Why Unsplash Is No Longer Free
Can Unsplash stop producing royalty-free images?
If you are an online writer, or better I say a content writer or blogger, then you must need images for your articles. Though there are millions of images available on Google, you can not just pick one relatable image and attach it to your article. Because doing this may cause you copyright issues (the owner may charge you millions), as you are using someone else’s images without taking their permission.
In that case, you are left with three choices.
Option 1: Going for online tools like Canva where you can edit your own image according to your preference. But their free stock is pretty limited. And the membership is high.
Option 2: Buy stock images. Which is also not a very cost-effective answer.
Option 3: Royalty-free image websites, which are completely free. All you have to do is to give the creator a credit for your content.
Now for obvious reasons, anyone will go for the third option. And this is where Unsplash comes into play. Although there are a lot of other sites available, Unsplash’s stock for copyright-free images is way higher.
This is the main reason why they have been a favorite for users. But now it may come to an end as Unsplash comes up with its new plus membership feature. It can stop uploading new images for free which may eventually end up with a very limited number of royalty-free images.
Disclaimer: This article is based on the author’s opinion.
Unsplash plus
As you know Unsplash was acquired by Getty images in 2021, and probably that is why they have come up with this new plus feature to increase their business. Previously, the business model was based on advertising and free content.
What is the Plus membership offer?
#1 Additional images: Create images only Unsplash+ subscribers have access to. New images are added every month.
#2 Unlimited royalty-free downloads: No download limits. Use as many images as many times as you want.
#3 Enhanced legal protections: All Unsplash+ images are model and property released for use in any commercial project and are backed by Unsplash+ Protection.
Source: Unsplash website.
Is it the end?
The most waited part you were waiting for. Can the Unsplash plus membership model be the hint to the end of free stock images?
The direct answer is No! it will not be the end. The reason I am confident that it will not be the end is that the entire website was based on this model. And, you can not just expect it to stop just because another company bought it.
Although the number of images can become limited and most of the newly uploaded quality images on the website may go under Unsplash plus but it will not stop free images. Because of that in the future, it possibly can get tough to find unique images but as of now do not worry.
Bottom line
See Unsplash has over a million royalty-free images as of now and it will increase over time. No need to worry. Now, even if it gets stops with free meals then there are a few of my favorite sites available that you can give try.
- Pixabay.
- Pexels.
- Freeimages.
- Canva (some cases).
- Burst.
Share your opinion on what you think about the new Unsplash plus. Can it be the end of royalty-free images?
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