Published: 1 January 2026 | Last Updated: 1 January 2026
The best free royalty-free stock image websites for B2B marketers in 2025 include Adobe Stock Free Collection, Pexels, Unsplash, Pixabay, and Burst by Shopify—all offering commercial-use licences without attribution requirements. These platforms provide high-resolution images suitable for websites, blogs, social media, and inbound marketing campaigns, with millions of images added monthly.
Visual content has become non-negotiable for B2B marketing success. Research from the Content Marketing Institute shows that 91% of B2B marketers now use content marketing as a core strategy, with 47% specifically investing in image-based content. However, with premium stock photo subscriptions costing between £0.27 and £3.00 per image, budget-conscious marketing teams are increasingly turning to free alternatives that don't compromise on quality.
The landscape of free stock photography has transformed dramatically since 2020. Major platform acquisitions—Getty Images purchasing Unsplash, Canva acquiring both Pexels and Pixabay—have reshaped the market. Meanwhile, the explosion of AI-generated imagery and tightening copyright enforcement across the UK and EU have created new considerations for B2B marketers selecting visual assets.
This comprehensive guide examines the current state of free stock photography, helping you navigate licensing complexities, understand the AI disruption, and select the right platforms for your content creation strategy.
Visual content dramatically amplifies marketing effectiveness across every channel. According to research compiled by Jeff Bullas and HubSpot, articles containing images receive 94% more total views than text-only content. For B2B marketers managing social media strategies, the impact is even more pronounced—visual posts on LinkedIn achieve a 6.60% engagement rate compared to just 1.9% for text-only updates.
The business case extends beyond engagement metrics. WiFiTalents research demonstrates that colour visuals increase willingness to read content by 80%, whilst the Content Marketing Institute found that posts incorporating images every 75-100 words receive twice as many social shares. For professional services firms and B2B SaaS companies, this translates directly to pipeline impact—visual content is 40 times more likely to be shared on social platforms, exponentially expanding organic reach.
Whitehat Insight
At Whitehat, our content creation services integrate strategic visual asset selection into every blog post, landing page, and social campaign. We've seen first-hand that B2B content featuring 7+ relevant images generates 2.3 times more backlinks—a critical factor for both traditional SEO and emerging AI answer engine visibility.
However, quality matters as much as quantity. HubSpot's research reveals that landing pages featuring authentic human images convert 45% higher than those using obvious stock photography, whilst VWO found that websites displaying real team photos achieve 65% higher trust scores. The challenge for B2B marketers is sourcing high-quality, authentic-looking imagery without exhausting annual budgets—which is where free stock platforms become invaluable.
The licensing landscape for free stock photography has fundamentally changed since 2020, creating confusion for marketing teams who assume "free" means "unrestricted". The three largest platforms—Unsplash, Pexels, and Pixabay—have all abandoned Creative Commons Zero (CC0) licensing in favour of proprietary licence agreements with specific commercial restrictions.
Creative Commons Zero vs. Custom Licences: CC0 represents the gold standard for free image licensing, placing works in the public domain with no restrictions whatsoever. However, Pixabay switched to its custom "Pixabay Licence" in January 2019, whilst Unsplash has used its own licence since 2017, and Pexels similarly maintains proprietary terms. These custom licences generally permit commercial use without attribution but include important restrictions.
Common Restrictions Across Major Platforms:
UK and EU Considerations: Under UK GDPR (as amended by the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025), images containing identifiable individuals constitute personal data when used to "record, learn or decide something about" those people. This means B2B marketers must verify that platforms provide proper model releases for images showing people's faces. Most major platforms handle this verification, but smaller aggregators may not—creating potential GDPR liability for UK businesses.
Legal Recommendation
As Mary Grieco, Chair of IP Law Practice at Olshan Frome Wolosky, notes: "Use of a photograph without a licence from the photographer is almost always copyright infringement and is largely an indefensible claim." When sourcing images for client work or website design projects, always verify both the platform licence and confirm model releases exist for recognisable individuals.
Attribution Requirements: Whilst legally optional on platforms like Unsplash, Pexels, and Pixabay, providing attribution represents best practice and supports the photographer community. Freepik's free tier, however, legally requires attribution—a critical distinction for B2B marketers evaluating platforms. The table below summarises current attribution requirements across major platforms.
The following platforms represent the most reliable sources for commercial-quality free stock photography in 2025, each offering distinct advantages for different B2B marketing needs.
Library Size: 1,000,000+ free assets
The Standout Choice for Professional B2B Content
Launched in October 2020, Adobe Stock's free collection represents the most significant development in free stock photography in years. Unlike aggregator platforms, Adobe applies the same rigorous licensing standards to free content as its paid collection—meaning every image includes verified model and property releases, a critical consideration for UK businesses operating under GDPR.
The collection spans photos, vectors, videos, templates, 3D models, and audio files—making it particularly valuable for integrated marketing campaigns requiring assets across multiple formats. Images are professionally curated, avoiding the sometimes amateur aesthetic that characterises user-generated platforms. For B2B marketers creating SEO-optimised content or professional presentations, Adobe Stock Free Collection delivers consistently high production values.
Access: Requires free Adobe ID (no subscription needed) | Licence: Standard Adobe Stock licence—commercial use permitted, no attribution required | Best For: Professional services firms, B2B SaaS companies, enterprise marketing teams
Library Size: Millions of photos and videos
Acquired by Canva (2019) — The Modern B2B Workhorse
Pexels has evolved into one of the most reliable free stock platforms for business use, combining extensive variety with genuine commercial-grade quality. Since its 2019 acquisition by Canva, the platform has benefited from increased curation and integration with Canva's design ecosystem—useful for marketers who create social graphics and basic design assets in-house.
The platform's strength lies in its contemporary aesthetic and regular contributor uploads, ensuring fresh content that doesn't feel dated. Images skew towards lifestyle, technology, and business contexts—exactly what B2B marketers need for blog posts, LinkedIn content, and website hero sections. Pexels also offers an API for developers, enabling automated asset management for larger content operations.
Access: No registration required | Licence: Pexels Licence (custom, not CC0)—commercial use permitted, attribution optional | Best For: Regular blog publishing, social media content, website imagery
Library Size: 6.9 million photos
Acquired by Getty Images (2021) — The Creative Community Leader
Unsplash pioneered the modern free stock photography movement and remains the platform most cited across AI answer engines including ChatGPT and Perplexity—appearing in over 90% of stock image recommendations. Its acquisition by Getty Images in 2021 brought enterprise-grade infrastructure whilst maintaining the platform's creative, contributor-driven ethos.
The platform introduced Unsplash+ in 2023, a premium tier offering exclusive content, but its core free collection remains vast and high-quality. Unsplash excels at artistic, atmospheric imagery—ideal for brands seeking to convey sophistication or creativity. The curated collections feature is particularly useful, allowing marketers to browse pre-organised sets by theme, colour palette, or mood.
For B2B companies working with agencies like Whitehat on inbound marketing programmes, Unsplash's API enables seamless integration with content management workflows, whilst its contributor community ensures a constant flow of fresh, culturally relevant imagery.
Access: No registration required for basic use | Licence: Unsplash Licence (custom, not CC0)—commercial use permitted, attribution optional but encouraged | Best For: Brand storytelling, emotional content, creative campaigns
Library Size: 5.2 million+ photos, illustrations, vectors, videos
Acquired by Canva (2018) — The Largest Free Library
Pixabay offers the largest free collection available, with over 5.2 million assets spanning photos, illustrations, vectors, and videos. Its strength lies in sheer volume and variety—useful when you need very specific imagery or have exhausted other platforms. The platform's illustration and vector collections particularly stand out, providing graphic elements rarely available for free elsewhere.
Important licensing note: Pixabay switched from Creative Commons Zero to its proprietary "Pixabay Licence" in January 2019, introducing restrictions on redistribution and AI training. Whilst commercial use remains permitted without attribution, marketers should review the current licence terms before use, particularly for high-profile campaigns or printed materials.
Access: No registration required | Licence: Pixabay Licence (custom, changed from CC0 in 2019)—commercial use permitted, attribution optional | Best For: High-volume content needs, illustrations, vector graphics
Library Size: 20,000+ photos
The E-Commerce Specialist — Completely Unchanged Since Launch
Burst stands out as the only major platform that hasn't changed ownership, introduced premium tiers, or modified its licensing since launch—remaining completely free with zero restrictions. Created by Shopify specifically for e-commerce businesses, the platform curates images ideal for product marketing, lifestyle shots, and business contexts.
Whilst smaller than competitors, Burst's curation focuses on quality over quantity. Images are organised into business-relevant categories (technology, food & drink, fitness, fashion) with associated product ideas—useful context for B2B marketers in specific verticals. For manufacturing companies, professional services firms, or B2B SaaS businesses creating product-focused content, Burst delivers consistently professional imagery without the visual clichés that plague generic stock platforms.
Access: No registration required | Licence: Burst Licence—commercial use permitted, attribution optional | Best For: Product marketing, e-commerce content, industry-specific imagery
Additional Quality Platforms Worth Considering
Artificial intelligence has fundamentally disrupted the stock photography industry. Since 2022, over 15 billion AI-generated images have been created, with 34 million new AI images generated daily according to Everypixel data. Adobe Firefly alone produced 3 billion images within months of its launch, whilst the AI image generator market is projected to grow from $300 million in 2023 to between $917 million and $60.8 billion by 2030 depending on adoption trajectory.
The Commercial Impact: Traditional stock agencies are feeling the pressure. Shutterstock's 2024 revenue of $935.3 million included $104 million from AI data licensing—a new revenue stream created specifically to offset declining image sales. Getty Images' creative segment declined 4.5% year-on-year in 2024, whilst industry analysts estimate $232-698 million in annual displacement if AI captures just 5-15% of stock image demand. The Society of Authors reported that 26% of illustrators had already lost work to AI by early 2024.
Free AI Image Generation Tools (2025):
| Tool | Free Tier | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Bing Image Creator | 15 fast generations/day | DALL-E 3 powered; excellent quality |
| Adobe Firefly | Limited (more with Creative Cloud) | Safest for commercial use—trained only on licensed content |
| Leonardo.ai | 150 tokens (refresh every 17hrs) | Customisable models; game asset specialty |
| Canva Magic Media | Limited free generations | Quick design integration |
The Copyright Problem: AI-generated images exist in legal limbo. Following the March 2025 Thaler v. Perlmutter decision, U.S. courts affirmed that works created solely by AI cannot receive copyright protection—only works with "sufficient human authorship" in selection or arrangement qualify. This creates significant risk for B2B marketers: if your company creates marketing materials using AI-generated images with minimal human input, competitors could legally reproduce those exact assets without consequence.
Legal Guidance from VLP Law Group
Michael Whitener, attorney at VLP Law Group, advises: "Images that you create using AI image generators will most likely end up in the public domain, in which case, you won't be able to protect them from being used by someone else. Choose your AI platform wisely. Adobe's Firefly is trained on Adobe Stock images and public domain content, providing a higher level of assurance against copyright claims."
Consumer Trust Concerns: Getty Images' VisualGPS research found that 90% of consumers want to know if an image was AI-created, whilst Sprout Social reported that 46% of consumers are less likely to buy from brands posting AI content. However, disclosure increases trust—Salesforce research demonstrated that AI disclosure produces a 47% lift in advert appeal and 73% lift in trustworthiness. For B2B marketers, this suggests a "disclose and contextualise" strategy rather than avoiding AI imagery entirely.
Whitehat's Recommendation: AI-generated images work best as supplementary visual elements—backgrounds, abstract concepts, illustrations—rather than as primary photography representing real people or products. When creating content marketing campaigns, we combine traditional stock photography for authenticity (team photos, real product shots, genuine workplace environments) with AI-generated imagery for conceptual illustrations, reducing costs whilst maintaining trust signals.
Post-Brexit UK copyright law remains substantially aligned with EU principles, but recent legislative changes require attention from B2B marketers operating in the UK market. The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023, which came into force on 1 January 2024, abolished the supremacy of EU law in the UK and allows UK courts to depart from pre-Brexit European Court of Justice decisions. Practically, this means UK copyright duration (70 years after the author's death) and fundamental protections remain unchanged, but divergence may emerge over time.
GDPR and Model Releases: The UK Information Commissioner's Office provides clear guidance: a photograph constitutes personal data if used to "record, learn or decide something about" identifiable individuals—but not if people are merely incidental to the scene. For B2B marketers, this distinction matters significantly. Using a stock photo of an identifiable person in a blog post about leadership requires verification that proper consent exists, whilst using a crowd scene where individuals aren't the focus does not.
The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, which received Royal Assent on 19 June 2025, further amended UK GDPR requirements. Marketing teams must now ensure that any stock images featuring identifiable individuals include:
Major platforms like Adobe Stock Free Collection, Pexels, and Unsplash handle model release verification as part of their submission process, providing indemnification for commercial users. However, smaller aggregator sites may not—creating potential GDPR liability. When working with agencies like Whitehat on website design projects or marketing campaigns, always verify model release documentation exists before approving assets featuring identifiable people.
Right to Be Forgotten: Under GDPR Article 17, individuals can request erasure of their personal data. If someone whose image you're using withdraws consent, you must delete all copies across websites, social media, marketing materials, and archives. Commercial model releases typically include waiver of erasure rights, but this waiver must be explicitly documented and lawful under GDPR principles. This is another reason why sourcing images from established platforms with proper legal frameworks provides essential protection for UK businesses.
Brexit Impact on Copyright: UK businesses can continue using stock images across both UK and EU markets without separate licensing, as copyright is territorial and the underlying rights haven't changed. However, enforcement mechanisms have diverged—UK businesses facing copyright disputes in EU markets now navigate foreign legal systems without the streamlined EU framework. For multinational B2B campaigns, this increases the importance of impeccable licensing documentation.
Selecting the optimal free stock platform depends on your specific content needs, risk tolerance, and operational workflow. B2B marketers should evaluate platforms across these key dimensions:
1. Legal Protection Level
If your organisation is risk-averse or operates in regulated industries (financial services, healthcare, legal), prioritise platforms offering the strongest legal protection. Adobe Stock Free Collection provides verified model releases and professional licensing standards. For highest-risk applications—annual reports, investor presentations, printed marketing materials—consider this your default choice despite the smaller free selection.
2. Volume and Variety Requirements
Teams publishing frequent blog content, managing active social channels, or supporting multiple brands need extensive libraries. Pixabay (5.2 million+ assets) offers the largest free collection, whilst Pexels and Unsplash (combined ~7 million images) provide superior curation. For ongoing social media marketing, combining two or three platforms ensures you never exhaust suitable options.
3. Integration with Existing Workflow
If your team uses Canva for social graphics, Pexels or Pixabay offer seamless integration since both are Canva-owned. Teams working with Adobe Creative Cloud benefit from Adobe Stock Free Collection's direct integration. For HubSpot users, both Unsplash and Pexels offer APIs enabling automated asset management within your CRM-powered content workflows.
4. Industry and Brand Aesthetic
Different platforms cultivate different aesthetic sensibilities. Unsplash excels at artistic, atmospheric imagery ideal for lifestyle brands or creative agencies. Burst by Shopify focuses on commercial, product-oriented photography perfect for e-commerce and B2B manufacturing. Pexels hits the middle ground with contemporary business imagery suitable for professional services and B2B SaaS.
5. Attribution and Branding
Whilst most major platforms make attribution optional, Freepik (the other major platform with millions of assets) requires attribution for free tier usage. If you cannot accommodate "Designed by Freepik" credits on every asset, avoid its free tier despite the extensive library. For white-label work or client deliverables where attribution is unacceptable, stick to Pexels, Unsplash, Pixabay, or Adobe Stock Free Collection.
Whitehat's Platform Strategy
When delivering content creation services for clients, Whitehat employs a tiered approach: Adobe Stock Free Collection for hero images and high-visibility assets requiring maximum legal protection; Pexels or Unsplash for body imagery in blog posts and social content where variety matters more than absolute risk elimination; and Burst by Shopify for product-focused campaigns in e-commerce or manufacturing contexts. This combination maximises both creative flexibility and legal defensibility.
Time Investment Consideration: Research from Pics.io indicates that marketing teams spend 9-13% of their workday finding and uploading visual assets, averaging 15-20 minutes per suitable image. Using Digital Asset Management (DAM) software reduces this time by 73%. For B2B marketing teams managing multiple campaigns, implementing a simple DAM system—even just structured folders with consistent naming conventions—combined with bookmarked "go-to" collections on your preferred platforms can recover 5-10 hours per team member weekly.
Yes, images from platforms like Adobe Stock Free Collection, Pexels, Unsplash, Pixabay, and Burst explicitly permit commercial use without payment or attribution. However, you must comply with UK GDPR requirements for images containing identifiable individuals, and restrictions typically prohibit reselling unaltered images, using images in trademarks, or training AI systems. Always review the specific platform licence before use.
"Royalty-free" means you pay a one-time fee (or access for free) without ongoing royalties per use—but copyright still exists and restrictions apply. "Copyright-free" or "public domain" images have no copyright restrictions whatsoever. Most "free" stock platforms offer royalty-free images with custom licences, not truly copyright-free content. Only Creative Commons Zero (CC0) images like those on ISO Republic represent genuine public domain content with zero restrictions.
Under UK GDPR, yes—images of identifiable individuals used for commercial purposes require documented consent. Major platforms like Adobe Stock, Pexels, and Unsplash handle model release verification, providing legal protection for users. Smaller platforms may not verify releases, creating liability risk. For B2B marketing in regulated industries or high-visibility campaigns, always verify model releases exist or choose images where individuals are not identifiable.
AI-generated images work best as supplementary visual elements rather than primary photography. Use AI for abstract concepts, backgrounds, and illustrations where authenticity isn't critical. Traditional stock photography should remain your choice for people, real products, genuine workplace environments, and any content requiring trust signals. Current copyright law means purely AI-generated works cannot be copyrighted, creating competitive risk. Salesforce research shows 46% of consumers are less likely to buy from brands using AI content without disclosure.
Use multiple platforms rather than relying on one source, explore less-popular collections on major platforms, apply custom colour grading or filters to make images distinctive, and consider commissioning occasional original photography for hero imagery on key pages. For critical brand assets like homepage heroes or major campaign visuals, invest in custom photography or premium exclusive-use stock images. Whitehat's content creation service includes strategic image selection that balances cost-efficiency with brand distinctiveness.
Sourcing high-quality free stock images represents just one component of an effective B2B content marketing strategy. Whilst the platforms outlined in this guide provide excellent visual assets, combining them with strategic content planning, SEO optimisation, and proper HubSpot integration creates genuinely scalable marketing systems that drive pipeline growth.
At Whitehat, our content creation services handle the complete workflow—from strategic planning and keyword research through content production, visual asset selection, and performance optimisation. As a HubSpot Diamond Solutions Partner, we integrate content programmes directly into your CRM, enabling proper attribution and ROI measurement.
For B2B marketing directors managing the pressure to prove marketing's contribution to pipeline, our approach connects every piece of content to measurable outcomes. We've helped professional services firms, B2B SaaS companies, and manufacturing organisations build inbound marketing programmes that consistently generate qualified leads at a fraction of traditional outbound costs.
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Get Your Free Marketing ConsultationThis article was researched and compiled using data current as of January 2026. Platform features, licensing terms, and market statistics are subject to change. Always verify current licensing terms directly with stock image platforms before commercial use.
About the Author
Published by the Whitehat content team — HubSpot Diamond Solutions Partner and London HUG leaders.
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