What is an Envato Author?
An Envato Author is a creative professional who earns money by selling digital assets — such as templates, stock video, music, graphics, photos, and more — through Envato's platforms. Envato supports a global community of these creators who have collectively earned more than $1.3 billion USD worldwide to date.
Being an Envato Author means continuously investing in your craft: staying ahead of industry trends, taking advantage of promotional opportunities, and building your own business and marketing skills.To help you navigate our ecosystem, we provide a Beginner's Guide to Selling on Envato, which includes a comprehensive glossary of core concepts and terminology.
Please note: Applications to become a new Envato Author are currently closed. Learn more here.
How earning through Envato works
Earning on our platforms follows a straightforward process:
- You upload your work to become an Author.
- Customers download your assets as they browse our products.
- You earn money from those downloads. See how earnings work for more details.
Our Platforms
As an Envato Author, you can showcase and sell your work across three distinct platforms: Envato, Envato Market, and Placeit.
Envato
What it is: Envato is an all-in-one creative asset toolkit that combines millions of premium stock assets with intuitive AI tools designed specifically for modern creative workflows—all under a single, clear commercial license.
How it works for Authors: We carefully select specific Authors to join Envato Elements to maintain a highly curated library for our subscription community. If invited, your items become available to subscribers who can download them as part of their plan. Learn more about the content types we are looking for.
Who it's for: Envato serves millions of graphic designers, video professionals, and creators globally. Subscriptions start at $16.50 per month and grant users unlimited asset downloads alongside full access to our AI toolkit. Pricing tiers differ only by the number of AI generations a subscriber receives each month. See the Plans & Pricing page for current details.
Envato joined Shutterstock, Inc. (NYSE: SSTK) in July 2024, and continues to serve millions of graphic designers, video professionals, and creators globally.
Envato Market
What it is: Envato Market consists of a collection of niche marketplaces where you can sell your items directly to customers on a per-project basis.
How it works for Authors: You upload your work, users purchase a direct license for that item, and you earn a payout. If we invite you to sell on our subscription platform (Envato), your items may become available on both platforms simultaneously, depending on your content type.
Who it's for: This setup is ideal for everyone from small creative businesses to large enterprises looking to license assets for individual projects.
Placeit
What it is: Placeit is a simple design, logo, and mockup tool built for ultimate accessibility, allowing anyone to create assets for any business or occasion.
How it works for Authors: If you are an Envato Elements Author, we may consider your assets for publication on Placeit depending on customer demand, though selection is not guaranteed. You earn money whenever a customer uses your assets in a downloaded template. Read more about earnings on Placeit. Popular customer searches on Placeit include apparel mockups (such as t-shirts, tote bags, and mugs), product packaging mockups, t-shirt designs, and social media templates.
Who it's for: Placeit customers range from small business owners to marketers who need quick, customizable designs without specialized software. Customers can buy individual items or access the full library via a paid subscription.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Tuts+?
Tuts+ is Envato's free educational hub. It offers thousands of written tutorials and video courses covering design, video production, coding, photography, music, and more. Users do not need a subscription to access this content.
For Envato Authors, learning new skills is an excellent way to expand your portfolio and appeal to new customers. You can explore all available learning resources at tutsplus.com or visit the official Envato Tuts+ YouTube channel.
What types of assets sell best on Envato?
The most in-demand asset types vary by platform. On Envato, popular categories include graphic templates, stock video, music tracks, and presentation templates. On Envato Market, WordPress themes, website templates, and video templates tend to perform well. Demand shifts over time, so staying current with industry trends is key.
How will I know if my items have been chosen for Placeit?
We do not send individual notifications when we select and publish your items on Placeit. However, if Placeit customers purchase or download your templates, those earnings will appear transparently in your monthly statement on the Author Dashboard. You can learn more about viewing your earnings statement here.
What happens to my item when it is published on Placeit?
We may edit your file slightly before publishing it on Placeit. This minor formatting ensures that Placeit users can seamlessly customize and interchange elements like graphics, icons, fonts, and backgrounds. While we might reorder design elements or remove lines of text to make the file viable for the tool, we will never make large, sweeping structural changes to your original work.
If you decide to remove items from Envato Elements that are also live on Placeit, we will endeavour to remove those corresponding assets from Placeit within 30 days.