Freesound
freesound.org
What it is
Freesound is a collaborative web library and API for audio snippets, samples, recordings, and other sounds shared under Creative Commons licenses. Users can search by keyword or find sounds resembling a reference, and explore packs, collections, tags, charts, a map, and a forum. Community members can upload and download sounds and interact with sound artists. Files are available in MP3, FLAC, Ogg Vorbis, AIFF, and WAV formats. Each uploader selects CC0, CC BY, or CC BY-NC, so commercial-use permissions and attribution requirements vary by sound. Downloading requires a registered account. The API can search and retrieve sound, pack, and user information, access audio features, and support uploads, comments, and ratings; an API key is required. API call volumes may be limited, and commercial API terms are negotiated case by case with Universitat Pompeu Fabra. Institutions seeking large datasets are directed to the Data Packs Portal. Freesound's homepage lists 737,070 sounds, while its catalog listing gives 736,091. The service is based in Barcelona, Spain.
Spec sheet
- What it does
- Freesound is a collaborative database of audio snippets, samples and recordings released under Creative Commons licenses.Read 15 Oct 2026 · freesound.org
- Purpose
- Freesound is a collaborative database of audio snippets, samples, recordings, and other sounds released under Creative Commons licenses.Read 8 Oct 2026 · freesound.org
- API
- The API can search and retrieve sound, pack, and user information, access audio features, and upload, comment on, and rate sounds; an API key is required.Read 8 Oct 2026 · freesound.org
- Integrations
- The privacy policy names Mapbox, Amazon, Zendesk, PayPal, Stripe and Google as service providers or subprocessors.Read 15 Oct 2026 · freesound.org
- Support
- The FAQ directs users to a contact form for further questions, and the FAQ says Sam Headphaze handles support requests.Read 8 Oct 2026 · freesound.org
- Headquarters
- Barcelona, SpainRead 28 Sep 2026 · freesound.org
- API authentication
- Developers can authenticate with an API token or OAuth2; OAuth2 enables user login and write actions such as uploading and rating.Read 15 Oct 2026 · freesound.org
- API capabilities
- APIv2 supports searching and retrieving sounds, users and packs, similarity search, audio descriptors, uploads, comments, ratings and bookmarks.Read 15 Oct 2026 · freesound.org
- API limits
- The API applies request throttling, forbids replicating Freesound, and allows access keys or access to be revoked.Read 15 Oct 2026 · freesound.org
- API terms
- Free API access is limited to non-commercial use; commercial use requires a licensing discussion with Freesound.Read 15 Oct 2026 · freesound.org
- App-store availability
- Apple lists a separate MapSound recorder that can upload recordings to Freesound, but the listing says there are not enough ratings to display an overview.Read 15 Oct 2026 · apps.apple.com
- Browse and discovery
- Users can browse by keywords and sounds-like searches, and find similar sounds using content analysis through the API.Read 8 Oct 2026 · freesound.org
- Bulk data
- Institutions seeking large sound datasets are directed to the Freesound Data Packs Portal and asked to contact the team for details.Read 8 Oct 2026 · freesound.org
- Catalog size
- The homepage describes a collection of 737,913 free sounds.Read 15 Oct 2026 · freesound.org
- Collections
- The site offers sounds, packs, collections, a forum, a map, tags, and charts.Read 8 Oct 2026 · freesound.org
- Community features
- The service supports uploads, downloads and interaction between sound artists.Read 15 Oct 2026 · freesound.org
- Community moderation
- Sounds and metadata are moderated by community volunteers for quality and appropriateness, but the terms say Freesound does not generally control user contributions.Read 8 Oct 2026 · freesound.org
- Download formats
- Freesound supports MP3, FLAC, Ogg Vorbis, and AIFF/WAV sound files.Read 8 Oct 2026 · freesound.org
- Download requirement
- Downloading a sound requires logging into a registered account.Read 8 Oct 2026 · freesound.org
- Formats
- Supported audio formats include MP3, FLAC, Ogg Vorbis, AIFF and WAV.Read 15 Oct 2026 · freesound.org
- Gen-AI controls
- Uploaders can set preferences including open-source models only, non-commercial open-source models only and no generative AI.Read 15 Oct 2026 · freesound.org
- Independent review limit
- Slice said recording quality is uneven and that file-by-file licence checking makes Freesound unsuitable when uniform clearance or polished commercial cues are required.Read 15 Oct 2026 · tryslicemedia.com
- Independent review praise
- Slice described Freesound as strong for unusual one-off effects because of its broad community catalog.Read 15 Oct 2026 · tryslicemedia.com
- Legacy licence
- Older Sampling+ sounds remain while uploaders are encouraged to migrate them to newer Creative Commons choices.Read 15 Oct 2026 · freesound.org
- Library size
- The homepage lists 737,070 free sounds.Read 8 Oct 2026 · freesound.org
- Licences
- Uploaders choose CC0, CC BY or CC BY-NC; CC BY requires attribution and CC BY-NC restricts earning money from resulting work.Read 15 Oct 2026 · freesound.org
- Licensing
- Sound uploaders choose among CC0, CC BY, and CC BY-NC licenses, so commercial use and attribution requirements depend on the sound’s license.Read 8 Oct 2026 · freesound.org
- Limit: Android playback
- Google Play reviewers reported failures with very short sounds, weak sorting controls, no manual playhead or selection saving, and some downloads not starting.Read 15 Oct 2026 · play.google.com
- Limit: audio consistency
- Trustpilot feedback reported that some desired clips were hard to find and that volume varied, with some recordings nearly inaudible.Read 15 Oct 2026 · uk.trustpilot.com
- Limit: reliability
- A forum report described multi-week slowness, 504 gateway timeouts and failures loading large or numerous files; a lead developer cited backend complexity and limited infrastructure resources.Read 15 Oct 2026 · freesound.org
- Limit: rights checking
- Freesound warns that user uploads can contain infringing material, so users must assess each file and can flag questionable content.Read 15 Oct 2026 · freesound.org
- Maker history
- Freesound began in 2005 within the Music Technology Group at Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona and is maintained by researchers, students and staff.Read 15 Oct 2026 · freesound.org
- Maker legal identity
- The privacy policy identifies Universitat Pompeu Fabra as the data controller, domiciled at Plaça de la Mercè 10-12, Barcelona, Spain.Read 15 Oct 2026 · freesound.org
- News: AI preferences
- Freesound announced its generative-AI preferences panel in July 2026.Read 15 Oct 2026 · freesound.org
- News: Collections
- Freesound announced Collections as a replacement for Bookmarks on September 8, 2026.Read 15 Oct 2026 · freesound.org
- Open-source licence
- The Freesound website source code is published under the GNU Affero General Public License version 3.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
- Praise: Android catalog
- A Google Play reviewer praised the huge quantity of samples and the likelihood of finding a needed sound despite variable quality.Read 15 Oct 2026 · play.google.com
- Praise: catalog breadth
- Trustpilot reviewers praised the very large stock and said it supplied most sounds they needed.Read 15 Oct 2026 · uk.trustpilot.com
- Privacy and security
- Freesound says it applies legally required measures to protect personal data confidentiality and integrity, and its privacy policy lists data hosting and user email through Amazon in the United States.Read 8 Oct 2026 · freesound.org
- Rating on Google Play
- 3.5 out of 5 from 658 reviews for the unofficial Free Sounds client.Read 15 Oct 2026 · play.google.com
- Rating on Trustpilot
- 3.3 out of 5 from 4 reviews.Read 15 Oct 2026 · uk.trustpilot.com
- Scientific use
- Freesound states that its open sound database is intended to support scientific research.Read 15 Oct 2026 · freesound.org
- SDKs
- Official documentation lists Python, JUCE C++ and JavaScript clients plus community clients for languages and environments including Objective-C iOS, Max/MSP, Perl and SuperCollider.Read 15 Oct 2026 · freesound.org
- Search
- Users can search by keywords and browse with sounds-like similarity tools.Read 15 Oct 2026 · freesound.org
- Security and privacy
- UPF says it protects confidentiality, supports data rights and keeps only usernames publicly visible while collecting account, upload, download and usage data.Read 15 Oct 2026 · freesound.org
- Self-hosting
- The repository provides Docker-based development setup for the Django web service, with instructions tested on Linux and macOS and cautioned as potentially unsuitable for Windows.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
- Self-hosting requirements
- Local setup requires a roughly 7 GB development data archive, tag-recommendation models and Docker containers.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
- Sustainability
- The project says it is supported by UPF, the Phonos Foundation and community donations and avoids advertising.Read 15 Oct 2026 · beta.freesound.org
- Taxonomy
- The Broad Sound Taxonomy has five top-level classes and 23 second-level classes and was added in April 2025.Read 15 Oct 2026 · freesound.org
- Third-party iOS client
- The public Freesound-iOS library provides an Objective-C APIv2 client for basic resources but does not support OAuth2 resources.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Plans and prices
Free Free Downloads are free · some sounds prohibit commercial use · attribution may be required · account needed to download Read 15 Oct 2026 · freesound.org
Strong points and limits
Strong points
- Searches by keyword and sounds-like references
- Offers five listed audio formats
- Includes packs, collections, tags, and charts
- API supports sound search and uploads
Limits
- Downloads require a registered account
- Commercial-use and attribution terms vary by sound
- API requires a key and call volumes may be limited
Who it suits
Freesound suits people looking for individual sounds or sharing recordings under Creative Commons licenses. Developers can use its API, while institutions seeking large datasets can contact the team through the Data Packs Portal.
Verdict
Freesound offers a broad community sound library with per-sound licensing and an API. Check each sound’s license before use, and create an account to download.
Where Specifiction places it
- Sound Effects Libraries#2 of 338.9
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