Sources & licences
One search covers 33 sites. Each result keeps its source's licence and gets a verdict on commercial use and an editorial flag, so you can tell at a glance whether an image can be used commercially and whether you have to credit it. No image passes through this server: thumbnails, previews and downloads come straight from each source.
All sources
| Source | Best for | Search | Pricing | Licence | Direct download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NASA Image and Video Library nasa · site ↗ | About 140k NASA photos: planets, galaxies and nebulae, Earth from orbit, launches, astronauts and aircraft. Public domain in the US with credit to NASA (no endorsement, no insignia); originals up to full camera resolution plus 640–1920 px copies. Space & astronomy, Science & medicine, Nature & landscapes, Technology, Transport, People & portraits, History & archives | API | Free | Per image | Yes |
| The Metropolitan Museum of Art met · site ↗ | Over 370k public-domain artworks from 5,000 years of art: paintings, drawings, prints, photographs, sculpture, armour and decorative arts. Every image CC0 (Open Access), originals at full scan size. Art, History & archives, People & portraits, Nature & landscapes, Animals & wildlife, Objects & still life | API | Free | Per image | Yes |
| Art Institute of Chicago artic · site ↗ | About 59k public-domain artworks with images: Impressionist and modern paintings, prints, drawings, photographs and textiles. CC0, served over IIIF at any size up to the full scan. Art, History & archives, People & portraits, Nature & landscapes, Architecture & interiors | API | Free | Per image | Yes |
| Cleveland Museum of Art cleveland · site ↗ | About 42k CC0 artworks with images: paintings, prints, drawings, photographs, ceramics, textiles and arms from around the world. Print-size JPEGs and master TIFFs. Art, History & archives, People & portraits, Nature & landscapes, Animals & wildlife, Objects & still life | API | Free | Per image | Yes |
| Library of Congress loc · site ↗ | About 1.1M historic photos, prints, drawings, posters and maps from the Prints & Photographs Division, many public domain. Rights advisory per item; master TIFFs for most. History & archives, People & portraits, Cities & streets, Architecture & interiors, Transport, Nature & landscapes, Art | API | Free | Per image | Yes |
| Wikimedia Commons wikimediacommons · site ↗ | Over 100 million freely licensed photos, drawings, maps, diagrams and SVGs: nature, places, people, history, science and art. Licence recorded per file (CC0, public domain, CC BY, CC BY-SA); resized copies up to 4K and the original file. Nature & landscapes, Animals & wildlife, Cities & streets, Architecture & interiors, People & portraits, Food & drink, Objects & still life, Technology, Transport, Space & astronomy, Science & medicine, Art, History & archives, Backgrounds & textures, Icons & symbols | API | Free | Per image | Yes |
| Iconify iconify · site ↗ | About 470k open-source icons in 280 sets (Material Symbols, Tabler, Lucide, Phosphor, Font Awesome Free…). Every icon an SVG with a transparent background; licence per set (mostly MIT, Apache 2.0 and CC BY). Icons & symbols | API | Free | Per image | Yes |
| Openverse openverse · site ↗ | About 800M openly licensed images in one index: Flickr, Wikimedia Commons, museums and free stock sites. CC0, public domain and every CC licence, stated per image. Nature & landscapes, Animals & wildlife, Cities & streets, Architecture & interiors, People & portraits, Food & drink, Objects & still life, Technology, Transport, Space & astronomy, Science & medicine, Art, History & archives, Backgrounds & textures | API | Free | Per image | Yes |
| Unsplash unsplash · site ↗ | Over 5 million high-resolution photos from a community of photographers; Unsplash licence (no credit needed). Link-only for now: its API needs a key and its terms forbid replicating Unsplash. Nature & landscapes, Animals & wildlife, Cities & streets, Architecture & interiors, People & portraits, Food & drink, Objects & still life, Technology, Transport, Backgrounds & textures | Deep link | Free + paid | Unsplash License Commercial use OK | Source page |
| Pexels pexels · site ↗ | Millions of free stock photos, many of people and lifestyle; Pexels licence (no credit needed). Link-only for now: its API needs a key and its terms forbid competing services. Nature & landscapes, Animals & wildlife, Cities & streets, Architecture & interiors, People & portraits, Food & drink, Objects & still life, Technology, Transport, Backgrounds & textures | Deep link | Free | Pexels License Commercial use OK | Source page |
| Pixabay pixabay · site ↗ | Over 5 million free photos, illustrations and vectors; Pixabay Content License (no credit needed). Link-only for now: its API needs a key and its terms limit automated use. Nature & landscapes, Animals & wildlife, Cities & streets, Architecture & interiors, People & portraits, Food & drink, Objects & still life, Technology, Transport, Backgrounds & textures, Icons & symbols | Deep link | Free | Pixabay Content License Commercial use OK | Source page |
| Flickr (Creative Commons) flickr · site ↗ | Hundreds of millions of photos, over 500 million under Creative Commons or public domain. Link-only: the API needs a key, and Openverse already indexes Flickr's CC photos. Nature & landscapes, Animals & wildlife, Cities & streets, Architecture & interiors, People & portraits, Food & drink, Objects & still life, Technology, Transport, Space & astronomy, Science & medicine, Art, History & archives, Backgrounds & textures, Icons & symbols | Deep link | Free | Per-photo licence (Flickr) Unclear: check the terms | Source page |
| Rawpixel rawpixel · site ↗ | Free and premium photos, vectors and mockups, plus a large set of public-domain art remastered from museum scans. Link-only: downloads need an account. Nature & landscapes, Animals & wildlife, Cities & streets, Architecture & interiors, People & portraits, Food & drink, Objects & still life, Technology, Transport, Backgrounds & textures, Art, History & archives | Deep link | Free + paid | Rawpixel licence Unclear: check the terms | Source page |
| StockSnap.io stocksnap · site ↗ | Tens of thousands of free CC0 photos added weekly. Link-only: no public API. Nature & landscapes, Animals & wildlife, Cities & streets, Architecture & interiors, People & portraits, Food & drink, Objects & still life, Technology, Transport, Backgrounds & textures | Deep link | Free | CC0 1.0 Commercial use OK | Source page |
| Burst (Shopify) burst · site ↗ | Free stock photos from Shopify, aimed at online shops: products, small business, lifestyle. Link-only: no public API. Nature & landscapes, Animals & wildlife, Cities & streets, Architecture & interiors, People & portraits, Food & drink, Objects & still life, Technology, Transport, Backgrounds & textures | Deep link | Free | Burst licence Commercial use OK | Source page |
| Vecteezy vecteezy · site ↗ | Millions of free and Pro vectors, photos and PNG cut-outs. Link-only: its API is paid and its terms forbid scraping. Nature & landscapes, Animals & wildlife, Cities & streets, Architecture & interiors, People & portraits, Food & drink, Objects & still life, Technology, Transport, Backgrounds & textures, Icons & symbols | Deep link | Free + paid | Vecteezy licence Unclear: check the terms | Source page |
| Freepik freepik · site ↗ | Millions of photos, vectors, icons and PSD mock-ups; free with credit or premium. Link-only: paid API, terms against scraping. Nature & landscapes, Animals & wildlife, Cities & streets, Architecture & interiors, People & portraits, Food & drink, Objects & still life, Technology, Transport, Backgrounds & textures, Icons & symbols | Deep link | Free + paid | Freepik licence Unclear: check the terms | Source page |
| Smithsonian Open Access smithsonian · site ↗ | About 5 million CC0 images from the Smithsonian's 21 museums, libraries and zoo: art, natural history, aviation and space, American history. Link-only for now: its API needs an api.data.gov key. Art, History & archives, Science & medicine, Nature & landscapes, Animals & wildlife, People & portraits, Architecture & interiors | Deep link | Free | CC0 1.0 Commercial use OK | Source page |
| Europeana europeana · site ↗ | Tens of millions of images from European museums, libraries and archives; the link shows openly licensed ones. Link-only for now: its API needs a key. Art, History & archives, Science & medicine, Nature & landscapes, Animals & wildlife, People & portraits, Architecture & interiors | Deep link | Free | Per-item rights statement (Europeana) Unclear: check the terms | Source page |
| Rijksmuseum rijksmuseum · site ↗ | Over 700,000 public-domain images of Dutch art and history (Rembrandt, Vermeer), downloadable at full resolution. Link-only for now: its data services need a key. Art, History & archives | Deep link | Free | CC0 1.0 Commercial use OK | Source page |
| National Gallery of Art nga · site ↗ | About 60,000 open-access (CC0) images of paintings, prints and drawings from the National Gallery of Art, Washington. Link-only: no search API (the open data is a CSV dump). Art | Deep link | Free | CC0 1.0 Commercial use OK | Source page |
| NYPL Digital Collections nypl · site ↗ | About a million digitised prints, photos, maps and manuscripts from the New York Public Library, over 180,000 of them public domain. Link-only: its API needs a token. History & archives, Art, Cities & streets, Architecture & interiors | Deep link | Free | Per-item rights (NYPL) Unclear: check the terms | Source page |
| Internet Archive (images) internetarchive · site ↗ | Millions of scanned photos, book illustrations, posters and ephemera. Link-only: licences are uploader-asserted and image search through its API is poor. History & archives, Art, Science & medicine | Deep link | Free | Uploader-asserted licence Unclear: check the terms | Source page |
| Openclipart openclipart · site ↗ | About 180,000 public-domain clip-art drawings, all SVG. Link-only: no public API. Icons & symbols, Backgrounds & textures, Objects & still life, People & portraits, Technology, Nature & landscapes, Animals & wildlife | Deep link | Free | CC0 1.0 Commercial use OK | Source page |
| SVG Repo svgrepo · site ↗ | About 500,000 free SVG icons and vectors from open-source sets, licence shown per collection. Link-only: no public API and it rate-limits bots. Icons & symbols, Backgrounds & textures, Objects & still life, People & portraits, Technology, Nature & landscapes, Animals & wildlife | Deep link | Free | Per-collection licence (SVG Repo) Unclear: check the terms | Source page |
| Flaticon flaticon · site ↗ | Millions of icons and stickers (Freepik); free with credit or premium. Link-only: paid API. Icons & symbols | Deep link | Free + paid | Flaticon licence Unclear: check the terms | Source page |
| The Noun Project nounproject · site ↗ | Over 8 million icons and photos from designers worldwide; free with credit (CC BY) or royalty-free with a subscription. Link-only: its API needs a key. Icons & symbols | Deep link | Free + paid | Noun Project licence Unclear: check the terms | Source page |
| unDraw undraw · site ↗ | About 1,500 open-licence flat illustrations in a colour you pick, for websites and apps. Link-only: no public API. People & portraits, Technology, Objects & still life | Deep link | Free | unDraw licence Commercial use OK | Source page |
| Shutterstock shutterstock · site ↗ | One of the largest paid image libraries: over 400 million photos, vectors and illustrations, per image or by subscription. Nature & landscapes, Animals & wildlife, Cities & streets, Architecture & interiors, People & portraits, Food & drink, Objects & still life, Technology, Transport, Space & astronomy, Science & medicine, Art, History & archives, Backgrounds & textures, Icons & symbols | Deep link | Paid | Shutterstock licence (paid) Needs a paid licence or releases | Source page |
| Adobe Stock adobestock · site ↗ | Paid photos, vectors, illustrations and templates, built into Creative Cloud apps. Nature & landscapes, Animals & wildlife, Cities & streets, Architecture & interiors, People & portraits, Food & drink, Objects & still life, Technology, Transport, Space & astronomy, Science & medicine, Art, History & archives, Backgrounds & textures, Icons & symbols | Deep link | Paid | Adobe Stock licence (paid) Needs a paid licence or releases | Source page |
| Getty Images gettyimages · site ↗ | Premium creative and editorial photography: news, sport, entertainment and archive pictures. Nature & landscapes, Animals & wildlife, Cities & streets, Architecture & interiors, People & portraits, Food & drink, Objects & still life, Technology, Transport, Space & astronomy, Science & medicine, Art, History & archives, Backgrounds & textures, Icons & symbols | Deep link | Paid | Getty Images licence (paid) Needs a paid licence or releases | Source page |
| iStock istock · site ↗ | Getty Images' lower-priced library of photos, illustrations and vectors. Nature & landscapes, Animals & wildlife, Cities & streets, Architecture & interiors, People & portraits, Food & drink, Objects & still life, Technology, Transport, Space & astronomy, Science & medicine, Art, History & archives, Backgrounds & textures, Icons & symbols | Deep link | Paid | iStock licence (paid) Needs a paid licence or releases | Source page |
| Alamy alamy · site ↗ | Over 400 million paid stock photos, strong on travel, news and historical pictures. Nature & landscapes, Animals & wildlife, Cities & streets, Architecture & interiors, People & portraits, Food & drink, Objects & still life, Technology, Transport, Space & astronomy, Science & medicine, Art, History & archives, Backgrounds & textures, Icons & symbols | Deep link | Paid | Alamy licence (paid) Needs a paid licence or releases | Source page |
How sources are searched
- API: the source's official or public JSON API (NASA's Image and Video Library, the Met's Collection API, the Art Institute of Chicago's API and IIIF server, the Cleveland Museum of Art's Open Access API, loc.gov, the MediaWiki API for Wikimedia Commons, Iconify and Openverse). These give the licence per image, author, pixel size and direct files.
- Deep link: the site needs an API key, sells its images, or its terms forbid automated search or aggregation (Unsplash, Pexels, Pixabay, Flickr, the Smithsonian, Freepik, the paid stock libraries and others). Every search response includes a link that runs the same query on that site, so you still know where else to look.
Every source has its own timeout. A slow or failing site shows up in the per-source report and never fails the search. Categories, orientation and resolution that a source doesn't state are filled in from titles, tags and frame sizes; facts only a image's own page holds are read when you open it.
Licences
Each result's license carries an SPDX-style id, a name, whether credit is required, who asserted it (source, site or uploader), an editorial flag and a verdict on commercial use. CC0 and public-domain images need no credit. NASA media is generally not copyrighted in the US but needs credit and comes with endorsement and insignia rules. CC BY needs a credit line, share-alike licences require an edited version to carry the same licence, MIT, Apache and OFL icon sets allow commercial use with their licence notice kept, NC and ND licences rule out commercial use, and uploader-asserted licences are never better than "check the terms". The full rules, with examples, are in Image licences explained.
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