The thing with video content is that it can be expensive to create, not to mention all the time you need to get it right. This is where free stock video sites come into the picture. Just like free stock image sites, there are resources available for videos where you can download free videos for your own social media marketing campaigns.
Best Free Stock Video Sites
1. Pixabay Videos
Pixabay is more famous for its stock images but their stock videos are equally good if not better. The entire platform is free to use and all the videos are licensed under Creative Commons CC0. You can use any video, for commercial or otherwise, purposes and are allowed to modify the content as required. There is no need to link back to the source, however, you may do so if you want.
Pixabay offers a few ways to search and filter your results. You begin with a keyword search and the results can be filtered by resolution, category, and effects. The videos are high in quality. They host up to 1.5 million stock videos and images on their site and many of them are in 4K resolution. Pros:
4K videos Wide range of categories Registration not required Can choose video size Commercial use without attribution
Cons:
None
Visit Pixabay Videos
2. Videvo
Unlike Pixabay where you can find both stock videos and images, Videvo specializes in videos only. In fact, you can also find a healthy collection of motion graphics and sound effects on this community-driven free stock video site. Licensing works differently on Videvo. All stock videos are licensed under one of the following three: You can find the usage rights, in the top section to the right-hand side of the video player. Furthermore, if the video is marked ‘Editorial only’ on the download page, you cannot use it for commercial purposes. Note that Videvo also hosts premium content.
Pros:
Search by tags Large collection
Cons:
Can’t choose download resolution Multiple licensing options
Visit Videvo Also Read: Best Online Video Editor Without Watermark (2018)
3. Pexels
Pexels is similar to Pixabay in that they host both free stock videos and images on their site. All the videos on the platform are licensed under Creative Commons Zero (CC0) license. There is no need to sign up to download the videos either. You can use them for commercial purposes without crediting the original author. Unlike Pixabay, you cannot choose the resolution before downloading the video. I noticed that some videos were sourced from Pixabay with links back to author profile on Pexels. Still a good place to search for stock videos.
Pros:
Simple Licensing Limited collection
Cons:
No 4K support Overlap with Pixabay
Visit Pexels
4. Videezy
Videezy is part of the Ezeey group that has many other similar sites under their umbrella. What I like about Videezy are their HD categories that have everything neatly organized. You can quickly find what you are looking for and it mentions the number of search results too. Once you choose a category, you can further filter by file type, license, resolution, and even format. Images are segregated into four different types of licenses. Standard that requires attribution, Pro that are for sale, Creative Commons that are free and need no link back, and Editorial for news sites.
Pros:
Better search and filter 4K videos long videos
Cons:
Complex licensing
Visit Videezy
5. Life of Vids
LoV is a free stock video sites that is updated on a weekly basis. The collection is robust and they have a nice collection of drone footages. The search function is not as good as what we saw in some of the other sites mentioned above but will do. Licensing is simple enough. You can download and use any video for professional and commercial purposes. The only thing you can’t do is redistribute more than 10 videos on other sites. This is to prevent scammers from taking and claiming all their videos.
Pros:
Simple Licensing Good collection High-quality videos
Cons:
Sub-par UI and search
Visit Life of Vids Also Read: Best Open Source Video Editors for Windows, Mac, Android, iOS
6. Clipstill
Clipstill is a freemium stock video site that offers both free and premium content. We will focus on free cinemagraphs. What? Clipstill specializes in still videos with repeated animation that creates interesting effects. The collection is very limited but it is updated on a weekly basis and is of high-quality. This is why Clipstill made the list.
Pros:
High-quality stock videos
Cons:
Limited collection Only still videos
Visit Clipstill
7. MotionArray
This next website offers more than just stock videos. MotionArray is a one-stop marketplace for Presets, templates, royalty free music, and stock videos. The website offers a huge library of both paid and free items which you can access by creating an account in minutes. You can find fresh designs and ideas with high production value with a simple search and sort the results by popularity, date added, viewed items, etc.
MotionArray offers templates for Premiere Pro, Motion Graphics, DaVinci Resolve, After Effects, and FCP. You can also find royalty free music and different sound effects to make your video hip. You get 1GB of cloud storage in the free account so that you can store the templates online and download it from anywhere without having to dig through the website. The paid subscription would give you access to every single item on the website for $30/ mo. Pros:
Original and Exclusive Content Huge Library of Effects, templates, macros, and templates Cloud Storage
Cons:
A limited number of free items
Visit MotionArray
8. Splitshire
Splitshire made the list because all the stock videos and even photos on this site are the work of a single man, a web designer named Daniel Nanescu. This gentleman wanted to give away all of this work to the public domain and he did exactly that. This is why all the free stock videos are exclusively found on this site only and not anywhere else.
While Daniel allows you to use his work anywhere you like, even for commercial purposes, you cannot use it for violence, racism, discrimination or anything else that is inappropriate. Basically, anything that will tarnish his name. A quick look will tell you that Daniel loves drones because most of his stock videos are drone footage with some cool aerial photography. But there are other categories to explore too. Pros:
Exclusive content Drone footage
Cons:
None
Visi Splitshire Also Read: Use CineStyle to Shoot Cinematic Video With Canon DSLR
9. Vidsplay
Alright, I know what you are thinking. The site looks old school, especially the design. But that is not why you came here. No. You came because you are looking for some cool stock videos to use in your materials. Well, this is where you will find them.
There is a list of categories on the right with a simple search bar at the top. The good thing is that new stock videos are added to the collection almost every week which keeps the collection fresh. All the videos are free to use for personal and commercial purposes as long as you insert a link back to the site somewhere on your site, and credit the source in the end credits of the video. That’s not a deal breaker, especially if the videos are of high quality. Pros:
Updated regularly
Cons:
Limited search functionality No 4K support
Visit Vidsplay
10. Cute Stock Footage
Cute Stock Footage is a good place to hunt for abstract, green screen or elements stock videos. This is not to say that there are no other categories to score through. It’s just that this is where most of the action is happening, at least in my opinion anyway.
All the stock videos are free to use for personal and commercial purposes and because they have not mentioned any creative commons license, in particular, I would urge you to go through their ToS page. Pros:
Updated regularly
Cons:
No 4K support Limited info on video
Visit Cute Stock Footage
The Best Free Stock Video Sites?
So this wraps up my take on free stock video sites that you can use for your social media campaigns. More and more companies and even influencers are turning to videos to convey their message. As data and smartphones get cheaper, it will only provide more incentive to the user to view and share these videos while on the move. It makes sense that you use all the resources at your disposal to stay ahead of the game. What? Think we missed something? Know of a stock video resource that you think should have made the list? Share it in the comments below.
