One way to take content on your website to the next level is to use videos. But not all of us have the time, budget or skill to make one. This is where stock videos can be helpful. Now, what is the need for videos? Why not just go with images? We will explain why videos are worth it.
Communication is key in the digital world. It is of utmost importance that we can convey everything to our target audience. An adage that goes like this, “A picture is worth a thousand words”, but sometimes pictures aren’t enough to get the job done. We need videos, which will transport the viewers to a different world. Thereby providing an immersive visual and sensory experience through narration and other audio-visual enhancements.
Videos transcend the boundaries of images. The viewers get to see every detail and aspect.
Videos are more effective in helping customers make a decision rather than an image. Moreover, videos help capture the viewers’ attention in the current digital era with new concepts and techniques. Videos are a must – be it for your website or marketing purposes.
What are Stock Videos and How Are They Useful?
Stock videos are also known as B-rolls. They are made available online by their respective creators. Usually, stock videos are short, ranging from 30 seconds to 1 minute. Stock videos can be used anywhere. They cover a wide genre from nature, sports, indoors, architecture and so on.
Stock videos are useful in a couple of ways – it saves time, and money and also they are high-quality footage shot by professionals. Imagine this scenario- You are making a video about how the deforestation of the forest impacts the climate. Now taking the journey with all the camera equipment and crew to film deforestation, is a huge task. It also takes a huge amount of time and money. This is where b-rolls or stock videos come into play. One can simply go with suitable stock footage to convey the concept. People from all around the globe can use it, but there is a catch to it, which will discuss in detail in the next section.
Stock Video Licensing
As mentioned, anyone is free to use the videos, but not always. Some videos do come with a license, depending on the creator. There are mainly three types of online video license rights and they are:
- Royalty-Free License– Here one can download the videos for a certain amount and use them. There is no need to credit the author or provide any sort of link. One can use the clips anywhere one likes. The only limitation is, that one must never sell or redistribute the videos on different websites. Remember not to portray identifiable people in an offensive manner. Royalty-free videos can be paid or free, it all depends on the creator.
- Creative Commons License– Here also one can use the clips but must credit the creator. The videos can be used anywhere, be it on social media or any other platform.
- Public Domain License– These videos have no copyright restrictions and can be used freely. However, videos in one public domain may not be free to use worldwide, as restrictions change depending on the public domain.
- Rights managed Footage– They are videos that have certain restrictions. They cannot be used everywhere, some only for the web, some for advertisements and so on.
Providing attribution is simple. One must mention the author, from where the video was taken, and also the license attribution type. Now that we have covered what are stock videos and the different kinds of licensing, it’s time to look at the top best stock video websites in both free and paid categories.
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The Top Free Stock Video Websites
1. Pixabay
Pixabay houses over 2.5 million images and stock videos. They are free to use without any restrictions. There is no need to signup to download the videos and images. Choose the video clip you like and press download. That is it, you are done. One can find videos of different quality from HD to 4K. The available videos are in MP4 format. Remember the videos are free to use, but cannot be redistributed. Also, don’t use the content to create a misleading association with a product or service.
2. Pexels
Pexels is another stock video website that provides b-roll content. Apart from videos they also provide images. Just search for the genre and you will find videos from a wide variety of creators that are free to use, both commercially and for non-commercial use. Once again there is no need to signup to download the videos and images. Pexels only provided images in the past but that has changed now.
3. Dareful
Dareful offers stock videos only in 4K quality. Since it’s free, there is no need to signup or buy any sort of subscription. Just search their vast library, find the correct one and download it. All the videos have a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License ( CC BY 4.0). The only restriction is that one must provide attribution when using the clips and also indicate if any changes were made. The videos can also be used for commercial purposes.
4. Coverr
Coverr provides stock videos for all your needs and there is no need to mention the author or any sort of attribution. The videos are not bound by any licenses. Coverr was started in 2015 and in the initial stages was a side project titled, Veed.me and they were struck with the idea of giving back to the community and thus Coverr was born. Veed.me was acquired by Fiverr, but Coverr kept growing and became what it is today.
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5. Mixkit
Mixkit is a stock video website that is owned by Envato. But it is absolutely free to use, with no membership or any subscription plans. The license on this website differs from video to video. There are Stock Video Free License and Stock Video Restricted License. The videos under the Free License can be used on social media, online marketing ads, music videos, educational purposes, commercial projects and for filmmaking. One can also modify the stock video.
Videos with the Restricted License are allowed only for personal projects, educational purposes and personal social media projects. They cannot be used for commercial projects, advertising, YouTube videos or company social media posts. One can modify the contents to be used in personal projects. Attribution is not required, but doing so is always a good practice.
6. Vidsplay
Vidsplay offers all the videos for free. There is no price or subscription plan, the only condition one needs to follow is to credit them by mentioning a link to vidsplay.com. We can use the stock videos for personal and commercial purposes and edit and remix the videos. The point to note here is that, even though one can edit and remix the videos, one must not modify them, to make them into unique ones and resell them.
7. Splitshire
Splitshire was created by Daniel Nanescu to share his works. Yes, all the videos and images available on Splitshire are shot and uploaded by Daniel Nanescu himself. One can use the images and videos for both personal and commercial purposes. Splitshire mentions not using any of the contents in an offensive manner that may incite or promote violence, racism, discrimination, prejudice or intolerance towards any individual or group of people, religion, political party and so on.
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Top Paid Stock Video Websites
1. Shutterstock
Shutterstock offers stock videos but one has to pay a price for it. Their library is updated every week with new videos and images. Shutterstock offers two plans for footage. They are Flex 25 and Video Subscriptions. The flex plan allows one to download both images and videos. The video subscription plan starts at $99/month and allows downloading 5 video clips. One has to signup here.
2. Envato Elements
Envato elements is another paid stock video footage provider. The only way to download and use their content is by signing up and buying a subscription plan. They offer three plans – Individual, Teams and Enterprise plans. The individual plan starts at $16.50/month. Apart from stock videos, one can also find music, images, PowerPoint templates, etc.
3. Storyblocks
Storyblocks also offers stock videos on a subscription basis. They provide two plans- Starter and Unlimited All Access. The starter plan starts at $15/month which allows up to a total of five downloads per month. The unlimited All Access plan which is priced at $30/month allows one to download unlimited videos. This plan also includes templates for Adobe After Effects, Premiere Pro, sound effects and so on. All the contents come with a royalty-free license.
4. Adobe Stock
Adobe is present everywhere. From the editing software field to stock video footage. Adobe Stock offers a wide range of stock vides, which are updated daily. They provide HD clips, 4K footage, motion graphics templates, and video loops. If you want more they also offer images, vectors, audio and so on. They have three plans Individuals, Teams and Enterprise.
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5. Videvo
Videvo offers stock videos in two ways. One can either download the free videos or subscribe to a Premium plan to download the premium ones. The free account allows one to access over 30,000+ free videos under various licenses. There are three premium plans- Video Lite ($4.99/month), Video Plus ($14.99/month) and Video Pro ($24.99/month). All premium videos come with a royalty-free license, and if you opt for yearly payments over monthly, your premium downloads become unlimited!
Videvo also offers Motion Graphics, Templates, Music, and SFX, with free files under each vertical too.
6. Pond 5
Pond 5 is a subscription-based stock video website. Apart from videos they also provide SFX, PSD files, after effects templates and so on. They have a total of 4 subscription plans- Pay Per item, Credit Packs, Membership and Custom Solutions. Once the video has been bought, it can be used anywhere one likes. One can also browse for music and SFX to add to the videos from their vast library.
7. Artgrid
Artgrid launched in 2019, and within a short span has turned out to be one of the leading stock video websites. What set apart Artgrid is that even the basic plan offers unlimited downloads. There are three plans Junior ($24.92/month), Creator ($39.92/month) and Pro ($49.92/month). The junior plan only allows the download of videos at HD quality and not at 4k.
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8. iStock
iStock started its journey in 2000 and is still going strong. iStock does offer stock videos, but its main focus is on images. They also offer Illustrations for those who are interested. All the downloaded content can be used for any purpose, be it personal or business. They have three plans- Basic ($20/month), Premium ($70/month) and Premium+Video ($99/month).
Wrapping Up
Stock videos or B-rolls are an easy way to take your marketing, advertising or storytelling to the next level with the minimum amount of investment. One can find stock videos relating to all the genres and can use them for both commercial and personal purposes. The best part of stock videos is that one doesn’t even have to leave their place to get the footage that is needed to convey the concept.
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