A good photo can grab attention and convey your message 60,000 times faster than text. What if you lack enough visual material to work with? Here are some websites that offer free stock photos.
There are two most well-known stock photo sites: Shutterstock.com and iStockphoto.com (by Getty Images). There’s almost anything you can find here – for a price. Also, the stock photos are often overly “stocky.”
Fortunately, other options exist. Here are ten sites where you can find free stock images:
UNSPLASH
The site has more than 300,000 beautiful, high-resolution photos submitted by more than 50,000 users. Compared to paid photo sites, Unsplash does not offer the sheer volume of choice, but the quality is top-notch. Here you can find free stock images with a high chance of finding something to use.
PEXELS
Pexels cannot be left out of a post on free stock images. They have one of the largest and most organized collections of free stock photos on the internet. You can also get free stock videos from them! In addition, bloggers often use Pexels for their image needs.
PIXABAY
The database of images on the site is extensive. The site is more focused on business and marketing than Unsplash, which is helpful for content marketers and bloggers. Pixabay also provides free vectors and illustrations.
GRATISOGRAPHY
The GRATISography movement has another twist to it. Their aim isn’t to compete with Unsplash in terms of quantity, but they do boast of having the “world’s quirkiest collection of free stock images.”. Unlike other sites that offer free photos, they excel at providing unique ones that don’t look stocky. This site curates only the most “interesting” submissions.
STOCKVAULT
You can also find free stock photos, wallpapers, and textures on Stockvault. Although it has a much smaller collection than Unsplash, it is well-curated, and new images are added daily. Also, browsing by category is accessible on this site due to the search engine and well-organized navigation.
MORGUEFILE
There are also some differences here. Unsplash or Gratisography photos are more curated and professionally produced. It’s kind of like watching your aunt Sally’s Google Photos stream. Many of the images are of people and items you see every day. If you are looking for a free stock photo of a child brushing his teeth but don’t need a big header picture, then you should try Morguefile.
PIKWIZARD
Pikwazard not only offers a large selection of unique stock images, but it offers an easy-to-use design wizard that lets you edit them before downloading them. Basic tools are available for free, but a paid version is available that has more features.
PICJUMBO
PhotoJumbo’s 24-year-old founder decided to create his free photo community when he got tired of getting refused by the major stock sites.
RESHOT
Rather than simply collecting stock photos, Reshot is a collaborative community. Through this platform, emerging photographers can share their creativity with those who need it. There are numerous beautiful and free collections available on their site.
RAWPIXEL
According to Rawpixel, its stock photo collection is the most diverse in the industry. Furthermore, the site has vector assets, PSD mockups, and public domain content, including Japanese wood panels prints. Contributions to Hope for Children are made through their paid options.
How do free stock photos affect usage rights?
The images on these free stock sites are almost all licensed under the Creative Commons Zero (CC0) license. This means you can copy, adapt, or distribute the images – even for commercial purposes – without obtaining author consent. In other words, do whatever you like with them!
These sources guarantee high-quality, copyright-free images for your next project, blog post, or edit. Just be sure to credit them too!
