Video backgrounds became hugely popular in stock footage industry in recent years, and with good reason. The chance to have a plethora of background options to use in your video productions right at your fingertips is one not to miss!

By using Royalty Free video backgrounds you can save time, money, and manpower, all the while getting perfect fitting, eye-catching backgrounds to give your video that little extra to set it aside from the rest.  

If you’re getting started with this whole video production thing, or you’re testing waters with stock footage resources, read ahead as we tell you all about background videos and royalty-free stock footage, and how to use them to up your production game.

Stock Video Backgrounds: The Perfect Solution in Backgrounds for Video

When you need a video background, be it to blend into your custom footage or animation, or to use as background for a website, or for any other project, your first thought is probably to create it from scratch. But in many occasions you won’t have the time and funds available for this, and/or you’ll prefer to focus in your video’s main elements. And that’s when stock video backgrounds come into play.

Stock footage is a super useful resource for video creatives, and it’s no exception in video backgrounds. And royalty free video backgrounds are the best option you’ll find to solve your background needs. For more info on this type of stock videos, check out our article on Royalty Free Videos!

Long story short, Royalty Free license gives you a bunch of usage rights, forever, for a very low one-time fee. This makes royalty free background videos affordable and flexible. And let’s not forget they are background ready to download and use, no delays and no hassle! Learn more about this type of stock footage in this insightful article about Stock Footage and its Uses. 

Where to Find the Best Royalty Free Video Backgrounds

There’s several sources where you can download awesome, high quality video backgrounds with Royalty Free license and at very affordable rates. Here’s our top list:

Shutterstock Video

Shutterstockshutterstock logo new is one of the most popular agencies on the web, owners of one of the largest stock media collections around. Their stock footage division offers millions of high quality videos that you can buy on demand, and variety is the key: they have lots and lots of Royalty Free video clips for every topic or genre you can think of.

Their prices are according to resolution, and you can buy them by the unit, or with download packs from 5 and up to 25 downloads that save you a lot of money:

  • Web: $49 per clip. Between $37,95 and $43,80 with packs
  • SD: $65 per clip. Between $51,95 and $59,80 with packs
  • HD: $79 per clip. Between $63,15 and $71,80 with packs
  • 4K: $199 per clip. Between $159,15 and $179,80 with packs

See all Shutterstock prices here. 

Shutterstock video service is great if you love options in content: they have over 10 million videos and you have plenty of choices in every theme available. They’re also affordable and Royalty Free, and it’s a very reliable company.

Sign up for free at Shutterstock to explore their stock video collection.

iStock Video

iStock logo smalliStock is one of the most renowned stock media agencies on the web –also backed by parent company Getty Images, the most prestigious stock photography agency in the world–, and their offer includes a huge collection of royalty free videos with a unique perspective and unbeatable price.

iStock videos are priced according to collection/status, and sold on demand with credit packs (the larger the pack you get, the cheaper each video will cost). They have two tiers:

  • Essentials: Non-exclusive, budget videos. Between $48 and $60
  • Signature: Exclusive, high value videos. Between $144 and $170

See all iStock plans and prices here. 

What’s distinctive in this offer is that clips are not priced based on resolution – a Web sized videos costs the same as a 4K one. That’s why iStock has the lowest prices for 4K stock footage in the market!

Sign up for free at iStock to discover their amazing video collection.

StockPhotoSecrets Shop Video

StockPhotoSecrets ShopStockPhotoSecrets Logo White is a stock media agency tailored for small and medium sized businesses, with high quality content and flexible, affordable plans thought to fit in all budgets. The stock footage offer includes lots of HD videos, covering most popular topics and genres, available on demand with download packs.

The Shop prices their footage clips according to the pack you buy, the larger the number of downloads, the cheaper each video costs. And if you have a subscription to one of their great still images plans, you get a huge 50% discount in video packs:

  • 5 HD videos: $198 – or $99 for members
  • 10 HD videos: $380 – or $190 for members
  • 25 HD videos: $900 – or $450 for members

This is a super affordable offer in HD footage, that lets you buy clips for as little as $18 each! You should definitely seize the possibility to get both still imagery to complement your projects, plus royalty-free videos at the lowest price in the market!

Visit StockPhotoSecrets Shop video division and buy your pack!

What About Free Video Backgrounds?

If you’re under a very tight budget or simply would like to save yourself some bucks with your video background, you will be looking at free download options. But beware: free video download offers often hide a huge risk. Most free footage sites offer user-submitted content, and they do not police if submissions are faithful to copyright law. What’s worse, they tend to offer you the content under a form of Creative Commons license, which is only valid as long as the copyright law is abided. So there’s a lot of chances for the videos you download not to be legal to use, and if you use them in commercial projects you could end up paying a lot of money in fines and court procedures.

Free Video Footage LogoBut don’t despair! We at Free Video Footage have the perfect solution in free video backgrounds! Our service is not only 100% free of charge and packed with over 200 free video files including great video backgrounds. It is also legally safe, with all videos being either ours or licensed to us directly, and each and every file carefully reviewed for legal validity. Plus, we give you the videos under our own Royalty Free license, including commercial use! We’ll love for you to use our video backgrounds in your work. Learn all the details on our service in this welcome article from us!

Background Video: A Key to your Video's Success

Maybe you wonder how important a video background is, anyway? Well, let’s make it clear: it’s very important. The background in your video is a key element to determine the overall finished product, and how audiences will react to it.

Whether it’s informational videos, corporative presentations, YouTube vlog entries, branding clips, adverts, or any other production type, what you show in the background is relevant to help draw attention and enhance what’s in main focus.

Stock Video Backgrounds in Video Production

The background design is something to consider when you’re shooting native footage, as you can build, assemble or select the ideal backdrop for your shot. But when you work on limited budget or need to shoot indoors, you can always use to good old green screen and later find great stock video backgrounds to edit in. Quick and easy. Find great tips in this cool tutorial article to Edit Footage like a Pro!

Same goes for animated videos: it’s a lot more efficient to focus your efforts in your custom animated elements, and later fill in the background with great graphics found in stock footage sites, than consuming hours in custom creating a backdrop.

Video Backgrounds for Websites: A Big Yes

Motion backgrounds for websites became popular a few years ago, and are now a well-established trend in website design. Using video as your website background is a simple and powerful way to have a compelling, attention grabbing and visually pleasant site that your visitors will love.

And sure you can commision or custom create a background, but why to do so and spend more money and time, when you can simply download a great royalty-free video background and edit it right into your design?

With so many options out there, you’re sure to find a background that perfectly fits your concept and brand, and you will be able to complete your website in less time, and for a fraction of the cost than a custom video would mean. We’d call that a win!

What Kind of Video Backgrounds you Can Find

In most stock footage agencies you will find all kind of background videos. This includes but is not limited to:

  • Motion backgrounds
  • Animated backgrounds
  • Footage backgrounds

Just have a quick look at the collections in any of the sites we listed for you above, you will quickly notice the variety in types, styles and topics you can find!

Boost Up your Creativity with Stock Video Backgrounds

And that’s all you need to know about royalty free video backgrounds and how to exploit them to improve your video productions and finish projects quickly, at very low cost.

Now it’s time for you to experience it for yourself! Pick up your favourite stock footage site and start downloading awesome video backgrounds to use in your next creations! And remember:

  • Use Shutterstock if you love variety and lots of different options within one topic
  • Pick iStock if you are after unique and high production quality videos
  • Try StockPhotoSecrets Shop if you are working with a limited budget

We’ll love to see your new video backgrounds put to good use!

Owner at Free Video Footage

I am a publisher and entrepreneur in the stock imagery field. I focus in providing knowledge and solutions for buyers, contributors and agencies, aiming at contributing to the growth and development of the industry. I am the founder and editor of Stock Photo Press, one of the largest networks of online magazines in the industry.