Pixabay

Overview

Pixabay is a community library of royalty-free media, from photos and illustrations to video, music and sound effects. It suits creators and developers looking for varied assets at no charge; the main trade-off is that free use comes with meaningful license restrictions and API controls.

Pixabay reports more than 6.3 million assets, 6 billion downloads and 400,000 creators. It is a Canva Germany GmbH brand founded in 2010 and based in Berlin. Browsing and downloading are available to users, while uploading requires an account.

Key features

Media library and license

The range of media makes Pixabay useful when a project needs more than stock photography, with vectors, illustrations, editorial assets, video, music and sound effects alongside photos. The Content License Summary permits free use without attribution and allows modification or adaptation. That flexibility is useful for many creative projects, but it does not extend to selling or distributing content on a standalone basis. Content with recognizable trademarks also cannot be used commercially in connection with goods or services, so commercial projects need careful asset selection.

Users can select a download size on a media page. Full-resolution photos and videos require sign-up, a reasonable account hurdle for occasional use but an extra step for anyone collecting original-size files.

API and integrations

The REST API returns JSON results for searches of royalty-free images and videos. Its default limit of 100 requests per 60 seconds, 24-hour caching requirement and ban on systematic mass downloads make it suitable for bounded search features, not bulk asset harvesting. Pixabay also asks API users to show the media's source when displaying search results. Canva integrates Pixabay audio tracks into its media library, which is useful for Canva users seeking audio within that workflow.

Mobile, support and moderation

Pixabay's Android and iOS apps support image search, browsing, sharing and downloads. Questions can go to the community forum or the company directly. Pixabay says automated tools and human moderators review reported or potentially violating media and user content; that process is a moderation measure, not a guarantee that every asset fits a particular use.

Pricing

Pixabay Library is free, with free media downloads. Full-resolution photos and videos require sign-up. There is no free trial because the library itself has a free plan. This suits individuals and teams seeking no-cost assets, provided they can work within the license terms rather than relying on standalone resale rights.

The Pixabay API is also free. It allows 100 requests per 60 seconds by default and up to 500 image or video results per query; requests must be cached for 24 hours, and systematic mass downloads are prohibited. Those limits favor modest search integrations over high-volume retrieval.

Platforms

Pixabay is available on web, Android and iOS, and provides API access. The mobile apps add image search, browsing, sharing and downloads, while the API serves developers building search for images and videos into software.

Who it's for

Pixabay is a strong fit for creators who want a broad mix of media without a subscription, especially when adaptation and attribution-free use matter. Developers can use its API for carefully bounded media search. It is a weaker fit for projects that require unrestricted commercial use of recognizable trademarks, standalone redistribution, unregistered full-resolution downloads or large-scale automated collection.

Pros and cons

Pros

• Broad free library: Photos, illustrations, vectors, editorial assets, video, music and sound effects cover more creative needs than an image-only collection.
• Flexible basic license: Free use without attribution and permission to modify or adapt support a range of project workflows.
• Multiple access routes: Web, Android, iOS and a search API serve both individual browsing and application development.

Cons

• Commercial-use boundaries: Standalone sale or distribution is prohibited, and recognizable trademarks cannot be used commercially in relation to goods or services.
• Account needed for full resolution: Full-resolution photos and videos are not available without signing up.
• API restrictions constrain scale: Default request limits, mandatory caching and the ban on systematic mass downloads rule out some high-volume use cases.

Alternatives

Choose Pexels if you want a free photo and video option with an API allowance of 200 requests per hour and 20,000 requests per month; Pixabay's API instead defaults to 100 requests per 60 seconds and requires 24-hour caching. For other stock media options, compare Stock Photo Websites, Stock Video Websites and Stock Illustration Websites.

Depositphotos, Vecteezy, Unsplash, Dreamstime, iStock, PIXTA and VectorStock are also alternatives to consider.

Verdict

Choose Pixabay if you need a varied, no-cost media library or a modest image-and-video search API and can respect its license and usage limits. Its breadth and free access are compelling; look elsewhere when standalone redistribution, unrestricted trademark use or high-volume API retrieval is central to the work.