9 Best Free Stock Photo Sites for Personal & Commercial Use
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When you’re running a website, it’s important to have high-quality images to make your page look good. But finding good stock photos can be expensive – or even impossible, if you don’t have any design skills yourself.
So what’s the solution? A free stock photo site! These sites offer high-quality images that you can use for your website or blog without paying a cent.
In this post, we’ll introduce you to some of the best free stock photo websites around. So if you’re looking for some new visuals for your page, read on!
What is a Stock Photo Site?
A free stock photo website is a site that offers free, high-quality photos that can be used for personal or commercial purposes. While there are many free stock photo websites available, they vary in terms of the quality and quantity of photos they offer.
Some free stock photo websites only offer a limited selection of photos, while others offer thousands of high-quality photos. In addition, some free stock photo websites require users to sign up for an account before they can download photos, while others do not.
However, all free stock photo websites allow users to download and use the photos without asking for permission or paying a fee.
9 Best Free Stock Photo Sites
1. Pixabay
- Photos
- Illustrations
- Vectors
- Videos
- Music
- Sound Effects
License: Free to use for commercial and non-commercial
Pixabay is a website that offers free stock photos. It was founded in 2010 by Hans Braxmeier and Simon Steinberger. Pixabay is headquartered in Germany.
Pixabay offers over 2.6 million public domain photos, illustrations, and vector graphics as of this writing. It is available in 26 languages. Pixabay also offers free videos, music and sound effects. It operates under their own license which allows for the free distribution of materials uploaded on their platform.
Pixabay is one of the most popular free stock photo websites with over 30 million monthly visitors. It has been featured in several publications including The Guardian, The Huffington Post, and Lifehacker.
Sample photo:
2. Unsplash
- Photos
- Illustrations
- Vectors
License: Free to use for commercial and non-commercial
Unsplash is a website that offers free stock photos. The site was launched in 2013 by a team of developers from Canada. Unsplash has become one of the most popular sources of free stock photos, with over 30 million unique visitors per month. Check out their stats here.
The site features a curated collection of high-quality photos, taken by a community of photographers from around the world. Unsplash offers a variety of content, including nature, travel, fashion, and lifestyle photos.
The site also allows users to search for specific topics or keywords. In addition to being used for personal projects, Unsplash photos have also been featured in major publications such as Time, Forbes, and The New York Times. In 2021, Getty Images acquired Unsplash.
Thanks to its easy-to-use interface and high-quality images, Unsplash has become one of the most popular sources for free stock photos.
Sample photo:
3. Pexels
- Photos
- Illustrations
- Vectors
- Videos
License: Free to use for commercial and non-commercial
Pexels is a free stock photo website that offers high-quality and stylish photos for personal and commercial use. All photos are released under the Pexels license, which grants you the right to use them for any purpose, including modifying and distributing them.
Pexels also provides a range of free videos, which you can use for free for any purpose. Whether you’re looking for an eye-catching photo for your website or a beautiful image to share on social media, Pexels has you covered.
Pexels has over 30 million monthly users worldwide.
With new photos added every day, there’s always something fresh to explore on Pexels. So why not take a look today and see what Pexels has to offer?
Sample photo:
4. Stocksnap
- Photos
- Illustrations
- Vectors
License: Free to use for commercial and non-commercial
Stocksnap is a free stock photo website that offers a wide variety of high-quality images. The site is easy to use and offers a wide range of categories, making it a great resource for both professionals and amateurs alike.
Stocksnap offers both high-resolution and low-resolution images, and all photos are released under a Creative Commons license. This means that they can be used for personal or commercial purposes, and without the need of author attribution.
In addition to being a great source of free stock photos, Stocksnap also offers a number of features that make it a valuable tool for businesses and individuals. For example, the site allows users to search for specific keywords, trending or categories, making it easy to find the perfect image for any project.
Whether you’re looking for high-quality stock photos or a easy-to-use search tool, Stocksnap is an excellent option.
Sample photo:
5. FreeImages
- Photos
- Illustrations
- Vectors
License: Free to use for commercial and non-commercial
FreeImages is a free stock photo website that offers a vast library of high-quality images. All of the images on FreeImages are available for both personal and commercial use, and there are no attribution requirements. The site was launched in 2001 and now boasts over 2 million free stock photos from over 36,000 photographers around the world.
FreeImages is an excellent resource for bloggers, small businesses, and anyone else who needs high-quality images. The FreeImages team hand-picks each image to ensure that it meets their high standards, and they regularly add new images to their library.
With FreeImages, you can be sure that you’re getting access to top-notch photos without having to pay a dime.
Whether you’re looking for the perfect image to spruce up your website, blog or eCommerce store or you need a high-quality image for your next marketing campaign, FreeImages is sure to have what you’re looking for.
Sample photo:
6. Burst
- Photos
- Illustrations
- Vectors
License: Free to use for commercial and non-commercial
Burst is a free stock photo platform that is powered by Shopify. It provides high-quality images that are free to use for both commercial and non-commercial purposes.It is mainly designed to attract new users to create Shopify store through helping them with free stock photos to start with.
Burst aims to help businesses grow by providing access to quality images that can be used in marketing and product materials.
The site includes a wide range of images, from people and fashion shots to nature and product photos. Burst also offers a variety of search tools to help users find the perfect image for their needs.
In addition, the site provides tips and tutorials on how to use stock photos effectively.
Sample photo:
7. ISO Republic
- Photos
- Illustrations
- Vectors
- Videos
License: Free to use for commercial and non-commercial
ISO Republic is a website that offers free stock photos founded in 2014. The site offers a range of categories, including nature, travel, people, and more.
ISO Republic offers photos that are licensed under the Creative Commons Zero (CC0) license. This means that the photos can be used for any purpose, including commercial projects. ISO Republic has a growing library of high-quality photos, and new photos are added on a regular basis.
Sample photo:
8. Kaboompics
- Photos
- Photoshoots
License: Free to use for commercial and non-commercial
Kaboompics is a website that offers free stock photos. The site was created by Karolina Grabowska in 2014, who is a professional photographer
The photos are organized into categories and subcategories, making it easy to find the right photo for your needs. It has also color pallet search so you can search images base on the color you want. You can download a custom size of the image or choose up to its maximum resolution.
Kaboompics has a sole author. No one can submit any photos unlike Pixabay and Unsplash but the site has a large collection of photos.
You can use the photos for your personal blog or website or even for your eCommerce stores. You can check out it’s license on their page.
Sample photo:
9. LibreShot
- Photos
License: Free to use for commercial and non-commercial
Just like Kaboompics, LibreShot also has a solo author. The LibreShot license allows for unlimited use of the photos for any purpose, including commercial use.
LibreShot was founded in 2014 by Martin Vorel. LibreShot is headquartered in Prague, Czech Republic.
Though this site has fewer photos than the lists above, they may be useful to travel websites. Many photos have great quality and resolution.
Sample photo:
In Summary
The websites in this roundup are a great resource for online content producers looking for free stock photos. They are great for people who wants to build an online presence, for instance, without piling up content costs.
All of the sites listed offer photos that can be used for personal and commercial purposes, so you can feel confident that you’re getting high-quality images to use in your work.
Be sure to check out some of the stock photo sites featured in this article; you’re sure to find the perfect photo for your next project.
