So you want to make great videos and trusted platforms like Uppbeat and Artlist have caught your attention. They're both popular picks for creators and offer a huge variety of music, sound effects and visuals to take your edit up a gear. Not to mention AI features and clever UI that help turn your ideas into a reality. But what do Uppbeat and Artlist offer and which is best?
In this article, we compare Uppbeat and Artlist so you can decide which one works best for your creative process. Learn how much each platform costs, what’s included, and how easily you can find the exact assets you’re looking for.
- Uppbeat vs Artlist at a glance
- What do you get for your money?
- How do the licenses work?
- What’s the difference between each library?
- What else comes with your subscription?
- What do users say?
Uppbeat vs Artlist at a glance
Both Artlist and Uppbeat offer top quality assets for your next video, but they do have some key differences. Uppbeat is designed around creators and champions real music and artists, while Artlist has started offering more AI options. Which route you prefer may help you decide the platform you want to use.
What does Uppbeat offer?
Uppbeat champions genuine human creativity in an age of automation. Its library of real music, sound effects, motion graphics and LUTs are carefully curated with creators in mind, and industry-leading discovery tools make finding the perfect asset easy. Everything on Uppbeat is made by real artists, backed by a fair revenue model. So when you create with Uppbeat, you’re supporting the creativity of others.
What does Artlist offer?
Artlist markets itself as a one-stop shop for creators, with a large library of music, sound effects and templates. But recently its asset library has taken a backseat, with Artlist choosing to instead focus its offering on AI-generation tools, like Sora 2 and Nano Banana. If you want to generate assets, it’s a good choice. Although be warned that it can get pricey depending on how much you want to use these tools.
That covers the basics, but it’s worth digging into the finer points - like pricing and licensing - before you make a choice. Here’s a quick overview of how Uppbeat and Artlist compare. We’ll delve into these in more depth later, so stick around.
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Uppbeat and Artlist: Side-by-side
Want to see how Artlist and Uppbeat compare directly? Check out the table below to see how much each platform costs and what's included.
Pricing and plans: What do you get for your money?
Price will always be a big factor in your decision. It makes sense - you don’t want to blow your budget on a platform that’s not worth your time. But equally, sometimes it’s worth spending a bit more for something that’ll give your videos that edge.
Uppbeat has a variety of plans that scale based on the features you want to include, while Artlist’s complex pricing features different plans depending on the assets you need. Let’s have a look at what they both offer.
Uppbeat: Value-packed plans and affordable pricing
If you’re looking for a budget-friendly option that still packs a punch, Uppbeat is your friend. Its free plan is great for creators looking to explore their options, and with 3 plans based on your needs as a creator, Uppbeat grows with you.
Free plan: This gets you 3 free downloads from Uppbeat’s catalog of music, sound effects, motion graphics and LUTs. Each download is copyright-safe and can be used in all your content. Plus your downloads refresh by one each month!
Price: Free!
Essentials: Get unlimited downloads of music and sound effects, and ‘safelist’ one YouTube channel to avoid claims with ease.
Price: $5.59/month
Creator: Get unlimited downloads of music, sound effects, motion graphics and LUTs and safelist three YouTube channels. This plan includes licenses for smaller organizations.
Price: $7.99/month
Pro: The ultimate creative plan, this gets you unlimited downloads, license for organizations of any scale, WAV files and priority support. Plus, you can use your downloads in digital ads and client content too!
Price: $13.99/month
Artlist: Customizable plans and AI tools
If you’re looking for variety in plan type, Artlist has four plans each customizable based on your individual needs - but they can get pricey. Subscriptions start at $9.99 a month for limited use, and go up to $39.99 a month if you want extras, like AI tools.
Music & SFX: Get music, stems, sound effects and extensions for Premiere Pro. Your license covers one channel per social platform, up to three if you upgrade to their ‘Pro’ tier.
Price: $9.99- 24.99/month based on plan tier
AI suite: This plan includes AI-generated video (Veo 3.1 and Sora 2), image (Nano Banana) and voiceovers. You pay for a base level of credits which can be used across AI tools. The more credits you want, the more you’ll pay.
Price: $19.99 - 99.99/month based on number of credits.
Footage and templates: Get stock footage, video templates and LUTs, with licenses that cover multiple channels and commercial use.
Price: $31.99/month
Max Bundle: This covers most of the above, with music, stems, sound effects, footage, extensions and some AI credits. Plus your license covers up to three channels, as well as client and ad content.
Price: $39.99/month
The elephant in the room here is that Artlist doesn't have a free plan. Instead, its free trial gives you limited access to explore the platform. Any music and sound effects you download are watermarked and if you use them in your videos, you’ll get a pesky copyright claim! This makes Artlist a pricier option than platforms like Uppbeat.
How does licensing compare?
So you’ve downloaded an asset from either Uppbeat or Artlist. Now you just need to know where you can actually use it without risking demonetization or copyright headaches.
Uppbeat’s licensing is pretty straightforward.
- All downloads (even on free plans!) are covered for use on social platforms like YouTube, TikTok and Instagram, as long as you include the required attribution – basically a quick credit to Uppbeat. Safelisting means you can use assets on YouTube without needing that credit at all.
- Paid plans come with a ‘perpetual license’, which means you can use the asset safely even after your subscription ends.
- If you want to use downloads for client content, or paid ads, Uppbeat’s Pro plan covers that.
Artlist’s licensing is similar, with a few differences.
- License terms vary, but the most basic plan lets you use downloads on personal social media and monetize one channel.
- Agencies and companies with more than 50 employees will need an Artlist Business plan which will cost considerably more.
- Channel ‘clearlist’ (similar to Uppbeat’s ‘safelisting’) lets you register your channels to avoid claims.
- If you cancel your Artlist plan, your license only covers content published whilst you were subscribed. You won’t be able to use your downloads afterwards.
Every download made on Uppbeat (from both free and paid plans) pays into the pockets of hundreds of artists, composers and designers around the world. So when you create, you’re supporting the creativity of others.
Library and curation: Is bigger always better?
If you’ve spent hours trawling through track lists, you’ll know that library curation is no joke. Being able to easily find quality assets will save you a lot of time. With that in mind, it’s important you understand the breadth of both Artlist and Uppbeat’s libraries, and how easy it is to find what you need fast.
Uppbeat: A curated library targeted to creator needs
Uppbeat has a smaller, but quality offering of 12,000 tracks, over 25,000 sound effects and nearly 10,000 motion graphics and LUTs. But library curation is where Uppbeat really shines.
Just 1% of artist submissions make it into Uppbeat’s library. That’s because Uppbeat’s team carefully vets each submission for quality, actively working with creatives to make sure the assets they share are perfect for Uppbeat users.
And when it comes to discovery, Uppbeat is designed with creators in mind. Each asset is manually tagged, and filters include innovative elements such as the “Alternative” toggle and “more like this” which help you drill down into what you need quickly.
The aim here isn’t just to give you assets, but to inspire your next video. Browse music selected for your niche, the mood of your content, or the music genres you enjoy. Dive into over 2,500 hand-picked collections based on everything from cultural celebrations to niche internet trends. And explore a motion graphics and LUTs library packed full of eye-catching assets from our talented roster of artists.
Artlist: An expansive library with a clear focus on scale
Artlist has an extensive library totalling 900,000 assets. Drilling down, that’s 12,000 music tracks, over 60,000 sound effects, with the rest compromising footage, templates and LUTs.
That’s a lot of assets to search through. When it comes to discovery, you can find music and sound effects through Artlist’s spotlighted collections, tag-based system, or “search with song” feature. Filters come in handy when drilling down into what you need - for example, BPM and song duration (for music) and saturation and tone (LUTs).
So in short, Artlist might be bigger if you’re more focused on sheer quantity of assets. But if you’re looking for high-quality, curated collections of music, sound effects and motion graphics, Uppbeat has what you need.
Features and tools: What else comes with your subscription?
A universally joyous experience is finding out the thing you’ve bought comes with a cheeky bonus. Tools that make your life easier are like getting extra fries in the bottom of your bag.
Both Uppbeat and Artlist come with their added perks that might sway you one way or the other. Let’s see what these are.
Uppbeat: Playlist generators, shortcuts and support
Uppbeat’s tools and features are all about finding exactly what you need fast. Their Playlist Generator lets you quickly search their music library of 100% human-made tracks from a single prompt. And unlike other AI-powered searches, it’s geared towards the creator. Describe your video, scene or vibe, and get a personalized playlist just for you.
If you like speed, keyboard shortcuts help streamline your browsing experience. Another time-saver is that you can save your favorite assets, create playlists and tune into more of what you love with Uppbeat’s ‘More like this’ filter. You’ll discover full playlists of music you love in an instant.
Above any other feature, there’s one users consistently rave about – Uppbeat’s Creator Support team. If you have a question about your plan (even if you’re on a free one) you can get in touch with a real human being who will help you as fast as they can. Don’t take our word for it – the glowing Trustpilot reviews don’t lie!
Artlist: AI, plugins and extensions
Artlist has become known for its integration with generative AI tools. If you’re keen to give these a go, you can get AI-generated voiceovers (including voice cloning), video (from Veo 3 to Sora 2) and images (Nano Banana). Remember, there’s nothing stopping you from trying these tools for free on Google’s own platform rather than paying for a more expensive Artlist plan.
But, the caveat here is that access to these features depend on the plan you’re on and can get expensive. When it comes to free features, a notable one is Artlist’s ‘Artboards’. These essentially let you save and group all your assets together in one place. From there, Artlist will recommend similar assets to those you’ve saved.
What do users say about Uppbeat and Artlist?
Instead of taking our word for it, sometimes the best way to compare two platforms is to hear directly from the people using them every day. Trustpilot is a great place to get a feel for how Uppbeat and Artlist stack up in the real world.
Uppbeat regularly earns top marks there, with creators shouting out our library of high-quality tracks, how simple the platform is to use, and the genuinely helpful support they get whenever they need a hand.
Brian Geisler on Trustpilot
Artlist gets plenty of praise too, especially for the range and quality of music in its library. But it’s worth noting that around 20% of its Trustpilot reviews are rated 1-star, with users often mentioning frustration around pricing and the difficulty of getting support when something goes wrong.
Conor, IE on Trustpilot
Uppbeat vs Artlist: Which platform is right for you?
Both Uppbeat and Artlist are strong contenders if you’re looking for high-quality assets for your content. They boast large libraries of copyright-free assets, with a host of features and tools that support your creative process.The question of which is better depends entirely on your needs and values.
Artlist is great if you want generative AI tools, like Sora and Veo. They also have some snazzy plugins and extensions if you don’t want to leave your editing app. But their plans do come at a higher price point and things can get expensive, fast.
Uppbeat instead focuses on championing real human creativity. Everything in its catalog is crafted by real musicians and artists – from music and sound effects, to motion graphics and LUTs. This makes Uppbeat an ethical, as well as affordable, alternative to Artlist.
