Castr vs Vimeo
We give Castr a 2.4 GPA and Vimeo a 2.6, out of 4.0. Castr grades higher on value for money. Vimeo grades higher on features and ease of use. They get the same grade on the free plan and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Castr
Multistreaming, video hosting and 24/7 playout in one service
Vimeo
Ad-free video hosting with a customizable player and review tools
How we grade them
| 2.4GPACastrFair | 2.6GPAVimeoGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BStarter is $16.67 a month billed annually ($199.99 a year, $19.99 by the month) and streams to 6 destinations, enough for three platforms. That's level with Restream and Ecamm, well under StreamYard's Core, and it includes hosting and a paywall. | CStarter is $12 a month billed annually ($144), or $20 by the month, so just above this category's $10 middle for 1 user and 2TB. Livestreamed events are a long climb up, on Advanced at $75. |
| Free plan and trial | CNo free plan, but a 7-day free trial of Starter with no credit card. The other plans go straight to checkout. | CFree stays free indefinitely with ad-free playback and 30-minute recordings. The catch is 1 GB of storage for the life of the account: it never resets, so a few long videos and that's the end of it. |
| Features | CMultistreaming to 30 destinations, hosting, a player, cloud recording, 24/7 playout and a paywall on every plan. The gaps: you bring the encoder, as the browser Cloud Production switcher is enabled by Castr on request, and recordings are kept up to three days. | BAd-free hosting up to 4K with HDR, an embeddable customisable player, passwords and unlisted links, time-coded review comments with versions, a browser recorder and editor, live events with Q&A. Nothing missing from the hosting job. |
| Ease of use | CNo App Store rating on record. You set up an encoder such as OBS or a camera, add each destination and embed the player, which takes some know-how. | B4.5 from 11,801 App Store ratings. Uploading and embedding is straightforward; the plans are the confusing part, since the help centre also describes newer Core, Professional and Studio tiers. |
| Platforms and integrations | BA web service with no desktop or phone app listed. It sends to YouTube, Facebook, Twitch and LinkedIn, takes RTMP, SRT, RTSP and HLS input from OBS or cameras, and has an API on Premium. | BWeb, Mac, iPhone and Android with an API, connecting to Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, Dropbox, HubSpot, Mailchimp, Zoom and Shopify. The only desktop app is for Mac, which is what keeps it off an A. |
| Best for | multistreaming plus hosting your own video | hosting videos with no ads around them |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Castr and Vimeo. How we grade
Where they differ
- Castr starts at $16.67 per month, billed annually ($19.99 billed monthly). Vimeo starts at $12 per month, billed annually ($20 billed monthly).
- Vimeo has a free plan. Castr does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Vimeo lists macOS, iOS and Android apps.
- Castr also covers multistreaming.
- Vimeo also covers transcription, templates, screen recording and video editing.
At a glance
| Castr | Vimeo | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $16.67 per month, billed annually ($19.99 billed monthly) | $12 per month, billed annually ($20 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | 1 GB of total storage for the life of the account, one seat, ad-free playback, basic viewer analytics, and screen and webcam recordings of up to 30 minutes each. |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial of the Starter plan, no credit card required | Free trial offered on Starter, Standard and Advanced; the pricing page does not state its length |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Castr Live Streaming, Inc. | Vimeo.com, Inc. |
| Price read from | castr.com | vimeo.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Castr
- Churches and schools streaming services or events to several platforms
- Broadcasters running a 24/7 channel from pre-recorded video
- Selling access to live streams behind a paywall
Vimeo
- Hosting and embedding videos without ads or suggested videos
- Creative teams sharing cuts for time-coded review
- Businesses running webinars and livestreamed events on the Advanced plan
Worth knowing
Castr
- Streams come in from encoder software, hardware or IP cameras; the browser-based Cloud Production switcher is enabled by Castr on request.
- Each plan has a player-bandwidth allowance, and monthly plans get less upfront bandwidth and fewer concurrent streams than annual ones.
- Only Starter has the 7-day trial; the other plans go straight to checkout.
- DRM and native iOS, Android and TV apps for the Events plan are add-ons arranged with sales.
Vimeo
- The Free plan is capped at 1 GB of storage for the life of the account; the allowance does not reset or renew.
- Livestreamed events and webinars need the Advanced plan at $75 a month billed annually, or Enterprise.
- Self-serve plans have a bandwidth limit of 2TB a month; accounts that expect more are asked to talk to sales.
- Vimeo's help center also describes newer Core, Professional and Studio plans, with Professional rolling out gradually, so the plans an account is offered may differ.
Key features
Castr
- Multistreaming
- One RTMP or SRT feed goes out to up to 30 destinations, including YouTube, Facebook pages and groups, Twitch and LinkedIn; TikTok and Instagram connect through custom RTMP.
- Video hosting and player
- An embeddable player with analytics, video storage from 100 GB, and unlimited viewers within each plan's bandwidth allowance.
- Cloud recording and live-to-VOD
- Records streams of up to 72 hours, keeps the recordings for up to three days, and turns live streams into on-demand videos.
- 24/7 playout
- Runs pre-recorded videos as an always-on live channel, like a TV station, on every plan.
- Paywall and monetization
- A paywall comes with every plan, in-stream ads start on Standard, and Events adds subscriptions, pay-per-view and more than 30 payment gateways.
- Ingest protocols and API
- Takes RTSP, RTMP, HLS, MPEG-TS and SRT input, offers pull links from Standard, and adds API access and HLS URLs on Premium.
Vimeo
- Ad-free hosting up to 4K
- Videos stream at up to 4K with HDR and Dolby Vision support, and Vimeo places no ads before, during or after them on any plan.
- Customizable, embeddable player
- Embed videos on any site. Paid plans unlock player customization, and Standard adds your own branding, calls to action and lead capture forms.
- Privacy and access controls
- Paid plans add password protection, unlisted links and embed domain-level privacy. Enterprise adds SSO, SCIM and custom permissions.
- Review and collaboration
- Share cuts for review, collect time-coded comments, track versions and keep work in shared folders across team seats.
- Browser recorder and editor
- Record your screen, webcam or both in the browser and trim on a timeline. Text-based editing and AI teleprompter scripts start on Standard.
- Live events and webinars
- Advanced adds hosted livestreamed events with Q&A, polls and chat, streaming to multiple destinations and event-level analytics.
Plans
Castr
Starter$16.67
per month, billed annually ($19.99 billed monthly)
2 concurrent streams (3 on annual), 6 destinations, 200 GB of player bandwidth a month and 100 GB of video storage.
Standard$41.67
per month, billed annually ($49.99 billed monthly)
10 destinations, 500 GB of bandwidth a month and 200 GB of storage, plus SRT and RTMP pull links and in-stream ads.
Premium$166.67
per month, billed annually ($199.99 billed monthly)
5 streams (10 on annual), 20 destinations, 3 TB of bandwidth, 2 TB of storage, adaptive bitrate, API access and 3 team members.
Ultra$291.67
per month, billed annually ($349.99 billed monthly)
10 streams (15 on annual), 30 destinations, 5 TB of bandwidth, 3 TB of storage, failover ingest and low-latency playback.
Events$624.99
per month, billed annually ($749.99 billed monthly)
A branded OTT web app with a CMS, subscriptions and pay-per-view sales, 15 streams, 30 destinations and 10 TB of bandwidth a month.
EnterpriseCustom
Custom stream, bandwidth and storage allocations, enterprise controls and migration help, arranged with sales.
Vimeo
Free$0
1 GB of total storage, one seat, ad-free playback, basic viewer analytics and recordings of up to 30 minutes each.
Starter$12
per month, billed annually ($144); $20 billed monthly
1 user and 2TB of storage, with a customizable player, password privacy and unlisted links, review tools and engagement analytics.
Standard$25
per month, billed annually ($300); $41 billed monthly
5 users and 4TB of storage. Adds player branding, a custom watermark, branded video galleries, lead capture and calls to action.
Advanced$75
per month, billed annually ($900); $125 billed monthly
10 users and 7TB of storage. Adds hosted livestreamed events with Q&A, polls and chat, multi-destination streaming and marketing integrations.
EnterpriseCustom
More users, storage and bandwidth, plus SSO and SCIM, custom permissions, advanced AI capabilities and dedicated support.
Ways to pay less
Castr
- Annual discount
Two months free with annual billing
Castr's pricing page says annual billing gives 2 months free plus a larger upfront bandwidth pool: Starter is $199.99 a year against $19.99 a month.
Vimeo
- Annual discount
Save about 40% with annual billing
Starter is $12 a month billed annually against $20 billed monthly. Standard is $25 against $41, and Advanced is $75 against $125.
