7 Best free image sites that will make your content look great (and original)
Here is a list of tips and tricks for business owners to use in order to get the most eye-catching content. Best free stock photo sites
Finding the right images for your content and design will bring you more engagement, more attention, and more love. But how do you source these images? Wouldn’t getting high-quality images cost a lot of money?
Finding and using great images doesn’t have to be expensive, you can actually get free stock photos if you know where to look. And not those cheesy fake ones either.
To save you time and headache we made you our list of best free stock image sites, that we know, love, and use every day.
How to use free stock photos to make handsome content that people love
Our list of top stock image sites is NOT a tool to make horribly cheesy content. Save yourself, and your users, from those cheesy fake stock photos you see on spam sites. Read our basic guidelines for turning free stock images into engaging paying content.
What to look for in a stock photo site.
- Make the image relevant to your surrounding content – When you perform a keyword search for a stock photo, the results should closely match your query
- Drive for authenticity – Unless you want a funny or exaggerated vibe, the best stock photo sites will offer authentic-looking photos where people look natural and not like they’re acting. Some of these real looking photos will actually be real people the photographed themselves.
- Stay safe with flexible licensing – It’s important to familiarize yourself with the different types of licenses that legally define how you can use a photo. Do this wrong and you could get sued.
“creative commons public domain” licenses are the most flexible and let you use, modify, copy and distribute stock photos even for commercial use.
Please note that WiseStamp should not be held responsible for any licensing or terms of use issue. Each individual should be responsible to double check licence and terms of issues for themselves (see? we know our legal stuff)
Now, let introduce the free stock sites you’ve been waiting for:
1. Unsplash
How does the platform work?
Unsplash is one of the best free image websites. Unsplash’s selection is organized into popular categories like Each selection is organized into popular categories like “Business & Work,” “Travel,” “Fashion,”. Use the search bar to find the image you are looking for.
Terms of use
Unsplash photos can be used freely, their license reflects that
- All photos can be downloaded and used for free
- Commercial and non-commercial purposes
- No permission needed (though attribution is appreciated!)
Ideal for: General use and business use
2. Pexels
How does the platform work?
Pexels is one of the top photo-sharing platforms with high-quality photos. There is a large selection of visuals and videos that are tagged, searchable, and can be found id discovered pages.
Terms of use
It provides images and videos that are licensed under the (CC0) Creative Commons Zero license.
Fun Fact
Pexels is one of the few websites that provide free space images, such as pictures from NASA. Browse for images by themes, including locations, emotions, and pastimes, as well as search for a specific image.
Ideal for: General use and business use
3. StockSnap
How does the platform work?
StockSnap has a good number of search options. Users can search for visuals with a certain keyword.
StockSnap uses a very clever filtering method by organizing images by dates, analyzing which images are trending. It identifies the number of downloads or views. According to the results, they will adjust their placement accordingly.
Term of use
It provides images that are licensed under the (CC0) Creative Commons Zero license.
- Download the image file
- Publish, revise, copy, alter, and share that image
- Use the image (as-is or as you’ve altered it), in both personal and commercial contexts
Ideal for: B2C, media sales, consumer technology
4. FoodiesFeed
How does the platform work?
If you are in the food industry, Foodiesfeed would be a great alternative if you can’t take your own food photos. This website is dedicated to food photographers from all over the world. You can browse the website or filter your image search by providing a keyword.
Terms of use
Sharing visual content under a creative commons zero.
Ideal For: food-related online advertising
5. Gratisograph
How does the platform work?
Gratisography is probably one of the most captivating and creative free photo stock sites out there. This is not your ordinary photo choosing site, according to the site creator states that
“To become a Gratisography image, a picture must bring something unique to the table. Of course, it has to be perfectly composed, with the right amount of light and exposure, sharp focus on the central subject. But that’s just the beginning.”
Ryan Mcguire
Terms of use
Gratisography offers high-resolution photos as well as royalty-free, similar to others all photos are categorized and organized by themes. For example business, nature, sports and more.
Ideal for: Media and advertising sales, entertainment, and consumer technology decks.
6.Pixbay
How does the platform work?
Pixbay offers a vast library of free images, the unique advantage of Pixbay is that you can easily search for illustrations, vectors and video in addition to photos. If, for example, you need to source a graphic for your website and not a photo, Pixbay is a great resource.
Term of use
Pixabay images, videos, and music can be used freely for commercial and non-commercial use. However, there are some restrictions.
Ideal for: Media and advertising sales, entertainment.
7. Kaboompics
How does the platform work?
Kaboompics offers a big selection of free-of-charge high-resolution photos that can be used for both commercial and personal use. There are a lot of color-oriented collages and albums that can be useful for advertisement purposes.
Terms of use
Under the Creative Commons Zero license with one rule redistribution for distributors. They may not share their photos with other photo stock sites that have already been approved by Kaboompics.
Ideal for: Media & consumer technology
To end things
These are the top free photo-sharing websites that you can use for your small business. Note that a beautiful and vibrant image has the power to captivate your audience, competitors, and or any other person in between.
With your photos, you can bring your brand to life and voice your opinion. Most importantly don’t underestimate the strength of your graphics.
