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Yes—Unsplash, Pexels, Pixabay, Burst, and StockSnap generally allow commercial use without mandatory photographer or website credit.
“Copyright-free” is not quite the right legal term. Most images remain copyrighted; the site gives you permission through a license. That permission may still restrict resale, trademarks, endorsements, sensitive uses, or images containing recognizable people and artwork.
Quick comparison
| Site | Commercial use | Attribution | Best for | Main caution |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unsplash | Yes, under its free license | Not required | Polished photography | No unmodified resale or competing image service |
| Pexels | Yes | Not required | Photos and video | No endorsement, trademark, or unmodified resale |
| Pixabay | Yes, subject to restrictions | Not required | Photos, illustrations, vectors, and media | Check logos, brands, people, and third-party rights |
| Burst | Yes | Not required | Business and ecommerce imagery | No selling unaltered files or implying endorsement |
| StockSnap | Yes | Not required | CC0-style photography | CC0 does not remove privacy, publicity, or trademark rights |
The best free image sites
1. Unsplash
Best for: polished photography of interiors, landscapes, travel, people, technology, and lifestyle subjects—useful for painting websites, portfolio pages, studio blogs, and editorial features.
The free Unsplash License permits free personal and commercial use, modification, and use without attribution. You may crop, resize, recolor, overlay text, or combine a photograph with your own artwork.
#1 Best Overall
- EXTRA HEAVY DUTY 130LB COVER CARDSTOCK: Ultra thick bright white cardstock ideal for invitations, greeting cards, postcards, business cards, presentation covers, scrapbooking, and professional craft projects requiring maximum rigidity.
- ULTRA THICK 17PT (350GSM) PREMIUM STOCK: Heavyweight 130lb Cover (350gsm / 0.45mm) cardstock delivers exceptional stiffness and durability with a smooth matte finish for crisp printing, clean cutting, and premium presentation quality.
- IMPORTANT PRINTER COMPATIBILITY NOTICE: Compatible with select inkjet and laser printers that support heavy media. This ultra-thick 130lb Cover (350gsm) cardstock is significantly heavier than standard cardstock and may not feed through many home printers. For best results, use printers with manual feed trays, straight paper paths, or professional flat-feed systems. Please verify your printer's maximum paper weight specifications before ordering. Due to its extra thickness, sheets should be scored before folding to achieve clean, professional folds; folding without pre-scoring may result in cracking or uneven folds.
- STANDARD LETTER SIZE 8.5" x 11": Full-size sheets ideal for invitations, covers, inserts, menus, signage, certificates, photo mounting, and professional design projects requiring thick cardstock support.
- FREE TEMPLATES & ONLINE DESIGNER: Includes downloadable templates plus access to the Desktop Publishing Supplies online template designer to easily create invitations, greeting cards, business cards, flyers, covers, and custom print projects.
Do not sell an image without significant modification, or compile Unsplash images to create a similar or competing image service. Unsplash’s image license also does not automatically grant rights to visible logos, artwork, property, or recognizable people. The free library should not be confused with the separate Unsplash+ collection, which has different terms.
2. Pexels
Best for: photos and videos for websites, social posts, presentations, advertisements, ecommerce pages, and painting tutorials.
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You may not sell or redistribute an unaltered image, place it on another stock or wallpaper platform, use it as a trademark, trade name, or service mark, or imply that a person, brand, or organization endorses your product. Pexels also prohibits depicting identifiable people in an offensive or harmful way.
3. Pixabay
Best for: photographs, illustrations, vectors, videos, music, and sound effects when a project needs more than conventional stock photography.
The Pixabay Content License generally permits free commercial and noncommercial use, modification, and use without attribution. It restricts standalone resale and distribution of the content itself.
Rank #2
- Print Quality that Stuns – Our premium 12-color high-resolution inks combined with fade-resistant technology ensure every pixel prints in lifelike vibrancy. Unlike cheap personalized poster prints, these won’t fade or discolor over time.
- Upload. Customize. Create. – Upload your JPEG or PNG image, using the customize tool to crop & position your posters and prints. Choose between gloss or matte, portrait or landscape to turn your vision into a custom print that commands attention.
- Industry-Leading Photo Paper – Our heavyweight 250gsm 10 mil gloss and matte photo paper feels premium, looks premium and outperforms anything you’ll find in mass-market print shops. Make your own poster with professional, gallery-worthy results.
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Pixabay requires particular care with recognizable trademarks, logos, brands, people, artwork, and other third-party rights. A photograph of a branded product may be licensed by Pixabay while the logo or commercial use of that brand remains a separate issue. Pixabay’s summary is not the complete legally binding agreement, so consult its current terms for important projects.
4. Burst by Shopify
Best for: business websites, online stores, product marketing, menus, advertisements, and entrepreneurial content.
Burst allows free commercial and noncommercial use without mandatory attribution. You can crop, resize, edit, add text, and use images on platforms other than Shopify.
Its license restricts selling unaltered image files, compiling images to replicate or compete with Burst, falsely claiming authorship, and implying endorsement. Images containing identifiable people, trademarks, property, or artwork require additional caution.
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5. StockSnap
Best for: general-purpose high-resolution photography when you prefer a straightforward CC0-style source.
StockSnap states that its images are released under CC0, allowing commercial use, modification, redistribution, and use without attribution. Creative Commons explains that CC0 is intended to waive copyright and related rights as far as legally possible.
Rank #3
- Custom Photo Prints & Posters: Turn your images into high-quality prints or posters. Ideal for photographs, digital artwork, illustrations, or AI-generated images
- Select desired size, then click “Customize now” to choose orientation, paper finish, quantity and to upload your image.
- Image Enhancement Included: Your images are processed using the latest commercial grade image enhancement technology to ensure the best possible reproduction (Image enhancement results may vary)
- Professional Grade High-Resolution Printing: Ultra-sharp detail and vibrant colors featuring genuine Canon Lucia Pro II inks, for the ultimate in print quality. Vivid color prints with more accurate color reproduction and improved black density
- Placed in protective plastic and shipped flat for easier handling
CC0 does not automatically waive privacy, publicity, trademark, endorsement, property, or artwork rights. Do not suggest that a photographer or recognizable person supports your product, business, political message, or claim.
What “no attribution required” means
It means the platform’s stated license does not require you to include the photographer’s name, the website’s name, a license link, or a caption identifying the creator.
It does not mean you can:
- Claim that you took the photograph.
- Resell the unchanged image as a print, wallpaper, stock file, or digital download.
- Use a person’s likeness as an endorsement.
- Use a visible logo or artwork without considering its separate rights.
- Use the image in a defamatory, deceptive, offensive, political, medical, or otherwise sensitive context without additional review.
Attribution may still be encouraged as professional courtesy, required by a different license attached to a particular asset, or useful for your internal records.
Can you edit and use these images commercially?
Generally, yes. The listed services permit uses such as cropping, resizing, color correction, background removal, adding text, combining a photograph with original painting or design work, and placing the result on a website, presentation, social post, or advertisement.
Common examples
- Website or blog image: Generally permitted under the listed licenses.
- Social-media advertisement: Generally permitted, but check recognizable people, brands, and implied endorsements.
- Product packaging: Possible, but inspect logos, artwork, models, and property carefully.
- Shirt, mug, or poster: Often possible when the image is part of a substantially original design. Do not sell the unchanged image as the product.
- Logo or trademark: Usually unsuitable. Pexels expressly prohibits using its content as a trademark, trade name, or service mark.
- Stock-photo compilation: Generally prohibited or risky because these licenses restrict competing libraries and redistribution.
- Client project: Usually possible, provided the license permits commercial use and you document the asset and its restrictions.
People, logos, artwork, and buildings need separate attention
A stock license primarily addresses copyright permission in the image. It may not provide a model release, property release, trademark permission, privacy waiver, or permission to reproduce artwork shown in the photograph.
Be especially careful when an image contains:
- A recognizable person, celebrity, child, or private individual.
- A prominent brand, logo, product, or trademark.
- A painting, sculpture, poster, book cover, packaging design, or other artwork.
- A distinctive building or private property used in advertising.
Do not use a recognizable person to suggest support for a painting course, art product, political position, medical claim, financial service, or controversial viewpoint. Avoid defamatory, misleading, or offensive portrayals. Crop, blur, remove, or replace prominent branding when appropriate.
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Rank #4
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- COMPACT 8" x 10" SIZE: Full-size sheets ideal for invitations, greeting cards, inserts, covers, postcards, business cards, photo mounting, and specialty print projects requiring a sturdy compact format.
- PROFESSIONAL MATTE FINISH: Smooth bright white matte surface provides excellent print clarity, sharp text, and vibrant color reproduction for both personal and commercial printing applications.
- IMPORTANT PRINTER COMPATIBILITY NOTICE: Compatible with select inkjet and laser printers that support heavy media. This ultra-thick 120lb Cover (325gsm) cardstock is significantly heavier than standard cardstock and may not feed through many home printers. For best results, use printers with manual feed trays, straight paper paths, or professional flat-feed systems. Please verify your printer's maximum paper weight specifications before ordering. Due to its extra thickness, sheets should be scored before folding to achieve clean, professional folds; folding without pre-scoring may result in cracking or uneven folds.
- FREE TEMPLATES & ONLINE DESIGNER: Includes downloadable templates plus access to the Desktop Publishing Supplies online template designer to easily create invitations, greeting cards, business cards, flyers, covers, and custom print projects.
Sites that require individual license checking
Openverse
Openverse searches Creative Commons and public-domain material, but it is not a universal no-attribution directory. Individual images may require attribution, prohibit commercial use, prohibit modifications, or require share-alike licensing. Open the original source and follow that image’s specific license.
Wikimedia Commons
Wikimedia Commons contains public-domain works, CC0 files, CC BY works requiring attribution, CC BY-SA works requiring attribution and share-alike licensing, and other free licenses. Read the individual file’s licensing and attribution information before use.
Library of Congress and government archives
Government-hosted material is not automatically unrestricted. The Library of Congress advises users to inspect each item’s Rights and Access or Rights Advisory statement. USAGov also warns that government material can contain third-party rights or attribution requirements.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to verify an image before using it
- Use the original source. Do not rely on a search-engine thumbnail, Pinterest pin, repost, or social-media copy.
- Open the image detail page. Confirm the platform, creator, and asset page.
- Read the current license. Confirm commercial use, modification, attribution, and resale rules.
- Inspect the image itself. Look for people, logos, artwork, branded products, property, editorial labels, or sensitive subject matter.
- Save evidence. Record the image URL, creator, download date, license URL, and a screenshot or saved copy of the applicable terms.
- Check your final use. Make sure the finished design does not redistribute the image as an extractable asset or imply endorsement.
Keeping this information is practical documentation, not an absolute legal defense. Platforms can change terms, and an image may later be removed. The license that applied to your download and your intended use still matter.
Special cases for painters and designers
Using a photo as painting reference
A license that permits commercial use generally makes the image suitable for many reference and design workflows, but creating a painting from a photograph can raise separate questions about how closely the new work reproduces the original composition. For commercially important work, use images with clear permissions and retain the source record.
Using free images in art prints or merchandise
Adding substantial original painting, typography, layout, or other design may be permitted. Selling the downloaded photograph unchanged—or with only a minor filter, crop, or color adjustment—is commonly restricted. Check the exact platform terms before producing high-value or large-volume merchandise.
Best Value
- EXTRA HEAVY DUTY 130LB COVER CARDSTOCK: Ultra thick bright white cardstock ideal for invitations, greeting cards, postcards, business cards, presentation covers, scrapbooking, and professional craft projects requiring maximum rigidity.
- ULTRA THICK 17PT (350GSM) PREMIUM STOCK: Heavyweight 130lb Cover (350gsm / 0.45mm) cardstock delivers exceptional stiffness and durability with a smooth matte finish for crisp printing, clean cutting, and premium presentation quality.
- IMPORTANT PRINTER COMPATIBILITY NOTICE: Compatible with select inkjet and laser printers that support heavy media. This ultra-thick 130lb Cover (350gsm) cardstock is significantly heavier than standard cardstock and may not feed through many home printers. For best results, use printers with manual feed trays, straight paper paths, or professional flat-feed systems. Please verify your printer's maximum paper weight specifications before ordering. Due to its extra thickness, sheets should be scored before folding to achieve clean, professional folds; folding without pre-scoring may result in cracking or uneven folds.
- STANDARD LETTER SIZE 8.5" x 11": Full-size sheets ideal for invitations, covers, inserts, menus, signage, certificates, photo mounting, and professional design projects requiring thick cardstock support.
- FREE TEMPLATES & ONLINE DESIGNER: Includes downloadable templates plus access to the Desktop Publishing Supplies online template designer to easily create invitations, greeting cards, business cards, flyers, covers, and custom print projects.
Using free images in templates
A finished poster, presentation, or website design may be allowed, while a template that lets customers extract and reuse the stock image may amount to redistribution. Review the license before selling Canva templates, website themes, presentation files, stock bundles, or downloadable graphics packs.
When paid stock is worth considering
Free libraries are often sufficient for a portfolio, blog, studio announcement, or ordinary website image. Paid stock may be more appropriate for a large advertising campaign, packaging, political advertising, medical or financial claims, celebrity likenesses, or work with significant legal and financial exposure.
Recommended Free Tools
Paid services such as Canva, Adobe Stock, Shutterstock, and Freepik may provide broader catalogs or clearer licensing workflows, but they do not eliminate every model, property, trademark, editorial, or sensitive-use restriction. Check the license attached to each asset and the terms of your plan.
Bottom line
For most ordinary projects, start with Pexels for photos and video, Unsplash for polished photography, Pixabay for mixed media, Burst for ecommerce and business imagery, or StockSnap for a CC0-style license.
Use the phrase “free image sites that generally allow commercial use without required attribution,” not “images with no copyright or legal restrictions.” Before publishing, verify the individual asset, inspect people and branding, avoid unchanged resale, and save evidence of the license you relied on.
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.
