15 best free stock photo websites for designers (updated in 2025)
In a fast-paced design project, finding a perfect picture should not be a bottleneck, let alone a strain on your budget. Fortunately, there are countless high-quality free stock photo resources hidden on the Internet! But with so many choices, which ones are truly reliable, high-quality, and suitable for professional design?
We have carefully selected the 15 most worthy free stock photo websites for designers in 2025 to help you easily improve your visual expression while avoiding copyright risks.
⚠️ Important tips: must read before use
Read the license agreement carefully: The specific rules of each platform are different. Although most of them provide “royalty-free” images, they usually require attribution or restrict certain uses (such as sensitive themes, trademarked products). Be sure to confirm before use!
“Free” ≠ “Unlimited”: Pay attention to download restrictions, size restrictions, or whether registration is required.
Beware of “free” traps: Some websites are mixed with paid images, and look for the logo when downloading.
Model portrait rights: For images involving people, make sure the model has signed a portrait rights authorization (most regular stock libraries have already handled this).
The rise of AI-generated stock libraries: Some stock libraries have begun to integrate AI-generated images. Pay attention to their specific licensing terms (often more relaxed, but need to be confirmed).
🏆 TOP 15 free stock libraries preferred by designers in 2025
The following websites all provide high-resolution images, most of which are based on relaxed licenses (such as CC0 or similar), especially suitable for design scenarios such as web pages, UI, presentations, social media, etc.:
Designer favorite! A large number of ultra-high-quality, artistic photos. Aesthetics online, fast updates, and an active community. The license is extremely relaxed (Unsplash License), almost unlimited. A great place to find main visuals and background images.
Strong overall strength! The photo and video material libraries are very large and high-quality. The search function is powerful and the classification is clear. License-friendly (Pexels License), no attribution, commercially available. One-stop material solution.
Old and comprehensive! It not only provides photos, illustrations, and vectors, but also a large number of music, sound effects, and videos. The resources are extremely rich. Based on CC0, no attribution, and commercial use. The first choice for finding diverse materials.
Unique niche selection! Specializes in digging out those real and vibrant images that are not overused. Avoid visual clichés. The license is simple, no attribution, and commercial use. The secret weapon to make your design stand out.
E-commerce & Entrepreneurship Focus! Produced by Shopify, it is designed for online stores and entrepreneurs. A large number of product, office, and entrepreneurial scene pictures are very practical. CC0, no attribution, commercial use. The savior of e-commerce projects.
Brain-opening & full of fun! Photographer Ryan McGuire’s personal project, the pictures are unique, funny, and imaginative, and it is difficult to find them elsewhere. Completely free, unlimited use (including commercial). Add personality and humor to your design.
Elegance & Lifestyle! Karolina Grabowska’s personal photography website. The pictures have a soft and uniform tone, full of life aesthetics, especially suitable for home, fashion, and women-related designs. CC0 equivalent license, no attribution required. Create a refined visual style.
Simple & Architectural Style! Provides a large number of high-quality pictures of minimalism, architecture, urban landscapes, and nature. The composition is clean and there is a lot of white space, suitable for UI backgrounds or content illustrations. CC0, no attribution required, commercially available.
Designer community sharing! Mainly uploaded and shared by designers and photographers. In addition to photos, there are also resources such as textures, backgrounds, and vector graphics. Pay attention to the license of each picture, most of which can be used for personal/commercial design for free (not for resale).
Freepik (free resource section)
Vector & PSD giant! Although it contains paid content, its free resource library is extremely large (authors must be marked). Massive vector icons, illustrations, PSD templates, and background images. Free accounts have download limits and require attribution.
Flaticon (under Freepik)
The king of icons! The world’s largest free icon library (authors must be marked). Millions of icons in SVG, PNG, and EPS formats, covering a variety of themes and styles. Free accounts have a limited quota and require attribution. A must-have for UI/UX designers.
The Stocks (upgraded)
Aggregate search tool! No longer a simple list, but a powerful multi-stock aggregation search tool, one-click search for Unsplash, Pexels and other multi-platform materials. Efficiency multiplier!
Classic free stock. Long history, rich resources, mainly photos. Permissive license (Morguefile License), commercial use is allowed, attribution is best but not mandatory. Reliable old choice.
Rawpixel (Free Zone)
High-quality backgrounds & design elements! Provides a large number of beautiful backgrounds, textures, patterns, vintage illustrations, and vector elements. Free accounts can download samples or specific free sets. Registration is required, pay attention to the difference between free and paid.
Search engine! Specialized search for images from multiple top free stock (such as Unsplash, Pixabay, etc.). One entry, covering a wide range of resources.
🧠 Tips for choosing
Seeking the ultimate aesthetics and artistic sense? Unsplash, Reshot, Gratisography, Kaboompics are the first choice.
Need a large amount of comprehensive materials and videos? Pexels, Pixabay are your mainstay.
Focusing on e-commerce or commercial scenarios? Burst is a perfect match.
Looking for vector graphics, icons or PSD templates? Freepik, Flaticon are treasure troves.
Want to search through multiple stock libraries at once? The Stocks, LibreStock improve efficiency.
Need unique and unconventional pictures? Reshot, Gratisography, Kaboompics help you stand out.
💎 Summary
These free stock libraries are indispensable resources for designers, which can greatly improve work efficiency and enrich design vision. But please always remember: be sure to confirm the specific licensing terms before use, respect the creator’s work results, and use in compliance is the basic quality of professional designers.
Save this list, and you will no longer be confused when you are looking for the perfect picture next time! Which is your favorite free stock library? Share it in the comments!