23 Best Royalty-free image banks to use in 2020

Free Image Banks

Why devote an article to free image banks? Because in a world where the image is king, it is essential to use quality visuals on your website, in your publications on social networks and for all your other content.

But where and how can you find free royalty-free images? What is the best source for royalty-free photos? Where can I find free illustrations? Or, where can I find copyright-free designs?

In this article, we take a look at the free photo banks that offer royalty-free photos. By using these sites, you will have access to a large catalogue of free images to meet your needs. You will be able to find very different content: free photo, photo without copyright, free photos free of copyright, image without copyright, free image free of charge, free illustration, free drawings, etc.

If the majority of visuals offered on image banks are free, some can sometimes be paid. But honestly, when it comes to making your website or online store more credible, isn’t having beautiful images to illustrate your brand worth spending a few dollars?

Discover our complete guide to finding the free stock photos that suits your needs. We review 65 different free image banks. In this list of image banks, some are in French, but we explain how to download the images that interest you.

What is a royalty-free photo?

A royalty-free photo is a photo without copyright, which you can use however you want. You have the possibility to put this free photo on your media without mentioning the author. You can decide to use it commercially, like selling products for example. It is also possible to modify a royalty-free photo, in particular by using photo editing software.

Where can I find free royalty-free images?

To find a free photo or royalty-free images, you have to go to an image bank. Also called photo library, an image bank is a website that offers a selection of free photos and royalty-free images. In other words, the free public domain photo or images to copy for free.

Are you wondering how to use a royalty-free stock image bank? It’s very simple. An image bank works as a search engine. All you have to do is type in a keyword such as “jewellery” or “nature” and the bank will offer you images associated with that keyword. You can then download the image of your choice in one click. However, some free image banks require prior registration, with the creation of a user profile.

Top 5 Free Stock Photo Sites in 2020

What are the best free image banks? To help you see more clearly, discover our top 5 free image banks with reference sites for free photos popular with users worldwide.

1. Pixabay: a very varied free image bank

Pixabay Free Image Bank

Pixabay is a bank of images, illustrations and videos free of copyright and free, offering more than a million images.

The strengths of this free image bank:

  • The Offer Of Royalty Free Vector Sketches And Illustrations
  • Wide angles as well as material zooms
  • 4 download formats to choose the most suitable resolution

2. Free images: Getty’s free image bank

Free Image Banks

Free images is an American image bank that works with Getty Images and offer more than 370,000 free royalty-free photos and free illustrations.

The strengths of this free image bank:

  • 5 resolution formats offered
  • A suggestion of similar photos
  • Download without registration
  • Commercial use permitted

Please note, some images are chargeable and refer to the Getty Images site. The uses for editorial purposes are chargeable.

3. Unsplash: a very stylish free image bank

Unsplash Free Image Bank

Unsplash is a great source for free royalty-free photos. This easy-to-use image bank offers a large selection of royalty-free images for free from a large community of photographers.

The strengths of this image bank:

  • Suggested categories
  • Very aesthetic photos
  • Download without registration
  • Search by format and color

4. Fotomelia: a free image bank for French users

fotomelia

Fotomelia is a French free image bank. It brings together hundreds of thousands of royalty-free images classified by topic.

The strong points :

  • The interface in French
  • Many sub-themes
  • Free illustrations, vectors and clipart

5. Burst: Shopify’s copyright-free image bank

Burst

Burst is a free image bank created by Shopify for entrepreneurs and small businesses. The platform offers thousands of high-resolution photos and free royalty-free photos taken by its community of photographers. Burst photos work well with Shopify themes.

The strong points :

  • A section dedicated to business launches
  • Highly visible categories
  • Download without registration (you can access all the content by submitting your email address)

61 Best Free Image Banks for Startup Business

Beyond our top 5, there are a large number of free image banks offering free photos. Zoom on 63 image banks to meet all your royalty-free photo needs, even the most specific.

1. Pixambo: 100% Free Stock Photos

pixambo

This free image bank in English offers free high-resolution images for commercial and personal use.

The strong points :

  • High performance site
  • Similar photo suggestions
  • Download without registration

2. Negative space: High-Quality Free Image Bank

negative space

This English image bank is linked to Shutterstock .

The strong points :

  • Beautiful picture quality
  • CCO license (free personal or commercial use)
  • Download without registration
  • Subscribe to the newsletter to receive new suggestions every week

Please note, suggestions for similar images – to the right of the image you have chosen – are chargeable on Shutterstock. The free suggestions can be found below.

3. Devostock: Free Stock Photos for Swedish

Devostock

Devostock is a Swedish image bank, whose site is partially translated into French.

The strong points :

  • The site offers free vector illustrations
  • 4 download formats including full HD or 4k
  • Free download without registration

4. Skitterphoto: Free Stock Photos for Personal Use

skitterphoto

Skitterphoto is a small company from the Netherlands, founded by two photographers, who have since opened up the platform to a whole community.

The strong points :

  • Free high resolution photos under CC0 license
  • Display of shooting dates
  • Easy download without registration

5. Barn Images

barn image

Barn Images is a free image bank created by two Latvian photographers and open to all photographers. The site is in English. All images are free, but free donation is suggested.

The strong points :

  • Download without registration
  • Freebies
  • Original photos
  • A blog for English speakers

6. Picjumbo: Free Stock Images for Commercial Use

picjumbo

Picjumbo offers free photos, wallpapers, and high-resolution images for personal and commercial use.

The strong points :

  • Large number of royalty-free images
  • Very easy download.
  • Premium formula for exclusive images
  • Efficient site

7. Visualhunt

visualhunt

Visualhunt is an aggregator of free and royalty-free images from various image banks. The site is in English, so you need to know the terms that interest you.

The strong points :

  • Over 300 million photos
  • 5 download formats
  • License search filter

8. Streetwill

Streetwill

This is a very minimalist free pictures site, with great photos, including lots of landscapes.

The strong points :

  • Very high resolution photos
  • Original shots and zooms
  • Lots of artistic black and white photos

9. Kaboompics

kaboompics

Kaboompics is an excellent free and royalty-free stock image bank, specializing in lifestyle, decoration and blogging.

The strong points :

  • Very aesthetic composition of the photos
  • Dynamic and community project
  • Super easy download

10. Free Stock

freestock 1920x1280 1

This image bank comes in the form of a very simple platform where you can download your photos for commercial and personal use.

The strong points :

  • A minimal interface
  • Indication of the place where the photo was taken
  • Lots of tags for ultra-precise photo search

11. Reshot

reshot 1920x1179 1

Reshot is a free image bank dedicated to emerging photographers. Originality guaranteed!

The strong points :

  • Photos selected manually
  • Possibility to download free image packs on a particular theme (in exchange for a tweet)
  • Original angles on various subjects

12. Freephoto.cc

freephotos.cc 1920x1280 1

This image bank offers free and paid photos, but still royalty free.

The strong points :

  • A large selection of portraits
  • Free lifestyle images (travel, gastronomy, fashion, etc.)
  • One download without registration

13. Public Domain Photos

publicdomainpicture

A large platform of royalty-free images, with lots of commercial and advertising type photos. For maximum resolution, you will have to pay a few cents.

The strong points :

  • Ideal for illustrating a blog or articles
  • Lots of free illustrations
  • The license conditions are specified under each photo

14. Styled Stock

Style Stock 1920x1282 1

A royalty-free and free image bank, specializing in subjects with a mainly female audience: fashion, beauty, decoration, maternity, etc. Type “free” in the search bar to access free photos.

The strong points :

  • Specialized content
  • An interesting blog for English-speaking entrepreneurs
  • Premium packs by theme, in high resolution

15. Designer Pics

Designerpics 1920x1272 1

This free image bank provides free photos to find simple images from everyday life or professional life.

The strong points :

  • Simple but original images
  • The conditions of use of royalty-free photos are indicated under each image
  • Download without registration

16. Jeshoots

jeshoot 1920x1280 1

A photo library launched by a photographer who brings together 2.5 million free images on all kinds of themes.

The strong points :

  • A collection of free mockups
  • Simple, everyday free images
  • No attribution required

17. Pxhere

pxhere 1920x1280 1

A free image bank in French, on all kinds of themes. You must register on the site to download royalty-free photos.

The strong points :

  • A “random” option when inspiration is lacking
  • About fifteen download formats
  • Description of the conditions of use for each photo

18. LibreStock

librestock 1 1920x1280 1

Librestock is a free image search engine that relies on several image banks.

The strong points :

  • You are sure to find the free photo you need
  • Popular tags feature to find images on trending themes
  • Download without registration

19. Photostock editor

photostock editor 1920x1279 1

A photo library of royalty-free and free images in very high resolution, with lots of nature photos.

The strong points :

  • Professional and free images with beautiful contrasts
  • Free photos of animals, nature, technology, people and food
  • Suggested images on the same theme

20. StockSnap.io

StockSnap 1920x1272 1

A bank of images free of English rights and in high resolution. Some images are chargeable and come from the Shutterstock.com photo library.

The strong points :

  • The display of popular queries
  • Photos classified by trend
  • Ability to add photos to favorites

21. Foodiesfeed

foodiesfeed 1920x1280 1

Free images on the food theme exclusively. Coffee, pizzas, cooking, free top view photos of dishes, everything is there.

The strong points :

  • All free images for a cooking blog
  • Categorization by foodies trend
  • Easy download

22. Pexels

pexels 1920x1280 1

A bank of free and royalty-free videos, as well as millions of free images. The site is available in French.

The strong points :

  • A very extensive free photo catalog
  • Top photographers to discover new talents
  • Challenges for those who wish to submit their work

23. cc0.photo

cc0 1920x1280 1

A family site that brings together hundreds of royalty-free photos on a wide variety of everyday themes.

The strong points :

  • High resolution photos
  • Simple and warm navigation
  • A collection of free abstract photos

24. Stockvault

stockvault.pg 1920x1123 1

Stockvault is a royalty-free image bank that brings together photographers, graphic designers and students, who share their royalty-free photos and free vector images.

The strong points :

  • New images and textures added daily
  • Thematic selection according to trends
  • Photos chosen manually
  • Free illustrations

25. Foter

Foter

A platform that brings together more than 365 million free photos. Probably one of the biggest free image banks.

The strong points :

  • The size of this image bank
  • Several image formats to download
  • Details of the rights to the image in question

26. Morguefile

morguefile 1920x1280 1

A large family of photographers who publish their photos free of rights every day.

The strong points :

  • New free images every day
  • Discount codes valid on paid image banks
  • Spectacular photos as well as everyday ones

27. Libreshot

libre shot 1920x1280 1

A free mini image bank with an interface in English, nevertheless well supplied.

The strong points :

  • A photo library with original free photos
  • An ultra simple download without registration
  • The possibility of following the photographer on social networks

28. Imagebase

Imagebase is an image bank in French, offering free and royalty-free photos for commercial, personal or educational purposes.

The strong points :

  • Random search
  • Ability to save images to favorites
  • Instant download

29. Picdrome

A small database of royalty-free and free images with an interesting selection.

The strong points :

  • An interesting selection of free textures
  • Beautiful photos under Creative Commons CC0 license
  • A collection of free abstract images

30. Lost and Taken

Lost and Taken is a database of free texture photos. Ideal for artistic or creative content. You must register to access the download, but the photos remain free.

The strong points :

  • The artistic and free image bank
  • An ideal source for a blog dealing with fine art or drawing
  • Many formats: free illustration, royalty-free drawings, etc.

31. Photo Everywhere

Photo Everywhere is a photo library specializing in travel memories.

The strong points :

  • Over 4000 free travel images
  • Many destinations and a focus on Great Britain
  • The possibility of integrating images into your content thanks to a line of code

32. Realistic Shots

This free stock image bank is ideal if you are looking for royalty free amateur photos. Realistic Shots indeed offers that little personal touch perfect for blogging.

The strong points :

  • One new photo per day
  • Personal themes but with which we identify easily
  • Download free images without registration

33. Alana.io

The personal website of a photographer named Alana, who offers her photos to the public domain.

The strong points :

  • An original signature and free photos that stand out
  • Personal and authentic portraits, funny images
  • SEO tags that facilitate searches

34. Public Domain Vectors

This is a bank of free vector drawings. These are exclusively royalty-free designs. Ideal for personalizing your communication media.

The strong points :

  • Over 60,000 vector images in the public domain
  • An interface in French
  • A choice of different formats

35. Freerange Stock

An American image bank offering modern free images. You must register to download the photos. Click on “Need to register”.

The strong points :

  • Free images in multiple formats
  • Lots of texture photos
  • New photos every day

36. Freepik: Free Vector Image Bank

Freepik is a free image bank, but free access has one condition: the author must be credited. If you don’t want to do this, you will need to opt for the premium subscription.

The strong points :

  • An interface in French
  • Over 4 million free photos, vectors and icons
  • Free and trendy images

37. Rgb Stock

An easy-to-use, royalty-free photo site in English. Registration required to download the photo.

The strong points :

  • Over 100,000 free images
  • A section textures and backgrounds
  • Technical indications for each image

38. Gratisography

A free images site under common creative license and in high resolution.

The strong points :

  • Modern and good quality images
  • The number of likes for each image that allows to see the popularity of the image
  • A selection of free funny images

39. Superfamous

A rather enigmatic site, which offers a free images section in very high resolution to download.

The strong points :

  • Very nice free texture images
  • Free aerial photos
  • Very aesthetic photos free of rights

40. Life to Pix

Life to Pix is ​​a very Instagram-able free image bank that will give you a hit on social networks! A good source of free photos to liven up your community.

The strong points :

  • An extremely modern and young selection
  • Very high resolution photos
  • Free portraits

41. Startup Stock Photos

A free and royalty-free image bank ideal for entrepreneurs.

The strong points :

  • Specialized images for business
  • Download by clicking to the right of the photo
  • Images for editorial and commercial use

42. Jay Mantri

The site of a professional photographer, who regularly offers his work for free download.

The strong points :

  • Exceptional image quality
  • A nice selection of black and white
  • City videos and seven new photos per week

43. Picography

A site in English but easy to use, which offers images of everyday life.

  • A search engine to locate free images
  • Tags for trendy photos
  • No need to register to download images

44. Isorepublic

A free image bank with lots of very graphic and modern visuals.

The strong points :

  • Trendy free images
  • A selection of free videos
  • Packs grouped by themes

45. Stokpic

Another image bank in English with stunning free photos.

The strong points :

  • Lots of royalty-free vacation and paradise island photos
  • A large category of free black and white photos
  • A “favorite” section to follow trends

46. Cupcake

Cupcake is the site of a Swedish freelance photographer, who makes his free images available.

  • A collection of public rights images, with a unique style
  • Beautiful landscapes and images of nature
  • Free images of Sweden

47. Getrefe

The Tumblr of a pro photographer, who makes his photos available for free use.

The strong points :

  • Daily photos but also spectacular
  • A shopping experience that is simple, fast and free
  • High resolution images

48. Splitshire

A free image bank of around 1,000 photos for free use.

The strong points :

  • High resolution photos of original places
  • Free photos of parties
  • Very high resolution images

49. Canva

Canva is an online visual editor, which allows you to make a variety of documents for free for all your marketing needs. The site also has an image bank. You must register on the site to access it.

The strong points :

  • A selection of free business and design oriented photos
  • The ability to directly edit images with text or visuals
  • Textures and wallpapers

50. All The Free Stock

AllTheFreeStock is a platform containing millions of images, videos and music, all free and royalty-free.

The strong points :

  • An impressive list of categories: free special effects
  • A bank of free icons
  • Color inspirations

51. Free JPG

Another free image bank for commercial or editorial use.

The strong points :

  • A color filter to find your royalty-free images
  • Categories in the form of hashtags
  • Download in engagement

52. Everystockphoto

This site acts as a search engine among 30 million photos under 10 different licenses.

The strong points :

  • 53. Free images from NASA
  • Lots of free photos of monuments
  • Images from the Library of Congress

54. Flickr

This photo-sharing site also allows you to find royalty-free photos. This is not the case for all photos. You must register to have access to the download.

The strong points :

  • Original photos
  • A search filter for all possible licenses
  • Technical details of the shooting

55. Wikimedia

As the name suggests, Media Wikipedia encourages the free sharing of knowledge, including through images. Be careful, most of the time you will have to credit the author of the photo.

The strong points :

  • A global and community image bank
  • Licenses of different types (to be verified)
  • One new free image or video per day

56. Openphoto

This free image bank has offered thousands of photos for free download for over 20 years. The conditions of use vary from one photo to another but are indicated on the site.

The strong points :

  • Dozens of interesting textures
  • Free close-up images
  • Technical details provided for each image

57. Photopin

A free image bank designed for bloggers, with millions of photos on all possible and imaginable themes.

The strong points :

  • 8 download formats
  • A powerful search engine
  • Content dedicated to bloggers

58. Wallpapers.io

A site in principle dedicated to wallpapers but which will also be perfect for images to download for free. As you can see, there are pictures of cats in particular.

The strong points :

  • A very pleasant wall of images to scroll through
  • Different download formats
  • Presentation of the most popular or commented categories

59. Freestocks

A well-stocked image base, with everyday themes: gardening, tattooing, coffee, business …

The strong points :

  • A search engine to find the ideal free photo
  • Seasonal images
  • Indications on popular images

60. Photober

Photober is another free photo bank, where you will find a large collection of amateur photos.

The strong points :

  • Ideal for having photos with a personal and authentic touch
  • Images of everyday life: food, nature, city life …
  • Technical information under the photos

61. Pixnio

Pixnio is a site that brings together hundreds of images for free download, taken by amateur photographers.

The strong points :

  • A deliberately imperfect style
  • A search engine by color, very practical to use
  • Lots of technical details for each photo

62. Photogen

This small, free image bank offers quality, high-resolution photos.

The strong points :

  • Photo search by category
  • Lots of textures (via texturegen)
  • One click download

While it is possible to find many free photos of very good quality, sometimes it can be useful to use a paid image bank. This is the case, for example, if you want to have a unique visual to stand out from your competitors, or if you are looking for something very specific. Paid image banks tend to offer a more extensive selection on the same theme than free image banks. Pay banks often hire professional photographers to take photo series. We recommend 4 paying image banks in particular.

1. iStock by Getty Images

The strong points :

  • Millions of images of all types
  • A unique and careful selection
  • Accessible subscription plans

2. Fotolia by Adobe

This paid image bank was acquired by Adobe Stock. The famous graphics software suite guarantees high-quality images.

The strong points :

  • A welcome offer: 10 free images
  • Unparalleled quality
  • Affordable prices

3. Death To Stock

This paid image bank offers you a monthly subscription which gives you access to 45 photos per month.

The strong points :

  • Super original and exclusive photos
  • Many texture images
  • 3 different types of subscriptions

4. Deposit Photos

A platform that offers CC0 license and high-resolution images. If the consultation is free, you must subscribe to download the images.

The strong points :

  • Lots of royalty-free abstract images
  • Royalty free vector images
  • Free videos for editorial and commercial use

You are well informed about the banks of free images free of rights. What to find a free photo of your dreams! So what do you think is the best image bank? Tell us in the comments.

Where can I get free stock photos?

There is a huge number of sites which offer royalty-free images. Some of them are Pixabay, Pexels, Unsplash, Freepik, Flickr, and many more.

Can I use stock photos for free?

Yes, you can use royalty free images for personal, editorial and commercial purposes.

Where can I download high-quality images for free?

Pixabay, Unsplash, Freepik, Flickr and Pexels are the best image banks to download high-quality images for free.

What is the best free photo sharing site?

Google Photos, Imgur, 500px and Flickr are some of the best photo sharing sites on the Internet?

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