A simple Google search hardly guarantees the desired quality, as many images are the wrong size or have watermarks. After facing this problem several times, I decided to share with you the list of the best websites to get free images. Some of them have both paid and free options, while others are 100% free. There are websites for all tastes. You just need to check our list and choose the one that best suits your needs.
1. PicJumbo
We started our list with this website for two reasons. The first is because its design is really fantastic. The second reason is that the history of this website is quite interesting. It was created by web designer Viktor, who created the website in order to help his fellow WebDesigners find good images. The place was so successful that it turned into a business. You’ll be able to use the website’s free images for all kinds of situations: presentations, templates, and backgrounds, among other options. Despite being free, it has a paid version, which costs 6 dollars a month. With the premium version, you receive some exclusive images directly in your email.
2. Gratisography
Another website with a simply fantastic design! New images are added every week that are free of Copywriting, meaning they can be used without any problems. Obviously, it is important to mention the website from which they were taken.
3. Pixabay
Pixabay has excellent navigation, and a search bar and is available in multiple languages. This same search can be done by “editor”, by “latest photos” or by “most searched”. In addition to photographs, Pixabay also has vectors and drawings that can be downloaded for free.
4. Stock Xchng
This is one of my favorite websites for searching images. Stock Xchng has two types of search: paid and free. The paid is shown in the top column and the free ones are shown below. Obviously, there is some difference in quality between the two options offered by the website, but it still presents good results when it comes to free images. The page allows you to do an exact search by category.
5. Compfight
This website does not have its own photos hosted on its server, unlike all the previous options. Compfight searches Flickr and Shutterstock to find images related to your search. It’s a little difficult to find free images on this website, but they do exist, it’s all about persistence.
6. Vecteezy
Like the previous option, Vecteezy also allows you to do an intensive search on Flickr. However, it is a little simpler to work with than the previous one, in addition to not requiring the user to log in when downloading the image. When doing a search, keep in mind that the first images are usually paid and have a link to Shutterstock. Nothing against it, but as our focus here is free images, I advise you to always search in the second or third line to find free images.
7. MorgueFile
You have some interesting free images and they are all copyright free, which makes this website an interesting option. However, many of the images are not of the desired quality, and searches are usually returned with a reduced number of options. A website to consider only as one of the last options.
8. Unsplash
Built on Tumblr, this website promises to reveal ten new photographs every ten days. The user can subscribe via email to receive news. If you don’t want to, just go to the website every ten days to stay up to date with the news. The website is very clean and has only one column, where you can find the photographs and below the author’s name and the download button. There are no restrictions on use: you can use the images as you wish and as you see fit.
9. Little Visuals
Another very minimalistic website that only has a subscription bar and a column with images. Unlike the previous one, which promises ten new images every ten days, Little Visuals guarantees seven new images every…seven days. Each image also has some associated hashtags. It is a pity that it is not possible to do a search on the website for a particular item. This would help new users, for example. Either way, the experience is worth it. No limitation regarding copyright.
10. New Old Stock
I believe that after clicking on the link in the title you were also amazed at the quality of this website to find free images. The New Old Stock has several Vintage-style images and is an authentic relic for those who enjoy this type of photography. We can find images of the military, cars, and older habits with a quality that any iPhone would envy! This website was created by designer Cole Townsend and has no copyright restrictions.
11. Death To The Stock Photo
A rather strange website, but its concept is elementary: enter your email, and every month you receive a pack with several images to use on your blog, in your Facebook posts, or anywhere else. Its own (and unique) homepage is pretty weird, as you can see in the image above. However, the uploaded images are excellent and well worth the subscription!
12. iStockPhoto
This website needs no introduction. It works on a credit system or on a monthly/annual subscription system, which only pays off for those who actually use dozens and dozens of images per month. I confess that it is difficult to find free images (but they do exist) and that the paid images in many cases are above 10 euros, something a little expensive considering that many of those images have a lower quality compared to the images provided by the websites above. In any case, an option to keep in mind!
13. PhotoDune
Created by the renowned company Envato, PhotoDune is a website that I personally like a lot, for numerous reasons. Firstly because it is cheaper than the previous ones. If at any time you need to purchase a paid image, this website is without a doubt the best choice. Another reason I like PhotoDune so much is that its images are much simpler and more direct than iStockPhoto, for example. However, there is a downside: finding free images is something very rare around here…
14. LightStock
Like the two previous options, LightStock has free images and paid images. Let’s start with the free ones. On the website itself, it is possible to download some free images, just by creating an account. Each week a new photograph is provided by a particular photographer, who has kindly provided it. For example, the image before this paragraph was this week’s free photograph. The paid option is very simple: each credit costs one dollar. And in all images, the lowest resolution option costs 5 credits and the highest one costs 20 dollars. That simple.
15. PicFoods
The last item on the list of websites to get free images is one of the best for anyone who works with food blogs. With free food images, the website allows you to download them and use them on your own page. In addition, PicFoods allows you to leave your email address to receive new images periodically in your inbox.
Which are the best websites to get free images?
And you, which one did you like? Would you recommend any more?
