If you are a content creator looking for free stock footage websites or if you create stock footage for more exposure, here are a few websites that you might want to check out:
1. Pixabay
Pixabay was launched 11 years ago in Germany with the purpose of providing a free stock photography and royalty-free stock media archive. Users could sign up for a free account and start uploading their content, which would automatically be released under the CC0 declaration, making it a part of the public domain. In January 2019, Pixabay has changed its licensing option, thus forbidding the sale of "unaltered copies of the licensed works, or distribution as stock images or wallpapers". Two months later, Pixabay was acquired by Canva.
Pixabay has a wide collection of stock videos and photos that anyone can use for their projects. The websites has a special category for Vectors, Illustrations, Music, Sound Effects and GIFs.
2. Pexels
Pexels was launched 8 years ago in Germany. The website is similar to Pixabay and provides free photos and videos that you can use for your projects. Users are not allowed to "sell unaltered copies of a photo or video, to imply endorsement of their own product by people or brands in the images and to resell the content on other stock platforms". In 2018, Pexels was acquired by Canva.
3. Videvo
Videvo is a great place for content creators because it provides free stock videos, templates for editing software (such as After Effects, Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve or Final Cut Pro), music and sound effects. Users can upload or download content from Videvo with the only condition to not make the content available for download elsewhere and to credit the original author. The website is considered a great education tool for students and teachers, because it allows them to browse through their library of free footage and practice editing it. The website also provides "premium" features for a moderate fee.
4. Videezy
Videezy was launched 10 years ago with the aim to create a community of video editors that can upload and download free high quality stock video footage. Today, the website has expanded its categories to Vectors, Photos, Videos and even Brushes. The website provides millions of free resources, however, for a moderate price, it also offers a pro version. Users can use the content of Videezy for personal, educational and commercial purpose, however, the pro version also enables them full access to a special library of pro files and removes the requirement for attribution.
Have you tried any of this websites for your project? What other websites that provide free stock footage have you tried?
I used Videezy and Pexels, not for commercial use but for a blog I once had with a friend.
Anong Lawan said:
I used Videezy and Pexels, not for commercial use but for a blog I once had with a friend.
Yes, Pexels is very good and easy to use, too. I find it a bit funny that the content is also free to use for commerecial purpose, not just personal purpose, because companies are making money from that content without giving anything back.
This brings a bit more light for me in the topic of "stock footage". Thank you for explaining, Maura!
I've found Artgrid to also be an excellent source of regularly updated free stock footage even though it's a paid site~!
