{"id":61234,"date":"2022-12-12T10:55:15","date_gmt":"2022-12-12T05:25:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/?p=61234"},"modified":"2026-10-08T19:03:38","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T13:33:38","slug":"best-free-images-stock-photos-sites","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2022\/12\/best-free-images-stock-photos-sites\/","title":{"rendered":"9 Best Free Images and Stock Photos Sites for Blogs (2026)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Free images and stock photos make every blog post better. Looking for the best free images and stock photos for your blog or website? You don&#8217;t need to pay for stock photos or risk a copyright notice by grabbing pictures from Google Images. Several reliable stock photo sites let you download high-quality photos free for commercial use, usually without attribution. We use them on this blog every week. Here are the best free stock photo sites in 2026, and how to use their images safely.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-61555\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/free-images.jpg\" alt=\"best free images and stock photos sites\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/free-images.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/free-images-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/free-images-150x84.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Quick answer:<\/strong> For most blogs, start with <strong>Unsplash<\/strong>, <strong>Pexels<\/strong> and <strong>Pixabay<\/strong>. All three offer free photos for commercial use without required attribution. For openly licensed and public domain images, search <strong>Openverse<\/strong> or <strong>Wikimedia Commons<\/strong>, and check each image&#8217;s licence.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_89 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6aeb816300048\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"ez-toc-cssicon\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #1a202c;color:#1a202c\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #1a202c;color:#1a202c\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6aeb816300048\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2022\/12\/best-free-images-stock-photos-sites\/#Best_free_images_and_stock_photos_sites\" >Best free images and stock photos sites<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2022\/12\/best-free-images-stock-photos-sites\/#1_Unsplash\" >1. Unsplash<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2022\/12\/best-free-images-stock-photos-sites\/#2_Pexels\" >2. Pexels<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2022\/12\/best-free-images-stock-photos-sites\/#3_Pixabay\" >3. Pixabay<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2022\/12\/best-free-images-stock-photos-sites\/#4_Openverse\" >4. Openverse<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2022\/12\/best-free-images-stock-photos-sites\/#5_Wikimedia_Commons\" >5. Wikimedia Commons<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2022\/12\/best-free-images-stock-photos-sites\/#6_StockSnapio\" >6. StockSnap.io<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2022\/12\/best-free-images-stock-photos-sites\/#7_Burst_by_Shopify\" >7. Burst by Shopify<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2022\/12\/best-free-images-stock-photos-sites\/#8_Freepik\" >8. Freepik<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2022\/12\/best-free-images-stock-photos-sites\/#9_ISO_Republic\" >9. ISO Republic<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2022\/12\/best-free-images-stock-photos-sites\/#How_to_find_free_images_on_Google\" >How to find free images on Google<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-12\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2022\/12\/best-free-images-stock-photos-sites\/#How_to_use_free_images_and_stock_photos_safely\" >How to use free images and stock photos safely<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-13\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2022\/12\/best-free-images-stock-photos-sites\/#Optimise_free_images_and_stock_photos_for_your_website\" >Optimise free images and stock photos for your website<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-14\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2022\/12\/best-free-images-stock-photos-sites\/#Frequently_asked_questions\" >Frequently asked questions<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-15\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2022\/12\/best-free-images-stock-photos-sites\/#Are_Unsplash_and_Pexels_images_really_free_for_commercial_use\" >Are Unsplash and Pexels images really free for commercial use?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-16\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2022\/12\/best-free-images-stock-photos-sites\/#Do_I_need_to_credit_free_stock_photos\" >Do I need to credit free stock photos?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-17\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2022\/12\/best-free-images-stock-photos-sites\/#Can_I_use_images_from_Google_Images_on_my_blog\" >Can I use images from Google Images on my blog?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Best_free_images_and_stock_photos_sites\"><\/span>Best free images and stock photos sites<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"1_Unsplash\"><\/span>1. Unsplash<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Unsplash<\/a> has millions of beautiful, high-resolution photos from photographers around the world. Images under the <a href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/license\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Unsplash License<\/a> are free for commercial and personal use without attribution, though crediting the photographer is appreciated. Some results are from the paid <strong>Unsplash+<\/strong> collection and are marked with a plus badge.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"2_Pexels\"><\/span>2. Pexels<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pexels.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pexels<\/a> offers free stock photos and free stock videos, with strong search and curated collections. It&#8217;s great for lifestyle, business and technology images. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pexels.com\/license\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pexels license<\/a> allows free use without attribution.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"3_Pixabay\"><\/span>3. Pixabay<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/pixabay.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pixabay<\/a> has photos plus free illustrations, vector graphics, videos and music, which is handy for blog graphics and icons. Use the filters to hide sponsored results from paid stock sites.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"4_Openverse\"><\/span>4. Openverse<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/openverse.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Openverse<\/a>, run by WordPress.org, searches hundreds of millions of Creative Commons and public domain images from sources like Flickr and museums. Licences vary, so check whether attribution is needed for each image.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"5_Wikimedia_Commons\"><\/span>5. Wikimedia Commons<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Wikimedia Commons<\/a> is the best place for photos of real places, landmarks, historical events and people. Most images need attribution under their Creative Commons licence.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"6_StockSnapio\"><\/span>6. StockSnap.io<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/stocksnap.io\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">StockSnap.io<\/a> adds hundreds of new high-resolution photos every week, all released under the CC0 licence, so no attribution is needed.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"7_Burst_by_Shopify\"><\/span>7. Burst by Shopify<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/burst.shopify.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Burst<\/a> is Shopify&#8217;s free stock photo site, with images aimed at online stores, products and small businesses.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"8_Freepik\"><\/span>8. Freepik<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.freepik.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Freepik<\/a> mixes free and premium photos, vectors and templates. Free downloads usually require attribution, and some assets are premium-only, so read the licence before using them.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"9_ISO_Republic\"><\/span>9. ISO Republic<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/isorepublic.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ISO Republic<\/a> offers free CC0 photos and videos with a creative, editorial style.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_find_free_images_on_Google\"><\/span>How to find free images on Google<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>In <a href=\"https:\/\/images.google.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Google Images<\/a>, search for your topic, click <strong>Tools \u2192 Usage rights<\/strong> and choose <strong>Creative Commons licenses<\/strong>. Always click through and confirm the licence on the source page, as Google&#8217;s filter isn&#8217;t a guarantee. You can also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2008\/01\/find-best-photo-image-search-engines-online\/\">use other image search engines<\/a> with similar filters.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_use_free_images_and_stock_photos_safely\"><\/span>How to use free images and stock photos safely<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Read the licence:<\/strong> &#8220;free&#8221; can mean CC0, a site licence, or Creative Commons with attribution. Some forbid selling the image unchanged or using it in a logo.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Be careful with people and brands:<\/strong> photos with recognisable people, logos or products may not be suitable for ads or endorsements.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Download, don&#8217;t hotlink:<\/strong> upload images to your own site rather than linking to another server (and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2012\/07\/stop-image-hotlinking\/\">stop others hotlinking yours<\/a>).<\/li>\n<li><strong>Keep a record<\/strong> of the source page and licence for each image you use.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Optimise_free_images_and_stock_photos_for_your_website\"><\/span>Optimise free images and stock photos for your website<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Resize images to the width your theme displays, often 1200px or less.<\/li>\n<li>Compress and convert to WebP or AVIF to cut file size.<\/li>\n<li>Add descriptive alt text for accessibility and image SEO.<\/li>\n<li>Use <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2020\/06\/lazy-load-images\/\">lazy loading for images<\/a> below the fold.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Need something no stock site has? Try <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2022\/12\/ai-art-generators\/\">AI art generators<\/a> to create original images, and check their terms for commercial use.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Frequently_asked_questions\"><\/span>Frequently asked questions<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Are_Unsplash_and_Pexels_images_really_free_for_commercial_use\"><\/span>Are Unsplash and Pexels images really free for commercial use?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Yes. Both allow free commercial use without attribution under their own licences. You can&#8217;t sell the photos unchanged or create a competing stock photo service with them.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Do_I_need_to_credit_free_stock_photos\"><\/span>Do I need to credit free stock photos?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Not for Unsplash, Pexels, Pixabay or CC0 sites, though credit is appreciated. Creative Commons images from Openverse, Wikimedia Commons and Freepik&#8217;s free tier usually require attribution.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Can_I_use_images_from_Google_Images_on_my_blog\"><\/span>Can I use images from Google Images on my blog?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Only if the licence allows it. Most images in Google results are copyrighted. Use the Usage rights filter and confirm the licence on the source site.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Free images and stock photos make every blog post better. Looking for the best free images and stock photos for&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":61555,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"default","_kad_post_title":"default","_kad_post_layout":"default","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"default","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"default","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[52],"class_list":["post-61234","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blogging","tag-popular"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61234","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61234"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61234\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":63366,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61234\/revisions\/63366"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/61555"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}