FilmRelay vs Vimeo for film screeners
Vimeo is a video host. FilmRelay is built to send one film to a specific person and find out what happened. Here is where each one fits, and where it doesn’t.
Free plan. No credit card required.
The short answer
Choose Vimeo if
- You already pay for it and your screener goes to one or two people you trust.
- You want a public trailer or a portfolio page that stays online.
- You need a video player to embed on your own website.
Choose FilmRelay if
- You send the same film to many festivals, programmers, buyers or critics.
- You want a separate link for each recipient, so you know who watched and who didn’t.
- You want to put a name on the picture, set an expiry date and cut access when a selection period ends.
- You want the press kit and stills on a page next to the screener.
Side-by-side comparison
| Feature | Vimeo | FilmRelay |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Hosting and publishing video | Sending screeners and sharing film materials |
| One link per recipient | You create a separate share for each person yourself | Yes. Each link is created for one recipient |
| Watermark | Custom watermark on higher paid plans, the same for every viewer. Showing a reviewer’s email means generating a separate watermarked share per reviewer | Free text you choose, with a position, set when you create each link |
| Viewing data per recipient | Engagement stats on paid plans, reported per video rather than per recipient | Sessions, watch time, progress and completion for each link, plus IP and country when available |
| Password | Paid plans, with unlisted links | Optional on every link |
| Expiry date | No automatic expiring links. You change the password or privacy settings by hand | Set on each link |
| Limits on use | Not listed among Vimeo’s privacy controls | Maximum viewing sessions and maximum IP addresses per link |
| Revoke a link | Change the password, the privacy setting or the team access | Revoke one link; the others keep working |
| Master file delivery | Download setting on the video | Separate download links with expiry, password and access limits. Assets Delivery for any other file |
| Press kit and stills | Not part of the product | Film page with posters, stills, press kits and trailer, in the same workspace |
| Recipient needs an account | No for a shared link | No |
| Price | Free plan with limited storage, then paid plans. Check Vimeo’s pricing page | Free plan. Paid from $6, €5 or £5 a month |
What Vimeo does well
Vimeo gives you a good player, reliable hosting and a public page that looks professional. If you want a trailer that anyone can watch, or a portfolio you embed in your site, it does the job and you probably already use it for that.
It also fits when the audience is small and known. Sending a rough cut to your editor or a producer doesn’t need a recipient record.
Where Vimeo gets in the way of a screener
A screener is not a public video with a password. The problems show up when you send it to thirty people.
One link for everyone
A shared link is the same for everyone who receives it. If a programmer forwards it to a colleague, you can’t tell. If a copy appears online, you don’t know whose it was.
A watermark that is the same for everyone
Vimeo’s watermark is set per video and needs a higher paid plan. To show a different name to each reviewer you need a separate watermarked version or share for each of them, which means repeating the work thirty times.
You find out nothing
You send the link and wait. Did the programmer open it? Did they stop after five minutes? Video analytics tell you how a video is doing. They don’t tell you what a specific person did, and that is the thing you want to know before you follow up.
Access doesn’t end by itself
Selection periods end. A link should too. Vimeo doesn’t offer automatically expiring links: to end access you change the password or the privacy setting yourself, and you have to remember to do it.
The press kit lives somewhere else
Stills in Drive, poster in an email, synopsis in a PDF. The programmer who liked your film asks for them, and you start searching.
How FilmRelay handles it
Upload your master once. FilmRelay prepares a viewing copy, and when it’s ready you create a link for each recipient with the email, name and company, a password if you want one, an expiry date and your watermark text. Recipients open the link and press play. They don’t create an account or install anything.
After sending, open the link to see when it was accessed, how long they watched, how far they got and whether they finished. Revoke one link and the rest keep working.
Use both
You don’t have to leave Vimeo. Keep your public trailer there, and use FilmRelay for the full film that only a few people should see. Put the trailer on your FilmRelay film page too, if you like; an MP4 trailer can play on the page.
Switching in ten minutes
- Create a free FilmRelay account and add your film.
- Upload the master from the Screeners tab of the film. Don’t re-export: use the same file you’d send to a festival.
- Wait for the status to say Viewing ready. It takes a few minutes.
- Create a link for each recipient. Write the watermark text, choose its position and set an expiry date.
- Send the links. You can let FilmRelay email them and send yourself a copy.
- Come back in a few days to check who watched.
Pricing for screeners
The free plan includes one film with Materials, 100 stored video minutes and 125 playback minutes a month, with watermarking and viewing analytics. Filmmaker Screeners starts at $12, €10 or £9 a month. Ten festival screeners of a 12 minute short use about 120 playback minutes.
We don’t list Vimeo’s prices here because its plans and prices change and differ by account. Compare them on Vimeo’s own page.
Frequently asked questions
Is Vimeo free anymore?
Vimeo still has a free plan, but password protection and unlisted links come with paid plans and the custom watermark with a higher one. FilmRelay has a free plan with one film, 100 stored minutes and 125 playback minutes a month, and no credit card is required.
Can I send a private screener on Vimeo?
Yes. On paid plans you can restrict who sees a video, use an unlisted link and add a password. What you can't easily do is tell recipients apart, because everyone shares the same link unless you create separate shares.
Is Vimeo OK for festival submissions?
Many festivals accept Vimeo links and some ask for them. If the festival lets you choose, a separate link for each festival lets you see which ones watched and expire it after selection. FilmRelay links work anywhere a festival asks for a screener link.
Does a watermark survive screen recording?
A visible watermark stays on the picture, so a screen recording will usually carry it. But a watermark can't prevent copying: anyone who can watch a film can record the screen. Use it to discourage sharing and to trace a copy to a link.
Can I see who watched my film on FilmRelay?
You see the activity of each link: sessions, watch time and completion, with IP address and country when available. Each link is created for one recipient, so you know whose link it was. FilmRelay doesn't verify who is sitting behind the screen.
Can I keep my trailer on Vimeo?
Yes. Many filmmakers keep a public trailer on Vimeo and send the full film through FilmRelay.
Send your next screener with a link per recipient
Upload the film, add your watermark and find out who watched.