Free tools Windows power users keep installed
One-click scans. No signup required.
ThatPainter is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn More
There are excellent places to find images for websites, presentations, books, products, social posts, and commercial campaigns without paying a stock-image fee—but “free” does not automatically mean public domain or CC0.
Public-domain works are not protected by copyright in the relevant jurisdiction, while CC0 is a dedication intended to waive copyright and related rights as far as legally possible. Other images use Creative Commons or platform-specific licenses. Always check the individual image record, not just the repository homepage.
The 16 best sources
Use the categories below as a starting point. The safest source is the one that gives you clear item-level rights information, useful provenance, and a file large enough for your project.
#1 Best Overall
- Get NVMe solid state performance with up to 1050MB/s read and 1000MB/s write speeds in a portable, high-capacity drive(1) (Based on internal testing; performance may be lower depending on host device & other factors. 1MB=1,000,000 bytes.)
- Up to 3-meter drop protection and IP65 water and dust resistance mean this tough drive can take a beating(3) (Previously rated for 2-meter drop protection and IP55 rating. Now qualified for the higher, stated specs.)
- Use the handy carabiner loop to secure it to your belt loop or backpack for extra peace of mind.
- Help keep private content private with the included password protection featuring 256‐bit AES hardware encryption.(3)
- Easily manage files and automatically free up space with the SanDisk Memory Zone app.(5). Non-Operating Temperature -20°C to 85°C
1. Openverse
Best for: Searching across many providers. Openverse indexes images and audio offered under Creative Commons licenses or in the public domain.
Filter for public-domain or CC0-compatible results where available, then open the original source before downloading. Record the original creator, source URL, and license.
Watch out: Openverse is an aggregator, not a guarantee that every result is unrestricted. The original item page controls.
2. Wikimedia Commons
Best for: Historical photographs, scientific imagery, maps, diagrams, artworks, landmarks, flags, and educational illustrations.
The Tool Desk
Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Open the individual file page and read its license box and source information. Many files require attribution; some use CC BY-SA, which can impose licensing requirements on adaptations. Credit the original creator rather than automatically crediting the uploader.
Watch out: Commons is not a CC0-only library. Wikimedia also advises checking privacy, personality, trademark, and other non-copyright restrictions. See its reuse guidance.
3. Smithsonian Open Access
Best for: Museum objects, natural-history specimens, art, cultural artifacts, scientific material, and 3D objects.
Look for the CC0 designation, download the highest-resolution file available, and save the object record and accession number. Smithsonian says designated CC0 assets can be used commercially without permission, attribution, or payment to the Smithsonian.
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsWatch out: Not every Smithsonian asset is necessarily CC0. Third-party rights, trademarks, privacy, publicity, and other legal restrictions may remain. Read the official FAQ.
4. Library of Congress: Free to Use and Reuse
Best for: U.S. history, photographs, posters, maps, advertisements, portraits, transportation, and architecture.
Begin with the Library’s themed “Free to Use and Reuse” sets, then open the individual item record. Read its rights-and-access statement and preserve the collection name, item URL, and recommended credit.
Rank #2
- Solid state performance with up to 800MB/s read speeds in a portable drive. (Based on internal testing; performance may be lower depending on host device, interface, usage conditions and other factors. 1MB=1,000,000 bytes.)
- Back up your content and memories on a storage solution that fits seamlessly into your mobile lifestyle.
- Take it with you on your adventures—up to two-meter drop protection means this durable drive can take a beating. (Based on internal testing.)
- Secure it to your belt loop or backpack for extra peace of mind thanks to the tough rubber hook.
- From Sandisk, a brand professional photographers trust to take on assignments.
Watch out: The collection label is useful but does not replace item-level review. The Library currently presents more than 100 themed sets.
Recommended Free Tools
5. NASA Images and Media
Best for: Space, Earth observation, spacecraft, astronauts, launches, planets, laboratories, and scientific visualization.
Prefer images hosted by NASA or an identified NASA mission or program. Read NASA’s media guidelines before commercial publication, especially if a design includes NASA insignia, logos, recognizable people, contractors, partners, or private-company branding.
Watch out: “NASA-related” does not mean every image on every NASA-related page is unrestricted. Do not imply NASA endorsement.
6. NOAA
Best for: Weather, oceans, climate, marine life, storms, satellites, environmental science, and maps.
What’s actually slowing this PC down?
Pick the symptom - the matching free tool is one click away.
Search official NOAA galleries, laboratories, offices, and data portals. Confirm the source agency and photographer, and preserve the original caption and agency credit.
Watch out: Government sites can display images supplied by partners, contractors, or outside contributors. Do not assume every image on a government website is government-owned or public domain.
7. U.S. Geological Survey
Best for: Landscapes, geology, earthquakes, volcanoes, wildlife, maps, satellite imagery, and field science.
Check USGS copyright and credit guidance. Determine whether the image was made by USGS personnel or supplied by another source, and keep the photographer, project, and agency credit.
Watch out: Material from contractors, partners, and external contributors may have different rights.
8. Europeana
Best for: European paintings, photographs, manuscripts, maps, posters, books, and cultural-heritage material.
Rank #3
- Capacity Display Variance: 500GB external ssd often appears as around 465GB on Windows. MacOS can show full 500 GB capacity. This is binary calculation difference and doesn’t affect SSD hard drive actual physical storage
- 1050 MB/s Speed: Instantly access to your files with blazing-fast 10Gbps external SSD read up to 1050MB/s and write up to 1000MB/s. LED Light indicates USB SSD instant activity
- Data Security: Solid state drives S.M.A.R.T. health diagnostics and adaptive TRIM optimizing data block management ensures consistent write speeds and extends the longevity of the portable SSD
- USB-C & USB-A Cable: Both cables featuring rapid USB 3.2 Gen2, this USB SSD effortlessly bridges devices, enabling seamless cross-platform file transfers and backup between computers, smartphones, tablets and iPhone
- Always Fast: No slowdowns for large file transfers. With SLC caching (25% of current available capacity allocated as high-speed cache), this external SSD delivers steady 10Gbps for transfers within the cache capacity
Use Europeana’s rights filters and look for Public Domain Mark, CC0, or a license compatible with your use. Open the contributing institution’s record and check whether the image rights differ from the metadata rights.
Watch out: Europeana includes public-domain, Creative Commons, rights-reserved, and other rights-statement categories. It is not a public-domain-only archive.
9. Rijksmuseum
Best for: Dutch paintings, prints, drawings, historical objects, decorative arts, and high-resolution museum imagery.
Look for works with downloadable high-resolution files and verify the item’s rights information. Save the artwork title, artist, collection, and source record. A courtesy credit is good practice even when not legally required.
Watch out: Reuse status varies by object and file. Do not generalize from one painting to the entire collection.
10. The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Best for: Paintings, sculpture, costumes, historical objects, manuscripts, prints, drawings, and decorative arts.
Use the Open Access filter where available and verify that the specific object is marked Open Access. Download the largest available file and retain the artist, title, date, collection, and item URL.
Watch out: The Met collection includes works that are not public domain or are not available under open-access terms.
11. New York Public Library Digital Collections
Best for: Historical photographs, menus, maps, books, posters, postcards, illustrations, and New York-related material.
Search for items labeled public domain or otherwise cleared for reuse. Read the item’s rights statement and save its digital identifier and collection name.
Quick wins for a faster PC:
Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Watch out: NYPL collections are not uniformly public domain. Donor conditions, unresolved rights, or other restrictions may apply.
Rank #4
- Easily store and access 2TB to content on the go with the Seagate Portable Drive, a USB external hard drive
- Designed to work with Windows or Mac computers, this external hard drive makes backup a snap just drag and drop
- To get set up, connect the portable hard drive to a computer for automatic recognition no software required
- This USB drive provides plug and play simplicity with the included 18 inch USB 3.0 cable
- The available storage capacity may vary.
12. Flickr Commons
Best for: Historical photographs from libraries, archives, museums, and government institutions.
Confirm that an image belongs to a participating Commons institution and read its individual rights statement. Record the institution, photographer, collection, and license or rights statement.
Watch out: Flickr Commons is not the same as ordinary Flickr. User uploads on regular Flickr have many different licenses, including licenses that require attribution or prohibit commercial use.
Free tools Windows power users keep installed
One-click scans. No signup required.
13. The Public Domain Review
Best for: Curated historical art, illustrations, scientific diagrams, literature, manuscripts, and unusual archival imagery.
Use it as a discovery and editorial resource, then follow the link to the underlying archive or institution. Verify the original scan’s rights statement and cite both sources when practical.
Watch out: Its curation is not a universal legal guarantee for every image or jurisdiction.
14. Internet Archive
Best for: Scanned books, photographs, posters, films, magazines, illustrations, and other digitized media.
The Tool Desk
Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Read the item-level rights metadata, check the original publication date, and prefer items explicitly marked public domain or carrying a clear reuse license.
Watch out: Internet Archive is a mixed-rights repository. An item being downloadable does not prove that it is public domain, and uploader-provided rights information may be incomplete.
15. Pixabay
Best for: Contemporary stock-style photographs, illustrations, vectors, and short-form visual content.
Pixabay permits broad use under its own Content License. Read the current terms, avoid redistributing an image as a standalone asset, and be cautious with recognizable people, logos, brands, and private property.
Crashes, No Sound, or Screen Glitches?
Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minutePC Slower Than It Used to Be?
A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11Best Value
- MADE FOR THE MAKERS: Create; Explore; Store; The T7 Portable SSD delivers fast speeds and durable features to back up any endeavor; Build your video editing empire, file your photographs or back up your blogs all in an instant
- SHARE IDEAS IN A FLASH: Don’t waste a second waiting and spend more time doing; The T7 is embedded with PCIe NVMe technology that brings fast read and write speeds up to 1,050/1,000 MB/s¹, making it almost twice as fast as the T5
- ALWAYS MAKE THE SAVE: Compact design with massive capacity; With capacities up to 4TB, save exactly what you need to your drive – from large working files to game data and everything in between
- ADAPTS TO EVERY NEED: Whether using a PC or mobile phone, count on the T7 for extensive compatibility²; It’s a true team player when it comes to heavy-duty application usage or file-saving
- HI RESOLUTION VIDEO RECORDING: Record Ultra High Resolution (4K 60fs) videos directly onto the T7 Portable SSD with your favorite camera or mobile devices; Supports iPhone 15 Pro Res 4K at 60fps video and more³
Watch out: Pixabay is not a CC0 repository. Its platform license is not a public-domain dedication and may restrict resale, misleading use, or trademark-related uses.
16. Rawpixel Public Domain
Best for: Vintage illustrations, engravings, paintings, historical design assets, textures, and curated public-domain artwork.
Use the Public Domain section or filter, confirm that the individual asset is marked public domain, and preserve its rights label.
Watch out: Rawpixel is a commercial platform with mixed content. A free download from the wider site does not necessarily mean public domain.
Recommended Free Tools
Quick comparison
| Source | Best use | Rights situation | Attribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Openverse | Cross-source search | Mixed CC and public domain | Depends on item |
| Wikimedia Commons | Broad subject range | Mixed licenses and public domain | Often required |
| Smithsonian | Museum and science assets | CC0-designated items | Not required; recommended |
| Library of Congress | U.S. history | Rights-free sets plus item terms | Recommended |
| NASA | Space and science | Government and third-party material mixed | Follow guidelines |
| NOAA | Weather and oceans | Often government material | Recommended |
| USGS | Earth science | Item/source dependent | Recommended |
| Europeana | European heritage | Mixed rights statements | Depends on item |
| Rijksmuseum | Dutch art | Item-level open access | Recommended |
| Met | Museum art | Open Access varies | Recommended |
| NYPL | Historical ephemera | Mixed; many reusable items | Follow item record |
| Flickr Commons | Institutional photos | Institution and item dependent | Usually credit |
| Public Domain Review | Unusual archival material | Verify underlying source | Recommended |
| Internet Archive | Digitized media | Very mixed | Depends on item |
| Pixabay | Modern stock-style images | Pixabay Content License | Usually not required |
| Rawpixel | Vintage art | Public Domain section plus mixed content | Usually not required for PD items |
Public domain, CC0, and Creative Commons: what is the difference?
| Label | Typical meaning | Attribution | Commercial use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public domain | No copyright protection in the relevant jurisdiction, or a valid dedication | Generally not required | Usually permitted under copyright law |
| CC0 | Copyright and related rights waived as far as legally possible | Generally not required | Generally permitted |
| CC BY | Reuse allowed with conditions | Required | Permitted if terms are followed |
| CC BY-SA | Reuse with attribution and share-alike obligations | Required | Permitted if terms are followed |
| CC BY-NC | Reuse with attribution, but not commercial use | Required | Not permitted under that license |
| Platform-specific license | Permission defined by the website’s own terms | Follow the platform’s terms | Depends on the license |
Public-domain status can differ by country. The underlying painting, a museum’s scan, a restoration, its metadata, and the website’s branding can raise separate questions. CC0 also does not automatically eliminate trademark, privacy, publicity, moral-rights, cultural-heritage, or contractual restrictions.
Best source by need
- Fastest broad search: Openverse.
- Broadest repository: Wikimedia Commons.
- Museum and science objects: Smithsonian Open Access.
- U.S. historical material: Library of Congress.
- Space imagery: NASA.
- Weather and environmental imagery: NOAA.
- Museum art: The Met or Rijksmuseum.
- Unusual vintage material: Public Domain Review or Rawpixel’s Public Domain collection.
- Contemporary stock-like imagery: Pixabay, with its license restrictions in mind.
How to verify an image before using it
- Identify the original host.
- Open the individual item page.
- Find the exact rights statement or license label.
- Confirm that commercial use is allowed for your intended project.
- Check attribution, license-linking, and ShareAlike requirements.
- Look for model-release, trademark, privacy, publicity, cultural-property, or government-insignia warnings.
- Save the image, rights page, creator, license, source URL, and access date.
- Avoid wording or layouts that imply endorsement by a person, museum, company, or government agency.
Keep a rights record
Title:
Creator:
Original source:
Collection:
License or rights statement:
Attribution wording:
Download date:
Original file URL:
Rights-page URL:
Notes about people, logos, trademarks, or restrictions:For commercially important work, keep a screenshot or PDF of the rights page as well. Rights pages and platform terms can change.
Can you use these images commercially?
Often, but not automatically. Copyright permission is only one part of commercial clearance. A public-domain or CC0 image may still show a recognizable person, trademark, logo, private property, government seal, or culturally sensitive object. A use that suggests a testimonial or endorsement is higher risk than a plainly editorial or illustrative use.
For advertising, merchandise, sensitive subjects, or print-on-demand products, choose an image with unusually clear provenance and review the specific risks. If the license or source history is ambiguous, use another image or obtain legal advice.
Common mistakes
- “Free” means unlimited. It may mean personal use only, attribution-required use, or permission under a platform license.
- Government website means public domain. Government pages can reproduce third-party or partner material.
- Public-domain artwork makes every reproduction unrestricted. The original and a particular scan or photograph can raise separate jurisdictional questions.
- CC0 removes every restriction. It primarily addresses copyright and related rights, not every privacy, publicity, trademark, moral-rights, or contractual issue.
- Commons means no attribution. Many Commons files require attribution or ShareAlike compliance.
- Flickr Commons means all Flickr images are open. Commons is an institutional program; ordinary Flickr uploads vary widely.
- Open images are automatically safe for endorsements. Do not imply that a person, museum, agency, or company sponsors your work.
- High resolution is always preferable. Compare resolution with the rights statement. A larger file can have different access terms.
Optional tools for preparing free images
You do not need paid software to use public-domain or CC0 images, but editing tools can help with resizing, compositing, background removal, and print preparation.
- Canva suits quick layouts, social graphics, presentations, and resizing.
- Adobe Express suits lightweight social and video graphics.
- Adobe Photoshop suits professional retouching, masking, restoration, and compositing.
- Affinity Photo suits serious editing for users who prefer a non-subscription workflow; verify the current edition and purchase model.
- Remove.bg suits automated background removal, though detailed commercial work may need manual edge review.
Plan and pricing structures change, so check each vendor’s official page before purchasing. Paid stock libraries such as Adobe Stock, Shutterstock, Getty Images, and iStock may be worth considering when you need contemporary subjects, model releases, consistent collections, or stronger licensing support.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CC0 the same as public domain?
They are closely related in practical use, but not identical. CC0 is a legal dedication intended to waive copyright and related rights as far as possible; public-domain status describes a work that is not protected by copyright in the relevant jurisdiction or has been dedicated to the public domain.
Do I have to credit a CC0 image?
Attribution is generally not legally required for CC0, but a credit and source record are good practice and help demonstrate provenance.
What’s actually slowing this PC down?
Pick the symptom - the matching free tool is one click away.
Are Pixabay images public domain?
No. Pixabay images are offered under the Pixabay Content License, which grants broad permissions but is not a CC0 dedication and includes restrictions.
The Bottom Line
Start with Openverse or Wikimedia Commons for breadth, and use institutional collections when provenance matters. Before publishing, verify the individual image’s rights statement, commercial-use permission, attribution rules, resolution, and non-copyright risks—and save evidence of what you found.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
