Epidemic Sound vs Splice 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.
At a glance
- Epidemic Sound starts cheaper, at $9.99.
- Neither has a free tier.
- Epidemic Sound bills annually only, so there is no month to try it for.
Side by side
Epidemic Sound | Splice | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (they differ) | From $9.99 | From $12.99 |
| Pricing model (they differ) | Free trial, then paid | Paid subscription |
| Free tier | No | No |
| Billing (they differ) | Annual only | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial | 30 days | Not stated |
| API | Not stated | Not stated |
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.
Only on this side
- Works with YouTube
- Works with Instagram
- Works with TikTok
- Works with Podcast
- Works with Twitch
Splice
A sample library rented by the month
Splice licenses samples, loops and presets by the credit, and anything downloaded stays licensed after the subscription stops, which is the arrangement that made it standard in music production. Credits refresh monthly and roll into the next month unused. It previews sounds inside the digital audio workstation rather than in a browser tab. This is raw material for making music rather than finished tracks to drop under a video, so a creator who wants a background bed should buy a licensing library instead.
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.