Envato
Envato is a Melbourne-based creative content platform and Shutterstock subsidiary, offering unlimited subscription downloads from a 28+ million asset library (video, audio, graphics, 3D, fonts) via Envato Elements, a one-time-purchase Envato Market, and an integrated generative AI suite (ImageGen, VideoGen, MusicGen, VoiceGen, and more) serving 2M+ customers annually.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2006
- HeadquartersMelbourne, Australia
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What Envato does
Envato Pty Ltd is an Australia-based creative content and technology company, founded in 2006 and operating as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Shutterstock, Inc. since its 2021 acquisition. The company operates a dual-model creative ecosystem: Envato Elements, a self-serve subscription platform offering unlimited downloads from a 28+ million asset library spanning video templates, stock photos, music, sound effects, graphics, fonts, 3D models, and presentation templates (priced $16.50-$80/month across Core, Plus, and Ultimate tiers); and Envato Market, a separate one-time-purchase marketplace across seven specialized storefronts (ThemeForest, CodeCanyon, VideoHive, AudioJungle, PhotoDune, 3DOcean, GraphicRiver). The platform serves 2M+ customers annually, including creative professionals, agencies, students, and enterprise teams, with disclosed enterprise users such as iHeartMedia and Freshmark.
Underlying technology combines a curated content catalog with an integrated generative AI suite hosted on Envato Labs, including ImageGen, ImageEdit, VideoGen, MusicGen, VoiceGen, SoundGen, GraphicsGen, and MockupGen, alongside workflow tooling (Envato Shortcuts, Visual References) and an MCP Server that exposes the asset library to AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini. The AI layer is partly powered by a disclosed partnership with OpenAI for image editing, video generation, and visual similarity search. Complementary products include Placeit (browser-based design/mockups), Mixkit (free stock video and audio), Envato Tuts+ (tutorials), PremiumBeat (premium music), and KitBash3D (premium 3D assets).
Revenue mechanics combine recurring subscription revenue (Envato Elements, including enterprise plans), one-time license sales (Envato Market, Placeit), an affiliate channel via Impact.com with commission structures valid through June 2026, and a contributor revenue-share model paying authors 50% on Regular/Students/Teams subscriptions and 25% on Enterprise. The company has generated over $1.4 billion in cumulative contributor earnings since 2006. Distribution spans direct subscription, marketplace listings, an Impact.com affiliate network, enterprise sales, and free funnels (Mixkit, Tuts+) feeding paid conversion. Operations are remote-first, with headquarters in Melbourne and active geographies in Australia, the United States, New Zealand, and Mexico.
Envato firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Envato
- Legal name
- Envato Pty Ltd
- Website
- https://envato.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2006
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- Envato is a Melbourne-based creative content platform and Shutterstock subsidiary, offering unlimited subscription downloads from a 28+ million asset library (video, audio, graphics, 3D, fonts) via Envato Elements, a one-time-purchase Envato Market, and an integrated generative AI suite (ImageGen, VideoGen, MusicGen, VoiceGen, and more) serving 2M+ customers annually.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Envato industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Digital Content Marketplace
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (513210)
- SIC
- Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Digital Marketplaces for Downloadables (Creators/Assets) (CRAFAIAH)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Digital Goods, Subscriptions & Gift Card Marketplaces (BPAMAGAG), Creator Digital Goods & Downloads (Templates, Presets, Files) (MPACAFAD)
Keywords
Where Envato is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Melbourne
- HQ country
- Australia
- HQ region
- Oceania
Offices1 record
Markets served
Envato business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Subscription Services (Envato Elements): Monthly or annual subscription providing unlimited downloads of creative assets across video templates, stock photos, music, sound effects, graphics, fonts, 3D, and AI-generated content. Plans include Core, Plus, and Ultimate tiers starting from $16.50/month.
- Marketplace Transactions (Envato Market): Individual asset sales across specialized marketplaces (ThemeForest, CodeCanyon, VideoHive, AudioJungle, PhotoDune, 3DOcean, GraphicRiver) where creators sell themes, plugins, code, video, audio, and graphics on a one-time purchase basis.
- Affiliate Program: Commissions paid to affiliates who refer new subscribers through the Impact.com platform, with competitive CPA payouts for Core, Plus, and Ultimate plan subscriptions.
- Author Revenue Share: Authors receive 50% share of net revenue from Regular, Students, and Teams subscriptions, and 25% from Enterprise subscriptions. Generated over $1 billion in total community earnings.
- Enterprise Plans: Custom enterprise pricing for teams with additional seats, dedicated support, and bulk licensing options.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Core Plan - Essential creative assets access |
| Subscription | Monthly | Plus Plan - Enhanced access with AI tools |
| Subscription | Monthly | Ultimate Plan - Complete creative toolkit |
| Subscription | Monthly | Starting price from $16.50/month |
| Subscription | Monthly | Affiliate Commission - Core Plan |
| Subscription | Monthly | Affiliate Commission - Plus Plan |
| Subscription | Monthly | Affiliate Commission - Ultimate Plan |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels7 records
Marketing channels7 records
Envato product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Envato operates a two-sided creative asset platform: (1) Envato Elements, a subscription service providing unlimited downloads of 28+ million creative assets (video templates, stock photos, music, sound effects, graphics, fonts, 3D models, web templates) plus an integrated suite of generative AI tools; and (2) Envato Market, a network of specialized one-time-purchase marketplaces (ThemeForest, CodeCanyon, VideoHive, AudioJungle, PhotoDune, 3DOcean, GraphicRiver) where third-party authors sell digital assets and receive a revenue share.
Product overview
Envato is a creative asset ecosystem comprising Envato Elements (subscription platform for unlimited creative asset downloads and AI tools), Envato Market (one-time purchase marketplace), Placeit (browser-based design tool), Envato Tuts+ (free tutorials), Mixkit (free stock video/audio), and Envato Labs (AI tools platform). Envato Elements serves as the primary subscription offering with 28+ million creative assets including stock photos, video templates, music, sound effects, graphics, fonts, 3D assets, and web templates. The AI suite within Envato Labs includes ImageGen, ImageEdit, VideoGen, MusicGen, VoiceGen, SoundGen, GraphicsGen, and MockupGen for generative content creation. Additional offerings include Envato Shortcuts (guided AI workflows), Envato MCP Server (AI assistant integration), PremiumBeat music library, KitBash3D premium 3D assets, Author Hub for contributors, and Envato Market for individual asset purchases.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Envato Elements Subscription platform providing unlimited downloads of 28+ million creative assets plus integrated generative AI tools, targeting creative professionals and teams.
- Envato Market One-time-purchase marketplace of specialized stores selling third-party creative assets including WordPress themes, plugins, video, audio, and graphics.
- Placeit by Envato Browser-based design tool for creating mockups, logos, and social media content without design software or prior experience.
- Envato Tuts+ Free tutorials and courses platform covering design, video editing, photography, and creative skills for professionals at any level.
- Mixkit Free stock video, music tracks, and Premiere Pro templates library for personal and commercial projects.
- Envato Labs Platform hosting Envato's suite of AI tools for creative content generation and editing.
- ImageGen AI image generator that creates unique visuals in diverse styles using simple text prompts.
- VideoGen AI video generator that creates videos from static images and text prompts.
- ImageEdit AI image editor that removes backgrounds, erases objects, and upscales images.
- MusicGen AI music generator that composes music using text prompts and presets.
- VoiceGen AI voice generator that converts text into professional voiceovers with natural-sounding output.
- SoundGen AI sound generator that creates professional-quality sound effects purpose-fitted to projects.
- GraphicsGen AI graphics generator that crafts icons and illustrations using reference style and text prompts.
- MockupGen AI mockup generator that creates custom product mockups in minutes.
- Envato Shortcuts Guided AI workflows for relighting, mockups, storyboards, and more that turn AI prompting into structured creative processes.
- Envato MCP Server Model Context Protocol server connecting AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini to the Envato library for real-time, structured asset search.
- Visual References AI video feature that uses up to five images and one video reference to create more consistent characters, styles, and motion.
- PremiumBeat Studio-quality royalty-free music library with over 40,000 tracks including stems and loops, integrated into Envato Elements.
- KitBash3D Premium 3D asset library from industry-leading artists for creating digital environments and worlds, integrated into Envato Elements' 3D category.
- Author Hub Platform for Envato authors providing expert articles, data insights, and tips for creative success and portfolio growth.
Quantifiable outcome
- $1.4B+ contributor earnings generated for creative community
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Envato
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Envato technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration22 records
AI capability9 records
Feature11 records
Envato partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- PremiumBeatcorePremiumBeat provides 40,000+ studio-quality music tracks with stems and loops, integrated into Envato Elements' music library. Featured as premium audio content source.
- KitBash3DcoreKitBash3D provides premium 3D assets from industry-leading artists for Envato Elements' 3D category, enabling creation of premium 3D worlds.
- Chris PiascikminorExclusive asset drop featuring chaotic 70s-inspired fonts and brushes by illustrator Chris Piascik. Curated collection collaboration.
- Impact.comcoreAffiliate partnership platform managing Envato's affiliate program. Handles tracking, commission payments, and affiliate relationship management.
- GooglecoreUses Google Analytics for website analytics and Google DoubleClick for advertising and retargeting. Cookie-based tracking for measuring ad effectiveness and showing targeted ads.
- Meta Platforms (Facebook)coreFacebook pixel and advertising integration for tracking browsing activity and delivering targeted advertisements. Used for real-time bidding from third-party advertisers.
- MicrosoftminorMicrosoft advertising integration using Bing/UET tags for tracking and targeted advertising across Microsoft properties.
- PinterestminorPinterest advertising integration for tracking user activity and serving relevant advertisements on Pinterest platform.
- TikTokminorTikTok tracking integration for measuring engagement with embedded video content and advertising attribution.
- JumiocoreThird-party identity verification service used for author verification. Compares government-issued photo ID against selfie using biometric facial recognition technology.
- VeriffcoreAlternative identity verification service for author verification, offering biometric facial recognition to verify author identities.
- PayPal BraintreecorePayment processing service facilitating transactions on Envato Sites. Acts as independent data controller for payment processing.
- CloudflarecoreWebsite security and performance services including load balancing, DNS, and bot management (Cookiebot for cookie consent management).
- OpenAIcoreAI technology provider powering generative AI features including AI image editing, video generation from uploaded images, and visual similarity search in Envato's image library.
Scale indicators15 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Envato competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Shutterstock: Shutterstock is Envato's parent company (acquired Envato in 2021) and a direct competitor in stock photography, video, music, and now generative AI tools via its own AI image generator; the most structurally comparable peer because it operates the same subscription + per-asset + AI content model at scale.
- Getty Images / iStock: Getty Images and its iStock subscription serve the editorial and commercial stock photography and video market with very large libraries and proprietary AI generation; comparable to Envato Elements on stock media breadth and enterprise customer overlap, though heavier on editorial.
- Canva: Canva is a design platform with its own integrated template library, stock photos, and AI design tools (Magic Studio) targeting SMBs and marketers; comparable to Envato's Placeit and Elements on democratized design workflows and template-driven content creation, though positioned as an end-to-end design tool.
Direct peers
- Adobe Stock: Adobe Stock is the leading stock asset subscription bundled into Creative Cloud, with millions of photos, videos, illustrations, templates, and an integrated generative AI image tool (Firefly); directly comparable to Envato Elements on content breadth, commercial licensing, and AI-generation features for the same creative professional buyer.
- Freepik: Freepik operates a subscription and credit-based marketplace for stock photos, vectors, PSDs, icons, videos, and AI-generated images, serving the same SMB and freelance creative segment as Envato Elements; increasingly direct competition as Freepik expands its own AI image and design tools.
- Storyblocks: Storyblocks is an unlimited-download subscription service for stock video, audio, images, and After Effects templates aimed at video creators and marketers; closely comparable to Envato Elements' video and audio categories on pricing model, target buyer, and unlimited-download positioning.
- Artlist: Artlist offers subscription licensing for royalty-free music, sound effects, video footage, and stock footage with a similar unlimited-download model; the closest peer to Envato's PremiumBeat and video template categories with overlapping music-for-video use cases.
- Pond5: Pond5 is a per-item marketplace for stock video, audio, music, and effects used by filmmakers and video professionals; comparable to Envato Market's VideoHive and AudioJungle on marketplace structure, contributor economics, and target buyer.
- Motion Array: Motion Array is a subscription platform for video templates, stock video, music, sound effects, and After Effects/Premiere plugins; a direct competitor in the video-creator segment with an unlimited-download model similar to Envato Elements.
- Creative Market: Creative Market is a per-item digital marketplace for fonts, graphics, templates, themes, and photos from independent creators; structurally similar to Envato Market's GraphicRiver and ThemeForest on marketplace mechanics, contributor revenue share, and small-business buyer.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Envato social profiles
Digital presenceEnvato financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Envato leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Envato subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries5 records
Envato funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Envato M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A1 record
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Envato
What does Envato do?
Envato operates a two-sided creative asset platform: (1) Envato Elements, a subscription service providing unlimited downloads of 28+ million creative assets (video templates, stock photos, music, sound effects, graphics, fonts, 3D models, web templates) plus an integrated suite of generative AI tools; and (2) Envato Market, a network of specialized one-time-purchase marketplaces (ThemeForest, CodeCanyon, VideoHive, AudioJungle, PhotoDune, 3DOcean, GraphicRiver) where third-party authors sell digital assets and receive a revenue share.
Is Envato a public or private company?
Envato is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Envato founded?
Envato was founded in 2006. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Envato based?
Envato is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, in the Oceania region.
How does Envato make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Subscription Services (Envato Elements) is the primary driver. The others are marketplace Transactions (Envato Market), affiliate Program, author Revenue Share and enterprise Plans.
Who are Envato's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Shutterstock, Getty Images / iStock and Canva. Direct peers are Adobe Stock, Freepik, Storyblocks, Artlist, Pond5, Motion Array and Creative Market.
Does Envato have an API?
Yes. Envato MCP Server connects AI assistants to the Envato library, enabling real-time, structured asset search directly inside tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini. Developer documentation is at elements.envato.com/learn/envato-mcp-server.
What industry is Envato in?
Envato's product category is Digital Content Marketplace. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRAFAIAH, Digital Marketplaces for Downloadables (Creators/Assets), with a secondary code of BPAMAGAG, Digital Goods, Subscriptions & Gift Card Marketplaces. Its NAICS code is 513210 and its SIC code is 7330.