Commercial Image Resources on a Budget: Top Free Options

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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Top-Rated Online Video Editors for Chromebook Users

Best Online Video Editors for Chromebook

Ollie Mattison

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

The increase in popularity of Chromebooks, over the past several years is more than justified because these devices have proven that they are much more than just a web-browsing tool. Using a Chromebook for educational purposes or to widen your network of business associates is becoming more common, while new upgrades of the OS bring improvements at an astounding rate.

However, editing visual content isn’t that easy for Chromebook users, because Windows or Mac applications can’t be used that easily on these devices. That is the reason why online video editors play a large role for all Chromebook owners who want to create videos that meet at least some of the professional standards. Luckily, currently, there is a large number of online video editors available that can offer a solid video editing experience to users who would like to piece their video clips together into visually attractive content.

If you want more decent editing, check out and click the download button right here:

Best Online Video Editors for Chromebook

In such abundance of different online video editors, most Chromebook owners will find themselves wondering, which online video editor is the best for me. Although the answer to this question will depend on the user’s need and the reasons why they want to create a video, it is safe to say that the online video editors listed in this article are among the best that are currently available on the Internet. Let’s have a look at some of the best online video editors that will help you create visually engaging videos.

2.Magisto

Price: Starts at $2,49 per month and goes up to $39,99 per month

What we like: Creates high-quality videos and it uses artificial intelligence to help its users produce better videos.

What we don’t like: Premium and professional pricing plans have video duration limits

Assembling a great video has been made easy with this online video editor. Creating a video with the Magisto online video editor can be completed in three simple steps. Upload your photos or videos, select the video editing style that best reflects the type of video you want to create, select the music from the editor’s music library and let the A.I. video maker analyze the images and create the video you want. With Magisto there is no need to spend countless hours editing your business videos, however different pricing plans offer different amounts of options. The pricing plan for Marketers that comes at $39,99 per month allows its users to create video optimized for branding and advertising.

This pricing plan doesn’t have any restrictions regarding the duration of the videos, while Professional and Premium pricing plans limit users to movies that last from 2:30 up to 4:00 minutes. The owners of the Marketers version of this online video editor can use the editor’s stock footage collection that contains over 100,000 videos, and in addition, they can create videos in Facebook or YouTube styles. Magisto online video editor is a great option for businesses that want to create amazing video content fast and without much trouble.

3.Loopster

Price: Pricing plans range from $4,99 per month to $129 billed every three months

What we like: A large amount of storage space for videos on the cloud

What we don’t like: Loopster offers a very limited amount of transitions and other video editing tools, and you have to pay before using

Loopster’s functional and yet smart design makes this video online editor easy to use. Even the people who haven’t edited a video in their lives can learn how to use this remarkable video editor in a short period of time. Loopster offers a lot of storage space to its members, but the maximum file size users can upload is limited to 2GB. Depending on the price package users can have access to 20 or 30-minute timelines, which limits the possibilities of users who would like to produce longer videos. Even though a number of visual effects offered by Loopster isn’t as big as some users could expect, the online video editor enables them to slow down or speed up videos up to five times.

The owners of Movie Producer Membership, Education, and Business packages have access to over 600 sound effects, while all packages allow users to add text and graphics to the images they are processing. The maximum video resolution this online video editor can produce is 1080p, regardless of the pricing plan, but if you opt to use the free version of Loopster, the maximum video resolution is 480p. Even though Loopster provides only basic video editing options it is still one of the best choices as an online video editor for Chromebook users.

4.Animatron Wave

Price: Free trial version, pricing plans for upgrades range from $39 to $149

What we like: Acess to over 2,5 million royalty free stock footage videos

What we don’t like: Lacks more advanced video editing features

Increase the traffic to your website, generate a better brand awareness and tell captivating stories by using the Aminatron Wave. This online video editor enables you to create amazing marketing videos from over 2,5 million free stock video clips. Using Animatron Wave is an efficient way to cut video production expenses and maintain the same level of quality of the videos that tell the story of your brand. The online video editor also permits you to upload your own footage and apply transitions or Call-to-Action effects you can preview in real time.

Animatron Wave is a great tool for producing social media videos online. Users can add text in many different styles to the footage they are processing while setting the aspect ratio of each video is also an option. Animatron Wave features a music library that contains 100,000 royalty free songs that cover various genres of music, which means that users of this online video editor will never have to worry about the soundtracks of their videos. This online video editor is an excellent choice for all Chromebook users who want to create videos that help their businesses grow.

5. Kizoa

Price: From $29,99 to 299,99 depending on the pricing plan

What we like: Kizoa offers a lot of different transitions and effects

What we don’t like: Editor’s timeline could be better organized

Kizoa online movie editor offers a fast and easy way for Chromebook users to put together their holiday memories or any other precious moments from their lives. Kizoa offers a large number of different movie templates that feature fully customizable transitions and text boxes. All you need to do is select the videos or photos you want to include in the video and Kizoa will take care of the rest. The editor’s menu is composed of several tabs that offer access to transitions, effects, text, animation, and music. Users can choose from hundreds of different effects that enable them to apply color filters, special effects or motion effects, and in addition, the editor offers a large number of different transitions that can fit a wide range of different kinds of videos.

The music library offers royalty free content that enables users to create soundtracks, and users can also upload their own music. The editor offers the 4K video editing support, although this feature isn’t available with the free version of the editor. Kizoa can be purchased with several different pricing plans and you must only purchase it once and you gain the lifetime membership for one one of the best online video editors for Chromebook.

6.PowToon

Price: Free Trial, $19/month - $59/month

What we like: Makes animating videos easy

What we don’t like: Pricey

PowToon web-based video editor is designed to enable non-professionals to create engaging and visually stunning animations. This animation software is available in Free, Pro, Business and Team pricing options, although the Free version of the software can offer only a small portion of the software’s true potential. The price for Pro, Team and Business options ranges from $19 per month for a Pro version of the software to $59 per month for the Business option.

PowToon is a perfect tool for creation of business presentations and storyboards that tell your stories in an effective way. Users can have access to unlimited amounts of royalty free music, create animated charts and graphs or use a large number of visual effects. The software allows you to export 60 minutes of HD or 8 minutes of Full HD content per month, while you can download files in MP4, PDF or PPT file formats. Despite many advantages PowToon offers, it still may be considered expensive by some users.

Ollie Mattison

Ollie Mattison is a writer and a lover of all things video.

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