More and more content creators are looking to move away from mainstream platforms like YouTube, but there are quite a few alternative platforms and it can be difficult to know where to go.
In this article, we’ll pick out two of the main alternative players in the video streaming space – Rumble and BitChute, and compare them on some key factors to allow readers to better decide which one to go for.
Here is a bottom line summary answer comparing the two:
Both BitChute and Rumble have a strongly pro free speech policy that helps alternative content creators, but Rumble is far superior on monetization options and streaming/upload reliability. Rumble is the best choice to go for in most cases.
Let’s run through some of the things BitChute and Rumble have in common, and also where they differ, to give readers a more detailed picture of how the two platforms compare.
Common Features of Rumble and BitChute
Let’s run though some basic, ground level things you can expect from both platforms, so new people thinking of signing up know where they stand:
- Both sites totally free to join, watch and upload videos. More advanced paid memberships are available.
- Videos are totally embeddable on other sites as YouTube videos are.
- Neither platform will censor videos based on ideology or opinion. Free speech is properly respected, unlike on YouTube.
Rumble vs BitChute For Appearance
Let’s quickly give an overview of what you can expect the front end of each site to look like:
BitChute:
And Rumble:
This is a very subjective thing, but overall I prefer Rumble because I think it has a cleaner and more professional look to it. BitChute feels a bit more ragged round the edges, but others will disagree on this and it’s down to personal opinion using the platform.
Rumble also has a much more limited and compact landing page, whereas BitChute has an endless landing page with video suggestions that you can scroll down on for a long time. You can therefore access much more content from the homepage on BitChute, whereas Rumble has a more compact feel, with far less videos.
Rumble vs BitChute For Reliability
This is where there is a clear difference between the two platforms – Rumble is at present more reliable than BitChute both for uploading and streaming videos.
BitChute – Some users report no problems, but a lot of content creators report problems when uploading videos, with videos stuck on the processing screen. I’ve run into this myself as I have accounts on there – see our guide on fixing this issue – it can be frustrating. Also, sometimes videos won’t play either, or buffer a lot – see our guide on fixing this as well. At the moment, it appears they’re struggling to keep up with server demand with the number of people switching over, and this sometimes affects streaming and uploading.
Rumble – I’ve got Rumble accounts as well, and straight away I noticed that uploads and streaming were reliable, and upload speeds were decent as well, if not quite a match for YouTube. Videos on Rumble also stream reliably and have a quality/resolution adjuster, which allows you to lower quality to help with buffering and bandwidth issues. Bitchute doesn’t have this yet.
Bottom line – Rumble beats BitChute right now for upload and streaming reliability. This may change as BitChute develops more server capacity over time.
Rumble vs BitChute For Monetization
This is another area where right now, Rumble takes the lead. Here’s a quick comparison:
BitChute – There really aren’t many monetization options as of the time of writing on BitChute. You are free to promote and link to whatever you like in your videos and descriptions, but there is no ad monetization of videos yet on the platform.
Rumble – Do have advanced monetization options; in fact you can select from a number of options when you upload a video how you want to monetize it and manage video rights (if at all). This is the screen you see when uploading a video:
Users will have to click on the i symbol on each one to actually read the full terms, but here’s a quick breakdown of each option:
Far left – Exclusive Video Management – You are assigning rights management of your video to Rumble, including on YouTube. You’ll get 90% of YouTube ad revenue and 60% of revenue from other sites where they place your video.
Second left – Exclusive Management (Excluding YouTube) – Similar to the first one, but no YouTube agreement. Better if you want to manage YouTube revenue separately. Rumble has management rights to your video on all other platforms.
Second Right – Rumble Only – You retain full control of your video, and get 60% of any ad revenue from watches on the Rumble platform itself (other platforms not included). Similar to what you sign up for with YouTube.
Far right – Personal Use – Best for personal small scale use where you aren’t bothered about an audience and just want a platform to upload on. No monetization or management by Rumble. Videos will just sit there and be watchable and embeddable, but not searchable. Great for sharing specific videos with family and friends.
Bottom line – Therefore you can see that the monetization is far more advanced on Rumble, but there’s also the option to just upload with no monetization if that’s what you want, so Rumble wins out on this one at the moment. BitChute still growing and monetization options will no doubt develop over time.
Rumble vs BitChute For Content Style
Let’s also just quickly contrast the general content style and feel of each platform; in other words, the type of content you can expect to see on each platform.
BitChute – A much more “alternative” and conspiratorial feel to it. Lots of videos from alternative researchers and conspiracy stuff, some of it really controversial and “out there”. Personally, it doesn’t bother me at all – I’m just glad they have a platform to say what they want without being pulled down as YouTube has been doing, but some people might not like the feel of it.
Rumble – Has a cleaner, more professional and mainstream feel to it, and from what I’ve seen has more content from grassroots creators (shareable silly videos) and alternative news channels, especially from conservative and libertarian voices. But they still fully respect free speech, and will not delete any other content as long as it follows the letter of the law. The emphasis of what’s on their front page is just slightly different than BitChute.
Rumble vs BitChute For Free Speech
There’s not much that needs to be said on this, other than that both platforms should be congratulated for operating a fully open free speech policy, where content will only be removed if it breaks the law or copyright rules, and never for ideological reasons.
In this sense, both sites are a refreshing change from platforms like YouTube, which have been aggressively deleting videos and entire channels which contain content they do not agree with ideologically, or challenge official narratives on certain topics.
You don’t have to worry about this on either platform – you can say what you like within the law (Rumble expressly forbids adult or obscene content, but this is a reasonable policy).
Bottom Line Comparison
When we put all the factors side by side, we can see that both platforms offer a viable free speech alternative for content creators who may have grown tired of YouTube’s censorship, but on the crucial issues of server reliability and monetization, Rumble has clear advantages right now over BitChute.
Both platforms are doing great things in providing a voice to people who would otherwise not be allowed on mainstream platforms any more (or be shadow banned), but if you want videos to reliably upload and stream all the time, then I’d go for Rumble at the moment.
I should also say that I don’t like hitting on BitChute at all as I appreciate the stance they’ve taken on free speech and fully support what they’re doing, but I still have to report my own experiences with each platform accurately. And right now, I’ve found Rumble the more reliable of the two, although it should be added that this is a transitional period with so many people switching over to new sites, and things will likely equalize over time as alternative platforms catch up with server demand.
Click here to get started with Rumble; Click here to get started with Bitchute.
Other Alternative Video Sharing Sites
It should also be mentioned that it needn’t be a straight up choice between Rumble and BitChute as there are also other platforms you can upload videos to for free.
Let’s cover a few here:
lbry.tv – Reliable platform for streaming and uploading, but just doesn’t quick have the popularity of Rumble or BitChute just yet. A slightly lesser known alternative video platform.
Dailymotion – Fast, reliable, servers for streaming and uploading – videos will always play – but a very mainstream style platform, so stay away if covering anything controversial, as they are likely to censor as the big players have. Fine for fun or leisure stuff.
Vimeo – Reliable servers, so videos will always play, but have censored certain content creators before, so can’t be trusted if you’re covering political or other controversial topics. Fine for leisure or non political/conspiracy stuff.
