Comparison

Pixabay vs Unsplash

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Pixabay

Access a vast library of free stock photos, clip art, vector graphics, and video clips. All content is licensed for commercial use without attribution. Easily search, view, download, and share high-quality visuals.

Highlights
  • Free photos, cliparts, and vector graphics
  • Thousands of free video clips
  • Fast search and user-friendly interface
  • One-click image viewer with zoom/pan
  • Direct download and share in all sizes
  • Connect with others via messages and comments
  • Like and favorite images
Features
Read full description

Find free photos, cliparts, vector graphics and thousands of free video clips. All images and footage on Pixabay are released under Creative Commons CC0: Free for commercial use, no attribution required. Pixabay is the most valuable free alternative to commercial stock photo sites. The Pixabay mobile app includes the following features: * Fast search and a user-friendly interface * Swipe through search results * One-click image viewer - optimized with zooming and panning for smaller screens * Directly download and share images in all sizes * Messages and comments allow you to connect with others * Images can be liked, favorited, and easily managed within the app Planned features for the next app version: * Direct image uploads from your device * Show tags and camera info for all images * Manage your own uploads We want to give you the best experience possible with this app. If you have suggestions, which are not mentioned in the new features list - or if you want to report an issue - please write us at info@pixabay.com or visit the Pixabay forum: https://pixabay.com/en/forum/topic-24/

About

Unsplash

Access over 7 million free, high-resolution images contributed by a global community of photographers. Discover new photos daily for any project and easily save and access your favorites across devices. Anyone can contribute, regardless of equipment.

Highlights
  • Millions of free high-resolution images
  • Daily curated new photos
  • Collect and access photos across devices
  • Drag & drop functionality on iPad
  • Contribute your own photos
  • Used for presentations, artwork, mockups
Features
Read full description

The Unsplash app is home to over 7 million free high-resolution images brought to you by the world’s most generous community of photographers. Want in? Beautiful, free images With Unsplash, you’ve got access to over seven million high-resolution photos that are free to do-whatever-you-want with. And with new images hand-selected every day, you’ll find the perfect photo for your next project — guaranteed. Unlimited Unsplash Access When you create a free account, you’ll be able to collect photos to keep coming back to and access them anywhere: iPhone, iPad, your computer — you name it. Drag & Drop Plus, our app plays well with others on iPad. Simply drag your favourite Unsplash photos into any app that supports drag & drop, like Keynote, Pages and Notes. Anyone can join the Unsplash community No pro camera? No problem! You don’t need fancy equipment to start contributing to Unsplash - submitting a photo can be as simple as picking up your phone and taking a few photos. So whether you’re new to photography or consider yourself a pro—your images are welcome here. Make something awesome Millions of creators from around the world have downloaded over 5 billion Unsplash images to create presentations, artwork, mockups, and more. About Unsplash We built Unsplash as a way to empower creativity by sharing copyright-free photography. Today, Unsplash hosts some of the world’s most widely-seen photos, contributed by a community of some of the most talented (and most generous) creators in the world. Curiosity piqued? Come contribute a shot, or spend some time browsing. Make something awesome at https://unsplash.com.

Screenshots

Pixabay4 screens
Unsplash4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Unsplash at none against Pixabay's shown. Unsplash also leads on review sentiment (75% vs 57%) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). Pixabay's advantage is monetization model (ad-supported vs free with in-app purchases) and iOS requirement (16.6 vs 26.0). On price, rating, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Pixabay against 4.9 for Unsplash. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Unsplash has 13K ratings behind it against 1.6K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 57% of Pixabay's written reviews are positive against 75% of Unsplash's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pixabay ships an update every 2 months, Unsplash every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Pixabay versus Unsplash: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPixabayUnsplash
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (1.6K ratings)4.9 (13K ratings) — better
Positive reviews57.1% of reviews74.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1.6K13K — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationAd-supported — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.6 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size17 MB23 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperCanva Germany GmbHUnsplash Inc

Customer experience

Pixabay

All ratings1,643 ratings
Positive95.3%
Neutral2.0%
Negative2.7%
Written reviews466 reviews
Positive57.1%
Neutral11.8%
Negative31.1%

Unsplash

All ratings12,906 ratings
Positive96.8%
Neutral1.0%
Negative2.2%
Written reviews563 reviews
Positive74.6%
Neutral8.5%
Negative16.9%

User reviews

Pixabay

From 1.6K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🌟 Amazing app
  • 🎨 Great source of high-quality images
  • 🙏 Grateful for the talented contributors
  • 📚 Excellent resource for artists and creators

Room to improve

  • 🔍 Difficult to navigate, no back button
  • 🐛 App crashes and freezes
  • 🔑 Frequent log-out issues
  • 🔍 Search function not reliable

Unsplash

From 13K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🌟 Excellent quality photos
  • 🎨 Inspiring and creative content
  • 🔍 Intuitive and easy to use
  • 💰 Completely free to use
  • 🌐 Wide variety of images from around the world

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes and bugs
  • 🔍 Limited search and filtering options
  • 🔒 Lack of account integration and personalization
  • ⏱️ Slow loading times and performance issues
  • 🔀 Difficulty navigating back to previous screens

Bugs and requests

Pixabay

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • No images found for basic search terms
  • Inability to download videos
  • Inconsistent app performance across devices
  • Login issues and frequent log-outs

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add a back button to navigate easily
  • Improve search functionality and filters
  • Implement landscape mode support for iPad
  • Introduce a dark mode option

Unsplash

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Clear all history feature not working
  • Downloading images causes app to crash
  • Widget not functioning as expected
  • Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions
  • Inability to login or create an account

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add ability to follow photographers and see their full portfolios
  • Implement a dark mode option
  • Improve search functionality with more filters and tags
  • Allow users to upload and share their own photos
  • Provide detailed photo metadata and exif data

In-app purchases

None

Pixabay

No in-app purchases

None

Unsplash

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Pixabay free?
Pixabay is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Unsplash free?
Unsplash is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Pixabay or Unsplash?
Unsplash is rated higher. Pixabay averages 4.8 out of 5 from 1.6K ratings, while Unsplash averages 4.9 from 13K ratings.
Do Pixabay or Unsplash have ads?
Pixabay shows ads; Unsplash does not.
Which is updated more often, Pixabay or Unsplash?
Pixabay ships an update every 2 months, and Unsplash every 3 weeks. Most recently, Pixabay was updated on September 23, 2026 and Unsplash on September 24, 2026.

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