Artlist vs Epidemic Sound Comparison 2026
Both cover music licensing and stock footage & assets. Here is what separates them on price, billing, what you can take with you, and coverage.
One licence covering music, footage and plugins
Music cleared for monetized video
At a glance
- Epidemic Sound starts cheaper, at $9.99.
- Neither has a free tier.
Side by side
Artlist | Epidemic Sound | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (they differ) | From $19.99 | From $9.99 |
| Pricing model (they differ) | Paid subscription | Free trial, then paid |
| Free tier | No | No |
| Billing | Not stated | Annual only |
| Free trial | Not stated | 30 days |
| API | Not stated | Not stated |
| Data export |
Shaded rows are where the two answers disagree and both listings have answered. A row where one side has not stated a fact is left plain, because silence is not a difference.
Artlist
One licence covering music, footage and plugins
Artlist sells a subscription that licenses everything on it for everything you make, including the videos you monetise, and the licence survives the subscription ending for anything already published. That last clause is the one worth reading twice, because it is where most stock music libraries hedge. The catalogue leans cinematic. Somebody who needs one track this month will find a per-track shop cheaper, and Artlist does not sell that way.
Our note
The licence terms are the product here and the catalogue is secondary, which is the opposite of how these are usually sold. Compare against Epidemic Sound on what happens when you stop paying rather than on how many tracks each claims.
Epidemic Sound
Music cleared for monetized video
Epidemic Sound exists to solve one problem, which is a copyright claim landing on a video that was earning. Every track is licensed for the platforms creators publish on, and the clearance follows the channel rather than the upload. The catalogue is smaller than a stock library's, and cancelling ends the licence on work you already published.
Our note
The subscription is a licence rather than a purchase, so treat leaving as a decision about your back catalogue and not just about next month's bill. Uppbeat's free tier is the cheaper starting point if you are not yet earning.
Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.