Free Stock Photos for Commercial Use
Which stock photo sites a startup can use free photos, videos and illustrations from on its site and ads today, whether attribution is required, what the free license forbids, whether a card is needed and what the first paid plan costs, read from each site's own pages.
Free allowances read on each provider's own pages, all checked on or after . Stock sites change their free plans from time to time: confirm the terms on the provider's page before you rely on it.
Stock photo sites a startup can use for free today include Pexels (Free photos and videos), Freepik (Magnific) (Free plan, limited daily access), Unsplash (Free photos, most commercial use), Vecteezy (Free images and videos with credit), and Pixabay (Free images, video and music). Each of the 10 free plans below links to the provider's page that states it, with its main limit, whether attribution is required, whether a card is needed and what the first paid plan costs.
Website heroes, blog headers, ads and social posts all need images you have the right to use. Free stock sites let you download photos and videos for commercial use under their own license, and stock libraries add a free plan with daily limits.
The headline rarely tells you how far it goes. Free licenses usually forbid selling unaltered copies or printing photos on products, editorial photos are not for commercial use, and some free plans require attribution. Each site below shows what is free, its main limit, whether attribution is required, whether a card is needed and what the first paid plan costs, quoted from the site's own pages with the date we read them.
Which sites we picked and the order they appear in are our editorial choices; the terms are the sites'. Some of these providers pay us a referral commission when someone signs up through our link: those links are labeled, and they play no part in which sites are listed or where.
Free stock photo sites
Photos and videos free for commercial use under the site's own license.
- 1
Pexels
Photos and videos with no attribution needed
Pexels lets you download and use its photos and videos for free, and attribution is not required. You cannot sell unaltered copies, such as posters or prints, without modifying them first.
- What's free
- Free photos and videos (source: pexels.com)
- Attribution
- Not required (source: pexels.com)
- 2
Unsplash
High-quality photos for most commercial projects
Unsplash photos are free to use for most commercial and personal projects, and you do not need to give credit. Its license does not allow selling prints or products with the photos printed on them.
- Attribution
- Not required (source: help.unsplash.com)
Start free at UnsplashTerms read on help.unsplash.com on Unsplash: the free allowance and how to start - 3
Pixabay
Images, video and music with no attribution
Pixabay content is free to use, and you do not have to attribute the author. You cannot sell or distribute Content on a standalone basis.
- Attribution
- Not required (source: pixabay.com)
- 4
StockSnap
Plain CC0 photos for any project
Every StockSnap image is under the Creative Commons CC0 license, so you can use it in commercial work with no attribution. You cannot use the images to imply endorsement by the photographer or anyone shown.
- What's free
- Free photos under CC0 (source: stocksnap.io)
- Attribution
- Not required (source: stocksnap.io)
- 5
Kaboompics
Consistent lifestyle and business photo sets
Kaboompics photos come from its own photoshoots and are provided free. Giving credit is not required, but Editorial Use Only photos are limited to non-commercial editorial use.
- Attribution
- Not required (source: kaboompics.com)
Start free at KaboompicsTerms read on kaboompics.com on Kaboompics: the free allowance and how to start - 6
Burst (by Shopify)
Free commercial photos for stores and ads
Burst photos are free for commercial use, and Burst's terms say you do not need to provide attribution. You cannot sell an unaltered Licensed Content file as a digital photo or in any other form.
- Attribution
- Not required (source: shopify.com)
Start free at ShopifyTerms read on burst.shopify.com on Burst (by Shopify): the free allowance and how to start - 7
Mixkit
Free video clips, music and sound effects
Mixkit is a free library of digital Items for videos, music, sound effects, templates and digital art, available for download and use in your projects. You cannot sell physical or digital copies of its Items without first altering them.
- 8
Openverse
Search openly licensed photos and audio
Openverse offers an extensive library of free stock photos, images and audio for free use. All of its content is under a Creative Commons license or in the public domain.
Start free at OpenverseTerms read on openverse.org on Openverse: the free allowance and how to start
Stock libraries with a free plan or trial
Paid stock libraries that give some images free or a free trial.
- 1
Freepik (Magnific)
Light personal use of free AI tools and stock
Magnific, formerly Freepik, gives its Free plan limited daily access to its AI tools and content library, for personal use only, and its content needs attribution. Its Premium plan costs $14.50 a month billed yearly.
- First paid plan
- Premium: $14.50 a month billed yearly (source: magnific.com)
Start free at Magnific (formerly Freepik)Terms read on magnific.com on Freepik (Magnific): the free allowance and how to start - 2
Vecteezy
Free vectors and photos if you credit the creator
Vecteezy offers thousands of free images and videos for personal and commercial use if you provide attribution. Content may not be used on products for resale.
- Attribution
- Required (source: vecteezy.com)
Also useful for design and creative work
Referral links, picked for fit and ordered by fit (70%) and what a signup earns us (30%), at no cost to you. They never change this page's ranking.
Compare the top options
How this comparison is built
The list covers stock photo and video sites a founder can use for free today without applying to a program. The order and the "best for" notes are our editorial reading of each site's terms. Every term comes from the site's own pricing or help page on the date shown, never from a third-party list; follow each link for the full conditions. Attribution required on free images, limits on commercial use or reselling, a cap on free downloads a day can matter more than the headline, so the comparison quotes them wherever the provider states them. Some of these sites pay StartupPerks a referral commission, and their links are labeled as referral links; that decides neither whether nor where a site appears, and no site pays for a placement on this page.
Read the full methodologyCommon questions
Which free stock photo sites allow commercial use?
By the terms each site states, Pexels, Unsplash, Pixabay, Burst (by Shopify) and StockSnap allow commercial use without attribution, with limits such as not selling unaltered copies.
Do I need to credit Unsplash photos?
No. Unsplash does not require attribution, though its license does not allow prints or products built around its photos.
Is Freepik free?
Freepik, now Magnific, has a free plan with 10 stock downloads a day, and attribution is required on all free content; Premium is $14.50 a month billed yearly.
Where can I find free stock video?
Pexels, Pixabay and Mixkit offer free videos, and Mixkit also has free music and sound effects.
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