How Much does Stock Footage Cost? Find Clips for your Budget!

As a Footage Secrets reader, your not new to the wonders that stock footage can do for your production (And if you are, you can learn all about stock footage here). Now though, you're probably wondering just how much does stock footage cost? Here we're going to tell you exactly how much you're going to be spending to get the clips you need to complement your work, we'll also tell you exactly where to get them!

Many filmmakers and producers are working on a sensitive budget and none of them would want to compromise on the quality of their works of art and as you probably well know, it can be a real challenge to find the content that you love at a price you can afford.

So to help you plan out your budget sheet and get the shots you need for your next project, check out our guide on How Much Does Stock Footage Cost.

How Much Does Stock Footage Cost at the Best Stock Video Agencies

In short, stock footage clips at the top suppliers range between $60 and $200 depending on resolution (HD or 4K – lower resolutions, when available, are logically cheaper). But this is for single clip purchasing, and some of these footage agencies have discounts for volume buying. Here's a quick overview at stock footage prices:

Video ResolutioniStockShutterstockAdobe StockStoryblocksVidevo
HD$60 / $170$79$79,99$49 / Unlimited downloads for $99 a monthUnlimited downloads for $12 a month (billed annually)
4K$60 / $170$199$199,99$199 / Unlimited downloads for $99 a monthUnlimited downloads for $12 a month (billed annually)

As you see, depending on what your needs are regarding budget, video resolution, and volume of content, your options vary. Let's dive into the cost for stock footage at each of these agencies –all of them listed amongst the Best Stock Footage Agencies in the industry– and the lowest prices you can get from them:

(By the way, you may also want to explore AI video generation as an alternative to get the video content you need at affordable rates).

Shutterstock

Shutterstock Logo

Shutterstock is one of the most popular sites to buy stock videos. The company is at the top of the stock imagery industry, and they have been selling stock for over a decade.
Shutterstock Stock Footage offer includes millions of high quality, Royalty free video clips in varied themes and styles, that can be bought on demand, by clip or with discount video packs.
To browser Shutterstock's libraries, you need a member account, but you can sign up for free. They only charge you when you buy assets.
Shutterstock prices their videos according to resolution, and you can buy them on demand, one by one.

How Much does Stock Footage Cost? Find Clips for your Budget! 1
Shutterstock Footage Categories

Shutterstock Single clip pricing:

  • Web: $39
  • SD: $59
  • HD: $79
  • 4K: $199

But you get a better deal with video packs. Also priced according to resolution, they offer packs for 5, 10, and 25 videos, which save you from $16 and up to over $900 from single clip price. Of course, getting these super low prices demands a bigger upfront investment.

Lowest Clip Price with Video Packs (25 videos): 

  • Web: $31,56
  • SD: $47,56
  • HD: $63,16
  • 4K: $159,16

However, the best deal to buy stock footage is with the new Shutterstock video subscriptions. They have a monthly download limit, and three billing options to choose from. The best is that subscriptions let you download HD and 4K clips indistinctly. Here's the breakdown:

10 Clips a Month 20 Clips a Month
Month-to-Month $359 Month-to-Month $669
Annual billed Monthly $159 Annual billed Monthly $199
Annual billed Upfront $1,599 Annual billed Upfront $1,999

As you can see, with a subscription you could get a 4K video clip for under $9! That's a bargain if we've ever seen one.

If you're looking for discounts to buy Shutterstock stock videos, we have a great deal: our Shutterstock Coupon Code will save you 15% in your stock footage purchases, including single videos, video packs, and video subscriptions!

iStockistock-logo

iStock (previously known as iStockphoto) is one of the top stock imagery agencies in the microstock industry, famous for the high quality of its library and for being one of the few companies in the space offering exclusive content.


This makes them one of the most valuable sources to buy stock footage at affordable prices. But they are also very reliable. As if their over 15 years in the market were not enough, there's another point to make them trustworthy: they are backed by the renowned Getty Images, the parent company operating iStock. We have also written a more deep review of iStock Video here.

How Much does Stock Footage Cost? Find Clips for your Budget! 2

iStock prices their videos in credits according to the collection they are part of, and not based on resolution. They have two main collections, and therefore two price tiers, and videos in HD and 4K resolution cost exactly the same within them.

iStock Single Clip Pricing: 

  • Essentials (non-exclusive and affordable): 6 credits – base price $60
  • Signature (exclusive and high valued): 18 credits – base price $170

The final price of each video will depend on the credit pack you buy. They have a quick checkout system to buy just one video, which represents the base price. But if you acquire larger credit packs the individual credit price is reduced, and so each clip becomes cheaper. Accessing these lower prices implies spending more in credits upfront, however, iStock credits never expire, so it's a very flexible option that lets you invest now and decide when to spend later.

Lowest Single Clip Price (with largest 300 credits pack): 

  • Essentials: $48
  • Signature: $144

This is one of the best offers in stock video, thanks to not being resolution-based. Whereas a 4K clip is around $200 at most other suppliers, iStock has awesome 4K videos for only $60. Moreover, they have exclusive footage for only $170! And the cost can be even less using larger credit packs. This is the lowest price rate for 4K stock footage across the market!

Do you want to buy great and unique stock footage? iStock Footage is the place to go. Sign up for free now and start browsing their widely varied libraries.
And if you want to save money, you're at the right place: with our exclusive and limited time iStock Coupon Code you can get a 15% discount in EVERYTHING INCLUDING CREDITS iStock sells! This includes all credit packs, so you can get your stock videos cheaper than ever. Hurry up, it's only valid for a limited time, so hurry up!

And here you can explore different methods to download iStock images without a watermark.

How Much does Stock Footage Cost? Find Clips for your Budget! 3

Adobe Stock

How Much does Stock Footage Cost? Find Clips for your Budget! 4

AdobeStock is a relatively new service in stock imagery, that offers stock footage along with stock photography, and it's a very interesting option with a lot of potential usability for creatives.

The Adobe Stock service, as its name gives away, is part of design software company Adobe, owners of some of the most popular video editing tools like Premier Pro and After Effects, and of the cloud design platform Creative Cloud that includes all their software tools. For more details, read our Adobe Stock review.

Adobe Stock integrates a collection of stock footage directly into Adobe's Creative Cloud, allowing you to browse, license, and edit stock footage into your video production without ever leaving the design program's interface. And as you'll see below, all of this, at very affordable prices under an on demand structure and based on resolution.

Adobe Stock Preview Screenshot

Adobe Stock Single Clip Pricing:

  • HD: $79,99
  • 4K: $199,99

Adobe Stock also offers you the chance to buy on demand with credits, and the bigger the credit pack, the less each individual clip will cost, going as low as $64 for an HD video and $160 for a 4K clip.

However, the best prices in stock footage are with their latest mix-and-match subscriptions. These plans let you download photos and videos indistinctly (although the number of downloads for each media type varies) with a monthly download limit. You can hire a subscription month-to-month or for a whole year (paying monthly), and there are three volume tiers. These plans have the lowest prices for video content, especially for 4K, since all videos come at the same cost regardless of resolution. You can get HD and 4K clips for between $22.39 and $9.99 with a monthly plan and as little as $15.99 to $7.99 with an annual subscription!

These price points are very reasonable, especially if you consider the variety and quality of the content and the hugely convenient functionality of their integration with Creative Cloud. If you are fond of Creative Cloud video editors, you can certainly exploit all the benefits of their service.

Do you want to explore this offer? Visit Adobe Stock and start downloading amazing videos without moving from your favorite editing app!

Storyblocks Video (previously Videoblocks)

How Much does Stock Footage Cost? Find Clips for your Budget! 5

Storyblocks Video is a relatively young stock footage company that rapidly gained and sustained popularity amongst footage buyers and producers. This is mostly due to the fact they have a different and appealing buying model, lots of high quality footage, and are constantly improving their service. You can read all about them in our Storyblocks review.

The company sells unlimited download subscriptions to its wholly-own library with over 1 million clips. They have high quality standards, and their clips try to cover the most varied topics and styles.

How Much does Stock Footage Cost? Find Clips for your Budget! 6

Storyblocks Unlimited Subscriptions Prices:

  • Monthly Subscription: $39
  • Yearly Subscription: $199 – Save 57%!

Their Unlimited Video membership is as innovative as super convenient. For a flat monthly fee, you get access to their whole library and you can download as many clips as you want. It's not hard to see how cheap it can be: if you download more than 10 clips, you're paying less than $3,90 for each. If you were to downloads hundreds of them, well… do the math, it'll be just cents per clip.

Want to buy great footage at Storyblocks? Then get to their website now. And know that their annual subscription saves you 57% from the regular subscription price!

If you are unsure about going for this service or a similar one like Envato Elements, this comparative analysis of Storyblocks vs Envato Elements is just what you need to decide!

Videvo

Videvo Logo

Videvo is a site that started life offering free stock footage –which is still available, to use with attribution– and later evolved to include a large library of 500,000+ premium, royalty-free videos. Their content is nicely curated and all high-resolution and up, so perfectly suitable for professional use. The site adds a premium stock audio library as well.

The Videvo premium content is accessible via subscription only –there are no on-demand buying options–. You can opt between a plan for footage only or one that lets you download audio files as well.

How Much does Stock Footage Cost? Find Clips for your Budget! 7

Videvo Subscription Prices: 

  • Videvo Plus (stock footage only)
    • Monthly: 25 downloads for $14.99 a month
    • Annual: Unlimited downloads for $12 a month billed annually ($144)
  • Videvo Pro (stock footage + stock audio)
    • Monthly: 50 downloads for $24.99 a month
    • Annual: Unlimited downloads for $20 a month billed annually ($240)

As you can see, the great bonus in annual subscriptions is that they come with unlimited downloads. There are very few other places where you can get unlimited high-quality videos and audio tracks for under $250 a year!

What's even better, you can now get your annual plan at an even lower price, using our special Videvo coupon with 20% off annual subscriptions!

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 ...

For more details, make sure to read our full Videvo review!

Buy Stock Footage at the Best Prices with Footage Secrets

And there you have it, some of the best companies and prices you are likely to find out there in the stock footage market, so what are you waiting for, grab your stock footage and get creating today!

Know any other great, wallet-friendly resources? Drop us a comment below and we'll update our lists with any of your great suggestions!

Amos Struck
Amos Struck

I am a publisher and entrepreneur in the stock imagery field. I focus in providing knowledge and solutions for buyers, contributors and agencies, aiming at contributing to the growth and development of the industry. I am the founder and editor of Stock Photo Press, one of the largest networks of online magazines in the industry. I am the founder of Microstock Expo, the only conference dedicated to the microstock segment. I created several software solutions in stock photography, like the PixelRockstar WordPress Plugin. Plus I am a recurrent speaker at Photokina Official Stage, and an industry consultant at StockPhotoInsight. I am passionate about technology, marketing and visual imagery.

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