Where To Download Free Sound Effects

Do you create animations, apps, games or movies? Want some decent sound effects to add atmosphere? If you are, you’re in the right place as I’m going to list some of the best places on the internet to download free sound effects.

Sound is an incredibly important part of media and is often overlooked in favor of graphics or visual effects. The importance of audio cannot be overstated, which is why I put this list of the best places to download free sound effects together. Some of these websites have literally hundreds of effects from sirens to gunshots and even some royalty-free music.

All of the sites listed here offer free sound effects and are legal and safe to use. Be aware though, some of the sites seems to use Flash to play the audio. Flash is currently disabled in Chrome so the sounds may not play. Use Edge or Firefox if that happens.

Soungle

Soungle is more a sound effects search engine and is very good at what it does. Type in your search term and hit Enter. Then choose from the sound effects it comes back with. Soungle does sometimes send you to Envato which offers premium sound effects. Keep searching though and it will also generate free ones.

Zappsplat

Zappsplat is an onomatopoetic name that is more than just a play on words. It is a repository of sound effects that covers a huge range of sounds from everyday life right up to science fiction or horror. There are thousands of effects that you can test and then download in MP3 format.

SoundBible

SoundBible is another huge repository of the random and the mainstream. You can search, browse and then download free sound effects covering everything from Chinese gongs to fart sounds. The site is clean, simple to use and is well worth checking out.

Orange Free Sounds

Orange Free Sounds also offers a huge repository of sound effects that are free to use. This is definitely one site that doesn’t work well with Chrome so needs another browser to preview. You can then download in MP3 format to use as you see fit. The site also offers collections, music, loops and more. It’s regularly updated too.

Freesound

Freesound, as the name implies, allows you to download free sound effects to use as you see fit. The site has a search function, browse and tag options so you should always find what you’re looking for. You can join the site and upload effects too should you wish to. Many effects are in .wav format so may need converting.

FindSounds

FindSounds is another sound effects search engine site that has a huge range of effects. Type your search term into the box at the top and then preview the results on the left. You can then download directly from the site as you need. FindSounds also has dedicated sites for mobile and its own app.

Sound Effects for Free

Sound Effects for Free isn’t the largest audio repository in the world but what it does have are all very high quality. There are also effects here that I haven’t seen anywhere else so it is well worth considering if you’re looking for something specific.

Soundgator

Soundgator has a great search function or you can browse categories or featured effects. There is a wide range of sound effects on the site and includes everything from household appliances to foleys, metal and more. Well worth checking out if you’re looking to download free sound effects.

Media College

Media College isn’t the best looking website in the world but the sheer quantity of sound effects it has makes it worth using. It has a search function and a series of categories to browse that cover most genre. There is a little of everything in here across most categories. Downloads are in .wav format.

99Sounds

99Sounds is a collaborative website that allows sound designers to upload their effects and samples that you can use. The quality and creativity is awesome but not all effects have previews. Some you have to download several hundred megabytes of files before you can listen to them. Despite this drawback, the quality of the samples make it a site to watch.

The Recordist

The Recordist is another website that hurts the eyes but not the ears. It is a repository of all sorts of sound effects across genres. It hasn’t been updated in a while but the current range of effects is wide and of a very good quality. Well worth a visit if these others don’t deliver the goods.

The Motion Monkey

The Motion Monkey is for game designers. It has a massive range of old school game sounds that will resonate well with anyone who was a gamer in the 80s and 90s or who designs or plays games from that era.