We humans tend to process images many times faster than text. That’s how our brains work. You might also feel this, it is much easier and more straightforward to read a product's description from an infographic image than from text. Good images attract people’s attention a lot more than text. They also help spread your business and message among people.
Not only that, creating custom images can be expensive and time-consuming. A common problem for those of us who do online business is that we often run out of enough images. Our own photoshoot wouldn’t be enough. What to do in such a situation?
This is where stock photo sites come in handy.
Stock photo sites have a massive collection of copyright-free photos that are either free or affordable. You can find any type of professional photos, illustrations, and graphics you want. These stock photos help your online business look polished and professional.
Another useful purpose is that copyright-free images are also important for legal reasons. This way, we don't need to worry about legal problems from someone claiming ownership of the image.
You can almost find any kind of image you're looking for. It’s an easy way to get high-quality, free, or affordable images that save time, avoid legal problems, and enhance your brand’s visual appeal.
In this article, we will only focus on stock photo websites that are completely free, meaning they do not require any payment. So that you can use their images entirely free of charge.
Sometimes visual content can be the key to your business achieving huge success. Presentation can boost your brand to a new level of achievement. Free stock photos contribute greatly to achieving this success at no cost. Now, let’s discuss why business owners might use free stock photos.
Saving money is the first reason for businesses on a budget to use stock photos. Investing a high amount of money in product photoshoots or simply roaming around Google for low-quality photos is clearly a bad move. Why should you invest when you can get every type of high-quality photo for free?
Free stock photos not only help you avoid copyright claims, but they also helps greatly to enhance the reliability of your social media presence.
Free stock photos can be the easiest and most cost-effective way to enhance a brand’s visuals. There are also many advantages to using free stock photos for commercial or non-commercial purposes. Let's take a look at the 10 top free stock photo sites that provide free images.
Now you know how free stock photos contribute much advantage to a business, especially for businesses working with limited budgets.
Along with that, any business can make marketing images for their business using stock photos. There is also no copyright issue. Overall, it is totally unlimited storage of photos with no payments.
But a thing to keep in mind: you can’t just download a free stock photo and upload it. I mean, yes, you can, but it won’t be helpful for your business brand's visual identity. You should edit the photo or get the help of a photo editing service to give it a look that matches your brand identity, or turn it into a nice, attractive poster to enhance the visuality on your social media. Enough of speaking about advantages. Here are the 10 top free stock photo sites. Get started with us:
We have all heard of Unsplash more or less. It is a free stock photo site with a huge collection of high-quality images. The photographers' community helped them build this massive collection.
Unsplash features more than 3 million stock photos across various categories such as fashion, nature, landscapes, technology, etc. Anyone can use these images for both personal and commercial purposes.
However, it is not entirely free. Along with its free version, Unsplash also offers a subscription model called Unsplash+. With Unsplash+ you can access to exclusive photos that aren't available to free users. This means that not all images on the platform are free, and you have to pay to access all the photos.
Unsplash has its own license. You can download, copy, modify, or distribute photos for free, and for commercial purposes. This doesn’t require permission or attribution. However, there are some limitations to the Unsplash license.
You can’t sell unaltered photos, redistribute them on competing platforms, or compile their photos to create a competing service. This is strictly prohibited according to their license. Moreover, you can't use their images for machine learning or AI training without permission.
Unsplash appreciates attribution to photographers, but it is not mandatory, except when using its API content.
If you plan to sell prints or other physical products using Unsplash photos, you must heavily edit the photo and make significant changes before doing so.
Any company can greatly benefit from Unsplash. They can enhance their visual identity by using the free photos provided. Whether for blogs, presentations, product catalogs, or advertisements, Unsplash offers content to make their visuals stand out.
The vibrant, high-quality photos are perfect for creating eye-catching promotional images for marketing campaigns, social media, and websites. With a wide variety of themes, companies can align imagery with their brand values, improving visual appeal.
Since anyone can use Unsplash photos for free, especially those on a budget, it’s an excellent way to meet visual branding needs without spending money. This removes the need for costly photography sessions or premium stock photo subscriptions.
| PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
| You can download and use a large collection of high-quality images for free, even for commercial purposes. | Some exclusive and premium photos are only available with Unsplash+. |
| You get a wide selection of high-resolution, professionally shot photos. | These images can also be used by other businesses. |
| Simple and easy interface for searching and downloading photos. | Strictly prohibited to sell unaltered images or use them for machine learning purposes. |
Personally, I use Pexels site to get free stock photos. Pexels site offers a wide range of high-quality stock videos and photos. Like Unsplash, they also offer various categories such as nature, business, lifestyle, and more. Their stock includes more than 3.2 million photos, and creators from all around the world are regularly adding new collections to the website.
They also allow their users to use their photos both commercially and personally. Additionally, they have no subscription features for accessing exclusive or premium photos.
Pexels has the same license as other free stock photo sites. You can download and use any image for free. It is free for both personal and business uses.
They also don’t require attribution or credit, but it’s appreciated. The only restrictions they have are similar to other websites: you can't sell or distribute the images as standalone files.
Startups or small businesses can save a lot of money by using Pexels site free stock photos. This way, businesses with limited budgets can improve their visual presentation for free. These photos will help maintain a solid brand identity across various platforms. Here is a short list of how free photos from Pexels site can help a business improve its visual presentation:
I have already discussed the pros and cons while sharing the info about Pexels site. However, here is a summary of the pros and cons:
| PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
| You can use free photos and videos without any cost. | Photos might be used by others, meaning one photo might be used by various businesses. |
| You don’t need to give attribution or credit to the creator. | You can’t resell or redistribute the photos. |
| You can use the photos for both business and personal uses. | Sometimes, you may not find the exact type of photo you’re searching for. |
| Pexels site content is regularly updated with trending images. | |
| No fee for any image on the platform. |
Pixabay has a collection of over 5 million media assets, including photos, videos, illustrations, vector graphics, music, sound effects, and GIFs. All of this content is absolutely free. The most popular categories, such as nature, business, technology, and more, are covered in their wide variety of content.
These contents are contributed by creators from around the world.
Pixabay site offers curated collections, an editor's choice section, and trending searches to make it easy for their users to find high-quality, relevant content, which can be photos, videos, or audio. They also allow users to use their assets for both personal and commercial use.
Pixabay’s license is the same as Unsplash and Pexels sites. Users of Pixabay can download and use all media, including images, videos, and audio, at no cost. This license covers both personal and commercial use.
Like Pexels website, they don’t have any premium subscriptions. All the content is totally free for anyone.
However, you can’t sell or redistribute these contents, and you can’t use photos featuring people in a negative way. They also don’t require attribution, but as you know, it’s appreciated.
As you can see, Pixabay provides almost the same benefits as Pexels but with more content in their stock. Here are some pros and cons of this free stock photo website.
| PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
| You have access to a large collection of high-quality images, videos, and audio, totally for free. | Their popular photos can be widely used, so you might not get a unique visual. |
| You don't have to deal with the hassle of giving attribution for commercial or personal use. | You can’t resell or redistribute the media. |
| Pixabay not only offers photos, but also videos, audio, and more. | |
| No subscription fee. You can freely access all the content. |
Burst by Shopify is a free stock photo site, similar to other free stock photo sites. It offers thousands of high-resolution photos. The photos are updated constantly to help entrepreneurs, designers, and content creators find the best visuals for their websites, ads, and social media.
Burst has a wide range of categories that include business, retail, and fashion, as well as nature, food, and lifestyle. It is especially useful for online businesses.
Burst has two types of licenses for its photos:
Burst primarily offers its photos for website use, such as for decorating websites or blog posts. However, you can also create social media posts, email templates, or ads using these images. You can use the photos however you like them to improve the visual appeal of your business.
| PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
| All photos are free, with no cost or subscription for exclusive or premium content. | Using the same photo as other businesses may reduce uniqueness. |
| The photos are free for both personal and commercial uses. | The stock isn’t as large as other photo stock platforms. |
| You can modify and sell the photos. | You must do proper modification before reselling. |
| Burst regularly updates the website with new photos. | Specific categories might have fewer photos. |
StockSnap is a free stock photo site like Pexels and Pixabay. It contains thousands of high-quality, high-resolution stock images, all available for free download. It also doesn’t have any paid or premium subscriptions. You can freely download and use all of their photos without any hassle.
All the photos available on StockSnap are governed by the creative Commons CC0 License. This means you can use any photo for both personal and commercial purposes. This does not include needing permission or paying any fee. So, you don’t need to credit the creator of the photo.
You can also edit, copy, and distribute the photos freely. The only problem you may face is that you can't use the photos to suggest that the people shown in the photos recommend your product or brand. Also, StockSnap doesn't guarantee that permissions (called model or property releases) have been obtained for the people or locations in the photos. So, be careful.
StockSnap has a large library for many themes of photos. So, businesses can maintain a specific theme by using the photos on this website.
It has business, nature, food, fashion, lifestyle, background— all types of themes or categories. So, any business planning to poster design or images for their campaign or ads can use these photos to give an attractive visual to their brand.
| PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
| Get free access to all the photos. | No paid subscription. |
| Doesn’t require any account for downloading photos. | No videos or illustrations available. |
| New photos are added weekly. | Since it's fully free, the same photos might be used by too many users. |
Kaboompics provides a wide selection of over 20,000 free, high-quality stock photos. From bloggers to marketers, all can use these photos for their needs. It focuses on photos of lifestyle, food, interior design, beauty, and travel. The photos provide a soft, minimalistic, and stylish aesthetic.
It has no subscription fee for more photos. Everything is free for download.
However, Kaboompics offers access to exclusive free mockups and stock videos through its "Secret Club" newsletter.
Kaboompics' license is the same as other free stock photo sites' licenses. It allows the user free use for personal and commercial purposes. Credit or attribution is not required. But you can’t redistribute or sell the photos. You can modify the photos and use them in marketing, websites, and social media. However, you cannot sell the photos on other platforms like stock photo sites.
This platform has a unique feature that other stock photo websites don’t have. You can search for specific tones or colors of photos from the color palette in the search. You can also get the color combinations of any photo just by simply putting the cursor on the photo. This allows users to filter photos by dominant colors.
This feature is highly useful for designers and marketers who need visuals that match specific color schemes for brand consistency.
| PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
| Provides a wide variety of minimalist and minimal-style photos. | Offers fewer photos compared to other stock photo sites. |
| Unique search feature: allows searching by color only. | All photos are created by one photographer, which may limit the diversity of styles. |
| Photos can be used without attribution. | As with other free stock photo sites, some photos may be used by others. |
Gratisography offers a fun and creative collection of free high-resolution stock photos. The images are unique, quirky, and often humorous—these unique additions help them stand out from traditional stock websites.
It has themes like animals, business, food, fashion, whimsical, and real estate photos. The collection is smaller compared to major platforms, but it’s regularly updated. This platform is ideal for users looking for unusual or eye-catching visuals.
Gratisography uses a term called “Peace of Mind,” meaning all the photos on Gratisography are totally free for use for both personal and commercial purposes. It also doesn’t require attribution. However, reselling or redistributing the images is strictly prohibited.
Gratisography is renowned for its quirky, whimsical, and unconventional photos. It focuses on humor and creativity, unlike other traditional stock photo sites. This unique approach makes it an ideal platform for humorous and unconventional visuals.
While this website is more unique than others, it possesses some pros and cons:
| PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
| Ideal website for unique and fun photos. | Smaller collection than big stock sites. |
| No need for attribution. | Limited content in traditional or professional photographs. |
| No subscriptions are required. All the photos are absolutely free. | No advanced search features. |
Picjumbo offers more than 4,000 photos for free commercial and personal use. These photos cover a large range of categories such as nature, business, people, food, abstract, and more. The photos are available in high-quality resolutions, often up to 24MP. This type of photo is suitable for large-scale projects.
They also offer a premium membership, similar to Unsplash, that provides access to 10,000+ additional exclusive images and themed collections.
You can use Picjumbo's photos for business or personal purposes for free. Also, you don’t need to give attribution. However, not all photos have model or property releases, so you must ensure compliance if you're using them commercially.
Additionally, you can’t resell or redistribute the photos, nor can you use them on products like custom t-shirt designs or framed art.
As Picjumbo offers large-scale photos, they provide excellent quality for both web and print use. You can get access to a variety of themed collections by purchasing the premium subscription, to give your website or blog a consistent look.
Since Picjumbo requires no attribution, bloggers can use any photos without worrying about the source.
| PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
| Picjumbo offers over 4,000 free high-resolution photos. | To get full access to over 10,000 photos, you need to purchase the premium plan. |
| No attribution required | Some photos may contain recognizable individuals, trademarks, or properties. |
| The photos are categorized nicely to simplify the search process. | Photos cannot be resold, redistributed, or used for creating products. |
Freepik not only offers photos or videos. It has a massive collection of vectors, illustrations, icons, and PSD templates. The total amount of content it has is over 250 million. More than 120 million were made last year using AI. Yes, Freepik allows AI images; it even has some AI features on its website, such as text-to-image generation, background removal, and enhanced search capabilities.
Freepik has three main categories: vectors, photos, and AI. Its millions of contents are organized into specific subcategories under these three main categories, like illustrations, textures, business, nature, technology, and many others.
Freepik doesn’t allow its users to use its content without attribution. You must provide attribution if you are a free user of Freepik. For free users, proper attribution (e.g., "Designed by Freepik") is required for both personal and commercial use.
If you don’t want to do that, you need to upgrade to a premium subscription. Also, the free version doesn’t allow access to all the features Freepik provides. With the premium version, you get access to all the images, including all the features.
The free images cannot be resold, redistributed, or used in any illegal or harmful way. You can’t directly use the content in a product, but you can use it as a single element among many in your designs.
Freepik gives you a lot of benefits through its massive collection. But, as you know, you can’t get access to everything without subscribing to the premium version. So, that is a con, since we are only looking for free stock photo sites.
| PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
| Categories and subcategories for easy navigation. | Free plan limits the number of downloads (3 per day for unregistered users, 10 per day for free registered users). |
| Advanced AI tools for image search and editing. | Premium subscription required to access all the content. |
| Suitable for both personal and commercial use. | Need to provide attribution if using the free version. |
Reshot is a free stock photo site focused on custom icons and illustrations. This platform is different from traditional stock photo websites.
It is mainly for designers who like easy access to a lot of different icons and illustrations without the hassle of drawing or buying.
Reshot is totally free without any premium subscription. That means you get access to all content without spending any money, and all its content is free for both personal and commercial use. You also don’t need any attribution.
However, there are some restrictions, such as not using the content to create competing stock photo websites. Also, be careful with content containing recognizable individuals or brand logos. They might need separate permissions despite the free license.
| PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
| Has lots of icons and illustrations. | Doesn’t have traditional stock photos or images. |
| Free to use all the contents. | Does not have categories for easy searching. |
| Ideal for any designer. | The amount of content is pretty low compared to other stock photo sites. |
Free stock photos are an easy and cost-effective way to give your business a professional look. These free photos can enhance the visual appeal of websites, social media, and marketing materials. Now, let’s look at some effective ways businesses can use free stock photos properly:
Final thoughts, now you know where to get free stock photos for your website or business. The 10 top free stock photo sites help any low-budget business or individual create an attractive and professional look for their brand kits. You can freely get millions of photos to choose from for your brand. However, I don't recommend using the photos as they are. You can customize or edit photos to give a unique look, so they don’t match others.
That’s all for now! If you have any questions or want more details on how to use free stock photos effectively, feel free to contact us. Our team will get back to you ASAP. Best wishes for your business!
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