Shutterstock is a great service where you can search for 161 million royalty-free images. However, sometimes, these are not enough, so people look for other free shutterstock alternatives.
Shutterstock is pretty expensive if your budget is tight, but that’s great news since there are other equally good alternatives that are entirely free to use.
Today we will share some great websites where you can find royalty-free images. Some of them even contain videos and music, as well. But before you decide to use them in your projects, make sure to give proper credit to all the images.
Best Free Shutterstock Alternatives for Stock Photos
Although these sites do not have as much stock as Shutterstock to complete your project, here is the list of the best free Shutterstock alternatives that will let you download free images and videos for your projects.
1. Foter
Foter is one of the famous Free stock photo hosting sites. Although it is double, the size image quality is not as good as Shutterstock. With 335 million photos, 220 million is available for commercialization.
As it is free of cost, you must give the photographer’s image credit when commercialized. This is the biggest site for royalty-free stock images. It can be beneficial in the completion of your project.
Visit Foter
2. Freepik Stock Photos
With a simple, free, or premium membership, Freepik is a clear-as-crystal alternative to other leading stock photo websites.
Not only does the platform provide you with quality-assured free stock photos from its global contributor community, but also offers a wide variety of vector designs, icons, stock videos and editable templates that will ultimately turbocharge your content output.
Freepik also provides a collection of AI tools such as an AI image generator, AI art generator, and AI background remover.
Freepik is an excellent choice for those who seek a one-stop shop for all their creative projects, whether for personal or commercial purposes.Â
Visit Freepik
3. Unsplash
If you want to download a high-resolution image, Unsplash is the best option. It is a community website with more than 40,000 users and a standardized interface where you can easily find relevant images.
It is an excellent alternative to Shutterstock. You only have to give artist credit. It comes with a royalty-free license, so anyone can use it commercially.
Visit Unsplash
4. Pexels
It is a relatively small site as compared to others. You will mainly get outside photos like landscapes, crowds, etc., on Pexels. All the photos can be used for personal as well as commercial purposes. This is one of the best sites if you want free and professional photos.
Visit Pexels
5. Pixabay
Pixabay is one of the largest stock image sites and has a stock of more than 1 million images. All the photos come with Creative Commons Zero (CC0) licensing, so you can use them for commercial purposes without any fee. Image quality is also outstanding. It is one of the best royalty-free stock image sites.
Visit Pixabay
6. Splitshire
If you are looking for some unique pictures, Splitshire is one of the best sites. This site is an example of ten years of hard work, as the website owners can only take and upload pictures.
This site has multiple categories, such as abstract, technology, etc., but the best categories for finding quality images are places and buildings.
Visit Splitshire
7. FreeImages
This is another site where you can download free stock images. You have to log in, and then you can download as many pictures as you want. With its licensing feature, you can use photographs for any commercial purpose.
You also do not need to give credit to the photographer. This is the best option if you’re looking for a hassle-free alternative to Shutterstock.
Visit FreeImages
8. Gratisography
With a beautiful interface, Gratisography hosts high-resolution and professional photos. Images are fairly categorized into different categories. This website looks good with an elegant color design and professionally taken pictures.
Like other sites, you can use the images for personal and commercial purposes without giving credit to the photographer. So, find the image and complete your task with Gratisography.
Visit Gratisography
9. The Stocks
The Stock is a site that shows images from different free stock image sites available for free. As it consists of many sites, it is quite hard to load. This site also doesn’t have well-placed categories.
We have listed this site in the top best Shutterstock alternatives only because it also provides free videos, audio, etc.
Visit The stocks
10. Burst
You might have heard about Shopify, a platform allowing you to develop e-commerce sites. Burst was Shopify’s idea so that people could use free stock images while building their websites.
The best part is Shopify didn’t restrict it to customers’ use only. They made it free for anybody who wishes to use it. Paid professionals capture the images in Burst, thus providing high-quality images.
However, the collection is not much compared to the others, but it’s still growing positively.
11. IOS Republic
The IOS Republic can help you find some amazing gems if you are looking for stock images. Although you might feel the lack in quantity, that does not come near the quality of the content it hosts.
It has a diverse category of vibrant images ranging from architecture, nature, technology, and more. The images hold great quality with new frequent updates. Therefore, you can try this out if you are looking for some amazing images for your work.
FAQs
What is better than Shutterstock?
Adobe Stock and Getty Images are popular alternatives to Shutterstock for high-quality stock photos and images.
Which is better, Adobe Stock or Shutterstock?
The preference between Adobe Stock and Shutterstock is subjective and depends on individual needs. Both platforms offer extensive image libraries and have their own unique features.
From Editor’s Desk
So these were some best alternatives to Shutterstock. They are accommodating when you are on a tight budget and want some great royalty-free images. Which one of them do you like the most? Let us know in the comment section below.
