Kinescope vs Spotlightr (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Kinescope and Spotlightr share a 2.4 GPA, and only Kinescope has a free plan.
Checked Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
They get the same grade on all five counts.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Kinescope
Video hosting with DRM and live streaming for courses and teams
Spotlightr
Encrypted video hosting with a course module for creators
Which one is for you
Pick Kinescope if
- Fits if you sell video courses and want DRM on the video
- Works for teams embedding video in WordPress or Moodle
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay free, as it stops at 100 minutes and has no DRM
- Watch out: paid cost is usage-based, with processing from €0.01 per minute at upload
- Watch out: prices are in euros
- Watch out: SSO, an SLA and dedicated support are Mega only, which is custom-priced
Pick Spotlightr if
- Fits if you sell courses and want encrypted video
- Works for LearnDash or WordPress course sites
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a free plan, as there is only a 14-day trial
- Tight on Light: 25 videos and no AI transcription minutes
- Watch out: the course module, gallery module and student reporting start on Plus, in-video quizzes on Premium
- Watch out: overage is $0.05 per GB of bandwidth and $0.03 per GB of storage
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAKinescopeFair | 2.4GPASpotlightrFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BSuper starts at €10 a month, plus usage from €0.03 per GB of traffic and per GB stored. It is a video host, so we weigh it on its own. | BLight is $13 a month billed yearly ($15 monthly), inside the cheapest quarter ($20) but above $12. Plus is $21. |
| Free plan and trial | CThe free plan has 100 minutes of stored video, 200 GB of monthly traffic and 2 members, with no DRM. | CA 14-day trial with no card. There is no free plan. |
| Features | CVideo hosting with a branded player, DRM, live streaming, analytics and an API. It does that smaller job fully and is not a course platform. | CVideo hosting with HLS encryption, analytics, subtitles and in-video engagement tools. It does that smaller job fully, and the course module needs Plus. |
| Ease of use | CA web app where you upload and embed video, with no store rating on record. | CA web app where you upload and set up video, with no store rating on record. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, with WordPress, Moodle, Open edX, Zoom, YouTube and Vimeo on the list, plus an API. | BWeb, with WordPress, LearnDash, Stripe, Kajabi and Thinkific on the list. |
| Best for | hosting course videos with DRM | protected video for course sellers |
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: Kinescope and Spotlightr. How we grade
Price against what you get
Kinescope starts at about $11.17 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Spotlightr starts at $13 a month and scores 2.3.
They score the same, and Kinescope starts $1.83 a month lower. Of the other course and community platforms on the chart, 1 scores higher than Kinescope for less, and 1 scores higher than Spotlightr for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Kinescope also covers webinars and multistreaming.
- Spotlightr also covers reports, online courses and popups.
At a glance
| Kinescope | Spotlightr | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | €10 per month, plus pay-as-you-go usage | $13 per month, billed annually ($15 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | 100 minutes of stored video, 200 GB of monthly traffic, 2 workspace members and 2 restreaming destinations. No DRM. | None |
| Free trial | None listed | 14-day free trial, no credit card needed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Kinescope | Zimmplify LLC |
| Price read from | kinescope.com | spotlightr.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Kinescope
- Prices are shown in euros, and the paid cost is usage-based: from €0.03 per GB of traffic and €0.03 per GB stored.
- The Free plan has no DRM and is limited to 100 minutes of video.
- Video processing is billed once at upload, from €0.01 per minute of video.
- SSO, an SLA and dedicated support are limited to the custom Mega plan.
Spotlightr
- Overage is billed at $0.05 per GB of bandwidth and $0.03 per GB of extra storage.
- The Light plan allows 25 videos and includes no AI transcription minutes; extra minutes cost $0.10 each.
- The course module, gallery module, student reporting and email gating start on the Plus plan.
- In-video quizzes, GeoControl and team accounts start on Premium.
Key features
Kinescope
- Ad-free branded player
- An embeddable player without ads or third-party branding, with open-source SDKs for web, React, Vue, Angular, Flutter, iOS, Android and React Native.
- DRM and content protection
- Widevine and FairPlay DRM on paid plans, plus encryption, domain restrictions, signed links and watermarks to limit copying and sharing.
- Live streaming
- Live streams to a branded player with restreaming to other destinations. The Free plan caps streams at 20 minutes and 20 attendees.
- Analytics
- Viewing statistics including retention, engagement and audience device and location, shown in the dashboard and available through the API.
- LMS and CMS plugins
- Integrations listed for WordPress, Moodle and Open edX, plus Vimeo and YouTube import and Zoom live streams and recordings.
- Video API
- A REST API for upload, transcoding, playback security, live streams, webhooks and analytics, with an MCP server in public beta.
Spotlightr
- HLS encryption
- Every uploaded video is encrypted, which the vendor says stops browser extensions from downloading it. Plans add password protection and dynamic IP watermarks.
- Course module
- On Plus and above, build video courses with open, opt-in, access-code or Stripe-paid access, with student profiles and progress reporting.
- Gallery module
- Netflix-style pages of videos with the same access options as courses, including paid access through a Stripe integration.
- In-video engagement tools
- Clickable calls to action, lead capture forms, hotspots and email gating, with quizzes and comments on the Premium plan.
- Analytics and tagging
- Viewer analytics with heatmaps, and on Premium, CRM tags and tracking codes that fire at set timestamps.
- Transcription and subtitles
- Transcribes video, adds subtitles and translates into over 100 languages, using monthly AI minutes that vary by plan.
Plans
Kinescope
Free€0
100 minutes of video, 200 GB monthly traffic, 20-minute HD live streams for 20 attendees, 2 workspace members.
Super€10
per month and up, plus usage
Unlimited storage, members and restreaming, DRM and 4K. Final cost depends on usage billed per GB and per minute.
MegaCustom
Adds SSO, dedicated support, an SLA, multi-CDN and S3-compatible storage. Sold through sales.
Spotlightr
Light$13
per month, billed annually ($15 billed monthly)
25 videos, 200 GB bandwidth and 50 GB storage a month, with HLS encryption and a brandable player.
Plus$21
per month, billed annually ($25 billed monthly)
Unlimited videos, 600 GB bandwidth, 200 GB storage, 100 AI minutes, course and gallery modules.
Premium$55
per month, billed annually ($65 billed monthly)
2,000 GB bandwidth, 600 GB storage, in-video quizzes, GeoControl and 5 team accounts.
Scale$163
per month, billed annually ($195 billed monthly)
6,000 GB bandwidth, 2,000 GB storage, 600 AI minutes and 20 team accounts.
Ways to pay less
Kinescope
No public discounts listed.
Spotlightr
- Annual discount
Annual billing saves 15% to 18%
Yearly billing is cheaper than monthly on every plan; the page says annual billing saves over 15%, and over 18% on Premium.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Kinescope or Spotlightr?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Kinescope is cheaper to start with: about $11.17 a month, against $13 a month for Spotlightr. Kinescope starts at €10 per month, plus pay-as-you-go usage, and Spotlightr starts at $13 per month, billed annually ($15 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Kinescope or Spotlightr?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Kinescope has a free plan. Spotlightr does not, though it has a free trial.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.