Best Websites for Free Stock Footage for YouTube Videos in 2021
Finding great stock footage can be difficult, which is why I’ve put together this resource of the best websites for free stock footage for YouTube videos.
Whether you’re just playing around with some social posts, looking for some great B-roll footage free, or putting together your own film, A quality clip can really elevate the look and feel of a video. The problem is, sometimes you just cannot create that clip yourself at that moment, or the effort involved may not exactly be worth it.
One of the best ways to work around this is to use the free stock footage made available by generous videographers from around the world on a few websites.
To save you time, these websites for free stock video footage can help you easily find the right clip to match your future YouTube videos, social media posts, or any other future projects.
Please keep reading or use these links to skip straight to the section you want.
Pexels.com
Free stock videos – Pexels Videos
Pexels is an entirely free repository of video footage, where you can search for any video you want with tags and keywords such as beautiful, love, child, etc.
The site doesn’t have a paid license, and everything is free, though it is recommended to attribute the photographer or Pexels. You are allowed to modify and be creative with the videos downloaded from Pexels and share.
Providing completely free stock videos coming from different sources, Pexels Video library has a lot of videos depicting flowers, the ocean, babies, animals, and many more.
Coverr.co
Coverr – Beautiful, free videos for your homepage
Allows you to use any of the videos free for both commercial and non-commercial purposes. Coverr has divided the video library into categories and tags to make it easy for you to find the video of your choice e.g., food, dog, tech, and so on.
You can download any video for free and do your editing magic on it.
This site has copyright free video clip videos that can be downloaded for free. There is an option for users to see how the video would look on a website’s header before deciding to download it.
Free stock video are added every week. Users can download videos with the following formats: webm, and mp4.ogv,
Why should you use Coverr to find free stock footage?
- No attribution required
- A category dedicated to vertical videos
- A video thumbnail image is included in the download
- Embed video feature
Drawbacks of using Coverr for free stock footage
- No 4K footage
- Small collection of free stock footage
wedistill.io
Free HD Stock Video & HD Video Clips
Distill offers 10 free high-definition videos every day for 10 straight days for subscribers. It curates creative and unique videos by artists such as John Gunn, Enzo Biancolli, and Xavier Dominique. It has 8 categories: Nature, City, Food, People, Architecture, Animal, Technology, and Objects.
videezy.com
Stock footage & motion graphics for everyone.
videezy has a massive library of both free and premium videos. The video library is divided into different collections where you can easily find and free download the type of video you would love to edit.
You have to credit the author to get the free video, but many of the videos are under the premium belt and can only be accessed after paying the platform.
This website brings together an online community of videographers throughout the world that share free HD clips. You can even explore and discuss the thousands of clips these videographers upload. Artists can receive actual feedback from content users. The Videezy site gets almost 2 million visitors monthly
Why should you use Videvo to find free stock footage?
Videezy’s growing collection of free stock footage continues to make filmmaking easier and more affordable, and it also lets you interact with other filmmakers. You have access to MP4 and MOV formats for footage and a good collection of drone footage and 4K clips for film stock footage
Drawbacks of using Videvo for free stock footage
If you don’t want to attribute, then Videzy is not for you since all its free stock footage requires attribution. It has a pricey credit system that charges $19 or $4.90 per file, depending on how much you purchase.
archive.org
http://archive.org/details/stock_footage
A large selection of clips on a variety of topics/keywords. I don’t know how much of it is HD, though. Pay attention to the kind of license you’ll be agreeing to per clip; try to find most of your stuff in the public domain.
xstockvideo
http://xstockvideo.com/
seems like a decent choice, though for “FULL HD”, you’ll have to pay a “small, affordable fee”. You can use the footage however you want and these are copyrights free stock video
Pixabay.com
I often use Pixabay for my video needs, and the site allows you to download clips for videos any video you want for free.
All you have to do is create an account on the site to bypass the annoying bot check when you try to download a video. The site has an impressive searching capability, and you can use any keyword or tag to search for relevant videos to edit and improve your video editing skills.
Mazwai
If you’re looking for gorgeous, cinematic HD footage, take a look through Mazwai’s library. Their minimalistic grid layout means you might be scrolling for a while to find what you need, but the clips are so high-quality that you probably won’t mind. Most of Mazwai’s footage is licensed under an attribution license.
Why should you use Mazwai to find free stock footage?
- You can trim videos before downloading them
- Displays key information and plays a preview on hover
- 2-3 minutes long footages
- No download limit
Drawbacks of using Mazwai for free stock footage
- No Ultra HD (4K) footages
- Fixed resolutions
- Requires attribution
- Less than 1000 free stock footage
Motion Elements
https://www.motionelements.com/
MotionElements currently offers upwards of 3000 free stock videos, and they post new ones every week. They also have a larger selection of footage available for purchase, as well as other content like images, GIFs, and audio clips. They require a credit back to their site if you use their work.
Why should you use Motion Elements to find free stock footage?
- No attribution required
- Download HD videos in three formats
Drawbacks of using Motion Elements for free stock footage
- Email signup required
- Five free downloads per week max
Production Crate
https://www.productioncrate.com/
Production Crate puts a lot of resources – like stock footage, special effects, templates, and audio – right at your fingertips. It’s free to use, but you will need to make an account. Free accounts are limited to five downloads per day.
Production Crate requests that people with free accounts provide attribution when using the site’s content, but they don’t legally require it.
Why should you use Production Crate to find free stock footage?
- It offers other production-ready assets, including effects, textures, and free royalty free videos.
- Thousands of content across multi-level categories
Drawbacks of using Production Crate for free stock footage
- Loads more footages and assets on a Pro plan at $4.08 per month
- Limited to 5 downloads per day on Free plan
CuteStockFootage
Although at first glance, CuteStockFootage doesn’t seem like a major contender, it has a lot to offer users. The site may not have the best layout, but it can be sorted in one click, and it’s responsive search feature enhances the experiences.
Why should you use CuteStockFootage to find free stock videos?
In addition to free stock videos, CuteStockFootage also offers a variety of other goodies – like photos, audio clips, fonts, and textures – under the “Free Resources” tab in their menu. Just be sure to select Video Footage to exclude all other resources on the search page.
Drawbacks of using CuteStock Footage for free stock footage
If you use any footage from CuteStockFootage, you have to add a visible credit link to owner Its CC BY-NC 4.0 license may allow you to remix and transform the footage, but it prevents you from using it for commercial purposes. CuteStockFootage doesn’t offer flexibility on footage resolution, and 4K footages are not available.
Motion Places
Motion Places is another great source of free stock footage. The videos are conveniently organized by locations and themes in the menu. In order to be able to download stock videos free, you’ll need to enter your email address.
Why should you use MotionPlaces to find free stock footage?
MotionPlaces is your go-to website for free stock footage of different places, historical sites, and beautiful landscapes around the world. This is reflected in its unique homepage design that enables you to browse footage by location.
Drawbacks of using MotionPlaces for free stock footage
An email sign up is required to use this website, and attribution is mandatory except for 4K resolution footage that costs $99.
Ignite Motion
Need a background for your video?Ignite Motion has you covered. They appreciate – but don’t require – credit from people who use their clips.
Why should you use Ignite Motion to find free stock footage?
Ignite Motion is one of those free stock footage websites that focus entirely on one type of footage, so you know just what to expect. In the case of Ignite, you can get a variety of background videos for your project. Check it out to see if your project could use a background video from the over 22 categories it covers.
Drawbacks of using Ignite Motion for free stock footage
Although it focuses on background videos only, it doesn’t have that many videos in total across the website.
openfootage
OpenFootage has a good selection of nature, time-lapse, and abstract videos on their site. You can download the low-resolution versions of these videos for free. Higher-quality versions carry a fee. Free downloads are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license.
Why should you use OpenFootage to find free stock footage?
Medium-sized library of video assets
Drawbacks of using OpenFootage for free stock footage
No free HD footage
Movie Tools
At MovieTools you can download free loops and backgrounds to use in your own non-commercial videos. Their selection isn’t large, but you may still be able to find something useful here. If you want to use any of these clips for commercial purposes, you’ll need to download the HD version for a fee.
Why should you use Movie Tools to find free stock footage?
Wish A Loop feature to request a loop that fits your project
Free Loops can be used commercially.
Drawbacks of using Movie Tools for free stock footage
No free HD loops
Monzoom
Not everything on Monzoom is free, but they do have a freebies page that consists mostly of backgrounds and intros. Users aren’t required to credit the site.
Why should you use Monzoom to find Free Stock videos ?
Free video assets in multiple categories, including intros, transitions, and overlays
Drawbacks of using Monzoom for free stock footage
Sign-in required to download freebies
Premium plans for HD and 4K videos starting at $19 per month
Clip Canvas
Clip Canvas offers 170 free stock videos. They also have a larger library of footage available for purchase. You don’t need to provide attribution if you use their clips.
Why should you use Clip Canvas to find free stock footage?
Discount for repeat customers
No need to provide attribution
Drawbacks of using Clip Canvas for Free Stock videos
Paid videos start at $79 per video
Pond5 Free Video Footage
Pond5 charges for most of their footage, but they do offer free older footage as well. All of these clips are in the public domain.
Why should you use Pond5 to find free stock footage?
One of the largest libraries with about 20 million clips and over 10,000 free stock footage.
Flexible resolution options going as high as free 4k footage
Drawbacks of using Pond5 for free stock footage
New videos are quite expensive
HD videos start at $25
Beachfront B-Roll
Beachfront B-Roll is a video blog that offers HD stock footage and animated backgrounds. Because of the format, you may have to hunt a little to find what you’re looking for here, although the site does let you choose a category to browse at the top of the page.
The site’s content is unique, though, so it’s worth taking a look. The footage here is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license, so you’ll need to provide credit if you use the work.
Why should you use Beachfront B-Roll to find free royalty stock videos?
Free with no attribution
It is hosted on YouTube for easy embedding.
Drawbacks of using Beachfront B-Roll for free stock footage
Small collection of footage
Not enough information about the footage
Life of Vids
Life of Vids is run by Leeroy, a digital agency based in Montreal. While the footage selection on this site is somewhat limited, the clips are very attractive. They have lots of good aerial shots available for download. Licensing information isn’t provided on the site, although the owners stipulate that users can redistribute a maximum of 10 videos on other sites.
Why should you use Life of Vids to find free stock footage?
New free stock video every week
Free to use for persona and commercial use
Completely free stock footage
Drawbacks of using Life of Vids for free stock footage
Poor search functionality
Ten video redistribution limit per user
SplitShire
SplitShire is the brainchild of web designer Daniel Nanescu, who wanted to share his collection of free stock photos and videos with the world. The only restrictions on what you can do with the content: you may not resell it, upload it to other stock websites, or create anything offensive with it.
Why should you use SplitShire to find free stock footage?
No registration or attribution required
Great for aerial footage
Drawbacks of using SplitShire for free stock footage
No search functionality
Videos are hosted on YouTube
Doesn’t show video preview
