Overview
Rawpixel was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is a royalty-free stock library focused on design assets, offering over 1,000,000 royalty-free images, illustrations, and vector resources. The platform is well known for its curated public domain collection, digitizing museum and cultural institution archives in high resolution for download.
Beyond its extensive library, Rawpixel offers AI-generated images, editable PSD design templates, and an online Design Maker, covering one-stop asset needs from ecommerce banners and social media graphics to brand visuals. Free accounts can already access 1,000,000+ free images and public domain resources, making it a common low-cost starting point for individual creators and early-stage teams.
Key Strengths
- Million-plus asset library: over 1,000,000 royalty-free images and illustrations spanning 4+ asset types such as photos, illustrations, vectors, and PSD templates, covering most ecommerce, social, and branding needs.
- Free public domain resources: museum-grade digitized archives covering 3+ historical subjects such as paintings, prints, and posters, available for free commercial use — a unique asset pool for historical and vintage design.
- AI-generated assets: built-in AI image generation plus the online Design Maker can produce custom visuals within 1 minute, reducing reliance on professional designers.
- Usable free plan: free accounts can access 1,000,000+ free images and public domain resources at zero cost; see the AI image generation guide for more applications.
- Editable PSD templates: design templates covering 3+ use cases such as posters, social media, and presentations can be downloaded and edited directly.
Product Ecosystem
Public Domain Collection
Rawpixel partners with museums and cultural institutions to digitize archived artworks in high resolution for free download, covering historical subjects such as paintings, prints, and posters — a key source of scarce historical material for designers.
AI-Generated Images
The platform's built-in AI image generator lets users create custom assets from text prompts, which can be quickly composed into posters and social graphics with the Design Maker, ideal for producing large volumes of visual content.
PSD Design Templates
Editable PSD templates covering posters, social media, and presentations can be downloaded and modified in tools like Photoshop, serving as supplementary assets when building design system components.
Free Library Plan
Free accounts can download 1,000,000+ free images and public domain resources for personal projects, testing, and small-scale commercial use, while paid subscriptions provide full-library access and higher download quotas.
Limitations
- Limited commercial photography: compared with Shutterstock and Adobe Stock, the number of signed commercial photos is smaller, narrowing the options for high-end commercial use.
- Restricted free quotas: free accounts have daily download and AI generation limits, so heavy use requires a paid subscription whose long-term cost should be assessed upfront.
- Limited localization: search is primarily English-keyword based with limited Chinese interface and support, affecting search efficiency and onboarding for Chinese users.
- AI licensing checks: the commercial license of AI-generated assets can vary per image, so each image's license should be verified before large-scale commercial use.
Use Cases
- Historical and vintage design (★★★★★): the public domain collection provides scarce historical art material ideal for retro posters and cultural product design.
- Starting with free assets (★★★★★): free accounts can access 1,000,000+ free images and public domain resources, letting individuals and startups begin at zero cost.
- Ecommerce and social graphics (★★★★☆): the large image library and PSD templates cover ecommerce banners and social posts; pairing with image optimization and CDN acceleration improves loading experience.
- Rapid prototypes and pitches (★★★☆☆): AI generation and the Design Maker quickly produce presentation visuals for product prototypes and proposals.
- Brand visual assets (★★★☆☆): useful for everyday brand imagery and template-based collateral, though deep brand customization still benefits from professional design.
Pricing
| Plan | Price | Key benefits |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 1,000,000+ free images, public domain resources, limited AI generation credits |
| Subscription | from about $9/month | Monthly download quota, full-library access, AI generation, PSD templates |
| Enterprise | Custom | Volume licensing, API integration, commercial compliance support |
Note: Prices above are references; please refer to the official website for current quotes.
FAQ
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Can Rawpixel free images be used commercially? Most free images and public domain resources support free commercial use, but some assets still require license confirmation, so check each asset's license before commercial use and compare with the policies of platforms such as Freepik.
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What is the difference between Rawpixel and Unsplash/Pexels? All three offer free images, but Rawpixel stands out with its public domain collection, AI-generated assets, and PSD templates, suiting users who need historical art or editable templates; compare with Unsplash and Pexels for details.
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Can Rawpixel AI-generated assets be used commercially? They can be used in most commercial scenarios, but licenses should be checked per image; for core brand assets, review compliance risks with the AI image generation guide.
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How do I use Rawpixel assets for ecommerce design? Download PSD templates and edit them in Photoshop, export at dimensions that comply with ecommerce platform specifications, then apply image optimization practices to keep pages fast.
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Is Rawpixel suitable for designers? Yes, as a source of inspiration and supplementary assets — the public domain collection and editable templates are especially practical for vintage styles, social design, and proposal production when paired with a professional design workflow; see the design system components guide for asset application.