Unsplash is a popular site for high-quality stock photos, offering over 400,000 images and more.
Creators upload their content under an Unsplash license, allowing others to use it without copyright concerns.
Although Unsplash is great, you might want to explore Unsplash alternatives, and there are many excellent alternatives available.
Let’s explore some free sites like Unsplash for all your stock photo needs.
Table of Contents
Why to Look for Sites like Unsplash
- Unsplash has grown quickly, but it doesn’t have the largest collection of images. Also, it still doesn’t offer videos.
- Unsplash lets anyone upload pictures, and some violate the actual photographer’s copyright.
- The search engine could be better, so it’s harder to discover the actual image you want.
List of Unsplash Alternatives
Looking for free image sites like Unsplash? Check out these top 10 Unsplash alternatives:
- Freepik
- LibreStock
- Shutterstock
- StockSnap
- Flickr
- Envato Elements
- Pexels
- Pixabay
- Burst
- Kaboompics
1. Freepik – Best for Massive Library
Pricing
Freepik offers two subscription plans: free and premium. Prices may vary, so check their website. The plans are:
- Free Plan
- Premium Plan: €9.99 per month
Pros and Cons
- ✅ Easy to search for images due to a user-friendly interface.
- ✅ Access to high-quality vector and PSD illustrations.
- ❌ Free subscription does not include all images.
- ❌ Some users report slow or unhelpful customer service.
Why We Picked It
Freepik has become popular because it offers both free and premium subscriptions. It’s perfect for beginners since the user-friendly interface provides access to PSD files, vectors, and photos.
Users can easily find many images by typing a phrase. This is useful if you’re unsure of what you want. The website is a popular Unsplash alternative for its modern, high-quality photos.
If you want more than standard stock photos, try a Freepik alternative. They offer diverse creative resources like Unsplash.
2. LibreStock – Best for High-quality Free Photos
Pricing
- All images are free on LibreStock.
Pros and Cons
- ✅ Search across the internet for millions of images from various sites.
- ✅ Easy-to-use interface for navigating the website.
- ❌ You can’t track your downloads, so finding unsaved photos can be difficult.
- ❌ LibreStock doesn’t have user accounts.
Why We Picked It
LibreStock searches across sites such as Pexels, Shutterstock, and Flickr to find free photos based on what users search for. This means you can find more photos than on regular stock image websites.
The interface is user-friendly, but the photos you get depend on what’s available on those other platforms.
3. Shutterstock – Best for Trending Images
Pricing
- Prepaid Packs: $49/5 images, and $229/25 images
- Monthly Plans: $49 for 10 images per month, $125 for 50 images per month, $199 for 350 images per month, and $249 for 750 images per month
- Team Plans: $379/for 2 users, and $479/for 3-10 users
For more than 11 users, you can contact the Shutterstock team for pricing points.
Pros and Cons
- ✅ Access editorials, celebrity AI images, and more.
- ✅ Submit your own content.
- ✅ Customer service choices include email and phone support.
- ❌ High fees may not be affordable.
- ❌ Some users find customer service response times slow despite multiple options.
Why We Picked It
Shutterstock is a top choice among Unsplash alternatives for stock images because of its many features and huge image collection.
Unlike Unsplash, you need to pay to download photos, but it’s worth it for the quality and variety. You can find thousands of copyright-free images, icons, vectors, and stock footage. They add new high-resolution photos every day.
There’s an editing tool with various features like neon fonts, grunge brushes, and more. After purchasing a picture, you can edit it directly on the site, including resizing.
They also provide a collage maker and an image converter for creating custom images quickly.
4. StockSnap – Free Stand Out Images
Pricing
- Free
Pros and Cons
- ✅ You can use all images privately and commercially with CCO licensing.
- ✅ New images, including trending photos, are added daily.
- ❌ The site might be too complex for a few users.
Why We Picked It
StockSnap is a great alternative to Unsplash because it adds new, top-notch images every day, and you can use them without worrying about copyrights or giving credit.
Its user-friendly interface lets you sort images by when they were uploaded or how popular they are, which is handy whether you need fresh photos or popular picks.
StockSnap offers fantastic features, but its standout feature is the image stream. It’s like a social media feed showcasing trending images, making it easy to find popular pictures.
Unlike other Unsplash alternatives, StockSnap fosters a community of photographers keen to share their work. You can browse photos by typical photographers or explore a wide range of categories like beach, business, wallpaper, love and more.
5. Flickr – Best for Artists and Creators
Pricing
- Flickr Original: Free
- Monthly plan: $6.99 per month.
- Annual plan: $5 per month (billed yearly).
- 2-year plan: $4.92 per month (billed every 2 years).
Pros and Cons
- ✅ Each account offers unlimited storage.
- ✅ Users can add titles, customize photos, and create sets.
- ✅ Flickr automatically resizes images for website use.
- ✅ Third-party software is available for enhancing images.
- ❌ Depending on the photos used, you need to reach the photographer for purchase.
- ❌ Accessing all features requires a subscription.
Why We Picked It
Flickr and Unsplash both offer free stock photos, but Flickr stands out with its 8 licensing categories, which means some photos may have associated costs.
Before using a photo, it’s crucial to check its Creative Commons license to see if you need to credit the creator.
Thankfully, Flickr also has a large Creative Commons area where users easily find and use high-quality images in various categories for free.
Here, all images are free to use, but you should credit the creator by listing their name and credentials with every image. Sorting and categorizing the search by detailed conditions on Flickr helps you find the right images faster.
6. Envato Elements – Best for Unlimited Downloads
Pricing
- Monthly: $16.50
- Annual: $198 ($11.50/month for students)
Pros and Cons
- ✅ Unlimited downloads
- ✅ Competitive Pricing
- ✅ Extensive library
- ✅ Easy search and filters
- ✅ Access to Envato Tuts+
- ✅ Simple licensing
- ✅ Daily new content
- ❌ Limited customization
- ❌ No item support or updates
Why We Picked It
Envato Elements is an Unsplash alternative where you pay a subscription to access a huge variety of digital stuff like photos, audio, and video files. They’ve got over a million carefully chosen items you can use for your design work.
This is a premium service that allows unlimited downloads who need lots of images regularly. It also has a powerful search engine to help find precise images easily.
Envato Elements is well-known for its wide range of digital assets like stock images and themes. Plus, its straightforward licensing system makes it perfect for business ventures.
For a similar user interface and free plan, you can look for Envato Elements alternatives.
7. Pexels – Best Free Huge Library
Pricing
- Free
Pros and Cons
- ✅ Easy search for videos and images.
- ✅ Offers multiple size choices for multiple images.
- ✅ User-friendly.
- ❌ Photographers may find limited representation.
Why We Picked It
Pexels is a great website for finding high-quality, free stock videos and photos. It has a vast library of over 30,000 beautiful photos covering various subjects.
Finding the right image is easy with its many search options. Whether for personal use or business, there are plenty of images to choose from. Plus, Pexels adds new handpicked photos daily.
We carefully choose all the pictures on the website to be free and CCO-licensed for everyone.
This not only benefits users but also gives photographers great exposure, showcasing the best day-to-day photos on the homepage. You can easily find images in various categories like popular images and leaderboards.
8. Pixabay – Free High-quality Images
Pricing
- Free
Pros and Cons
- ✅ Free content
- ✅ Variety of media types
- ✅ Easy to use
- ✅ Integration with Canva
- ❌ Limited library
Why We Picked It
Pixabay is a huge online collection where you can find all sorts of content, like images, sound effects, music, and videos.
With more than 4.5 million free images, you’ll always discover something useful for your projects. Plus, this app makes content creation easier by providing various types of files.
The site is effortless to use because you can see trending images and their main keywords right on the homepage.
9. Burst – Best for Commercial Use
Pricing
- Burst is a free Unsplash alternative where you can find many photos quickly.
Pros and Cons
- ✅ Offers business and blog resources
- ✅ Has a Shopify feature
- ✅ Good design as an alternative to Unsplash
- ❌ Smaller photo library
- ❌ Limited download options
- ❌ Lacks specific search features
Why We Picked It
Burst is powered by Shopify, it features a fantastic design that makes finding niche pictures quick and easy.
Some images might have low resolution in Burst, but you can improve them with AI image enhancers. You can get the visuals and photos you require for blogging, websites, social media ads, and more.
Additionally, the website’s blog can provide valuable business insights.
These tips will give you new, visionary ideas you can use right away.
10. Kaboompics – for Free Creative Images
Pricing
- This website is one of the free sites like Unsplash, providing non-copyright pictures for everyone, including commercial use, with no cost.
Pros and Cons
- ✅ Amazing search options
- ✅ Great UI design
- ✅ User-friendly
- ❌ Lacks keywords
- ❌ Can be slow at times
Why We Picked It
Kaboompics website offers great designs and amazing image search options. You can search by typing keywords or by using color palettes.
If users like a blue-themed image, they can tap the blue color.
Additionally, the contributor’s name is shown below the images, helping users follow their favorite artists.
Overall the Best Alternative to Unsplash
Here are two expert opinions on the best alternatives to Unsplash:
“Freepik is fantastic for all graphic needs. As a software provider, we use the paid version to find the right images for various software illustrations.”
“Shutterstock is a top global company offering high-quality assets, tools, and services. They have plans for individuals, teams, and businesses, plus creative editing and collaboration features.” –
Conclusion
Here are the top 10 Unsplash alternatives that content creators can use to find free stock photos.
Some alternatives let you download and use their high-quality stock photos for free, while others may require you to purchase a commercial license for downloading and using the images.
Anyhow, these sites like Unsplash, make it easy to enhance the visual effect.
FAQs
Which is better PixaBay or Unsplash?
Unsplash has a big collection of well-chosen, high-quality images you can use freely, while Pixabay has more types of images, including illustrations, but they aren’t as carefully selected.
Which is better Pexels or Unsplash?
Unsplash has many artistic photos from photographers, while Pexels has fewer filters but still offers free photos and videos.
What is the best stock image site?
Top stock image sites like Freepik, LibreStock, Shutterstock, and StockSnap have a wide range of royalty-free images in high quality. These can be used for both personal and commercial projects without needing to credit the source.
Is Unsplash not free anymore?
Unsplash is still free to use even after being bought by Getty Images. Unsplash has confirmed that their licensing terms remain the same, so you can still use their images for free.
Are Pexels and Unsplash the same?
No, Pexels and Unsplash are different. Unsplash is bigger and has more customers, holding a larger share of the content marketplace compared to Pexels.
What happened with Unsplash?
In March 2021, Getty Images bought Unsplash for an undisclosed amount.
Why not to use Unsplash?
Reasons not to use Unsplash include: 1) Photographers aren’t paid enough for their work, 2) Unsplash lets anyone use photos commercially without asking, and 3) using Unsplash can hurt a photographer’s website’s search engine ranking.
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