Hey, guys! Welcome back to the IMHO Reviews channel. Today we are going to talk about
Envato Elements, an all-in-one platform for creatives of all levels, from beginners
to professionals. Are the downloads really unlimited? Why do some people complain about
licensing terms? And is Envato Elements as good as everyone is raving about? Let's find out.
Like many creators, I initially purchased an Envato Elements subscription because of its
low price and a huge library. The cost of Envato Elements is almost half the price compared to some
of its competitors like Storyblocks. At the same time, they have a much bigger variety of assets.
I'm going to be honest with you here: for a long time, I preferred Storyblocks to Envato
Elements simply because they had a bigger video library and offered a better license. However,
ever since Storyblocks changed their prices I realized that it's just not worth it to
pay that much more money for a service that has fewer assets and often lacks in quality
especially when it comes to images. Plus, now Envato Elements has a much better video
library which is what I mainly use it for. The price of Envato Elements is $33 for a monthly
subscription and $198 for an annual one which comes down to just $16.5 per month. Not many
people know that, but if you're a student, you can get a subscription for $11.5 per month. All
you have to do to get this discount is verify your student email address on the subscription
page. Envato Elements subscription grants unlimited access to all assets in the library,
like stock footage, motion graphics, music, sound effects, graphic templates, photos, fonts,
and much more. There is also an impressive library of video templates, including After
Effects, Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, Apple Motion, recently added Davinci Resolve, and
thousands of WordPress themes and plugins. There are literally millions of assets to choose from,
so running out of content is not something I ever have to worry about. Envato Elements
website says that there are no per-asset fees or usage limits, and you can use the assets in as
many projects as you like. Sounds pretty cool, right? There are, however, some restrictions. I
will talk about that in a few moments. Oh, and did you know that Envato Elements
offers a free trial which is almost unheard of among stock footage sites these days?
Storyblocks used to be the only other company to offer a free trial, but they removed it a couple
of years ago. A free trial is a great way to try out Envato Elements before committing to
a subscription. It gives access to all content in the library for 7 days. During that time you
can download as many assets as you need and decide whether you like the service
and want to continue with a paid subscription. I get a lot of questions about the Envato Elements
license so let me explain really quick how it works. At first, it may seem a bit confusing,
and even though in reality it's very simple, there are a few important things you need to know about.
You have to license every asset that you are planning to use in your projects. The process
is straightforward and takes just a few clicks. Before you download an asset, you have an option
to license it right away or download it without the license in case you are not sure if you will
use it. To start licensing your assets, you will need to log in to your account and navigate to
the "License" tab. There, you'll see a list of all your assets. Clicking on an asset will take
you to its "License" page. You need to re-license items for every project, and that's the part that
many people don't like because in order for you to continue using items in new projects you need
to keep your subscription active. However, everything that you download and license
while your subscription is active, is yours to keep forever. You just can't reuse the items in
future projects if you cancel your subscription. As for me, when I download items I license them
right away as it helps save time. In the past, I didn't use all of the assets I downloaded.
But as it turns out Envato Elements pays creators for every downloaded and licensed item, and there
is a rule against "inappropriate downloading" meaning that admins might look into your account
manually if they see any suspicious activity. And speaking of downloads. Envato Elements website
claims that they offer unlimited downloads but is it really true? Their policy indicates that you
must only download items if you intend to use them. So even though the downloads are really
unlimited, you cannot share your account with other people, use any bots to download content,
and should respect the fair use policy, which clearly states that you can't have a stockpile of
assets, and you can only license items for ongoing projects. So basically, while the downloads are
unlimited, the licensing of assets is limited to your personal workload at the current moment.
All the assets in the Envato Elements library are royalty-free. This means that you can use
them in your personal and commercial projects. I use Envato Elements for all of my projects, and
for my clients as well. Another common question is whether you can use Envato Elements on platforms
like YouTube and TikTok. And the answer is yes, you certainly can. The only restriction is that
you are not allowed to use music for streaming on YouTube, Facebook, and other live streaming
platforms, or for broadcast and television. You can also sell products you create using Envato
Elements, such as t-shirts if you add value to the item by customizing it or incorporating it
into a larger design. So basically, you can sell your work as long as the original files
you downloaded are not the end product, nor can they be extracted from the end product.
The same rules apply to physical products you create and digital ones that you sell
on platforms like Fiverr or to your clients. And what happens if you decide to cancel your
Envato Elements subscription? Well, first of all, you can do it at any time. Your account will
remain active until the end of the current billing period, and you will continue to have access to
all content. Envato Elements generally does not offer refunds. However, if you are not satisfied
with your purchase, you may be able to request a refund within 14 days of the date of purchase
but the chances of you getting it are slim to none unless required by applicable laws. For instance,
if you just say that you couldn't find the content that you needed you obviously won't get
a refund. Also, if you sign up for a free trial and decide not to continue with the subscription,
just cancel your membership before the trial ends to avoid any charges.
Another thing I wanted to talk about is Envato Market which people often confuse
with Envato Elements. They are, however, two very different platforms. Envato Market is a
marketplace where you can buy and sell creative assets, while Envato Elements is a subscription
service that gives you unlimited access to creative assets. So which one is better?
Envato Market is great if you need a specific and very high-quality asset for your project.
You can browse through the marketplace and find exactly what you need. The quality is superb,
but it can be expensive if you need to purchase several assets. Envato Elements is perfect if
you need a lot of assets for your projects. It can save you a lot of money in the long run,
especially if you are a freelance designer or developer who often works on multiple projects.
So if you just need a couple of assets, then yes, Envato Market is a good choice, otherwise,
I would suggest you look into Envato Elements. Okay, so is there anything better than Envato
Elements? Well, obviously, that depends on your needs and your budget. For me, Envato Elements is
the best service for stock footage, images, music, and video templates. And if I want a new font,
or a Photoshop template, or a WordPress theme, I can also get it there, and it's a huge bonus
to have everything in one place. It saves me both time and money. I also have subscriptions
to other similar services like Storyblocks, Motion Array, and Artgrid, and each of them is good for
different reasons. But if I had to choose one, I would go with Envato Elements because of its
price, the quality of content, and the number of assets that they add to the library daily. Plus,
none of the other services offers such a wide array of assets. After you are done watching
this video, click the link in the description or in the top pinned comment and check the Envato
Elements library for yourself to see whether you like it. Overall, Envato Elements is an
affordable source of unlimited creative assets, and I highly recommend giving it a try.
Thank you for watching this video. I hope you enjoyed it. All the links
are in the description. Make sure you like and subscribe. And I'll see you in the next video!