Pixabay is an international community for sharing quality public domain images. All the pictures are free, no license conditions apply. To begin searching, keywords can be used or the library of images can be browsed. Users can filter the search according to image type (photo, drawing, vector), image orientation (landscape or portrait), and image category (subject matter).

As Pixabay is an ad-supported site, a search for images will feature sponsored Shutterstock images at the top of the results much like when some Google search results display ads before the authentic results. The set of images appearing below the Shutterstock images on Pixabay are free to download. The Shutterstock images are not free. Pixabay images can be downloaded in the size that suits the needs of the user. Registered users do not have to enter a captcha code to download images. Users who do not register can download images, but will have to enter a captcha code before downloading each picture.
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Images are free of copyrights only with registration. To contribute images, however, sign up is required. By uploading files, authors waive their copyright and related image rights under Creative Commons deed CC0, thus permitting free usage of their work. Consequently, anyone is allowed to use, modify and redistribute the images freely – even in commercial applications – without asking for permission and without accreditation. To ensure both a high quality standard and the suitability concerning the field of Public Domain, uploaded images are approved manually by staff members of the website. Contributed photos are not immediately visible to the public though, as an editorial team checks all submissions for appliance to Pixabay’s Terms of Service. This step can take a few days.

Getting Started

  1. Open Pixabay.
  2. Explore the section Editor’s Choice to find the hand-picked favourites of the editorial team.
  3. Enter a search term in the box to explore other quality images. Choose a photo to download.
  4. Have you, your colleagues, or your students download at least one picture from Pixabay.
  5. Embed the picture in a web-based site, such as a Facebook post, an uploaded presentation, or your blog.