# Film Distribution Platform: Compare Routes and Costs

**Source:** https://vodlix.com/blog/film-distribution-platform  
**Summary:** Compare every kind of film distribution platform by who owns the viewer, how you get paid and what it costs, with a worked example for a small catalog.  
**Published:** 2026-10-31  
**Publisher:** Vodlix

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## Key takeaways

The right film distribution platform depends on who you need to own the viewer: storefronts and aggregators give you reach, while your own branded platform gives you the margin, the prices and the audience data.

- Sort the options by who owns the viewer, not by brand name: that decides your margin, your data and what happens when a platform shuts down.
- A revenue share costs you more as your sales grow. A flat fee costs the same every month, so it gets cheaper per sale as you sell more.
- In our worked example (400 rentals a month at $4.99), a $99 flat-fee plan plus $7 of bandwidth overage costs $106, compared with $598.80 under an example 30% share.
- Most independent filmmakers do best combining routes: storefronts for discovery, plus a platform they own for margin, data and a fallback when one storefront closes.

A film distribution platform is any service that gets your film in front of paying viewers. It can be an aggregator that places it on big storefronts, a marketplace or video host that keeps a share, a sales agent, or your own branded website and apps. The best one for you depends on who you need to own the viewer, and that decides your margin, your data and your risk.

That's the short answer. The longer answer is worth ten minutes if you have a finished film or a catalog and want to pick a route you won't have to undo next year.

If you are replacing Vimeo On Demand, our guide to [Vimeo On Demand alternatives](page:/blog/best-vimeo-on-demand-alternatives) covers the move itself. This guide covers the bigger choice: which kind of platform should carry your films from here on.

## What kinds of film distribution platforms are there? {#what-kinds-of-film-distribution-platforms-are-there}

There are four kinds of film distribution platform. Aggregators place your film on large storefronts. Marketplaces and video hosts sell it for you and keep a share. Sales agents and B2B catalog marketplaces license it to buyers. Your own branded platform sells directly to viewers. They differ most in who owns the viewer.

This is how they compare on the questions that decide your income:

| Route | Who owns the viewer | Who sets the price and sees the data | How you get paid | How fast you can launch |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Aggregator to big storefronts | The storefront | The storefront sets the rules. You get sales reports, not viewer contacts | The storefront pays the aggregator, and the aggregator pays you after its fee or share | Depends on each storefront's review and delivery requirements |
| Marketplace or video host that keeps a share | The marketplace | You set the price within its rules. Viewer data is limited to what it shares | A revenue share on each sale, paid out on its schedule | Fast: upload and publish |
| Sales agent or B2B catalog marketplace | The buyer (a channel or service that licenses your film) | The buyer. You negotiate a license fee | A license fee or minimum guarantee, minus the agent's commission | Slowest: depends on deals and festival or market cycles |
| Your own branded platform (website and apps) | You | You set every price and see every viewer | Payments go through your own gateway. On a flat-fee platform, the platform takes no share | Fast for the platform. Building an audience is your job |

The pattern is simple. The further down the table you go, the more control and margin you keep, and the more of the marketing you do yourself.

### Why does owning the viewer matter so much? {#why-does-owning-the-viewer-matter-so-much}

If a storefront owns the viewer, your relationship with that audience ends when the storefront changes its terms or closes. You can't email the people who rented your film, and you can't offer them your next one.

On your own platform, every customer account is yours. That's also why a shutdown hurts less: you move the platform, and you keep the audience.

## How do you choose a film distribution platform? {#how-do-you-choose-a-film-distribution-platform}

Choose a film distribution platform by five criteria, in this order: the business model you'll sell with, the territories your rights cover, piracy protection, the screens your viewers use, and how and when you get paid. Settle each one before you compare vendors, because each one rules options out.

### Which business model fits your films? {#which-business-model-fits-your-films}

Feature films and documentaries usually sell best as rentals or purchases, called transactional video on demand (TVOD). A large catalog can support a subscription. Ad-supported viewing suits older or long-tail titles. Many filmmakers mix them.

If rentals and sales are your core, read [what TVOD is and how it works](page:/blog/what-is-tvod-transactional-video-on-demand). If you also want viewers to buy to own, see our guide to [electronic sell-through (EST)](page:/blog/electronic-sell-through-est-in-2026-build-a-trusted-digital-ownership-platform). Vodlix supports subscriptions, rentals, pay-per-view, buy-to-own and ads on the same platform, and you can see how rentals are set up on our [pay-per-view and TVOD feature page](page:/features/ppv-tvod).

### Do your rights cover every territory you sell in? {#do-your-rights-cover-every-territory-you-sell-in}

Before you sell anywhere, list the territories you hold rights for, and any you have already licensed exclusively to someone else. Your platform must be able to block the rest.

Licensing is your responsibility on every route. Vodlix offers geo-blocking, so you can limit playback to the countries your rights allow.

Check your existing deals

An exclusive license in a territory can stop you selling there on your own platform, even while you still own the film. Read every current deal for exclusivity and end dates before you open sales in that country.

### How do you protect a film from piracy? {#how-do-you-protect-a-film-from-piracy}

Ask any vendor two questions: is the stream encrypted, and is there DRM? These are different things. Encryption scrambles the video in transit. Digital rights management (DRM) also controls which devices can decrypt and play it.

On Vodlix, AES-128 encryption is included in the Launch, Grow, Scale, Professional, Business and Enterprise plans. Multi-DRM (Widevine and FairPlay) is available on Professional, Business and Enterprise, subject to terms. Playback is also protected with geo-blocking, IP allow-lists, signed expiring URLs and domain-locked playback. No system makes a film impossible to copy, so treat these as layers that raise the effort. Our [guide to DRM](page:/blog/your-key-to-content-protection-and-distribution) explains how they fit together.

### Which screens do your viewers watch on? {#which-screens-do-your-viewers-watch-on}

A film is a TV experience for many viewers, so check which apps come with each plan before you compare prices. A web-only platform is cheaper, but viewers can't open it from their TV's app store.

On Vodlix, the Web + API plans (Launch, Grow, Scale) are web platforms. Professional adds iOS and Android apps. Business adds Android TV and Fire TV. Enterprise adds Apple TV and Roku, plus LG and Samsung subject to terms.

### How and when do you get paid? {#how-and-when-do-you-get-paid}

On a storefront or marketplace, the platform collects the money and pays you later, after its share. On your own platform, you connect your own payment gateway, so viewers pay you directly.

Vodlix supports 23 or more payment gateways, plus in-app purchases through Apple, Google Pay and Roku Pay in its apps.

## How much do film distribution platforms cost? {#how-much-do-film-distribution-platforms-cost}

Film distribution platforms charge in one of two ways: a revenue share, a percentage of every sale, or a flat fee, a fixed monthly price whatever you sell. A share costs little at the start and more as you grow. A flat fee costs the same each month, so the more you sell, the less it costs per sale.

The percentage varies by platform and by deal, so check each one's own terms. The example below uses illustrative rates of 30% and 50% to show the math. It isn't any particular platform's rate.

### A worked example for a small catalog {#a-worked-example-for-a-small-catalog}

Say you have 10 films and rent 400 a month at $4.99. That's $1,996 in gross sales. Assume each rental streams about 3 GB in full HD. Your real figure depends on your film lengths and encoding.

| Monthly figure | Revenue share at 30% (example) | Revenue share at 50% (example) | Vodlix Launch flat fee |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Gross rentals (400 x $4.99) | $1,996.00 | $1,996.00 | $1,996.00 |
| Platform's cut | $598.80 | $998.00 | $99.00 plan, 0% revenue share |
| Bandwidth over allowance | Check the platform's terms | Check the platform's terms | 1,200 GB used, 500 GB included: 700 GB x $0.01 = $7.00 |
| You keep, before payment processing fees | $1,397.20 | $998.00 | $1,890.00 |

Prices are Vodlix list prices as of October 2026, in US dollars. Your payment gateway's own processing fees apply on top. On a revenue-share platform, check its terms for how it handles processing fees.

The break-even point is low. At a 30% share, a $106 monthly cost is the same as the share on about $353 of sales. Above that, a flat fee leaves you more.

What Launch includes (as of October 2026): $99 a month or $990 a year, TVOD, subscriptions and ads, HD 1080p, 100 GB of storage and 500 GB of bandwidth a month, and your own payment gateway. It doesn't include apps or live streaming. Grow, at $299 a month, has 500 GB of storage and 5 TB of bandwidth and includes free concierge migration. That matters if you are moving a catalog off a closing platform. See every plan on our [pricing page](page:/pricing).

One honest caveat: a storefront's share pays for an audience you don't have to find yourself. If nobody knows your film yet, a flat-fee platform with no traffic earns nothing. That's why most filmmakers combine routes.

### See the math with your own catalog

Book a demo and we'll walk through rentals, pricing and payouts for your films.

### Is Pay as You Grow right for films? {#is-pay-as-you-grow-right-for-films}

Usually not, if you rent or sell films. Pay as You Grow is our plan billed per active subscriber ($0 a month plus $0.99 per subscriber a month, as of October 2026). Pay as You Grow (PAYG) is web-only and subscription-only, with no rentals or pay-per-view. It suits a filmmaker launching a small subscription catalog, not a rental business.

## When should you combine distribution routes? {#when-should-you-combine-distribution-routes}

Combine routes when you need both reach and margin. Use storefronts or an aggregator for discovery where viewers already browse, and run your own branded platform for direct sales, your audience data and higher margin per sale. A platform you own is also your fallback when one storefront changes terms or shuts down.

A common setup looks like this:

1. **Check your rights first.** Make sure non-exclusive deals let you sell the same film on your own platform in the same territories.
2. **Release on storefronts for reach.** Let viewers find the film where they already shop.
3. **Run your own platform for your fans.** Send your festival audience, newsletter and social followers to your branded site, where you keep the margin and the contacts.
4. **Offer what storefronts can't.** Bundles, director's cuts, extras and early access belong on the platform you control. Our [movies management features](page:/features/movies-management) show how to organize a catalog for this.
5. **Keep your masters and metadata ready to move.** If a storefront closes, you can switch without rebuilding from scratch.

Choose storefronts only if you have no audience yet and want the lowest effort. Choose your own platform only if you already have a community that follows your work. For most independent filmmakers and small distributors, the answer is both.

## What should you do next? {#what-should-you-do-next}

Start with the five criteria: your business model, your rights by territory, protection, screens and payouts. Then run the worked example with your own numbers. If your own platform belongs in the mix, the easiest test is to build it with your own films and see the result: pick a plan on our [pricing page](page:/pricing) and start the 14-day free trial.

## Frequently asked questions

**Q: What is the best film distribution platform for independent filmmakers?**

There's no single best one. It depends on your audience. If nobody knows your film yet, an aggregator or storefront gives you discovery in exchange for a share. If you have a following, your own branded platform gives you the margin, the prices and the viewer data. Many independent filmmakers use both: storefronts for reach, and their own platform for direct sales and as a fallback.

**Q: How much do film distribution platforms take?**

It depends on the model. Revenue-share platforms keep a percentage of every sale, and that percentage varies by platform and deal, so read each one's terms. Flat-fee platforms charge a fixed monthly price instead. Vodlix plans take 0% revenue share. The Launch plan was $99 a month as of October 2026, plus any bandwidth over the allowance and your payment gateway's fees.

**Q: Can I distribute my film myself?**

Yes. Self-distribution means selling directly to viewers through your own website or apps, so you set the prices and keep the customer list. You need the rights for the territories you sell in, a platform that handles rentals or purchases, and a way to bring viewers in, such as your festival audience, a newsletter or social channels. Many filmmakers self-distribute alongside storefront releases.

**Q: What is the difference between an aggregator and a distributor?**

An aggregator delivers your film to storefronts for a fee or a share, and you usually keep the rights. A distributor licenses the rights, often exclusively for set territories and years, and then markets and sells the film itself, paying you a license fee, a minimum guarantee or a share of revenue. A sales agent sits between you and distributors and negotiates those deals for a commission.

**Q: How do I get my film on streaming platforms?**

There are three common ways. Work through an aggregator that delivers to storefronts, which handles their technical requirements. Use a sales agent to license the film to channels and services. Or launch your own branded streaming platform and sell directly. Whatever you choose, prepare a clean master, subtitles, artwork, metadata and proof of your rights before you start.

**Q: How do I protect my film from piracy?**

Use layers. Encryption, such as AES-128, protects the stream in transit. DRM, such as Widevine and FairPlay, controls which devices can play it. Geo-blocking limits playback to your licensed territories, and signed expiring URLs stop shared links from working for long. No system makes copying impossible, but together these layers make it much harder. Licensing your film properly is your responsibility on every platform.