shouldiuse.io

VERDICT

Should I use British Pathé?

Historical newsreel archive — free to watch, paid clip licensing - britishpathe.com

Depends. This is not software — it's one of the world's largest newsreel archives, free to browse in full, with per-clip licensing for commercial use. Producers, museums and educators licensing footage should use it; anyone expecting a tool, or wanting free reuse rights, should not.

Confidence

Medium. Based on ~40 public sources. Snippets were often truncated; note this is an archive/licensing business, not a software product.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Feature depth
  • Support qualityNo public support reviews found
  • Security posture

Pricing

$0

Free viewing

ModelPer clip
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierYes
Clip licensingPer clip, on enquiry

Best for

  • Documentary and TV producers
  • Museums building exhibits
  • Educators and students
  • History buffs browsing for free

Not for

  • Teams expecting a software product — it's a film archive
  • Anyone needing free commercial reuse of clips
  • Buyers who need published, predictable per-clip prices
  • Casual viewers — the website and YouTube are already free

Gotchas - check before you buy

high

Watching free does not equal rights to reuse; commercial use needs a licence.

medium

Licensing is per clip and price varies by usage — budget before you start editing.

medium

No public security page; Hudson Rock lists 266 infostealer credentials for the domain.

low

A r/DataHoarder thread titled 'British Pathe Erasing?' raises deletion concerns about uploads.

Pros and cons

Pros

  • All 208,000 films viewable free on the website
  • 85,000+ historical films also free on YouTube since 2014
  • Described as one of the world's largest newsreel archives
  • Museums can license the archive to bring exhibits to life
  • Per-clip licensing available for film, TV and productions

Cons

  • Not software — 'buying' means licensing footage clips
  • No published prices; clip rates depend on usage
  • No public funding — commercial licensing keeps it running
  • Free viewing doesn't grant reuse rights; copyright still applies

Sources & method

Analyzed 9/21/2026 - 8 sources - No known vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed; one OSINT report flags exposed credentials.

official x4review x1security x1news x2
  • Credentials in infostealer logs, Hudson Rock lists 266 credentials from exposed via infostealer malware collections.

Key stats

  • Value for money: 5/5

    Rating

  • $0

    Starting price

  • 8

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 5/5. Entire archive free to watch; pay only per licensed clip
  • Ease of use: 4/5. Full archive streamable on the web and YouTube
  • Feature depth: 3/5. Deep archive with search, licensing desk, museum partnerships
  • Support quality. No public support reviews found
  • Security posture: 2/5. No public security page; 266 leaked credentials listed
  • 208,000 Archive size videos free to view on the website
  • 3.65M YouTube reach subscribers; 85,000+ films posted free since 2014
  • Per clip Licensing model price varies by usage; no published rates
  • Self-funded Funding receives no public funding

Pricing

Free viewing

$0

  • Browse and watch all ~208,000 films on the website
  • 85,000+ films also on YouTube

Clip licensing

Per clip, on enquiry

  • Price depends on clip and usage
  • Contact via licensing page

Security

No known vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed; one OSINT report flags exposed credentials.

  • Credentials in infostealer logsHudson Rock lists 266 credentials from exposed via infostealer malware collections.⁷

What users say

Users largely celebrate it as a vast free archive to explore, with occasional confusion about copyright and reuse rights.

“British Pathe puts over 85,000 historical films on YouTube”
Reddit, r/Documentaries
“Shouldnt copyright law prevent this”
Reddit, r/Ask_Lawyers

Alternatives

Compare British Pathé with each alternative.

  • British Pathé on YouTube

    85,000+ films free; best option if you only want to watch.

  • AP Archive

    Guess: competing newsreel archive with similar per-clip licensing.

  • Internet Archive

    Guess: free public-domain film library for research use.

    British Pathé vs Internet Archive

  • Getty Images footage

    Guess: larger commercial footage library for premium licensing needs.

Full analysis

Based on ~40 public sources. Snippets were often truncated; note this is an archive/licensing business, not a software product.

Free to watch 208,000 newsreels; you only pay when licensing clips for commercial use.

Methodology

Based on ~40 public sources. Snippets were often truncated; note this is an archive/licensing business, not a software product.

Sources

  1. British Pathé Homepagebritishpathe.com
    official
  2. British Pathé Licensingbritishpathe.com
    official
  3. British Pathé Copyrightbritishpathe.com
    official
  4. British Pathé press resources and client listbritishpathe.com
    official
  5. Reddit — British Pathe puts over 85,000 historical films on YouTubereddit.com
    review
  6. Open Culture — Free: British Pathé on YouTubeopenculture.com
    news
  7. Hudson Rock — britishpathe.com credential exposurehudsonrock.com
    security
  8. Pathé News — Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
    news

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