Epidemic Sound review (2023)

Photutorial’s take

Epidemic Sound has a good selection of 40,000 tracks and 90,000 sound effects but at a relatively high price of $9.99 to $59.99, which is much higher than some competitors who also offer videos, templates, and more.

Pros

• Eclectic and high-quality music library
• Extensive search tools
• Inexpensive personal account
• Growing library with new tracks added regularly
• Ability to download individual tracks

Cons

• Some users may find the platform expensive
• Limited customization options for music tracks
• Some users may find the licensing terms restrictive

3.8

Photutorial Score

We score stock media sites based on objective testing data and subjective expert analysis. Our 5 scoring factors are weighted based on importance and designed to showcase the best stock media sites. For more information see our testing and scoring system explanation here.

Quality

4.2

Cost

3.5

Licensing

4.5

Customer support

3.5

Extras

1.5

Epidemic Sound should be an amazing stock music site on paper. But when you actually subscribe, or even if you just read a couple of reviews, red flags start popping up.

What I dislike about Epidemic Sound

Licenses only audio and SFX

There are very few editors making $25+ per hour who need only audio for their work. So, why would you then pay a high subscription fee at Epidemic Sound when you can also get videos, templates, images, audio, and more for the same or a lower price?

Poor customer satisfaction

To begin, a 3.8 Trustpilot rating is very low for a verified company (read more about why you can’t trust Trustpilot’s reviews). If you delve further into testimonials from other paid customers, you’ll find people getting overcharged, having problems with payments, or exposing their predatory behavior.

Personally, I’ve never had issues with Epidemic Sound, but having read these testimonials, I decided to switch to better all-in-one providers like Artlist or Envato Elements.

How much does Epidemic Sound cost?

Epidemic Sound offers two pricing plans: Personal and Commercial. The Personal plan is priced at $15 per month for monthly billing or $9 per month when billed annually ($108 per year). It includes features such as publishing anywhere online, monetizing one channel per platform, unlimited downloads, access to the Epidemic Sound mobile app, and a free trial.

Our take: Epidemic Sound is affordable but only for personal projects. For commercial projects, there are cheaper alternatives like Envato Elements and Artlist.

The Commercial plan is priced at $49 per month for monthly billing or $19 per month when billed annually ($228 per year). It includes everything in the Personal plan, along with the ability to monetize up to three channels per platform, publish content for clients and businesses, and unlimited use in digital ads, as well as a free trial.

Best Epidemic Sound alternatives in terms of pricing

• Envato Elements – You can use Envato Elements commercially for cheaper ($16.50/mo). Read Envato Elements review
• Artlist – You can get unlimited music downloads for just $9.99/mo and use them commercially, but the selection is smaller. Read Artlist review