English
Español
Deutsch
Français
Русский
Malti
ქართულიYouTube Shorts alternative
The YouTube Shorts alternative that teaches, with your friends in it
Shorts is a good format inside a very big app. spirkz is that format on its own: vertical videos of around 30 seconds, always under a minute, and every one has to teach something. The social part comes with it: likes, comments, shares and follows, plus friends you can message.
Free on the App Store and Google Play.
A lesson, sent to a friend
This is the one I was telling you about
How vaccines train your body
Seen
Wait, so that is how they work?
Follow each other and you are friends. Then a lesson is one tap away.
What changes when short video is the whole app
YouTube is one of the best places on the internet to learn something, and Shorts is only a small part of it. That is also the catch. The short feed shares an app with everything else on YouTube, and a lesson has to compete with all of it.
One thing to do
Shorts shares an app with long videos, music and live streams. spirkz does one job, so when you open it there is only one thing to do: learn something quickly.
Every video has to teach
Good teachers post Shorts, but the feed mixes them with everything else. On spirkz, lessons are the whole catalogue, because a video has to teach something to be published.
Around 30 seconds
Shorts can now run up to three minutes. A spirkz video runs around 30 seconds and always under a minute: one idea, explained once, then the next.
What the feed is made of
- Science
- Languages
- History
- Coding
- Math
- Business
- Art & Design
- Health
- Finance
- Geography
- Music
- Psychology
A few lessons, as they appear
How vaccines train your body
Science32sWhat actually caused 1929
History28sBig-O, without the math
Coding35s
spirkz next to YouTube Shorts
The format is the same, and so are the basics: likes, comments and shares. The differences are where the videos live, what they are for and how people connect around them.
| spirkz next to YouTube Shorts | YouTube Shorts | spirkz |
|---|---|---|
| Format | YouTube ShortsVertical video, swipe for the next one | spirkzThe same |
| Length of a video | YouTube ShortsUp to three minutes | spirkzAround 30 seconds, always under a minute |
| Where it lives | YouTube ShortsInside YouTube, next to long videos, music and live streams | spirkzIn its own app, where lessons are all there is |
| What the feed is for | YouTube ShortsEntertainment, with everything else allowed in alongside it | spirkzEducation. It is the whole catalogue, not a category inside it |
| The bar for publishing | YouTube ShortsMeets the Community Guidelines | spirkzReviewed first, and it has to teach something |
| Likes, comments and shares | YouTube ShortsYes | spirkzYes, including replies, @mentions and reposts |
| How people connect | YouTube ShortsSubscribing to channels | spirkzFollowing people. Follow each other and you are friends |
| Messages | YouTube ShortsNewer invite-based chats, depending on your country | spirkzOne-to-one chat with read receipts and emoji reactions |
| You browse by | YouTube ShortsChannels, search and trends | spirkz12 subjects, plus courses |
| Price | YouTube ShortsFree | spirkzFree |
YouTube and YouTube Shorts are trademarks of Google LLC. spirkz is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to YouTube or Google. This comparison describes how the products differ in purpose; YouTube's features vary by country and change over time.
Subscribers watch. Friends talk back.
YouTube is built around channels: someone publishes, and everyone else subscribes. spirkz is built around people. You follow someone, they can follow you back, and the lessons you are both watching become something to talk about.
Follow people, not channels
Everyone on spirkz has a profile with their lessons, reposts and badges. Follow the ones you like, and turn on follow approval if you would rather choose who follows you.
Friends you can send things to
When you follow each other, you are friends. Pick up to ten of them and a lesson lands in your chats, or send a link through any other app to someone who is not here yet.
A conversation under every lesson
Comment, reply to a comment, @mention someone and like the best answer. You are notified when someone replies to you or mentions you.
Messages built in
One-to-one chat with read receipts, typing indicators and emoji reactions. You can limit messages to friends at any time.
And room for the longer questions
spirkz Threads is a titled discussion on a subject, with up to five photos or videos and a page of its own.
What YouTube still does better
An alternative to Shorts is not an alternative to YouTube, and spirkz is not trying to be one. Keep it for these, and use spirkz for the scrolling.
- Long videos and full lectures
- Music and live streams
- Its huge back catalogue
- Watching on a TV
Try it in place of your next Shorts session
There is nothing to cancel and nothing to delete.
- 1
Install spirkz
It is free on the App Store and Google Play. Choose a username, your subjects and a language.
- 2
Spend one scroll here
The next time you would open Shorts, open this instead. Your subjects come first in the feed.
- 3
Bring someone with you
Follow a friend and send them a lesson you liked. If they follow you back you are friends, and the next one goes straight into your chat.
Questions about leaving Shorts for spirkz
- What is the best alternative to YouTube Shorts?
- It depends on what you want from it. For the same kind of entertainment somewhere else, TikTok and Instagram Reels are the obvious ones. For the same format with something to learn in every video, there is spirkz: vertical videos of around 30 seconds, always under a minute, with likes, comments, follows, friends and messages. It is free on iOS and Android.
- Is there an app like YouTube Shorts for learning?
- Yes. spirkz is a short-video app made for education only. It works like Shorts, with vertical videos and a swipe to the next one, but a video has to teach something to be published. Subjects include Science, Math, History, Coding, Business and Music.
- How long are spirkz videos compared with YouTube Shorts?
- YouTube Shorts can run up to three minutes. spirkz videos run around 30 seconds and are always under a minute, so each one is a single idea you can finish in a queue or between classes.
- Does spirkz have likes, comments and subscriptions like YouTube?
- It has likes and comments, along with replies, @mentions, reposts and a private list of saved videos. Instead of subscribing to channels, you follow people, and when two people follow each other they become friends.
- Can I message friends on spirkz?
- Yes. spirkz has one-to-one messages with read receipts, typing indicators and emoji reactions, and you can send a lesson straight into your chats with up to ten friends at a time. You can limit messages to friends, and you can block anyone.
- Can I post my YouTube Shorts on spirkz?
- You can upload videos you made yourself, as long as they teach something and run under a minute. Every upload is reviewed before it goes live. If it is declined you see the reason, can fix it and can submit it again. If you teach regularly, you can also apply to the creator program.
- Do I have to stop using YouTube to use spirkz?
- No. YouTube is still the better place for long videos, full lectures, music and live streams. spirkz is for the minutes you would otherwise spend swiping through Shorts.
- Is spirkz free?
- Yes. spirkz is free to download and free to learn from, on both the App Store and Google Play.
Short videos that teach. Friends included.
Lessons of around 30 seconds, with the likes, comments and messages you would expect. Free on the App Store and Google Play.