Do you need copyright free images for your personal projects?
What about free images for your commercial purposes?
Or do you simply want to make sure that your social media posts are free of any copyright claims?
Great! Now you will discover the best 3 places to get images totally free of any charge and free of attribution requirements (when you must name the image author).
Some of the free images websites presented here have MILLIONS of Photos, Vectors and Illustrations! And all of them have tens of THOUSANDS of free Photos you can use!
By the way, just so you know beforehand, you actually are allowed to edit the photos, vectors and illustrations you get on the top 3 free image websites. We’ll get into details about each website and how you can use their free content.
Let’s see the best sites of completely free images to download.
1. Pixabay
The first source of free images that has a lot to offer is Pixabay. There you can download more than 2,200,000 Free Stock Photos.
In case you don’t know, “Stock Photos” are the ones taken by professional photographers and sold online. But on Pixabay (and other free image sources) Stock Photos are distributed freely with no charges or copyright requirements.
Pixabay is the best free source for Vectors and Illustrations, which are graphic images, a.k.a Art Stock Images or Artistic Visuals.
Graphic images are made by artists and designers using computer software. They’re great for design projects. Pixabay has more than 100,00 Free Vectors and more than 290,000 Free Illustrations!
As it goes with every good website, there are some good practice rules you need to follow while using Pixabay free media (and while using the other free image sites too).
Now you’ll see a summary of what you can and what can’t do while using Pixabay free images. That shouldn’t replace your reading of the Pixabay License and the Pixabay Terms of Service.
What you can do
The Pixabay License allows you to use all image content without having to ask for permission and with no attribution requirements for digital AND printed materials, both for personal and commercial purposes. Cool, right?!
So if you need to create a commercial logo or a T-shirt design, you can download and use Pixabay Photo Stock and Art Stock with no fear.
You can use Pixabay images on your social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
If you want you can give credit to the image author, which is very appreciated by the Pixabay creators community.
Also, you can make changes to images from Pixabay, you can edit them as you like!
But you need to pay attention to what is not allowed by Pixabay (explained below) to make sure you’re using the service correctly.
What you can’t do
There are some things you can’t do while using Pixabay free images.
You can’t sell or redistribute the images of Pixabay on other stock or wallpaper platforms (such as the other free image platforms shown here in this post).
You can’t sell image copies that you didn’t alter in any way. For example: you can’t sell an exact copy of a stock photo as a poster or a print or on a physical product.
For images with people, you can’t portray identifiable people in a bad light or in a way that is offensive.
Finally, you can’t use images with identifiable brands to create a misleading association with a product or service.
2. Unsplash
Another great free images source you can use is Unsplash, which has more than 1,000,000 Free Stock Images, Backgrounds and Wallpapers.
However, they don’t have a dedicated storage of Vectors and Illustrations, so in case you really need those graphic images, you’re better off with Pixabay (explained above). You can also see our post The Best Sites of Free Vector Images if you need vectors.
Now you’ll see a summary of what you can and what can’t do while using Unsplash free images. That shouldn’t replace your reading of the Unsplash License and the Unsplash Terms & Conditions.
What you can do
The Unsplash License allows you to download all Unsplash images for free.
Also, you can use Unsplash free images for personal and business projects, for commercial and non-commercial purposes.
You can use Unsplash images on social media platforms.
You don’t need to require permission of use to any image author, and you don’t need to attribute the image author (though you can if you want to because attribution is always appreciated).
What you can’t do
While using Unsplash, you can’t compile its photos to replicate a similar or competing service (such as the other free image platforms shown here in this post).
Also, you can’t sell Unsplash free images without adding significant modification to them.
3. Pexels
Pexels is another awesome source of free images, with more than 1,000,000 Stock Photos you can download.
Pexels doesn’t have a dedicated storage of Vectors and Illustrations. So again in case you really need those graphic images, you’re better off with Pixabay (explained previously). You can also see our post The Best Sites of Free Vector Images if you need vectors.
Now you’ll see a summary of what you can and what can’t do while using Pexels free images. That shouldn’t replace your reading of the Pexels License and the Pexels Terms of Service.
What you can do
The Pexels License allows you to download all images on Pexels for free.
You can use Pexels images on social media platforms.
Also, you don’t need to attribute the image author. But, as usual, if you want to you can give credit to the photographer or to Pexels.
Finally, you can modify the free images you download.
What you can’t do
There are some things you can’t do while using Pexels.
You can’t sell or redistribute free images on other stock photo or wallpaper platforms (such as other free image platforms shown here in this post).
Images with identifiable people may not appear in a bad light or in a way that is offensive.
Also, you can’t sell unaltered copies of any free image. For example, you can’t download an unaltered copy of a free photo as a poster, print or on a physical product before modifying it.
You can’t imply endorsement of your product by people or brands on the imagery.
Conclusion
Great! Now you’re ready to boost your media editing projects with hundreds of free images! So don’t hesitate to check the platforms listed here in the post and see what you get!
You can also share your thoughts in the comments below!
