Need a photo for a page, news post, or event flyer but don’t have your own? These sites offer free, high-quality images you can legally use — no purchase or account required for most.
Recommended Free Image Sites
| Site | License Type | Attribution Required? |
|---|---|---|
| Unsplash | Unsplash License | No, but appreciated |
| Pexels | Pexels License | No, but appreciated |
| Pixabay | Pixabay License | No, but appreciated |
| StockSnap.io | CC0 (Public Domain) | No |
Unsplash, Pexels, and Pixabay are the best starting points — huge libraries, genuinely free for commercial use, and no attribution required by their license.
Steps to Find and Download an Image
- Go to one of the sites above.
- Search using a specific keyword — “safety training,” “construction site,” “office meeting,” etc. Specific terms give better results than generic ones like “business.”
- Click an image you like to open the full preview.
- Click Download (Unsplash/Pexels/Pixabay all offer a free download button — no login needed on Pexels/Pixabay; Unsplash may prompt a free account for higher resolutions).
- Choose a size — medium or large is usually plenty; you don’t need the largest available.
- Save the file somewhere you can find it (Desktop or Downloads folder).
Uploading It to the Chapter Site
Once downloaded, upload it like any other image — see Adding Images to a Page.
Important: Even though these sites don’t legally require attribution, our site still requires the Image Credit field to be filled in for every image. For free stock photos, enter the site name in that field, for example:
UnsplashPexelsPixabay
This keeps a record of where every image came from in case a license question ever comes up later.
What to Avoid
- Google Image Search results — these are not a source, they’re a search engine. An image showing up in Google Images tells you nothing about whether you’re allowed to use it. Don’t upload directly from a Google Images search.
- Images from other websites, social media, or news articles — these belong to someone and are very likely not free to use, even if there’s no visible watermark.
- Random “free image” sites you haven’t heard of — stick to the list above. Some sites labeled “free” bury restrictive licensing terms in the fine print.
If you’re ever unsure whether an image is safe to use, don’t upload it — ask Who can I ask for help? first.
Checking an image already on your site? See Auditing Existing Images for Copyright for how to tell if it’s safe to keep using.