20 free sound effects for YouTube videos
Classic Whoosh
Correct Answer Ding
Cork Pop
Sub Bass Boom
Glassy Transition
Mouse Click
Approval Bell Notification
Cash Register Ka-Ching
Audience Laugh
Audience Applause
Wrong Answer
Power-Up Success
Short Noise Riser
Computer Glitch
Record Scratch
Drum Roll, Please
Camera Shutter
Laptop Keyboard Typing
Bell Chime Alert
Sad Trombone
How YouTubers use sound effects
- A whoosh on every jump cut or b-roll change keeps a talking-head video moving.
- A pop or click when text, a chart or a screenshot appears.
- A ding on tips and chapters, a boom on the main claim.
- Keep effects under your voice and test on a phone speaker before you upload.
Auto sound effects
StoryCut adds these automatically on your key words
Upload a talking-head video and StoryCut’s auto sound effects pick 4 to 8 key words in your transcript and place a matching public-domain sound on each one, timed to the word: a whoosh on a cut, a ding on a tip, a ka-ching on a price. Switch off any sound you don’t want before you export.
- Picks 4 to 8 key words
- Timed to the word
- Public-domain sounds (CC0)
- Switch off any sound
Included in Pro ($14/mo billed yearly) and Business.
How to add these sounds to TikTok, Reels, Shorts and CapCut
TikTok
The TikTok editor adds sounds from its own library. To use a downloaded sound, mix it into your video in an editor first (CapCut, StoryCut or any desktop editor), then upload the finished video.
Instagram Reels
The Reels editor uses Instagram’s library. Meta’s Edits app can import audio files from your phone, or mix the sound in an editor before you upload.
YouTube Shorts
The Shorts editor adds one track and a voiceover. For sound effects at exact moments, place them in an editor and upload the finished Short.
CapCut
Import the MP3 (desktop: drag it into the media panel; mobile: tap Audio, then Sounds, and import it from your device), drag it to the cut or the word, and keep it quieter than your voice.
Timing and volume matter more than the sound: start it on the first syllable of the word, peak whooshes on the cut, and keep effects 6 to 12 dB under your voice. More in our guide to adding sound effects.
Free for commercial use, no credit needed (CC0)
Every sound in this library is published on Freesound.org under CC0 1.0, the Creative Commons public-domain dedication. You can copy, edit and use it in personal and commercial videos, ads and client work, on any platform, without asking permission or giving credit.
How we picked them: we searched Freesound for CC0 sounds only, kept short, clean, well-rated ones, left out recordings of trademarked sounds (phone, app and game sounds), trimmed the silence, matched the loudness and converted them to MP3. The original sound and its creator are linked under each one.
Source: Freesound.org (CC0). StoryCut is not affiliated with Freesound.
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