Freesound
Community sound-effect library where the licence is set per sound.
Part of the music and sound stage. Try our free tool for this stage.
What it does
Freesound is a collaborative library of individual sounds rather than finished music: field recordings, single hits, room tone, foley, and the long ambient beds that make a cut feel like it happened somewhere. It is run as a community database, so licensing varies per file and is stated on each one, and checking that per download is genuinely part of using it. That is the trade for its range, which no curated commercial library matches. For sound design work it is the first place to look; for a backing track it usually is not.
Alternatives
Other tools we list for the music and sound stage.
- PixabayFree stock images, video and music under a single permissive licence.
- UppbeatMusic and sound effects library aimed at creators who publish on monetized channels.
Licence
Licences vary by sound. CC0 places no conditions; CC-BY requires crediting the creator; CC-BY-NC forbids using the sound in anything you earn money from. Check the licence on each sound, not on the site.