Envato Elements vs Uppbeat
A side-by-side look at Envato Elements and Uppbeat for podcasters: pricing, features, and where each one wins.
Envato Elements
Unlimited creative asset bundle with music and sound effects
$17/mo
Visit Envato ElementsAt a glance
| Envato Elements | Uppbeat | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $17/mo | Free plan |
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Free trial | No | No |
| Best for | Designers, marketers, and multimedia producers who need a wide range of creative assets beyond music alone | New podcasters or creators on a tight budget who want a legal free option before committing to a paid subscription |
| Founded | 2018 | 2020 |
Key features
Envato Elements
- 28+ million creative assets including music and sound effects
- Unlimited downloads with lifetime commercial license
- AI image, video, voice, and music generation on Plus and Ultimate
- Stock video footage and motion graphics
- Fonts, graphics, and templates
- Adobe Creative Cloud integration
Uppbeat
- YouTube channel safelisting
- Free tier with 3 downloads/month and individual license
- Unlimited downloads on paid tiers
- Sound effects library on paid tiers
- Stock video and motion graphics on Creator and Pro plans
- Extended license for client work on Pro plan
Pros and cons
Envato Elements
Pros
- Best breadth of asset types for the price
- Lifetime commercial license on all downloaded assets
- 60-day affiliate cookie window is longest in the category
Cons
- Music catalog is not editorially curated
- Monthly billing is not available - annual only at advertised rates
- No free tier
Uppbeat
Pros
- Best free tier in the category - genuinely usable
- Competitive annual pricing on Essentials
- Simple, transparent licensing
Cons
- Catalog smaller than Epidemic Sound or Artlist
- Free tier limited to 25% of catalog
- Pro plan needed for client-facing or commercial work
The verdict
Choose Envato Elements if
Designers, marketers, and multimedia producers who need a wide range of creative assets beyond music alone.
Envato Elements is genuinely good value if you use more than one asset type - at $16.50/month you get music, SFX, video, graphics, fonts, and templates in a single subscription. For podcasters who only need background music, it is oversized…
Choose Uppbeat if
New podcasters or creators on a tight budget who want a legal free option before committing to a paid subscription.
Uppbeat's free tier is the most genuinely usable free offering in this category - 3 downloads per month with full licensing isn't just a teaser, it's workable for a weekly podcast that rotates intro music infrequently. The Essentials plan at…