Pexels
Pexels is a free stock photo and video platform founded in 2014, serving designers, content creators, and developers globally with royalty-free media contributed by photographers in 170 countries and distributed via a free Image and Video API embedded inside major SaaS platforms.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersFuldabrück, Germany
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What Pexels does
Pexels is a free, royalty-free stock photo and video platform founded in 2014, serving content creators, designers, marketers, and software developers globally. Its core product is a curated library of images and videos contributed by a global community of photographers spanning 170 countries, all searchable in 28 languages and usable commercially without attribution. The platform supplements its consumer-facing website with a programmatic Image and Video API, native iOS and Android applications, a Chrome browser extension, and a Google Slides Add-On. Its free Image and Video API, which processes over 15 billion requests per month at 99.99% uptime, is embedded inside major software platforms including Canva, Google, WordPress, WeChat, Hootsuite, Airtable, SurveyMonkey, Typeform, Sketch, and Figma.
The platform's underlying technology combines a human curation team for quality, tagging, and diversity enforcement with a search and recommendation algorithm refined by over 100 million users. This two-layer architecture underpins both the consumer discovery experience and the OEM-style API integrations that distribute Pexels content into third-party products. Community mechanics — recurring photo and video challenges with prizes, a public leaderboard, a Winners Wall, and "The Level Up" educational series — sustain the supply side of the marketplace.
Pexels operates a freemium go-to-market: all consumer content is free, attribution is appreciated but not required, and the API is free with default rate limits (higher limits available at no cost to platforms providing attribution). The company does not disclose pricing for enterprise API arrangements or any revenue figures, and there is no disclosed venture funding, parent company, or acquisition history. Pexels appears to be bootstrapped, privately held, and dependent on indirect monetization through enterprise partnerships, sponsorships, or other arrangements not visible in the provided source data.
Pexels firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Pexels
- Legal name
- Pexels
- Website
- https://pexels.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Pexels is a free stock photo and video platform founded in 2014, serving designers, content creators, and developers globally with royalty-free media contributed by photographers in 170 countries and distributed via a free Image and Video API embedded inside major SaaS platforms.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Pexels industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Stock Photography and Video Platform
- NAICS
- Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers (516210), Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (519), Motion Picture and Video Distribution (51212)
- SIC
- Miscellaneous Publishing (2741), Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Stock Media, Asset Marketplaces & Licensing Platforms (BPAMAJAM)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Content Asset Libraries & Template Marketplaces (stock, characters, themes) (EDAFAHAI), Creator Music/SFX Asset Libraries & Licensing Platforms (MPACABAM)
Keywords
Where Pexels is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Fuldabrück
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Markets served
Pexels business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Freemium Platform Access: Core platform providing free stock photos and videos to end users. Revenue is not directly generated from consumer users; the platform builds audience and engagement that supports API partnerships.
- API Access Program: Free API access with default rate limits. Higher limits provided free of charge to platforms that provide acceptable attribution. This drives partnership integrations rather than direct revenue.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free access for all users |
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | API Free Tier |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels7 records
Pexels product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Pexels provides a free, royalty-free stock photo and video platform through pexels.com, a public Image and Video API for developers, and mobile apps and browser extensions that surface its curated library to end users. The platform aggregates user-contributed photos and videos from creators in 170 countries, indexes them across 28 languages, and distributes them through direct-to-consumer channels and OEM integrations with major software products. All content is offered under a permissive license that requires no attribution and permits commercial use, modification, and redistribution.
Product overview
Pexels is a free stock photo and video platform offering royalty-free images and copyright-free videos shared by a global creator community. The core offering includes the main Pexels platform (https://www.pexels.com/) for discovering and downloading photos and videos, supplemented by the Pexels API for programmatic access, mobile apps for iOS and Android, a Chrome browser extension, and a Google Slides Add-On. Additional community features include photo challenges with prizes, a leaderboard for top creators, the Winners Wall showcasing outstanding submissions, and The Level Up educational photography series. The Pexels Blog provides resources, photographer interviews, and community stories. All content is free to use under a permissive license that does not require attribution.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Pexels Stock Photo and Video Platform Free, royalty-free online library of stock photos and videos for individual creators, designers, marketers, and enterprise teams. All content is available for download and use under the Pexels License without required attribution, for commercial or personal projects.
- Pexels Image and Video API Free REST API providing programmatic access to the full Pexels photo and video library. Supports curated and trending content, image and video search, and collections across 28 languages, processing more than 15 billion requests per month at 99.99% uptime and used by developers and enterprises including Canva, Airtable, and WordPress.
- Pexels iOS and Android Mobile App Mobile applications for iOS and Android that let users search, collect, download, and upload high-quality photos and videos from their phone, mirroring the core Pexels platform experience.
- Pexels Chrome Browser Extension Chrome browser extension that displays a curated Pexels photo with each new tab and provides quick one-click access to favorite Pexels pages.
Quantifiable outcome
- 99.99% API uptime
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Pexels
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Pexels technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration12 records
AI capability4 records
Feature3 records
Pexels partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- CanvacoreCanva embeds the Pexels video and image library directly within its design platform, allowing Canva users to access the entire Pexels collection without leaving their workflow.
- HootsuitecoreHootsuite integrates Pexels API for stock media access within their social media management platform.
- SurveyMonkeycoreSurveyMonkey uses Pexels video API to give users more ways to make their surveys beautiful and engaging.
- AirtablecoreAirtable uses Pexels API to make it fast and fun to find the perfect photo or video for any project within Airtable bases.
- WordPresscoreWordPress plugin integration allows direct access to Pexels content library from WordPress sites.
- SketchcoreSketch uses Pexels API to streamline image-heavy UI projects, eliminating time wasted searching for filler images.
- GooglecoreGoogle partnership for API integration, enabling Google products to access Pexels content library.
- TypeformcoreTypeform uses Pexels video API to give users more ways to make their surveys beautiful and engaging.
- WeChatcoreWeChat integration partnership enabling Pexels content access within the WeChat ecosystem.
- UnstackcoreUnstack partnership for API integration with Pexels content library.
- FigmacorePexels plugin for Figma enables designers to access stock photos directly within their design workflow.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Pexels competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Pixabay: Pixabay offers free stock photos, videos, audio, and other royalty-free media under a permissive license, directly competing with Pexels for free, community-contributed visual content and for SEO-driven discovery of stock imagery.
- Freepik: Freepik operates a stock media marketplace (photos, vectors, PSDs, AI images) with a freemium model overlapping with Pexels' audience of designers and content creators, while extending into vectors and generative AI tools.
- Unsplash: Unsplash is the most direct competitor to Pexels: a free, high-quality stock photo (and increasingly video) platform with a similar community-contributor model, freemium consumers, and a developer API used by product teams. Overlap with Pexels in audience, content type, and free licensing model is nearly complete.
Emerging players
- Depositphotos: Depositphotos is a subscription and on-demand stock photo and video marketplace serving SMBs and agencies, broadly comparable to Pexels' content creator and SMB customer base but operating under a paid model.
- Storyblocks: Storyblocks is a subscription-based stock media (video, audio, image) service positioning as an unlimited alternative to per-asset pricing, appealing to the same SMB and creator segment that Pexels serves with its free offering.
- Stocksy: Stocksy is a curated, artist-owned stock photo and video cooperative with a premium positioning, competing with Pexels in the high-quality, curated creative segment with a contributor-friendly royalty model.
Broad incumbents
- Adobe Stock: Adobe Stock is the stock media offering embedded within the Creative Cloud ecosystem, integrating directly into Photoshop, Illustrator, and Premiere — competing with Pexels for design and creative workflows with a paid, licensed model.
- Shutterstock: Shutterstock is a global, paid stock media platform (photo, video, music, 3D) with a contributor model and API offering — a broad incumbent that competes with Pexels for both content licensing and embedding in enterprise workflows.
- Getty Images: Getty Images is a premium, paid stock photo and video platform with editorial and creative content, serving enterprises with indemnification; it competes with Pexels at the high end of the same customer use cases.
- iStock: iStock (a Getty Images brand) is a paid, credit-based stock photo and video platform targeting SMBs and enterprise marketers, broadly comparable to Pexels in customer use case but operating in a paid rather than free model.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Pexels social profiles
Digital presencePexels financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Pexels leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Pexels funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Pexels M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Pexels
What does Pexels do?
Pexels provides a free, royalty-free stock photo and video platform through pexels.com, a public Image and Video API for developers, and mobile apps and browser extensions that surface its curated library to end users. The platform aggregates user-contributed photos and videos from creators in 170 countries, indexes them across 28 languages, and distributes them through direct-to-consumer channels and OEM integrations with major software products. All content is offered under a permissive license that requires no attribution and permits commercial use, modification, and redistribution.
Is Pexels a public or private company?
Pexels is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Pexels founded?
Pexels was founded in 2014. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Pexels based?
Pexels is headquartered in Fuldabrück, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does Pexels make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Freemium Platform Access are the primary driver. The others are API Access Program.
Who are Pexels's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Pixabay, Freepik and Unsplash. Emerging players are Depositphotos, Storyblocks and Stocksy. Broad incumbents are Adobe Stock, Shutterstock, Getty Images and iStock.
Does Pexels have an API?
Yes. Pexels offers a free Image and Video API that provides programmatic access to the entire Pexels library. The API supports 28 languages and processes over 15 billion requests per month with 99.99% uptime. It features hand-selected, curated content updated daily, diverse and inclusive search results designed to reflect global diversity, and powerful search capabilities vetted by 100M+ users that learn with each search. Main endpoints include curated/trending content, image and video search, and collections. Default rate limits apply with the ability to request higher limits free of charge with proper attribution. Developer documentation is at www.pexels.com/api/documentation.
What industry is Pexels in?
Pexels's product category is Stock Photography and Video Platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAMAJAM, Stock Media, Asset Marketplaces & Licensing Platforms, with a secondary code of EDAFAHAI, Content Asset Libraries & Template Marketplaces (stock, characters, themes). Its NAICS code is 516210 and its SIC code is 2741.