ease. There’s also a convenient free plan where you can upload up to 500mb of content each week with 5GB of storage in total. Paid plans include:

• Starter: £9 per seat per month for player embedding, password protection, basic templates, video chaptering, screen recording, SEO, engagement, and social analytics.
• Standard: £27 per month for all the features of Start plus branding for your videos and player, custom CTAs and end-cards, lead capturing with custom forms, and premium templates. You’ll also have stock photos, videos, and music options.
• Advanced: £51 per month for all the features of Standard plus virtual events and webinars, real-time streaming insights, attendee registration, live chats, polls and Q&A and branded reminder emails. You’ll also have marketing integrations.
• Enterprise: Custom pricing for all the features of Advanced plus custom permissions, SSO and SKIM, guaranteed SLAs, and moderation. You can also create backup streams and access advanced integrations

7. IBM Watson Media

Another excellent solution for companies embracing the age of live video and OTT content, IBM Watson Media is designed for enterprises. This OTT market solution and hosting service in one is ideal for hosting virtual events, executive town halls, and more. Because the technology was built for businesses, it comes with excellent privacy and reliability built-in.

As an added bonus, you also get access to all the features offered by IBM’s Watson AI assistant. This means you can create intelligent closed captions for your video streams automatically, to improve playback for users. What’s more, you can access various insights and analytics to learn more about how people use and access your content.

As one of the most popular OTT platforms among startups and enterprise companies, IBM Watson even comes with white labelling. This means you can customize your viewing experience to represent your specific brand. The streaming experience is simple and straightforward, and there’s API access included too. Ad integration options also ensure you can enhance the viewing experience with various monetization options.

Pricing

IBM Watson Media pricing plans fall into four categories giving users access to various key features. These include:

• Silver: $99 per month for 100 viewer hours, 1TB of storage, API access and live polling within the streaming experience.
• Gold: $499 per month for 2,000 viewer hours, up to 10 channels for your content, and 2TB of storage, among other advanced features.
• Platinum: $999 per month for 5,000 viewer hours, up to 20 channels, and all the features of Gold, plus an additional 5TB of storage in the cloud.
• Custom: This is the most expensive TVOD and streaming solution from IBM, customized to suit your specific business needs. You’ll have custom data storage and up to 4K video streaming included too.

8. Uscreen

Starting with perhaps the best-known OTT platform on the market, Uscreen is an all-in-one solution for building a content-based business. The easy-to-use but versatile video streaming platform gives creators the freedom to grow their identity on the web in a range of different ways.

You can design engaging membership sites for subscribers, fully-branded apps for live TV and mobile, and even build online courses. Uscreen’s comprehensive platform comes with a website building solution offering multiple themes and landing page options. You can create Netflix-style catalogs to show off your videos and engage with your audience in real-time through live streaming.

The live-streaming features also include live chat options, countdowns, and other tools to encourage interactions with subscribers. Members can even build their own profiles with custom avatars, and “like” the videos they enjoy most. There are also various tools for holding online events, and endless monetization options like subscriptions, pay-per-view, free trials, lifetime access, and bundles.

Pricing

There’s a free trial available so you can test the feature of Uscreen before jumping into anything. After that, you’ll have three plans to choose from:

• Basic: $79 per month for 50 hours of video storage, 1 admin user, onboarding support, and encoding. You’ll also have access to all of the top features of Uscreen like a customizable website, payment management, marketing tools and automations and analytics.
• Growth: $159 per month for all the features of Basic, plus 150 hours of video storage, 10 admin users and chat/email support. You’ll also have access to community features, ecommerce capabilities, affiliate tools and integrations.
• UscreenPlus: Custom pricing for all the features of Growth, plus mobile apps, TV streaming apps, live streaming analytics, white-label branding, API support, and countless advanced capabilities.

Choosing the Best OTT Platforms

As demand for Android and iOS streaming, on-demand video, and custom content continues to increase, OTT platforms are more popular than ever. The right tools will allow you to connect with your customers through smart TVs and smartphones, monetize your videos in a range of different ways, and even align with existing tools like Android TV.

However, finding the right OTT platform can be easier said than done. There are countless tools out there all promising excellent user experience and fantastic features. The best strategy is to consider your unique needs carefully. Ask yourself what kind of payment gateway integrations you need, what sort of content you want to stream, and how you’re going to engage your community with subscriptions and rentals.

Explore the FAQs and articles provided by different OTT vendors to learn more about what you can do with each platform and take advantage of free demos whenever possible.

Good luck on your OTT streaming journey.