Choosing imagery for a website without a photography budget is a common squeeze. The right photo sets the tone of a homepage, lifts a blog post, and gives a social campaign something worth stopping for, but hiring a photographer, models, and a studio for every shot is rarely realistic. Most businesses turn to stock photography to fill the gap. The challenge is finding images that are free, good, and safe to use commercially, all at once.
Free libraries change. Sites get acquired, licences tighten, and some shut down altogether. We have reviewed the field for 2026, dropped the sites that have closed or moved behind a paywall, and confirmed that every option below is still live and still free for commercial use under a clear licence. Before you download anything, read the short section on licensing at the end, because the terms differ from one library to the next.
Five Reliable Free Stock Photo Sites to Start With
If you want quality and breadth without reading the small print every time, start here. Each of these five is large, well maintained, and free for commercial use, and most ask for no attribution at all.
1. Unsplash
Attribution required? No, for direct downloads.
Website: unsplash.com
Unsplash is one of the largest free photo libraries on the web, built from a community of photographers who share high resolution work. The Unsplash Licence lets you download, use, and modify images for free, including for commercial projects, without attribution. Unsplash is now owned by Getty Images, but the free licence has stayed in place. One thing to note: if you pull images through the Unsplash API rather than downloading them, attribution to the photographer and Unsplash is required.
2. Pexels
Attribution required? No.
Website: pexels.com
Pexels offers a deep library of photos and videos under a single permissive licence, free for personal and commercial use with no attribution required. The search is clear, the collections are well organised, and the quality is consistently high. You cannot resell unmodified images or redistribute them on other stock platforms, but for web design, blogs, and marketing it is one of the most dependable sources available.
3. Pixabay
Attribution required? No.
Website: pixabay.com
Pixabay covers photos, illustrations, vectors, and video, which makes it a useful single stop for web designers. The Pixabay Content Licence grants free commercial and non-commercial use with no attribution required. As with most libraries, you cannot sell the content unaltered, and you should be mindful that images featuring identifiable people, private property, or logos may carry additional rights to check before commercial use.
4. StockSnap
Attribution required? No.
Website: stocksnap.io
Every photo on StockSnap is released under a Creative Commons Zero licence, which means you can use it for any purpose, commercial included, with no attribution. New images are added each week, and the search and trending sections make it easy to find current, popular visuals quickly.
5. Burst by Shopify
Attribution required? No.
Website: shopify.com/stock-photos
Burst is Shopify's free photo library, aimed squarely at small businesses and online stores. The images are high resolution and free for commercial use with no attribution required, and the collection leans towards product, lifestyle, and business scenes that suit ecommerce and marketing well.
Ten More Free Libraries Worth Knowing
When the big five do not have the shot you need, these libraries widen the field. Several specialise in a particular style or subject, so they are worth bookmarking for specific projects.
6. Openverse
Attribution required? Depends on the image.
Website: openverse.org
Openverse is a search engine for openly licensed media, indexing more than 700 million images and audio files from across the web. It does not host the files itself, so it is the place to go when you want to search widely. You can filter by licence and tick a box to show only content cleared for commercial use, but always confirm the licence on each individual image, because terms vary from Creative Commons Zero through to attribution and share-alike.
7. Kaboompics
Attribution required? No, but appreciated.
Website: kaboompics.com
Run by photographer and designer Karolina Grabowska, Kaboompics is strong on lifestyle, interior, and food photography with a consistent, elegant look. The detailed search lets you filter by orientation and colour, and the single licence covers free personal and commercial use. As elsewhere, you cannot resell or redistribute the unmodified images.
8. Life of Pix
Attribution required? No.
Website: lifeofpix.com
Life of Pix offers high resolution photography under a Creative Commons Zero licence, free for personal and commercial use with no attribution required. The collection has a clean, editorial feel that works well for hero images and feature sections.
9. Picjumbo
Attribution required? No.
Website: picjumbo.com
Created in 2013 by photographer Viktor Hanacek, Picjumbo offers a wide, well categorised collection free for personal and commercial use. It suits web design, sliders, and apps, with a premium membership available if you want more. You cannot republish or resell the photos for download elsewhere.
10. SplitShire
Attribution required? No.
Website: splitshire.com
Founded by photographer Daniel Nanescu, SplitShire offers free photos and videos under a Creative Commons Zero licence, with no attribution required for commercial use. The library is high quality and a good fit for designers, bloggers, and content teams.
11. Pikwizard
Attribution required? No.
Website: pikwizard.com
Pikwizard offers photos, videos, and templates, with a strong run of images of people in natural, unstaged poses rather than the obviously posed shots stock libraries are known for. Free content is covered under a free or Creative Commons Zero licence with no attribution required, though identifiable people should not be shown in a way they might find offensive.
12. FOCA Stock
Attribution required? No.
Website: focastock.com
Founded by photographer Jeffrey Betts, FOCA Stock provides photos, videos, and templates under a Creative Commons Zero licence for personal and commercial use. New content is added regularly, and there is a Figma plugin if you work inside that tool.
13. Rawpixel
Attribution required? No, for the public domain collection.
Website: rawpixel.com/public-domain
Rawpixel is best known for its public domain collection: vintage illustrations, paintings, and photographs digitally restored and released under a Creative Commons Zero licence, free for commercial use with no attribution. Note that some of Rawpixel's wider catalogue sits behind a paid plan or is marked editorial use only, so stick to the public domain section if you want free commercial images.
14. Negative Space
Attribution required? No.
Website: negativespace.co
Negative Space offers high resolution photos under a Creative Commons Zero licence, free for personal and commercial use with no attribution required. The collection is organised into clear categories, which makes browsing by subject straightforward.
15. Gratisography
Attribution required? No.
Website: gratisography.com
Created by photographer Ryan McGuire, Gratisography is a smaller library with a deliberately quirky, unconventional style. When a project needs something that breaks away from the usual stock look, this is a good place to find it. The images are high resolution and free under its own no copyright restrictions licence.
What Changed Since Our Last Update
A few sites we have recommended before are no longer a safe bet, and it is worth saying why.
Reshot, which offered free icons, illustrations, and vector assets, has been retired by its owner Envato, with assets no longer available to download from January 2026. FreeImages, owned by Getty Images, is still online but its terms have tightened: commercial use now generally requires significant modification of the image so that it becomes your own creative work, and some content also requires attribution. That makes it far less convenient than the libraries above for everyday web use. We have also left out smaller galleries whose licence terms or upkeep we could not confirm, because an unverified licence is a risk you do not want to inherit.
The wider lesson holds for any free library: a recommendation that was sound a year ago can quietly change. Check the licence on the day you download, not the day you read about the site.
How Image Licensing Works
Most free libraries release images under either a Creative Commons Zero licence or their own house licence. Creative Commons Zero, often written as CC0, places work effectively in the public domain: you can use, modify, and distribute it for any purpose, commercial included, with no attribution. House licences, such as the Unsplash Licence or the Pixabay Content Licence, are usually similar in spirit but carry their own conditions, so they are worth a quick read.
A few principles apply almost everywhere. Attribution means crediting the photographer, sometimes with a link, when the licence asks for it. Resale is almost always prohibited, meaning you cannot sell an unmodified image as a print, poster, or product. And a free licence on the photo does not clear the rights of the people, brands, or private property shown in it, so commercial campaigns featuring recognisable faces or logos may need a separate model or property release.
If you use an image without meeting its conditions, you risk infringing copyright. Photographers can and do trace where their work appears online, so the safe habit is simple: read the licence for each image before you use it, and keep a note of where it came from.
Common Questions
Are Free Stock Images Really Free for Commercial Use?
Many are, but not all. Sites like Unsplash, Pexels, Pixabay, and StockSnap allow commercial use with no attribution. Others permit commercial use only with credit, with modification, or for non-commercial projects only. Always check the specific licence before you publish.
Do I Have to Credit the Photographer?
It depends on the licence. Creative Commons Zero images and most house licences need no attribution, though a credit is always welcome. Some libraries, and many Creative Commons images found through search tools like Openverse, do require attribution, so confirm before use.
Can I Use a Free Stock Photo of a Recognisable Person in an Advert?
Not automatically. A free licence covers the photograph, not the rights of the person in it. For commercial campaigns featuring identifiable people, brands, or private property, you may need a separate model or property release. When in doubt, choose an image without recognisable individuals.
What Is the Difference Between CC0 and a Site's Own Licence?
Creative Commons Zero waives the creator's rights so the image can be used freely for any purpose with no attribution. A site's own licence, such as the Unsplash or Pixabay licence, grants broad free use but sets its own conditions, for example barring resale or redistribution. Both are usually safe for web and marketing, but read the terms.
Is It Safe to Use These Sites for Client Work?
Yes, provided you respect each licence. The libraries listed here are live and free for commercial use as of 2026, which covers most client websites and campaigns. For high stakes or large scale advertising, a paid library with full indemnification, such as Adobe Stock or Getty Images, can be the safer choice.
Getting the Most From Your Imagery
Free stock photography gives you range and quality without the cost of a shoot, and the sites above cover almost every subject, style, and tone a project might need. The one rule that never changes is to check the licence for each image before you use it. Get that right and you can build a website, blog, or campaign that looks considered and professional, for free.
If you would rather your imagery did real work, choosing it, treating it, and placing it so it supports the message rather than just filling space, that is part of what we do. Take a look at our web design and branding work, or get in touch to talk it through.
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