BBC Sound Effects
Focus: archive and ambience. Shares sound effects and audio with Freesound. Same 4.6 rating.
WebsiteFreeWeb
4.6Visit
Website
Freesound
A collaborative library of Creative Commons sound effects and recordings.
Rating
4.6 / 5
Pricing
Free
Difficulty
Beginner
Works on
Web
Built with love by Shushant Lakhyani. Building bestproductivityresources.com
What is Freesound?
Freesound is a free, collaborative database of more than 700,000 sound effects, samples and field recordings shared under Creative Commons licences. It is run by the Music Technology Group at Universitat Pompeu Fabra, and you can stream sounds freely or download them with a free account.
Pros: what Freesound does well
- Huge variety of sounds
- Clear licence on every file
- Free API for developers
Cons: where it falls short
- Downloads need an account
- Some sounds require attribution
Who Freesound is for
Video makers, game developers and podcasters who need sound effects.
Who can skip it
Anyone who only needs background music.
Freesound alternatives
Not sold on Freesound? These do a similar job, and each card says what it has in common.
Zapsplat
Focus: music and creators. Shares sound effects and audio with Freesound. Freemium (Freesound: Free). Rated 4.5 (Freesound: 4.6).
WebsiteFree planWeb
4.5Visit
Mixkit
Focus: stock video, free music and video templates. Shares sound effects with Freesound. Same 4.6 rating.
WebsiteFreeWeb
4.6Visit
Incompetech
Focus: music, royalty-free and video. Shares creative commons with Freesound. Rated 4.5 (Freesound: 4.6).
WebsiteFreeWeb
4.5Visit
Openverse
Focus: free images, public domain and open source. Shares creative commons with Freesound. Rated 4.5 (Freesound: 4.6).
WebsiteFreeWeb
4.5Visit
Wikimedia Commons
Focus: free images, public domain and adobe stock alternative. Shares creative commons with Freesound. Rated 4.5 (Freesound: 4.6).
WebsiteFreeWeb
4.5Visit
Free alternatives to Freesound
Want to spend nothing? These free picks cover similar ground.
Free Music Archive
Focus: music, royalty-free and podcasts. Shares creative commons with Freesound. Rated 4.4 (Freesound: 4.6).
WebsiteFreeWeb
4.4Visit
MeTube
Focus: video download, yt-dlp and self-hosted. Shares audio with Freesound. A web app, not a website. Rated 4.5 (Freesound: 4.6).
Web AppFreeWeb
4.5Visit
ccMixter
Focus: music and remix. Shares creative commons and samples with Freesound. Rated 4.3 (Freesound: 4.6).
WebsiteFreeWeb
4.3Visit
soundcn
Focus: ui sounds, web development and open source. Shares sound effects and audio with Freesound. Rated 4.3 (Freesound: 4.6).
WebsiteFreeWeb
4.3Visit
arXiv
Focus: research papers, preprints and open access. Also in Research, like Freesound. Rated 4.8 (Freesound: 4.6).
WebsiteFreeWeb
4.8Visit
Can I Use
Focus: browser support, web development and css. Also in Research, like Freesound. Rated 4.8 (Freesound: 4.6).
WebsiteFreeWeb
4.8Visit
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