They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but these days most stock photo websites bring one word to mind.
Meh.
Or perhaps blah.
In any case, it’s hard to find great looking stock photos. It’s even more difficult to find great looking stock photos that are FREE! Paying for photos every time you publish a piece of content gets expensive.
The problem is that you need good, quality images for your website. Studies show that users respond to pictures. A wall of text without images can appear daunting. Using images to break up the text adds visual interest and appeal. They also allow you to insert links and keywords that help Google categorize your content. Yes, images are a must for every web page and blog post. However, what do you do if you don’t have any?
I suppose you can take a photography class. However, who has time for that? You can hire a photographer, but that’s more expensive than buying pictures.
To help you with this dilemma, we put together a list of the 22 Best Stock Photo Websites. Best of all, each of them is FREE.
Where to Find the Best Stock Photo Websites
We scoured the internet for the best sources of high-quality images. Since we only wanted stock photo websites that were free, that limited our results. However, we did come up with a good list of quality sites. Each one specializes in different types of media. You can search the images using keywords and download them to your computer. You can then add text, crop, or edit as desired. Try using free editors such as Canva or PicMonkey to build blog images. These editors can also design social media posts and banners from the pictures.
Upload the edited images to your website and place them inside articles or on a landing page. Make sure you add alt text and titles. We find that it is best to download the “medium” size of the image. This size gets the job done without straining website resources.
Some of the websites allow you to make a small donation to the photographer if you wish. It’s not necessary. However, if you find yourself using the same photographer over and over again, you might consider it. It’s also possible to reach out the individual photographers for custom work.
So, here you go. What follows is a list of the 22 best free stock photo websites.
StockSnap.io
https://stocksnap.io/
Beautiful Free Stock Photos (CC0)
The #1 source for beautiful free stock photos. High-quality and high-resolution images free from all copyright restrictions (CC0) – no attribution required.
Unsplash
https://unsplash.com/
Unsplash | Free High-Resolution Photos
Explore · History · Made with Unsplash · Tag photos · API/Developers · Local · Unsplash Book · Hiring · LoginJoin. Unsplash. Free (do whatever you want)
Gratisography
https://www.gratisography.com/
Free high-resolution photos
Free, use as you please, high-resolution stock photos for personal and commercial projects.
LittleVisuals.co
https://littlevisuals.co/
Sign up to get seven hi-res images zipped up in your inbox every seven days. Use them any way you want.
New Old Stock
https://nos.twnsnd.co/
New Old Stock
Use vintage photos from the public archives. Free of known copyright restrictions. Images that recapture History.
Superfamous
https://superfamous.com/
SUPERFAMOUS STUDIOS IS A MEDIA DESIGN PRACTICE RUN BY FOLKERT GORTER IN LOS ANGELES DEDICATED TO INVESTIGATING NEW WAYS OF SEEING AND COMMUNICATING
The Pattern Library
https://thepatternlibrary.com/
The Pattern Library
Patterns for the people, by the people.
IM Creator
https://imcreator.com/free
Free Website Templates, Free Images & More – IM Creator
Only high quality, resources for website building & other design projects. Free images, icons, and models.
Ref
https://getrefe.com/
Natural Looking Photos
The best place to buy royalty-free, high-quality, natural looking stock photos.
Negative Space
https://www.negativespace.co/
Beautiful Free Stock Images
Whether for personal or commercial projects, all of our beautiful high-resolution stock images are completely free to use.
FreeStocks.org
https://freestocks.org/
Free stock photos for commercial use
High-quality images for your website and blog. Free stock photos for both personal and business use.
Biography
https://picography.co/
Picography – Use however you like
Picography by Hidden Depth provides stunning photography for use however you like.
MMT Stock
https://mmtstock.com/
Free photos for commercial use
Use them in your website, themes, templates, projects, print materials, social posts, and more. New photos each week.
Skitterphoto
https://skitterphoto.com/
Skitterphoto: a place to find, show and share public domain images.
Visit Skitterphoto to download free photos. No payment, no login required. Do you take pictures? Join us and start uploading your public domain photos today.
Life of Pix
Free high-resolution photography. Share and download images freely. Search for pictures by color or format.
FoodiesFeed
https://foodiesfeed.com/
FoodiesFeed – Free Food Pictures
Download 1000+ beautiful realistic free food pictures in high resolution and visit our food photography magazine worth sharing!
Pixabay
https://pixabay.com/
Free images and videos you can use anywhere
All images and videos on Pixabay are released free of copyrights under Creative Commons CC0. You may download, modify, distribute, and use them royalty free for anything you like, even in commercial applications.
Free to use original photography by Daria
https://epicantus.tumblr.com/
Free to use original photography by Daria
Feel free to use these hi-res photos for your landing pages, blog posts & designs.
Startup Stock Photos
https://startupstockphotos.com/
Startup Stock Photos | Free Tech Stock Photos
Take ’em; these things are free. Go. Make something.
SplitShire
https://www.splitshire.com/
SplitShire
What would you do if you had amazing copyright free real photos? Download free high-quality photos with no copyright restrictions and real look.
Pexels
ISO Republic
https://isorepublic.com/
Free stock photos you can use everywhere. ✓ Free for commercial use ✓ No attribution required.
We hope that these free stock photo websites make good resources for images.