Creative Commons Search Tool
Search websites for images you can share, use, and remix. Each image record includes an "Attributions" tab.
Flickr
1 Billion+ photos. Filter by topic, color, usage rights, date, size and more. Use license dropdown menu in search results to limit results to images with Creative Commons licenses.
Google Images
Search keywords or even upload an image. Once you have your results, click the tools and use the "usage rights" drop down to limit to "Creative Commons licenses." You may also limit by word, color, image size, image type, etc.
Pixabay
Free images or videos that you can use freely without attribution. Unlike other large stock media sites all licensed CC0 (Public Domain).
Wikimedia Commons
Images, sounds, and video clips are free to copy, use and modify as long as you follow conditions specified by the author. License conditions of each individual media file can be found on its description page.
Disabled and Here
Images featuring disabled Black, Indigenous, people of color (BIPOC). Includes images of LGBTQ+ community. Licensed CC BY.
EDUImages
Images of real preK–12 students and educators. Predominantly students of color. Licensed CC BY-NC.
The Gender Spectrum Collection
Stock photo library featuring images of trans and non-binary people. Licensed CC BY-NC-ND.
Images of Empowerment
Photo library of women's daily life and work from around the world. Licensed CC BY-NC.
Images of Artworks in the Public Domain.
Nappy
Beautiful images of Black and Brown people. Library is free for commercial and personal use. Licensed CC0 (Public Domain).
Select "Search only public domain materials."
The Noun Project
Diverse and extensive collection of icons to communicate any idea. Available as PNG or SVG. CC0 (Public Domain) and CC BY licenses. Free plan requires attributions.
Open Peeps
Hand-drawn, mix-and-match illustrations. Licensed CC0 (Public Domain).
Free images to be used for any legal purpose. Some images licensed CC0 (Public Domain).
PICNOI
Stock photo library with images of people of color. Licensed CC BY.
Unsplash
1 million+ high resolution images. Free usage. Attribution requested.
Videos
After YouTube, Vimeo has one of the largest collections of Creative Commons licensed videos. It providing tools to find these videos fast enough to matter, and has a designated collections page exclusive to Creative Commons videos.
YouTube (Filter by Creative Commons)
Millions of Creative Commons-licensed videos (among their billions of video collections). Most videos with a Creative Commons License are licensed CC BY. The key is filtering them to isolate the Creative Commons-licensed ones. The link shows you how to do this.
ccmixter
Community music site featuring remixes and samples with Creative Commons licenses. You are free to upload, download, and sample music and stems on this site and share the results with anyone, anywhere, anytime. Each submission is marked clearly with the license that applies to it. Licensed CC BY, CC BY-NC and sliding scale, royalty free.
digccmixter
Search ccmixter by tags, i.e., genre, instrument, and style. Use the "Featured" menu to find music by type of project (film / video games) and type of license. Each song is marked clearly with the license that applies to it. Licensed CC BY, CC BY-NC and sliding scale, royalty free.
Free Music Archive
Offers free access to openly licensed, original music. Many curators, netlabels and independent musicians around the world contribute. Very helpful search filters help find music by genre, curator, instrumentation, usage (commercial), and length. Also allows you to choose any of the six Creative Commons licenses and public domain music. Each song is marked clearly with the license that applies to it.
Videvo - Music and Sound Effects
Free stock videos, motion graphics, and music for use in any project. Good browse experience by mood, instrument, genre. Fun children's music and excellent collection of sound effects. Can be used in personal and commercial productions. Clips licensed CC 3.0 must be attributed.
Jamendo
Extensive catalog of openly licensed music to stream and download for personal use. Not possible to filter by license type, and Jamendo helps artists license their music for a fee for commercial use.
TeknoAXE
Very large collection of music (over 1200), with new pieces added every week. Free to use everywhere. Attribution required. Licensed CC BY.
SoundBible
Large assortment of sound effects for personal and commercial use. Cannot filter by license. Some licensed CC BY and CC0 (Public Domain) for commercial fee. Others are Royalty Free. Check license before use.
Wikimedia Commons
Images, sounds, and video clips are free to copy, use and modify as long as you follow conditions specified by the author. License conditions of each individual media file can be found on its description page.
It isn't so simple to know if you can use, share, and remix work you find on the internet. Here are some strategies for finding license information.
This guide is for your general information purposes only and not to be construed as legal advice. If you have legal questions, please consult with an attorney.
Unless otherwise stipulated, this guide is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Content on this page is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Content on this page adapted from:
Original works licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.