Pexels
Free stock photos and videos under a permissive licence, no attribution required.
why this verdict
Keep it — Google has not replaced it
Google's version overlaps, but does not finish the stock media job, so this one is still worth keeping open.
- A named launch, not a vibe named, unlinked
- Free image generation making generic stock photos unnecessary. Google, January 9, 2025 — no announcement link recorded yet.
- How much of the job it covers not the job editorial call
- Parts of it. The job still needs the tool to get finished.
- Is there a free way to do it? yes
- 3 of 3 listed replacements have a usable free tier: Unsplash, Pixabay and Lummi.
- What the call is worth nothing to cancel
- No paid entry tier tracked, so there is no subscription to cancel.
- Threatened by
- Since
- January 9, 2025
- List price
- free
- Per year
- —
The backstory
Pexels gives away photos and video clips that anyone can use commercially without attribution. Generated images now cover the generic filler shot, which is most of what stock was used for. Pexels was already free, so there is no revenue to lose from that shift, and it keeps the advantage of being real photography with a clear licence. Free plus real beats generated plus ambiguous for a lot of use cases.
Escape hatches
Large free photo library with similar licensing
unsplash.com open_in_newFree photos, vectors, video and music
pixabay.com open_in_newAI-generated stock imagery with a design eye
lummi.ai open_in_new3 of 3 replacements have a usable free tier.