castiz vs Mux
Mux is API-first infrastructure for developers building video into products. Castiz is a complete platform for teams hosting and managing videos.
Choose based on whether you're building or using.
Reading time: 12 minutes
Quick Comparison
| Factor | castiz | Mux |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing Model | Fixed monthly tiers | Usage-based (per minute) |
| Starting Price | $19/month | Pay-as-you-go (~$0.01/min) |
| Target User | Teams, marketers, creators | Developers, product teams |
| Management UI | Full dashboard | Dashboard + API focus |
| Player Included | Branded player | Mux Player |
| Video Upload | Drag-drop UI | API or dashboard |
| Learning Curve | Low | Medium-High |
| Build vs Buy | Ready to use | Build your own UI |
Infrastructure vs Platform
Mux = Video Infrastructure
Mux provides the building blocks for video:
- • Encoding APIs
- • Delivery infrastructure
- • Player components
- • Analytics APIs
You build: Upload UI, video management, organization, user permissions, branding.
Castiz = Video Platform
Castiz provides a complete solution:
- • Upload interface
- • Video management
- • Folder organization
- • Team collaboration
- • Branded player
- • Analytics dashboard
You use: Everything is ready, minimal development needed.
How Costs Compare
Mux Usage-Based Pricing
| Component | Rate | What It Means |
|---|---|---|
| Encoding (baseline) | Free | Standard quality transcoding |
| Encoding (plus) | $0.005/min | Better quality |
| Encoding (premium) | $0.015/min | Highest quality |
| Storage | $0.003/min/month | Monthly per minute stored |
| Delivery ≤720p | $0.00096/min | Per minute watched |
| Delivery 1080p | $0.00192/min | Per minute watched |
| Delivery 4K | $0.00384/min | Per minute watched |
| Live encoding | $0.032/min | Per minute streamed |
Add-ons: DRM $100/month + $0.003/license • Mux Data: Free up to 100K views, then $0.60/1,000 views
Castiz Fixed Pricing
| Plan | Monthly | Videos | Bandwidth | Storage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 10 | 20GB | 5GB |
| Starter | $19 | Unlimited | 500GB | 100GB |
| Pro | $49 | Unlimited | 2TB | 500GB |
| Business | $149 | Unlimited | 10TB | 2TB |
| Enterprise | Custom | Unlimited | Unlimited | Custom |
What You'll Actually Pay
100 Videos, 10,000 Views/Month
Average video: 5 min, 500 min stored, 50,000 min delivered, 720p
500 Videos, 100,000 Views/Month
Average video: 5 min, 2,500 min stored, 500,000 min delivered
1,000 Videos, 500,000 Views/Month
Average video: 5 min, 5,000 min stored, 2,500,000 min delivered, 1080p
| Scale | Mux Cost | Castiz Cost | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low traffic (<10K views) | ~$10-50 | $19-49 | Mux |
| Medium (10K-50K views) | ~$50-250 | $49 | Castiz |
| High (50K-500K views) | ~$250-5,000 | $49-149 | Castiz |
| Very high (500K+ views) | $5,000+ | $149-500 | Castiz |
Mux's usage-based model favors low-traffic, development-stage products.
Castiz's flat pricing favors production apps with real users.
Feature-by-Feature
Video Hosting & Delivery
| Feature | Castiz | Mux |
|---|---|---|
| HLS adaptive streaming | ||
| Global CDN | ||
| 4K support | ||
| Auto-transcoding | ||
| Multiple renditions | ||
| Thumbnail generation | ||
| Signed URLs | ||
| Geo-blocking | Manual |
Upload & Management
| Feature | Castiz | Mux |
|---|---|---|
| Drag-drop upload UI | Dashboard only | |
| Resumable uploads | ||
| Bulk upload | API | |
| Folder organization | ||
| Tagging | ||
| Search | Full-text + AI | Basic |
| Bulk operations | API |
Video Player
| Feature | Castiz | Mux |
|---|---|---|
| Embedded player | ||
| Custom branding | ||
| Chapters | ||
| Speed control | ||
| Quality selector | ||
| Captions | ||
| Player SDK | Excellent | |
| React component |
Analytics
| Feature | Castiz | Mux |
|---|---|---|
| View counts | ||
| Watch time | ||
| Engagement metrics | Mux Data | |
| Quality of Experience | Basic | Advanced |
| Real-time | ||
| Geographic data | ||
| Device breakdown | ||
| Error tracking | Basic | Detailed |
| Custom dimensions |
Developer Experience
| Feature | Castiz | Mux |
|---|---|---|
| REST API | ||
| API documentation | Good | Excellent |
| SDKs | JavaScript | Multiple (Node, Python, Go, Ruby) |
| Webhooks | ||
| Postman collection | ||
| Direct upload (client-side) | ||
| AI search (MCP) |
Live Streaming
| Feature | Castiz | Mux |
|---|---|---|
| Live streaming | Planned | |
| RTMP ingest | ||
| SRT ingest | ||
| Low-latency | ||
| Live clipping | ||
| Live DVR |
Security
| Feature | Castiz | Mux |
|---|---|---|
| Password protection | Build yourself | |
| Domain restrictions | Signed URLs | |
| Signed URLs | ||
| DRM | Basic | $100/mo add-on |
| SSO | Business |
What Mux Does Better
- Developer Experience
Exceptional API documentation, multiple SDKs, designed for developers building video into products.
- Mux Data Analytics
Quality of Experience (QoE) metrics, error tracking, and performance monitoring that's developer-focused.
- Live Streaming
Production-ready live streaming with low-latency options, simulcasting, and live-to-VOD.
- Flexibility
Build exactly what you need. No opinionated UI—you create your own experience.
- Pay-As-You-Go
No upfront commitment. Perfect for MVPs and testing before scaling.
- SDKs
Official SDKs for Node.js, Python, Go, Ruby, PHP, and more.
What Castiz Does Better
- Ready-to-Use Platform
Everything works out of the box. No development needed for basic use cases.
- Cost Predictability
Fixed monthly pricing. No surprises based on traffic spikes.
- Management Interface
Full dashboard for uploading, organizing, and managing videos without code.
- Team Collaboration
Built-in workspaces, roles, and permissions for team use.
- AI-Powered Search
Semantic search across video transcripts—unique capability.
- Migration Tools
One-click import from Vimeo. No migration project needed.
- Non-Technical Users
Marketers, content creators, and teams can use Castiz without developers.
Development Time Comparison
Building with Mux
You'll need to build:
- • Upload interface
- • Video library UI
- • Folder/organization system
- • Search functionality
- • User permissions
- • Team management
- • Analytics dashboard
Using Castiz
You get:
- Everything above, pre-built
- Ready in minutes
- Updates handled automatically
Hybrid Approach
Some teams use both platforms
| Use Case | Platform | Why |
|---|---|---|
| User-generated video in product | Mux | API integration |
| Marketing videos on website | Castiz | Easy management |
| Product demos | Castiz | Non-technical team |
| Customer video uploads | Mux | Build into product |
| Training content | Castiz | Team access |
Frequently Asked Questions
The Bottom Line
Mux is exceptional video infrastructure for developers building video features into products. If you have engineering resources and want maximum control, Mux's API-first approach and excellent documentation make it a strong choice.
Castiz is a complete video platform for teams that need to host and manage videos without building infrastructure. If you want to upload videos and share them—without a development project—Castiz is ready to use.
| If You... | Choose |
|---|---|
| Are building video into your product | Mux |
| Have developers for integration | Mux |
| Need live streaming now | Mux |
| Want maximum flexibility | Mux |
| Need video hosting (not building) | Castiz |
| Want predictable costs | Castiz |
| Have non-technical users | Castiz |
| Need ready-to-use solution | Castiz |
| Want AI-powered search | Castiz |
| Are migrating from Vimeo | Castiz |
Pricing verified December 2025. We encourage you to verify current rates on both platforms before deciding. This comparison was written by the castiz team.
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