Pexels

The best free stock photos & videos shared by creators

5.0•15 reviews•

827 followers

The best free stock photos & videos shared by creators

5.0•15 reviews•

827 followers

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Free stock photos & videos you can use everywhere. Browse millions of high-quality royalty free stock images & copyright free pictures.

The Best Pexels Alternatives

The best Pexels alternatives are Unsplash, Pixabay, Videvo Free Footage, Icons8, and Lummi.

Unsplash

4.6 ·

Choose Unsplash if...

✓you want magazine-level, premium-feeling photography
✓you need an API with generous free quota
✓you rely on color and orientation sorting

See details ↓

Pixabay

5.0 ·

Choose Pixabay if...

✓you want audio, images, and videos together
✓you need a simple all-purpose free library
✓you’re sourcing quick assets for design work

See details ↓

Videvo Free Footage

Choose Videvo Free Footage if...

✓you primarily need free stock video footage
✓you want motion graphics, music, and SFX too
✓you can ignore clearly labeled sponsored results

See details ↓

Icons8

4.8 ·

Choose Icons8 if...

✓you need consistent icons and illustrations for UI
✓you want a Figma plugin for fast inserts
✓you need built-in tools like background removal

See details ↓

Lummi

4.7 ·

Choose Lummi if...

✓you want curated AI images in many styles
✓you need fast visuals for websites and wireframes
✓you prefer modern, stylized imagery over stock photos

See details ↓

What to Consider

Pexels is a staple for free stock photos and videos, prized for its simple search-and-download workflow and a library that works for everything from blog headers to social posts. But the alternatives landscape spans very different needs: Unsplash leans into premium-feeling photography and developer-friendly API access, Pixabay is often chosen as a one-stop free library that can include audio alongside visuals, and Videvo is a more video-first option where you’ll also encounter sponsored placements. If your “stock” needs are really UI assets, Icons8 stands out with icons/illustrations plus design-tool integrations, while Lummi targets fast, curated AI-generated imagery in many styles.

In comparing options, we weighed overall asset quality and originality, how quickly you can discover the right creative (filters, visual search, and relevance), and how clear and usable licensing is for real projects. We also considered breadth of media types (photo vs video vs audio vs UI assets), integration paths like APIs and Figma plugins, and how free tiers, quotas, and paywalls affect long-term workflows.

Unsplash

The internet’s source of freely-usable images

4.6 · 36 reviews

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When the goal is premium-feeling, editorial photography, Unsplash is often the sharper pick than Pexels. The library is known for images that feel less like generic stock and more like modern magazine work, which can elevate websites, blog headers, decks, and brand campaigns with minimal effort.

Unsplash also stands out for discovery tools that help you get to “the right vibe” faster, including helpful sorting like color and orientation, plus visual search. That makes it a strong option when teams care about consistent art direction across a page or a whole content series.

For product teams, Unsplash can be especially attractive because it’s not just a download site; it’s also a developer-friendly source of imagery via API. If you’re seeding demo environments, populating templates, or building features that require a steady stream of high-quality photos, Unsplash can be easier to integrate and operate than a purely manual workflow.

The main trade-off versus Pexels is that some users may run into occasional search quirks or find that certain newer content is more gated than expected. But for quality, polish, and workflow speed, Unsplash is a compelling step up.

Best for

Best for marketers and developers who want premium photography and fast discovery, including via API.

Standout features

✓Premium, editorial-style photo library
✓Filters for color and orientation
✓Visual search for faster discovery
✓Developer API access
✓Simple one-click downloads

Pixabay

Stunning free images & royalty free stock

5.0 · 2 reviews

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If “free stock” means more than just photos, Pixabay is a practical alternative to Pexels. It’s commonly used as a single destination for multiple asset types, which can simplify sourcing when a project needs visuals plus supporting audio.

That breadth makes it useful for quick-turn content workflows like social videos, lightweight promos, YouTube edits, and presentation builds where you don’t want to bounce between separate libraries. Instead of treating media as separate hunts, Pixabay lets teams fill out a full asset kit from one place.

Pixabay also fits creators who value straightforward browsing and grabbing usable assets fast, without overthinking style systems or advanced tooling. Compared with Pexels, the appeal is convenience and coverage across formats rather than a narrow focus on photo and video alone.

For teams moving quickly, that “one library for the basics” approach can be the deciding factor, especially when timelines matter more than finding the most editorial, brand-defining image.

Best for

Ideal for creators who want a single free source for images, video, and audio assets.

Standout features

✓Images, videos, and audio in one library
✓Fast search and download workflow
✓Broad, general-purpose asset coverage
✓Good fit for quick content production

Videvo Free Footage

The best free stock videos, motion graphics, stock music

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Video-first creators who need a dedicated stock footage library will find Videvo a stronger match than Pexels in many editing workflows. It’s oriented around filling timelines with clips and motion assets, rather than being primarily a photo destination that also offers video.

Beyond footage, Videvo also plays in the wider post-production ecosystem with motion graphics and audio options like music and sound effects. That makes it convenient when you’re assembling a complete edit and want to source multiple components without switching platforms.

Videvo’s free offering is mixed with sponsored results, which can be a different experience from Pexels’ more straightforward browsing. The upside is clear labeling that helps separate paid placements from free content, so you can still stay in a free-first workflow if you’re willing to filter mentally.

Choose it when the priority is stocking up on video-centric assets quickly and you’re comfortable navigating a marketplace-like library to find the best free clips.

Best for

Best for video editors who want free stock footage plus motion and audio assets.

Standout features

✓Stock footage library focused on video
✓Motion graphics assets available
✓Music and sound effects options
✓Free content with labeled sponsored results

Icons8

Icons, illustrations, photos, music & design tools

4.8 · 13 reviews

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Icons8 is the better alternative when your “stock assets” are actually UI building blocks, not just photography. Instead of competing with Pexels on scenic images, it focuses on design-system-friendly icons, illustrations, and visual components that keep interfaces consistent.

A major advantage is workflow integration, especially through plugins like Figma, which helps designers drop assets directly into mockups and prototypes without context switching. That matters for teams producing demos, landing pages, and product UI where speed and consistency beat searching for yet another generic hero photo.

Icons8 also differentiates with creation and editing utilities, including tools like background removal and broader asset-making workflows. This turns it into more of an asset suite than a simple library, which is useful when you need to adapt visuals to a specific layout or brand direction.

The key trade-off is that free usage can feel limited compared with fully free libraries like Pexels, so it’s best when the time saved and cohesive style are worth moving to a paid tier.

Best for

Best for product and UI teams needing consistent icons and illustrations inside design tools.

Standout features

✓Large icon and illustration library
✓Figma plugin for quick asset insertion
✓Style-based asset search
✓Background removal and editing tools
✓All-in-one design asset suite

Lummi

Free stock photos made and curated by AI artists

4.7 · 7 reviews

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For modern, stylized visuals that don’t look like traditional stock, Lummi takes a different approach from Pexels by leaning into curated AI imagery. It’s designed to help websites, wireframes, and marketing pages look polished quickly when you want a specific aesthetic rather than a literal photograph.

The library’s variety of styles is a core advantage: instead of hunting for the one perfect photo that happens to match your brand tone, you can pick visuals that align with contemporary design trends and art direction. That can be especially helpful for new products that need cohesive visuals before brand photography exists.

Lummi is also well-suited to embedded workflows, where imagery is added directly inside other tools or creation experiences. That “click-to-add” model reduces friction compared with downloading, organizing, and re-uploading assets across products.

Compared with Pexels, the trade-off is choosing AI-crafted imagery over creator-shot photography, which may not fit every brand’s authenticity needs. But for speed, style control, and instantly upgraded visuals, Lummi is a strong alternative.