Best free stock images websites for commercial use or blogs

When creating a new website, or even a new blog post, it is essential that you include images. Visuals are a very important way you can improve the user’s experience when they are visiting your website. They help to engage the user a lot more and really help to bring home your overall message.

The good news is that you don’t have to waste your resources trying to take high quality photographs yourself or even paying a professional to do it for you. There are quite a number of different free stock image websites at your disposal where you can use their photographs on your blog or for commercial use for free!

There are a large number of free stock photos websites out on the internet which makes your job both easier and harder. Remember the importance of photographs for your website, so take the time to look through a number of images to choose the best one that suits your website.

You don’t need to spend a bucket load of cash to get a high quality photograph! So, take a look below at the 10 best places to get free images no copyright for your blog or commercial use below, this will help you to avoid any copyrights issues.

Here are websites where you can download free photos for your website:

Pexels

free stock images for commercial use
Photo by Alina Vilchenko from Pexels

Pexels is a great place to start as they have such a wide variety of images available for you to choose from. Just from browsing their home page you can get a feel of how truly amazing the photographs are, it’s incredible that they are free to use.

The images are very artsy and professional, you can even take a look at their top photographers in the past 30 days, to see the type of photographs that are fresh and popular. If you are looking for something specific you can use the search bar at the top of the home page.

Click on the image you like and simply download it, you don’t even have to sign up and you can even choose the size of the image you want. You also have the option to look at all the other images by that photographer. If you want to “like” or “collect” the image, you will need to sign up.

They also give you information about the licensing of the photo, which is free for personal as well as free stock images for commercial use and there is no attribution required. Most images will have that type of licensing, but it is a good idea to check before downloading an image just in case, you don’t want to get yourself stuck in a copyright legal issue.

Freerange

free images download
Photo by Jack Moreh from Freerange

Freerange offer high quality images for every business and/ or blog. You can browse through newest photos, most popular or by category. Images from Freerange have even been used in places like Smashing Magazine and The Huffington Post.

There is no attribution required when using images from this website on your own. To download an image you will have to sign up, but the sign up process is quick and easy, you’ll be downloading images in no time at all. You can search the images using keywords as well, so you can find out what you are looking for even faster.

When you are looking at a specific image, they even showcase other similar keywords that you could search for. This function is great if you aren’t entirely sure what you are looking for. So, no matter the type of picture you are looking for, you are sure to find something suitable on Freerange!

You also have the ability to choose which size of the image you want to download. As well as this, you can have the image sent to a program called PIXLR in which you can easily edit images.

If you have any questions or comments about Freerange, there is a support section of their website with contact information as well as a Frequently Asked Questions section. Go to their free images download section.

Gratisography

free images for blogs
Photo by Ryan McGuire from Gratisography

Gratisography are all about quirky and creative pictures. They have a large collection of high resolution images that are always creative and they pride themselves in having images you won’t find anywhere else. You can browse different categories or if you are looking for something in particular, you can search by keywords.

Just a quick look through their photos and you’ll understand just how unique and creative they really are. These images are certainly different from your typical free stock image website, so if you want your own website to stand out from the rest then this is a great place to source your images!

These free images for blogs are perfect! You can download the image you want for free and without even having to sign up. Also, when looking at a particular image you can see other related free photos, which helps to give you an idea of other images you could download. You can also take a look at the photo tags, which helps you find more related images.

If you want updates about new pictures, you can sign up to their email alerts. This means you are always the first to know if there are any new cool photos that are of particular interest to you. It is important that on your own website you don’t have stale images, so you should always be looking for an update and change in scenery.

Pixabay

free stock illustrations
Photo by Suju from Pixabay

Pixabay offers a huge range of free stock photos, 1.6 million to be exact. The range on offer is truly diverse so you are sure to find exactly what you are looking for. You can search through photos, illustrations, vector graphs, videos and more! This means you can expand your options even further.

Images from Pixabay are free to download and once again do not require you to sign up. With all the different options available for you to browse at Pixabay you are sure to have your website and/ or blog looking flash in no time. The image file is clearly stated and you can choose the most suitable size.

You can also find out other pieces of information about the image such as image type, resolution, date created, date uploaded, category, number of views and downloads. You can even comment, favourite or like photos, but to do this you’ll need to have an account.

If you are stuck for ideas, a good place to start is the “Editors Choice” section, which seems to have a focus on nature. Here you can find images and high quality videos that were personally picked by the team at Pixabay. These images are truly the best of the best and you are sure to find something you like. Pixabay offers very high resolution images free download!

SplitShire

very high resolution images free download
Photo from SplitShire

What SplitShire lacks in shear quantity, it makes up for with quality. You can browse their photos through categories like; landscape, fashion, nature, weddings, travel, street, food, people and so much more. This website has had over 2 million downloads of images as well as 6 million page views.

Unlike most of the other free stock image sites where different people can upload their photo for others to download, SplitShire is just one professional photographer uploading the images he takes. These images feature on websites like CNN and The Huffington Post.

There is even a range of quality videos available to download for free. These videos mostly consist of showcasing the beauty of nature, including a video of a storm time lapse and sea waves in slow motion. Videos are also a great way to boost user engagement and experience on your website, so it is certainly a good idea to include some wherever you can.

You can even jump straight to the top 10 photographs of the website, so you can get a feel of the type of images available on SplitShire. Each picture is uniquely named and you do not have to sign up to download. They even provide other similar options to the right of the page if you are interested in more photos. This website offers royalty free images free of charge and free image repository.

Unsplash

royalty free images free of charge
Photo by Jad Limcaco from Unsplash

Unsplash offers thousands of images for you to download and use on your website and/ or blog. The pictures you will find on Unsplash are exclusively uploaded by their community of photographers and you are sure to find some that tie in well with the message you are trying to convey.

There are a couple of different categories you can browse through when finding photographs; public domain images, free stock photos, creative common images, PNG images and free images. The different categories have varying copyright issues, so it is important for you to understand which ones you can use and if you need to give any credit.

You can download an image without having to sign up but if you want to like or collect an image, you’ll need to create an account. Also, if you like an image taken by a certain photographer, then you can go to their account and browse all their images. You can also follow or message them and connect with them via Instagram.

It is even easy for you to take a look through the photos that have been uploaded today, if you are looking to get a truly fresh new look for your website. New inspiration isn’t very far away when you are looking at the images on Unsplash. This website offers best free stock photos.

Life of Pix

free image repository
Photo by Enrico Baroni from Life of Pix

Life of Pix has a nice range of free images available to download. Each week they showcase a new photographer so you can always find something new and interesting to add to your website and/ or blog. You can use the search function to find something specific or simply browse through the featured photographs on the home page.

They even have a sister website called Life of Vids in which you can find a variety of videos for free to download and showcase on your website. With their large range of pictures and videos on the two different websites, you are sure to find something that you would feel proud to display on your site.

With Life of Pix it is easy to create your own profile, customise the pictures you want as well as follow your favourite photographers. If you don’t want to sign up that’s fine, you can still download any image for free. It is even very easy to connect with your favourite photographers on Instagram to see more about what they are up to on a day to day level.

Life of Pix even shows you the number of likes, downloads and views each image have had. If you want to stay in the loop of the latest changes and newest images available online with Life of Pix, it is certainly a good idea to sign up to their newsletter!

Fancy Crave

free images no copyright
Photo from Fancy Crave

Fancy Crave has a focus on travel photos, so you can see more of the world through the eyes of a professional photographer. They are proud to offer quality over quantity and you can search through the categories to find something in particular that you were looking for. Each photograph has a descriptive name so you can understand each image better.

Fancy Crave offers a free download of smaller sized images, if you are looking for the higher resolution images this will cost money. You can also browse through what Fancy Crave call “photo packs” which include similar photos in the same package, including; palm trees, US flags, cherry blossoms, vintage textures, horses, and so much more.

If you love the type of photos you are getting for free and want more, you can sign up to their premium package. In this premium package, you get instant access to almost 1,000 images and you will also get new photograph packs every month. So, if you are looking for something a little bit different, this may be the way to go.

The images on Fancy Crave do make a statement and are sure to stand out on your website and/ or blog to help convey the correct message. These images are truly unique and would certainly be a great addition to your website.

Negative Space

High-Resolution Free Stock Photos
Photo by Burst from Negative Space

With Negative Space you can find new stock images each and every week. There are no copyright restrictions which means you are free to download and use them on your website and/ or blog; or even for your guest posting. The collection from Negative Space is continually growing and you are sure to find something that you love.

One of the great things about Negative Space is that it is very easy to filter the images so you can find exactly what you are looking for even faster. You can even sign up if you want to get the latest stock photos emailed directly to you!

If you don’t want to put in your email address and sign up, that’s fine you are still able to download any images without having to signup. The collection and range of photographs available is amazing and it is easy to find something that you’ll love for your website.

Death to Stock (*not sure if they are free)

free stock photos
Photo by Luxstorm from Pixabay

Your typical stock photos can get quite boring and stale very quickly, users can see right through them and they become un-engaging, this is where Death to Stock comes in. They want to break the shackles of your typical free stock photos and provide you with superior options.

You can say goodbye to boring and overused photos – Death to Stock offers you something you have never seen before, so if you want your website to stand out, this is the place to find your images. Photographers from Death to Stock have also worked in placed such as Vogue, Nike and Adidas.

You also get access to 20 new images a month to ensure you are always kept up to date. As soon as you subscribe there are more than 2,500 photos already waiting for you to download them for free. The organisation of Death to Stock also means that you can find what you are looking for with ease.

Death to Stock offers a 14 day free trial, but after the trial finishes it becomes a paid service. It is certainly recommended that you try out Death to Stock, and if you don’t think it is worth the money you can cancel before the trial has ended.

There are two paid options available; for small businesses and brands the cost is $12 a month (billed annually) or for freelancers and agencies the cost is $21 a month (billed annually).

Rebecca Kellett
Rebecca Kelletthttps://bestinau.com.au
Rebecca is a writer and an editor at 'Best in Australia' who has written on a range of topics. She is enthusiastic and passionate with an interest in food, health, entertainment and politics. She is the editor responsible for our health section.
Share this

PEOPLE ARE READING NOW