40 Best Stock Photo Sites (Most are free!)
Did you know that ninety percent of what your brain receives is visual? And that sixty-five percent of people identify themselves as visual learners. With research confirming that content with images receives 94% more views. Finding the right images for your blogging projects is not only important. It’s crucial for success.
40+ of the Best Stock Photo Sites
Never fear! Startamomblog is here! Okay, that sounded better in my head. But hey, don’t fret! I’ve put together the ultimate resource guide for free best stock photo sites. Including a handful of premium shoutouts for you below.
Free Stock Images
First, it’s important to understand that you can’t use any image that you find on the internet. Without proper accreditation, you may find yourself in legal hot water.
Finding good quality photos for free online doesn’t have to be a daunting task. If you’re uncertain about what you’re looking for images rendering a creative commons license (CC) are public domain. And several platforms have emerged over the years.
What images can I use for free?
A commonality of free stock photo sites is that you cannot sell, redistribute, or re-license the images. Additionally, you can’t sell products that derive their primary value from the images.
But you can use CC images for any purpose. Commercial or non-commercial, without attribution. From any free image sites. Resizing and other edits are acceptable. Attribution isn’t a requirement of sharing a photographer’s art. However, it’s encouraged and appreciated.
The best practice is to read individual licensing details. I’ve included them for you. Assuring proper usage, citing, and crediting of stock photos. Now let’s jump into the best free stock photo sites below.
What can I do with Stock Images?
There are so many ways you can use stock images on your blog. You can create beautiful pin images, learn how to create printables and grow your email list, or use them to market your products.
This List of Stock Photo Sites is huge! So I created a quick reference table for you below.
Free Stock Photo Sites
Pexels
With hundreds of thousands of digital media files to peruse. Pexels contributes a fantastic online gallery. Making it one of the best stock photo sites of 2020. I’ve featured the images above to highlight their adorable baby collection! Despite a multitude of free site options available today, not all of them carry images focused on the family.
This is a valuable asset to mommy bloggers. Especially mommies who don’t want to feature their babies, but provide exceptional content. I love it!
Picjumbo
Picjumbo is a growing platform designed for complimentary web designers use. Viktor Hanacek, (the photographer) realized the necessity for free online image resources. Knowing not everyone can afford paid options, he created Picjumbo. Search thousands of high-resolution images. Displayed in delectable categories.
Such as Sunlights, Snow and Winter, and Holidays. Take a moment to appreciate the beautiful wrap job on that Christmas present. I can almost smell the pine.
Stokpic
After realizing he had hundreds of unseen, (and unused) photos on his hard drive, Ed Gregory created Stockpic. A remarkable assortment of individualistic expression. Images are high-resolution and free to use for any purpose. Besides mass production or resale.
Everything about the above collage speaks to where my heart is this summer! Beaches and sunshine. Ocean breezes and fun. Oh, and definitely a girls day! Momma needs a break.
Pixabay
Pixabay is a talented community of photographers. Uploading over one-million digital media files under CC license. High-resolution images, illustrations, and ninety-thousand vectors pack their library. Maybe I jumped ahead of myself with summer. Would you look at these Spring beauties? I think Japanese cherry blossoms really should be planted everywhere. Their little blossoms blowing in the breeze is always an aesthetic delight.
Kaboompics
Karolina is a “one-woman show.” A web creator, graphic designer, photographer, and self-professed coffee addict. Over six million high-quality impressions are available for download. Six-million! Pictures used in places like Cosmopolitan, Forbes, and The Huffington Post. Oh, you know. No biggie. Obviously kidding! CNN, BBC, and Buzzfeed, also utilize Kaboompics. A tremendous reserve for all online business. Highlighting specialty blogger collections for lifestyle and interior design.
Startup Stock Photos
Looking for images that capture the board room, SEO, content marketing, and social media? Startup Stock Photos is your haven. It began as an outlet to upload photos that were already taken but not used. Youthful, diverse, and hip, describe this gallery well. With plenty of images to keep you coming back to the drawing board. And hey, if you’re an Apple fan, there are tons of Macbook photos. And a couple featuring the iPhone. As featured above.
Freerange
Creative photographers with a desire to gift their talent contribute to Freerange. Another wealth of business and office images. All photos come directly from their contributors, in-house photographers and archives. I snatched some up that I felt best represents innovative ideas and motivated opportunities. Are you in the business of blogging? Keep pushing. Most great ideas are not born overnight.
LibreShot
Martin Vorel ‘s childhood passion for photography led him to create LibreShot. An astonishing library. Browsing his galleries is a worldly acquaintance. Photograph’s from Asia, Europe, Mongolia, and Prague. Grab yourself a cup of coffee. Forty-five collections are available. Exploring Vorel’s pages sparks the desire to see more and travel. Encouraged, enlightened, and humbled by the imagery.
Fancy Crave
Another fabulous find for traveling endeavors. FancyCrave produces stunning photographs used by thousands of creators worldwide. Placing emphasis on quality over quantity. Check out their five-step process below:
Five-Step Process:
- Our photographers travel to unique and remote destinations.
- They take beautiful photos just for you.
- They edit each photo by hand using Adobe Lightroom.
- We package the photos and upload them to you.
- You download and use the photos for your personal or commercial projects.
Take an online journey of the world around you. Featuring a magnificent compilation of global experiences. The United Arab Emirates, Cambodia, Spain, and Nepal are only a handful of collections.
SplitShire
SplitShire’s creation takes aim at giving life to photographs. Hundreds of pictures are available in a broad range of categories. Such as Cinemagraph and Automotive. The Huffington Post and CNN take advantage of this resource. And you should too. Book Covers and thousands of personal blogs also frequent this library.
Jay Mantri
Designer Jay Mantri’s gallery stuns. He states, “Free pics. Do Anything. Make Magic.” Magical envelops the essence of what is captured by Jay’s lens. Photographs commonly revolve around Mother Earth. Scenic adventures, breathtaking views, and green marvels are sure to captivate your audiences. Just look at the majesty emanating from those mountain images above.
New Old Stock
New Old Stock houses a beautiful online gallery of free vintage photographs. Vibrant, colored images are available. But I opted to share the historical moments above. Black and white time capsules. Preserving history as it happened. A wonderful trip back into time.
SkitterPhoto
Another of the best stock photo sites for finding individualistic expressions. SkitterPhoto offers fifteen categories of high-resolution image selections. I couldn’t get enough of their adorable animals! Hence why they’re featured above. And I just had to share them with you. Food, Music, and People are a few collections worth visiting. The Miscellaneous category is like an adult Easter egg hunt. Hidden treasures and curious finds.
Epicantus
Epicantus is an interesting gallery of random impressions. Rather than searching by categories, images are indexed in monthly archives. An artistic assortment of creative photography encompasses the site. Buildings, food, landscapes, and an adorable feline, are all one of a kind images you encounter during your scroll.
StyledStock
StyledStock contributes a delicate gallery of fashion, cosmetics, and more. A valuable benefit for health and beauty bloggers. Seven unique categories are populated with feminine stock photography. Rare collections include Desktops, Frames, and Mugs.
MMT Stock
MMT Stock provides a multitude of outstanding galleries. Easily, one of the best stock photo sites for Flowers, Bridges, Cars, and City Streets. New videos and images upload each week.
Freestocks.org
Freestocks.org is an extensive library of impressive pictures. Finding images is simple with hashtag search availability. A handful of galleries include Animals, Food, People, Nature, and Technology. I’m particularly fond of their Fashion Frenzy. So I’ve included four sensational images from that catalog above.
FoodiesFeed
Food photographers from around the globe share their works over at Foodiesfeed. A mouthwatering presentation of food from around the world is accessible. Making it an incredible source for travel, lifestyle and of course, food bloggers. Foodiesfeed should issue a warning, browsing galleries may induce cravings. Vibrant fruits, colorful salads, and refreshing libations are only a few delicious treats for your choosing.
Reshot
Reshot offers a platform for emerging photographers to share their passion and creativity. Their aim is to unify creators, “via a free exchange of the world’s best visual content.” All selections are handpicked to ensure a non-stocky quality. Some more popular searches include Wedding, Coffee, Yoga, Family, and Baby. Another incredible benefit for parenting and mommy bloggers!
Free High-Resolution Images
Many of the best stock photo sites above are filled with high-resolution images. However, the sites below make special mention of this quality. Earning them a special spot on this exclusive high-res list.
Negative Space
Negative Space uploads new free stock weekly. Hashtag searching available. Negative Space is one of the largest growing collections of beautiful high-resolution stock photos. Travel, Sport, Typography, and Art are featured categories.
Unsplash
Unsplash packs thousands of creative commons pics into the ultimate resource for online entrepreneurs. Search through pages of artistic impressions and unusual finds. Categories span from Film to Current Events. And from Architecture to Spirituality. Unsplash has an amazing collection of People. The women above are captured in the most artistic ways. Striking and resilient.
StockSnap.io
Hands-down, one of the best stock photo sites for high-resolution images.StockSnap.io uploads hundreds of new impressions every week. Images speak art, diversity, and versatility. Peruse dozens of categories including Sport, Doctor, Student, and Party. Another exceptional spot for mom bloggers to snatch images of Baby, Children, and Family. Travel must be in the air with Spring. I could spend hours absorbing the magic of this site.
Life of Pix
Life of Pix is a community of photographers determined to share their best shots with the public. Easily, one of the cleanest sites with the most pristine images. Crisp and cutting edge. If Foodiesfeed didn’t make you hungry, Life of Pix will get you. While their food category has great finds, Nature and City collections will pause your day. Be prepared to spend some time viewing. Seriously, is it too early for wine?
Additionally, If you need video content, Life of Pix’s counterpart, Life of Vids may have something for you.
Gratisography
Gratisography advertises they’re, “The world’s quirkiest collection of free high-resolution pictures.” And I might just have to agree. Ahhh! I’m excited! Look at the awesomeness above. With tons of creative selections to choose from. Guaranteed you won’t find these anywhere else. Faceplant without coffee. What mommy doesn’t relate? Donut holes on fingers? Um, yes, please!
ISO Republic
ISO Republic possesses thousands of high-resolution images and videos. As you can see, I was feeling myself with summertime at the beach again. Look at the visually stunning moments captured above. Very easily navigated. ISO Republic’s collections feature Architecture, Landscape, Music, and Food. A Seasonal category gifts us with Christmas treasures and Halloween treats. Oh, and keep your eyes open. There may be a couple of tricks to go with those treats.
Picography
Another growing gallery to be aware of is Picography. Hundreds of impressions are cataloged respectively in a dozen categories. A recent binge-watching of Our Planet on Netflix inspired my search for high-resolution images of animals. Picography delivers. Look how marvelously these creatures are captured in these lenses. Awe-inspiring and magical.
Sidenote, the Our Planet series is absolutely spectacular. But mommies, be sure to grab tissues.
Burst (by Shopify)
Burst is a gold mine of cuteness for parents and mommy bloggers. Seriously, the cutest kids are caught playing, laughing, and having loads of fun. It is too precious. Check it out. But Burst’s library isn’t limited to family adventures. Thousands of photos populate over forty exclusive catalogs. Fitness isn’t as common of a category so I’ve featured strong women in the collage above.
In fact, their Fitness collection is extensive enough. It warrants ten subdivisions. Such as Bike, Swimming, Skateboarding, and Gym.
Best Premium Stock Photo Sites
Searched all the free sites and still can’t find the image you’re looking for? Don’t worry, It happens. Specialty niches, celebrities, and Hollywood are a few categories less available as freebies. But you know what they say? Sometimes you got to spend money to make money. Investing in stock photography is necessary sometimes. So, how does that work?
Typically, they charge for subscriptions. But you can purchase individual photos. Let’s briefly examine some of the best stock photo sites with subscriptions together.
High-Resolution Images
Getty Images
Getty Images may be the best known of the premium avenues. Being the first of its kind. Getty’s library consists of millions of images, stock photos, videos, and illustrations. Users can pay for package subscriptions or individual images.
iStock
Essentially, Getty Images little sister. iStock is one of the largest stock photography websites. Millions of images, videos, and other online content are purchasable for download. Users receive free stock photos every week. A reward for being a member.
Flickr
Flickr is the world’s largest image sharing and online photo management platform. Tens of billions of photos call Flickr home. Oh, and bonus? Despite being a premium service there are thousands of CC images accessible too.
Shutterstock
One of the largest online platforms for stock images. Shutterstock gives you access to almost 270 million pieces of digital content. Over 150,000 new images uploaded daily. Choose from prepaid image packs and annual subscription plans.
Bigstock
Bigstock has over 80 million stock photos, videos, and vectors to explore. Currently, they’re offering a 7-day free trial for new members. Categories are diverse and can search by trending keywords.
Adobe Stock
Adobe Stock comes included for subscribers of Adobe’s Creative Cloud. The service compliments Creative Suites design tools with its compatibility. This allows users to purchase digital media in Photoshop, Premiere Pro, Illustrator, and InDesign. There are over 50-million selections to browse. A bonus of 10 free stock images come with membership.
Photocase
Photocase houses a fifteen-year collection of royalty-free stock images. There are several classifications. Including niche genres and popular themes. Photocase boasts, “real-life, authentic, aesthetic, fresh, and fair stock photos.” Producing unconventional images spanning various themes for over 18 years.
Offset
Offset is Shutterstock’s stand-alone premium stock image website. Dazzling with curated collections of uniquely diverse, royalty free images. Images are sold on an on-demand basis.
Depositphotos
Depositphotos is a stock image site with affordable plans for the budget conscious. Their new Flexible Plan is only $29.99 per month. This plan includes 30 high-resolution images. Additional images are one dollar a piece. And any unused downloads carry over into next month.
Over one-hundred-million, digital media files are accessible for browsing. Subsequently, they do offer several hundred free pictures. This collection grows every week with new additions.
Creative Market
Creative Market has nearly thirty thousand independent creators uploading images to their site. With over two-million visual impressions. In addition to their paid services, they gift some freebies.
StockUnlimited
StockUnlimited reward their customers with unlimited download plans. Starting as low as $79.00 per year. Choose from over one million impressions. All plans include unlimited downloads of images, fonts, templates, vectors, and audio. Making this an absolute steal for those in the business of needing stock photos that aren’t found on the free platforms.
Death to Stock
Death to Stock has over 3500 photos and countless hours of videos. Adding 20+ new images to their gallery every month. Sign up for their newsletter to have them delivered straight to your inbox. Exclusive giveaway– you start with a 14-day-free trial.
Stocksy
Stocksy is an artist owned cooperative. Founded by iStock’s original founder, Bruce Livingstone. Offering a carefully curated collection of royalty-free stock photographs.
Thanks for reading! Did I miss any of today’s best stock photo sites? Let me know in the comments what you think. And please share it if this huge list of stock images sites helped you!
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Great, Thanks !
only thing that could make thi slist better is a ‘categories’ index.
Wonderful! I’m an organic gardening blogger living in a colder climate and was struggling to find images over the winter when I couldn’t take pics myself. Wish I had this list then (but I’ll save it for NEXT winter!) Thank you!
WOW!! this is great, super complete, Thank you very much Suzi!
This is a great list. Love all the info you share including these image sites and tools/resources for creating unique images. Thanks Suzi!
Thank you so much – this is just what I need!
So happy to help, thank you Melissa!