--- title: Pond5 Reviews meta\_title: 'Pond5 Reviews 2026: Details, Pricing, & Features | G2' meta\_description: Filter 34 reviews by the users' company size, role or industry to find out how Pond5 works for a business like yours. aggregate\_rating: rating\_value: 4.3 review\_count: 34 scale: '5' date\_modified: '2026-08-07' parent\_category: name: Stock Media url: https://www.g2.com/categories/stock-media --- ### Pond5 Pros and Cons: Top Advantages and Disadvantages #### Quick AI Summary Based on G2 Reviews Generated from real user reviews Users appreciate the **extensive collection size** on Pond5, offering a wide variety for creative projects. [(1 mentions)](https://www.g2.com/products/shutterstock-pond5/reviews?filters%5Bsentiment_snippet%5D=2467066&qs=pros-and-cons#reviews) Users feel that **financial constraints** impact artist compensation, leading to dissatisfaction with earnings on Pond5. [(1 mentions)](https://www.g2.com/products/shutterstock-pond5/reviews?filters%5Bsentiment_snippet%5D=2467067&qs=pros-and-cons#reviews) ### Top Pros or Advantages of Pond5 ##### 1. Collection Size Users appreciate the **extensive collection size** on Pond5, offering a wide variety for creative projects. [ See 1 mentions ](https://www.g2.com/products/shutterstock-pond5/reviews?filters%5Bsentiment_snippet%5D=2467066&qs=pros-and-cons#reviews) See Related User Reviews ![Verified User](/assets/icons/anonymous-avatar-purple-4ae1032bdb50ee5682003170c8184aee790d25958bd397abbd384ba52c596a7b.svg "Verified User") U Verified User Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) 3.5/5 "Used to be great" What do you like about Pond5? It's basically stayed the same. I would have liked to see some more new use of some sort but it's basically proceeding as always. ### Top Cons or Disadvantages of Pond5 ##### 1. Financial Constraints Users feel that **financial constraints** impact artist compensation, leading to dissatisfaction with earnings on Pond5. [ See 1 mentions ](https://www.g2.com/products/shutterstock-pond5/reviews?filters%5Bsentiment_snippet%5D=2467067&qs=pros-and-cons#reviews) See Related User Reviews ![Verified User](/assets/icons/anonymous-avatar-purple-4ae1032bdb50ee5682003170c8184aee790d25958bd397abbd384ba52c596a7b.svg "Verified User") U Verified User Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) 3.5/5 "Used to be great" What do you dislike about Pond5? They should pay higher percentages to its artists. ## Top-Rated Alternatives [ ![Storyblocks](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/hd_favicon/9a53858b24c39c32d87876ded80439b1/storyblocks.svg "Storyblocks") Storyblocks 4.6/5(429) ](https://www.g2.com/products/storyblocks/reviews) [ ![Vecteezy](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/hd_favicon/c09fcde10f2fcbf011dbe92edadac585/vecteezy.svg "Vecteezy") Vecteezy 4.7/5(8,581) ](https://www.g2.com/products/vecteezy/reviews) [ ![Adobe Stock](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/hd_favicon/c92ae2255a769e0f012c9d6c6b5c9ede/adobe-adobe-stock.svg "Adobe Stock") Adobe Stock 4.3/5(194) ](https://www.g2.com/products/adobe-adobe-stock/reviews) [ View All Alternatives ](https://www.g2.com/products/shutterstock-pond5/competitors/alternatives) ![Verified User in Music](/assets/icons/anonymous-avatar-purple-4ae1032bdb50ee5682003170c8184aee790d25958bd397abbd384ba52c596a7b.svg "Verified User in Music") UM Verified User in Music Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) 12/8/2021 "Used to be great" 3.5/5 What do you like best about Pond5? It's basically stayed the same. I would have liked to see some more new use of some sort but it's basically proceeding as always. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What do you dislike about Pond5? They should pay higher percentages to its artists. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. Recommendations to others considering Pond5: Don't let this be your only Marketplace outlet. You will not be profitable. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What problems is Pond5 solving and how is that benefiting you? I am able to distribute my music without having to worry about the marketing end. This is a good and bad thing. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. Show More 3/11/2026 Validated ReviewerIncentivizedSource: G2 invite ![Melinda R.](/assets/transparent-ad5be28fbcd25b7b08d2cebe1d957125437fb5407d75ee717965ad22c8808791.gif "Melinda R.") MR Melinda R. Lead UX Designer Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) 5/19/2022 "Pond 5 is my first stop" 5/5 What do you like best about Pond5? When I just need the right clip, the right photo, or the right song I go to Pond5. Even though it's great to get things for free from other services, I usually end up spending five times the amount of time trying to find something that fits my needs. And for a very low cost I can skip all that search time and just get what I need for my project. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What do you dislike about Pond5? Sometimes certain video clips can be very pricey and the project just doesn't have the budget for that piece of media. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What problems is Pond5 solving and how is that benefiting you? Usually it's for a video project, but sometimes it's for a website design or print project. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. Show More Validated ReviewerIncentivizedSource: G2 invite ![Harsh D.](/assets/transparent-ad5be28fbcd25b7b08d2cebe1d957125437fb5407d75ee717965ad22c8808791.gif "Harsh D.") HD Harsh D. User Experience Designer Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) 7/19/2022 "Good option for stock video, photos, royalty free music" 4/5 What do you like best about Pond5? Pond5 is one of my go-to website for stock videos and photos. I have previously used its resources on my project. They also have a good collection of 3D models. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What do you dislike about Pond5? Since it's a marketplace and every creator is doing hard to keep up with the quality, there is nothing I dislike about pond5. My experience was decent with them. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What problems is Pond5 solving and how is that benefiting you? Pond5 has a very good collection of stock footage. If you are looking for fresh content, do try pond5. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. Show More Validated ReviewerIncentivizedSource: G2 invite ![Jared I.](/assets/transparent-ad5be28fbcd25b7b08d2cebe1d957125437fb5407d75ee717965ad22c8808791.gif "Jared I.") JI Jared I. Film Director, Cinematographer, Editor Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) 2/7/2022 "If the studios can use it..." 4/5 What do you like best about Pond5? I like the ease of use that Pond 5 has. They have a good variety of content and at fairly decent prices. I enjoy their archival selection as not many stock libraries have this. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What do you dislike about Pond5? Sometimes the quality isn't always the best. Other than that I can't think of a ton to dislike. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. Recommendations to others considering Pond5: It might take some digging to find the right footage, but be sure you understand the license terms and costs. If working with clients map all this out ahead of time. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What problems is Pond5 solving and how is that benefiting you? I use pond5 for when I need specialty shots for edits and I don't have them from my production days or it is too expensive to fly a team to the location to capture the footage. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. Show More Current UserValidated ReviewerIncentivizedSource: G2 invite ![Paula F.](/assets/transparent-ad5be28fbcd25b7b08d2cebe1d957125437fb5407d75ee717965ad22c8808791.gif "Paula F.") PF Paula F. Accident/Injury Recovery Coach | Lifestyle Assessment Expert | Behavioral Change Specialist Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) 12/16/2021 "Tremendous selection with pricing to fit your budget." 4/5 What do you like best about Pond5? I liked the vast selection of choices for video and music that I was seeking. I create teaching and marketing videos and want a resource that gives me lots of choices but at prices that fit my budget. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What do you dislike about Pond5? The only thing I didn't like was trying to understand the licensing policy and whether or not it fits my use case. I found the langue to be a bit confusing. Having clearer explanations would be helpful. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What problems is Pond5 solving and how is that benefiting you? I've used Pond5 for specialty music, sound effects, and to browse their collection of videos. I have mainly purchased individual selections since I do not have a need for credit packs. Pond5 fits my needs and I like that they give me this option. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. Show More 6/16/2022 Current UserValidated ReviewerIncentivizedSource: G2 invite ![pranav s.](/assets/transparent-ad5be28fbcd25b7b08d2cebe1d957125437fb5407d75ee717965ad22c8808791.gif "pranav s.") PS pranav s. Founder Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) 8/31/2021 "An emerging stock media company that is best to fulfil our Creative needs" 4.5/5 What do you like best about Pond5? The best thing about POND 5 is we can get a quality standard video stock, music, after effects files, and 3d for 3d animation-related projects, We are getting quality work on Pond 5, and it is pretty easy to navigate, and the price of items listed here are reasonable as compared to Shutterstock and other companies. Its offers a membership program which is good if we compare the quality work here. The licensing is very simple here. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What do you dislike about Pond5? If i talk about dislikes, the library of pond 5 is quite limited, and it needs to be bigger and also, the monthly subscription plan is quite expensive, but the annual membership plan is good. Also, some changes should be implemented to the add to cart page so that it could be better, but as compared to the quality standard and the annual membership, I would definitely recommend pond 5. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What problems is Pond5 solving and how is that benefiting you? We are contributing and also consumers of stock media and music library from POND 5. It provides us very good quality of stock footage and 3D models at affordable pricing. We haven't found any issues while using pond 5 and we recommend it to the small businesses who needs that quality of work. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. Show More Current UserValidated ReviewerIncentivizedSource: G2 invite ![Verified User in Computer Software](/assets/icons/anonymous-avatar-purple-4ae1032bdb50ee5682003170c8184aee790d25958bd397abbd384ba52c596a7b.svg "Verified User in Computer Software") UC Verified User in Computer Software Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) 12/1/2021 "Best source of stock media" 4/5 What do you like best about Pond5? The most helpful thing about Pond5 is the easy navigation and search filters. I can very quickly find a great After Effects animation for my project. The hover previews make skimming over the content a breeze. Not to mention the reasonable pricing that doesn't break our department budget. Pond5 also provides the details and specs of each file, so you know what you're getting. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What do you dislike about Pond5? Unfortunately, there is no free content available. In addition, not all project files are flexible when the user is editing, so there isn't much creative license available. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. Recommendations to others considering Pond5: Even if you have a meager budget for video production, you can go far using Pond5. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What problems is Pond5 solving and how is that benefiting you? In our business, we create videos to promote our product, and Pond5's stock footage supplements our projects when we can't shoot it ourselves. It saves the time and cost of finding on-camera talent. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. Show More Current UserValidated ReviewerIncentivizedSource: G2 invite ![Von L.](/assets/transparent-ad5be28fbcd25b7b08d2cebe1d957125437fb5407d75ee717965ad22c8808791.gif "Von L.") VL Von L. Co-Owner Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) 8/24/2021 "An Eclectic Collection - You'll find what you want!" 5/5 What do you like best about Pond5? I love that Pond5 had an array of different choices to select from. When I'm making my videos, I look for very specific things that correlate to my work. Pond5 had that and more. I was interested to search many categories and find that I other ideas pop up in my head that Pond5 inspired by their collections. The site was easy to use. Paying for music was easy. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What do you dislike about Pond5? I don't really have a dislike about Pond5. Obviously, it isn't free, but that is fine. People should be paid for their work. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. Recommendations to others considering Pond5: For young creators, invest in this process. Pay your dues and pay your artists. You'll thank yourself later. You can surely find what you are looking for here. If you don't, check back in a week and there will be hundreds more. When you use a system like this, you take out the guess work and do things in a legal way that may save you down the road. I encourage you do it right. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What problems is Pond5 solving and how is that benefiting you? I wanted to find a "Beach Music" or "Yacht Music", I found them. I also found that some people think these really go hand-in-hand, but there are differences. I found a song that had a really good common feel for my video. It was the perfect length and the video really scored some views. Besides, I love that kind of music. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. Show More Current UserValidated ReviewerIncentivizedSource: G2 invite ![Sandesh S.](/assets/transparent-ad5be28fbcd25b7b08d2cebe1d957125437fb5407d75ee717965ad22c8808791.gif "Sandesh S.") SS Sandesh S. SDET Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) 6/29/2022 "Pond5 Review" 3.5/5 What do you like best about Pond5? It's content. There's lot of stock content available for creators. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What do you dislike about Pond5? Nothing as such. People awareness could be one. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What problems is Pond5 solving and how is that benefiting you? It is making creative content available for people so they don't have to waste time. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. Show More Validated ReviewerIncentivizedSource: G2 invite ![John M.](/assets/transparent-ad5be28fbcd25b7b08d2cebe1d957125437fb5407d75ee717965ad22c8808791.gif "John M.") JM John M. Principal Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) 11/30/2021 "One of my favorite sources for stock music and sound effects" 5/5 What do you like best about Pond5? Good search features and ability to rapidly sort/listen through music tracks. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What do you dislike about Pond5? A bit more expensive than my other main source. This makes them a 2nd source vs primary. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. Recommendations to others considering Pond5: Just make sure to take the time to learn the features and look through the available types of music. It can be time-consuming but that's how it is on any platform if you're actually looking for a perfect piece of music to fit your project. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What problems is Pond5 solving and how is that benefiting you? I can always find a needed type of music for explainer videos, and not worry about having to account for that component of a project. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. 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