Best Stock Footage Sites: Top 21 Sites to Download Stock Footage

Best Stock Footage Sites

Stock footage. This is what we’re all here for. This super useful resource for video and filmmaking has us all hooked up. To the point where the base of companies and services supplying it is growing day by day. And that’s where things get less easy: how to choose where to buy stock footage, having so many options around? Which are the best stock footage sites in the market?

At FootageSecrets we got hands down to work and reviewed, analyzed and compared all the options out there to bring you the Top List of Best Stock Footage Websites!

Read it through, keep it at hand, share it with your friends and colleagues too. Because we all know it’s great being able to choose where to get your stock footage quick and easy and without a shred of doubt.

For more info on how to make the best possible purchases, check our Guide to Buy Stock Video like an Expert.

So let’s get started!

Best Stock Footage Sites for Every Need

If you’re going to buy stock footage, these are the sites you should go to. Some of these companies are microstock photography agencies that include stock footage in their offer, and some are footage-first businesses. They work under the microstock business model, selling Royalty Free stock footage at affordable rates with minimum payment requirements so you get cheap stock video. This is by far one of the best deals in stock videos available because:

  • Royalty-Free license is low-cost and very flexible in terms of how you can use the footage
  • Minimum payment often lets you get more than one clip, and they commonly have important discounts in bulk purchases
  • Varied libraries aim at covering all filmmaker needs, so they include stock footage, motion graphics, special effects templates, lower thirds, overlays and all other kinds of video elements
  • Multiple topics and themes are covered too, from aerial footage to 360 degrees videos, from lifestyle shots to cityscapes, and everything in between
  • Additional media to complement your productions is often available in the same site, including royalty-free stock photos, royalty-free music, and more

With the aid of a good stock footage service, you can create anything in no time and on the cheap side –find out all about What is Stock Footage and How to Use it!–. A short and sweet clip for social media, the YouTube video clips that will make you go viral, the coolest video backgrounds for your websites, a trendy ad for your brand or product, the state-of-the-art feature film that will send you to stardom. The sky's the limit! Here you can get cool Tips to Edit Video like a Pro.  You don't have an editing tool? Check out the Best Free Video Editors! And if you don't have the time to learn editing skills, these cool AI video editors will get the job done for you!

We know how good this sounds, so without further ado, here they are:

StockPhotoSecrets Shop Video – The Budget-Friendly Footage Agency

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The StockPhotoSecrets Shop is a stock media agency aimed specifically at small and medium-sized businesses, and so all their offers are thought to fit into limited budgets, giving you the best value for great media assets.

The Shop sells still images and has stock footage division, that features a large collection with hundreds of thousands of videos covering popular topics and styles, constantly expanding with new, freshly created content.

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Their clips are all in HD 1080 resolution, perfectly suitable for professional use, and they come with Royalty-Free license, enabling commercial usage. You can buy them on-demand only, in the form of video packs that you pay in advance and use the downloads whenever you want.

Prices start at 5 videos for $198 and go all the way up to 25 videos for $900. This makes each clip to cost between $36 and $39, a very low rate for HD 1080 footage… but there’s more: if you subscribe to any of the still image plans –they have awesome monthly and annual deals– you get a whopping 50% off in any video pack! That’s right: having an image subscription you get video packs for between $99 and $450, and you pay as little as $18 per clip! One of the lowest prices in HD footage on demand! Having an image download plan can be very useful to get complimentary stills for your project

This is the ideal solution for beginners, enthusiasts, and small projects where you need high-quality stock footage but work with a limited budget, or for anyone who loves great value for their money and professional stock videos. So do check it out!

Shutterstock Video – The Most Popular Stock Footage Library

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Shutterstock is one of the most popular stock media agencies in the world, started mainly as a microstock photography company. Since years, the Shutterstock Video division has recreated the same service standards in stock footage too, with high-quality videos and very affordable prices.

This agency is famous for its size. They host what’s arguably the largest stock photo collection of the web –with almost 200 million files– and their stock footage catalog is not that behind! Their video collection is also one of the biggest around, with over 18 million clips and counting. They have from web res up to 4K quality, all Royalty-Free, and suitable for professional commercial use.

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You can buy Shutterstock videos on demand by the piece or with video packs, both priced according to resolution going from $49 to $199 for 4K definition for single purchases. Video packs start at $219 for the smallest Web res pack, all the way up to $3979 for the largest 4K pack. But the best deal ever is with the new Shutterstock Video Subscriptions, that start at $159 for 10 video downloads per month but give you better rates with a 20 downloads plan and with annual commitment plans. All in all, you can get a 4K video for less than $9 with a subscription!

And here’s the good news: you can get these videos even cheaper with our exclusive Shutterstock Coupon Code that gives you 15% off in your purchase of stock footage! So make use of it before it’s too late!

This exclusive coupon gives you 15% off on your next stock footage purchase: video packs, credit packs, or video subscriptions!
This exclusive coupon gives you 15% off on your next stock footage purchase: video packs, credit packs, or video subscriptions!

Videvo – The Low-Cost Stock Footage Site (for real)

Videvo Logo

Videvo.net launched in 2012 with the goal of becoming the ultimate source for free stock footage and motion graphics. Over the years, their library has grown to include premium video and audio, which is accessible via their two Premium Plans. While their free content has varying licenses, their Premium Plans guarantee Royalty Free licensing. In total, their library includes 15,000 free video clips and Motion Graphics, 85,000 Premium Clips, and 100,000 Audio Assets. All premium clips are provided in HD resolution and above.

Their Premium Plans, Videvo Plus, and Videvo Pro, are offered as both monthly and yearly subscription plans. While the monthly subscription plans offer a set number of premium clip downloads per month, the yearly subscription extends the number of monthly downloads to unlimited.

videvo Plan

Videvo Plus

  • only $14.99 billed Monthly, or save 20% at $144 Annually
  • 25 Premium Video Downloads per month (unlimited in Annual plans)
  • Royalty-Free License
  • Money-back guarantee

Videvo Pro:

  • only $24.99 billed Monthly, or save 20% at $240 Annually
  • 50 Premium Video Downloads per month (unlimited in Annual plans)
  • Premium Audio Downloads
  • Royalty-Free License
  • Money-back guarantee
Save 20% off with our exclusive Videvo Coupon Code on their Video Subscriptions Videvo Plus and Pro! Safe most with their yearly plan Videvo Pro and ...

Videvo.net subscriptions are good if you are on a limited budget and if they have the videos you need. Check their website first to see if they have the clips you need. Don't miss out on the unlimited download options in their annual plans (monthly plans are limited). While their collection is still small(ish) compared to other stock agencies, it's growing very fast and the quality is great at that price point.

iStock Video – Good 4K Footage Offer

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iStock is one of the top stock media agencies online, and also the pioneer that broke into the Internet space with the microstock business model over a decade ago. Right now they’re still very successful and are backed by the prestigious Getty Images. This company is known for their high level of curation, that applies both to their stills catalog and their stock footage library, dividing the offer between non-exclusive budget videos, and exclusive, high-value production footage. In both cases, they’re very affordable.

Their collections are both very large in size, with millions of clips in total, and cover various themes and styles. They have content from Web to 4K resolution, all Royalty-Free and ready to be used for commercial purpose.

iStock videos are available on-demand only, and here’s what’s distinctive about their offer: footage is priced according to collection (and status) and not by resolution. Essentials clips are non-exclusive and budget-friendly, and Signature videos are exclusive and higher-level productions at a higher price point.

You can buy just one video with their quick checkup system, at $60 each for Essentials, and $170 per clip for Signature. However, if you want to save in the long run you can use their credit packs, which you pay in advance, and then use the credits to download media. Amongst the benefits of credits are that they never expire, they offer discounts for volume, and they are good to download videos and images alike.

In credits, videos are 6 units for Essentials and 18 for Signature. You have packed up to 300 credits, reducing the unit price in larger sizes. Like this, Essentials clips will cost you between $48 and $60, and Signature between $144 and $165. A deal certainly worthy if you need stock footage often. And let’s note that you can get 4K stock footage for as little as $48 the clip, one of the lowest rates for 4K in the market!

And you know what’s best? You will get even lower prices with our exclusive, limited-time iStock Promo Code, which gives you 25% off large credit packs (from 18 credits upwards) to download videos and images indistinctly, at a cut price!

Enjoy a 25% discount on the purchase of large credit packs (from 18 credits and up) at iStock!

Plus, you can also enjoy our iStock promo code with 15% off of EVERYTHING, including all credit packs and all subscription plans, up until the end of October 2024. So seize it today!

Buy your choice of stock videos and stock images at iStock with a 15% discount on credit packs and subscriptions.

Artlist – Unlimited Stock Footage & Incredible Extras

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Artlist started as a stock music and SFX stock library developed by filmmakers with visual storytelling in mind. Over time, it expanded to include Artgrid, a stock footage service with premium and highly creative content in ultra HD, and it also added a number of useful creative resources such as templates, plugins, and editing applications.

One of the best features of their offer is that their subscription plans include unlimited downloads. There are options for month-to-month and annual subscriptions, and they're tiered according to how much access to have to extra resources and tools and what kind of licenses you get with your downloads. But you can always download as much as you wish, with no limitations.

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The best value, undoubtedly, is in their MAX subscription, which gives you access to everything they offer: stock footage up to 8K resolution, music, sound effects, video templates, editing apps, plugins, and all with the most complete, Unlimited license that lets you use the files in websites, social media, broadcasting, adverts, client work, and so much more. All of this for only $39.99 per month! This is an annual plan, and it's billed upfront, but the value you get from it far exceeds the affordable cost.

For more options with unlimited stock video downloads, check out the Top Sites to Maximise your Budget.

Of course, there are more affordable Artlist plans if you don't have a use for so many resources –for example, there is a plan for only stock footage downloads at $29.99/mo– or if you have a tighter budget.

Adobe Stock Video – The Stock Footage Service for Creative Cloud

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Adobe Stock is a stock royalty-free stock media service developed by design software giant Adobe. Built on the base of well-established stock photography agency Fotolia –also owned by Adobe for a few years–, this service offers robust collections of stock photos and stock video footage, fully integrated into Adobe Creative Cloud platform. This added value is what makes it distinctive, giving After Effects and Premiere Pro users a way to streamline their workflow like never before. Their prices are very reasonable too.

Adobe Stock’s offer in royalty-free stock footage, ready to download and use in commercial projects, includes both HD and 4K video content. They have millions of video clips covering the most varied topics and styles, and the entire collection is accessible directly from your favorite editing app within Creative Cloud, such as Premiere Pro CC or After Effects CC. It’s also available on their own stand-alone website, and you don’t have to be a member of Creative Cloud to purchase and use these videos.

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You can get them on-demand only, and they’re priced according to the definition. An HD stock video costs $79,99, and a 4K footage clip is $199,99. However, if you want to buy more videos and save money you can use credit packs: HD videos are 8 credits each, and 4K is 20 credits per clip. Packs start at 16 credits for $149,99 and up to 150 credits for $1200, they let you save up to $299 from single purchase rates, definitely, a good deal to buy from 2 and up to 18 royalty-free footage clips! And don’t forget these videos are already integrated to Creative Cloud apps, and you can search, test-edit, and license them without ever leaving your editing layout!

Pond5 – The User-Friendly Stock Video Expert

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Pond5 is a very professional royalty-free stock video agency, with an excellent reputation in the market. Being specialized in video stock footage makes them different from other microstock sites that primarily sell royalty-free stock photos. Here video footage is the star. They host a very large library full of high-quality video clips ready to use in commercial projects, as well as a nice selection of editorial-use-only stock video content. Some of their clips are exclusive too. They have a wide pricing offer, with lots of options.

They have over 8 million video footage files in their collection, ranging from small web resolution to HD to Ultra HD at 5K and up! Most styles and themes are covered in this dedicated library of stock video footage.

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To buy, you can do it on demand with credits. They sell packs that include free extra credits so you can download more videos for less money and save. One thing that is notable in Pond5 is that they leave the pricing up to contributors, meaning the artist that submitted the stock video decides how much they’ll charge. The agency gives them a pricing guide, and logically shorter and lower resolution clips are cheaper, while high value and longest productions are more costly.

You have credit packs from $500 and up to $5000, getting from 5% to 10% extra credits. And you will find video footage from $5 and up to $500+ according to resolution, length, and overall production value. Certainly, a flexible and wide offer that you can adapt to your own needs.

Plus, they also offer a Membership subscription deal. For $199 a month or $999 a year, you get 10 video downloads per month from a handpicked selection of over 500,000 assets. Unused downloads can be rolled over to the next month, and discounts for extra purchases from the whole library. Certainly, a good deal if you need videos constantly!

These are the best options to buy cheap stock footage that is also high quality and perfectly legal to use in commercial productions.

Best Premium Stock Footage Agencies

Best Premium Stock Footage Sites

All the websites we included in this guide offer HD footage suitable for professional use, but in this section, we take care of agencies that take stock footage to the next level. This is the cream of the top in stock videos: shot by renowned filmmakers, high-value productions, unique artistic concepts, are some of the features in these collections. It’s also worth noting some work with Rights Managed licenses, and their prices are higher than those of microstock websites. But they’re sure worth it!

Getty Images Video – The Prestigious First Class Footage Company

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Getty Images is by far one of the most prestigious and renowned stock media agencies in the world. Initially specialized in stock photography, their collection of video stock footage is just as impressive and top of the line. They work with traditional Rights Managed licenses, as well as with royalty-free video licenses, and they have content for commercial purposes as well as editorial-only.

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Getty Images’ video collection has well over 50,000 hours in the footage, covering every topic and style imaginable. They have exclusive videos from A-list events and locations, historic archives full of valuable footage, and so much more. The library includes videos in Web, SD, HD, and 4K quality. All these files are available to purchase on-demand.

When it comes to Rights Managed option, prices will vary according to not only to image definition, length and production value, but also a medium, extension, exclusivity status, and purpose. This can take the rates from a couple hundred and up to thousands of dollars.

However, they have a very reasonable deal in royalty-free videos. These are available by the unit, priced according to resolution from $125 to $499. But using their Ultrapacks –download packages that you pay upfront and use whenever– you get up to 30% discount in bulk purchases. Ultrapacks are divided by quality too, and you have them for 5 and 10 downloads in all cases. Costing between $535 to $4250, these packs save up to over $700. A big plus is that you can use the downloads for both videos and royalty-free images alike.

  • Product
  • Specification
  • Photos
Find premium stock video, from archival film to contemporary 4K and HD footage.
  • $ 475.00 USD per 1080p HD video with an UltraPack
  • ...
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12 days left
Payment Method

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Getty Images has it all when it comes to premium stock videos: a renowned brand, a huge pool of exclusive content, and a price range with options for various budgets. Definitely a go-to option if you’re looking for the ultimate stock footage clip.

Dissolve – The Premium Stock Footage Agency

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Dissolve is an agency specialized in high-end stock footage. Based in Canada and co-founded by one of the co-founders of iStock, this is a very reliable company with a superb offer in both royalty-free footage and rights-managed footage, with variants for commercial-ready and editorial-only content.

Their collection has over 2.5 million assets –and includes stock photography too– in SD, HD, and 4K resolution. It’s a highly curated library with a remarkable artistic feel, there’s video clips from renowned artists and filmmakers, as well as high-value productions and trendy video content ready to be used in professional projects.

Vimeo

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All videos are available on-demand, you can buy them one by one paying as you go. Prices under royalty-free license are based on resolution and usage (commercial or editorial), at $49 for SD clips, $29 to $499 per HD stock video, and between $199 and $549 the clip for 4K quality. These are very good prices for the premium level.

They also have clips under Rights Managed license, which price is calculated based on medium, purpose, and indemnization amount on top of content quality. Their site has a very useful price calculator with a step-by-step process. Footage with this license can cost from a couple hundred and up to thousands of dollars depending on the variables.

It’s to be noted that the agency offers extra perks for its customers, including freebies and free, expert-done search for specific content. All the more reasons to consider Dissolve when you’re looking for first-class stock footage!

Best Free Stock Footage & Video Resources

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Free stuff is hard to resist, especially when it’s so useful stuff like free footage and video resources to use in your productions. However, this is not the kind of offer you leap onto: there are lots of hidden risks in free stock footage that nobody expressly tells you. It’s not as legally safe as you would like to believe, and here’s mainly why:

  • Their licenses: They commonly use one of the many variants of Creative Commons license (often Creative Commons Zero – CC0) which grants free usage for commercial projects and non-commercial purposes, but does not cover you if other rights are infringed –such as privacy and property rights or copyright–.
  • They crowdsource: More likely than not these websites accept user-submitted content, making their libraries to be full of footage donated by anonymous or unknown people
  • They don’t police: Since most of these sites work on the low-cost end, they cannot/won’t commit resources to review all the clips they offer, so they have virtually no way to assure all the videos are legal to use

So yes, free footage sites aren’t all they appear to be, and we strongly recommend to use paid, legal and professional services instead.

But we know this is not possible for everyone, as much as we know sometimes free is too hard to say no to completely free stock footage. So next we list you a number of free stock footage and free video resources websites that we find suitable and less risky to use. Please know you still should be careful when using free videos in your work, regardless.

Free Video Footage – Royalty Free Footage for Free

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Free Video Footage is, as its name clearly gives away, a website offering free videos and free stock video footage resources. It’s run by Stock Photo Now, the stock media powerhouse brand that also runs  StockPhotoSecrets Shop Video (listed above) and is managed by industry experts. The goal is to give back to the video creative community in the form of useful video content they can use in commercial projects completely free. They have also a lot of free stock video loops.

The site’s collection has hundreds of assets, including free HD video clips and lots of other video resources covering popular categories and formats, and there are new files added regularly. All of the clips are own by the site or licensed directly to them, ensuring they come from a reliable source and have been legally verified. 

All these free video clips come with a royalty-free license, granting commercial use in a legally safe way –something you hardly ever find in free video sites!– and being a site backed by a serious stock media brand and run by experts, it’s one of the most reliable sources for free videos you’ll find around. Definitely work using!

Pixabay – Hand-checked Free Footage

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Pixabay is a website offering both free images and free video clips. Based in Germany, this site was founded by two men with a background in technology, and it’s run by them along with a dedicated team of pros. The site is used to earn money from sponsored, paid content from Shutterstock that is included in the library.

They have around 1.4 million assets available including free images and free videos. They try to cover popular and sought-after themes, and they have not only free HD content but also free 4K videos!

All assets are under creative commons license, more specifically Creative Commons Zero (CC0) which grants use in commercial projects with no attribution required. This license, as we explained above, can be risky to use. But Pixabays adds a plus of safety as they have a professional image reviewer who personally checks and greenlights all the files online. This is a very unique thing that no many other free video sites do, and makes Pixabay a very valid choice when it comes to downloading free videos for your projects!

Life of Vids – Artsy Free Footage

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Life of Vids is a free video stock footage website that is connected to the live of the Pix site. As you can probably guess the latter offers free stock photos. Both brands are founded and managed by Canadian digital agency LEEROY, and the sites are affiliated to Adobe Stock: they index images from that agency and redirect you there if you want to buy them.

The library has about 300 clips so far, and they add more regularly. Videos are uploaded via Vimeo, and you can get them in high res on that platform.

These clips are all donated to Public Domain, and they can be used for free in commercial work with no attribution –yet Life of Vids encourages you to link back to them–. Public domain content can be muddy waters, but it’s a bit safer than creative commons. Plus the owners are a very high-end agency which adds to their trustworthy status. That’s why Life of Vids is one site to keep in mind if you’re after free stock video footage!

Pexels – Huge Free Footage Collection

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Pexels Videos is the free stock footage division of the popular free stock photo sites Pexels. Like its sister company, Pexels Videos offers free video clips you can use in your work at no cost. This site is founded and run by German twin brothers who both have a background in the tech industry. They monetize it by offering sponsored content from paid stock media companies.

Here you will find hundreds of video clips and footage resources ready to download and use, covering various themes and genres. They’re all in HD quality and hand-picked, aimed at being ideal to use in professional projects.

All Pexels Video clips are under Creative Commons Zero (CC0) license, meaning they can be used in commercial projects without attribution, for free. The site does mention a sensitive use restriction that impedes you from using videos of recognizable people in a bad light or negative connotation without their express consent. Using a Creative Commons video in commercial work is a risk, as we already told you. But this website has a lot of work on it and its owners are very serious about it, so it’s a good alternative for free stock videos!

Videezy – Free Creative Commons Video Source

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Videezy is a free stock footage download site part of the Eezy platform of free design and media resources. The platform was founded by a Canadian entrepreneur who still runs it today with the aid of a dedicated team. Videezy offers free video content and monetizes via sponsored files from Shutterstock and other similar affiliate deals.

Their library hosts hundreds of free HD videos and 4K footage clips, and the themes they cover are very varied, all amongst the most popular and versatile.

All these videos are available under a form of Creative Commons license, but which one exactly will vary from one clip to the other, as the site lets the person who contributes the video to choose what rights to enable. So you must check each video’s terms individually to know how they can be used. They are all, however, free of charge.

You already know how we feel about Creative Commons, but this site has been around for a while, it’s backed by a respectable team and is, therefore, a good choice when looking for free stock videos!

BONUS: Free Video Resources from Stock Footage Agencies

Wouldn’t it be great to be able to get the quality, professionalism, and legal safety that stock footage provides… but for free? Well, that’s exactly what you get in the offers we list next! We’ve found several serious stock video companies (many listed above amongst the top authentic stock footage agencies!) who give away awesome content for free. Logically, these offers are either time-limited or variety-restricted, but they’re still very useful to get that little extra something for your productions without spending, and they have the big plus of trustworthiness. Check them out!

Videoblocks Free Trial – Free Stock Footage for One Week

videoblocks by storyblocks logo

The great Videoblocks by Storyblocks (listed above in the best stock footage websites) has a really awesome deal to grab free stock footage that is professional, high quality, and legally safe to use: the Videoblocks Free Trial.

How does it work? For new customers, they offer the chance to sign up to test their service for free, receiving 5 free downloads for 7 days. This weekly free trial lets you grab your choice of files from the agency’s wholly-owned library, which means hundreds of thousands of videos in HD and 4K resolution. They are all royalty-free footage files, perfectly legal to use in commercial productions.

This is a perfect way to get pro stock footage at no cost without risking to legal trouble, and also to test the quality and benefits of this service before committing to a stock video subscription! What’s more to ask?

Pond5 Public Domain Project – Free Historic Footage

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Pond5, one of the best stock footage sites and one highly specialized in video, includes a very cool freebie deal in their offer: their Public Domain Project, which puts a large collection of historic media files including footage at your disposal, completely free.

This archive hosts 1000 video files, all of the historic content, that you can download and use however you want, no restrictions. Simple as that. While the label “historic” might sound too narrow as to use in modern, commercial projects, there’s plenty of cool ways you can cut these clips into your work, and Pond5 showcases some examples in the Project’s page.

All videos are, as you guessed, under Public Domain. Being so old it’s a lot safer to use too, as original copyright has long expired.

So this gives you a large selection of valuable footage free to use in any way you want, safely, and with the trust stamp of a great, footage-first stock agency. Cool, eh?

Dissolve Goodies – Free Footage from a Premium Supplier

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Dissolve, a Canadian stock footage agency listed as one of the best premium stock video sites above is not only the home of extraordinary and first-class footage. It’s also where you will find the Dissolve Goodies, a nice selection of free stock footage and free video elements and stills with amazing quality, that you can download and use in your work without paying a penny.

This section of their website hosts lots of free files, including clips, photos, PDFs, overlays, typefaces, and much more. All these elements are HD or higher, and they’re completely free to use in any project you want. Backed by such a professional brand as Dissolve and being royalty-free, they’re totally safe as well. A clear win!

Rocketstock by Shutterstock Freebies – Free Video Templates & Free Video Elements

Rocketstock by Shutterstock Logo Screenshot

Shutterstock is one of the best stock footage sites we listed above, and for lots of very good reasons. But they’re also the owners of Rocketstock by Shutterstock, a website that offers premium video editing assets and a very cool blog. And in this site, they include an awesome Freebies section full of video element packs that you can download and use for free.

The Freebies are mainly After Effects templates and come in themed packs that you can simply click and download. They’re royalty-free and can be used in your work safely, without paying anything. You can also sign up to get the fresh files, as they add a new freebie every month. This offer gives you overlays, motion graphics, music, and sound effects, and so much more, all for free. Having a trustworthy stamp by Shutterstock is one deal in free video elements not to be missed!

Want more options? Check out the Best Sites to Get Stock Footage for Free.

How to Choose the Right Stock Footage Deal

After going through so many options to download stock footage, it would be only logical for you to feel a bit confused about where should you buy your stock videos. After all, they’re all very good libraries and they all have very reasonable prices. But there is a way to narrow down your options, by taking into account the following:

  • License: Think about how you’re going to use the footage, and if/how you intend to use it again in the future. If you prefer to be the only one in ever using a clip and/or if you only need it for one project, a Rights Managed license would be suitable. But if you want to use the video multiple times, and if the exclusivity is not a concern for you, then you could definitely benefit from Royalty Free license and its super low prices.
  • Resolution: Some agencies price their footage according to resolution, and some don’t. If you only need web res clips, you can find better prices in the former. If you’re after HD and up, the latter probably have better price rates. (An exception here would be iStock, which prices according to the collection, thus offering super low prices for 4K clips).
  • Quantity: Bigger libraries mean greater variety in content, themes, and styles, but smaller collections are often more tightly curated and specialized. Find your match.
  • Budget: Consider how much you want/can spend, and also how would you like to spend. Larger upfront investments will likely give you better per-clip prices. If you’re up for periodic fees a subscription will let you save hundreds of dollars. But if you want to spend less money possible, a single clip purchase would be the best option. Find out where to buy footage according to your budget here.

Armed with this list of requirements, it’ll be a lot easier to find the best stock footage site to buy from. 

Stock Footage FAQ – All Your Questions Answered

Stock Footage FAQ

Now we’ll have a quick roundup answering all the most frequently asked questions about stock footage. After reading through, you won’t have any doubts about the usefulness and convenience of this resource!

  • What is Stock Footage?

Stock footage is footage or video content that is already created by an artist and made available to download and use legally in your work under a license of use, for a fixed fee.

  • What is Royalty-Free Stock Footage?

Royalty-Free is a type of stock media license, and one of the most popular in stock footage websites selling videos online. It gives you a set of usage rights with very few restrictions, for a one-time-only fee. Like this, you pay for the clip once and get to use it in your projects forever.

  • Is Royalty-Free Stock Footage Free of Charge?

No, at least not by definition. Royalty-Free refers to the fact you don’t have to pay extra royalties for the use of a footage clip licensing under this model. But you do have to pay for the license unless expressly said otherwise.

  • How Can I Use Stock Footage?

This is a very versatile resource. For starters, you can edit, alter, and cut the footage as much as you want. And then you can use it in a wide range of projects, both for commercial purposes and non-commercial endeavors. Creative film features, tv shows, online video productions for YouTube or similar, advertising, web design, social media… the sky’s the limit!

  • How Can I Not Use Stock Footage?

Licenses come with restrictions, but these are very few compared to the number of possible uses. In general lines, you cannot resell nor gift the video as is to anyone, you cannot use it in direct endorsement, nor in defamatory content. A clause for sensitive use is often present, regarding sensitive topics like politics, religion, diseases, etc.

The Standard license also introduces some limitations to the audience size, was exceeding the number of viewers or to use in mass media distribution you will need an Extended license that adds the required rights for a higher price.

Do you have a question we haven't answered? Drop us a comment, we'll be happy to help!

The Best Stock Footage Sites You'll Love to Use

And that was our gigantic list of the best stock footage websites you need to know. Choosing one of these, or why not combining services from various of them, you'll be able to raise up your video production game without breaking the bank and to bring your ideas to life with much less effort. Don't you love it already?

You sure have a lot of good services to choose from, so take your time to consider it and find your match. A quick recommendation:

Which ones will you go for?

PS: If you need stock photos, check out our guide to the best stock photo sites here at StockPhotoSecrets.com.

And if you like comparative posts, the latest Envato Elements vs. Motion Array is one worth checking!

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