Can you use Unsplash, Pexels or Pixabay photos in ads and sponsored posts? Six free stock licences compared

This is general information, not legal advice. Rules change and depend on your country and situation; check the linked official sources or ask a qualified lawyer.

This page is for creators who drop a stock photo or clip into a post: a background for a carousel, B-roll under a voiceover, a lifestyle shot behind a product. The question gets harder when a brand pays for the post, or runs it as an ad. The licence covers the photographer's copyright. It does not cover the person in the photo, the logo on their shirt or the product on the table, and that is where paid posts go wrong.

Every fact below comes from each service's own licence, terms or help page, opened on 7 November 2026. Where a page did not state something, the table says "not stated". This page covers photos and stock video. Music has its own rules, covered in trending sounds in sponsored posts and music licence subscriptions for creators.

Can you use free stock photos for commercial use?

Yes, on conditions. Five of the six say so in so many words; Magnific's terms (Freepik) do not name commercial use, but bar only editorial-only content from it. The grant is broad and the exceptions are where the work is.

• Unsplash. The licence page allows commercial and non-commercial use with no permission needed. The terms grant use "including for commercial purposes, without permission from or attributing the photographer or Unsplash".
• Pexels. The terms of service, last updated 20 October 2026, grant use "for commercial or non-commercial purposes", conditional on avoiding a list of prohibited uses. The licence page names ads, banners and marketing campaigns as uses.
• Pixabay. The licence summary says "Use Content for free". The terms, last updated 20 October 2026, follow the same structure as Pexels's.
• Canva. The Content License Agreement permits "advertising and promotional projects", including commercials, and social media posts. The licence attaches when you export a Canva design that contains the content.
• Adobe Stock free collection. Adobe's FAQ says a free download gives "a royalty-free commercial-use license for that asset".
• Freepik. The freepik.com terms page now redirects to Magnific's terms of use, dated June 2026. Section 8.1 makes free use conditional on a credit to the site and, where applicable, the contributor.

How do the free stock licences compare?

Checked 2026-11-07 Services are listed alphabetically; the order is not a ranking. "Paid ad" means the post runs with money behind it, on your account or the brand's.

Checked 2026-11-07

Two of the six attach the licence differently. Canva's licence is issued per piece of content when you export a design, and "the most restrictive category applies to the entire design". Adobe's free assets come with the Standard licence for photos, vectors and illustrations and the Enhanced licence for videos, templates and 3D, per the same FAQ; one sentence on that page also says all free assets come with "a commercial standard license", so check the licence shown on the asset page.

Can you use a free stock photo in a paid ad or a sponsored brand post?

None of the six texts excludes ads as such. The limits come from what is in the picture.

Pexels names the use directly: "Create unique ads, banners and marketing campaigns". Canva lists commercials and promotional projects. Unsplash and Pixabay allow commercial use without naming ads; neither excludes them.

Adobe's licence terms overview splits the Standard licence by channel. You may "Post the asset to a website or social media site with no limitation on views", and include it in mobile advertising or a digital program "if the expected number of viewers is fewer than 500,000". The Stock Additional Terms settle the overlap: the audience cap "does not apply to Works displayed only on websites, social media sites, or mobile applications". A boosted post that runs only on a social platform is outside the cap; a broadcast or other production with a larger expected audience is not. Free videos come with the Enhanced licence, which lifts the 500,000 limit.

The Magnific terms do not name ads for free users. They do say that content showing "logos, recognizable products, public buildings, public events" or recognisable people in the background may only be used editorially, with no link to "advertising, marketing or commercialization of any product or service".

Who holds the licence matters once a brand runs the post from its own ad account. Adobe's terms, last updated 16 January 2026, let you license an asset on a client's behalf and bind the client to the terms; otherwise "your client may not use the Stock Asset". Canva lets you transfer a design to one client under a written agreement. What the brand may do with the post itself is a separate permission, covered in usage rights and ad codes.

Do you need a model release for people in a free stock photo?

The libraries do not give you one. Unsplash's terms say the licence does not cover "People's images if they are recognizable in the Images", and that you may need the person's permission depending on the use. Canva says releases "are generally not obtained for Free Content" and that you are responsible for getting one. Pexels's terms say a commercial use "in conjunction with the sale or promotion of a product or service" is likely to need consent or a licence, and that responsibility "rests solely and exclusively with you".

Then there is the endorsement rule. Pexels's terms forbid suggesting that "any depicted person, brand, organization or other third party endorses" you, and Pixabay's say the same. A smiling model next to the product you are paid to promote is the textbook case.

Some uses are off limits whatever a release says:

• Canva: no use of a depicted person in ads for tobacco, adult venues or dating services, in connection with political endorsements, or in ads for "pharmaceutical or healthcare, herbal or medical products", including dietary supplements, personal hygiene and birth control products.
• Pexels: no use that portrays someone as suffering from, or medicating for, an ailment; no political context.
• Adobe: no use a reasonable person could consider unflattering or controversial, with tobacco ads, adult venues, political endorsements and implied impairment as examples.
• Magnific: no use placing a person in a negative light, including ads for escort or dating services, political endorsements and birth control products.

For a supplement, healthcare or hygiene brand deal, a Canva image with a person in it is ruled out by the licence itself.

Can a stock photo show a logo, brand or product in a commercial post?

Not without the brand owner's permission, by the libraries' own terms. Unsplash's licence excludes "Trademarks, logos, or brands that appear in Images". Pexels and Pixabay say that if content depicts trademarks, logos or brands, you cannot use it "for commercial purposes in relation to goods and services". Canva grants no right in depicted trademarks, trade dress or logos. Magnific makes such content editorial only.

The UK Intellectual Property Office's copyright notice on images puts the copyright side plainly: you need permission "for exactly what you want to do with it". The library terms add that the copyright licence is only one of the permissions a picture can need.

Can you sell stock photos on merch or use one as a logo?

Not as they are. Pexels's terms define standalone use: using the content as it is, or "solely using a filter, changing colors, resizing or cropping", leaves it standalone, and standalone sale, including on merchandise, is prohibited. Combining it with other images, text and illustrations into a new work is not standalone. Unsplash bars selling without significant modification, "including selling them as prints or printed on physical goods". Adobe's Standard licence rules out a "poster, t-shirt, or coffee mug that someone would buy specifically because of the asset".

None of the six lets a stock image become your brand. Pexels, Pixabay and Canva bar using content as part of a trade mark, trade name or business name. Adobe bars registering a mark that uses a stock asset. Magnific allows it only once the content is modified into "new and different content". Unsplash's pages do not address it.

What do the licences say about AI?

All six restrict machine learning in some form. Unsplash bars use "in connection with any machine learning and/or artificial intelligence datasets". Canva and Magnific bar use "for any machine learning and/or artificial intelligence purposes". Adobe bars using its content to "create, train, test, or otherwise improve" AI systems. Pexels and Pixabay bar scraping for machine learning purposes.

Canva notes that some of its own Free Content is AI-generated and labelled as such in its source information. Adobe's terms say that free assets are not indemnified, so there is no Adobe cover for an infringement claim over a free download.

Checklist: a stock image in a paid brand-deal post

Run every line before the post goes to the brand for approval. Each line comes from the licence texts above.

1. Is there a person in it?

• If they are recognisable, the licence does not clear them at Unsplash, and releases are generally not obtained at Canva. Treat it as needing consent.
• Does the post imply they use, like or recommend the brand? Pexels and Pixabay forbid that without permission.
• Is the brand in health, supplements, hygiene, birth control, dating, tobacco or politics? Canva, Pexels, Adobe and Magnific each bar some of these uses. At Canva, a depicted person cannot appear in health, supplement or hygiene ads. Use an image without people.

2. Is any logo, brand or product visible?

• Signage, a laptop logo, a branded cup, a car badge. Unsplash, Pexels and Pixabay put these outside commercial use; Magnific makes the image editorial only.
• Crop it out or replace the image, or get the brand owner's permission.

3. Who runs the post, and with what money?

• Organic post on your account: commercial use, allowed at all six on the conditions above.
• Boosted, or run from the brand's ad account: a paid ad. At Adobe, a photo shown only on social media has no viewer cap; a broadcast or other production use is capped at 500,000 expected viewers. At Magnific, editorial-only content cannot be used.
• The brand reposts the image in its own ads: whose licence is that? Adobe requires the client to be bound to its terms; Canva requires a written agreement with a single client. Put it in the contract.

4. Is it labelled editorial, branded or education?

• Canva Branded Content is personal use only unless its source says otherwise; Education Content is non-commercial. One such element makes the whole design follow the stricter rule.
• Adobe and Canva editorial content may not be used for advertorials or promotion.

5. Will you sell it or use it as a mark?

• Merch needs more than a crop or filter. A brand logo never comes from stock.

6. Keep a record

• Save the download page URL, the creator's name, the date, and a copy of the licence page as it read that day. Pexels's terms reserve the right to change or cancel the licences they grant, so the version you relied on matters.
• Credit where required: Freepik free downloads, editorial uses at Canva and Adobe, and Adobe in audiovisual productions where commercially reasonable.
• If someone later claims your post, or copies it, the takedown routes are in how to report stolen content.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use Unsplash photos for commercial use?

Yes. Unsplash's terms allow use "including for commercial purposes" without permission or credit. The licence does not cover recognisable people or trademarks, logos and brands in the image, and you cannot sell photos without significant modification, including as prints or on physical goods.

Do I need to credit Pexels or Pixabay?

No. Both say credit is not required but appreciated. Pexels suggests the format "by [Contributor] via Pexels" if you do give credit.

Can I use Pexels photos in a Facebook or Instagram ad?

The Pexels licence page names ads and marketing campaigns as permitted uses. The ad cannot suggest that a person or brand in the photo endorses your product, and content showing trademarks, logos or brands cannot be used commercially in relation to goods and services.

Are Canva's free photos free for commercial use?

Free Content is, including in ads and commercials, unless it is labelled Branded Content or Education Content. Canva says releases are generally not obtained for Free Content, and it bars using a depicted person in certain ads, including for supplements and healthcare products.

Do Freepik free downloads need attribution?

Yes. The terms that freepik.com now redirects to make free use conditional on crediting the site and, where applicable, the contributor. Using content without a credit requires a paid subscription, per the same section.

Is stock video covered by the same licence as photos?

At Pexels, Pixabay, Canva and Magnific, yes: their terms cover videos as content. Adobe's free videos come with the Enhanced licence, which lifts the 500,000-viewer limit of the Standard photo licence. Unsplash's licence and terms refer only to images.

Sources

Opened and checked on 2026-11-07.

• Unsplash, licence and terms (no date shown): commercial use, no credit, exclusions for recognisable people and for trademarks, logos and brands, sale without significant modification, machine learning datasets.
• Pexels, licence and terms of service, last updated 20 October 2026: commercial use, ads named, standalone definition, trademarks and logos, endorsement, sensitive uses, consent for commercial use, credit format, licence changes, scraping for machine learning.
• Pixabay, licence summary and terms, last updated 20 October 2026: free use, no credit, standalone sale, trademarks and logos, recognisable people, endorsement, use as a mark, video, scraping for machine learning.
• Canva, Content License Agreement (no date shown): Free Content licence, content categories, permitted uses, client transfer, prohibited uses including sensitive uses, editorial credit, AI, releases.
• Adobe Stock, FAQ (free collection licences), licence terms overview (Standard and Enhanced licences, editorial use) and Stock Additional Terms, last updated 16 January 2026: Standard licence audience cap, indemnification, client use, restrictions, AI training, attribution.
• Magnific (freepik.com's terms page redirects here), terms of use, dated June 2026: section 8 licence, attribution for free users, editorial-only content, resale, trade marks, AI.
• UK Intellectual Property Office, copyright notice: digital images, photographs and the internet, updated 4 January 2021: permission for the specific use.