audio-archive
Freesound
A collaborative database of more than 650,000 Creative Commons-licensed sound samples and effects. Search works on the website, and a clean JSON API is available with a free token. The natural stop when you need a clearly licensed sound clip or want to trace the origin of a widely reused sample.
Why it’s useful & how it works
Freesound is the go-to library when you need a clearly licensed sound clip and want to know exactly who made it and under what terms. Every sound is tagged by its uploader, so you can search by keyword, mood, instrument, or environment. Results show waveforms and license type before you download. Echo queries Freesound directly with your search terms, so you see results alongside other archives without visiting the site first.
What’s inside
Over 714,000 Creative Commons-licensed sounds as of 2025, totalling more than 536 days of continuous audio. The collection spans field recordings, instrument samples, ambient textures, and sound effects contributed by a global community of users.
API access
https://freesound.org/apiv2/search/text/?query= (Authorization: Token <KEY>)
An API key is required (usually free); see the endpoints above for where to get one.
What we measured
Our own probes, not the archive’s own claims. Re-run periodically; every reading below is dated.
Reachability
- Direct request
- Responded HTTP 200 527 ms
- Through a datacenter proxy
- Responded HTTP 200 1 s
- API, direct
- Blocked HTTP 401 51 ms
- API, through a proxy
- Blocked HTTP 401 803 ms
Reachability measured 2026-08-22.
Access
Programmatic API access (a key may be required, see the API tag).