27 Best Free and Paid Stock Photo Sites for Female Entrepreneurs
If you’re in business, then you know how important great images are for helping your brand stand out online. Quality images can go a really long way in making your website and social media presence look really professional.
But sometimes, it can be hard to sift through all of the stock image options out there. There are so many different options and sites and it can take you hours of Google searching to find just what you’re looking for. But lucky for you, I have done that work for you! I’ve gone out, done the searching, and have found the best free and paid stock photo sites out there for female entrepreneurs.
Take a few moments and browse through the list of free and paid stock photo sites below and then get to work making your brand look AMAZING.
Here are a few things to keep in mind when it comes to using photos in your brand and website…
1. Stock images are a great option if you’re just not quite ready to hire a photographer to take branded images of yourself or your business.
2. Make sure to check the license of stock image sites. Some will give you free reign to use the images any way you want, and others will limit how, when and where you can use their images.
3. If you’re ready to hire a photographer to take branded images for your business, check out my entire guide and free resources to help you plan for the best photoshoot possible.
4. If you are wondering HOW to use these stock images in your brand and website, check out this post where I walk you through this in detail.
Here is a complete list of places to find free stock photos to use in your business...
Unsplash is one of my favorite free stock photo sites. They have a TON of images in almost every category and it’s so easy to use their site. Just search for your favorite stock picture, download it, and use it in your business however you want. Here’s their license.
Pixabay has a variety of free stock photos, videos, illustrations, and vectors. You can simply find an image you like and download without an account. Here is their image license.
Pexels is another one of my favorite free stock photo sites as they have such an amazing variety of images. Just like a lot of the sites above, there’s no need to create an account, you can just find an image, download it, and go! Here’s their license.
Canva has an amazing library of free and paid stock photos. There have actually been a few times when I’ve been looking for specific stock images that I haven’t been able to find anywhere else… but Canva has come to the rescue with some amazing images.
Stocksnap.io has a really great variety of stock images that are completely free. Plus, the download process is super simple. Win-win!
Gratisography has a library full of really unique images! If you’re a fun and funky brand looking for images that stand out… and are a little different. Then this is your stock image site.
Haute Stock also has a paid membership of great photos, but if you click here you can grab a handful of free images to use in your business right now.
Ivory Mix is a paid membership site that also has a free stock photo library of over 550 images specifically geared towards busy, women entrepreneurs. To get in on the free offer, you can go here and sign up for the free account. Here’s their license.
Styled Stock has a lot of really great, FREE, femenine images that you can use in your business. If you’re looking for branded images but aren’t quite able to pay for a membership yet, this is a great option. These images are great for bloggers, lifestyle brands, and entrepreneurs wanting a real-life feel to their brand. Here’s their license.
Feather Blue Studios has a variety of paid stock photos, but if you click here you can download 10+ free images to begin using in your business right now. Feather Blue Studios also has bundles of images that you can purchase for your business.
SC Stock Shop has a great library of beautiful stock photos, but if you click here, you can get on their newsletter to get access to some free images that they will send you.
Styled Stock Society has a paid membership of stock photos for female entrepreneurs, but if you click here you can get their bundle of free images sent straight to your inbox!
And here are some other free stock images sites that I felt needed to be mentioned, but are sites that I don’t use too often.
Here are my favorite paid stock photo sites…
Kate Max Stock has beautifully branded pictures that are great for lifestyle brands and female entrepreneurs. They are light, airy and stunning.
One of the things I like the best about Kate Max Stock is that you have the option to either join their membership, where you get access to the entire photo library, or you can purchase bundles of images or single pictures as well. They also make sorting images by color, style, or category super convenient.
With the Kate Max Stock membership, you can either choose the monthly plan ($29/mo) where you get 30 downloads a month, or you can get in on their unlimited membership for $149 a quarter (or roughly $50 a month).
Ivory Mix doesn’t just have a free image library (listed above), but they also have a paid membership site where you can access their entire library of over 4,000 photos and graphics. An awesome thing about their membership is that it also includes 30 social caption templates a month and Canva templates to use for your business! And the yearly cost of the membership is just $137 which breaks down to $11.41 per month.
Not quite ready to do a membership? You can also purchase image bundles at a low cost.
Styled Stock Society has a beautiful library of stock photos that you can access when you join their paid membership. Their images are absolutely stunning and work really well with feminine, lifestyle brands and entrepreneurs.
Their membership is $75 a quarter, $250 a year, or $495 for a lifetime, which is an awesome option. Pay once and never have to pay again! You also get unlimited download access to their entire photo library while you are a member.
Haute Stock is one of the stock photo sites that I have personally used for a few years. I love the look of their images and they are branded so nicely for feminine entrepreneurial brands. They allow you to search for images, browse through categories, search by colors, and sort images based on if they include tech or people in the images. I love how easy it is to search for the exact images you are looking for in their photo library.
Side note, I also love that Haute Stock includes a variety of images of tech, people, desk tops, etc. I’ve found that some libraries are missing images of people or missing images of tech… this membership site does a great job of including everything the female entrepreneur might need (without being overly feminine).
You can join their membership for $99 per quarter or $299 per year.
Feather Blue Studios has a variety of amazing stock images for personal brands and entrepreneurs, but the brand ‘vibe’ is a little less feminie than some of the sites listed here. So if you’re looking for amazing lifestyle images without feeling overly “girly”, then check out Shannon’s image bundles!
Stocksy is a great stock photo site for anyone looking for images that are a little bit different than the other sites listed above. If feminine and ‘light and airy’ doesn’t really match your brand, then check out Stocksy.
You can pay per image and their image library has a lot of more ‘trendy’ looking images with all types of lighting and colors. The images range from $15-$125 per image (base on the size you need, $30 is typically about what I spend per image).
Death to Stock is changing the world that stock photo sites. Their library includes both videos and photos and you get unlimited access to all images when you sign up. You can get a free 14 day trial to test it out and see if you like the images, and then it’s only $12 per month after that. Their images are trendy and different, which is nice if you’re a brand that wants to stand out. This is a great option for anyone wanting premium images at a really affordable price.
Bigstock is one of my go-to stock photo sites when I’m looking for something super specific. It’s extremely affordable and they have a really large variety of images. You can purchase a monthly play starting at $75, however, I like to purchase credit bundles instead. You can get 10 credits for $35… and it’s usually about 2-6 credits per image, depending on the size you want to download.
With Bigstock, you will get a variety of amazing images at a REALLY great price, but I do feel like their images tend to look more like your posed and staged ‘stock images’ (i.e. full of models), so if you’re looking for something really unique, you might check out one of the other options.
Shutterstock is very similar to Bigstock and is another option for anyone looking for a variety of images for an affordable price. Actually, Shutterstock may even be more affordable than some of the other paid options as their pricing plans start at just $29.
iStockPhoto is one of my favorite sites if you’re looking for a very specific, high quality image that doesn't necessarily look like a stock image. Yes, they have those model-esque images, but they also have a lot of very professional images that look like real life. These images typically run about $12-40 per image, but it varies.
And here are a few other paid stock image sites that are worth mentioning, but that I don’t typically use…
Well there it is! I hope that list helps you quickly find some stock images to use in your business so you can get out there and start posting and sharing with confidence. And if you need help with how to choose which images are the best for you blog, check out my post on how to find the best images that help you convert into new clients and sales!
Always cheering you on,