Sources for Free Stock Videos

The Bad News

Let’s get on with the bad news first. Free stock videos are most likely not going to provide the instructional content you need. And if you are looking for footage of people, many of the free stock video collections do not provide sufficient diversity. Also, you may not find the video resolution you need.

The Good News: Use for B-Roll

The good news is that free stock video clips can fill many gaps, and stock footage has many creative uses. Supplemental video clips have many uses as B-roll, which is supporting footage that plays with voiceover. You can use B-roll to gain attention, add interest, and make your product more appealing. You can use stock footage while a talking head drones on. Learn more at How to Stop Making Boring Videos.

You might also want it as a background for a quote, opening text, or to set a mood. You can use a clip as an intro or interlude to stories, as a metaphor with voiceover, or in a video loop in a title slide. See Planning a Video Production.

Types of Free Stock Video Sites

Many sites listed here use free videos to attract potential buyers to their premium footage or for clicks to websites that sell stock imagery. Others are a vehicle for videographers who want to showcase their work or for community-minded people to share. Whatever their purpose, if your budget is limited, you may benefit from access to free stock video sites. Please check license agreements, as you may need to provide credit to the person who shot the clip. Here are quite a few sites with free stock videos. I’ve checked them all out and written a brief review.

1. Coverr

Advertised as free videos for website home pages, you should be able to use Coverr’s MP4 downloads anywhere. There is a decent collection of footage, though small. This is one of many sites that displays search results from Shutterstock too, where the videos can be expensive.

2. FreePik

I’m not sure that FreePik currently has a free plan, but they are usually low-priced. They have a selection of videos grouped into four sections: Business and corporate, People and emotions, Nature and Backgrounds and Miscellaneous. They have a free plan where you can download videos with 720p resolution, which is the lowest quality HD. This is probably sufficient for instructional purposes.

3. IgniteMotion

Ignite Motion exclusively offers clips for use in background videos. You’ll find abstract shapes moving, explosions, fire, gears, volcanoes, etc

4. Mazwai

This site has a good selection of impressive video clips. You can specify the start and stop time of the clip you want prior to downloading. How cool is that? There is no search function so you will need to scroll through a grid of video clips to find what you want.

5. Mixkit

Mixkit has a good selection of free HD videos organized into categories like abstract, business and tech, coffee and cafes, travel and even several animations. See the example below. You can sign up for their newsletter to be alerted of 10 new videos each week.

6. Motion Places

Motion Places has one of the better collections of free footage, particularly if you need clips of specific city or country locations. The stock is categorized by place, theme and color. HD videos are free, 4K videos have a premium price.

7. Pexels

You may have used Pexels for free stock photos. This site also has free stock videos and a search tool. The selection isn’t large but it’s worth exploring. Search results include videos from Shutterstock beneath their results.

8. Pikwizard

Pikwizard has a good and varied selection of videos, from people performing work tasks to shopping scenes. You’ll find some unusual clips too, like a slow motion video of peppers sprayed with water. That should really come in handy! The search results start with clips from Adobe stock, so scroll down past that if you are looking for free.

9. Pixabay

This is a great site for finding free stock video clips. Pixabay has a few unique features. You have a choice of resolution (1080p or 4K) and the selections include slow motion, animations and time lapse. If you search rather than browse, the results in the first row of the grid lead to a premium site.

10. Videvo

This site has one of the larger collections of free footage. The search results display a mix of free and premium video stock. The pricing for the monthly premium plans seem reasonable.

11. Videezy

Videezy has a large mixed selection of free and premium videos. They sell their premium videos by credit and many are inexpensive.

12. Vidsplay

Organized by category, you’ll find a few videos within each subject. When you search, you’ll see that the first results displayed are from Shutterstock. Ignore them if you want free footage.

If You Have Budget for Videos

If you have some room in your budget paid video clips, you’ll find a better selection that is more relevant to L&D topics. Try these sites: StoryBlocks, iStock, Shutterstock and similar ones. I hope you find what you need there. Feel free to list other ones in the Comments.