In this Storyblocks review, I will talk about pricing, discuss its key features, pros and
cons, uncover the common issues people are having with the platform, and compare it with
similar services. And since I've been a member of Storyblocks for almost 3 years now, I will
also share my experience with the company.
So what is Storyblocks? Basically, Storyblocks is a subscription service
that offers access to over 1.5 million of royalty-free digital goods that can be downloaded
for personal and commercial use.
And what are Storyblocks pros?
The thing I like the most about the platform is that Storyblocks offers a membership that
includes an unlimited number of downloads while the subscription is active, and unlimited
usage of files you downloaded even after your membership is no longer active.
Storyblocks offers easy to understand licensing options - standard and enterprise. Both are
royalty-free in perpetuity, can be used worldwide, cover unlimited usage for individual and commercial
projects. And unless your projects cost more than $20,000 to produce you can just use standard
license.
There are more than 835,000 videos, 125,000 audio files, and over 427,000 images in Storyblocks
Library at the moment. Plus, there are new files being constantly added to the Library
at no extra cost for existing members.
Storyblocks prices are really affordable. The cost of Storyblocks unlimited membership
equals the price that some stock companies charge for one 4k video. There is also an
option of getting a separate Video, Audio, or Images membership - in case you don't want
to get an unlimited one that includes all three. I will talk more about Storyblocks
plans and pricing later in this video.
Storyblocks interface is very user-friendly. There is an excellent navigation menu and
a search bar, plus you can use relevant tags to filter the results and find exactly what
you need.
Are there any Storyblocks Cons? Sure.
First of all, it's not free. There used to be a Storyblocks free trial before, and because
of that, many people were under the impression that the service is free. The company has
recently removed the free trial, and that should clear up any confusion.
Also, it's my be quite challenging to choose the right subscription plan. I will explain
further.
And last but not least - there is no auto cancel available. You don't get any notification
saying when the next payment is due. However, I understand that this is standard practice
for most companies. All the billing information is available in the account profile anyway.
And now let's talk about Storyblocks pricing and plans.
If you want to purchase Videos membership you can choose from two plans: Basic and Unlimited.
With Basic plan you only get 5 HD clips per month. 4K, After effects templates, audios
and images are not included in the plan. So basically, you're paying $19 per month for
5 HD footage clips or $99 per year. With Unlimited plan you get an unlimited number
of downloads, HD, 4K and After effects templates. Audio and images are not included. This plan
costs $39 per month or $199 if you purchase an annual subscription.
If you want to purchase Storyblocks Audio membership you can get a basic plan that will
give you access to 3 music tracks for $9 per month or $99 per year. If you also want to
have access to sound effects and loops then you can get an unlimited plan for $15 per
month or $149 per year.
Storyblocks Images also come with two plans. The basic plan includes 5 HD images and cost
$5 per month or $49 per year. And Unlimited plan is $9 per month or $99 per yeat.
With Images, much like with Audio, the difference between monthly and annual subscription fee
isn't that noticeable. Therefore, purchasing an annual subscription might be a waste of
money unless you need a lot of photos and audio files for your projects.
You can also get Unlimited Storyblocks membership that will give you access to all Videos, Audios,
and Images. You will get an unlimited number of downloads for just $65 per month or $349
per year.
Now, you might be asking yourself: do I really need Storyblocks subscription? Will it be
good for any of my projects? And if I decide to get it, which plan do I need? Should I
just get Images, or do I need Audio and Video subscription, too?
Well, that depends. I have an Unlimited Video subscription because I always need new clips
for my projects. And when I need to make thumbnails, I usually just use screenshots from the videos
- and that alone saves me hundreds of dollars each year. However, when I need to get music
or high-quality images for any of my projects, I prefer to get a monthly subscription to
either Audio or Images (or both), and download as many photos and audio clips as I need.
So before you make any decision ask yourself these questions:
What kind of files do I need? Do I only need high-quality videos for my projects or could
I use images and audio files as well? How much stock do I need? How often will I
be creating new content? Do I have all of my projects lined up for
the next few months? Or is there a possibility of getting any new ones that I'm not aware
of yet?
For my work, videos are very important. Every week I need to get new clips for my projects.
However, I don't want to store hundreds of gigabytes on my drive. And that's why I get
an annual Unlimited Video subscription from Storyblocks which saves me around 50% (compared
to monthly plan). When it comes to Audio and Images, I don't need to use them that often,
so I prefer to get a monthly subscription whenever I'm working on a project that requires
me to use high-quality photos or audio clips.
Take a look at your projects and decide how much stock footage you need. You can browse
through the Library to get the idea of what kind of stock you can download from Storyblocks.
If you're constantly creating new videos and always looking for inspiration, then you'd
probably benefit from the Unlimited plan. It may be worth purchasing an annual subscription.
And if you are just working on a few projects right now, then you might want to try the
Unlimited monthly membership, download enough stock footage and come back when you need
more. Or, if you just need a few video files to spice up your videos, try the Basic plan.
Personally, I love Storyblocks. But do I think that it's a good match for everyone? Absolutely
not. Before making this video, I went through hundreds of Storyblocks reviews and decided
to discuss the most common issues and complaints. Watch this carefully because it may save you
from having a bad experience with Storyblocks. - If you want to use Storyblocks, you need
to be computer savvy (to a certain degree, of course) - you need to know how to download,
open and use files, especially if you are planning to use after effects templates. Every
template comes with a step-by-step tutorial, but if you've never worked with after effects
before it might take you a good 20 minutes to figure things out at first.
- There is no "auto-cancel" for your membership. You won't get any notification informing you
that you about to get charged. So if you decide to cancel the membership at some point you
will need to do that by yourself (it's a very easy process, though).
- If your subscription becomes not active you will no longer be able to download the
footage from Storyblocks. However, you can use footage that you downloaded before without
license restriction. - Some people have been complaining that the
cancellation process is a bit tricky. I think that it's a pretty straightforward procedure
that takes a minute or two. The link to a detailed article that talks about it will
be in the description of the video. I also want to mention that Storyblocks have
an excellent support team. So if you ever face any problem feel free to contact them
at any time.
Are there any good Storyblocks alternatives? Yes, there are a few good services similar
to Storyblocks that offer stock video footage, images, and audio. I will put a link to a
detailed comparison of those services in the description of this video. As you can see,
Sroryblocks offers a wide range of digital content at an unbeatable price. Still, I believe
that there is no one platform that suits everyone's needs. I'm not sure if Storyblocks is the
right fit for you, but it really took my video editing skills to the next level
and helped me generate more streams of income.
If you decide to give it a try and take action, then I'm certain that your video creation
will never be the same.
I hope you enjoyed this Storyblocks Review video. Like and subscribe to stay in touch.
Please leave your questions or comments in the section below. You will find all the references
mentioned in the video in the description.