Are you a recent graduate from a film school or sound design program? For those budding new sound editors and mixers who may have a small budget to invest in their sound library but not quite the budget of a full fledged post production house, we have listed three of the best sound effects libraries that will cover your audio post production needs without breaking the bank.
Just need a few specific sounds here and there? Your best bet is searching for individual sounds one at a time on the Pro Sound Effects Web App. This gives you access to the entire PSE Library of 850,000+ sounds in every category – curated from top recordists and award-winning sound artists like Mark Mangini (Dune) and Richard King (Dunkirk). Purchase credits to download sounds starting at $3.99 (1 credit = 1 sound). Plus, the more credits you buy, the more you save.
Need a faster workflow than downloading sounds from the browser? Check out SoundQ – sound library desktop software that integrates with your editor of choice. Create with one source for sound that sends directly from the cloud to your timeline.
SoundQ includes unlimited access to 100,000+ sound effects plus 20,000+ music tracks and stems. You can create your own collections, and even apply effects like pitch shifting and fades in and out. Try it out now with the Free tier, or get full featured for just $9.99/month.
If you're not interested in a monthly subscription, and you want a comprehensive library to use on any and every project, look no further than CORE 4 Creator. This powerful yet compact bundle includes 8 different libraries – totaling over 20,000+ sounds in 370+ categories. You also get instant cloud access via SoundQ software.
Priced at $499, this invaluable sonic resource is more of an investment in your toolset. The total value is over $970+ if you purchased all the included libraries separate – so tons of value is packed in with 49% savings. Plus, you get upgrade discounts to the bigger CORE Bundles when you're ready to grow your personal library even more.