There are a number of ways to save time when filming video. One way is to use royalty-free videos. This means that you can use the footage without having to worry about paying for it. This saves you time and money, which can be put towards other projects or saved up for future endeavors.
There are a lot of royalty-free video websites out there, but which ones are the best? We’ve picked out five of the best and explained what they offer. ..
What Is Royalty-Free And Understanding Usage Rights
When we talk about royalty-free, we mean content that does not require any royalties or license fees to be paid. So in this case, it’s content you can use for free without the need to pay for commercial licenses. ..
We will show websites that include royalty-free videos that you can use for commercial purposes, but not all content will have these rights. You may have to pay to gain access to royalty-free content on these websites, or in some cases, the websites we show will have different attribution rights. Sometimes, you’ll be able to use some content, but must credit the author. In some cases, you can use the content but only for non-commercial use.
Some people find it convenient to use a large number of royalty-free videos from websites, but this can be risky because you need to be careful not to violate the rights of the original content creators. ..
Coverr
Coverr is a platform that allows you to use content for free, without having to ask permission. All videos published on Coverr can be used for free, and you don’t need to credit or ask permission to use any content.
Coverr is a video content licensing platform that allows users to license and sell videos directly to consumers. The only limit for Coverr’s license is that you cannot take videos from Coverr and directly sell that content elsewhere, for example on another video stock website. This makes perfect sense to us, as it allows users to control the distribution of their videos and maximize their revenue. ..
Coverr is a platform that lets you create and share videos with friends and family. You can use Coverr to create vertical videos for smartphones or Zoom virtual video backgrounds. There are thousands of different formats to choose from, so you can find the perfect video for your needs.
Pixabay
Pixabay is a stock image website, so the category of videos may not be as large as other websites. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t find some good footage on Pixabay. You are free to use all videos and photos on Pixabay without any attribution or credit. This also includes commercial use.
If you ever have any doubts about using a photo or video from Pixabay, the license is listed next to it before you click the download button. ..
Pexels
Pexels is a great resource for finding royalty-free videos and photos. The Pexels license allows you to use all content on Pexels for free, without attribution. You can also use all content on Pexels for commercial use. As expected, you cannot resell unaltered copies of the videos or photos downloaded from Pexels. ..
We’ve found Pexels to be a great resource for finding photos and videos of people, but there are plenty of other video content to choose from too.
Videvo
Videvo is a great website if you want to create professional video content. You can get royalty-free video, music, and sounds to help you turn your project into a masterpiece.
When you visit the download page for any content, you’ll be given details about the license. Look for the royalty-free license if you want to have full commercial access to content without attribution.
Some content on Videvo can be accessed with a free plan, but other content requires a monthly membership. You can see on each video, sound, or music download page whether it’s available in the free or premium plan. The free plan allows you to view videos and music, but not download them. The premium plan allows you to view videos and music as well as download them. ..
Videezy
Videezy is a royalty-free stock website that offers 4K videos. It has a similar structure to Videvo, in that some content is available in the free plan, and other content is restricted to pro members. Thankfully, it’s easy to see what’s available for free – you’ll see the pro banner on the thumbnail for all pro videos.
Videezy offers different license rights for each video, which you can view on the download pages. ..
You can use most videos on Videezy commercially, but you must provide credit in the correct way as stated on their license rights page. Otherwise, you can purchase exclusive rights of each video so that you do not need to give credit.
Storyblocks
Storyblocks is a video content management system that is designed for businesses that already have a profitable operation. There is no free option, so it’s clear that Storyblocks is focused on those who want to invest in their video content strategy. ..
Storyblocks is a service that provides worry free 4K video, HD content, and also audio for those that can’t afford it. ..
You can browse through 800,000+ videos and you’ll have commercial access to all of it. Storyblocks also has an enterprise option for large businesses.
Envato
Envato is a platform that allows users to access a wide range of creative content, including commercial usage of video files, fonts, 3D models, website designs, and photos.
If you don’t want to pay, you can sign up for a free account and gain access to 12 free files every month. Alternatively, you can sign up for a monthly subscription and get unlimited access to download any of their 900,000+ video files. That subscription also gets you access to 50 million stock photos, and all sorts of other creative assets. ..
For many, a single Envato subscription can be worth the price due to all of the other features such as fonts and web designs that are thrown in. You can also find deals on Enterprise and Team subscriptions, but pricing may vary based on region. ..
Shutterstock
Shutterstock is a website that offers a large library of royalty free images and videos. This content can be used without credit, making it a great choice for commercial use. ..
To get a license to use Shutterstock’s library of royalty-free stock videos, photos, and music, you’ll need to pay a fee.
In the UK, pricing for 10 clip downloads per month is £125, and for 20 clip downloads per month it is £159. Alternatively, you can buy clip packs which doesn’t force you into an annual commitment, but the pricing per clip will be higher. ..
Distill
Distill is a royalty-free video website that offers 10 HD videos every 10 days. They are also newer than other platforms, so their offering isn’t as large. However, you can quickly filter clips with categories such as food, city, technology, or animals.
Distill licenses all of their content under the Creative Commons Zero license, which means you can use the content as you please, for commercial or non-commercial use, without attribution. ..
Mazwai
Mazwai is a website that allows users to submit their own videos. The videos are then handpicked by the owners of the website. This makes Mazwai a unique option compared to other stock websites.
The videos on Mazwai are still owned by others and user submitted, but the content you see is curated more than other websites. Thankfully, all Mazwai content is free for commercial use under their license. As always make sure to check the license alongside each file first, because some files will require attribution.
Summary
Websites like Shutterstock, Storyblocks, and Envato offer royalty-free video content that can be helpful for businesses that are looking to increase their library of video content. By subscribing to these websites, businesses can get a larger selection of videos that they can use for their own projects or marketing materials.
