High-quality stock media can turn blogs, social media graphics, and videos into blockbusters that capture your audience attention and keeps it. Whether you are creating a graphic for your Instagram post, looking to up your presentation design game, or find a soundtrack for you next cinematic masterpiece you don’t need to break the piggy bank to get the right stock photography, video clip, or music track to use.
There are plenty of websites offering free resources that don’t compromise on quality. Here’s everything you need to know about the best free stock media resources and how to use them effectively.
Why Use Free Stock Media?
Free stock media offers several advantages:
- Budget-Friendly: Startups, small businesses, or personal project creators have tight budgets and are looking for ways to keep costs down.
- Professional Quality: Many free stock photography, video, and audio resources now offer content that’s nearly indistinguishable from premium paid options.
- Licensing Freedom: Free stock media typically comes with flexible licenses, often allowing you to use it commercially.
Best Free Stock Photography Sites
Unsplash
Unsplash is one of our favorite stock photography websites. It’s a collection of so many amazing photographers with a global lens to people, places, environments, and of course, dogs. They also offer some nice filtering options around orientation and color to help you find the right photo for your project.
License: Free to use, including commercially, without attribution (though credit is appreciated).
Pexels
Pexels also has a broad assortment of photography, similar in style to some of the images you might find on paid services such as iStock or Shutterstock. Their trending, new, and leaderboard navigation is a nice way to find some of the top choices. Pexels’ also has an intuitive search feature that makes it easy to find niche content. In addition, they offering some free stock video footage as well.
License: Free for personal and commercial use without attribution.
Pixababy
With a library of over a million photos, illustrations, and even vector graphics, Pixabay covers a lot of ground. They have great options for almost any graphic design project.
License: Free for both personal and commercial use.
Best Free Stock Video Sites
Videezy
Videezy offers high-quality videos, including 4K footage. Its library includes everything from aerial shots to time-lapses. Perfect for short films, background visuals, and video projects that need a polished look.
License: A mix of free (with attribution) and paid videos.
Mixkit
Mixkit also offers an array of free stock assets including some nice stock video footage, curated from a community of artists. From drone footage and particles, to abstracts, lifestyle, and business, Mixkit provides quality and options.
License: Free to use in both personal and commercial projects without attribution.
Videvo
Videvo offers a collection of free and paid video clips, templates, audio clips and more.
License: They offer stock media with both royalty free and attribution licenses.
Best Free Stock Music Sites
Jamendo
Jamendo has a large free for personal use music library, mainly from independent artists. They also offer commercial licensing with a subscription
License: Free for personal use, music licensing rights included with commercial subscription.
Free Music Archive (FMA)
Wide range of genres available for free under Creative Commons licenses; ideal for podcasters and indie filmmakers.
License: Various licenses, so double-check the specific use allowed.
Incompetech
Created by composer Kevin MacLeod, Incompetech offers a variety of royalty-free music that’s often used in indie films, games, and YouTube.
License: Free with attribution; licenses are available for those who don’t want to credit.
UppBeat
Uppbeat has a great selection of both music and sound effects, free for individual creators.
License: Free for solo content creators, monthly subscription fee with license included when making content for clients or a business.
Tips for Using Free Stock Media
- Check Licensing Requirements: While many sites offer royalty-free media, some still require attribution or restrict commercial use. Always double-check the license to ensure compliance.
- Experiment with Different Sources: Don’t rely on just one platform; explore multiple resources to diversify your stock media and find the best fit for your project.
- Credit Creators Where Possible: Even if attribution isn’t required, giving credit to photographers, videographers, and musicians can help build goodwill and support the creative community.
- Optimize for Quality: Choose high-resolution files for professional projects. Stock media sites often offer multiple download options; select the highest quality your project demands.
With the right resources, you can find everything you need—photography, video, and music—all for free. Let us know what you think of these stock media resources or if you had others you would like to share with the community.
Happy creating!
