Spotlightr – Secure Video Hosting for WordPress, Courses & LearnDash
Host, protect and embed your videos on WordPress with encryption, DRM, and per-viewer analytics. Perfect for courses, LearnDash, and marketing.
Solid choice
Spotlightr is a solid plugin choice in 2026, with a few things worth checking first. It runs on 200+ sites, is rated 5/5 and was last updated 2 months ago, and scores 67/100 on our health check.
- Small user base (200+ active installs)
- Very few reviews so far
How does it stack up?
Side-by-side on installs, updates, ratings & support
Daily downloads
Download spikes usually follow a new release — each site that auto-updates counts as a download.
Rankings
Where Spotlightr stands todayWordPress.org search rankings
Live position in the plugin search, top 100| Keyword | Position |
|---|---|
| learndash | #13 |
| secure video | #9 |
| video analytics | #44 |
| video hosting | #8 |
| video player | #79 |
Version adoption
Share of active sites per release.
Rating breakdown
★★★★★★★★★★ 5 from 2 reviews
About Spotlightr
From the official readme · v0.1.14Description
The secure video layer for WordPress. WordPress wasn’t built to host video — and free options like YouTube leave your content public, unprotected, and wrapped in someone else’s branding and ads. Spotlightr gives you fast, encrypted video hosting on your own site, with the security and analytics WordPress can’t provide on its own.
Whether you sell courses, run a membership, teach on LearnDash, or use video to market your business, Spotlightr embeds cleanly into any WordPress page, post, or LMS lesson — under your brand, never ours.
Why creators and course builders choose Spotlightr
- Real video protection. Encryption, DRM, dynamic watermarking, and domain restrictions keep your videos from being downloaded, ripped, or embedded on sites you don’t control. Essential if you sell your video or teach for a living.
- Per-viewer analytics you can’t get anywhere else. See exactly how each viewer watches — where they drop off, what they rewatch, and how far they get. Because Spotlightr owns the player, you get engagement data that YouTube, Vimeo, and generic embeds simply can’t show you.
- Built for courses and LearnDash. Add secure, trackable video to any LearnDash lesson, membership, or course page. Your LMS handles the structure; Spotlightr handles the video — and does it better than anything native to WordPress.
- Your brand, not ours. No “Powered by” stamps, no ads, no distractions. Your player, your colors, your logo.
- In-video engagement tools. Chapters, in-video quizzes, calls-to-action, and interactive overlays — added to the video itself and carried wherever it’s embedded.
- Publish without leaving WordPress. Upload from your computer, an external link, or your media library, and drop videos into any page or post with a block or shortcut — right from your dashboard.
Ideal for
- Course creators and coaches selling video-based training
- LearnDash, membership, and LMS site owners who need secure, trackable video
- Businesses using video for marketing, funnels, and landing pages
- Anyone who wants their video hosted safely, under their own brand, without giving away a revenue cut
How it works
Spotlightr hosts and encodes your videos on our infrastructure, and this plugin lets you upload, manage, and embed them directly inside WordPress. Preview images are generated automatically and pulled into the plugin page so you can navigate your media easily.
The plugin’s script connects to the pages where your video is embedded. This is required for communication between the player and the page — for example, so the page knows when a video finishes, or so the player knows who is watching and in what context (this powers per-viewer analytics and course tracking).
By installing the plugin, you agree to the terms of use at Spotlightr.com. Privacy URI: https://spotlightr.com/privacy.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a Spotlightr account?
Yes. Spotlightr is a video hosting service, and this plugin connects your WordPress site to it. You can start a free trial, no credit card required, at https://projects.spotlightr.com/auth/register/.
Does Spotlightr work with LearnDash and other LMS plugins?
Yes. Spotlightr videos embed into any LearnDash lesson, membership area, or course page — anywhere you can add a block or shortcode. Your LMS manages the course; Spotlightr provides the secure, analytics-rich video inside it.
How is this different from embedding a YouTube or Vimeo video?
Your videos stay protected (encryption, DRM, watermarking, domain locking), carry no third-party branding or ads, and give you per-viewer engagement analytics that public video platforms don’t provide. Your content stays yours.
Is the plugin required to use Spotlightr with WordPress?
No — you can embed Spotlightr videos with an embed code alone. The plugin adds convenience: uploading, managing, and publishing videos from inside your WordPress dashboard, plus viewer identification for analytics. See https://docs.spotlightr.com/en/articles/3362389-wordpress-plugin-tutorial for details.
How do I get support?
We don’t monitor the WordPress.org support forum. Please reach us via live chat inside the Spotlightr dashboard, or email support@spotlightr.com.
Changelog
0.1.14
- Updated plugin listing and documentation
0.1.13
- Resolving plugin conflicts
0.1.12
- Escaped sanitized values of URLs and attributes at point of output
0.1.11
- Sanitized additional shortcode inputs
0.1.10
- Sanitized shortcode inputs
- Remove bootstrap.css
0.1.9
- Block and publishing options improvements
Screenshots
For developers
Is this your plugin? Show off the numbers.
Add a live badge to your site, docs or GitHub README. It updates on its own — no account needed.
Best Spotlightr alternatives
All learndash plugins →
FAQ
Spotlightr: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Oct 17, 2026
Is Spotlightr free?
Yes. Spotlightr is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.
Is Spotlightr safe to use in 2026?
Spotlightr is a solid plugin choice in 2026, with a few things worth checking first. It runs on 200+ sites, is rated 5/5 and was last updated 2 months ago, and scores 67/100 on our health check.
How many websites use Spotlightr?
Spotlightr is active on 200+ WordPress websites and has been downloaded 9,773 times since it launched in August 2022. It was downloaded 343 times in the last 30 days.
Does Spotlightr work with WordPress 7.1?
Spotlightr is officially tested up to WordPress 7.0.7, while the latest release is 7.1.3. It may still work, but try it on a staging site first.
What PHP version does Spotlightr need?
Spotlightr requires PHP 7.0 or higher. Most hosts run PHP 8.x today, so it works on any modern WordPress hosting.
When was Spotlightr last updated?
The latest version, 0.1.14, was released on August 24, 2026 (2 months ago).
Who makes Spotlightr?
Spotlightr is developed and maintained by Bill Zimmerman.
What are the best alternatives to Spotlightr?
The most popular alternatives to Spotlightr are Uncanny Toolkit for LearnDa… (20K+ installs), Design Upgrade for LearnDash (7K+ installs) and BuddyPress for LearnDash (1K+ installs).
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