Best free stock video site of 2025: high quality production for less

Pexels logo
(Image credit: Future / Pexels)

The best free stock video sites are those that offer a wide catalog of options, a sleek UI, a good suite of features, and are ultimately use to ease. There are more options than ever in 2025 for finding high-quality copyright-free videos for use in personal and business productions that can help to make a project pop.

While many of the best free stock video sites operate on a subscription (or payment pro rata) method, many top options give you the option of being able to download and use royalty-free videos with no need to put money down. Our choices include Pexels, Pixabay, and Clipstill (among others) that can provide a high-quality user experience with the content to match. They may not necessarily rival paid-for options such as Shutterstock. However, they're all well worth exploring thoroughly to find the right materials.

We recommend pairing some free videos with the likes of the best free video editing software to be able to transform the content you've downloaded to make it your own, especially when twinned with the best free video converters. Additionally, we recommend also implementing materials from the best free stock photo sites so that you'll have the full experience in 2025.

The best free stock video sites in 2025

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Best free stock video site overall

Website screenshot from Pexels (December 2024)

(Image credit: Future)

1. Pexels

Top quality free stock videos with no strings attached

Reasons to buy

+
No attribution necessary
+
Good variety of clips
+
High quality footage

Reasons to avoid

-
No 4K video

There are some truly spectacular free stock videos videos available on Pexels – all under a Creative Commons 0 (ie public domain) license, which means you’re free to use them for personal or commercial projects without attribution.

The time-lapse stock videos are particularly lovely, and there are plenty of fun clips from GoPro-wearing divers and climbers. Pexels also include a handy ‘mockup’ category for footage of mobile devices with green screens that can be easily replaced via chroma keying.

Search results include premium videos from Shutterstock, but unlike most stock video sites, Pexels displays these at the bottom so you’re unlikely to mistake them for free clips.

Free stock videos are provided in MP4 format in HD. The only drawback is the lack of clips in 4K, but if Full HD is enough for your project, Pexels should be your first stop.

If you need stock photos, Pexels also offers a great selection of premium-quality stills under the same license.

Best free stock video site for quantity

Website screenshot from Pixabay (December 2024)

(Image credit: Future)

2. Pixabay

A huge library of free stock video clips in MP4 format

Reasons to buy

+
Wide range of subjects
+
Selection of 4K clips

Reasons to avoid

-
Variable quality

Pixabay is best known as a resource for free stock photos, but is also has a great selection of free stock video clips available to download and use, no strings attached.

The videos are all submitted by Pixabay’s community of users, and are generally under a minute in length. The site is a good option for abstract images like clouds, as well as somewhat niche clips (the video of a man preparing pieces of beef is a particularly odd example).

There’s a small selection of 4K video too, motion graphics, and some infinitely looping clips that are handy for websites.

All clips are provided free for personal or commercial use, with no attribution necessary. The files are provided in MP4 format, in a choice of resolutions.

Best free stock video site for cinemagraphs

Website screenshot from Clipstill (December 2024)

(Image credit: Future)

3. Clipstill

Striking cinemagraphs to make your website stand out

Reasons to buy

+
Striking, unusual videos
+
Small file sizes

Reasons to avoid

-
Small choice of clips to download

Clipstill is dedicated to cinemagraphs – still photos containing a small repeated animation that plays on a loop. The effect is hypnotic, and a great way to grab viewers' attention. There's only a small selection of cinemagraphs available free (most of the videos on the site are premium content), but they're high quality and change each month, so it's well worth keeping Clipstill bookmarked.

Clipstill's cinemagraphs are available to download as small video files, and are particularly well suited to web design.

It's not essential to provide credit when using Clipstill's videos, but a link back is appreciated. You're free to use cinemagraphs in your own projects unless you're making a commercial product in which it's the main attraction, such as a greetings card or website template (see the licensing page for full details)

Best free stock video site for 4K

Website screenshot from Videezy (December 2024)

(Image credit: Future)

4. Videezy

A wide range of high-quality clips, including fun aerial footage

Reasons to buy

+
Selection of 4K clips
+
Impressive drone footage

Reasons to avoid

-
Requires attribution

Footage from Videezy is royalty free for personal and commercial use, but users are asked to credit ‘Videezy.com’ in their projects.

Most free stock videos are provided in HD resolution, but there’s also a good selection of 4K clips – mostly landscape scenes and abstract clips rendered using Adobe After Effects.

The quality is mixed, but generally high. We particularly like the selection of aerial drone footage

All videos are supplied in MP4 format, and you can see the resolution below the preview on the download page.

Keep an eye out for search results marked with a green 'Pro' tag; these are premium clips only available using paid-for credits. The first two rows of search results are also sponsored videos from Shutterstock, which also require a paid membership to download.

Best free stock video site for contributions

Website screenshot from Videvo (December 2024)

(Image credit: Future)

5. Videvo

A community-based video site that offers plenty of choice

Reasons to buy

+
Lots of choice
+
Small selection of 4K clips

Reasons to avoid

-
Videos of variable quality

Videvo offers thousands of free stock videos contributed by its community of users. Quality is variable (a few clips have clearly been shot without a tripod) but they’re generally good, and there’s a huge selection to choose from so it’s highly likely you’ll find something suitable – even if it takes a little while.

If you'd like to contribute your own videos for others to download, you can do so after signing up for a free account.

Videos on Videvo fall under one of three licenses, so be sure to check which one applies to your chosen clip before you start working: Videvo Standard License, which lets you use the clips in your own work without attribution, provided you don’t redistribute the footage; Videvo Attribution License, which is the same as the Standard License, but requires you to credit the clip’s creator; and Creative Commons 3.0 Unported, which lets you share and adapt the clip, but requires you to credit the creator and indicate if you’ve made any changes.

Clips marked ‘Editorial use only’ can’t be used commercially, but those labelled ‘All projects and media’ can.

As with many free stock video sites, the top row of search results are actually premium samples from an advertiser (in this case Shutterstock). Scroll past these for Videovo’s own clips.

Some clips are provided as MP4 files, while others are delivered in QuickTime format. There’s a small selection of 4K clips, but half of these are Christmas-themed motion graphics. If you’re specifically looking for 4K video, you’re better off looking at one of the sites listed above.

Best free stock video site: FAQs

Is Pexels 100% free?

Yes, Pexels is a completely free stock video website that allows users to download content with no strings attached. It's one of our favorite sites, and surprisingly powerful.

Is there a free alternative to Shutterstock?

While Shutterstock is a top-tier stock video and photo website, it can get expensive. However, every option in our guide can be used completely free, with some offering premium content and restrictions on content.

How we tested the best free stock video sites

We test the best free stock video sites by evaluating numerous factors. To start with, we look at the feature set, the range of videos available, and what topics and subjects are covered. We also look at video quality and video formats available for use. We also assess how well the videos work with relevant video editing suites and ensure there are no compatibility or quality issues.

Read more on how we test, rate, and review products on TechRadar.

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Daryl Baxter
Software & Downloads Writer

Daryl had been freelancing for 3 years before joining TechRadar, now reporting on everything software-related. In his spare time, he's written a book, 'The Making of Tomb Raider'. His second book, '50 Years of Boss Fights', came out in 2024, with a third book coming in 2026. He also has a newsletter called 'Springboard'. He's usually found playing games old and new on his Steam Deck, Nintendo Switch, and MacBook Pro. If you have a story about an updated app, one that's about to launch, or just anything Software-related, drop him a line.

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