The right video clip can turn an ordinary project into an amazing one. In addition to the filmmaker, content creator, and marketer, stock video sites have become a popular source for a wide range of quality videos that allow you not only to save time but also money. These days, the platforms that offer both free and paid videos provide a wide range of videos from amazing drone shots to professional lifestyle videos for every budget. Here, we will discover the best stock video websites to bring your innovative ideas to life easily.
Part 1: Why Use Stock Video Websites?
Stock video websites have turned out to be a vital source of inspiration for creators, brands, and filmmakers. They are unique in the following ways:
- Time and money saving - You can get access to the clips that are ready-made instantly, instead of spending days or even hours planning the shoots, renting equipment, and hiring the talent.
- Professional quality just a click away - Most of the platforms offer footage of the skilled videographers who have used the high-end equipment for shooting. This way, your projects get a refined and cinematic look.
- Niche diversity - Need business presentations, travel videos, lifestyle, nature, or tech visuals? Stock video libraries have almost every category.
Part 2: Factors to Consider Before Choosing a Stock Video Site
There are numerous stock video websites to choose from, which can be a bit confusing. To select the best platform for you, it is necessary to compile a list of your project's needs, budget, and creative aspirations. Here are some of the most valuable aspects to analyze before deciding:
- Licensing options - Licenses specify exactly how users can use a video. Some websites offer royalty-free licenses, where users pay only once (or not at all) and can use the footage as many times as they want in different projects. Others rely on Creative Commons, which might permit free use but still requires giving credit. In the case of news-oriented or non-commercial projects, editorial-use licenses, which limit the content to reporting or teaching purposes, are the ones you will meet. It is a good habit to check license terms; doing so helps you to avoid copyright issues.
- Video quality - Great pictures are the basis of professional or commercial content, and that is what matters most if your materials are for such use. Most stock sites offer their footage in HD, but premium ones can provide your project with a resolution of up to 4K or 8K for cinematic productions.
- Pricing models - A free stock video website is a great alternative for a creator with a limited budget, but the collection of videos may be insufficient. The paid platforms generally offer two options: the subscription plans, which allow users to download an unlimited number of videos per month, or the pay-per-download that is for one-off needs.
- Library size and niche coverage - A bigger library means a wider range of videos, but bigger is not always better. So, if you are in specialized areas like medical technology, space, or environmental video, then a library of such niches would be more valuable than a general one.
- Ease of browsing and finding the stock - A stock video website is supposed to be time-saving, not time-consuming. Get platforms with advanced filters like resolution, duration, orientation (vertical or horizontal), and even color or mood. AI-powered search tools are starting to be very common, and they can make your search for the exact type of footage take less time.
- Additional creative assets - Some websites offer a comprehensive collection of stock footage, music tracks, sound effects, motion graphics, templates, and plugins. These extras can give you a lot of time if you are editing videos and want all the assets from one place only.
- User experience - Apart from content, the platform's overall reliability is what you should think about. Fast load times, secure downloads, clear licensing info, and simple account management all add up to a smoother workflow. A bad interface can make you work more slowly, while a nice/simple one keeps you at your creative work.
Part 3: Top 3 Picks for Stock Video Websites
Part 4: Top 6 Free Stock Video Websites
The platforms of free stock video are excellent resources for creators who are looking for high-quality videos but have a limited budget. Usually, these websites offer video clips for free, but some may also require giving credit to the author or limiting the download to standard HD instead of 4K.
1. Pexels
Pexels is a free stock video platform that is ranked among the most popular ones. It offers over fifty thousand free stock videos and photos, which are high-quality in 4K, and HD resolution contributed by creators across the globe. One main advantage of the platform, apart from those mentioned above, is its user-friendly interface with easy navigation, and the footage that provides detailed settings, props, and subjects for various niches, including lifestyle, travel, technology, and business.
- Free of charge without any hidden fees or costs
- The website features a large and growing library of both stock videos and photos
- You can download videos in HD and 4K of your chosen sizes
- You don't have to register an account to download files from the site
- Not as many advanced search filters might be available in comparison with commercial sites
Video clips and images on Pexels are available for free and can be used for personal as well as commercial projects.
Some limitations apply to the users, such as the prohibition of selling unaltered copies of videos, not making any endorsement by way of advertisement, and not re-uploading on other stock platforms for a different purpose.
Stock videos, stock photos, and specially curated collections for themes such as business, travel, or social media.
2. Pixabay
Pixabay is a popular and highly reliable free video stock site that provides more than 5.7 million media assets. The assets include videos, photos, vector graphics, illustrations, music, and sound effects. Through a strong global creator community, Pixabay meets the needs of the community by offering top-quality, royalty-free content for a wide range of personal and commercial projects.
- Massive library with 5.7M+ free media assets
- Videos can be accessed both in HD and 4K quality
- No need for registration to download the files, which is simple and quick
- Besides videos, sound and music are also part of the website
- Compared to premium sites, some of the content on Pixabay may appear to be generic
The content found on Pixabay is free of charge for both personal and commercial usage, and attribution is not mandatory (credit is advised). Content can be changed or adapted, but the reselling of original files, co-use with trademarks/brands, distribution on other stock platforms, and offensive/misleading use of identifiable people are strictly forbidden.
Stock videos, photos, illustrations, vector graphics, music, and sound effects.
3. Mixkit
Mixkit is a free best stock video site platform by Envato. It houses thousands of handpicked videos, music tracks, and sounds, along with video templates. Unlike most free platforms, Mixkit keeps on supplying new content every week from various talented contributors, which makes it a nice pick for people who are after professional shots but don't want to spend a penny.
- Free unlimited downloads with no sign-up required.
- A massive collection of over 45,000 stock video clips, 1,000 music tracks, and 3,000 sound effects.
- Also includes video templates for Premiere Pro, After Effects, Final Cut Pro, and DaVinci Resolve.
- Chooseable 4K and HD quality videos.
- Simple and beginner-friendly licensing.
- Some videos are released under a restricted license (personal use only, commercial projects excluded).
Mixkit has these types of licenses for stock videos: the Free License, allowing attribution-free commercial and personal use, and the Restricted License, only allowing personal or educational use. It is a requirement that the user should check every single video's license before downloading it.
Stock videos, stock music, sound effects, video templates, and icons.
4. Videvo
Formerly an independent company, Videvo is absorbed in the Freepik Group now. It is a best stock video websites that sells stock videos and offers thousands of videos, motion graphic animations, and templates for free as well as at a premium price. These resources are available in HD and 4K formats. Both free and premium users can benefit from this multifunctional resource setting.
- Large numbers of free films and animated vector shorts are available in the public domain for download.
- MP4 and MOV videos are plentiful, going as far as compatibility is concerned.
- They allow users to download in HD and 4K quality.
- You can have a look at the lower-quality versions before deciding to get the real thing.
- Subscription to the premium account opens the door to millions of resources from the Freepik database.
- Videos with free licenses that form part of the collection might prompt you to give the videomaker credit.
- There is less content in the free library than in the pro subscription.
They might be either royalty-free or Creative Commons video clips, and accordingly, attributing authorship may be a requirement. Subscription-based premium videos are issued with a commercial use license without the need for contributors' credits.
Stock video footage, motion graphics, video templates, and AI-powered video tools (such as upscalers, editors, and voiceovers).
5. Coverr
Coverr is a no-cost stock video and music service that provides not only footage and soundtracks but also AI-creative tools, including text-to-video, voiceover, and sound effects. The beautifully curated collections that cover nature, lifestyle, travel, aerial, and more make it an excellent choice for creators who want both the range and the ease of use. Additionally, Coverr offers a premium option, Coverr+, which provides ad-free downloads and eliminates attribution requirements.
- Free stock videos and music in HD and 4K quality.
- Diverse categories with vertical and background videos.
- Complete AI tool access: video generator, music creator, voiceover, and sound effects.
- Free downloads without sign-up.
- The coverr+ option no longer necessitates giving credit and adds some other benefits.
- Downloads are free but require giving credit (except for users of the Coverr+ service).
Free downloads are allowed for both personal and commercial use, but are required to include attribution to the originator or Coverr. Members of Coverr+ are not required to give credit. That said, the content cannot be sold as is, used for AI training, or redistributed as part of competing services.
Stock videos, royalty-free music, AI video generator, AI image generator, AI music, AI voiceovers, AI sound effects, and curated video collections.
6. Videezy
Videezy is a best free stock video site platform that provides a wealth of resources in the form of HD/4K free and premium stock video footage, motion graphics, and After Effects templates. A contributor-driven platform has something new every day, so users can see everything from the most common scene to aerial drone shooting, abstract, and even cinematic visuals.
- Large collections of free content are available in categories like nature, business, abstract, and travel.
- Pro content is available to subscribers without some of the limitations imposed on free content.
- The user can easily refine the search results by using filters like resolution, license type, and format.
- Preview is there for checking the footage before the download process starts.
- Attribution is required for most of the free clips.
- Additionally, in searches, free and premium results are shown together, so filtering is necessary.
The free clips are non-attributed for personal, educational, editorial, and commercial uses. In the case of a paid license, content is made available without the need for attribution; the quality of the source is also improved.
HD & 4K video clips, motion graphics, and After Effects templates, drone footage, backgrounds, and abstracts.
Limitations of free sites
Despite being valuable sources of stock videos, free video sites still have their limitations. Their collections are usually less expensive than those of paid platforms, and the quality of videos may be inconsistent. In addition, there are licensing issues; for example, some platforms may permit free commercial use while others restrict the use or require giving credit.
Part 5: Top 6 Paid Stock Video Websites
Paid stock video services give you the opportunity to use top-quality videos (HD, 4K, and even 8K) with lower licensing restrictions. These platforms often have extensive search and filtering capabilities that allow for finding very specific video parts for professional work. Besides, a huge number of these companies may also integrate various other artistic resources like stock music, sound effects, animation, and templates, thus facilitating creators with a complete set for producing content.
1. Adobe Stock
Adobe Stock is a leader in the creative professional market that is a heavy user of the Creative Cloud, with which it is fully integrated. It offers almost a complete list of assets in various media like Photos, Videos(HD and 4K), Illustrator, and Photoshop files, audio, and 3D & motion graphics, which are of high quality and are usable out of the box. The concept was that creative people who need it can easily use this tool without leaving the Adobe ecosystem, just a few clicks away.
- Deeply mated with the applications of Adobe Creative Cloud.
- Richly diverse libraries have everything for a project - from stock videos, images, and vectors to audio and templates.
- Do-it-yourself like an AI-driven search, plus adjustments and other personalization tools.
- Subscription and credit-based payment options are available.
- In comparison with alternative solutions, its pricing tends to be more expensive.
Adobe Stock offers you the option to choose between Standard, Enhanced, and Extended licenses. The Standard license allows up to 500,000 copies of views and unlimited web use, but does not allow the making of resale products.
Editorial-only materials cannot be used for commercial purposes. Additionally, the audio tracks are available with Standard and Extended licenses, and there are specific restrictions on the standalone use or remixing of the tracks.
(HD & 4K) Stock videos, photos, illustrations, vectors, audio tracks, templates, 3D & motion graphics, and fonts.
2. Shutterstock
Shutterstock represents the most extensive stock libraries in the world, with access to millions of royalty-free HD and 4K videos, images, vectors, and music. It is the ideal solution for people across all sectors, featuring new content every week and thorough global coverage.
- An enormous library of the new weekly video clips.
- A detailed list of the categories, like editorial, aerial, animation, and 3D.
- Perpetual license—content can be used even when the subscription is finished.
- Strong global contributor community.
- Licensing can be a little difficult for newcomers.
- The price of premium content is higher than the one of similar free sites.
Shutterstock grants royalty-free licenses for indefinite use. Standard licenses cover most projects, such as websites, social media, marketing, and the Enhanced licenses extend the rights for large distribution or resale. However, Editorial videos are limited to non-commercial, newsworthy use. Besides, all licenses allow sharing with a broad audience.
Stock videos (HD & 4K), photos, illustrations, vectors, editorial footage, music, and templates.
3. iStock by Getty Images
iStock by Getty Images is one of the best free stock video sites and a top source of stock content that offers millions of creative videos and images in HD and 4K, along with illustrations and vectors. The platform offers exclusivity from artists worldwide and regular updates throughout the week, making it perfect for artists who want fresh and exclusive visuals for their commercial and professional projects.
- New videos and images created exclusively for your base don't get the idea from anywhere else, including Signature and Essentials collections.
- Various video categories mean iStock can always offer a perfect video designer or audience: lifestyle, aerial, nature, architecture, holiday, adventure, animation, sports, technology, wellness, and much more.
- Nowadays, it is hard to imagine a few pictures without words. Trendy and seasonal topics, such as AI, Halloween, mental health, Diwali, and seasonal content, help you find the right photo, illustration, or vector.
- Great choice of subscription and credit offers, with variable pricing for customers' utilities.
- Going step-by-step backward into the past of the visual arts industry—no fooling! Artificial Intelligence technologies are exempted from a contributor-based visual library!
- Particularly if you want to print a lot on a large format or sell merchandise with it, you will need to buy an extended license.
iStock provides royalty-free licenses. Standard licenses permit the personal, business, and commercial use of most projects, including advertising, marketing, apps, websites, social media, TV, film, presentations, print, and product packaging, without limitation. Extended licenses are required for:
- Printed copies exceeding 500,000
- Advertising, marketing, or promotional materials
- Newspapers, magazines, or books
Stock videos (HD & 4K), photos, illustrations, vectors, and music.
4. Artgrid
Artgrid is an ideal platform for professional stock footage, offering high-quality cinematic videos that freelancers, content creators, and advertisers would love to use. It grants unlimited downloads of HD, 4K, and RAW footage accompanied by diverse themes, moods, and cinematic styles, hereby, making it a perfect source for commercial and artistic projects.
- Unlimited downloads with a subscription.
- Cinematic-quality footage suitable for professional projects.
- Wide range of themes, moods, and resolutions (HD, 4K, RAW).
- Simple search and curated collections make content discovery quick.
- No photos, illustrations, or music, only videos.
- If you are a casual user, a subscription might be costly.
Artgrid offers a less complicated, royalty-free agreement to those who pay. The artists' works can be used in personal and commercial projects such as films, ads, social media, and websites. The usage rights of projects created with the downloaded footage are non-derogatory and unlimited in time; therefore, they remain valid after the expiration of the subscription.
The beautiful high definition, 4K, and raw footage of cinematic stock videos.
5. Envato Elements
Envato Elements is the one-stop creative marketplace that offers unlimited downloads of a wide range of stock videos, photos, templates, graphics, music, and more for a monthly fee. It is designed to serve the needs of designers, filmmakers, marketers, and content creators, who are looking for high-quality assets for their personal and commercial projects.
- One subscription gives you the right to unlimited downloads in all asset categories.
- A comprehensive library that consists of videos, photos, graphics, templates, and music.
- On-the-go templates for After Effects, Premiere Pro, and other design programs.
- Content that is constantly updated with a variety of styles and categories.
- A subscription is required; there is no free tier for complete access.
- Somewhat limited resources for the niche area of assets.
Envato Elements comes with a straightforward commercial license. In this license, you can use the downloaded assets for your personal projects or client work. Each downloaded product is stipulated to single use only. The fonts and add-ons can be installed on a maximum of two devices and used only during your active subscription period.
Stock videos, photos, illustrations, vectors, music, templates, graphics, and fonts.
6. Storyblocks
Storyblocks is an all-in-one media platform and free stock video site that offers users as many downloads as they want of videos, audios, images, and templates just by subscribing to the service. It is intended for video makers, marketers, teachers, and companies that wish to facilitate content creation through stunning assets and a licensing agreement that is at the top of the industry.
- No limit is set on the number of downloads from a pool of more than 4 million different stock assets.
- Media in the form of video, audio, image, and template are readily available for various editing software, such as After Effects, Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, and Apple Motion.
- The Creative Cloud plugin makes it easy to get content into the app and even search for it right there without having to leave the app.
- Plans also for businesses with big teams that can be upgraded as many times as you want, and that come with tools to make the workflow easier.
- A subscription is mandatory; absolutely no free tier is available for full access.
Storyblocks grants users a royalty-free license that permits usage of downloaded assets in personal, commercial, and portfolio projects without any restrictions. A single license refers only to the account holder, whereas a business license is required when using a company-wide project. The assets can be employed to produce derivative works; however, distribution as separate files, merging with logos, or selling in the original form is strictly prohibited.
Stock videos, audio, images, vectors, illustrations, templates, motion backgrounds, and music.
Advantages of paid sites
Paid stock sites offer higher-quality and exclusive content, broader licensing rights for commercial and client use, advanced search and filtering tools for easier content discovery, and legal protection, including indemnity coverage, which reduces the risk of copyright or usage disputes.
Part 6: Wondershare Filmora: Integrated Video Editing and Stock Media Platform
Wondershare Filmora is a comprehensive video editing software that caters to the needs of users of all skill levels. It efficiently combines the use of intuitive editing tools, a vast stock media library, and AI-powered features. In other words, it makes the whole process easy, starting from cutting and color grading to multi-camera editing, smart short clips, auto-captioning, and AI-driven improvements such as removing the unwanted part of an object, lip-sync, and dynamic subtitles.
Besides, Filmora gives over 2.3 million creative assets to users, e.g., music, effects, stickers, templates, and transitions, thus they can make high-quality videos quickly, not only for social media and YouTube, but also for commercial purposes.
Key features:
- AI-powered editing for faster, smarter, and precise video creation
- Smart Short Clips to turn long videos into social-media-ready highlights
- Auto-caption and dynamic subtitles for engaging storytelling
- Multi-camera editing, planar tracking, and magnetic timeline for professional-level control
- AI Video Enhancer with color grading, noise reduction, and 4K upscaling
- Text-to-video, image-to-video, and audio-to-video conversion for versatile content creation
- AI-powered object removal, portrait cutout, and background replacement
- Voice enhancement, voice cloning, and text-to-speech for perfect audio
- Access to 2.3M+ royalty-free assets: music, effects, stickers, templates, and transitions
Stock Media Integration:
The Filmora Asset Center offers creators on-demand access to more than 2.3 million continually expanding assets such as video effects, titles, music, stock media, thumbnails, transitions, and more. By availing yourself of collaborations like Universal Music for Creators and special collections like Garfield, you are one step closer to making any project not only vibrant with your favorite color and style but also giving it a professional touch and adding a little humor.
Key highlights:
- 13,000+ video effects - Filters, overlays, and visual effects for cinematic storytelling.
- 39,000+ titles - Fully customizable fonts, animations, and styles.
- 300,000+ royalty-free music tracks - Ready for commercial use with no copyright issues.
- 1.5M+ stock media assets - Videos, images, and stickers for every type of content.
Licensing and Commercial Use:
Filmora has been providing a Commercial Use License to users of its assets, allowing them to use them freely in their personal and commercial projects, subject to certain stipulated conditions. Items can be used without monetization in non-profit videos, independent films, travel vlogs, family projects, and social media content, which are typical personal applications.
In contrast, assets licensed for commercial use could be implemented in online videos, brand sponsorships, e-commerce promotions, live-stream commerce, and revenue-sharing content on social platforms. Anyway, it has been prohibited to use television/offline ads, audio books, online courses, political campaigns, NFTs, reselling, and creating trademarks or logos. This is a way of ensuring that users can safely make money from their work and sell it without infringing copyright laws.
Secure DownloadHow to Use Stock Videos in Filmora
Secure DownloadPart 7: Understanding Stock Video Licensing
Significance of licensing
- Licensing tells exactly how those videos are allowed to be used, traded, or changed legally. It is a safety net for creators and businesses as they are protected from copyright claims, fines, or their content being taken down.
- By having appropriate licensing, you are essentially promoting your professional image, keeping out of the law's way, and at the same time making sure that your projects are copyright and commercial regulations compliant.
Typical licensing options
- Royalty-Free (RF): Once you buy a piece of footage, you are free to use it for an unlimited number of times in both your personal and commercial projects without paying additional fees; however, you cannot redistribute it without the author's permission. Some companies that offer this kind of footage are Envato Elements and Artgrid.
- Rights-Managed (RM): The way rights are assigned depends on factors such as distribution method, duration, audience size, or geography, and often comes with an option for exclusivity or limited usage.
- Creative Commons (CC): It is free to use the footage, but the user needs to provide the source or creator with credit, and some licenses may have restrictions regarding the commercial use or modifications of the content; examples: Pixabay, Pexels.
- Subscription Model: A user is allowed to download as many pieces of content as they want with just one single plan; most of the time, the plan also includes commercial use rights, making it perfect for those who create content very often, for instance, Storyblocks and Adobe Stock.
Main issues to keep in mind while licensing
- Commercial vs. personal use: Be sure that footage is always allowed to be used for sales or in projects that will generate income if you want to make money from it.
- Attribution requirements: Certain licenses, in particular Creative Commons, require the credit given to the creator or the source to be visible, especially for content from this community.
- The parameters of redistribution and editing: Check if the videos can be legally changed, combined with other works, or sold without violating laws.
- Limited use and extent: Certain agreements limit the amount of time or the degree of exclusivity for which a particular film, especially rights-managed or subscription-based, can be utilized.
Part 8: Tips for Using Stock Video Footage Effectively
- Mix stock videos with your own to make unique videos.
- Double-check the licensing details to make sure you are not violating any laws.
- Enhance the video's attractiveness and personalization with the help of Filmora, Premiere Pro, or Final Cut Pro.
- Prepare your videos for different platforms such as social media and websites.
- Use color grading and resolution to make the footage look seamless and of high quality.
- Make sure the visuals, music, and script are all in agreement with each other in the project.
Conclusion
Stock video footage is a treasure trove that many creators might overlook. Still, it is a great asset for them to enrich their work with professional visuals, save time, and even take the storytelling to a higher level. Knowing how to get a license, picking the right sources, and using the footage in the right way gives one both legal security and creative freedom. Creators can put out the kind of content that grabs attention and looks very professional across different social media platforms by blending high-quality stock clips with their own videos and using editing software like Filmora. With the right selection and integration, stock videos can make any film go from basic to exceptional.
