Best Stock Video Sites

Of course, Adobe Stock's biggest appeal isn't just its footage collection. You can always find quality footage elsewhere. The biggest difference between these "elsewhere" places and Adobe Stock is all the additional resources that the company is able to offer. Naturally, in addition to the huge footage selection, Adobe offers access to the largest stock image library around, with over 100 million available images.

What is more, these images, footage, 3D loops, templates, vector files, and many other "goodies" are available right at your fingertips. You can explore, test, edit, and license different media pieces to use in your designs without ever leaving Photoshop or any of the Creative Cloud editing applications.

All that being said, Adobe Stock will prove useful enough for people who don't really care about other media elements too. As we've said earlier, the footage library here is as extensive as they come. You'll be able to choose from HD clips, 4K clips, motion graphics templates, video loops, etc.

Adobe Stock's selection is staggering too. There's ample everyday people footage with many modern lifestyle clips. The space stock footage is breathtakingly beautiful. The aforementioned motion graphic templates will let you transform your videos. The aerial footage selection is nothing to complain about too, both quantity- and quality-wise. There's footage for every occasion there, from artsy visual trends to active lifestyle stock footage.

As far as the pricing is concerned, the company is flexible, as per usual. The people behind Adobe Stock offer a free 30-day trial that will let you download 10 videos free of charge. In addition to free stock footage, there are many different credit packs that you can choose from. The monthly plans, as well as annual commitments, include lots of additional bonuses, so we would definitely recommend browsing through these.

To sum it all up, Adobe Stock strikes the perfect balance between quality and price. The company's footage selection is wide enough not to be limiting. Their plans are flexible. The company pays creators more than just about any stock video site. The layout is straightforward and accessible. Definitely one of the best stock video sites for our taste.

All that being said, we all know Shutterstock for its image selection first and foremost. As impressive as the company's footage collection is, it pales in comparison to its image counterpart. You'll be able to find over 40 million images there, from news and sports to entertainment and archival photos. The selection includes editorial images, celebrity photos, and more. The extremely high-resolution pictures cover all basics and there's enough there for literally any conceivable project.

At the same time, it isn't just about the images nor is it as much about footage as one might think. The website is about it all. Shutterstock boasts over 263 million royalty-free images, vectors, illustrations, icons, stock footage clips, and music tracks. There's practically no digital media piece that you won't be able to find there. The 28 available categories include but aren't limited to food and drink, medical/healthcare, nature, abstract, vintage, the aforementioned sports and entertainment, the list goes on.

Shutterstock definitely banks on its media selection but it's not like the company's resources end there. Among other things, the people behind Shutterstock offer a free basic photo editor, file converter, and collage maker. This software piece is easy to navigate and we would recommend it to just about any beginner looking to put a presentation together. Other than that, the company gives you access to many free editing/videography tools, including but not limited to grunge brushes, neon animated typeface, film grain overlays, etc.

The customer support, available via email and phone, is usually on point. The company has a strong international presence with sites in 9 languages. Last but not least, there's an iPhone, iPad, and Android application available for free that you can use to search and download media files on the go.

All things considered, Shutterstock is easily one of the best stock video sites for agencies, publications, and companies that need/often rely on high-quality footage, photos, and illustrations for presentations and such. Plus, there are many different subscription plans to meet various users’ needs and preferences.

Now, as much as its primary product is royalty-free images, the company's motion video, vector art, stock photography, illustration, and footage is impressive in its own right. The site is being constantly updated with images, original artwork, and videos for use by bloggers, advertisers, designers, and publishers. You can use the company's media property in articles, brochures, product packaging, and/or advertisements.

What we really like about Depositphotos is just how customer-oriented their practices and services are. The website works equally well with just about every major browser out there, including but not limited to Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Safari, and Internet Explorer. On top of that, there's an app available for free for Android and iOS. The app is more or less as practical and easy to navigate as the website. The modules aren't difficult to figure out. The dashboard is straightforward and intuitive. The search engine there is as quick and effective as its desktop counterpart.

The company's massive and extensive search engine is probably its biggest selling point. As it is more or less always the case, you can use the engine to search by categories (way too many to mention), keywords, color, size, photographer, and orientation. You can switch between two filters: adult content and licensing. At the same time, Depositphotos' engine incorporates reverse image search and numerous advanced features that its competition is unable to match.

The subscription plans that the company offers are various, flexible, and affordable. You can gain many different bonuses through subscription purchases. You're able to choose between on-demand acquisition, monthly, and annual plans. There's no limit to how many images you're allowed to download on a daily basis. The same goes for footage, vectors, photos, and illustrations.

In other words, Depositphotos isn't necessarily as extensive as Shutterstock but the company's products and services are flexible, affordable, and particularly customer-friendly. The platform is equally practical and suitable for personal and commercial use. The FAQ section is massive but, at the same time, easy to navigate.

Though the company's platform does not really disappoint in the quantity department, for our taste, it is really the media files' quality that is the biggest contributor to the platform's success. We're not just talking about footage here. No, the footage collection is nothing to scoff at. But, first and foremost, it is the beautiful lifestyle, editorial, and non-cheesy photos that set the platform apart from its competition. In addition to regular high-resolution images, the platform hosts EVO format images, which are premium images that come at a higher price.

You can choose between royalty-free license usage rights for a low, one-time fee or extended licenses for additional usage rights that, naturally, come at a higher price. Other than that, the editorial use license is available too.

Now, let's talk about additional features. First off, the company offers an Adobe Photoshop add-on that will allow you to search, purchase, and design without leaving the titular program. The add-on will also let you keep track of the images used in Photoshop to repurpose them in other designs through your 123RF account.

The company's Google add-on is a slightly different but equally useful animal. It will enable you to search and add images into G documents without having to open a new tab each and every time. On top of that, the add-on synchronizes with your G Form and features full-on G Spreadsheet integration.

Finally, the people behind this image, vector, illustration, audio, and stock video subscription platform offer excellent corporate subscription bonuses that include multi-user management tools, tailor-made licensing, and advanced sharing features.

Simply put, 123RF is a reliable and particularly affordable platform for various needs. It is as good for customers as it is for contributors. The corporate subscription plans make the website especially attractive for major companies. All in all, an excellent alternative to its more expensive big-name competition.

All in all, iStock offers an excellent royalty-free, high-definition stock footage collection and quality curated content. Considering the aforementioned categories and, with millions of SD, HD, Full HD, and 4K footage to choose from, the platform makes it particularly easy to find and download the right movie clips for your project or the perfect footage for your presentation. Plus, the previously specified "royalty-free" part means that you'll be able to use the footage in practically any project, as often and as much as you want, without paying for each additional use.

Of course, the platform offers images, vector files, audio files, and illustrations too. It doesn't specialize in this stuff as much as every other platform on the list but the company's collection doesn't necessarily come up short either. There's enough here to choose from, especially as far as low-resolution images for websites and/or e-newsletters are concerned.

The biggest standout feature is probably the company's search engine functionality though. You can easily narrow down your search results to find that perfect picture that you've been looking for. There are many search categories to choose from, including keywords, image type, file size, price range, color, and photographer/contributor name.

After that, you're able to further narrow your search results, filtering your images by best match, age, downloads, contributor, rating, size, and title. Considering that more than half the content available on the platform is completely original, there's something for everyone here.

The credit payment system is alright too. The difference is that these credits do not expire and roll over onto the next month.

In closing, iStock is a little different compared to every other platform on the list. That said, there's enough here to supply most personal and entry-level professional projects. The website offers an expansive 4K footage collection at competitive prices. The credit system makes iStock particularly attractive for occasional use.