How to Find the Best Free Stock Photos and Images for Almost Any Project
Royalty-free stock images used to come at a hefty price, but nowadays you can find many excellent options for free. If you don’t know where to look, however, you might struggle to find what you’re looking for. Let’s fix that!
Unsplash
If you don’t know about Unsplash, I’m excited to be the first to tell you about it! While it doesn’t offer the most comprehensive collection of photos at the moment, it’s a popular platform so it’s likely to change. What makes Unsplash so wonderful is the remarkably high standard of quality. The photos offered—completely free of charge without compulsory credit for the photographer—are excellent if not remarkable.
Of course, you should absolutely credit the photographer whenever possible and Unsplash makes that very easy. If you write with a WYSIWYG blog editor like the one here on Medium, WordPress, or even non-blogging platforms like Google Docs, you can just copy and paste a pre-formatted credit line like you see on the last two photos in this article. They also have a cool button you can embed if you’re into that.
Furthermore, they have a (also free) developer API if you’re into that sort of thing. This is pretty cool because you can do some very interesting things with it programatically. Check it out and think about the possibilities for AI programs, if you need to kickstart your imagination.
PROS: Amazing photography, fantastic tools for crediting and organizing photos of interest, and an especially useful developer API.
CONS: Photos in Unsplash’s collection don’t fit every need, and certain search terms may not turn up much of anything.
Pexels
You’ll find a fair amount of stunning images on Pexels, like the one above, that you can use for free in both a persona and commercial capacity without crediting the photography—but you should anyway, if possible.
The site looks like a busier version of Unsplash at first glance, but the photography provided is a bit closer to what you’d find on more traditional stock sites. The quality is very good overall, but it’s a bit less consistent. Also, the number of images is intentionally limited as Pexels tries to push you to purchase stock photos from Shutterstock (which has phenomenal content but you probably know how annoying they can be if you’ve ever been a customer and downloaded images from more than one location). They also provide ads to other sources. None are bad, but since we’re seeking free content these paid options can get a little confusing and/or annoying.
Nevertheless, Pexels is a good place to use when you need to broaden your photo search beyond Unsplash. While it might have a limited number of options, it tends to at least have a few options in most every category.
PROS: Quality free stock photography, easy search methods, and no account necessary to download right away.
CONS: Lots of ads and paid items in your searches, and photographer credit and attribution information is easy to find but not as simple as Unsplash or clearly defined on each photo page.
Pixabay
Much like Pexels, Pixabay offers a vast collection of quality photos alongside some paid options in most searches. It stands out, however, for its significantly larger number of options which more often are—generally to my delight—just a little weird.
License information usually covers any use you’d need, doesn’t require photographer attribution, and you’ll find the information you need right next to the photo. Additionally, Pixabay offers multiple sizes for download so you don’t have to do it yourself later if full resolution isn’t what you need. This is a small thing, but it can help save some time when using images on the web.
Lastly, Pixabay does not require an account to download but you do have to answer a CAPTCHA if you want to grab an image. If you’re here frequently it’s worth having an account just to avoid that. If you’re just grabbing a photo or two on rare occasion then it may not be worthwhile.
PROS: Excellent selection of photography (that’s broader than any site we’ve discussed so far), multiple download sizes, and useful information at the ready.
CONS: Provides paid options in the search results that are clearly marked but you might mistake for free ones if you’re not paying attention, and requires you to complete a CAPTCHA or have an account to download.
Burst
It’s kind of amazing how many great, free images sources exist these days. Burst is yet another well-designed site that houses tons of great photos. It even includes cinemagraphs and moving images, like the one above. They even have a great set of collections to help you find what you’re looking for right on the front page.
Burst is project crafted by the people at Shopify, so it exists with a purpose. You’ll find options to “start a web site” with Shopify on many pages, for example, but you won’t be encumbered by actual ads.
While Burst is remarkably simple to use and you can get some amazing, free photos with a full license and optional attribution, the collection is very limited to images best-suited for Shopify customers (current or ones they hope to get through this site). That doesn’t mean you won’t find something great for different purposes, but there are just some categories that have nothing (e.g. sex, butt) because it doesn’t apply to their target market.
PROS: Ridiculously simple downloading with no account required, beautiful images, offers cinemagraphs (which is unusual to see in general), and generally just a pleasure to use.
CONS: Designed to help Shopify customers more than just anyone, but that might not matter depending on the types of images you’re seeking.
StockSnap
StockSnap is a lot like Pixabay in terms of its image quality and comprehensive selection. However, it does not offer paid search results which makes it a little nicer to use (but there are small ads clearly separated). Instead, it refers you to a partner tool called Snappa which you can use to create more complex graphics with the images you find. It’s also free to use, though you can pay for additional features.
Another feature that sets StockSnap apart is search. They offer more robust search than most other options and you always have a search panel at the ready to narrow down your results (if desired). You do not need an account to download and attribution is optional. They will also email you photos regularly if you like that sort of thing.
PROS: An excellent and comprehensive selection of images (about 40,000 at the time of this writing), high quality photography, easy to use, robust search tools, and a partner service called Snappa that helps you do more with the images you find..
CONS: Perhaps attribution information could be more clear, but it’s hard to find much to complain about here.
Flickr Creative Commons
If you’re looking for a combination of excellent photography as well as options with a bit less polish, Flickr has a treasure trove of images you can use for free. Many people (myself included) provide images with a Creative Commons license that allow you to use them for personal, editorial, and often other commercial purposes for nothing more than an image credit.
Flickr makes it easy-ish to download multiple sizes, too, which can be a helpful time-saver. The downside, however, is that image quality is not consistent. Flickr is not a stock photo site and, for that reason, there is no effort to maintain traditional stock image standards. You may find a great picture, try to download it at the size you need, and find out it’s only available in a relatively tiny size.
Also, sometimes people mark their images with Creative Commons licenses but don’t realize what they’re doing. While this has happened to me only once, one person requested I remove the image of them because it was embarrassing (they were passed out drunk on the floor). Why anyone would post something that explicitly embarrasses them online for anyone to see and offer it for free use in any situation is a little strange, but it happens. You won’t be in any legal trouble and, if you’re an asshole you’re technically not required to comply if you utilized the license appropriately, but the right thing to do is to respect the wishes of the photographer. This is a rare problem, but it’s one to be aware of when using a site like Flickr.
Flickr also doesn’t make it easy to search for photos by license. You can, but it’s not as obvious or straightforward as other sites. You can very easily browse by license, however. If you want to search Creative Commons Attribution-Only licensed images, you just need to append &l=4 to your query. For example, searching for an image of a dog looks like this (which you can use to create a custom search in Google Chrome if you like):
Despite the hassle Flickr can provide, it is an enormous source of images with more diversity than you’ll find anywhere else.
PROS: Enormous source of images of varying levels of quality, easy access to multiple sizes for downloads (albeit inconsistent ones at times), no account required to use, and very clear license and attribution information available.
CONS: Quality is very inconsistent (which is the downside of the double-edged sword of Flickr’s massive variety), finding what you want isn’t as straightforward as it ought to be, and you can run into some weird problems because it’s not actually a stock photo site.
The Noun Project
Unlike what we’ve seen so far, the Noun Project provides vector images of icons. The site was designed to provide a free resource for designers (or anyone) to get a visual representation of a word or term freely and easily. Attribution is required for every icon on this site, however, though you can pay a nominal fee ($1–2) to bypass that requirement and support the artist financially instead.
While the selection at the noun project is nothing short of spectacular, you are limited to monotone icons that could work on any street sign. That won’t help too much if you’re looking for complex, colorful illustrations but it does serve a very useful and specific purpose better than pretty much anything I’ve ever come across. Images are available as PNGs and SVG files, too, which offers phenomenal versatility for use on the web and in print projects as well.
PROS: An amazing high quality and enormous selection (over one million icons!), free downloads, and awfully charming.
CONS: Attribution is required if you download for free (which is very fair but can be a problem in specific circumstances), the type of icons you can get are very specific, and if you were hoping for an EPS or AI file to download you’re out of luck (but SVG is amazing, so you can get over that easily).
Vecteezy
If you’re looking for a broader selection of vector images, Vecteezy can help with that. The site has a large and diverse collection of generally high-quality vector images. While it doesn’t rival some of the amazing work I’ve seen on sites like Shutterstock, it’s pretty awesome for free. While photos can be time-consuming to produce, you can also end up with something near-perfect with just a click of the shutter. Vector graphics, however, always take a bit of time and specific expertise, so anything you can get for free is a plus.
Vecteezy doesn’t require an account to download and attribution isn’t necessary (at least, not in most cases), but you do have to look at an add for five seconds every time you download. That’s a little annoying, but these sites have to make money. (Any criticism of annoyances like these are only to point them out, not suggest that they should be removed and the site should bleed money.) Also, you’ll find paid search results as well but they are clearly marked (as usual).
What’s more problematic is Vecteezy’s premium results, in which they sell to you directly. There’s nothing wrong with offering this option, and images are clearly marked with a green banner, but this can make browsing annoying when you know you need something for free and you can’t filter the premium options out.
PROS: A very comprehensive selection of generally high-quality vector images available for free, no account is required to download, and attribution is not compulsory.
CONS: You have a lot of ads and paid offerings to avoid that you are essentially forced to interact with, and some of the vector images are a little odd (in a way that’s not necessarily good).
Freepik
Freepik is very similar to Vecteezy in the way it works and the problems it has, so I won’t repeat the description. The major difference here is that Freepik offers a lot of exclusive content and, in my opinion, makes it easier to understand when you’re about to click on a premium image by accident.
They also offer both vectors and photos, so it can sometimes be a one-stop shop if you’re in the market for both types of images. Either way, attribution is required unless you’re a premium (read: paying) user.
PROS: Broad selection of both vector images and photos, no account required to download, original content you will not find elsewhere, easy searching and organizing, and clear attribution requirements.
CONS: Sometimes annoying ads, paid content that gets thrown in with the free stuff, and required attribution if you’re using the images for free (which is a tiny price to pay but can be an issue in some cases).
Need More?
The options covered in this article don’t cover every single option out there. A little googling can find you plenty more, so if you need to expand your search further you should look around. Having read this article (presumably), you’ll have a good idea of what to look for in a free image resource and what sorts of problems to expect.
You may also find that paying a little gets you a lot. Envato Elements offers an exceptionally low-cost subscription service ($29/month) that provides unlimited downloads. Stock Photo Secrets offers a decent collection at a generally low price ($99/200 images) as well as discounts for other stock services. GraphicStock is similar, but less expensive ($99/year for unlimited downloads). They will bug you to pay double for their premium option, which offers almost no advantage, though.
And there are plenty more, too, but this has to end somewhere. If you have a favorite I didn’t mention here, please share in the comments and explain why it’s awesome!
