Whether you’re running a WordPress blog, building a website, or managing social media, finding the right images can make all the difference. But not everyone has the budget for paid photo services. That’s where free stock photo sites come in, offering access to high-resolution images at no cost.
There are plenty of websites that provide royalty-free images and Creative Commons photos, so you can easily complete your projects without worrying about licensing fees. From vibrant landscapes to professional business or delicious food dishes shots, these platforms offer diverse collections of free media resources that cater to different needs. We use these stock image sites when we create our WordPress themes demos.
In this article, we’ll present you 10 best free stock photography websites available online. Each site on the list offers easy access to beautiful, high-quality images that are perfect for both personal and commercial use. Whether you need a quick shot for a food blog post or a stunning image background for your website, these stock photo collections have you covered. You’ll also find unique features like advanced filtering options, some of them offer free AI generated images, niche categories, and frequent uploads, ensuring you always have fresh content to choose from. Let’s dive into the list!
Best Free Stock Photo Websites
1. Freepik
Freepik is a versatile platform offering a vast collection of free graphic resources for designers and creatives. With a huge collection of assets available, including vectors, illustrations, photos, and PSD files, Freepik is a go-to resource for those looking to enhance their projects with high-quality visuals. It caters to both personal and commercial use, though attribution is required when using the free assets.
One of Freepik’s standout features is its detailed filtering system, allowing users to refine searches by asset type, license, file format, color, orientation, and more. This level of customization makes it easy to quickly find the perfect image, icon, or illustration for any project.
Freepik is not limited to just photos; it also offers icons, fonts, and even AI-generated images. For designers seeking professional templates, especially in Photoshop, the site provides a variety of options that can be easily adapted to specific needs.
2. Unsplash
Unsplash is a widely popular free stock photo website known for its large library of high-quality images. With over 3 million photos covering diverse categories, from landscapes to technology, it provides a valuable resource for creatives, designers, and marketers looking for royalty-free visuals. Unlike many other platforms, Unsplash allows users to download, modify, and use photos for both personal and commercial purposes without requiring attribution, although giving credit to photographers is appreciated.
Unsplash offers an easy-to-navigate interface, with options for creating accounts to save favorite images and follow specific photographers. Users can explore images via a search bar or use its visual search feature to find images similar to those they already have. This feature is particularly handy for refining results based on image similarities. In addition to photos, Unsplash recently introduced “Unsplash+,” a subscription service offering exclusive images and extra legal protection for commercial use.
3. Pexels
Pexels is a fantastic resource for those looking for free stock photos and videos, making it a favorite among bloggers, designers, and content creators. The platform offers a wide variety of high-quality visual assets that can be used for both personal and commercial projects without the need for attribution. Whether you’re building a WordPress photography site or curating an image gallery, Pexels is a go-to option for anyone seeking diverse and visually stunning content.
The platform stands out because of its simple and user-friendly interface, making it easy to search and filter through millions of photos, videos, and even AI-generated images. Pexels allows you to search by category, orientation, color, and more, helping you find exactly what you need. With no attribution required for most content, Pexels saves you time on licensing issues, ensuring you can focus on enhancing your project.
4. FoodiesFeed
FoodiesFeed is a stock photography platform specifically tailored to food-related images. It offers a collection of high-quality food photos that are perfect for anyone working on food blogs, websites, or even social media content. The photos on FoodiesFeed are vibrant and naturally styled, making them ideal for creating an engaging WordPress restaurant image gallery or enhancing food-related projects.
One of the standout features of FoodiesFeed is its focus on natural, realistic food images, which distinguishes it from more generic stock image platforms. The site is free to use, and its collection is constantly growing with fresh photos that are especially popular with food bloggers and restaurant owners. You can easily find mouth-watering shots of dishes, ingredients, or drinks that will complement any food-themed website or project.
5. Picjumbo
Picjumbo is a pretty cool website where you can grab free photos for your projects. It’s got thousands of pictures that anyone can use, which is great for people who make blogs, design stuff, or work in marketing agencies. They’ve sorted the photos into different groups like tech, lifestyle, and food, so it’s not too hard to find what you need.
The site’s easy to use – you can look through all the photos without getting frustrated. They’ve even added a dark mode, which is nice if you’re on the computer a lot and don’t want to strain your eyes. If you want to stay in the loop, you can sign up for emails to see when they add new photos.
For people who need more options, there’s a paid plan that gives you access to even more pictures. It’s got special collections for different themes and they add new stuff every month.
6. Rawpixel
Rawpixel is a pretty popular place to get pictures and design stuff for projects. They’ve got a bunch of free things, but you can also pay for fancier options. What’s cool about Rawpixel is they don’t just have photos – they’ve got all sorts of artsy things like mockups and drawings too.
One thing that makes Rawpixel stand out is how they try to show all kinds of people in their pictures. You’ll see folks from different backgrounds, which is nice if you’re trying to make your project look more real and inclusive.
You can get a lot of good stuff from Rawpixel without paying, but if you want the really high-quality images, you’ll need to subscribe. They’re big on being ethical too – they give free stuff to non-profits and try to encourage people to use diverse images in their work.
Overall, it’s a solid place to check out if you need visuals for your projects.
7. Pixabay
Pixabay is a pretty big deal for designers who need free stuff for their projects. They’ve got tons of photos, videos, music, and drawings – like, millions of them. The cool thing is, you can use all this stuff without having to give credit, though it’s always nice to tip your hat to the person who made it.
You can find just about anything on Pixabay. Need a picture of a mountain? They’ve got it. Looking for something tech or consulting business? No problem. They even have videos and those fancy vector graphics that designers love.
It’s pretty easy to find what you’re looking for on their website. You can search for specific things and use filters to narrow it down, like if you want a picture that’s tall instead of wide, or if you’re looking for something in a particular color.
Most of the good stuff is free, but if you make an account (which doesn’t cost anything), you can get even bigger pictures. And if you’re feeling fancy, they’ve got a paid option that lets you use pictures from Shutterstock too.
8. Stockvault
Stockvault is a popular platform for free stock photos, offering an extensive library of royalty-free images contributed by photographers and creators from around the world.
Stockvault makes it easy to find visuals for both personal and non-commercial use. Unlike some stock photo sites, it focuses heavily on artistic and creative imagery, with collections that cater to specific themes such as nature, abstract, and architecture.
One standout feature of Stockvault is its simplicity. You can quickly search through various categories and use filters to find images that fit your project. While attribution isn’t always required, it’s recommended in some cases. Stockvault also offers premium content for those looking for higher-quality photos.
9. Kaboompics
Kaboompics is a valuable tool for professionals needing high-quality images ( over 35K ) that fit perfectly with their project’s design and branding, especially those focused on modern aesthetics.
One of its defining features is its unique search tool that allows users to filter images by color. This tool makes it easy for designers and creatives to find pictures that align with their project’s palette. Additionally, Kaboompics provides a complementary color palette for each image, which is particularly useful for those working on branding or web design.
Kaboompics uses its own license, similar to Creative Commons Zero (CC0), allowing users to download images for personal and commercial use without the need for attribution. However, redistributing the images is not permitted.
10. Vecteezy
Vecteezy is a comprehensive platform offering over 10 million royalty-free resources, including vectors, stock photos, videos, and PSD files. It’s an excellent resource for designers and creators looking for diverse, high-quality materials to use in their projects. One of its standout features is the detailed search tool, which allows users to filter by content type, color, orientation, or even the number of people in the images.
The platform is particularly user-friendly for those concerned with legal liabilities, as Vecteezy provides signed model and property releases for all images requiring them. This ensures that users can download and use content without worrying about potential legal issues. Additionally, each submission is manually reviewed by the Vecteezy team, guaranteeing a well-curated, high-quality collection.
The platform also offers a mix of free and premium content, with the free assets being accessible to all. For those who need something extra, the paid Pro version unlocks access to more exclusive resources and additional features.
Which is Better for Your Project: AI-Generated Images or Stock Photos?
When deciding between AI-generated images and stock photos, the choice largely depends on the specific needs and constraints of your project. Stock photos are known for their consistency and quality, as they come from professional photographers. They provide high-resolution, real-world scenes that are polished and often evoke strong emotions. Stock images are perfect for projects that need authentic visuals quickly like creating a WordPress restaurant website, and at an affordable price, though they may have limitations in customization. Additionally, you might encounter copyright or licensing issues when using them.
On the other hand, AI-generated images are highly customizable and can be tailored to your specific needs. AI technology allows you to create unique visuals that fit particular requirements, providing much more creative flexibility. Furthermore, AI-generated images are produced rapidly and tend to be more cost-effective than traditional stock photography. This makes them ideal for projects where creativity and originality are essential, such as logos, digital art, or content requiring niche visuals that might not be available in a stock photo library.
Final Thoughts
Now that you’ve explored the top free stock photo sites, you’re equipped with a high-quality images collections to bring your projects to life. Whether you’re creating a WordPress law firm website, posting on social media, or designing an ad, these resources will help bring your visuals without stretching your budget.
Which image stock website do you usually use? Let us know in the comments.
Free Stock Image Websites FAQs
What is the best free stock image site?
There isn’t a single “best” free stock image site, as the choice depends on your specific needs, but a few platforms consistently stand out. Here are 2 of them: Unsplash – ideal for bloggers, creatives, and web designers looking for visually striking, high-resolution images. Pexels has user-friendly search features and collections that suit different styles and topics. From business websites to personal blogs, there’s something for everyone.
Is it legal to use free stock photos commercially?
Yes, it is generally legal to use free stock photos for commercial purposes, but it depends on the licensing terms of the platform you’re using. Many websites offer royalty-free or Creative Commons (CC0) licensed images, meaning they can be used for commercial purposes without paying royalties or obtaining permission. However, it’s essential to review the license for each image. Some images may have restrictions, such as requiring a model or property release for commercial use if they feature recognizable people or places.
How can I find niche-specific stock images?
To find niche-specific stock images, you can use specialized search filters available on most stock photo platforms. Websites like Unsplash, Pexels, and Pixabay allow users to search by keyword and apply filters for categories, themes, and styles. For more specific needs, premium stock websites or image directories focused on particular industries, such as fashion or travel, may be more useful.
