Sound Server
Samples in numbers
How many drum hits, loops, vocals, FX, field recordings and instrument samples the 41 searched sites hold, counted every day, and how people and AI agents use Sound Server. Usage counts are anonymous totals: no search terms, IP addresses or accounts.
The catalog
Counted daily · last count
- Sample listings
- 306K+
- 306,366+ · on 13 sources
- Free
- 306K+
- 306,366+ · free to download
- CC0 / public domain
- 1,927
- 1,927 · no credit needed, release them freely
- Direct downloads
- 306K+
- 306,366+ · free files this server fetches for you
As of October 23, 2026, Sound Server searches 306,000+ sample listings from the 13 sources that publish counts, including 306,000+ free ones and 1,927 CC0 (public-domain) sounds.
By category
Bar length on a log scale; each listing counts once, under its top-level category.
- Ambience25,382
- FX13,701
- Other12,798
- Vocals6,122
- Drums5,254
- Foley3,903
- Synth1,355
- Bass428
- Strings412
- Keys331
- Woodwind267
- Mallets266
- Guitar138
- Brass114
Free libraries
Sources where every listing is free.
- Openverse4,575,414 sounds
- Wikimedia Commons218,112 sounds
- BBC Sound Effects33,066 sounds· BBC RemArc licence
- ccMixter21,942 sounds
- OpenGameArt11,895 sounds
- Orange Free Sounds8,210 sounds
- Strudel sample banks7,244 sounds
- Internet Archive2,483 packs
- Free Wave Samples2,353 sounds· Free Wave Samples licence
- SoundBible718+ sounds
- MusicRadar SampleRadar287 packs· MusicRadar SampleRadar licence
- Curated free libraries46 packs
- Kenney10 packs· CC0 1.0
Every source
Listings per source, largest first (bar length on a log scale). "New" counts listings released in the last 30 days, where the source dates them.
| Source | Listings | Free | Mostly | New (30 d) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Openverse | 4,575,414 | 4,575,414 | – | |
| Wikimedia Commons | 218,112 | 218,112 | – | |
| BBC Sound Effects last counted 2026-10-23 | 33,066 | 33,066 | Ambience 25K+ · FX 5,286 · Foley 3,889 | – |
| ccMixter last counted 2026-10-23 | 21,942 | 21,942 | Vocals 5,985 | – |
| OpenGameArt | 11,895 | 11,895 | Other 10K+ · FX 1,731 | – |
| Orange Free Sounds | 8,210 | 8,210 | FX 6,378 · Other 1,209 · Synth 292 | – |
| Strudel sample banks | 7,244 | 7,244 | Drums 4,250 · Other 1,176 · Keys 325 | – |
| Internet Archive | 2,483 packs | 2,483 | – | |
| Free Wave Samples | 2,353 | 2,353 | Synth 858 · Drums 684 · Strings 271 | – |
| SoundBible | 718+ | 718 | – | |
| MusicRadar SampleRadar | 287 packs | 287 | Other 169 · Drums 39 · Synth 24 | – |
| Curated free libraries | 46 packs | 46 | Drums 13 · Strings 7 · FX 5 | – |
| Kenney | 10 packs | 10 | FX 5 · Foley 2 · Vocals 2 | – |
Not counted: Prime Loops, Cymatics, Mixkit, Splice, Loopmasters, Loopcloud, Producer Loops, ADSR Sounds, Plugin Boutique, LANDR Samples, Tracklib, Looperman, SampleFocus, Zapsplat, Pixabay Sound Effects, Sonniss, Uppbeat SFX, Bandcamp, Soundsnap, Epidemic Sound, Artlist SFX (linked searches only; they don't allow automated access).
Free listings over time
Daily counts started on October 23, 2026; the growth chart appears once there are a few days of history.
How it's counted: each source reports its own size once a day (its API's total, its catalogue or manifest, its WordPress counters or its sitemap; hover a row for the method). 0 of 13 sources publish release dates, so "New" covers those. Data: /catalog.json · history · API
Live usage
Recently added sources
All sources & licences →New sample sites are checked for every day. A site is added only when its terms allow automated search and its integration passes the test suite against the live site.
- ADSR SoundsAdded
- Artlist SFXAdded
- BandcampAdded
- BBC Sound EffectsAdded
- BigSoundBankAdded
- Black Octopus SoundAdded
How usage is counted
- Every search, sample view, download and MCP tool call increments a counter on the server. The counters are labelled only by surface (website, REST API, MCP), client family (for example "Claude Code" or "curl"), category and source.
- Totals for the last 24 hours and 7 days come from the server's Prometheus metrics, so they are approximate to within a few events.
- Source health counts how often each site answered a search, failed or timed out, and how long it took.
- The same data is available as JSON at /v1/stats (reference). See the privacy policy for what is logged.