What is ProductionCrate?
ProductionCrate is a one-stop library for people who edit videos and make visual effects. It offers explosions, fire, smoke, magic and anime effects on transparent backgrounds, plus royalty-free music, sound effects, motion graphics, 3D models and HDRIs. Assets come in formats such as ProRes, MP4 and PNG sequences, and work in Premiere Pro, After Effects, DaVinci Resolve, Blender and other tools.
It is run by ProductionCrate Studios LLC, a California company founded by VFX artists. A free account gives you thousands of basic assets with 5 downloads a day, and both free and paid licenses allow commercial use. Paid plans unlock the full Pro library, the LaForge plugin suite and more daily downloads, and several plugins can also be bought on their own.
Main Features
- 10,000 plus VFX clips with transparent backgrounds, up to 4K
- Royalty-free music and sound effects through SoundsCrate
- 3D models with PBR textures and HDRIs through RenderCrate
- Plugins for After Effects and Premiere Pro, including the LaForge Suite
- Free plugins such as Crates Chromatic Aberration and a Blender importer
- Commercial license covers YouTube, client work and broadcast
- Browser-based Character Builder for exporting 3D characters
- Tutorials and regular contests for creators
How to Get Started with ProductionCrate
- Go to productioncrate.com and create a free account
- Search for an effect, sound or model and pick one without a Pro star
- Download it in the format your editor supports and drop it into your project
- Upgrade to Skills or Pro when you need more downloads or the Pro library
ProductionCrate Pricing
Free: thousands of basic and 2K assets, 5 downloads per day, no card needed. Skills: $15/mo monthly, or $9/mo billed $99 yearly (20 basic downloads per day, 1 user, training courses). Pro: $39/mo monthly, or $25/mo billed $299 yearly (50 Pro downloads per day, 1 user, full access to plugins and LaForge Suite, VFX, SFX, graphics, 3D models, courses). Teams: custom pricing (100+ Pro downloads per day, 5+ members, extended license). Individual plugins sold separately, for example Easy Glow $99, VHS Master $79, Crates Glass $49, Film Grade $12, Crates Vibrance $5.
Who Should Use It?
- YouTubers adding explosions, glows and transitions to videos
- Indie filmmakers who need affordable VFX
- Motion designers working in After Effects
- 3D artists looking for models and HDRIs
- Students learning video editing and compositing
ProductionCrate Alternatives
- Pixabay: free stock photos, videos, music and sound effects with no sign up needed
- Pexels: free stock videos and photos, though without VFX overlays or plugins
- Unsplash: high quality free photos for thumbnails and backgrounds
Frequently Asked Questions
Is ProductionCrate free?
Yes, partly. A free account gives you thousands of basic and 2K assets with 5 downloads a day, and anything without a Pro star is free. Paid plans start at $15 a month for Skills, while Pro costs $39 a month or $299 a year for the full library and plugins.
Can I use ProductionCrate assets in commercial videos?
Yes. ProductionCrate says both its free and Pro licenses allow commercial use in films, music videos, social media and monetized YouTube videos. The license is permanent for assets you downloaded, so you can keep using them even after you cancel a subscription.
Which editing software works with ProductionCrate?
Assets come in several formats, such as ProRes, MP4 and PNG sequences for footage and FBX, OBJ, GLB and Blender files for 3D. That means they work in Premiere Pro, After Effects, DaVinci Resolve, Final Cut, Blender and most other editors.