# YouTube review: pricing and verdict · VSL Host Report > Source: https://vslhostreport.com/reviews/youtube-alternative Video hosting review ## YouTube review YouTube is the pick if you want free reach and discovery for public video. For a sales video you need to control on your own page, a dedicated host does the job better. [See the ranked roundup](/best) [How we research](/methodology) By [Mara Vance](/authors/mara-vance), reviewed by the VSL Host Report desk. Updated October 2026\. Prices verified with the vendor. **Disclosure:**We may earn a commission when you buy through links on this page. It never affects our rankings. At a glance Starts at $0 Billing model free, ad-supported Free plan or trial Free to upload and host Sale attribution None Best for Reach and discovery for public video, not a controlled sales embed Website [YouTube official site](https://www.youtube.com) Quick answer YouTube is the pick if you want free reach and discovery for public video. For a sales video you need to control on your own page, a dedicated host does the job better. ### What YouTube does for a seller YouTube is a free video sharing and discovery platform. You upload, it encodes and serves the video worldwide, and a public video can be found by people who have never heard of you. For a seller, that makes it a strong top-of-funnel channel: tutorials, testimonials and short clips that bring new people toward an offer. ### Where it falls short on a sales page The terms allow you to show videos on your own site through the embeddable YouTube player, and that player is the only option. It carries YouTube's branding and links, and since Google's 2018 change to the embed parameters the related-videos setting only narrows end-screen suggestions to your own channel. The same terms give YouTube the right to monetize your uploads, including with ads. The bigger gap for paid traffic is measurement. YouTube reports on the video and the channel. It cannot tell you which seconds your buyers watched, and it cannot post a cart-verified sale back to Meta, TikTok or GA4 against the play that earned it. ### The usual split Most direct-response sellers keep YouTube for reach and move the closing video to a host they control. Our [YouTube alternatives for sales videos](/alternatives/youtube-alternative) rank the hosts that do that job, and the [ranked roundup](/best) covers the whole field. ##### What works * Uploading and hosting cost nothing, and there is no bandwidth bill however many people watch. * It is a discovery platform, so a public video can be found in YouTube search and suggestions, which no private host gives you. ##### What to watch * An embed always uses YouTube's own player, with its branding, links back to youtube.com and related videos that Google's documentation says can no longer be switched off. * YouTube's terms let it monetize what you upload, including ads on or within the video, so a paid landing page can end up showing another advertiser. * Nothing in the embed knows who bought: no buyers-versus-non-buyers retention, no cart postback and no server-side conversion sent to your ad platforms. #### What users actually say about YouTube Research: unverified ##### Suggested videos and exits on sales pages ↓ common complaint Paid-media practitioners question embedding YouTube on landing pages because the player can surface other products' ads and because related-video behavior is hard to control; some recommend dedicated hosts like Vimeo instead. > “Why embed a video that's just going to serve ads for someone else's product?” u/Selentic [Reddit: How do you feel about Youtube embed videos on landing pages? ](https://www.reddit.com/r/PPC/comments/mpnp2z/how%5Fdo%5Fyou%5Ffeel%5Fabout%5Fyoutube%5Fembed%5Fvideos%5Fon/) Apr 2021 > “Use an alternative video player instead, like Vimeo.” u/Selentic [Reddit: How do you feel about Youtube embed videos on landing pages? ](https://www.reddit.com/r/PPC/comments/mpnp2z/how%5Fdo%5Fyou%5Ffeel%5Fabout%5Fyoutube%5Fembed%5Fvideos%5Fon/) Apr 2021 > “Vimeo doesn't force me to show related videos at the end.” u/ConsultSFDC [Reddit: Related videos on embedded YouTube in Knowledge articles ](https://www.reddit.com/r/salesforce/comments/54qxhe/does%5Fanyone%5Fknow%5Fhow%5Fto%5Fremove%5Frelated%5Fvideos/) Sep 2016 ##### Rel=0 no longer removes related videos ↓ common complaint Since the September 2018 embed policy change documented by Google, embedders cannot fully disable related videos; rel=0 only limits suggestions to the same channel as the played video. > “Vimeo doesn't force me to show related videos at the end.” u/ConsultSFDC [Reddit: Related videos on embedded YouTube in Knowledge articles ](https://www.reddit.com/r/salesforce/comments/54qxhe/does%5Fanyone%5Fknow%5Fhow%5Fto%5Fremove%5Frelated%5Fvideos/) Sep 2016 > “you will not be able to disable related videos” Google [Blog: YouTube Embedded Players and Player Parameters ](https://developers.google.com/youtube/player%5Fparameters) Sep 2018 > “the player will show related videos that are from the same channel as the video that was just played” Google [Blog: YouTube Embedded Players and Player Parameters ](https://developers.google.com/youtube/player%5Fparameters) Sep 2018 ### Frequently asked questions How much does YouTube cost? YouTube starts at $0\. It bills on a free, ad-supported model. Prices last checked September 2026. Does YouTube have a free plan? Free to upload and host. Who is YouTube best for? YouTube is the pick if you want free reach and discovery for public video. For a sales video you need to control on your own page, a dedicated host does the job better. ### Sources #### From YouTube * #### Other sources 5 discussions and reviews read for this page. Quotes are excerpts; open a link to read the original in context. 1. \[r1\] [How do you feel about Youtube embed videos on landing pages? ](https://www.reddit.com/r/PPC/comments/mpnp2z/how%5Fdo%5Fyou%5Ffeel%5Fabout%5Fyoutube%5Fembed%5Fvideos%5Fon/) Reddit, 12 Apr 2021 2. \[r2\] [How do you feel about Youtube embed videos on landing pages? ](https://www.reddit.com/r/PPC/comments/mpnp2z/how%5Fdo%5Fyou%5Ffeel%5Fabout%5Fyoutube%5Fembed%5Fvideos%5Fon/) Reddit, 12 Apr 2021 3. \[r3\] [Related videos on embedded YouTube in Knowledge articles ](https://www.reddit.com/r/salesforce/comments/54qxhe/does%5Fanyone%5Fknow%5Fhow%5Fto%5Fremove%5Frelated%5Fvideos/) Reddit, 29 Sep 2016 4. \[g1\] [YouTube Embedded Players and Player Parameters ](https://developers.google.com/youtube/player%5Fparameters) Blog, 25 Sep 2018 5. \[g2\] [YouTube Embedded Players and Player Parameters ](https://developers.google.com/youtube/player%5Fparameters) Blog, 25 Sep 2018 Related reading * [YouTube pricing explained](/reviews/youtube-alternative/pricing) * [The best video hosting for VSLs and sales videos](/best) * [YouTube alternatives](/alternatives/youtube-alternative) * [Head-to-head comparisons](/compare) Written by Mara Vance Editor Mara edits the reviews and roundups on VSL Host Report. She looks at how a video player behaves on cold paid traffic: autoplay and unmute behaviour, per-second retention, timed CTAs, lead gates and load speed. She also maps what each host really costs, whether it bills per play, per gigabyte or per seat, and rebuilds the monthly bill for a typical VSL funnel. For each piece she reads long-term user reports across forums and review sites, works through the vendor's own docs and pricing, and confirms the numbers before a verdict goes live. [marav@vslhostreport.com](mailto:marav@vslhostreport.com) Last checked 2026-10-12 --- [ VSL Host Report ](/) Independent reviews of video hosting for VSLs and sales videos, judged on how well each player and its analytics turn paid traffic into sales. © 2026 VSL Host Report. Independent and reader-supported. We may earn a commission when you buy through links on this page. It never affects our rankings.