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Pixabay Review

Depends

Should I use Pixabay?

Free stock photos, videos, music, and sound effects for commercial use - pixabay.com

· 1 month ago

Use it for zero-budget blogs, mockups, and background imagery where a copyright scare is survivable. Avoid it for book covers, client work, or YouTube music, where users report real claims and demand letters.

Confidence

Medium. Based on 20+ public sources including G2, Trustpilot, Reddit, CVE databases, and official Pixabay pages.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Feature depth
  • Support qualityNo support-specific evidence found
  • Security posture

Pricing

$0

Everything

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierYes

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

Gotchas - check before you buy

high

Contributor uploads you don't own can produce demand letters; you carry the legal risk

high

Commercially risky uses (covers, ads) have no indemnification safety net

medium

Free music often gets claimed anyway; clearing requires Pixabay's license process

medium

Pixabay Images WordPress plugin has a 2025 RCE CVE; avoid the outdated plugin

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Free for commercial use, no attribution required
  • 6.3M+ images plus videos, music, and sound effects
  • No subscription or premium plans at all
  • API is free for commercial use too
  • Backed by Canva since 2019

Cons

  • Users report copyright demand letters over images
  • Anyone can upload; asset provenance is unreliable
  • Music triggers YouTube Content ID claims
  • No security page found for the main site
  • Library variety lags paid stock competitors

Sources & method

- 14 sources - Main site shows no security page; the Pixabay Images WordPress plugin carries multiple CVEs including a 2025 RCE.

official x3review x7security x3news x1
  • CVE-2025-4413: Pixabay Images plugin RCE, Remote code execution / dangerous file upload in the WordPress plugin.
  • Pixabay Images directory traversal, Directory traversal vulnerability in plugin versions 2.3 and below.
  • CVE-2015-1366: XSS in Pixabay Images, Cross-site scripting vulnerability in the WordPress plugin.

Key stats

  • Value for money: 5/5

    Rating

  • $0

    Starting price

  • 14

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 5/5. Completely free, no attribution required
  • Ease of use: 4/5. Simple search and download, no signup friction
  • Feature depth: 3/5. Huge library but users report limited variety
  • Support quality. No support-specific evidence found
  • Security posture: 2/5. Plugin RCE CVEs; no site security page
  • 4.4/5 G2 rating 192 reviews
  • $0 Price No paid plans listed
  • 6.3M+ images Library size Plus 4M+ videos claimed
  • Canva Owner Acquired 2019

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.”
Trustpilot reviewer
“Yes, Pixabay is one of the sites to avoid for this reason. Anybody can”
Reddit, r/selfpublish
“Pixabay is nice for images and music as well.”
Reddit, r/premiere
Full analysis

Based on 20+ public sources including G2, Trustpilot, Reddit, CVE databases, and official Pixabay pages.

Free stock media, real copyright-claim risk: fine for blogs, risky for covers and YouTube music.

Methodology

Based on 20+ public sources including G2, Trustpilot, Reddit, CVE databases, and official Pixabay pages.

Read how a report is made.

Sources

  1. Trustpilot reviews of Pixabaytrustpilot.com
    review
  2. Coverart: Beware Pixabay — Reddit r/selfpublishreddit.com
    review
  3. Demand letter after using a Pixabay image — Reddit r/COPYRIGHTreddit.com
    review
  4. Copyright claim on a Pixabay song — Reddit r/NewTubersreddit.com
    review
  5. Pixabay review — TechRadartechradar.com
    review
  6. Pixabay G2 reviewsg2.com
    review
  7. Pixabay FAQ (Canva acquisition)pixabay.com
    official
  8. Pixabay Content License Summarypixabay.com
    official
  9. Vecteezy vs. Pixabay comparisonvecteezy.com
    news
  10. CVE-2025-4413: Pixabay Images RCE — SentinelOnesentinelone.com
    security
  11. Pixabay Images directory traversal — Wordfencewordfence.com
    security
  12. CVE-2015-1366 — NVDnvd.nist.gov
    security
  13. Pixabay API pricingapis.io
    official
  14. Limited variety thread — Reddit r/web_designreddit.com
    review

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