Is Pixabay Reliable? A Blogger Burned by Copyright Issues Shares Real Experience
Have you ever found a nice-looking image online, used it in an article, and then received a legal letter days later saying you infringed copyright?
I have. When I first started in self-media, I didn’t understand copyright. I grabbed an image from Baidu and put it in my article. The copyright holder tracked me down and I had to pay a few hundred yuan in compensation. It wasn’t a lot of money, but the feeling was incredibly frustrating.
Later, a colleague recommended Pixabay, saying “the images here are free to use without worrying about copyright.” I didn’t believe it at first — how could it be that good? After using it for a while, I have to say this is truly one of the essential sites for content creators.
What Does Pixabay Do? In One Sentence
Pixabay is a free image site with over 2.8 million high-definition photos, illustrations, and videos — all free to download and use commercially without copyright concerns. You can use them on WeChat Official Account, Xiaohongshu, or even commercial ads without anyone coming after you.
What Problems Does It Actually Solve?
Problem 1: Afraid of Copyright Infringement
Ever since that copyright incident, I’ve been very careful about every image I use. Stock image sites charge dozens of yuan per image, which adds up quickly. Free sites make me worry about copyright issues.
Pixabay’s images are all under the CC0 license. What is CC0? Simply put — the creator has waived their copyright. Anyone can use the image for free, including commercial use. No attribution required, no authorization needed.
90% of the images I use in my articles now come from Pixabay. I use them with peace of mind, no longer worrying about legal letters.
Problem 2: Finding the Right Image Takes Forever
Before, finding素材 for a cover image was the most painful part. Searching on Baidu gave poor quality; stock sites required payment; foreign sites had language barriers.
Pixabay supports Chinese search. Search “科技” (tech), “美食” (food), “风景” (scenery) and you’ll find matching images. The quality is high — mostly high-resolution images you can download and use directly.
If you search in English, the results are even more plentiful. For example, searching “technology” returns many more results than searching “科技”.
Problem 3: Not Just Images — Videos and Illustrations Too
Many people think Pixabay only has images, but it also has video素材 and illustrations. When making short videos, you can find background video clips there too. All free, all commercially usable.
Is It Hard to Get Started? Just Open the Website
- Open the official website (pixabay.com), no registration or login needed
- Type a keyword in the search box, Chinese or English
- Browse the results and click on an image you like
- Click “Free Download” and choose the appropriate resolution
- Save to your computer and use it directly
It’s that simple. No account registration required.
How Does It Compare to Similar Tools?
| Comparison | Pixabay | Unsplash | Pexels |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ease of Use | Simplest, no registration needed | Also simple | Also simple |
| Content Volume | 2.8M+, a lot | 300K+ | 3M+ |
| Copyright Safety | CC0, very safe | CC0 | CC0 |
| Image Quality | High-res images | Very high quality | High quality |
| Video Available | Yes, free | Limited | Yes, free |
| Price | Completely free | Completely free | Completely free |
My suggestion: These three sites are basically similar — all free and commercially usable. Pixabay has the widest variety of content types (images, illustrations, videos, audio all available). Unsplash has the highest image quality. Pexels has the best search experience. Bookmark all three and use whichever has what you need.
What Are Users Saying?
@Self-media blogger Xiao Mei: “Pixabay saved my account! I got complaints for using copyrighted images before. Now with Pixabay, I never worry about copyright.”
@Designer Xiao Li: “Pixabay’s素材 library is so rich. I don’t need to search everywhere for images anymore — one site is enough.”
@E-commerce operator Xiao Wang: “I need大量 images for product photos. Pixabay fully meets my needs, and it’s free — saves a lot of costs.”
Summary
Pixabay isn’t some fancy website, but it does solve a very real problem — letting you use images without worrying about copyright.
For content creators, it’s one of the most valuable image sites to bookmark.
Official website: https://pixabay.com/
Safety note: Download directly from the official site to ensure safe素材 sourcing.
Copyright notice: All素材 are under CC0 license — free for commercial use, no attribution required.