Welcome to the ultimate guide where we’ll embark on a journey to discover the world of stock media libraries. Whether you’re creating an epic video, building a website, or designing a social media post that stands out in the feed, stock media libraries are your secret weapon. But it’s not just about finding a library – it’s about finding the right one. We’re here to help you do just that. Let’s dive in!
Introduction
What is a Stock Media Library?
A stock media library is a vast repository of media assets such as pictures, videos, audio files, graphics, and more. These assets are typically created by professional photographers, videographers, illustrators, and other content creators and are made available for licensing and use by individuals and businesses.
Access to high-quality, ready-made media assets in stock libraries makes them a convenient resource for content creators, marketers, designers, and others who require visual and audio content for their work without the need to create everything from scratch. Who has time for that?!
Why Choosing the Right Stock Media Library Matters
Each stock media library is a collection of media assets – videos, pictures, graphics, and so on that the particular library has acquired rights to offer through various means. Most libraries have at least some non-exclusive content. This means that some assets will be available in multiple stock media libraries. Some assets might be part of a collection that only one library has the rights to offer. The unique combination of assets is what gives each stock media library it’s own flavor. If your brand or projects is focused on humor, it won’t matter much that a stock media library has a million main-stream stuffy corporate pictures and videos. You’ll have a hard time finding the media you need to tell the story you see in your head.
Factors to Consider When Choosing a Stock Media Library
A well-chosen library offers high-quality assets, variety, and easy accessibility, enabling you to create stunning work efficiently. And remember, not all stock libraries are created equal. The differences lie in their content quality, pricing models, licensing options, and more. Choosing wisely makes all the difference.
Quality and Variety of Assets
The quality of assets can make or break your project. Look for libraries that offer high-quality, professional-grade assets. Also, consider the variety – the wider the range, the more options you’ll have to choose from.
Ease of Use
An often overlooked aspect of social media libraries is exactly how you’ll find the assets that fit your project and then how you’ll get those assets imported into your projects. I hate things that require more clicks and steps than necessary and, with some libraries, the process is beyond frustrating.
Licensing
The type of rights, or license, you get for the media you want to use is really important to understand before you start dropping images and videos into any project. Are you allowed to use the media for commercial use? Can you use an asset more than once? Are there different terms for using the media on the web vs broadcast vs print? Using media in a way you aren’t licensed to can lead to copyright claims, content being removed, or end you up in court.
Almost all stock media libraries expressly prohibit the use of their assets for illegal or immoral purposes, including pornography, offensive material, and shady schemes. Also, all of the stock media libraries prohibit you from downloading assets from their library and submitting them to other stock media libraries. Likewise, they all prohibit you from selling media assets as-is (i.e., you can’t download a picture from a stock media library and then sell that picture on some other platform as a digital download or NFT.) *I am NOT a lawyer. What I’m sharing with you about licensing terms is just my layperson understanding of what I’m reading and may be inaccurate or change. Do your own research on the licensing terms of any asset you plan to use to avoid any issues.
Cost
Free, pay-per-asset, credit packs, subscriptions. Stock media pricing varies widely from nothing to $399 per clip or more. How much you’ll need to get from a stock library and how often makes a big difference too. If you need one asset for one project and never expect to need stock media again, it might make sense to just buy the thing you want and be done. If you’re making multiple videos and social media posts every month and require a lot of visuals – an unlimited subscription might be the better option.
Understanding Different Types of Stock Media Libraries
Standalone Stock Media Libraries
Standalone stock media libraries are platforms dedicated solely to providing media assets. They offer a vast array of resources and cater to various creative needs. Let’s look at some popular ones.
Pexels
Pexels is Free. No catch. Just free. Pexels offers millions of high-quality photos and videos, it’s a gold mine for creatives on a tight budget.
The variety available on Pexels is good, but I would classify it as general all-around media.
Finding pictures or videos on Pexels is done by typing words or a short phrase into a search bar. There are no filters, other than searching within videos or photos, to narrow results. You can’t filter by color, size, or any other distinguishing characteristic.
You can download media to your computer OR you can take it directly into Canva for editing.
Licensing on Pexels is really straight-forward. Aside from the nearly-universal prohibitions discussed above, you can use anything you download in your projects as long as you aren’t doing something that puts human subjects from the pictures or videos in a bad light or is offensive.
You can’t be the price. It’s absolutely free. As you’re browsing or viewing search results, you’ll notice collages of media available from paid media sites. They are clearly marked so you’re not clicking an image you think is free only to be taken to a signup page elsewhere.
Pixabay
Similar to Pexels, Pixabay is a free stock media library. Pixabay offers video footage, images, illustrations, vectors, music, and sound effects. Variety is good, especially considering the price (free) but, in my experience, it’s hit-or-miss whether I’ll find something that works for my project the way I want it to. Pixabay has the standard search field, but also has several filters that can help narrow the results to hone in on what you’re looking for. A row of results on the search page or the individual item page will often be media available on a paid site. Clicking one of those images will take you to the paid stock media library to subscribe. These images are clearly identified (not individually, but the row is marked well) so you’re not being tricked.
Getting the media from Pixabay is straightforward – just click the download button, change the preferred resolution if you like, and click download again. It’s on its way from cyberspace to your computer.
Licensing at Pixabay permits the use of media assets for most purposes, except the common prohibitions discussed above, the use of any image or video bearing a trademark, logo, or brand on any product for sale, and the use of images as-is on products for sale (you can’t slap a pixabay image on a t-shirt and sell it… but, if you use a Pixabay image as part of a larger image or make significant changes to it, you’re good.)
Pricing at Pixabay is easy. It’s free.
Storyblocks
Storyblocks operates on a subscription basis, offering high-quality video footage, audio, and images. It also offers After Effects templates for Adobe users. The library is deep, offering much more variety than free stock media libraries and making it easier (and more likely) to find media that fits what you have in mind. You can search Storyblocks by media type (video, image, etc.) and lots of filters to narrow your search by various criteria.
Getting your chosen assets from Storyblocks is done either by download to your computer or by directly integrating with the Storyblocks video editor, called Maker, which is available online for Storyblocks users. The Pro level plan also includes integration with Adobe Creative Cloud.
Any media you download while you have an active subscription can be used for most personal and commercial use for life – even if you later cancel your subscription. Of course,
Subscription options start at $15/mo (paid annually) which gets you 5 downloads per month. The unlimited all-access plan is $30/mo (paid annually) and gets you unlimited downloads. The Pro plan is $35/mo (paid annually) and has all the features of the unlimited all-access plan but adds the Storyblocks plugin for Adobe Creative Cloud.
Month-to-month pricing is available for all three plans, but you cannot see pricing for that until you create an account. As of this writing, the month-to-month pricing for the starter plan is $30/mo, the All-Access Unlimited plan is $65/mo, and the Pro plan is $70/mo.
Adobe Stock
Adobe Stock is a powerhouse of high-quality assets, seamlessly integrated with Adobe’s suite of creative tools. Whether you’re looking for photos, videos, templates, 3D assets, or even editorial content, you’ll find it here. But, before we go any further, it’s pricey! If you’re on a tight budget, Adobe Stock isn’t a good fit.
Adobe Stock is probably the best at making it easy to find exactly what you want. The filtering options are detailed and practical. Getting your chosen assets into a project is streamlined – IF you’re working in an Adobe product like Premiere Pro.
Licensing of assets from Adobe Stock is… complicated! There’s the standard license, enhanced license, and extended license, which all allow unlimited web views. Some assets are subject to the Editorial Use Only license, and then there’s the Adobe Express license specifics and the generated output guidelines. And those are the licenses that seem to apply to individuals, CC teams, and VIP members. Enterprise license requirements apply to ETLA users (whatever that means!) Audio assets have different licensing terms – either Audio Standard or Audio Enhanced.
Pricing for AdobeStock isn’t as complicated as the licensing, but it’s close. They offer monthly and annual plans ranging from 10 standard assets OR 1 HD video for $29.99/mo (annual commitment) to $249.99/mo for 750 standard assets or 24 HD videos a month. They also offer credits, if you prefer not to have a subscription. For example, a 16 pack for $149.99 will get you 16 standard images or 2 HD videos.
Adobe Stock has some beautiful images, videos, and design elements. It’s really top-notch. But, way to expensive for my wallet!
iStockPhoto
iStock by Getty Images offers millions of photo, video, illustration, and music assets that you won’t find anywhere else. The variety is very good and finding exactly what you need is simplified with search filters and AI assistance. Aside from downloading assets to your computer, iStock also offers a plugin for Adobe Creative Cloud and a connection to DropBox.
The standard license is fairly broad, but if you want to use assets on physical products, print-on-demand products, digital templates, or among team-members, you’ll need one of a few special licenses. Also, if you plan to use an asset on 500k+ printed copies of newspapers, magazine ads, books, etc, you’ll need another license for that too.
iStock offer subscription plans and credit packs. We’re not going to get into all 24 subscription combinations but they start at $29/mo (paid annually) for 10 basic images (no premium images and no videos) per month. The cheapest plan that includes video runs $125/mo (paid annually) and includes 10 downloads per month of any image, video, or audio track.
Shutterstock
With Shutterstock, you get access to over 300 million high-quality images, 24 million videos, and music tracks. It also provides features like Shutterstock Editor for easy customization of images. Shutterstock has a broad range of content and the quality is great.
Standard licensing permits the use of videos online and in apps and “out of home” audiences up to 500k. For TV, larger audiences, digital templates, and so on you’ll need an Enhanced License which is included when you purchase via credit packs, but is not included in subscription plans. Searching is made easier than some libraries thanks to filters on multiple criteria, including license type. Getting selected media from Shutterstock is easy with plugins available for multiple apps including WordPress, Adobe Creative Cloud, Final Cut Pro, and more.
Pricing at Shutterstock isn’t for penny pinchers like me. A subscription that offers 10 images a month runs $29/mo with an annual commitment. If you want video, images, design elements, and music, there’s a $59/mo (annual commitment required) plan that gives you 25 credits per month for $59/mo. If you’d rather not commit to a subscription, you can buy a credit pack that can be used for images, video, audio, or designs starting at $139 for 30 credits. It looks like one credit gets you a standard image. Music costs 1 credit and a video takes 25 credits. Shutterstock Select video footage is offered for a flat fee of $399 per clip. Separate music-only plans are available as well.
Envato Elements
Envato Elements offers a subscription plan that gives you access to a vast library of digital assets, including pictures, stock footage, music, graphics, templates for After Effects and DaVinci Resolve, and even WordPress themes and plugins! I settled on Envato as my standalone stock media library about a year ago and I’m very happy with it.
Envato has a really broad selection including over 9 million stock photos and over 4 million stock videos. They have all the general style pics and vids, and quite a few that go deeper into a certain style or topic category too. I don’t know the number of music tracks and sound effects, but they are massive and I’ve never left envato without finding a track or sound effect for my project. There are search filters for many different criteria that make it easier to hone in on just what you’re trying to find.
Getting media assets from Envato to your project is done by download OR (and this is awesome) there’s a wordpress plugin so, when you’re creating your post and click to insert media, there’s an Envato tab where you can search and import directly and on the fly. I love saving clicks! Each time you download an asset you’re required to “register” it to a project. This is part of their licensing process and it’s really simple because, once you’ve typed the project name in once it will appear as a clickable option whenever you select another asset to download. So, you click download on an asset, click the project it’s for, and there you go. Envato ties it together and keeps a downloadable license for you, in case you ever need to prove you had the right to use the file. Licensing is straight forward: You can’t do any of the general no-no’s we talked about at the beginning (sell the files or upload them to other sites), you can’t just put them on print-on-demand stuff unless they’re part of a greater overall design, and you can’t broadcast the music.
An Envato Elements subscription allows unlimited downloads of anything and everything they have to offer for $16.50/mo (paid annually.) There’s no complicated tiers or limits to figure out. If you have 2-5 people on your team the access per person gets cheaper per person and if you have 6 or more people, there’s an enterprise price. There’s nothing different about what you can access, how much you can download, or what you can do with it. So all a one-person-show needs is the $16.50/mo plan for unlimited downloads of whatever you need.
I decided it was the best choice for me when I researched a year a go and, now that I’m researching for this article, I’m shocked at how much stuff you get with simple licensing terms for such a low price!
Canva
Hey, we can’t forget about Canva here! since you can create just about anything in Canva from logos to videos, mockups to prints, presentations to Pinterest Pins, it makes sense to use Canva’s built-in stock media library. It’s loaded with images, videos, templates, and graphics. Finding what you need is largely based on search terms with little filtering, but magic recommendations comes in handy.
Getting an asset into your Canva project couldn’t be easier and many graphics allow you to easily customize the colors. Free users can use free media or pay $1 each for pro assets. Pro users can use anything on Canva without any extra fees. With either account, you can use Canva assets in your Canva designs for personal and commercial use.
You can’t use an asset as-is for print on demand (it’s OK if it’s part of your design), there are pixel limits on placing images on your website (to prevent people from stealing the images off your website), you can’t use assets in web templates, and you can’t use music for broadcast.
Canva pricing is simple: free or $119/yr for the pro subscription. Team pricing starts at $300/yr for up to 5 people. Canva Pro is a great deal and I’m extremely satisfied with my Pro subscription. I can’t tell you how many hours (or weeks) it has saved me since I started using it. If all of your creative projects can be built in Canva, I wouldn’t look any further for stock media libraries. But, a lot of us use other tools to create, like a video editor, and need stock media for those projects as well (but I still wouldn’t give up my Canva!)
Software-Included Stock Media Libraries
Some tools, particularly video editors, provide their own stock media libraries as an included feature or optional upgrade. Here are a few examples:
Camtasia
Camtasia® is a great video editor, largely because it just works like you would expect it to without a bunch of hide-n-seek or needlessly complicated processes. For instance, when you want a styled title, motion graphic, or dynamic background, they make the process super simple right from within the editor. Starter assets are available to all Camtasia users but the selection is limited – extremely limited when it comes to stock video, photos, and music. To get access to 900k items, you’ll need to purchase Camtasia Assets, which runs $199/year. Licensing permits use of the assets in a Camtasia or Snagit project and, in addition to the usual prohibitions (discussed earlier) Camtasia Assets cannot be used in medical supply or health care ads, political ads, or tobacco ads. There aren’t many search filters to hone in on what you’re looking for but, since the Camtasia library is small compared to others, the returned results for any search aren’t as overwhelming to scroll through.
Where Camtasia Assets really shines is in the ease of getting your selected asset into your project, which will also store it it your library within the application for easy access if you want to use it again. If you’re a die-hard Camtasia user and that’s the only application you need stock media for, Camtasia Assets might be a reasonable choice. Otherwise, you can get a lot more bang for the buck with something like Envato Elements.
Power Director 365
PowerDirector is a very capable video editor that is much easier to learn and use than something like Premiere Pro or Resolve. And, if you have the Power Director 365 subscription, not the standalone one-time purchase version, there’s a built-in stock media library of images, videos, music, and sound effects. Actually, it’s two libraries; iStock for images and video, and meta sound library. The media library is a subset – you’re not getting access to all iStock assets. Still, the variety is quite good.
Searching has improved recently in Power Director. There are now plenty of search filters but, a minor annoyance is that it, by default, includes “premium” iStock assets. Power Director 365 subscribers get 30 premium assets per month. Fortunately, you can check a box and make all of those disappear.
Getting your chosen file into your PowerDirector project is a major frustration, at least for me. When you choose an asset, it downloads locally and drops it into one global media bin with everything else you’ve ever downloaded. So, you get to search through all of your files to find what you just downloaded and insert it in your project. GRRR! Can we get some folders? How about sorting by most recent downloads, at least?
Assets are licensed for use within your PowerDirector project only and subject to the usual major no-no’s. If you’re looking for a video editor and considering Power Director, you might want to think about going the subscription route to get access to the stock media library. At the time of this writing the standalone Power Director application is $139.99 (does not include stock library access) while the 1 year subscription to Power Director 365 is $54.99 (includes access to the stock media library.)
Descript
Descript, a tool for editing audio and video by editing text, offers a small but might stock media library at no additional charge, beyond your subscription to Descript. Despite being a relatively smaller library, I tend to find things in Descript that I don’t everywhere else in every other library. If I’m working in Descript, I go to their stock media library first (because that’s obviously going to be the easiest place to get an asset downloaded from) and most of the time, I find what I need and never have to leave.
Descript inserts the asset into your composition and keeps it in the media panel of your project – which is all really intuitive and efficient. The Descript stock media library has images and videos as well as Giphy GIFs and stickers, music and sound effects, AND an AI image generator. The AI image generator is not cutting-edge by any stretch, but it’s been a real lifesaver when I couldn’t find the right image anywhere and just needed it in a video for 1-2 seconds.
The only noteworthy licensing restriction, beyond the usuals discussed earlier, is that Giphy stock cannot be used in commercial projects. If you make videos for any reason, I highly recommend checking out Descript and, since the stock media library is included at no extra cost, take that feature for a spin while you’re there. Subcriptions to Descript come in three flavors. The free plan (not a trial) includes the first 5 stock media results. The creator plan for $12/mo (paid annually) returns the first 12 stock media results for any search and the Pro plan (what I use) runs $24/mo (paid annually) and returns unlmited stock media results for any search.
Final Thoughts on Choosing the Best Stock Media Library for Your Needs
Choosing a stock media library isn’t just about finding one with the most assets. It’s about finding one that matches your needs, preferences, and budget. Whether you’re a content creator, a social media marketer or webmaster, there’s a perfect stock media library out there waiting for you. We hope this guide has brought you one step closer to finding it!
So go ahead, explore these libraries, experiment with different assets, and watch your creative projects reach new heights. Remember, the right tools make all the difference, and a good stock media library is undoubtedly one of those tools. Good luck, and happy creating!
