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 | Uppbeat | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | From $9.99 | From $6.99 |
| 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 | Not stated |
| Covers | Music Licensing, Stock Footage & Assets | Music Licensing, Stock Footage & Assets |
| Works with | YouTube, TikTok, Instagram | YouTube |
| 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.
Only on this side
Music for video with a free tier that clears claims
Uppbeat licenses music for YouTube and social video, and its free plan is three downloads a month rather than a trial that runs out. Channels are safelisted so a claim does not arrive a week after publishing. The catalogue is smaller than Epidemic Sound's, which is the trade being made for a bill under ten dollars.
Our note
The cheap alternative to Epidemic Sound, and the catalogue is where you pay for it. If a track has to be one nobody else is using, this is the wrong library; if it has to fit and clear, it is most of the value at a third of the price.
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.