ProductionCrate is one of the most well-known stock assets platforms in the industry, offering a wide variety of assets ranging from 2D animation, sound effects, and complex visual effects. It provides high-quality effects through four specialized websites (FootageCrate, SoundsCrate, GraphicsCrate, and RenderCrate), but it does have some drawbacks, namely:

• The VFX assets users download are not always ready to use and often need to be adapted for projects.
• With a Pro or Enterprise subscription, the ProductionCrate licensing agreement limits access to downloaded assets to a maximum of five team members.
• All subscriptions cover all four of ProductionCrate's platforms, regardless of what you plan to actually use. If you are exclusively looking for VFX assets, it's not possible to subscribe to just one of them, so you pay for access to sound assets, plugins, graphics, transitions, 3D models, and more features that video editors might never use.

With this in mind, in this article, we'll discuss six ProductionCrate alternatives that may be better suited to different types of users with diverse requirements, starting with our own stock VFX platform, ActionVFX.

Here's a list of the top 6 ProductionCrate.com competitors we go into, at a glance:

1. ActionVFX
2. VideoHive
3. Video Copilot
4. FX Elements
5. Visual FX Pro
6. RocketStock

For the largest and highest-quality source of VFX assets for compositors, visit the ActionVFX library.

Alternative #1: ActionVFX: Best Library for Production-Quality VFX Assets

ActionVFX boasts a highly-skilled production team of VFX specialists that produce first-rate, high-definition visual effects (VFX) suitable for motion pictures, TV shows, and other media.

Our expansive VFX catalog consists of 12,000+ VFX elements available in intricate detail, all boasting an incredible level of realism, which makes them very easy to employ. Our professional visual effects are used by everyone, from Hollywood industry professionals to individual VFX students.

See examples of projects artists have used our assets for.

Thousands of VFX assets compatible with the most popular software

Our VFX assets are provided as raw footage—unlike most other stock effects on the market. They are instantly ready to use upon download, allowing you to delve into the underlying structures and layers of each element. You can make any modifications or alterations if required, and you'll understand exactly how we constructed each shot.

Some of the VFX assets you can expect to find in our library include:

• Action & horror VFX (slime, blood & gore, explosions…)
• People & crowds
• Fire/Pyrotechnics (lens flares, magic fire, flamethrowers, forest fires…)
• Explosions
• Gun FX (bullet shells, muzzle flashes, bullet hole textures…)
• Sparks
• Animals
• Energy FX
• Smoke & fog
• Textures

Alternatively, you can use our stock footage as a foundation for creating your own visual effects, streamlining the overall process. For instance, you can incorporate the element as the base and add your own components and effects to create something truly unique.

It's easy to obtain the VFX assets you need with our downloads, designed to be compatible with a range of professional video editing programs:

• The Foundry's Nuke
• Adobe After Effects
• Adobe Premiere Pro
• HitFilm
• Apple Final Cut Pro
• Apple Final Cut Pro Motion
• AVID Media Composer
• Vegas Pro 15
• Blackmagic Design: Fusion

To maximize the benefits of your VFX assets, we also offer a range of tutorials and how-to guides to help you learn.

Access Thousands of Assets with an ActionVFX Subscription

The ActionVFX subscription is one of the most affordable ways to access high-quality VFX assets. It allows both studios and individuals to save and spend credits on assets as needed, with most assets costing as little as $9.90 each for Individuals. Subscribers also get complimentary access to the Essentials Catalog--a library of 1570+ elements that subscribers can download for free.

Access 12,000 VFX Assets

World-Class Customer Support

Our customer service is renowned for its excellence, and our customers typically express great satisfaction with the support they receive, as evidenced by our average net promoter score (NPS) of over 80.

Alternative #2: VideoHive: Best for Occasional Video Projects

VideoHive is a part of Envato Market. Instead of being a standard stock visual effects library, it functions more like a marketplace where users can buy and sell royalty-free video footage, motion graphics, overlays, and After Effects project files. The cost of each element depends on its complexity and quality, as well as its intended use. The price of each element includes a buyer's fee in addition to the amount charged by the user who uploaded it to VideoHive.

Possible Benefits of VideoHive

Each element can have a one-time fee of just a few dollars, making VideoHive a very affordable option for filmmakers on a tight budget. Monthly pricing starts at $14.50 per month with limited downloads, but since it doesn't require a subscription, it can help keep costs to a minimum. VideoHive is best suited for filmmakers and others who don't have ongoing VFX needs.

Potential Drawbacks of VideoHive

Since users both upload and download VFX assets on VideoHive, some customers note that the quality of the assets offered on the platform can vary significantly and depend on the skills of each creator who contributes assets to the marketplace.

Alternative #3: Video Copilot - Best for VFX for Use in Adobe After Effects

While Video Copilot is utilized for creating VFX assets, such as special effects, 3D models, and motion graphics, it is not solely a VFX stock footage company. However, it does provide some VFX components as a foundation for constructing more intricate effects when using video editing and compositing software.

Possible Benefits of Video Copilot

Video Copilot's VFX assets are designed to work with Adobe After Effects, and those proficient in the software will find its animation plugins particularly beneficial. Users can create a variety of effects, such as explosions, fire, and smoke.

Potential Drawbacks of Video Copilot

If you utilize different video editing or compositing software, Video Copilot's effects may not be compatible with your setup. Video Copilot's products can be expensive, particularly if you need multiple plugins or assets.

As a result, it's essential to take your budget into account if you plan to use their software for creating VFX from scratch and accessing stock effects.

Alternative #4: FX Elements - Best for Buying Individual VFX Clips

FX Elements provides high-quality visual and special effects, including explosions, real fire & rain, debris, light leaks, nuclear blasts, zombies, bokeh, and more. Additionally, there's a range of practical compositing assets available - such as green screen backgrounds and matte paintings - to help blend visuals seamlessly.

Possible Benefits of FX Elements

FX Elements enables website visitors to purchase single VFX clips at very reasonable prices. Many competitors require users to subscribe or buy bundles of effects at a higher cost. This makes FX Elements particularly useful if you don't have an ongoing need for effects and simply want to buy individual clips.

Potential Drawbacks of FX Elements

While FX Elements features numerous categories of VFX effects in its library, the number of options within each category is relatively limited compared to ActionVFX's library, for instance. Moreover, FX Elements' daily download limits and additional costs for other file types make it a good fit for low-budget creators, but can cause difficulties if you need flexibility.

For a full comparison of ActionVFX and FX Elements, check out this article.

Alternative #5: Visual FX Pro - Best for Free VFX bundles

Established in 2020 by a former visual effects freelancer, Visual FX Pro is a new competitor in the VFX market, specializing in delivering high-quality visual effects at reasonable rates.

Possible Benefits of Visual FX Pro

The top benefit of Visual FX Pro is its array of free effects bundles. If you aren't seeking a wide variety of effects, this option is both affordable and easy to access.

Potential Drawbacks of Visual FX Pro

The primary drawback of Visual FX Pro is that it's still in the early stages of building its library of effects. While the original effects uploaded by the founders are high-quality, the offering of stock video footage and visual effects remains relatively small.

Alternative #6: RocketStock - Best for No Subscription Access

RocketStock is part of the Shutterstock group, a pioneer in the stock photography industry. It offers a broad range of pro templates for creating visual effects in Adobe Premiere Pro and Adobe After Effects, in addition to free stock video footage and professional graphics.

Possible Benefits of RocketStock

RocketStock's effects are reported to be easy to customize, and the platform offers an abundance of free resources, as it releases free sound effects, video effects, and templates every month.

Potential Drawbacks of RocketStock

RocketStock does not offer a subscription option. It sells its assets individually or in packs. Although each pack comes with dozens of templates and effects (some even include 150 snow and blizzard effects, for example), you might not utilize all of them, but you still have to pay between $39 and $300+ for each bundle you purchase.

ActionVFX: The Best ProductionCrate Alternative for VFX Artists and Studios

ActionVFX is widely considered the industry-standard creator of VFX assets. We are an original provider of production-quality effects, exclusively produced by highly-qualified and vetted VFX artists.

As a VFX artist seeking production-quality VFX assets, your search ends at ActionVFX. And with our new credit plans, access to our library has never been better.

View ActionVFX Pricing Plans

ActionVFX is committed to the quality of our assets, and we want you to see it for yourself. We invite you to check out our impressive collection of free VFX assets! Keep an eye on our product roadmap for upcoming updates to our VFX library, and stay connected by following us on social media for the latest news, giveaways, and events.

Explore the ActionVFX Library

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