Epidemic Sound vs Uppbeat
Choose Uppbeat to start publishing on your own channels with a free account, or to combine music with footage on a paid creator plan. Choose Epidemic Sound if you want its audio catalog and editing tools, including a workflow inside your video editor. For freelance work, compare the professional licenses before either service's entry plan.
Uppbeat separates its plans for individuals, solo professionals and organizations. Your employer and your client can change the plan you need even if you use the same track.
Pricing and licensing checked October 28, 2026.
| Decision | Epidemic Sound | Uppbeat |
|---|---|---|
| Free entry | Trial | Free account with a starting download allowance |
| Core audio | Music and SFX | Music and SFX |
| Visual stock | Compare separate production needs | Creator and higher include visual assets |
| Personal publishing | Creator | Essentials or Creator |
| Freelance client publishing | Pro, subject to eligibility | Pro for solo professionals |
| Organization | Business or Enterprise as applicable | Business |
| Claim prevention | Safelist covered channels or videos | Credits on Free; channel safelist on paid plans |
| Broadcast | Check appropriate business agreement | Custom licensing |
1. Free music and attribution
Uppbeat's free account starts with three downloads. Its Basic License requires the supplied credit for free music and limits use to your own publishing. It permits affiliations and sponsorships within that license, while excluding paid advertising and client work. A sponsored video on your channel and an advertisement published for a customer therefore need different checks.
Epidemic Sound offers a trial rather than an ongoing free plan. Compare the trial terms before publishing; an account that lets you browse music is not enough on its own to establish publishing rights.
2. Subscription pricing and billing
These Uppbeat figures reflect the EUR pricing displayed during this review. Regional USD prices differ. The approximate annual costs below equal twelve times the rounded annual-billing monthly equivalent; checkout totals may differ.
| Uppbeat plan | Monthly equivalent, annual billing | Approximate annual cost | Month-to-month option |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essentials | €6.99 | €83.88 | €8.99 |
| Creator | €8.99 | €107.88 | €12.99 |
| Pro | €15.99 | €191.88 | €27.99 |
| Business | €29.99, excluding tax | €359.88, excluding tax | Annual billing shown |
Source: Uppbeat pricing. Confirm currency and tax treatment at checkout. Epidemic displayed these Sweden-localized prices on its live pricing page:
| Epidemic plan | Month-to-month | Annual-billing monthly equivalent | Billed annually |
|---|---|---|---|
| Creator | 179 SEK | 109 SEK | 1,308 SEK |
| Pro | 399 SEK | 169 SEK | 2,028 SEK |
| Pro Plus | 800 SEK | 399 SEK | 4,788 SEK |
Compare local checkout totals in the same currency; the EUR and SEK amounts are regional quotes.
If you produce for two months each year, compare the two monthly payments against the annual total. If you publish throughout the year, annual billing may cost less. Include the right client license before calculating either saving.
3. Music selection and auditioning
Audition both catalogs against an actual brief. For a tutorial, you might need a sparse instrumental that leaves space for speech. A travel film may need a vocal opening and an instrumental section for dialogue. Count the tracks you would use in those edits rather than comparing raw library totals.
Epidemic organizes discovery around genres, moods and themes. Uppbeat provides music browsing and a playlist generator. Use the same scene and dialogue mix for both catalogs. Save several candidates, place them against the same scene and compare how much editing each requires.
4. Sound effects and visual assets
Epidemic centers its subscription on audio. Uppbeat Essentials includes music and SFX; Creator adds stock video up to 1080p, motion graphics and LUTs, while Pro and Business include stock video up to 4K.
A creator who also needs establishing shots should compare the cost of the whole asset workflow. A sound editor who already has footage should assess audio selection first. Buying a broader bundle makes sense only if you would otherwise pay for the additional assets or use them in your work.
5. Client work and company eligibility
Uppbeat's Solo Professional License covers your own work and work you produce for a client. It excludes organizations. A two-person agency cannot assume that the solo Pro subscription covers its company merely because one editor downloads the music.
Epidemic's professional and business options need the same eligibility check. Start with its plan comparison, then match the account holder, organization and distribution to the applicable agreement. Deliver the finished video to the client; a production license does not transfer the music library to them.
6. Monetization and channel clearing
Uppbeat lists safelisting for one YouTube channel on Essentials, three on Creator and ten on Pro or Business. Treat those as claim-prevention limits, not a blanket statement about the number of clients you may serve.
Epidemic uses safelisting to associate publishing with a subscription. Record where the video will appear before delivery. YouTube monetization, a sponsored upload and a client buying ad placement are distinct uses; the plan needs to cover the actual one.
7. Advertising and distribution
Uppbeat Basic excludes paid advertising. Its Solo Professional License permits paid ads through its specified distribution but excludes broadcast television, video-on-demand platforms, radio and cinema. Uppbeat offers custom terms for wider distribution.
Epidemic Pro covers eligible digital ads. Its current pricing table adds OTT/VOD/SVOD through Pro Plus; TV and radio need other coverage. A social campaign that later expands to broadcast deserves a new coverage check before the client books airtime. Include the intended outlets in the brief so you can price music before promising a fixed production fee.
8. Editing tools and file requirements
Epidemic currently lists Studio, Adapt, AI voiceovers, desktop/mobile apps and plugins for Adobe tools and DaVinci Resolve. Check which functions your selected subscription includes before attaching a value to them.
Uppbeat lists Sync Preview and duration customization. Its pricing cards identify high-quality WAV downloads on Pro and Business. If your sound workflow requires WAV, verify that requirement before choosing a lower tier. For a rough social edit, compare how fast you can audition a candidate against your footage.
9. Cancellation and future uploads
Uppbeat's user agreement preserves protection for videos uploaded to safelisted channels during the paid term. It also prohibits stockpiling and using downloaded assets in new work after the subscription ends.
Epidemic's cancellation guidance keeps covered published work cleared, while later publishing needs renewed coverage. Coordinate the client's launch date with your subscription end date. Finishing an edit before cancellation does not settle when the client may publish it.
10. Choosing for your production schedule
Choose Uppbeat if you want free credited music for your own channel, need the visual assets included in Creator or Pro, or prefer its explicit split between solo and organizational work.
Choose Epidemic Sound if you prefer the tracks you audition there and expect to use its audio-editing integrations. Compare the actual time you save on a sample edit against the subscription cost.
For another benchmark, read Artlist vs Epidemic Sound. Before subscribing, compare current Epidemic Sound offers and Artlist offers against the plan you need.
FAQs
Can I monetize videos using Uppbeat Free?
Use its credited music within the Basic License's own-channel rules. Advertising and client publishing require different coverage, even if you earn revenue from your personal channel.
Is Uppbeat Creator suitable for freelance client work?
Its Basic License excludes client work. Solo freelancers should compare Pro; organizations should compare Business.
Can I keep using downloaded tracks after canceling?
Neither provider lets you treat unused subscription downloads as a permanent library for future productions. Keep the license and publication records for the work you completed during the paid term.
Which service has better music?
That depends on the brief. Test the same scene with tracks from both catalogs and compare usable edits, dialogue clarity and the ending.