Growing an audience
Running the business
Both cover music licensing and stock footage & assets. Here is what separates them on price, billing, what you can take with you, and coverage.
| Epidemic Sound | Thematic | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | From $9.99 | From $9.99 |
| Pricing model | Free trial, then paid | Free plan, paid tiers |
| Free tier | No | Yes |
| Billing | Annual only | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial | 30 days | None |
| API | Not stated | Not stated |
| Data export | Not stated | Not stated |
| Their cut | Not stated | Not stated |
| Runs on | Not stated | Web |
| Covers | Music Licensing, Stock Footage & Assets | Music Licensing, Stock Footage & Assets |
| Works with | YouTube, TikTok, Instagram | YouTube, TikTok, Instagram |
| Founded | Not listed | Not listed |
| Reader rating | No reviews yet | No reviews yet |
| Live deals | None right now | None right now |
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.
Music from real artists, free if you credit them
Thematic pairs creators with musicians who want the exposure, so the free tier is a genuine trade rather than a trial: you use the track, the artist gets credited and found. Paying removes the credit requirement and adds the trending songs. Everything is cleared for monetised video, which is the whole point of using it over a random upload.
Our note
Start free and see whether the credit line bothers you, because for most channels it does not and the music is good. Uppbeat works the same way and has a bigger catalogue; Thematic has the better relationship with the artists on it.
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.