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Best 13 FREE Stock Video Websites

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Recent marketing trends have witnessed the increasing engagement of video content over other marketing tools. Statistics have spoken for the words themselves: 85% of businesses are using videos in their marketing campaigns, and 81% of people are persuaded into paying for a brand’s products and services just after watching the brand’s video. It’s undeniable how videos have become a useful element to attract reach and engage audiences, as they’re increasingly demanding easily-absorbed videos that they can’t help scrolling through.

But sharing high-quality video content has never been easy - it might be traded for expensive investment and concerted effort. In case your financial and human resources can’t afford the price, you might need a free stock video. There is a wide range of free stock sites available to help you cut down costs and capture the audience - and this article has done the legwork to provide you with a list of FREE stock video sites and point out some key takeaways to consider for each.

The concept of stock footage

What is the stock footage?

Stock footage (also known as archive footage or file footage) is a film or video footage uploaded and archived in online library sources to reuse everyone who needs it. Stock footage might have appeared in earlier productions, but might also be an outtake for previous productions and not used.

Suppliers of free stock videos must demonstrate their rights as suppliers and get their videos qualified as stock. As a supplier, one needs to make sure their videos are royalty-free, meaning that people can access and use the video for any personal purposes without being required to give credits to the video creator. And in return, people who use stock videos for personal purposes should not use them in projects that might expect a profit return.

Licensing a stock footage

Royalty-Free stock footage

The royalty-Free license might be the most famous option that allows you to use shot in several forms and on a daily, one-off flat, and at an affordable fee. It means that you will only pay the licensing fee once and keep the videos to yourself in other respects. However, the same video can be purchased and used in their own ways by different creators. The royalty-free license is pre-set and cannot be customized personally, so if you want to have more authority and rights in your terms and conditions, you might need to buy an Extended License for a higher price.

Rights-Managed stock footage

The Rights-Managed License offers to obtain the exclusive rights of use for stock footage in a specified period of time. In other words, it makes sure that no one else can use the clip during the time you use the clip. For big film projects or some other productions which can profit from providing scenes that cannot be found anywhere, this is a significant plus point.

The Rights-Managed License is tailored to exactly how you use the shot, and all of the rights you need can be included within it. This is appropriate for one-time use with time and geographic limitations.

Using stock footage in video productions

Some filmmakers call such shots the B-Roll, many of which are secondary and yet crucial for the movie’s narrative flow. And even film producers and video makers use stock pictures. You see it several times In movies, news, documentaries, promotions, and more every day. It can view the city skyline that proceeds the next scene or the perspective shot of a building that introduces the next tv show.

The purpose of the stock videos is to work with the final production’s visual flow. They are designed to blend smoothly into larger designs. In this manner, product footage is an excellent way to save time, money, and resources by providing secondary shots or fillings to create bigger ones. Additionally, you can couple up stock videos with an AI voice generator to create a great video seamlessly.

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13 Best sites for free stock footage videos

At a stock image agency, you can easily purchase stock footage clips. In addition to silent and other media styles, a variety of stock and microstock companies offer stock images. You can search, find, and purchase a license in any of them to use a stock clip. You do not purchase the clip itself, but you are entitled to use it on your project. Various types of licenses are available which require different usage rights. Most stock footage agencies work with video licenses managed for Royalty-Free and Rights.

However, there are now numerous free alternatives for your low-budgeted projects. Nowadays, more free stock footage sites are opened to give creators more affordable access to diversifying their video content. The quality of these free videos may vary (since they’re free), but some prominent representatives are still worth to take a look at and experience. Here is our suggestion of 13 top-listed free stock video sites you should consider for your projects.

Pixabay

Pixabay is a prominent stock video site offering more than 1.5 million free videos and media for any occasion or atmosphere, which is shared by a willing group of public creators. The media library diversely ranges in different formats, from motion graphics to 4K and HD videos. All these videos are especially released under the Creative Common Zero standard, which means that you can use them both commercially and non-commercially without the permission required to make changes to or credit the videos.

Downloading videos from Pixaby is super easy. Just select your desired videos and choose your preferred resolution, then the videos are ready to be modified. Most Pixaby free stock videos are within a minute length, making it easier for you to edit. But keep in mind that Pixabay has published several rules on how you can or cannot apply their video content, so make sure to check out the Pixabay license carefully to avoid unexpected violations.

Videezy

Videezy offers one of the largest communities where you can access a huge collection of high-quality and content-rich videos without any fee charges.

To find a video to stock on Videezy, just insert your keywords in the search bar on the homepage, then you can filter the search results with the handy toolbar on the left of the page. There are numerous HD stock videos and 4K videos available in the library.

Most videos are free for personal and commercial use, but video attribution is required to be given to Videezy. The best-quality videos are marked as “Pro,” and you will be asked to upgrade to Videezy Pro before downloading. Pricing in the Pro version is based on the number of credits you attribute and the more credits you purchase. No matter what version you choose for your project, remember to check the Videezy license to comply with the rules and requirements.

Videvo

Obtaining a free stock video on Videvo is easy. Just enter your desired keywords, then you can get access to thousands of videos in different categories to choose from.

Videvo offers stock footage and motion graphics created by their community, and they’re always adding more in. The quality of videos on Videezy may vary significantly - some might be highly resolute, and some might be out of focus and shaky. Some videos are delivered as MP4, while others might be formatted as QuickTime.

The site has now provided around 8000 free stock videos for both commercial and non-commercial use. This includes 30-second short videos with no watermark and required attribution and 10-second short videos with required watermark and no attribution needed.

Aside from the free version, Videvo also offers other 2 paid plans - Videvo Pro and Videvo Plus - where you can get a certain number of downloads per month for premium stock videos. Most videos are licensed royalty-free, so there’s no need for attribution when you’re using them. But for videos marked as “Videvo Attribution License,” you’ll need to credit the original artists if you use them.

Pexels

Initially launched as a free stock photo site, Pexels now provides thousands of free stock videos under one minute from various categories for creators to join the creative flow.

With Pexels, you can decide your stock videos’ quality since Pixels offers many download links from different resolutions of your preference. A community of videographers contributes videos on Pexels, so even when you’re not required to log in to download the videos, you should sign up to follow these amazing creators to get more inspiration.

The stock video footage collection on Pexels is under CC0, meaning that users won’t have to credit the authors when using the videos for personal or commercial purposes. Also, Pexels offers many “testing” stock videos in which mobile devices with a green screen are included - and you can use a technique called chroma keying to replace the green screen.

However, there are some downsides to consider when using Pexels. First, unfortunately, there are no 4K videos available on the site, and most of the videos give off a “homemade” feel, which makes them less curated than some on other sites. Also, the layout might be a bit difficult to navigate, and there’s no one-page optimization enabled when you click on a video for information. But with completely free access to a large collection of stock videos, Pexels is still a great option to consider to help create your video content.

Vidsplay

Vidsplay is another option providing a large library of free stock videos with new videos updated weekly.

The quality of the free stock videos on Vidsplay may vary, but many professional footages are available. All videos on the website are freely available for individual or commercial use.

However, Vidsplay does require you anywhere on your website or other media channel to credit videos with links. Most of the stock videos are distributed in MP4 format on the web. Moreover, each stock video’s information can easily be found on the preview clip, including size, resolution, frame rate, and length.

One big plus is that you don’t have to sign up to download the videos. However, advertisements might pop up on the videos’ thumbnails, which may confuse users, so make sure not to click on the wrong links accidentally.

Life of Vids

Operated by the Canadian marketing agency Leeroy, Life of Vids is a free stock video site providing creators with a collection of high-quality and sleek-looking videos, which are a great source for inspiration.

Videos on Life of Vids are delivered in MP4 format with SD and HD files (but no 4K videos available, unfortunately). You can also choose the preferred resolution for your videos. They’re all hosted on Vimeo, watermark-free, and require no attribution for personal and commercial use. But note that you can only redistribute 10 videos only as the site wants to prevent their videos from being posted everywhere.

New videos are added regularly to expand the library, and you can consider checking out the amazing stock images. Since all the services are high-quality but free, don’t hesitate to throw them a mention, or you can click on the “Pay us a beer” button to donate as a way to say thanks.

Distill

Distill is another great option if you’re looking for free high-quality stock videos for your social media and creative projects. Since all Distill videos are carefully examined and chosen by the Distill creatives team, they’re guaranteed with the best quality for your video content.

Distill free stock videos are displayed in a distinct range of categories, so they’re likely to meet your demand for a specific video niche. Stock videos cannot be uploaded on Distill instinctively - you, as a creator, must submit your video to get Distill to approve before having it included in the media library. You can sign up for their mailing list to get 10 high-definition free stock videos every ten days.

SplitShire

SplitShire is primarily a stock photo site, but the site creator, Daniel Nanescu, includes a small collection of videos free for personal and commercial use as well.

Stock videos on SplitShire are professionally made with focus shots of nature and outdoor backgrounds, which makes SplitShire’s style consistent and exclusive. Using SplitShire stock videos will give your final video a more united and solid structure.

The biggest downside of SplitShire is a substantial result from a one-member operating structure. Since Daniel is the sole designer for all the stock images and videos, there are significantly fewer videos to choose from compared to other sites. And as the site is primarily for stock images with no search filter included, most results from the keyword search are more likely to be images, which makes it harder for you to find your desired video for a specific use.

Stock Footage for Free

The name says it all, Stock Footage for Free is truly a free site for stock footage videos. Even their slogan is just as straightforward: “No fees. No catch. Unlimited downloads.”

This site is full of high-quality, free stock videos that can be used for personal and commercial use, although redistribution and broadcasting may be restricted. The site features a wide range of clip styles including looping, timelapse, air, and slow motion, with new free stock videos being added every day.

The search bar and categories make finding the ideal video much easier. Video categories on Stock Footage for Free diversely range from beaches and water, nature and animals, to humans and many other groups. Another great feature is that you can see how many times your favored videos have been downloaded to make sure your project is not using a “mainstream” footage as others.

To download the videos, you must create an account with your email address or Facebook account. All the free and downloadable stock videos are HD and formatted in MOV - but unfortunately, there’s no 4K footage available.

Mixkit

As stated right on their homepage, Mixkit tries their best to provide its creators with extraordinary HD videos. The stock videos on this site are completely free with no watermarks, no attribution required, and no account registration needed - and you can get access to a large library of high-quality stock videos for your personal and commercial use.

Videos on Mixkit are filtered by categories, and you can easily find your desired videos in various niches such as business, tech, lifestyle, outdoor, and many more. Unfortunately, there’s no search bar available, but that should not stop you from seeking valuable inspiration for your video content. For more information, you can read their license, terms, and conditions here.

Dareful

Dareful is a competitive rival when it comes to high-definition stock videos. All videos shot by Dareful are 4K videos hosted by Vimeo - and you can use them for free as long as you add in attribution.

Dareful does require registration to download. Once you sign up, you can download their videos however you want and use them in your projects (including commercial ones). No credit card is required. All the videos are governed by the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, so no need to worry about violation of credits and attribution.

Dareful’s stock video collection might not be the largest, but new videos are being added regularly to satisfy your demands. You should sign up for their email notifications to get notified about Dareful’s freshly updated content each week.

Motions Elements

MotionElements is a gigantic website featuring more than 3 million videos, so you have to make sure you check in the Free Stock Footage segment for free videos. They also have a wide variety of free content ranging from live HD to animation and 360-degree content.

The search bar on the top of the homepage is used on the web and you have to pick free videos from the specified categories. Nevertheless, you can browse inside that when you click on a tag which helps you find your desired items much more easily.

You can determine the quest with the filtering tools. Length, resolution, framing, and more can all be filtered. In the same window, you can also view all the videos. The web can be hard to navigate, particularly if you are searching for free videos because the majority of them are premium. Certain trapped users can also access only one free thing per e-mail address. You can get five free items per week if you sign up.

Freestock

Freestock is another ideal source that gathers thousands of free curated stock footage for your media projects. The collections of their videos are small but increasing. You may also use the searches bar at the top of this page to locate what you are searching for. The collections are currently available. Your ‘hover to screen’ feature is a good touch. You simply put your cursor over a video and play inside the window so that you can select a Favorite quickly and conveniently. With Freestock attribution, all images can be used freely. With a short code line, they make it easy to copy and paste on your blog.

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Final words

Now that you have gone through the concept of stock footage, learned about how it works, and got our suggestions list of 13 free stock video sites for your projects. All of these websites may have some pros and cons, but it’s undeniable that free stock videos are a great help for marketers and video creators in producing high-quality video content without pouring their wallet out. Whatever stock site you use, remember to carefully check the licensing information and terms to avoid unwanted violations.