Where to Get Free Illustrations for Commercial Use (2026)

Last checked: October 2026.

Illustrations make a web page, a slide deck or a lead magnet feel finished. They explain an idea faster than a paragraph and they don't carry the stock-photo look that so many small business sites share. The tricky part isn't finding them, it's knowing which free ones you're allowed to use on something that earns you money.

Free can mean several things in this category. Some libraries put their art in the public domain. Some let you use everything commercially without a credit. Others are free only if you add a credit line, and a few keep certain packs or file types for a premium plan. This page lists ten places to find free illustrations, a mix of well-known libraries and smaller independent projects, with the licence questions you'll want to ask before you download anything.

Free illustration sites compared at a glance

In the Free plan column, Yes means the site's own pages say you can download and use illustrations without a subscription. It doesn't mean every file has the same rules, so read the licence notes further down the page and the licence for each file you use.

Tool	Type	Good for	Free plan
Blush	Customisable illustration packs	Changing poses, colours and scenes in a browser	Yes
DrawKit	Illustration and icon library	Clean, modern scenes for websites and apps	Yes
Humaaans	Mix-and-match people library	Building diverse people for presentations and pages	Yes
IRA Design	Illustration builder	Gradient-coloured scenes made from ready components	Yes
ManyPixels	Free illustration gallery	Matching sets in several consistent styles	Yes
Open Doodles	Hand-drawn doodle set	Playful sketchy images for blogs and emails	Yes
Open Peeps	Hand-drawn character library	Expressive characters with swappable faces and outfits	Yes
Pixabay	Community stock library	Searching a huge mix of styles and subjects	Yes
Storyset	Editable illustration library	Animated and editable scenes for slides and sites	Yes
unDraw	Open illustration library	Flat scenes recoloured to match your brand	Yes

Ten places to find free illustrations, in no particular order

These are listed alphabetically and in no particular order. The descriptions come from each site's own pages and licence wording.

Blush

Best for: Business owners who want to tweak characters, colours and backgrounds in the browser before they download an illustration.

DrawKit

Best for: Websites, landing pages and app screens that need tidy, modern scenes, as long as you're not printing merchandise.

Humaaans

Best for: Anyone who wants to build their own people from swappable parts for slides, websites and onboarding screens.

IRA Design

Best for: Creators who like soft gradient colours and want to assemble a scene from hand-drawn objects and characters.

ManyPixels

Best for: Small teams who want a whole set of illustrations in one consistent style for a website, deck or social feed.

Open Doodles

Best for: Bloggers, coaches and newsletter writers who want a relaxed, hand-drawn look rather than polished corporate art.

Open Peeps

Best for: Storytelling on social posts and slides, where you want characters with clear emotions, outfits and poses.

Pixabay

Best for: People who need a specific subject, season or theme and want to search a very large community collection.

Storyset

Best for: Presentations and web pages that need editable or animated scenes, if you're happy to credit the site.

unDraw

Best for: Websites and slide decks where you want flat, simple scenes recoloured to your brand colour before you download.

What does free really mean for illustrations you want to use commercially?

The word free on a download button tells you nothing about what you can do with the file. The licence does. Here are the common types you'll meet on free illustration sites.

• Public domain or CC0. The creator has given up their rights as far as the law allows. You can use, change and sell work that includes the art, usually without a credit.
• Free licence, no credit needed. The site keeps the rights but lets you use the files in your own commercial and personal projects without attribution.
• Free with attribution. You can use the art for free only if you credit the creator or the site in the way the licence describes. Skip the credit and you'd need a premium plan.
• Open source licences such as MIT. Common on developer-friendly projects. They're generous, but they still ask you to keep the licence notice with the files you share.
• Editorial use only. Fine for a blog post that discusses something, never for advertising or selling a product.

Read the licence on the site itself, not a summary on someone else's blog. Licences change, and the version that applies is usually the one in place when you downloaded the file, so it's worth saving a copy or a screenshot.

What can't you do with free illustrations, even when commercial use is allowed?

Most free illustration licences say yes to websites, presentations, social posts and ads, then list a handful of exceptions. These are the ones that catch small businesses out.

• Reselling the files. You can't bundle the illustrations into a pack, template or download and sell or give them away as they are.
• Merchandise. Some licences ban putting the art on t-shirts, mugs or posters you sell. Check before you print anything.
• Logos and trademarks. You can't register free library art as your logo, because thousands of other people can use the same image.
• Template products. Selling a website theme, Canva template or course workbook that includes the art is often excluded.
• AI training. Several libraries now say their files can't be used to train or improve AI models.
• Competing libraries. You can't upload the art to another stock site or build a rival collection from it.

How do you pick a free illustration library for your business?

Start with how the image will be used, then work back to the licence and the style. These questions will narrow it down quickly.

• Where will the illustration appear: your website, an online course, a product you sell, social posts or printed flyers?
• Do you need to recolour the art to match your brand, or will the default colours do?
• Do you want one consistent style across a whole website, or a single image for one blog post?
• Which file format do you need? Vector files scale cleanly and are easy to edit, while PNG files are quicker to drop into slides.
• Are you comfortable adding a credit line, or do you need art that needs no attribution?
• Will a designer or virtual assistant be editing the files for you? If so, share the licence with them too.

If you're new to the jargon around vectors, file types and colour modes, my plain guide to common graphic design terms is a handy companion.

How can you make free illustrations look like your own brand?

Free art is shared by thousands of other websites, so the aim is to make it feel like part of your brand rather than a borrowed extra.

• Recolour every illustration to one or two of your brand colours before you download, where the site allows it.
• Stick to one style per website or deck. Mixing flat scenes with hand-drawn doodles looks messy.
• Pair the art with the same fonts you use elsewhere. My list of free fonts you can use commercially helps here.
• Crop or combine pieces so the scene fits your message, rather than using a stock composition as it comes.
• Use illustrations to explain something, such as a process or a before-and-after, not just to fill space.

If you'd like to understand why this matters for engagement, I've written about the benefits of graphic design in social media marketing.

When is it worth commissioning illustrations instead?

Free libraries are great for websites, blog posts and slides. They're less suited to anything that has to be unique to you, such as a logo, a mascot, a book cover or product packaging. If your illustration is part of what customers recognise you by, it's worth hiring an illustrator so you own the rights and nobody else can use the same art. My guide on hiring a remote graphic designer walks through how to brief one.

Do you make free illustrations or an illustration tool? Tool makers can ask to be considered for a featured place on this list.

Final checks before you download free illustrations

Before you add any free illustration to a page that sells something, open the licence on the site, confirm commercial use is allowed for that file, note whether a credit is needed, and save a copy of the wording with the date. It takes two minutes and saves an awkward email later.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use free illustrations on my business website?

Usually yes, if the site's licence allows commercial use. Many free libraries do, but some need a credit line and some files are marked for editorial use only. Check the licence for each file.

Do I need to credit free illustrations?

It depends on the licence. Public domain and many free libraries don't need a credit, while others are free only when you credit the site or creator. The licence page will say.

Can I use free illustrations in a logo?

It's not a good idea. Most free libraries don't allow it or say you can't trademark their art, because anyone else can use the same image. Commission an original logo instead.

Can I put free illustrations on products I sell?

Some licences allow it and some ban merchandise such as t-shirts, mugs and posters. Read the licence before you print anything you plan to sell.

Are free illustrations safe to use in an online course or ebook?

Often yes, as part of a larger piece of your own work. What's usually banned is selling or sharing the illustrations on their own or inside a template, so check the licence.