The Ultimate List of Free Commercial Image Websites

Did you know that some of the world’s most iconic advertisements use stock images for commercial use? For example, AlamapBBDO, a Brazilian ad agency, used stock photos from Getty Images to create their Endless Possibilities campaign in 2016. The advertising campaign combined photos of random people’s faces to recreate portraits of famous people such as the Dalai Lama and Pope Francis.

Most creative agencies prefer altering stock images in most of their work. This is because it allows them to create campaigns for different companies much faster at affordable costs. Keep reading to find out how to get free images for commercial use in your next project.

Part 1: Download images in loyalty-free sites

Several sites offer free images for commercial use as part of their services. In addition, you do not need to register an account to download the images. The sites typically rely on user contributions and content teams to ensure their databases are fresh and maintain consistent quality. Furthermore, all creative assets they offer fall under the creative commons zero license or a variation of it. Here are some of the sites that offer you images for commercial use for free.

1. Pexels

Pexels.com is a free-to-use provider of high-resolution photos and videos for aspiring creators. The German-based website was started in 2014 by two brothers and has been under the Canva umbrella since 2018.

Currently, the website hosts over 3.2 million images and videos from over 250,000 active contributors. In addition, all the material you find in its library is under the Pexels license, which slightly varies from the creative commons zero license model. Some of the restrictions it enforces include:

You can only use pexels images for commercial use after making alterations to the original image. For example, you can use part of an image to create a collage for your commercial branding.
Furthermore, you cannot use any of the website’s content to promote political ideologies and explicit content, especially if the images contain identifiable subjects.

Pexels is available through the following channels:

Your web browser by typing the URL pexels.com.
The Android and iOS app.
A plugin for other content creation software such as Google Slides and MS Office.
An extension on your Chrome browser.
You can also access the database using the official Canva app.

2. Unsplash

Another website that offers free images for commercial use is Unsplash, a subsidiary of Getty Images since 2021. The website is a favorite among creators boasting over 16 billion photo impressions monthly. In addition, the database consists of over 3.48 million photos from more than 265,000 unique contributors, all under the Unsplash license.

The Unsplash license restricts the sale of its creative assets without incorporating new creative elements, including using them in print media and physical goods such as mugs and caps.

You can access Unsplash from your web browser or request API integration for your application from the site’s owners. In addition, the site also hosts photo walks across different cities, where Unsplash guides show you the best photo locations around the city and the best camera techniques for your work. Some cities to host the event include Boston, Montreal, Tokyo, and Toronto.

3. Freerange

Freerange Stock is an online resource for photos, illustrations, and textures you can download and use for commercial and non-commercial purposes. Since 2007, the site has continued to provide high-quality images to its community of over 800,000 registered users.

Unlike the previous examples, all content on Freerange falls under the website’s Equalicense. It grants you broad commercial rights of its stock images while allowing the contributors to retain control of their copyright, image resale, and distribution. As such, you cannot use the images for bulk distribution or print-on-demand works.

Freerange Stock maintains its steady supply of images for commercial use via the following methods:

It has an in-house team of professional photographers who upload images across the different categories on the website.
Freerange Stock also purchases image rights or directly commissions photos from independent creators.
You can also contribute to the website’s library by voluntarily submitting your work to the platform. Kindly note that you will need a verified account to enable this function.
The website also works directly with photographers through a licensing and distribution model, providing them extra exposure on the site.
Finally, Freerange stock aggregates public domain images from other sources, including similar sites and government institutions. It does so by acknowledging the image owner and sometimes lists the image source when the owner is unknown.

Freerange Stock is accessible through your web browser or as an API integration on your app.

4. Vecteezy

Vecteezy is an extensive online library of free stock images for commercial use. Some of the site’s highlight features include the following:

A best-in-class search engine that incorporates multiple filters to ensure your results are extremely accurate. For example, you can sort images by color, style, number of people, and age of the subjects, something other free stock websites do not provide.
All images, videos, and vector illustrations are free for personal and commercial uses. It does so through a property sign and release model with its extensive network of contributors, which protects users from any legal liabilities.
Finally, it employs a content team that manually reviews each photo submission to ensure consistent quality standards for its offerings.

In addition, you can also purchase design resource bundles by subscribing to its Vecteezy pro for as little as $9 monthly. Some of the resources available include the Ultimate Text Effects Layer Styles Bundle for Photoshop, which costs $39 stand-alone or $4.50 when you subscribe to pro.

Part 2: Buy from stock providers

Another way to get images for commercial use is by buying them from stock providers. Some of the benefits of buying images from stock providers include:

You get a wide selection of unique photos from top-tier photographers. Stock providers always seek collaborations with the industry’s finest to edge out the competition.
You receive exemplary customer service with your purchase. Selecting the right image can be confusing for amateur creators. As such, stock image providers have customer support channels to help you throughout your creative process.
Stock images reduce your delivery times significantly. Buying images from a stock provider eliminates the need to invest in photography equipment and the time you need for post-production. As such, you can deliver projects in a fast and cost-effective way.

Despite the above positive, here are some challenges that buying stock images may present:

Not all stock image providers will have the creative assets you need.
Image overuse is likely since every creator will rush for the most popular contributor.

Below are some of the stock image providers you should consider.

1. iStock

iStockphoto.com is an online database of creative resources, including royalty-free photos, videos, audio, illustrations, and clip art you can use in your creations. The website is a Getty Images subsidiary based in Calgary, Canada. In addition, contributors earn royalties depending on how often users download their content.

2. Alamy.com

Alamy.com is a British-owned stock image provider with contributions from photographers and agencies in 173 countries. It compensates its contributors by offering higher than average payouts every time users download their creations. Some popular brands to use Alamy’s services include M&C Saatchi, Microsoft, and The Economist.

Part 3: Shot a Photo by yourself or create one with editing tools

Alternatively, you can get images for commercial use by shooting them yourself or creating them with editing tools such as Figma and Wondershare’s Filmstock. Here are some benefits of using this method:

You get exactly what you want, provided you have the required skills and equipment. Sometimes, getting the right image for your commercial purpose can be challenging. As such, shooting an original photo may be the only option.
You have full ownership of the image.

Unlike obtaining images from stock photography websites, you are free to use the image in whatever capacity you please without any restrictions. For example, sites such as Unsplash do not allow you to use their images in political statements, a restriction you can bypass when using your own creations.

However, you should also consider the following factors when using this method.

It requires a substantial investment

Getting high-quality images for commercial purposes requires specialist equipment. For example, the Panasonic LUMIX GH6 camera, which has 4K resolution capability, costs $2,197 on Amazon. This makes it extremely expensive for amateur creators.

There is a steep learning curve

Becoming a professional photographer takes time and effort. Unless you are creating as a hobby, it will be a while before you can start generating income from your creations.

Part 4: FAQs

1. Do you need a contributor account to get images for commercial use?

Not necessarily. Stock image sites like pexels.com allow you to download images from their website without creating an account. You will only need one if you want to showcase your work on the platform.

2. Can you use your smartphone to get images for commercial use?

Yes. Most stock image providers have device-specific apps that allow you to access their databases from your mobile device. For example, UnsplashPhotoPicker allows you access to the Unsplash library from your Android device.

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Best VSDC Video Editor Substitutes for macOS

VSDC Free Video Editor for Mac: Get Best Alternatives

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

VSDC is one of the most popular freeware software among beginners and intermediate-level video editors. But it is limited only to Windows users. Even after multiple requests from the users and tech-critics, VSDC isn’t likely to release a VSDC Mac version soon. So, it is best to look for VSDC alternatives for Mac.

Scroll down to find the best alternatives to VSDC for a Mac.

Part 1: Best VSDC for Mac Alternative - Filmora for Mac (Recommended)
Part 2: Top 3 VSDC Video Editor for Mac Alternatives

Part 1: Best VSDC for Mac Alternative - Filmora for Mac (Recommended)

Although not completely free, Wondershare Filmora is one of the most suitable video-editing tool for Mac users. Not only is it superior to the VSDC, but it is also considered one of the most powerful utilities in the video-editing realm by critics and users. Why? Well…

Starting with the simple interface that includes an array of features to distinguish as a sophisticated video editing tool for Mac.
The regular addition of new features like Auto Reframe to smartly crop your video and integration of the cloud-based stock library are what make this software powerful and superior
Plus, you can choose the presets and edit up to 4K videos at 60fps. The drag-and-drop feature allows you to add media files, and the preview section lets you see the edited video in real-time.
The timeline is simple yet powerful, and the customizable settings allow you to use the combination of mouse, keyboard, and icons controls and make the video-editing process seamless.

So, it is not tough to discern why Filmora is considered as one of the most authoritative video editor for Mac users. Moreover, as mentioned, the software is not absolutely free. Still, you can use most of its features in free version.

Part 2: Top 3 VSDC Video Editor for Mac Alternatives

After reviewing hundreds of freeware software, we have come up with the three best VSDC alternatives.

1. ShotCut

A simple, free, and open-source software that makes the video-making process straightforward. Filled with interesting ideas and powerful features, the greatest thing about ShotCut is that besides being free — it is regularly updated and maintained by the vendor. The interface has a three-panel view and adding media files is as simple as dragging and dropping.

The software also includes rich features like keyframing, color correction, transition and lets you edit up to 4K resolution video with ease. But unlike VSDC, ShotCut does not have multiple preset transition effects and includes only 24 basic wipe-in or out effects. Still, the software has sophisticated features like Chroma Key and allows you to utilize third-party addons for text and titles as the application does not have many of them.

Pros:

Lightweight for a sophisticated video-editor
The interface is simple and convenient and allows you to customize the toggles as per your preference
Numerous output options — supports major formats and offers you to export the footage in any format
Completely free platforms plus cross-platform support

Cons:

The app does not allow you to create layers automatically.
It could be tough for a newbie to work on ShotCut.
The application takes too long to show the applied effects; even simple transition effects suffer from latency.

2. OpenShot

Another free and open-source program, OpenShot, has the ability to give you high-quality output with minimal effort. The software includes all the basic functions like resizing, scaling, trimming, and audio mixing with real-time previews. Plus, it also incorporates features for animated-based keyframing and creating 2D animation with image sequencing.

Moreover, like the VSDC, there are also presets to give 3D effects like snowfall, text, and lens flares, and other effects to the video. Nonetheless, if you want to take these into your hand and need more flexibility over transition, effects, filters, and more then you will have to look elsewhere. Because although great, OpenShot does have gaps and excludes critical features, meaning if you want to give artistic effects and personalize the video as much as possible, OpenShot is not suitable for you.

Pros:

OpenShot user-friendly, intuitive interface enables users to utilize all the editing functions effortlessly.
The dedicated preview-video section allows you to view the edited video in real-time and see if everything is done perfectly or not.
Includes some basic 2D and 3D transition, plus it also includes filters and effects.
Audio equalizer lets you work on every aspect of the audio and tune the music finely.

Cons:

Many users have criticized the OpenShot video editor for lagging and crashing issues while editing high-resolution videos
Even after multiple requests from the users, OpenShot does not support GPU acceleration for encoding and decoding the video files.
Some critical features are missing.

3. Avidemux

Like VSDC, Avidemux is also a freeware that includes all the basic options to edit the video and is much suitable for beginner-level users. However, if you are intermediate or expert in video editing, Avidemux is not the one you need. The reason: Avidemux does have basic options like cutting, trimming, splitting, and more. Still, when it comes to sophisticated features like creative effects, transition, Avidemux does not have dedicated functions for that. Moreover, as usual for the video editors, the Timeline feature is also missing from the software.

Of course, in comparison to VSDC, Avidemux falls short. Because all it can do is the basic video editing, encoding, and de-noising. Other than that, it cannot boast about anything. Still, given the simple interface, Avidemux is perfect for newbies who do not have much experience with video editing. Be that as it may, if you are serious regarding video-editing, you should get a more powerful video editor on Mac.

Pros:

The simple interface allows even the naivest users to use the application to the fullest
The application has all the basic video-editing features like cutting, splitting, trimming
Avidemux is excellent for encoding options; one of the industry’s finest, in fact.
Sharpening and de-noising filters to give fine details to the video

Cons:

Avidemux does not have advanced video-editing options like effects and transition
Lack the much important timeline feature

Part 3: Final Words

VSDC is a powerful and unique tool. The above-listed freeware like ShotCut, OpenShot, and Avidemux are good alternatives to it. But after reviewing several video editors — this is the closest we came to finding something similar to VSDC. And understanding that Mac users will need all the powerful functions that VSDC incorporates, Filmora for Mac that includes everything that VSDC has and more! The Filmora for Mac is also free to utilize, so you can simply download the software and edit videos like professionals.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

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