Opencast vs Vimeo
Opencast
opencast.org
Vimeo
vimeo.comSide by side
| Figure | Opencast | Vimeo |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $12/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 2 | 13 |
| Spec score · Video Hosting Platforms | 8.7 (#4) | 8.7 (#5) |
| Spec score · Video CMS Software | 8.7 (#2) | 8.8 (#1) |
| Spec score · Video Podcast Software | 8.7 (#5) | 8.7 (#7) |
| Founded | 2007 | 2004 |
| License | The main Opencast repository is released under the Educational Community License 2.0. | Vimeo's Developer Addendum grants a limited license and prohibits reverse engineering or modifying player elements, indicating proprietary service software rather than an open-source product. |
| Security | Opencast supports access control and signed media URLs that expire after a configured period, usually one hour depending on server configuration. | Vimeo says it undergoes annual SOC 2 Type II attestation and maintains ISO 27001 and ISO 27701 certifications. |
| System requirements | Opencast 17 and later requires Java 21; requirements otherwise depend heavily on the media being processed. | Supported playback browsers are current and two previous major versions of Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari; Android requires version 8.0+, iOS 16.0+, and the macOS app requires macOS 10.12+. |
| What it does | Opencast is an open-source video management system for academic institutions covering capture, processing, management and distribution. | Vimeo provides cloud video hosting, sharing, live streaming, collaboration, monetization and secure distribution for creators and organizations. |
Plans
Vimeo
- FreeFree
- Starter$12 a month
- Standard$25 a month
- Advanced$75 a month
- EnterpriseFree
- EnterprisePriced on request
- FreeFree
- Starter$12 a month
- Starter$12 a month
- Standard$25 a month
In their own words
Opencast
Opencast is a free, open-source video management system for academic institutions, designed to capture and distribute video at scale. Administrators can schedule recordings and live streams, with classroom recording also possible depending on hardware. Opencast Studio captures video in a browser without requiring an Opencast installation. Configurable workflows can generate captions, add branding and thumbnails, and deliver media at chosen resolutions and bitrates. The integrated editor handles multiple streams, subtitles, and cover thumbnails. Fine-grained permissions control viewing and editing; learning platform integrations can provide single sign-on and video delivery. Opencast uses the Paella Player by default, while the separate Tobira portal can keep videos online during Opencast maintenance. Integrations include Brightspace, Canvas, ILIAS, Moodle, Sakai, Stud.IP, BigBlueButton, Zoom recording, Matomo, WordPress, Whisper, and YouTube. It runs on one Linux server or can scale across distributed Linux servers. Demo instances are available to explore the administrative interface and portal.
Vimeo
Vimeo is a video platform for making, managing, and sharing video, with tools for hosting, creation, collaboration, and live events. Paid plans include an ad-free player with 4K, HDR, and Dolby Vision support, video embedding, templates, trimming, timeline editing, and GIF creation. They also include transcription and subtitle translations, with additional AI tools on higher tiers. Teams can use shared folders, video review, configurable review links, and downloadable comments. The Advanced plan adds virtual events and webinars, simulcasting, Q&A, polls, audience chat, and stream health information. Vimeo offers web, Android, iOS, and API access, along with integrations such as Adobe Premiere Pro, Figma, Google Drive, Slack, and Zoom. Free accounts do not expire, but can upload or create up to 1 GB of content over the account’s lifetime. Paid plans include email support. Starter costs $12 a month for one user, with 2 TB of storage and 2 TB of monthly bandwidth; higher listed plans add users, storage, and event capacity. Enterprise pricing is custom.