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If you’re interested in using high quality stock photos, you need to know the basics, including licensing, different resources, how to use them, and where to find them for cheap (or free).
Best Cheap Stock Photo Sources: Our Shortlist
Our Top Picks
Pixabay (free)
Massive Selection of Photos and Videos
Death to Stock (paid)
Large Library of Unique Images
Unsplash (free)
Widest Variety of Free Photos
Shutterstock (paid)
Includes a Built-in Editor
Adobe Stock (paid, royalty free)
Incredibly High Quality Images
Desygner (paid, royalty free)
Intuitive Graphic Design Tool
Digital.com dives deep into every topic it covers to offer trusted and reliable recommendations for the best business tools. Learn more about our review methodology.
The Top Cheap (and Free) Stock Photo Providers
Massive Selection of Photos an Videos
Features
- Huge library of free images, vectors, and videos
- No attributions required, even for commercial
- Free to edit, copy, and modify as needed
Price
Free
Number of Assets
4.2 million+
Types of Media
– Photos & videos
– Music & sound effects
– Illustrations
– Gifs
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This photo site has a massive selection of photos and videos which are free to use and of relatively high resolution. There are millions of options, making it one of the largest sources of free assets out there.
Large Library of Unique Images
Features
- Affordable subscription model + free trial
- Unlimited downloads + option to buy images
- Unique images you won’t find anywhere else
Price
$15-$59 per month
Number of Assets
9,000+ currently + 300 added every month
Types of Media
– Photos
– Videos
– On-trend visuals
– Individual contributors
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This stock image site offers unique stock images and regularly adds new photos to its library. With a full team of individual contributors, you get access to a wide range of styles. The membership includes unlimited downloads, so you always have eye-catching images to use!
Widest Variety of Free Photos
Features
- Free access to millions of photos
- Affordable subscription for exclusive images
- Unlimited downloads
Price
Free to $7 per month
Number of Assets
3 million+
Types of Media
– Photos
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This one makes the list because of the wide variety of high quality, free images. From cars to travel to kids doing homework, you can choose from a huge selection of professional quality photos for your needs. You can also upgrade to Unsplash+ for $7 per month for access to exclusive members-only photos, unlimited downloads, and better legal protection.
Includes a Built-In Editor
Features
- One-time purchases or monthly subscription
- Pricing based on number of assets needed
- Nearly half a billion assets available
Starting Price
$29 per month
Number of Assets
475 million+
Types of Media
– Photos & videos
– AI-generated images
– Vectors & templates
– Music & sound effects
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Shutterstock is one of the most well-known companies in the stock photo niche. You can choose from a vast selection of images, photos, videos, vectors, and music, then use the built-in editor to customize images by adding text, cropping, and more. It also offers a free trial to help you understand the photo site before investing in it. The only drawback is that many other people may use the images on the platform since the stock image site is very popular.
Incredibly High Quality Images
Features
- Get 10 images for free as a trial
- Pricing based on number of monthly downloads
- Alternatively, you can purchase credit packs
Starting Price
$29.99 per month
Number of Assets
Millions
Types of Media
– Photos & videos
– Templates
– 3D assets
– Music tracks
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This stock site stands out for the images’ level of quality. The premium royalty-free images are perfect for powerful storytelling. As they say, you get what you pay for.
Intuitive Graphic Design Tool
Features
- Free plan with tons of templates & assets
- Affordable pricing for individuals and teams
- Account sharing is allowed
Starting Price
$4.95 per month
Number of Assets
147 million+
Types of Media
– Photos & videos
– Graphic templates
– Fonts & animations
– Icons
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Desygner gives access to millions of royalty free stock images for commercial use. It also incorporates a powerful graphic design tool packed with helpful features that give you the freedom to create professional designs using your images. Images can easily be imported directly to the editor from all social media channels and cloud drives, including Facebook, Instagram, Google+, Flickr, Dropbox, and Google Drive.
18 More Sources for Totally Free Stock Photos
If you have the budget, then paid stock photo sites are your best bet for unique photos you won’t see on every other website on the internet. However, there are still tons of fantastic free images available. Use these photos if you don’t have a budget for stock photos but still want to avoid getting slapped with a lawsuit.
Top Sources for Royalty-Free Images
Royalty free stock images, as mentioned above, are completely free images you can use over and over again without paying for each usage. For example, if you want to print 1,000 brochures or use the same image on every page of your website, you only have to pay once.
However, keep in mind this type of license does not generally cover usage on commercial items. For example, if you want to sell t-shirts or coffee mugs with an image, then you will need an additional license.
Social Media: Where to Get Stock Photos For Your Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram Account
These sites make it easy to find and edit images for social media. Most have built-in editors so you can crop, add filters, add text, and more. You can even start from scratch and create unique images without getting a degree in graphic design.
What You Need to Know (FAQs)
What does stock photo mean?
A stock photo is a photo taken with the intent to sell or distribute the photo to multiple sources for use online or in print. For example, you might take a picture of a sunset, upload it to Flickr, and set it to Creative Commons so other people can use it. That is a stock photo.
Where can I find free images for my website?
Creative Commons, Pixabay, and Unsplash are all excellent sources.
Where can I get images without copyright?
Images with no copyright whatsoever are usually older photos where the copyright has expired. Look for public domain images on Pexels, Wikimedia Commons, or do an advanced image search on Google.
The advanced Google search will enable you to search by license. Remember, you can’t assume that an image, just because it’s on Google, is available to be used freely.
Can royalty-free images be used commercially?
Yes, in most cases they can be used commercially in websites, blog posts, or the like. They generally cannot be used on commercially sold items, such as a t-shirt. Check the license of the specific photo you want to use before creating commercial sold items with a stock photo.
Can I use a royalty-free image in my logo?
Generally, yes. However, the specific image you want to use may have restrictions on how it can be altered (e.g. cropped) or used in a logo. Check the license before you use it.
Should You Use Stock Photos?
Stock photos add a visual element to your work, which makes it both more enticing and more engaging to readers. They can make it easier to explain a specific concept and break up large amounts of text. While your own images are always better, that’s not always feasible. If you can’t take your own, stock photos are a decent alternative.
Research indicates that people process visual content much faster than text, and when paired with text, their recall of the information is greater.
Stock photos can also help you prevent using photos without authorization. Fees for unauthorized use of photos can run as high as $150,000 per image.
Best case scenario, you will get a cease and desist letter asking you to remove the photo. Or, you could risk thousands of dollars in fines. It is just not worth it. Copyright laws are complex, so it is essential to err on the side of caution to protect yourself by using stock photos with an authorized license.