Free images for commercial use: what you can actually use
Updated · 3 min read
Short answer
You can use an image commercially when its licence says so: CC0 and public-domain images with no conditions, CC BY images with a credit line, and free stock licences such as Unsplash's or Pexels' within their terms. CC BY-NC is non-commercial only, CC BY-ND forbids editing, and CC BY-SA makes an edited version share-alike. The licence covers the copyright only: recognisable people, logos and private property can still need releases in an ad.
The short version
Every result on Image Asset Server carries a verdict that answers one question: can this go into something you publish commercially, such as an ad, a product page, a client website or a printed book?
| Verdict | Means | Typical licences |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial use OK | No conditions | CC0, public domain, museum open access, US government works |
| OK with credit | Use it and credit the source | CC BY, NASA media, MIT/Apache icon sets |
| Restricted | Conditions that usually rule out normal use | CC BY-SA |
| Needs a paid licence | Buy a licence or releases first | Shutterstock, Getty, Adobe Stock |
| Check the terms | Nobody has verified the rights | Archive items with no rights statement |
| Non-commercial only | Personal and educational use | CC BY-NC, CC BY-ND, personal-use licences |
Searches from AI agents are commercial-safe by default: only the first two rows come back unless the agent says the project is non-commercial.
Where the licences come from
Wikimedia Commons, Openverse and Iconify record a licence per file or per icon set. Museums (the Met, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Cleveland Museum of Art) release their open-access images as CC0. NASA’s media guidelines apply to everything from NASA. The Library of Congress gives a rights statement per item, and “no known restrictions” is read as free to use.
What a licence doesn’t cover
A licence covers the copyright in the picture. It does not give you the rights of the people in it, the trademarks on a shop sign or the design of a private building. For news, articles and education that is normal. For advertising, packaging or anything that suggests a person or brand endorses you, pick images without identifiable people and logos, or get releases. NASA images carry an editorial flag for this reason: NASA does not allow its insignia or its astronauts to be used in ads without permission.
Free stock sites
Unsplash, Pexels and Pixabay give photos away under their own licences: commercial use is allowed, credit is optional, but you may not resell the photos unaltered or build a competing service from them. They can’t be searched automatically here, so every search links to the same query on their sites.
Verdicts are a summary, not legal advice. Read the licence linked on each image before you publish something important.
Questions
- Is 'royalty-free' the same as free?
- No. Royalty-free means you pay once (or nothing) instead of per use, but the licence still has terms. Paid libraries such as Shutterstock sell royalty-free licences; free stock sites give them away with conditions such as no reselling.
- Can I use a CC BY image in an ad?
- Yes, with a credit line that names the title, author, source and licence. Put it where the audience can find it: a caption, the page footer or a credits page.
- What does the 'editorial' flag mean?
- The image shows identifiable people, insignia or brands without releases. It is fine for articles, books and education, but not for advertising or anything that implies endorsement.
- Do I need permission to use a public-domain painting?
- No, when the museum releases its photograph as CC0 or public domain, as the Met, the Art Institute of Chicago and the Cleveland Museum of Art do for their open-access works.
Try it
Live searches across every source, with a licence verdict on each result.
Sources
Practical information, not legal advice. AI agent? This guide is also available as Markdown.
