Adding just a few snippets from a video can really help bring your projects to life. No matter big or small, companies are often in need of videos for their marketing campaigns, but instead of filming everything by themselves, they usually opt for using stock footage.
Good stock footage is sometimes difficult to find, and even if you end up paying a subscription for a website that provides it, you still might not find exactly what you need.
Luckily for you, we took a look at some of the most popular stock video sites and curated a list of those we consider to be the best ones so you can make your pick more easily.
1. Dissolve
Dissolve offers a vast array of stock videos and photos. What makes this site especially handy is the feature to search by theme so you can find videos that fit right with your brand with ease. And once you find the desired footage, there is an option to save it onto their cloud storage.
There are team price plans as well as singular ones, and any footage you might want to use is priced per clip.
Depending on the video quality, the prices will be $29 for SD footage, $29-$499 for HD footage, and $49-$549 for 4K footage. The prices listed are for standard licenses, but there are also options available for extended and premium licenses.
2. Filmsupply
While most stock footage sites provide content for mass marketing, Filmsupply focuses more on cinematic footage. So if you need something really specific, you can write them a message, briefly describing what you’re looking for, and their team will curate a list of footage you might find useful.
You can search Filmsupply by camera angle, framing, camera movement, etc., to make sure you find footage that really fits your project.
As far as pricing goes, there are multiple plans, depending on what you need. Internal (for meetings, training) at a price of $99, Industrial (for events, store promotions, etc.) at a price of $199, and the same price is for the Web/Digital plan, which allows you to use the footage on social media and websites.
3. Pond5
Along with being the largest collection of royalty-free stock videos, Pond5 has a new video uploaded to its server every second.
There are over 17 million clips on Pond5, so there’s no way you won’t find what you need. Plus, their services are used by giants in the industry like Disney, BBC, Netflix, and many more.
Aside from just videos, Pond5 also offers stock music tracks, sound effects, and images. And if you’re looking to get a membership for Pond5, you’ll be paying $199 per month or $999 per year.
4. iStock
iStock updates its photo and video library every single month, which proves to be very useful for their users as there’s something new to get inspired by all the time. It’s also one of the oldest stock video providers out there, with a rich library that was built over decades (yes, decades) that is bound to satisfy any client.
Its search feature is not quite as polished, but it’s easy to get used to.
On iStock, you don’t pay per clip. Instead, you buy credits and use them to get videos or photos you need. Three credits cost 24€, and the price does get lower the more credits you buy.
5. Shutterstock
Shutterstock has also been around for quite a while, and chances are you’ve heard of it before since it is very popular. Over 70,000 videos are added to the site weekly, and you can use them anywhere you’d like as their videos are pre-cleared for sites like YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok.
On the site, you can search by category or collection to find exactly what you’re looking for.
There are two ways in which you can obtain videos from their site:
- Through a one-time purchase of clips (prices depend on video resolution), which cost $299 for 5 SD clips, $359 for 5 HD clips, and $500 for 5 4K clips.
- Through a subscription. Subscription fees start at $99 a month for five clips and go up to $199 for 20 clips.
6. Distill
If your company is a bit more on the creative side, Distill might be exactly what you’re looking for.
They offer high-quality, royalty-free videos for both personal and commercial use. And the videos are searchable by categories such as nature, people, abstract, technology, and many more.
To access the videos in their stock library, you have to subscribe to their mailing list. Once you’ve done that, the team behind Distill will be sending you a list of 10 HD videos curated based on your needs and wants.
7. Artgrid
As its name suggests, Artgrid offers a great selection of artistic royalty-free HD videos at an affordable price. The selection is searchable by theme, shot type, and filmmaker.
Artgrid is becoming a serious player in the stock video industry as the videos it offers tend to focus more on the story, not only on getting a beautiful shot. And nothing beats a good story.
They have three different subscription types with unlimited access to the gallery included in a particular subscription. The prices go from $24.92 a month for the Junior subscription to $49.92 a month for the ProRAW/LOG subscription.
8. Videvo
Need stock videos? On Videvo, you get access to 500,000+ pieces of stock footage, motion graphics, video templates, stock music tracks, and sound effects. Free users of this service get 18,000+ content pieces without any charge. All of the content comes from trusted provides as well as in-house content creators.
Even though the library is vast as it is, new content/media is added daily.
The licensing of the content depends on the plan you choose and is very straightforward.
Final Thoughts
Ultimately, your choice of a stock video provider depends on your preferences when it comes to pricing, license type, and the kind of videos offered.
In this article, we mentioned providers we see as the best in the industry, and with that, we hope we helped you find your perfect match.
