7 picks · Stock Music
A volunteer's personal music plan may not cover the church's YouTube channel, the Easter ad or the livestream. Here's which library fits which job, free to paid.
Updated
Soundstripe is the best stock music library for most churches, because its Business plan is aimed at nonprofits and covers church-owned channels and local paid ads. Music Vine suits churches that need a few tracks a year, and Mixkit is the best free option. Epidemic Sound fits weekly clips and podcasts, Artlist pairs music with footage, and Musicbed and PremiumBeat suit single projects.
A huge catalog doesn't help if the plan doesn't cover your church. Most libraries sell a cheap plan for individual creators and a pricier one for organizations, and the difference shows up the first time a sermon bumper goes on the church's YouTube channel. Read our church music licensing guide for lyrics and streaming worship. These are the catches for background music.
Pixabay has free music under the same license as its photos, including commercial use, with no credit line required. It works for announcement and promo videos, but you can't sell or distribute a track on its own, and with millions of uploads you'll sift to find the good ones.
This is general information, not legal advice. Check each license's current terms before you publish.
| App | Best for | Price | Free option | Works on | Learning curve |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundstripe | Best overall for church channels | Personal from $9.99/mo; Business $999/yr or $299/quarter (Oct 2026) | No | Web, Mac | Easy |
| MusicVine | Best for a few tracks a year | Non-profit track from $39; subscriptions from $19.99/mo (Oct 2026) | No | Web | Easy |
| Mixkit | Best free option | Free | Yes | Web | Easy |
| Epidemic Sound | Best for weekly clips and podcasts | Creator $9.99/mo, Business $30/mo, billed yearly (Oct 2026) | No | Web, iOS, Android | Easy |
| Artlist | Best for music and footage together | Music & SFX from $9.99/mo; Max $50.66/mo billed yearly (Oct 2026) | No | Web | Easy |
| Musicbed | Best for storytelling video | Individual from $29.99/mo, Business from $99.99/mo, yearly (Oct 2026) | No | Web | Easy |
| PremiumBeat | Clearest license tiers | Paid; per-track licenses or yearly subscription | — | Web | Easy |
01Best overall for church channels
If your church owns the channels, start here. The Business plan is aimed at nonprofits making video for one local market, with up to three seats, up to five YouTube channels cleared and paid social ads for a local audience. It's $999 a year or $299 a quarter (Oct 2026).
02Best for a few tracks a year
Its Non-Profit Organisation license names churches, and web and social coverage starts at $39 a track (Oct 2026), against $49 for the promotional license. Add event coverage to play the same testimony video at a church event. Prices are published, not hidden behind a quote.
03Best free option
Free music with no sign-up or credit line, and its Stock Music Free License covers web and social, including YouTube and streaming. It's a quick way to put a music bed under the weekly announcement video, and free sound effects and editing templates come with it.
04Best for weekly clips and podcasts
Unlimited downloads from 55,000 tracks and 250,000 sound effects, with podcasts covered on every plan and a 30-day free trial. Creator is personal-use only, and Epidemic's FAQ points non-profits to a custom Enterprise plan, so ask which plan fits before you subscribe.
05Best for music and footage together
Max bundles music, sound effects, stock footage, templates and LUTs for $50.66 a month billed yearly (Oct 2026), and stems let you pull a track back under a spoken welcome. The $9.99 Social plan is for personal creators, so expect a church channel or paid ad to need Pro.
06Best for storytelling video
A curated, film-quality catalog suits baptism stories and Easter films where the soundtrack carries the video. Musicbed lists non-profits under Business, from $99.99 a month billed yearly (Oct 2026), and non-profits with 50 or fewer employees can buy a single-song license instead.
07Clearest license tiers
Buy one track for one project or subscribe yearly. The tiers spell out each use: Creator covers one monetized channel but no client work, and Standard allows client work and up to five monetized channels. Every license includes indemnity equal to what you paid.
Does the plan license a channel your church owns, or only an individual creator's own channels?
Sermon clips, a boosted Easter invite, the podcast, the livestream and a video played in the room are often licensed differently.
The yearly price of a plan that covers your church, published nonprofit rates, and pay-per-track options if you need only a few songs.
Every price and license term was checked on the vendor's own site in October 2026.
Mixkit is the best free option, because its free music license covers web and social, including YouTube and streaming, with no sign-up or credit. Pixabay's music is also free for commercial use. Neither lets you sell a track on its own, and Mixkit music can't go on TV, radio or DVDs.
Soundstripe's Business plan is aimed at nonprofits and clears up to five YouTube channels. Music Vine's Non-Profit Organisation license names churches, and Musicbed lists non-profits under Business. Personal plans from Epidemic Sound, Artlist and Soundstripe are written for individuals.
Only if the license says so. Mixkit's free music license covers streaming, but Epidemic Sound's Creator and Business plans exclude livestreams, with streaming listed from Business Plus up. Soundstripe lists live performances of its music as prohibited.
A few libraries publish one. Music Vine's non-profit track license starts at $39 against $49 promotional (Oct 2026), Soundstripe's Business plan is aimed at nonprofits, and Musicbed sells a non-profit single-song license to organizations with 50 or fewer employees. Artlist and PremiumBeat publish no church discount, and Epidemic points non-profits to Enterprise.
