this post was submitted on 25 May 2026
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Privacy
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There's simply not even close to the amount of content amassed on YT, and on Peertube's case (and perhaps on the Fediverse itself), having to navigate through instances makes onboarding not as seamless as the alternative. On the other hand, I think YT's monetization scheme makes it a more attractive platform at the moment, which further contributes to the extent of its user base.
So I think if one is looking for PeerTube to be a copy of YouTube in terms of both content and monetization they will be disappointed... but also maybe that's the problem in itself. YouTube monetization is damaging (forcing to be a popularity contest) and bring poor content in. Sure some very few content creator are still on it but a lot already moved away. The assumption though is that there is a link between popularity and quality. It's time to reconsider.
Look, I'd love for Peertube to rival Youtube (and it's a growing platform, who knows what will happen in the future), but like you said, there are very few content creators and mainstream personalities there. Try looking up a song, a clip from a popular TV show, a game walkthrough, a stand up from your favorite comedian, a silly meme, whatever, and if you find anything on Peertube, that's impressive, but on Youtube you'll have dozens upon dozens of examples. The difference in scale over popular content makes any usability comparison right now just wishful thinking. This has been by far YT's (and maybe on a larger scale Google's) strength: everything/everyone is already there, so why go anywhere else, where not nearly the amount of people will be watching and bringing in money based on those views.
Still, I'm hopeful people will accept alternative platforms more and more, with how shitty the YT experience has been on the official client and I enjoy discovering new channels I can follow on Peertube, but as of now, I don't think most people could ditch one for the other, realistically.