Pixabay vs. Storyblocks

Pixabay is excellent for those trying to create content on a budget, whether for yourself or for a client. It has a huge library of high-quality images and videos for use in creative applications. Beyond that, Pixabay also has a library of free music and sound effects, which is enormously helpful for people trying to create content on a budget without worrying about getting in copyright trouble. Also, due to the fact that you can sort images by "transparent," it's easy to find cut-out images to use in composites.

If I need to edit a commercial spot in a pinch, Storyblocks is my go-to for a quick template to use or even just inspiration. I can find stock videos and images rapidly. They also have an extensive amount of templates for logos and text animations, which come in handy. The search feature is easy to navigate so I can find what I'm looking for rather quickly. I have even started using illustrations from Stroyblocks than our other stock subscription service.

Incentivized

• Pixabay License: Pixabay has its own license which allows the use of the content for commercial and personal use without any attribution. However, attribution supports the talented creators behind the content.
• Pricing: Pixabay is completely free for everyone.
• High-resolution: Photos and videos on Pixabay are of high resolution, especially several videos in 4K, which makes them perfect to use in bigger projects.

• Scenes with people, various situations and moods
• Background footage, great for overlaying text and info.
• Time lapse and unique styles to choose from.

Incentivized

• One thing that kind of sticks out is that with so much to choose from, you can feel overwhelmed.
• Some of the photos I sometimes can find separately by googling. In the music business, it seems like many photos rotate on the web so there isn't as much to pick from.
• I didn't see an option for more vertical videos for use in Instagram or TikTok.

Incentivized

• Allowing the user to click in the middle of a song from the full list instead of clicking it and then going to the bottom of the screen to preview different parts.
• Continue adding more MOGRT files to be used directly with Premiere.
• More video clips with model releases.

Incentivized

Pexels is free and fully licensed for commercial use, as is Unsplash to a certain extent. I generally open all 3 to search for free stock images for budget-sensitive clients; that being said, I always find myself searching Pixabay first. They have the best user interface of the three and generally have the best image options. Adobe, Shutterstock, and iStock have better images, and I use those for clients who are less budget-sensitive.

Incentivized

Storyblocks is the clear winner against iStock. It's all about unlimited downloads. The content on Storyblocks is almost as good as iStock, but the convenience factor makes it 10X better.

Incentivized

• We don't lose any money trying to buy images
• Our videos get more views if we put the good quality images we find in Pixaby
• The posts we make with their images always get a professional aspect, and get more engagement from a diverse social media users.

Incentivized

• The accessibility of quality audio and video is a time saver
• The searchable database makes finding high quality video B-roll easy
• The After Effects templates save our designers time in creating logo and effects packages

Incentivized