Comparison

Unsplash vs Pexels

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

Head to head
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.

About

Pexels

Access over 3 million free, high-resolution photos and videos donated by a global community. Discover diverse and inclusive imagery for any project, from social media to presentations. Upload your own work to inspire others and connect with fellow photographers.

Highlights
  • Unlimited access to 3M+ free photos and videos
  • Diverse and inclusive photography
  • Daily inspiration with trending images
  • Upload and share your own work
  • Organize favorites into collections
  • Support photographers through donations
Features
Read full description

The Pexels app gives you unlimited access to over 3 million free, high-resolution photos and videos. Our beautiful library is donated by a global community of talented photographers who share their work for everyone to use freely. And you can be part of that community. Use Pexels photos and videos as wallpapers, in presentations, on social media, or wherever you choose! The most diverse free photos and videos Powered by an algorithm and curated by our team, you’ll find inclusive, diverse and true photography with every search. We’re constantly improving our results and library, so if we missed the mark, let us know and we’ll fix it. A daily dose of inspiration With fresh, new photos and videos added every day, find your inspiration by browsing the top trending images or curated collections. Pexels is for everyone Grab your phone or camera and join us. Upload your photos to reach millions and see the positive impact your work can have. Not only can you track your success as your photos get viewed and downloaded, you’ll also get to hear from the people using your imagery all around the world—from major publications to meaningful non-profits. Plus, we’ll connect you with the global community of Pexels photographers to help you level up your skills and stay inspired. Give back to artists After downloading, choose to support the photographers who make Pexels possible by donating to their PayPal or saying thanks on social media. Create a collection Organize and share your favorite photos and videos with the collect tool. With a Pexels account, you can save your work on both mobile and desktop.

Screenshots

Unsplash4 screens
Pexels4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Pexels at free against Unsplash's free with in-app purchases. Pexels also leads on iOS requirement (15.1 vs 26.0). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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 — 4.9 for Unsplash against 4.9 for Pexels. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 13K and 36K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 75% of Unsplash's written reviews are positive against 76% of Pexels's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Unsplash ships an update every 3 weeks, Pexels every 2 weeks. Both last shipped on September 25, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Unsplash versus Pexels: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterUnsplashPexels
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (13K ratings)4.9 (36K ratings)
Positive reviews74.6% of reviews75.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings13K36K — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS26.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size23 MB74 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperUnsplash IncCanva Germany GmbH

Customer experience

Unsplash

All ratings12,934 ratings
Positive96.8%
Neutral1.0%
Negative2.2%
Written reviews563 reviews
Positive74.6%
Neutral8.5%
Negative16.9%

Pexels

All ratings36,189 ratings
Positive96.8%
Neutral1.4%
Negative1.8%
Written reviews1,096 reviews
Positive75.9%
Neutral5.2%
Negative18.9%

User reviews

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

Pexels

From 36K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Easy to use
  • 🌟 High-quality content
  • 💰 Free to use
  • 👍 Smooth operation
  • 🎨 Great for creators

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and stability issues
  • 🔍 Difficult navigation and search
  • 🔀 Inconsistent user experience
  • 🔑 Login/account problems
  • 📥 Download failures

Bugs and requests

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

Pexels

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Repeated log-out issues
  • Freezing and white screen problems
  • Inconsistent behavior when switching between app and website
  • Slow or failed downloads
  • Search not working as expected

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to edit/delete collections
  • Filtering options (e.g. orientation, aspect ratio)
  • Improved video functionality
  • Multilingual support
  • Better integration with other platforms

In-app purchases

None

Unsplash

No in-app purchases

None

Pexels

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Unsplash free?
Unsplash is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Pexels free?
Pexels is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Unsplash or Pexels?
Unsplash and Pexels are both rated 4.9 out of 5 on the App Store, from 13K and 36K ratings respectively.
Do Unsplash or Pexels have ads?
Neither Unsplash nor Pexels shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Unsplash or Pexels?
Unsplash ships an update every 3 weeks, and Pexels every 2 weeks. Most recently, Unsplash was updated on September 25, 2026 and Pexels on September 25, 2026.

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