Here Are 22+ Free Stock Photo Sites That Don’t Suck

There’s more to Medium than Pexels and Unsplash

While there’s nothing worse on Medium than low-resolution photos and cheesy amateur pictures, a close second has to be the proliferation of images that clearly came from one of two places: Pexels and Unsplash.

This is why we all see the same few photos being used again and again. Several Pexels photos have over 10,000,000 downloads. It isn’t useful for readers, and it’s certainly not helpful for writers who are looking to stand out.

Need a perfect image for your article or website?

Here’s an ongoing list of the best stock photo sites I’ve discovered — feel free to bookmark this page for easy access every time you write a story.

The Best Stock Photo Sites

Gratisography

Gratisography is the best site to find weird and whimsical photos.

Burst

Burst has absolutely everything. Burst is Shopify’s in-house image site.

Life Magazine

Containing millions of pre-1970s photos from LIFE, stretching back as far as 1750, this site is a goldmine. Most were never published, and it’s now hosted for free by Google.

Death to Stock

Death to Stock is best for modern and futuristic photography.

The Pattern Library

The Pattern Library contains a multitude of fantastic hypnotic and trippy patterns.

New Old Stock

The best site for stunning historical images in black and white.

Splitshire

Best for when you’re too tired to even attribute.

Moose

Searching for bizarre photos? Look no further.

Picjumbo

When size matters, this is the best site for large high-resolution photos.

Getrefe

This is the site for overhead shots.

IM Free

Here you’ll find great photos of people, nature, and cityscapes.

Jay Mantri

This is the best site for muted Instagram vibes.

Moveast

Best for all things related to Asian culture.

Jeshoots

Have something specific in mind? Jeshoots is the best site for thematic searches.

KaboomPics

This is a great site for searching by color.

Women of Color in Tech

A great site to find photos of women of color in tech.

Public Domain Archive

This is a wonderful site for finding the perfect modern and vintage photos.

Magdeleine

Here is the best site for dark and moody photos.

Startup Stock

Startup Stock is the best site to search for startup imagery.

Pexels

If you’re going to use the mother-of-all free stock sites, the key is to sort by new and trending.

Unsplash

Same as above. Take the time to do some deep searching in order to surface great and unique images for your stories.

Pixabay

Refer to the Pexels and Unsplash descriptions.

LifeofPix

This is the best site for stunning high-resolution photography.

Twenty20

Best for real-world stock photos — families, couples, kids, pets, etc.

StockSnap

StockSnap is the best site for business and tech photos.

Foodiesfeed

Best for delicious food photographs — I get hungry just thinking about them.

FOCA

FOCA is a great site for finding photos of cities and buildings.

Splashbase

Best for vintage/historical, Splashbase has everything you’ll need.

Picography

Picography has a wide range, but it's specifically great for nature/scenery photography.

ISO Republic

Finding corporate photos is a breeze using ISO Republic.

StockUp

StockUp is the best for photos with Instagram vibes.

Barn Images

Contrary to the name, Barn Images has photos of everything, and calls their collection “non-stock.”

Library of Congress

Best for accessing the Library of Congress’ Prints & Photographs Division, 14 million items spanning several centuries of American life.

Wikimedia Commons

Best for 66,272,569 freely usable media files on every subject under the sun.

Creative Commons Image Search

The Creative Commons Image Search is the best for searching over half a billion images.

Thanks for reading,

Jared A. Brock