Free Stock Footage for YouTube: Pexels B-Roll That Fits
Free stock footage for YouTube is easy to find on sites like Pexels, whose license allows free use, including commercial use, without required attribution. The hard part isn’t finding clips. It’s finding the clip that fits the sentence on top of it. Search for what the viewer should see at that moment, match the orientation of your video, keep each shot short, and credit creators when you can.
Can you use free stock footage on a monetized channel?
Generally yes, under licenses like Pexels’. Read the current license on the site you use. A few uses are usually off limits, such as implying that an identifiable person endorses your product. Selling the clip itself unchanged is another. Clips with visible brands or recognizable people deserve a second look before they go in a video about a sensitive topic.
How do you search so the clip fits the line?
Search for the picture, not the idea. “Productivity” returns generic people at laptops. “Hand crossing items off a paper list” returns the shot you imagined.
- Describe the action. “Coffee being poured in slow motion” beats “coffee”.
- Add the mood or light. “Night”, “golden hour”, “rainy window”, “overhead”.
- Search in English. Most stock libraries tag their clips in English.
- Try three phrasings. The best clip is often on the second search.
Should stock clips be vertical or horizontal?
They should match your video. A Short or a Reel needs vertical (portrait) clips, and a regular YouTube video needs horizontal (landscape) ones. A horizontal clip can be cropped to vertical, but you lose most of the frame. That only works when the subject sits in the middle. Our guide to turning horizontal video vertical covers when cropping works.
| Your video | Search for | Cropping works when |
|---|---|---|
| YouTube video (16:9) | Landscape clips | Rarely needed |
| Shorts, Reels, TikTok (9:16) | Portrait clips first | The subject is centered and the shot is wide |
| Square posts | Either | The subject is centered |
How long should a stock shot stay on screen?
Usually two to four seconds. Stock b-roll illustrates a line; it isn’t the story. Cut it to the length of the sentence it sits under. Use the most active part of the clip, not the first frames, which are often a slow start.
How many stock clips should one video use?
As many as the lines that need a picture you don’t have. A talking-head video might use three cutaways in a minute. A faceless video can be mostly stock, one clip per sentence. If your own footage can show the point, use it: a clip only you could have filmed is worth more than a perfect stock shot. Our guide to faceless YouTube channel editing covers the all-stock case.
How do you make stock look like your own footage?
Grade it. Stock clips come from many cameras and many colorists, so they rarely match each other or your shots. One look over the whole video, with a small fix on any clip that’s off, ties them together; see color grading LUTs for Reels. Crop in a little so the framing matches your shots. Slow a busy clip down or speed up a slow one so the rhythm fits the edit.
Should you use stock photos or only video?
Video first, photos when video doesn’t exist. A photo can still move: a slow zoom or a pan across it keeps the shot alive for two or three seconds. Photos work well for things that rarely get filmed well, like a document, a historical place or a close-up of a product. Avoid holding a still photo without motion in a Short. It reads as a pause.
Do you need to credit the creators?
Under the Pexels license, attribution isn’t required, but it’s appreciated and it’s good practice. A line in the description (“Stock footage: Pexels, by [name]”) is enough. Keep a list of the clips you used while editing so you don’t have to hunt for them later.
How does Cut Express find and add stock?
You say what the video needs and Claude does the searching:
- Search. Claude searches Pexels for videos or photos in the right orientation and sees a preview image of each result, so it picks by eye, not by file name.
- Add. The clips it picks are added to your media in a few seconds, at a resolution that fits your output (1080p, or 2K on Ultra).
- Cut. Claude places each clip under the line it illustrates, trims it to the sentence and grades it to match the rest of your footage.
- Credit. Every stock clip keeps its creator’s name and link, shown in your media list.
A prompt that works: “Find vertical b-roll for each sentence of my script: city at night, someone typing, a sunrise. Two to three seconds each.” Stock search is included in every plan and spends no credits (pricing).
FAQ
Can I use stock photos too? Yes. Photos get a slow zoom or pan so they don’t sit still.
What if nothing fits? Ask for different words or a photo instead. Your own clips are always an option.
Are stock clips counted in my storage? Yes, once added, like any file in your media.
Can Claude mix my footage and stock? That’s the usual edit: your clips for the story, stock for the cutaways.
More on the features and in the FAQ.
Edit with stock footage in Cut Express
Cut Express is the video editor you drive from Claude: your clips, free stock, and every cut decided for your script. See the plans or the blog.