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Tips・Level up your design

Free photo and illustration stock sites

Just one photo or illustration on a page makes the look far more "the real thing." Here are free illustration and photo stock sites by type, with screenshots. We also cover how to read the license (the range you're allowed to use it in).

Just placing one photo or illustration on a text-only page brings the look much closer to a “proper page” all at once. Here we introduce free illustration and photo stock sites by what you want to do, with screenshots. Bookmark the ones that click for you.

Type 1: Illustrations (for a soft mood)

Easier to reach for than photos, illustrations give a page a gentle impression. From people to seasons and events, they’ve got everything.

unDraw

A stylish illustration collection where you can freely change the colors.

The unDraw screen. Clean-lined illustrations lined up, with a bar at the top to choose the color
With the color button at the top, you can change the illustration’s color to match your page. No sign-up needed either.

unDraw

Storyset

A free illustration collection run by Freepik. Illustrations of people are sorted into categories like Business, Education, and Medical, and you can change the color, swap the character’s pose, and even add animation before you download.

The Storyset screen. A dark blue header reading “Awesome free customizable illustrations for your next project” with a search box, and illustrations of graduating students below
The style list on the left (Rafiki, Bro, Amico, and so on) lets you keep one consistent look across a whole page.

Storyset

Blush

An illustration service where you mix and match parts to build a picture that’s yours alone. Swap the hair, the outfit, the pose and you get something that doesn’t look like everyone else’s page. There’s a free tier, so you can try it without paying.

The Blush screen. “Tell your story with illustrations” on the left with a Create Random button, and on the right an illustration of a person whose head is being swapped from a row of options
Press “Create Random” and it assembles a combination for you—handy when you’re not sure where to start.

Blush

Type 2: Photos (for a full-fledged look)

For a large image at the top of a page, or a background, photos shine. High-quality, stylish photos are available for free.

Unsplash

A treasure trove of high-quality, stylish photos. A classic used worldwide.

The Unsplash screen. “The internet’s source for visuals.” as a heading with a search box, category tabs like Nature and Travel across the top, and photos tiled below
Simple one-word searches work best (cat, coffee, and so on). Usable with no credit line, though naming the photographer is a nice thing to do.

Unsplash

Pexels

Photos and videos, both free. The video library is the part that sets it apart—handy when you want a moving background.

The Pexels screen. “The best free stock photos, royalty free images & videos shared by creators.” with a search box, and Popular and Trending keyword lists below
The Popular and Trending lists at the bottom are a quick way to find a keyword when nothing comes to mind. Looking at it alongside Unsplash widens your choices.

Pexels

Pixabay

Photos, illustrations, vectors, videos, even music—all in one place. When you want to keep a page’s look consistent, being able to pull everything from a single site is a real advantage.

The Pixabay screen. A flower photo as the hero with the heading “Stunning royalty-free images & royalty-free stock”, a search box, and tabs for Photos, Illustrations, Vectors, and Videos
Switch tabs above the search box to narrow to just photos or just illustrations.

Pixabay

Type 3: Search many sites at once

When making the rounds of sites one by one is tough, a tool that searches multiple stock sites at once is handy.

O-DAN

Type a keyword once and it searches a whole set of free-photo sites at the same time.

The O-DAN screen. The O-DAN logo over a large photo of a field, a “Search for high-quality free stock photos” heading with a single search box, and a language switcher at the bottom
One search covers Unsplash and several other sites at once. A great first step when you don’t yet know which site has what you want.

O-DAN

Watch out when using: check the license

Even if it’s free, the range you’re allowed to use it in (the license) is set by each site. Don’t overthink it—just keep these 3 in a corner of your mind.

Where to lookWhat to check
Commercial OK?Can you use it on shop or work pages (for practice only, no need to worry too much)
Credit lineSome sites say “please write the author’s name”
Editing & redistributionCan you change colors or crop it

Many sites are “free, no credit line needed,” but conditions vary by site. Some cap how many items you can download per day on a free account, some ask you to credit the creator, and photos of people often carry extra rules (you usually can’t imply the person endorses something). Before using, take a peek at that site’s “terms of use” or “license” page.

Write the alt attribute specifically

In the alt attribute when you place an image, write not just “illustration” or “photo,” but what the image represents.

<img src="illustration.png" alt="Illustration of a person operating a laptop at a desk">

Writing it specifically not only becomes the substitute text when the image can’t load, but also serves as a clue for people with visual impairments to understand the content with screen-reader software. Rather than using the stock site’s filename as-is, add a description in your own words.

AccessibilityWriting alt text that gets acrossHow to write alt text that actually communicates, including what to do in the tricky cases

Once downloaded, lighten it before using

Photo files are often large, and using them as-is makes the page slow to display. Running the image through a tool that lightens it before using is safest.

TinyPNG

Just drag, and it lightens the file while keeping the look the same.

The TinyPNG screen. A panda logo and an area to drag and drop images
The before-and-after file sizes are shown side by side, so you can see at a glance how much lighter it got.

TinyPNG

Squoosh

Google’s image compression tool. You can fine-tune too.

The Squoosh screen. The image is split left and right in the center so you can compare before and after compression
With a slider, you can adjust while watching the balance of quality and size.

Squoosh

TipsMake images lighter to speed up your pageFor a guide on how many KB to aim for and detailed how-to for compression tools, see hereTipsHow to choose an image format (JPG, PNG, WebP, SVG)Unsure which format to save in—JPG, PNG, WebP, and so on? See here

Summary

  1. Choose stock sites by what you want to do—illustrations / photos / search all at once
  2. When in doubt, start with unDraw (illustrations) and Unsplash (photos)
  3. Check the license before using, and lighten images before placing them

Just one photo or illustration and your page’s polish jumps up a lot.

FAQ

Are free assets really free and usable commercially too?
The rules differ by site. Most allow commercial use for free, but on rare occasions some assets have conditions like "credit required" or "no editing." Getting into the habit of checking that site's terms of use or license page before using is safest.
What should I write in an image's alt attribute?
Write specifically what the image represents. Rather than just "illustration," write something like "illustration of a person operating a computer at a desk"—it's easier for people with visual impairments to understand and easier to be picked up in image search.
I'm worried other people are using the same asset
It's a worry, but as long as it's a free asset, it's unavoidable. Even a single extra touch—changing the color, cropping, or combining assets—can bring out originality. Showing personality in parts other than the asset, like your text or color scheme, is effective too.

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