TrustRadius: an HG Insights company

Save this comparison

Save this comparison

Add Product

Recommended Comparisons

    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Pixabay

    Score9 out of 10
    N/APixabay headquartered in Germany offers a digital content platform, which they present as a community for sharing copyright-free images and videos. All contents are released under Creative Commons.N/A
    Pricing
    Pixabay
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Pixabay
    Free Trial
    No
    Free/Freemium Version
    No
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    No
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup fee
    Additional Details—
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Pixabay
    Considered Both Products
    Pixabay
    Chose Pixabay
    The Pixabay interface is easier to use compared to other products. Their site is also very fast, meaning I can spend more time growing my business and less time searching for the perfect image. Their licensing is also easier to understand.
    Incentivized
    Chose Pixabay
    Pixabay is one of several sites I visit when I need content. I don't necessarily select it over others all the time - sometimes they have the image I want and sometimes I find it elsewhere - but they're always one of the ones I check with when I need media.
    Incentivized
    Chose Pixabay
    We selected Pixabay due to its affordability, clear licensing, and vast range of imagery that fit our needs. Unsplash and Pexels were on par for affordability and licensing, but we felt Pixabay had a broader range of content. Shutterstock and Getty were coat prohibitive for our …
    Incentivized
    Chose Pixabay
    In my opinion, stock photos are kind of all over the place, depending on how specific of an image you're looking for. I think Pixaby is on the higher / more positive side of the scale -- there are definitely sites that are not offering as polished of photos or the variety that …
    Incentivized
    Chose Pixabay
    Pixabay is a far more legit and easy-to-use free stock photo platform than the others I have listed above. Before using it I made sure that I was abreast of certain issues within the rules and systems that need to be followed by the letter. If you do not do this you will have …
    Incentivized
    Chose Pixabay
    I think that Fotor is my favorite because of the way it allows the easy editing and collection of pictures. Pixabay is really not as well suited for photo editing but it is still like great resource for free pictures. Shutterstock has better images, but is more expensive. …
    Incentivized
    Chose Pixabay
    I use Pixabay in 2 scenarios. The first is when I've done a bunch of searching on iStock already and can't find anything. You wouldn't think Pixabay could show up then, but sometimes it hits. The other time is when I'm in a rush and just doing general Google searches for …
    Incentivized
    Chose Pixabay
    Canva has many more options for pictures available on their pro platform. For my business, it is easier to justify the cost of Canva as it includes other features like photo editing and graphic design. Pixabay does have pictures, and videos, and expanded into gifs but can be …
    Incentivized
    Chose Pixabay
    I selected Pixaby because with it's easier to find free images with excellent quality. Also, in Pixaby the indications for free or paid images is more clear than in the other platforms.
    Incentivized
    Chose Pixabay
    Pexels is free and fully licensed for commercial use, as is Unsplash to a certain extent. I generally open all 3 to search for free stock images for budget-sensitive clients; that being said, I always find myself searching Pixabay first. They have the best user interface of …
    Incentivized
    Chose Pixabay
    Pixabay gets around the language barrier by being available in more than 20 different languages. The website doesn't have any ads. They do have "sponsored images" from Shutterstock, but I really like that there are no other ads. When I download an image, I can choose from a …
    Incentivized
    Chose Pixabay
    Pixabay is free, easy to use, and has images, videos, vectors, illustrations, music, and sound effects—basically everything you need to make content on a budget. Getty only licenses images and videos, so I'd have to go elsewhere to find music and sound effects (and likely pay a …
    Incentivized
    Chose Pixabay
    Pixabay has a few key features that stand out. The search results load fast, with an easy user interface and advanced filtering options. I often travel as I work, and at times my internet connection can be slow or unstable. Even on a slower connection, the search results are …
    Incentivized
    Chose Pixabay
    Overall, I really like Pixabay as the quality of images has never let me down. On top of that, I really love the community/creators as they're very supportive. I would say that you will have not many problems or complaints when you use Pixabay and will definitely help in your …
    Incentivized
    Chose Pixabay
    The filtering system is a little bit better on Pixabay and I use that lot. Some of Unsplash's photos can be a little higher quality
    Incentivized
    Chose Pixabay
    I have not used the artist much yet but I have a heard lot about Artlist from other travel videos maker in the community about how good this website is. Based on my little experience of using Artlist, I would say Pixabay has a lot fewer sound effects and music selections …
    Incentivized
    Chose Pixabay
    Pixabay is a very user-friendly site, and feels less 'business' orientated and approachable. The graphic designers that used it got to grips with it very quickly and found a decent range of stuff. However, there were occasions when we needed to go somewhere else to find the …
    Incentivized
    Chose Pixabay
    Pexels is very high quality but has a less professional collection of images. Most of the images in Pexels feel like they would be more at home in a local coffee shop or Millennial hangout. While Pexels' image offering is stunning, the images do not fit in alongside data sets …
    Incentivized
    Chose Pixabay
    Pixabay is adequate but needs to up its image game in order to compete with other free stock sites, which have more extensive and better quality imagery available. I personally moved from using Pixabay to other free image sites due to the quality and range of images not …
    Incentivized
    Chose Pixabay
    The thing I like about Pixabay over Canva is the music available and the photos are not the same ones that Canva has. Sometimes I feel like Canva is so much more well-known that everyone uses them and then their social media posts start looking the same. It doesn't help you …
    Incentivized
    Chose Pixabay
    Being a user of this image bank is really useful since if we need different illustrations for a wide variety of contexts, we have images at hand. It is an indispensable tool for companies and individuals, every day at least five new high-quality photos appear. Its main function …
    Incentivized
    Chose Pixabay
    We also looked at Adobe Stock and Freepik. Adobe Stock has a better breadth of images available on their site, but they can be expensive depending on your needs. Sometimes, if Pixabay doesn't have an image that matches what I need I may use Adobe Stock or Freepik. Freepik is …
    Incentivized
    Chose Pixabay
    iStock doesn't offer free options. Hence we use Pixabay more often, especially with a tight budget.
    Incentivized
    Chose Pixabay
    Pixabay is my starting point for any image search as it provides cross-over/reference to other sites but isn't so overwhelming with images. I feel with the other sites I could get lost in the endless pages of stock imagery, especially when they seem so similar.
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    88%
    Would buy again
    36 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    97%
    Delivers good value for the price
    37 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    93%
    Happy with the feature set
    38 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    93%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    25 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    97%
    Implementation went as expected
    30 Answers
    Best Alternatives
    Pixabay
    Small Businesses
    Pexels
    Score8 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Pexels
    Score8 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Pexels
    Score8 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Pixabay
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.0
    (41 ratings)
    Usability
    9.0
    (2 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Pixabay
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Pixabay
    This is perfect for any individual or organization that's working on a budget. You'll get stock photos that, while there's a more limited selection than the usual paid sites (Getty, iStock, etc.), are often just as high-quality. For smaller businesses and nonprofits where every dollar counts, I've found myself leaning on Pixabay quite a bit for stock images and, from time to time, will end up buying one of the linked commercial images when Pixabay doesn't have what I need. However, if you have a large budget for stock images, Pixabay will likely not be your best choice, as the paid services offer generous discounts for bulk credit purchases.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Pixabay
    • Separate photos, illustrations, and vectors—Many competitors have these images all lumped together with a limited ability to sort through them, while Pixabay has a robust library of all of these, making it easy to find what you're looking for.
    • Free, high-quality images and easy-to-understand licensing rules—Often a new client will have bad image usage habits, freely snagging any image off of google. Pixabay is an excellent resource to give clients a huge range of photos without the fear of getting into copyright trouble.
    • Sound effects—Free, good-quality sound effects are surprisingly difficult to find amongst competitors, but Pixabay has them in their lineup as well.
    Read full review
    Cons
    Pixabay
    • One thing that kind of sticks out is that with so much to choose from, you can feel overwhelmed.
    • Some of the photos I sometimes can find separately by googling. In the music business, it seems like many photos rotate on the web so there isn't as much to pick from.
    • I didn't see an option for more vertical videos for use in Instagram or TikTok.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    Pixabay
    A lot of times, it can be difficult to find things on a website. Pixabay search works extremely well. This way we don’t have to search and keep searching. The results along with the recommendations are very tailored and work well
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    Pixabay
    Pixabay has given me the free vectors I need for my whiteboard animation videos, which aren't available on the other sites, in addition to the video and audio clips. They've been around for a long time and have stayed consistent, valuable, and easy to use throughout the years. They were my first site for free downloads and remain my favorite image download site to this day.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    Pixabay
    • We don't lose any money trying to buy images
    • Our videos get more views if we put the good quality images we find in Pixaby
    • The posts we make with their images always get a professional aspect, and get more engagement from a diverse social media users.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots