10+ Way Cool Free Stock Photo Image Sites for Personal or Commercial Uses

When you need an image, picture/photo for your website, blog post or just for anywhere else, where do you usually go to first? If you say Google Images then this is definitely for you. And if that's the case, you probably get fed up looking for the right image only to find it's too small or you're searching for one thing like gorgeous sunsets only to find people with cheesy smiles laughing into their salads..

Well here I am going to change your life forever! Or at least, the way and the where you get your images from! You don't need to use just Google Images to find the right image for your needs and poach someone else's. These days there are many great free image and photo stock sites you can use to find hundreds of free images and photos that are free for both personal and commercial reasons.

A quick history of free photo and image stock sites.

Go back 10+ years and most image and photo stock sites were mostly paid only. However these days, there are more sites all vying for you to use their site that are providing tons of free high quality photos and images you can use for personal or commercial reasons. So I've put together this list of some of the best free stock photo sites that are free to use. And cool to use for some reason.

NOTE. While all of them do provide free images, some do have paid plans too and some of them might actually require permission first before you can use them for commercial use. Check with the sites terms or FAQ of each site before using them first. Otherwise they are free to download and use on your site or wherever you want!

Please note: These images seen here are not the originals and have been cropped.

https://unsplash.com/

Why's it cool?

• Can join using Facebook.
  
• High resolution Royalty free stock photography.
  
• Can use for personal and commercial reasons.
  
• 10 free hi-res photos emailed to you every 10 days.
  
• Easy to search and find images.
  

http://www.gratisography.com/

Why's it cool?

• Whimsical humorous photos and images.
  
• Free images for personal & commercial use
  
• New photographs added weekly.
  
• High resolution photography.
  

http://startupstockphotos.com/

Why's it cool?

• Beautiful high resolution stock images.
  
• Perfect for a tech related website.
  
• Focuses on startup photography.
  
• Simple and easy to use.
  
• No registration required.
  

http://www.pexels.com/

Why's it cool?

• Powerful high resolution stock photo search engine.
  
• Massive collection of many stock images.
  
• Easy search feature to find whatever you need.
  
• Ideal for designers, bloggers and anyone looking for great photos.
  
• Many categories, nature, abstract, technology and more.
  
• Free photos for any personal and commercial purpose.
  

https://stocksnap.io/

Why's it cool?

• Powerful stock image search engine.
  
• Free photos bot for personal and commercial use.
  
• Very user friendly interface and search feature.
  
• Provides super high resolution photos in a snap!
  

http://www.lifeofpix.com/

Why's it cool?

• Very high res photos and videos added weekly.
  
• All photos/videos are copyright free for personal/commercial use.
  
• 1000's of outdoorsy, nature, lifestyle photos.
  

http://www.resplashed.com/

Why's it cool?

• Over 122 royalty free stock images available.
  
• Instant results based on search keywords.
  
• High resolution stock photos for any niche.
  

http://stokpic.com/

Why's it cool?

• Free stock Photos for commercial and personal use.
  
• 1000's of free stock photos for every purpose.
  
• 10 new stock photos added every other week.
  
• Many photography categories from abstract to tech.
  
• Extremely easy to navigate and find images with.
  

http://picography.co/

Why's it cool?

• 1000's of great lifestyle photos.
  
• Free for personal and commercial use.
  
• Easy to search and navigate.
  

http://isorepublic.com/

Why's it cool?

• A large community of contributors.
  
• All photos free for personal/commercial use.
  
• Lots of categories and easy to navigate.
  
• Ideal for blogs, stores or any purpose.
  

http://mmtstock.com/

Why's it cool?

• 1000's of high resolution photos on the site.
  
• More focused on nature and city photos.
  
• Free for both personal and commercial uses.
  
• New high resolution photos added weekly.
  

http://magdeleine.co/

Why's it cool?

• 1000's of amazing high resolution photographs.
  
• Free for personal and commercial uses.
  
• Very easy to navigate and find photos based on search keywords.
  
• Can sort photos based on colors or the categories.
  

http://jaymantri.com/

Why's it cool?

• Royalty free photos for personal/commercial use.
  
• Tumblr blogger that adds 7 new photos every Thursday.
  
• Mostly landscape and city photos.
  

http://www.raumrot.com/

Why's it cool?

• 1000's of high res royalty free photos.
  
• New photos added weekly in many categories.
  
• Able to view sets based on what category you need.
  
• All photos can be used for commercial reasons.
  

Conclusion
Okay so that's a few more than 10 but I had to sneak the others in as they're well worth a look at from time to time if you need something you can't find. I've often found photos on these smaller sites that I couldn't on the others. But now that you know some of the best sites to get free stock photos and images from.

All you need to do now is start using them. Whether it's for your own personal blog, website, presentation or something else, you'll be likely to find the perfect photo or image for your needs from these sites. And not Google Images!

Do you know of other free stock photography resources like these?