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Twenty-twenty was a year filled with uncertainty, restrictions and disruptions to not only our professional, but personal lives too. The creative industries felt the full force of the pandemic with cut budgets, travel bans and much more. Film sets were shut down, agencies went remote and freelancers lost clients. As a result, we saw an increase in stock video sites and an increase in demand for tools that assisted our remote working. It looks like this year is set for much of the same, so here is our complete guide to the best stock video sites for 2021.
In this article we’ll reveal our list of top 5 free stock video sites and top 5 paid stock video sites.
VReel have been working really hard over the past year to build their platform into a really great stock video site. What started out as a site exclusively for drone footage has now expanded to offer “regular stock“. Their regular stock is provided in series. This means that every scene is shot from multiple angles giving you far more power to tell great stories when editing your videos.
Not only have they expanded their offering, but they also increased their contributor commissions – making them one of the fairest stock video sites in terms of contributor earnings! All contributors now earn 50% commission on all one off purchases of their footage.
On the VReel site you can purchase footage in two ways:
These prices make VReel one of the best value stock video sites .
So for affordable, incredible drone footage from all over the globe, which will bring you value across all your video projects and a growing library of normal stock series, look no further than VReel.
Also a fairly newcomer to the stock footage industry, Artgrid bring exceptionally high quality footage via annual subscriptions. Launched by Artlist.io the well known music licensing site, Artgrid.io marks their journey into the world of footage. The nice thing about Artgrid is that they work with many professional filmmakers, directors and content creators. There’s something very “arty” about all the clips, and the collections of footage are impeccably shot – covering multiple angles, giving you full power when you edit.
Artgrid is only available on an annual subscription, but they do have three different tiers depending on your needs:
When broken down into monthly costs, Artgrid becomes an exceptionally value driven proposition. At approximately $40/month for unlimited downloads (capped at 40/day) this value is almost unmatched by other stock video sites. Better still, the quality of the footage makes it a great choice for video editors that need more emotion driven, engaging clips.
One of the larger stock video sites, Pond5 have a huge library of over 20 million clips. They offer footage in HD quality starting from $25 and have licenses which can cover your different needs. Their library is conveniently split into popular, categories & collections to help make finding the clip you need easier.
Pond5 pricing and licensing comes in a few different shapes and sizes, here’s the run down on what they offer.
Licenses:
Pricing:
Pond5 is a good choice for agencies making lot’s of content, or for people that need a large variety of footage to cover their video editing needs. Since their library is so big, it is likely that you will find exactly what you are looking for.
Film Supply is a “leader in cinematic footage licensing”. Their collections of footage are exceptionally high quality and have been contributed by many professional filmmakers from all over the world. One of their unique selling points is that the cinematic footage is broken up into collections based on the main theme of the clips. This clip organisation makes it easy to find what you’re looking for based on a particular theme, emotion or category.
Their pricing is very simple and is based on the intended usage of the clip. They only offer videos via one-off purchases, here are the prices:
Key features – high quality, emotionally driven footage, purchasable one-off. Film Supply is a great alternative to Artgrid when you don’t want to be tied into an annual membership.
Dissolve is the last on our list of best stock video sites 2021, but is no means the least. A site for footage and photography, Dissolve has grown it’s video library to over 1.7 million video clips. Their mission has been to change the average standard of the stock industry and provide something spectacular. Based in Canada, they are a team of ex-industry professionals which means they really know their stock!
Split into collections, popular searches and exclusive collections Dissolve has organised their library in an efficient and easy to discover way. Footage is priced per clip and provides a standard license with every purchase. Extended and premium licenses are available when needed.
Pricing:
Dissolve is another great option when you need to by individual clips for projects and want to make sure you have a watertight license for your particular use case.
They made both lists! Well, we happen to think that their resource of free drone footage is really great. The library is very modest at the moment but they add to it regularly and ensure that all clips are 4K and of the highest quality. As a result, the footage is suitable for any kind of video project, including commercials.
One of the larger free footage libraries available, Pexels continue to offer great options for filmmakers on a budget. Their library contains a wide variety of shots of some varying qualities, but overall this is a fantastic resource that shouldn’t be overlooked.
With a library of high-quality free video resources, Coverr is great resource for filmmakers. You are free to use the footage in both commercial and non-commercial projects, without first needing the permission of the videographer or giving them credit (though it is appreciated where possible). You can even get virtual backgrounds for your zoom meetings
Mixkit has thousands of free videos in their library that can be used for any kind of project without the need for attribution. Their library is split into categories such as; Nature, Lifestyle, Business, Animals, Food & more. They even have a selection of vertical videos and virtual backgrounds for your zoom meetings.
Over 15,000 free videos available to download and use in your video projects. There is a mix of different themes and qualities throughout the Pixabay library, but overall this is great resource for video makers of all abilities.
At the end of the day, it will come down to pricing, licensing and footage options that will determine which stock videos sites you will find the best.
If you need any help in finding the perfect footage for your next video project, VReel offers a free clip sourcing service. Simply jump into our chat widget on the VReel homepage and we’ll be happy to help.
*This article was originally posted by VReel on the VReel.co blog, read the original article here.
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