video.js vs plyr

HTML5 Video Players Comparison

HTML5 video players are essential tools for web developers looking to integrate video content into their applications. These libraries provide a robust set of features to enhance video playback, including custom controls, responsive design, and support for various video formats. They aim to simplify the process of embedding videos, ensuring compatibility across different browsers and devices while offering a customizable user experience. By utilizing these libraries, developers can create engaging multimedia experiences that are both visually appealing and functionally rich.

Package	Downloads	Stars	Size	Issues	Publish	License

video.js	586,399	38,599	17.9 MB	577	2 months ago	Apache-2.0
plyr	140,175	28,525	5.3 MB	918	2 years ago	MIT

Customization

video.js:
Video.js provides extensive customization options through its plugin architecture. Developers can create custom skins, controls, and even integrate third-party plugins for added functionality. This flexibility allows for a highly tailored user experience, making it suitable for complex applications that require specific features.
plyr:
Plyr offers a straightforward API for customization, allowing developers to easily modify the appearance and behavior of the player. It supports custom themes and styles, enabling a seamless integration with the overall design of the application. The player is designed to be minimalistic, which makes it easy to adapt to various use cases without overwhelming users with options.

Performance

video.js:
Video.js is robust and can handle high-quality video streams effectively. However, its extensive feature set may lead to slightly heavier resource usage compared to Plyr. It is built to manage large-scale video applications, making it suitable for projects that require advanced streaming capabilities and analytics.
plyr:
Plyr is optimized for performance, ensuring fast loading times and smooth playback. Its lightweight nature means it has a smaller footprint, which is beneficial for mobile users and those with slower internet connections. The player is designed to minimize resource usage, making it an excellent choice for projects focused on speed and efficiency.

Browser Compatibility

video.js:
Video.js also emphasizes cross-browser compatibility, supporting a wide range of browsers and devices. It includes fallbacks for older browsers and offers a consistent experience across platforms. This makes it a preferred option for applications that need to cater to diverse user bases.
plyr:
Plyr is built with modern web standards in mind, ensuring compatibility across all major browsers and devices. It gracefully falls back to native controls when necessary, providing a consistent user experience regardless of the environment. This makes it a reliable choice for developers looking to reach a broad audience.

Community and Support

video.js:
Video.js boasts a large and active community, providing extensive documentation, tutorials, and a variety of plugins. This robust support network makes it easier for developers to find solutions to common issues and integrate additional functionalities.
plyr:
Plyr has a growing community and offers good documentation, making it relatively easy to get started. However, its community is smaller compared to Video.js, which may limit the availability of third-party plugins and resources.

Learning Curve

video.js:
Video.js has a steeper learning curve due to its extensive feature set and plugin architecture. While it offers powerful capabilities, developers may need more time to fully understand and utilize its features effectively.
plyr:
Plyr is designed to be user-friendly, with a gentle learning curve. Its straightforward API and minimalistic design allow developers to quickly implement and customize the player without extensive prior knowledge of video handling.

video.js:
Choose Video.js if you require a more feature-rich player with extensive plugin support and a larger community. It is suitable for projects that demand advanced functionalities, such as analytics integration and custom skins, and is better for handling complex video requirements.
plyr:
Choose Plyr if you need a lightweight, easy-to-use video player that offers a clean and modern interface. It is ideal for projects where simplicity and customization are priorities, and it supports a variety of media types including YouTube and Vimeo.

video.js

plyr

Video.js® - Web Video Player

Video.js is a full featured, open source video player for all web-based platforms.

Right out of the box, Video.js supports all common media formats used on the web including streaming formats like HLS and DASH. It works on desktops, mobile devices, tablets, and web-based Smart TVs. It can be further extended and customized by a robust ecosystem of plugins.

Video.js was started in the middle of 2010 and is now used on over ~~50,000~~ ~~100,000~~ ~~200,000~~ ~~400,000~~ ~~700,000~~ 800,000 websites.

Table of Contents

Quick Start

Thanks to the awesome folks over at Fastly, there's a free, CDN hosted version of Video.js that anyone can use. Add these tags to your document's <head>:

<link href="//vjs.zencdn.net/8.22.0/video-js.min.css" rel="stylesheet">
<script src="//vjs.zencdn.net/8.22.0/video.min.js"></script>

Alternatively, you can include Video.js by getting it from npm, downloading it from GitHub releases or by including it via unpkg or another JavaScript CDN, like CDNjs.

<!-- unpkg : use the latest version of Video.js -->
<link href="https://unpkg.com/video.js/dist/video-js.min.css" rel="stylesheet">
<script src="https://unpkg.com/video.js/dist/video.min.js"></script>

<!-- unpkg : use a specific version of Video.js (change the version numbers as necessary) -->
<link href="https://unpkg.com/video.js@8.22.0/dist/video-js.min.css" rel="stylesheet">
<script src="https://unpkg.com/video.js@8.22.0/dist/video.min.js"></script>

<!-- cdnjs : use a specific version of Video.js (change the version numbers as necessary) -->
<link href="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/video.js/8.22.0/video-js.min.css" rel="stylesheet">
<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/video.js/8.22.0/video.min.js"></script>

Next, using Video.js is as simple as creating a <video> element, but with an additional data-setup attribute. At a minimum, this attribute must have a value of '{}', but it can include any Video.js options - just make sure it contains valid JSON!

<video
    id="my-player"
    class="video-js"
    controls
    preload="auto"
    poster="//vjs.zencdn.net/v/oceans.png"
    data-setup='{}'>
  <source src="//vjs.zencdn.net/v/oceans.mp4" type="video/mp4"></source>
  <source src="//vjs.zencdn.net/v/oceans.webm" type="video/webm"></source>
  <source src="//vjs.zencdn.net/v/oceans.ogv" type="video/ogg"></source>
  <p class="vjs-no-js">
    To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a
    web browser that
    <a href="https://videojs.com/html5-video-support/" target="_blank">
      supports HTML5 video
    </a>
  </p>
</video>

When the page loads, Video.js will find this element and automatically setup a player in its place.

If you don't want to use automatic setup, you can leave off the data-setup attribute and initialize a <video> element manually using the videojs function:

var player = videojs('my-player');

The videojs function also accepts an options object and a callback to be invoked when the player is ready:

var options = {};

var player = videojs('my-player', options, function onPlayerReady() {
  videojs.log('Your player is ready!');

  // In this context, `this` is the player that was created by Video.js.
  this.play();

  // How about an event listener?
  this.on('ended', function() {
    videojs.log('Awww...over so soon?!');
  });
});

If you're ready to dive in, the Getting Started page and documentation are the best places to go for more information. If you get stuck, head over to our Slack!

Contributing

Video.js is a free and open source library, and we appreciate any help you're willing to give - whether it's fixing bugs, improving documentation, or suggesting new features. Check out the contributing guide for more!

Video.js uses BrowserStack for compatibility testing.

Code of Conduct

Please note that this project is released with a Contributor Code of Conduct. By participating in this project you agree to abide by its terms.

License

Video.js is licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0.

Video.js is a registered trademark of Brightcove, Inc.