[2022 UPDATE] Artgrid vs. Storyblocks (and alternatives)

A full REVIEW of websites offering Unlimited Footage & Stock Video

UPDATE: This article was published in Oct 2019 and was completely updated in Aug 2022 (including pricing, features, and overall comparison)

It is already established that video has conquered the internet and is also one the breakout marketing trends.

Since 2017, Cisco has been predicting that video will represent 82% of all IP traffic in the world.

If video is on a trend, then stock footage definitely is too. Add it up to the crazy pandemic scenario we’ve been through, in which all traveling and video productions had to stop, and it’ll be clear why the searches for “stock videos” have seen a growth of 72% once the pandemic has started.

The truth is: stock footage websites like Artgrid and Storyblocks have completely changed the way we create video content.

The search for the term “stock videos” increased 72% after the pandemics, according to Google Trends.

And after the rise of unlimited music websites (like Artlist and Soundstripe) and unlimited photo/vector stock agencies (like Shutterstock or Envato Elements), the trend now seems to be going into unlimited footage services like Storyblocks and Artgrid.

Similar to a Netflix subscription plans, these websites charge a fixed monthly or annual fee and allow subscribers to download as many video clips (stock footage) as needed.

Subscribing to a platform like this is still quite a good solution for YouTubers, freelance editors, and hobbyists that can’t yet afford to pay $79 for each video clip (as they would on Shutterstock, for example).

So here’s a review/comparison of the main websites offering Unlimited Stock Video (Footage) at the moment.

Websites included in this review:

  1. Artgrid.io Review
  2. Filmpac Review
  3. Envato Elements Review
  4. Storyblocks Review
  5. ProVideoFactory Review

1. Artgrid Review – Unlimited Stock Footage

[Click here to read our full Artgrid review]

As a stock customer myself, Artgrid has been my personal choice in the past 3 years.

You may not have heard of Artgrid yet, but you definitely heard of Artlist – the largest subscription-based music licensing platform at the moment.

A couple of years after the public launch of Artlist.io, the Israeli company behind it, launched Artgrid – a video-focused, subscription-based service that offers unlimited downloads of footage with up to 8K resolution.

Artgrid 2022: PROS & CONS

You can find deeper explanation of why Artgrid is my personal choice on my Artgrid Review. To summarize, this is what makes it my personal favorite:

  1. Artgrid’s Catalog Quality: Quality AND quantity have to be your main concern. While Storyblocks and Envato do have larger catalogs, you won’t find the same quality that can be found on Artgrid. Seriously, it’s impressive cinematic and up-to-date stuff. Most of them made with cinema cameras.
  2. Artgrid’s Stories: While other sites usually present stock videos independently, Artgrid shows groups of clips called “stories”. That means every stock footage file is part of a bigger collection of 3-100 stock videos that were shot by the same author, usually at the same scenario and camera.
  3. RAW, LOG, 4K-8K Footage. You are allowed to choose among multiple formats and resolutions. Super high quality RAW footage as well as small and ready-to-go .mp4 files.
  4. Simple to license & download. You get your chosen files in just a few clicks. No need to explain or fill any kind of forms (like other sites do).
  5. Search Experience. Very handy technical filters that help you find just what you’re looking for. Results are showed in order of relevance (different from Envato Elements that will show you completely random results when you try to be specific).
  6. Wide, Square, and Vertical modes. Very cool feature that allows you to test any stock clip in square or vertical view before you download it.
  7. Competitive Pricing. The multiple plans offered make it accessible to all kind of creators or organizations. The entry price is similar to what other inferior platforms are offering.
  8. CONS: Only annual plans. The only downside I could see is that Artgrid doesn’t offer a monthly plan like Envato Element does.

Artgrid’s Pricing for 2022 (See Updated Prices Here)

In 2022, Artgrid decreased their prices for the entry plans. Prices listed here might change at any time, so it’s always a good idea to go check the official updated pricing.

Artgrid offers annual plans only and its pricing varies according to the resolution and quality you need.

If you want unlimited footage downloads, Artgrid offers 3 different plans:

  • The Junior Plan gives you unlimited downloads on FullHD resolution (1080p) under the H.264 format. One year goes for $239 (~20/mo). This is the perfect plan for YouTubers creating motivational or educational content needing b-roll footage to support their stories.
  • The Creator Plan has recently added 4K-8K resolution under ProRes/DNxHR formats. One year goes for $359 (~30/mo).
  • The Professional Plan is the only to allow unlimited downloads of RAW/LOG footage under the ProRes or DNxHR formats. One year goes for $599 (~50/mo).
Click on the image to check updated prices on Artgrid’s official page.

How to get 2 months free of Artgrid?

We were contacted by the guys over Artgrid with a special link that will add 2 months free on your subscription, making Artgrid even more worth it.

If you’re still not sure about subscribing to the service yet, you can use the same link and click on “Try free sign up” at the bottom of the page. This allows you to organize your collections and download preview clips for free.

2. Filmpac Review – Cinematic Stock Footage Membership

Just like Artgrid, Filmpac focuses on a membership that offers cinematic footage with unlimited downloads. Their PRO plans also include unlimited music.

Collection size (Aug 2022): 20,460 video files

Their footage collection is beautiful, see it for yourself.

Filmpac’s pricing

Filmpac is currently offering 3 different plans, all including unlimited video downloads:

  • The Creator plan allows unlimited downloads on FullHD resolution (1080p) under the H.264 format at $359 per year.
  • The PRO HD plan allows unlimited downloads on FullHD with ProRes format + Unlimited Music at $499 per year.
  • The PRO 4K plan allows unlimited downloads of 4K clips with ProRes format + Unlimited Music at $599 per year.

3. Envato Elements – Unlimited stock assets for download

Sure, Envato’s focus goes way further than just Stock Footage. But it definitely classified as an option when I realized they have more than 440.000 stock videos in their unlimited-downloads collection.

With more than 2 million active buyers, Envato is an Australian company founded in 2006 and is known for owning multiple giant marketplaces such as:

  • VideoHive for Stock Footage and After Effects Templates (also Final Cut, Apple Motion, Premiere, etc)
  • AudioJungle for Stock Music and sound effects
  • ThemeForest for WordPress templates and other platforms too
  • GraphicRiver for graphic templates for Photoshop, Illustrator, etc
  • PhotoDune for Stock Photos
  • Microlancer for freelancing
  • And the list goes on…

Then, in August 2016, the company launched Envato Elements. Like the other websites listed in this article, it is a subscription-based service. That means you get access to unlimited downloads while paying a fixed monthly or annual fee.

As said before, Envato Elements is a complete resource made for freelancers, content creators, YouTubers, and even marketing departments. A monthly or annual subscription will give you unlimited access to a growing library with:

People constantly misunderstand this service by taking the conclusion that Envato Elements has the same products of the other Envato Marketplaces – which is not true.

Each author on Envato has the choice to insert their product on Elements or not. So generally speaking, you won’t find the best selling files of VideoHive or AudioJungle on Envato Elements.

It is still a powerful library with millions of cool files.

How does Envato Elements Pricing work?

Envato Elements prices its subscription service in a very simple way.

  • Monthly plan: $33/month
  • Yearly plan: $198/year (~$16.50/mo)

How to Get a Free Trial of Envato Elements?

Envato does offer free downloads of specific files and add new ones every month. To get access, all you need to do is to subscribe to their newsletter here. 

How to get 30% OFF on Envato Elements?

Envato just launched a 30% OFF promotion for students interested in their Elements subscription. The pricing after the student discount will be:

  • Monthly Envato Elements Student Subscription: $23/month
  • Annual Envato Elements Student Subscription: $138/year (~$11.50/mo)

To get the discounted pricing, all you need to do is verify your student email.

4. Storyblocks Review (former VideoBlocks) – Unlimited Video, Audio & Images

[UPDATE: Storyblocks has been changing a lot and we have received some complains from readers telling us that they were charged different values than they expected. ALWAYS BE CAREFUL WITH THE TERMS YOU ACCEPT.

Videoblocks was founded in 2009 by Joel Holland but got really popular in 2015 when it reached 100,000 paying subscribers. From then on it was always known as the biggest stock video library that offered unlimited downloads for a fixed monthly fee.

There’s no mention of how big their library is or how many files can be found. But you can still navigate and search among their content even if you don’t have an active plan.

Storyblocks’ Catalog Quality

Storyblocks has definitely a big sized catalog (more than 731,000 on August 2022) and that plays for their advantage.

What is Storyblock’s pricing?

[UPDATE: Storyblocks’ pricing has been increasing in the past months. Prices below might have changed.]

Just like most subscription services, Storyblocks can be billed monthly or annually. If you choose to go with the annual contract, you’ll save up to 50%.

The pricing is different from one country to another. Also keep in mind that Storyblocks offers 3 different plans. This is the price for American users:

  • The Starter plan gives you 5 downloads per month and HD footage only. Annual billing goes for $120 (10/mo) while monthly billing goes for $19.
  • Finally, the All-Access Plan allows unlimited downloads up to 4k (when available), After Effects templates, and also unlimited music, photos & vectors. Annual billing goes for $360 (30/mo).

How to Get a Free Trial of Storyblocks – Stock Footage?

Storyblocks has no free days of trial offerings at the moment. But we’re in contact with them to check if we get a special offer for the blog readers.

In the meanwhile, you check their pricing and offers by clicking here.

The history of Storyblocks

The most popular of all the options is StoryBlocks, which is a recent merge of 3 services:

  • VideoBlocks: probably the first website ever to offer unlimited downloads when it comes to Stock Footage (royalty-free video)
  • Audioblocks: unlimited royalty-free audio downloads
  • Graphicstock: unlimited graphics downloads
The company’s rebranding made by Salt Branding

Artgrid REVIEW: Still worth it in 2022?

Almost 3 years have passed since we published our comparison of unlimited stock footage websites, one of the most popular articles of our website.

The process of creating videos of all kinds has changed a lot since the launch of footage websites like Artgrid and other websites offering unlimited downloads of royalty-free video footage.

Before Artgrid, the only option to using stock footage would be paying something like U$79 for each HD stock video you downloaded. Stock videos used to be a privilege of high budget projects only, This isn’t a fact anymore.

Artgrid 2022 Review

Spoiler alert: Artgrid was definitely our winner back in 2019. But the question now is: is Artgrid still worth the investment in 2022? And how does it compare to other alternatives?

That’s what we’re focusing on today in our 2022 Artgrid Review.

In this review, we’ll talk about:

How to get 2 FREE months of Artgrid?
Artgrid contacted us with a special link that will add 2 months free on any subscription, making Artgrid even more worth it.

If you’re still not sure about subscribing to the service yet, you can use the same link and click on “Try free sign up” at the bottom of the page. This allows you to organize your collections and download preview clips for free.

What is Artgrid.io and what is it used for?

Artgrid.io is a subscription-based website that allows unlimited licensing of stock videos that you can use in video projects of your own or for your company.

What’s the main reason to use Artgrid (instead of Shutterstock)?

To make it clear and simple, the main reason creators prefer Artgrid vs. Shutterstock is the cost.

  • In Shutterstock (like any other traditional stock agency), you’re going to pay U$79 for each HD clip that you download (U$179 for 4K clips)
  • While in Artgrid, you’ll only pay one single annual fee for unlimited downloads (see pricing here).

Artgrid is designed to provide creative freedom to filmmakers, content creators, YouTubers and anyone else who’s involved in video and film production.

Who’s behind Artgrid?

Artgrid was launched in 2019 by Artlist, one of the largest stock music agency at the moment, and works in a very similar way: subscribers pay a fixed annual fee in trade of having unlimited access to their giant royalty-free music library. (Oh yeah, an Artlist review is coming soon).

What makes Artgrid the best stock footage site in our opinion?

Artgrid was this blog’s choice back in 2019 – and keeps being it today. Here are our reasons:

#1 Catalog quality

I’m sure we all agree this is the most important spec. Quantity, pricing or anything else would mean nothing if there is no quality in the first place.

I’m an Artgrid’s customer since 2019 and I keep getting amazed with the quality of their catalog. It is made of nothing but high-end content produced by professional authors all over the globe, usually with cinema cameras.

Well… words would never be enough to describe visual quality. See it for yourself.

#2 The power of Stories

At Artgrid, every single clip is part of a bigger family – named Stories. As a stock footage buyer myself, that’s my favorite feature by far, so much that I almost placed it at #1 in this Artgrid review.

One of the toughest challenges of creating video content with stock footage is achieving uniformity on your final video. After all, you selected files from multiple authors with different cameras, lightings, and scenarios.

One of Artgrid’s stories created by author Brad Day.

In Artgrid that’s different. While other sites usually present stock videos independently, Artgrid shows groups of clips called “stories”. That means every stock footage file is part of a bigger collection of 3-100 stock videos that were shot by the same author, usually at the same scenario and camera. So once you find a file you’re happy with, you can be sure there will also be more files of the same shooting session to complement your story. That allows you to create way better content.

Here’s a trailer made with one single collection:

#3 RAW, LOG, 4K-8K

Different from what you’ll see in websites like Envato Elements, Artgrid offers only super high quality footage that was shot with cinema cameras. It’s not only awesome shots, but quality files as well. Depending on the plan you choose, you can have access to RAW and LOG files. Resolutions can go up to 8K and you can also download ProRes / DNxHR formats.

Artgrid Review: Specs list of one of Artgrid’s video files

#4 Super simple to license & download

Downloading from Artgrid couldn’t be any easier. Once you got your subscription, all you need to do is pick your files and add them to the cart. Once you’re done choosing files, you simply click “checkout” and done. Those files are now licensed to you and ready to be downloaded.

#5 The Search Experience

I’m also a big fan of how Artgrid allows you to be very specific in your search filters. More than just keywords, you can use technical filters to get better results in your search.

  • Video Themes: standard categories like animation, business, food, travel, etc
  • Shot Type: camera movements, time of day, location, speed, format, etc
  • People: Ethnicity, Age, Gender, Number, etc

All video files in their website is organized by the own company (instead of authors, like most stock agencies)

#6 Wide, Square, and Vertical modes

One final feature I wanted to highlight is the the preview modes. With one click of your mouse you’ll be able to preview any footage file if used in a Square or Vertical aspect. Pretty cool, uh?

via GIPHY

Artgrid Review: What is the pricing?

At the moment of writing, Artgrid offers 3 different plans.

All plans include unlimited downloads, lifetime usage, YouTube monetization, and worldwide coverage for all platforms.

Does Artgrid offer a monthly plan?

At this moment, Artgrid offers annual plans only. You can get 2 extra months for FREE with this link.

How to create an Artgrid Free account

Creating a free account at Artgrid is extremely easy. Simply head over to their website, click on the “Start Free Now” button and create your account.

What can you do with a free Artgrid account?

The free account has its limitations and you won’t be able to license any video content with it.

What else is offered by Artgrid?

The company behind Artgrid is named Artlist and they actually offer many other solutions for content creators:

  • Artlist: unlimited music licensing
  • Artgrid: unlimited stock video downloads
  • Motion Array: everything for video creators (templates, photos, presets, plugins, revision tool, etc)
  • FXhome: free video editing software

Are there alternatives to Artgrid?

Although Artgrid is our favorite stock video website for all reasons listed above, you might have specific needs that could make other platforms more interesting for you.

So how does Artgrid compare to its competitors? The most known alternatives to Artgrid are:

  • Artgrid vs Envato Elements: Cheaper, offers more than footage, but very inferior quality when it comes to video content.
  • Artgrid vs Storyblocks: Same pricing, but lower quality of video content. Continuous complaints by users.
  • Artgrid vs Shutterstock: Bigger library but doesn’t offer unlimited downloads.
  • Artgrid vs. Filmpac: More expensive, similar quality of video content

If you’re looking for something different than what Artgrid offers, we suggest you read our Unlimited Footage article. You’ll find a full comparison of all known platforms over there and deeper info on how they compare to Artgrid.

FAQ – Most frequently asked questions about Artgrid

Does Artgrid offer a monthly plan?

At the writing moment, Artgrid offers annual plans only. You can get 2 extra months for FREE with this link.

How to get a Free Artgrid Account?

Anyone can create a free account at Artgrid to start saving their favorite files into collections. It’s important to remind that a free account has its limitations and you won’t be able to license (or download) any video content with it. So there’s no such thing as “Artgrid Free Download”. All you can do is navigate their files and store your favorite ones into collections that you can later download once you have a subscription.

Is Artgrid beneficial for stock artists?

As a stock artist myself, I have to admit this kind of subscription business model might hurt stock artists by decreasing their earnings per download. On the other hand, a service like this opens a door to smaller creators (like freelancers and YouTubers) that wouldn’t be your customers before (due to the high price of traditional stock footage).

Unlike most stock agencies, Artgrid works with selected high end cinematographers only. That tends to reduce competition among portfolios and might end up being beneficial to their contributors. Artgrid’s commission rate is not public.