What is the difference between Freesound and Artlist for Commercial Use?

Freesound (CC0 (Public Domain)): yes. Artlist (Social): limited.

What is the difference between Freesound and Artlist for Redistribution?

Freesound (CC0 (Public Domain)): yes. Artlist (Social): no.

What is the difference between Freesound and Artlist for Print Use?

Freesound (CC0 (Public Domain)): yes. Artlist (Social): no.

What is the difference between Freesound and Artlist for Client Work?

Freesound (CC0 (Public Domain)): yes. Artlist (Social): no.

What is the difference between Freesound and Artlist for Survives Cancellation?

Freesound (CC0 (Public Domain)): yes. Artlist (Social): limited.

What is the difference between Freesound and Artlist for Refund Policy?

Freesound (CC0 (Public Domain)): no. Artlist (Social): limited.

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Freesound vs Artlist

Side-by-side comparison of licensing terms between Freesound and Artlist.

License Comparison

Hover or tap any field name to see what it means. Highlighted rows indicate differences.

Field	Freesound Visit Freesound	Artlist Visit Artlist
	✓	✓
	✓	~Commercial use is limited to monetized social media platforms (YouTube, Instagram, TikTok). Not licensed for ads, broadcast, or corporate use.
	✓	✓
	Not required	Not required
	✗	✗
	✓	✗
	✓	✗
	✓	✓
	✓	✗
	✓Published	✓Published
	✗	✗
	✗	~

Prices may vary by region and are subject to change.

Freesound:

Artlist:

Freesound

CC0 (Public Domain)

Visit Platform

Artlist

Social

Visit Platform

Price

Free

$9.99/mo

Prices may vary by region and are subject to change.

Download

Yes

Commercial Use

Yes

Commercial use is limited to monetized social media platforms (YouTube, Instagram, TikTok). Not licensed for ads, broadcast, or corporate use.

Editing

Yes

Attribution

Exclusive Rights

Redistribution

Yes

Print Use

CC0 sounds can be used in any medium including broadcast, physical products, and theatrical distribution.

Music tracks - not applicable to physical print. Cannot be used in physical products or broadcast media on this plan.

Digital Use

Yes

Client Work

Yes

Survives Cancellation

Forever

Only content downloaded and used in published projects during an active subscription retains its license after cancellation.

Freesound:

License type varies per clip - always check the individual asset page for the specific Creative Commons license before using a sound.

Quality and technical standards vary significantly as all content is user-contributed. Some recordings may contain background noise or inconsistent levels.

Artlist:

Content licensed before November 2020 falls under different terms - those older licenses covered all use cases under a single plan. Current plans are more restrictive.

License does not survive cancellation for most plans - you must maintain an active subscription to keep using downloaded content.

Key Differences

Fields where these platforms differ

Commercial Use

Freesound:✓

Artlist:~Commercial use is limited to monetized social media platforms (YouTube, Instagram, TikTok). Not licensed for ads, broadcast, or corporate use.

Redistribution

Freesound:✓

Artlist:✗

Print Use

Freesound:✓

Artlist:✗

Client Work

Freesound:✓

Artlist:✗

Survives Cancellation

Freesound:✓Published

Artlist:✓Published

Refund Policy

Freesound:✗

Artlist:~

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Informational Only - Not Legal Advice

LicenseOrg provides informational summaries of platform license terms for educational purposes only. This is not legal advice. Always consult the platform’s official license page and a qualified legal professional.

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