YouTube Channels vs. Wistia Channels: Where Should Your Videos Live?
Over 40% of companies make at least one video a week. If that sounds like you, chances are your video library is starting to look more like a vault.
Now comes the big question: Where should all those videos live? YouTube channels and Wistia Channels are two solid options, but they serve different purposes.
How you manage a growing video library shapes how people experience your brand, find what they need, and take the next step with your business. YouTube channels are built for reach and discovery, and Wistia Channels gives you more control and better tools to turn viewers into leads.
Let’s see how these two platforms stack up.
What is a YouTube channel?
It’s basically your company’s page on YouTube. It’s where all your content lives — from product demos to webinar recordings — and where people can find, watch, and subscribe to your latest uploads. You can organize your channel with playlists, featured videos, and sections to make it easier for visitors to explore your content.
What is Wistia Channels?
It’s a feature built into Wistia that lets you turn a group of videos into an engaging, ad-free collection that lives right on your site. You can customize the look to match your brand and either embed it on a page or share it as its own link. Whether you go with a Netflix-style layout or a simple in-player playlist, a channel helps keep viewers focused on your content and turns viewers into leads.
Wistia gives you control over what viewers see next
When someone clicks to watch a video on your YouTube channel, they’re taken to a new page on YouTube. On that page, your content is surrounded by related videos that may have nothing to do with your brand. This makes it easy for viewers to get distracted and drift away from your content.
Not only that, but YouTube also puts ads right in your videos, and you don’t get to choose what those ads are and when they appear.
Wistia Channels is built to keep people focused on your brand. There are no ads and no competing content to pull them away. Viewers can explore more of your videos right there on your site and take the next step with your business without ever leaving your brand experience.
Here’s a Wistia channel in action:
Subscribing to a channel vs. subscribing to a business
YouTube and Wistia take completely different approaches to subscriptions. YouTube focuses on getting viewers to come back, while Wistia focuses on nurturing leads.
“YouTube focuses on getting viewers to come back, while Wistia focuses on nurturing leads.”
When someone subscribes to your YouTube channel, they get updates about new videos on only that channel and nothing else your business creates. On top of that, YouTube keeps individual viewer data, so there’s no direct way to follow up with your viewers.
Most companies treat their YouTube Channel like a cupboard. Everything gets tossed in: webinars, product videos, podcasts, and more. It’s all there, but not exactly organized.
Wistia Channels is more like a curated display case. Each shelf features a specific type of content — like onboarding videos or product tutorials — so it’s easy for viewers to find what they’re looking for. Everything lives on your site in a clean, branded space. And you can put an email capture form right into your Wistia channel or individual videos. When a viewer fills it out, you can follow up directly and keep the conversation going.
Head-to-head comparison
| YouTube channels | Wistia Channels | |
|---|---|---|
| Player design | No customization options except adding a video watermark | Option to change the color, font, and layout to match your brand |
| Header image | Static banner | Static banner or background video with option to go headerless |
| Lead capture | “Subscribe” button (no contact info or direct outreach possible) | Email capture forms that connect to your CRM |
| Gating | No gating | Ability to gate your content and require users to provide their email before watching your videos |
| “Up next” behavior | Autoplays the next video in the playlist or a random video (often from another company) based on the user’s playback history | Autoplays the next video in the channel, as defined by you |
| SEO | Visible in Google search, linking to the video on YouTube.com | Visible in Google search, linking to the video on your website |
| Location | Has to live on YouTube.com, although individual videos can be embedded on your website | Can be embedded on any page on your website |
| Sorting | Automatically sorted by date or popularity, with the ability to feature specific playlists on the channel homepage | Full control over the ordering and presentation of videos within the channel |
| Social calls to action | Comments, likes, shares | No social elements; just the videos without distractions |
| Cost | Free | Available on Wistia’s Pro Plan and above |
Advantages of a YouTube channel
- Visibility in YouTube search and YouTube-related videos
- Free to use
Advantages of a Wistia Channel
- No ads or distractions
- Customizable experience to match your brand
- Sends search traffic to your website instead of YouTube.com
- Captures viewers’ email addresses and integrates directly with your customer relationship management (CRM) system
- Embeddable on your website or a standalone page
How to embed a video gallery on your site
Whether you go with YouTube or Wistia, embedding on your site is one of the best ways to share videos. Our free guide walks through layout options, embed strategies, and setup tips to help you get the most out of your video library.
How to use YouTube and Wistia together
Using both platforms strategically lets you reach new audiences and nurture them in a branded, distraction-free space. It’s not either/or — it’s all about giving each platform a job to do.
One effective approach is to treat your YouTube channel like a teaser for the full experience on your site. Short trailers and clips can live on YouTube, optimized for discovery with a clear call to action to watch the full video on your Wistia channel.
“Short trailers and clips can live on YouTube, optimized for discovery with a clear call to action to watch the full video on your Wistia channel.”
This lets you tap into YouTube’s massive reach while keeping your most valuable content housed in a branded, lead-friendly space. Check out our own YouTube channel for an example of what that looks like in action.
Another smart move? Be choosy about what full videos you post on YouTube. It’s a great place for top-of-funnel content like tutorials or explainer videos that answer common questions and bring new people into your orbit.
Paddle, a payments platform for SaaS businesses, does this well with their “What is…” video series on YouTube. Each video breaks down a key SaaS metric, like annual recurring revenue or growth rate, in a quick clear way that’s easy to find and follow. It’s a smart way to show up in search and build trust with future customers.
Not every video belongs in both places. Save your premium content for your site, where you control the full experience and can capture leads. Use YouTube to pull people in and Wistia to keep them engaged.
