Best Free Stock Photo Sites 2026: 6 Options Compared

Free stock photo sites differ less in image quality than in license terms, and the terms are what you should read. Unsplash and Pexels allow free commercial use without attribution, but forbid selling the photos unaltered, and Unsplash also bars building a competing photo service. Pixabay's content license also needs no attribution but does not let you sell content on a standalone basis, and it warns that recognizable brands or logos in a photo cannot be used commercially for goods or services. Burst by Shopify says its photos are free for commercial use with no attribution. Wikimedia Commons and Openverse are different: they index openly licensed material, and each file has its own license, so you may need to give credit or share modifications under the same terms. That makes them great for variety and risky if you copy blindly. A few cautions apply to every site. A free license covers the photographer's rights, not the rights of people or products shown, so avoid identifiable people in sensitive contexts, and avoid logos. Keep a record of where each image came from and its license. The trade-off is simplicity against range: the big three have clean terms and familiar styles, while open-license indexes cover obscure topics but need per-file checking. Six options follow.

Unsplash

Free commercial use without permission or attribution under the Unsplash License. You cannot sell photos unaltered or build a competing service.

Price: Free (Photos free to use commercially without attribution; you may not sell them unaltered or build a competing photo service) (Unsplash pricing, checked 2026-10-23).

Platforms and license: Web. Unsplash License.

Best for: Editorial and web design imagery.

Pexels

All photos and videos free to download and use; attribution not required. Do not redistribute them on other stock sites or imply endorsement.

Price: Free (All photos and videos free to download and use; attribution not required) (Pexels pricing, checked 2026-10-23).

Platforms and license: Web. Pexels License.

Best for: Photos and video clips.

Worth knowing: License bars selling unaltered copies, redistributing on other stock sites and implying endorsement.

Pixabay

Free to use without attribution, but not for standalone sale or as trademarks. Recognizable brands in a photo have commercial limits.

Price: Free (Content free to use without attribution; no standalone sale, no trademark use of content) (Pixabay pricing, checked 2026-10-23).

Platforms and license: Web. Pixabay Content License.

Best for: Wide variety including illustrations.

Worth knowing: License summary says content showing recognizable brands cannot be used commercially for goods or services.

Burst by Shopify

Shopify's library, free for commercial use with no attribution required. Aimed at e-commerce, so product and small-business shots dominate.

Price: Free (Free for commercial use with no attribution required per the Burst FAQ) (Burst by Shopify pricing, checked 2026-10-23).

Platforms and license: Web. Burst license.

Best for: Online store imagery.

Wikimedia Commons

Almost all content is freely reusable under per-file licenses; some need credit or share-alike. Check each file's license.

Price: Free (Almost all hosted content may be freely reused subject to per-file license terms such as attribution) (Wikimedia Commons pricing, checked 2026-10-23).

Platforms and license: Web. Per-file free licenses.

Best for: Niche, historical and factual topics.

Worth knowing: Check each file's license; the Foundation does not guarantee license accuracy.

Openverse

Search engine for openly licensed images, with attribution text provided per result. Each item has its own Creative Commons or public-domain terms.

Price: Free (Search engine for openly licensed images and audio, hundreds of millions of items, free to search) (Openverse pricing, checked 2026-10-23).

Platforms and license: Web. Creative Commons and public domain.

Best for: Finding licensed images across sources.

Worth knowing: Each result carries its own Creative Commons or public-domain license; copy the attribution it provides.

Which one to pick

• You need hero images for a website: Unsplash
• You want video clips too: Pexels
• You run an online store: Burst by Shopify
• You need a rare or historical subject: Wikimedia Commons