4.4/5
G2 rating
192 reviews
Report
Should I Use Pixabay?
Free stock photos, videos, music, and sound effects for commercial use
Depends
DependsUse it for zero-budget blogs, mockups, and background imagery where a copyright scare is survivable.
Free stock media, real copyright-claim risk: fine for blogs, risky for covers and YouTube music.
Confidence: Medium
$0
Price
No paid plans listed
6.3M+ images
Library size
Plus 4M+ videos claimed
Canva
Owner
Acquired 2019
Value for money
5
Completely free, no attribution required
Ease of use
4
Simple search and download, no signup friction
Feature depth
3
Huge library but users report limited variety
Security posture
2
Plugin RCE CVEs; no site security page
Pros
Cons
Gotchas
- highContributor uploads you don't own can produce demand letters; you carry the legal risk³
- highCommercially risky uses (covers, ads) have no indemnification safety net²
- mediumFree music often gets claimed anyway; clearing requires Pixabay's license process
- mediumPixabay Images WordPress plugin has a 2025 RCE CVE; avoid the outdated plugin10
Best for
- Bloggers needing free images
- Background footage and mockups
- Zero-budget creators
- Prototypes and internal decks
Not for
- Book or album cover designers
- YouTube creators using its music
- Brands needing legal indemnification
- Anyone who cannot risk a demand letter
Pricing
Everything
$0
- Commercial use allowed
- No attribution required
- Free API access
Security
Main site shows no security page; the Pixabay Images WordPress plugin carries multiple CVEs including a 2025 RCE.
- CVE-2025-4413: Pixabay Images plugin RCERemote code execution / dangerous file upload in the WordPress plugin.10
- Pixabay Images directory traversalDirectory traversal vulnerability in plugin versions 2.3 and below.11
- CVE-2015-1366: XSS in Pixabay ImagesCross-site scripting vulnerability in the WordPress plugin.12
What users say
Users love the free commercial-use model but repeatedly report copyright claims and demand letters from third-party uploads.
“Free for commercial use. No attribution required.”
“Yes, Pixabay is one of the sites to avoid for this reason. Anybody can”
“Pixabay is nice for images and music as well.”
Alternatives
Compare Pixabay with each alternative.
Pexels
Free photos and videos, comparable license, popular alternative
Pixabay vs PexelsUnsplash
Free high-res photos, strong for design work
Pixabay vs UnsplashShutterstock
Paid, indemnified stock; safer for commercial work
Pixabay vs ShutterstockFreepik
Free and paid vectors plus illustrations
Full analysis
Based on 20+ public sources including G2, Trustpilot, Reddit, CVE databases, and official Pixabay pages.
Sources
- Trustpilot reviews of Pixabaytrustpilot.comreview
review
- Pixabay review — TechRadartechradar.comreview
- Pixabay G2 reviewsg2.comreview
- Pixabay FAQ (Canva acquisition)pixabay.comofficial
- Pixabay Content License Summarypixabay.comofficial
- Vecteezy vs. Pixabay comparisonvecteezy.comnews
- CVE-2025-4413: Pixabay Images RCE — SentinelOnesentinelone.comsecurity
- Pixabay Images directory traversal — Wordfencewordfence.comsecurity
- CVE-2015-1366 — NVDnvd.nist.govsecurity
- Pixabay API pricingapis.ioofficial
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