Negosentro.com | 10 Best Free Stock Photo Sites in 2020 | Images are a vital component in digital marketing. They attract, engage, educate, and convert potential consumers like no other medium. And with the average attention span of humans decreasing at an alarming speed – various forms of illustrations help break up text-centric content and make it more digestible.
Thankfully, there are many websites with high-quality stock photographs available on the web. The beautiful collection of high-quality images is available in every niche imaginable – saving you from the hassle of creating your own. And the best thing is that most of them are free!
Overview of Licenses
Free stock photographs are usually Public Domain or backed by a Creative Commons license that allows commercial and non-commercial use without any restriction.
They also don’t require any attribution to the original owner. However, adding a simple credit is always appreciable. You can also research the licensing details of each website to determine how they can be used to avoid unforeseen problems.
Keeping that in mind, let’s dive into our list of top 10 free stock photo sites to use in 2020.
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Pixabay
Pixabay is one of the best websites for free stock photos. It boasts a library of over 1.8 million high-quality images along with videos, vectors, illustrations, and audio clips.
The website is also user-friendly with an in-build search feature that makes it easy to find relevant images. The pictures can be customized according to the size as well.
License: Custom Pixabay license that allows use in both – commercial and non-commercial projects.
Similar to Pixabay, Unsplash also hosts a vast library of over 1 million high-resolution images. The site collates over 1,000 photographs daily, giving you an abundance of choices. But don’t worry – they have the fastest search tool that helps you find any image with a single click.
Their vetting process is also comprehensive and only accepts the best pictures on their website.
License: Unsplash custom license that enables the publisher to use the pictures as they require.
Check out Gratisography if you are looking for something a bit quirky – or out of the box. The collection of photos offered on this website is not vast, but the creativity of the photographer definitely makes up for that.
Ryan McGuire takes all pictures displayed on Gratisography. His photographs have a unique touch and a perfect choice if you are tired of the cliché stock images.
License: A custom license that permits commercial use without attribution. However, the user cannot claim authorship of the visuals.
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Pexels
Pexels is an excellent choice for web designers and app developers looking for images to display interface mockups. It also has pictures of the space – an uncommon feature in other stock sites. In fact, some of the pictures on the Pexels website are by NASA, so there is no doubt about their quality.
Each picture on the Pexels database is appropriately tagged as well, therefore searchable and easy to discover. They also have a dedicated video library with thousands of footage available for free.
License: The custom Pexels license allows free use in commercial projects but prohibits reselling and redistribution.
PikWizard offers over one million free stock photos in multiple categories. A video library for commercial projects is also accessible for free.
The best feature of PikWizard is image quality. It is exceptional and different from the generic images you usually find in stock photo websites. You can edit the photos using the built-in editor to make them more unique.
License: Pictures on PikWizard are free for use in personal and commercial projects, without credits. However, resale and redistribution are not allowed.
Owned by a Canadian digital company, Life of Pix website has a small database of free stock photos – when compared to others mentioned in this guide. However, it stands apart from others when it comes to quality and uniqueness.
They also have a dedicated profile for each contributor, enabling you to search for your favorite photographer easily. Life of Pix covers a wide range of categories with nature, cities, and animals being the most popular.
License: Pictures offered by Life of Pix fall under the Public Domain category for free use without any attribution.
Negative Space is a simple website with an outstanding collection of free stock photographs. However, most of their contributors are UK-based, so you can expect a lot of images illustrating the British lifestyle.
They boast a user-friendly interface, making it easy to find relevant images quickly. You can subscribe to their newsletter as well for updates of new photos.
License: Negative Space uses the Creative Commons Zero license that enables the publishers to utilize images as per their requirements.
Another popular stock photo website, Rawpixel offers both – free and premium database of images. They also have a credible collection of vectors, logos, and illustrations. However, you are only allowed to download ten pictures per day in the free plan.
The pictures are great for designers and social media marketing. It has a user-friendly search interface with images categorized to make search easy. You can also edit the pictures to meet the layout of your webpage.
License: Rawpixel offers separate licensed images for personal and commercial use.
As the title suggests, Foodies Feed is a dedicated database of photographs relevant to the food and hospitality industry. Whether you are a social media food blogger or an owner of a restaurant – Foodies Feed does not disappoint when it comes to free mouth-watering photographs.
The website is a brainchild of Jakub Kapusnak. It includes a collection of 1,600+ photographs added by him along with ‘foodies’ from all over the world.
License: Foodies Feed has a Creative Commons Zero license that allows free use for commercial and non-commercial activities.
Launched by an aspiring photographer who was tired of facing rejections from other stock libraries, PicJumbo is now a thriving website with over 2000 images.
One of the most notable features of PicJumbo is that the creator – Viktor Hanacek knows precisely the ins and outs of stock photography. This is why he takes each shot with licensing requirements in mind and saving you from the trouble of any potential litigation.
License: PicJumbo collaborates with the Creative Commons Zero license allowing free use in commercial projects.
Ready to Download!
The list above – along with many other free and paid stock photo sites– is a blessing in disguise for marketers, bloggers, and hobbyists who are looking for attractive images to use within their content.
Just select from any of them and let us know which one you find the best!
