20+ Sources for Stock Photos and Graphics: No Attribution Required

You want to use a high-quality image for your blog, social media posts, PowerPoint slides.

There are sites that offer stock photos for free, but sometimes they require attribution — meaning you have to disclose where you got the image from.

Here are the 20+ sites where you can find stock photos and graphics that do not require attribution.

Understanding the terms

Before we begin, let’s get familiar with these terms and what they mean when using images.

What does royalty-free mean?

“Royalty-free” simply means you, a licensee, do not have to pay royalties every time you use the image. Put it another way, it means you do not have to pay an ongoing fee. You’ll pay a one-time fee so that you can use it as many times as you like. This does not automatically mean that you do not have to attribute the image to the source. Make sure to read the agreement and check when obtaining the rights to use the royalty-free image if it requires attribution.

What does no attribution mean?

When an image does not require attribution, it means you do not have to credit the source or the owner of the image. If an image requires attribution, you have to mention the source, owner, licensor, or creator of the image. For example, on a blog post, you might see a caption under a stock photo that says, “source: name of a company or photographer”. Some photos require attribution, and some don’t, so make sure to check the terms of image use.

Best sites to find no attribution stock photos

Here is my recommended list where you can find images, vectors, and graphics that do not require attribution.

Unsplash

Unsplash is one of the best places to find stock photos that are completely free. Attribution is optional. Unsplash’s license says you can use the images for both non-commercial and commercial purposes. You cannot compile photos from Unsplash to replicate a similar service.

Pexels

Pexels is also another great resource for images and videos. Their license says attribution is not required, and you may modify their photos and videos. You cannot sell unaltered copies of a photo or video.

Pixabay

Images and videos on Pixabay can be used freely for commercial and non-commercial purposes. Attribution is not required. You cannot sell an exact copy of a stock photo as a poster or print on a physical product without modification. Read their license here.

Best sites to find icon, vector graphics, and illustrations

There are some websites that provide icons, vector graphics, and illustrations for free and with no attribution. But many of these websites require you to subscribe to their paid plans to have access to unlimited use.

Undraw

Undraw offers beautiful illustrations on an open-source license that you can use without attribution.

Humaans

Humaaans has a library of illustrations of people you can use for personal and commercial uses. No credit required.

IconStore

IconStore can be used in personal and commercial projects, with no attribution.

IRADesign

IRADesign allows you to customize and create your illustrations from their pre-made template. You have to download on your computer first to make such edits.

DrawKit

DrawKit hosts 100% free illustrations that can be used for both personal and commercial uses with no attribution required.

ManyPixels

ManyPixels has free illustrations that you can use in your commercial or non-commercial projects. You can change the illustration colors straight in the browser and download the asset. No attribution required.

The Noun Project

The Noun Project has a repository of many free vector icons that can be customized and used with no attribution.

FreeVector

FreeVector offers a range of vectors and illustrations that are free for personal use only.

Flaticon

Flaticon is a great source for well-designed emojis and icons. No attribution is required for the price of 7.5 euros a month. Flaticon also offers free customizable icons specifically for the use of Google Slides and Google Docs.

Icons8

Icons8 offers icons, photos, vector illustrations, and music for your commercial or non-commercial projects. In order to use them without attribution, you can sign up for their paid plan, which starts at $19 a month.

Vecteezy

Vecteezy’s cheapest plan starts at $7 per month allows you to use their vectors with no attribution required.

StreamlineIcons

StreamlineIcons offers a lot of icons in various file formats. Attribution is not required when you purchase their premium license, offered at various price points depending on which pack you purchase.

OpenClipart

OpenCliart hosts public-domain clipart images. The use of their clipart is unlimited, which you can read more about here.

Best web apps for creating your image assets

The following web apps allow you to modify stock images and create your image assets on the fly, such as overlaying a text or changing the background color. Many of these tools source their pictures from the websites mentioned above, so you’re assured you can use them without attribution.

Canva

Canva is one of the most popular web tools for creating graphics. If you need to create images for your social media posts, presentations, or ebook cover for free, this is a great tool. Their plan allows you to create your brand’s visual identity with logos and a brand kit with more access to their libraries.

Crello

Crello is similar to Canva, but it also lets you create animations. You’ll have more than enough graphics and animated templates to work with under their free plan, but their paid plan will give you even more access to their premium images, videos, and animations.

Stencil

Stencil is an excellent tool for creating social media graphics on the fly. Select which social media platform (YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, etc.) you want to create graphics for and automatically resize the dimension of the image that best optimized for your use. On their paid plan, you can save your company logo and watermark on their system so that you can load and add them anytime as you’re working on your images.

Slidesgo

You can download PowerPoint templates, and Google Slides themes from Slidesgo to create attractive designs.

Which one is your favorite?

This post listed sites where you can get photos, vector graphics, and images that do not require attribution.

Do you have any recommendations? Let me know in the comments below.