YouTube was built for virality. Vimeo was built for filmmakers. Spotlightr was built for course creators — with the protection, engagement tools, and student analytics your course business actually needs.
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Your course is your business. Every time a student shares their login or redistributes your videos, you lose revenue. Spotlightr's HLS encryption and dynamic watermarks make piracy and sharing nearly impossible.
HLS encryption on every video — download buttons are completely disabled. Videos play in the browser and nowhere else.
Dynamic watermarks — each student sees their email or IP address burned into the video, making leaks trivially traceable.
Domain embed restrictions — your videos only play on approved domains. Hotlinking your content on another site simply doesn't work.
Prevent fast-forwarding — ensure students actually watch your content before the lesson is marked complete. No skipping to the quiz.
Military-grade HLS encryption
Passive video watching leads to passive learning. Spotlightr's in-video quizzes, CTAs, and interaction triggers turn every lesson into an active experience that students actually complete.
In-video quizzes at any timestamp — pause the video and test comprehension at exactly the right moment. Full response reporting included.
In-video CTAs & overlays — prompt students to download a worksheet, join a community, or upgrade their plan at the perfect moment in the lesson.
On-finish actions — automatically redirect students to the next lesson, a checkout page, or a community forum the moment a video ends.
Email-gated free lessons — grow your list by requiring an opt-in before students access a preview lesson. Works with any ESP.
Churn rarely announces itself. Students stop watching long before they cancel. Spotlightr's per-student analytics show you exactly who's stuck, where they dropped off, and which lessons are losing your audience.
Per-student viewing profiles — see exactly which lessons each student has watched, how far they got, and how many times they rewatched.
Video heatmaps — color-coded maps of every second of every lesson reveal exactly where students skip, rewatch, or abandon your content.
Completion rate by lesson — identify your weakest lessons instantly and prioritize what to improve to lift overall course completion.
CRM automation triggers — tag students in ActiveCampaign or HubSpot when they hit key moments, so your email sequences react in real time.
Your content deserves a structure that guides students from start to finish — not a flat folder of random uploads. Spotlightr lets you build modules, drip content on a schedule, and create a learning path students will actually follow.
Modules and lessons with drag-and-drop — organize your course into a clear curriculum structure in minutes, no technical setup required.
Drip content scheduling — release lessons on a schedule after enrollment so students don't binge and churn before they get real value.
Searchable transcripts — students can keyword-search and jump to any moment across your entire course library in seconds.
Global CDN delivery — 247 CDN nodes ensure your lessons load instantly for students in every country, with zero buffering at any quality up to 4K.
Stop stitching together five different tools. Spotlightr has everything built in for course creators from day one.
Every video is encrypted by default. Students can't download your content, no matter what plan you're on. Security is never a premium feature.
Test comprehension mid-video to drive active learning. View per-student quiz results and use them to improve your weakest lessons.
Color-coded second-by-second maps show exactly where students skip, rewatch, or abandon each lesson — so you know exactly what to fix.
Click any student and see their full viewing history across every lesson — watch time, completion %, quiz scores, and which modules they skipped.
Release lessons on a time-based schedule after enrollment. Keep students engaged week by week instead of letting them binge and disappear.
Fire automations in ActiveCampaign, HubSpot, or Zapier when students hit specific timestamps — automatically follow up with the right message at the right moment.
Install the free Spotlightr plugin and embed encrypted, fully branded course videos in any WordPress page or LearnDash lesson with one click.
Your logo, your colors, your domain — students never see Spotlightr branding. White-label is included on every plan, not locked behind a premium tier.
Auto-generated in 100+ languages. Students can search any word or phrase and jump directly to that moment — turning your course into a living reference library.
YouTube, Vimeo, and Wistia were not built with course creators in mind. Here's how the features actually compare.
| Feature | Spotlightr | Vimeo | Wistia | YouTube |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HLS encryption (all plans) | ✓ | Partial | ✗ | ✗ |
| In-video quizzes | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Per-student viewing analytics | ✓ | Limited | ✓ | ✗ |
| Video heatmaps | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Prevent fast-forwarding | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Dynamic student watermarks | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Drip content scheduling | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| White-label player (all plans) | ✓ | Paid only | Paid only | ✗ |
| Ads shown to students | Never | Never | Never | Always |
| WordPress / LearnDash plugin | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | Limited |
| Starting price | $13/mo | $20/mo | $19/mo | Free* |
Here's what real course creators say after switching from generic video platforms.
"I switched from Vimeo because I needed quizzes and real student data — not just total view counts. Spotlightr's per-lesson analytics showed me exactly which module was killing my completion rates. I fixed it in a week."
"I had a student screenshot and share my entire course. After switching to Spotlightr's HLS encryption and dynamic watermarks, that stopped immediately. The peace of mind is worth every cent of the subscription."
"My students were watching on YouTube — free, with competitor ads running. Spotlightr gave me a branded, ad-free player that feels like a premium product. Refund requests dropped 30% after the switch."
Join 8,000+ course creators who've replaced generic video hosting with a platform built for how courses actually work. No credit card required — full access for 14 days.
Plans start at $13/month · Upgrade, downgrade, or cancel any time · No long-term contracts