Company Overview
Founded in 2013 by Mikael Cho, Stephanie Liverani, Luke Chesser, and Angelo Sricharoen, Unsplash is headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the world's largest free high-quality image platform, with all photos released under the CC0 license — free for both commercial and non-commercial use. In 2021, Unsplash was acquired by Getty Images for an undisclosed amount.
Unsplash is renowned for its curation model, featuring daily hand-picked high-quality photography. It serves designers, developers, and content creators with free visual assets, and powers hundreds of thousands of apps and websites through its API.
Core Products
| Product | Description |
|---|---|
| Unsplash Library | Core free image platform offering millions of curated high-resolution photographs |
| Unsplash API | Developer-facing API for integrating Unsplash images into any application |
| Unsplash for Brands | Brand partnership program for visual marketing through curated imagery |
| Unsplash Collections | Thematic photo collections for easy browsing by category |
| Unsplash Stats | API analytics tool providing image usage data for developers |
Key Milestones
- 2013: Founded in Montreal by Mikael Cho and co-founders, launched as a weekly 10-photo email newsletter
- 2016: Launched the Unsplash API, enabling developers and businesses to integrate free images
- 2019: Surpassed 2 million photos on the platform with over 100 million monthly active users
- 2021: Acquired by Getty Images (undisclosed amount), continuing to operate as an independent brand
Market Position
Unsplash is the global leader in the free stock photography market, competing with:
- Pexels: Canva-owned free photo and video platform, direct competitor in the free asset market
- Pixabay: Established free stock platform also using CC0 license, competing for individual users
- Freepik: Free graphic resources marketplace competing in free vectors and photos
- Burst (Shopify): Shopify's free image platform targeting e-commerce users
- StockSnap: Free high-quality stock photography platform
- Kaboompics: Free image platform for designers focusing on lifestyle and commercial scenes
Core Strengths
Completely Free: All images under CC0 license, free for any commercial and non-commercial use with no attribution required
Curated Curation: Hand-picked high-quality photography ensuring aesthetic standards and usability
Developer-Friendly: Powerful API serving hundreds of thousands of apps and websites, reducing development costs
Brand Community: Strong collaboration with a global photographer community for fresh, quality content
Getty Images Backing: Backed by Getty Images since 2021, maintaining brand independence with added resources
