15 Best Websites to Download Free Stock Images
Anyone who wants to build a web or graphic design career need to have a portfolio of high-quality stock photos that he can use in his various projects. Since a lot of stock photos are royalty-free, one can actually use the same photo in various design projects without paying for a license every time you use it. Royalty free stock images can be purchased online and it will cost you anything between 0 and $20 dollars. If you are a newcomer and do not have the budget to buy stock photos, then you should try searching for sites that allow you to download stock photos that you can use in your projects for free. In this roundup, therefore, we try to list down the 26 top sites that offer free stock images.
WHERE TO DOWNLOAD FREE STOCK IMAGES?
I am aware that there are already roundups like this out there, but I assure you that this post is the most updated since we update this every now and then. To go to the free stock images site that you are interested to check out, simply click on the text link (not the images) below each website preview. If we missed out some sites that you think we should have included here, let us know by posting your comments below.
FREE IMAGES
Now owned by Getty Images, Free Images, formerly SXc.hu is considered as the leading free stock photo site with a huge gallery containing over 400,000 quality stock photos by more than 30,000 photographers! This site is perfect if you need a wallpaper for your desktop or illustration for your blog, a picture for your commercial website design or just looking around for inspiration.
STOCK VAULT
(stockvault.net)
The free stock photos and free images that you can download from this stock photo site are for personal, educational and non-commercial usage.
FREE FOTO
(freefoto.com)
This gallery is made up of 132,232 images with 182 sections organized into 3630 categories. However, when you use any of the free photographs on the Internet, link back and attribution is required. The free downloadable images from this stock photo site are free for online use, with higher quality versions available for sale. The web size images are also free to use offline for personal use such as in school projects, church services, cards, leaflets, etc.
MORGUE FILE
(morguefile.com)
The free images from this stock photo site are free images for your inspiration, reference and use in your creative work, be it commercial or not!
PIXABAY PUBLIC DOMAIN IMAGES
A repository for public domain images. You can download any of the 400,000 photos in this website and use it right away for your projects without the need to link back or attribute the source. The photos found inside are all free pictures licensed under the creative commons public domain deed.
DREAMSTIME FREE IMAGES
(dreamstime.com)
The free images section of Dreamstime offers high-quality images you can download right away. Since Dreamstime is also selling stock photos, make sure you are in the free images section if you want to get photos for free. To do that, you must be a registered user of the site.
FREE DIGITAL PHOTOS
(freedigitalphotos.net)
Download free photos and illustrations for corporate and personal use from this stock photo site. Every image is free, with an option to buy high-resolution versions for use in print or graphic design.
GRATISOGRAPHY
(gratisography.com)
A simple and straight-forward site that offers free image downloads for your personal or commercial projects. The site has high-quality images right on their home page. Simply scroll down and search for the image that you want, then click on it to download.
FREE PHOTO BANK
(freephotobank.org)
Another free resource for stock photos. The photos have a creative commons license, which requires you to provide attribution by linking back to the site if you happen to use their photos.
SPLITSHIRE
(splitshire.com)
A photo blog owned by Daniel Nanescu, a graphic designer and a photographer. The photos on this website are free to use for personal and commercial use. Y0u can find free stock images in different categories, namely, abstract, animals, bokeh, fashion, food, and many others.
FREE RANGE STOCK
(freerangestock.com)
Just register for free and start downloading photos from this site. All images are free to use for commercial projects like websites, advertising, books, videos, and other commercial presentations.
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
(commons.wikimedia.org)
This site has a huge database of more than 25 million free-to-use media files including images, video, and sounds. You can search by different criteria such as location, and source. Copy, use, and modify these files as you wish — just follow the licensing terms of each file.
FLICKR CREATIVE COMMONS
(flickr.com/creativecommons)
Flickr has a section for images offered under the Creative Commons license. Simply search or browse the content under each license type. This way, it is so much easier to locate the right image for your projects.
IMAGEBASE
(imagebase.net)
A collection of Photographer David Niblack’s free stock photos. The images on this website are free for personal, commercial, non-profit, artistic, or creative purposes for free.
OPEN PHOTO PROJECT
(openphoto.net)
A photo-sharing platform created in 1998 by Michael Jastremski. This site caters to artists, developers, students, and teachers, with contributions offered under the Creative Commons license.
