How to choose a source
Start with the style. Flat spot illustrations suit landing pages and empty states in apps, hand-drawn people suit friendly blogs and slides, and classic clip art suits school sheets and print. Mockups are a different job: they show your own design on a phone, a box, a mug or a poster.
| Type of site | Good for | Check before use |
|---|---|---|
| CC0 libraries | Use with no strings in the license | Logos or brands that appear in a file |
| Libraries with their own license | Large, consistent sets | Bans on packs, merch, templates or AI training |
| Mockup sites | Presenting your design in a photo scene | Who made the file and which license it carries |
Then look at the Commercial use and Credit columns. If the artwork goes into client work, an ad or a product, filter for commercial use first and read the source link of the site you pick.
What the free licenses do not allow
Most illustration sites let you use their art in your own projects, including commercial ones, without credit. The limits are about passing the art on as art:
- Packs and rival sites. The unDraw license rules out distributing the assets in packs and building a similar or competing service. ManyPixels and Scale have the same kind of rule.
- Merch, templates and stock sites. The DrawKit license bans selling products like posters, mugs or t-shirts with copies of the art, and putting it in design templates or on stock sites.
- AI training. unDraw and DrawKit both forbid using their art to train or fine-tune AI models.
- Brand logos. unDraw says logos shown in its art are trademarks of their owners and must not be used otherwise.
So placing an illustration in your website, app or slide deck is fine on these sites; reselling the illustrations themselves is not.
Mockups: whose license applies
Many mockup sites collect files made by other designers, so the license belongs to the creator, not the site. The Mockup World FAQ says a free download does not by itself define the permitted uses, and that credit is required when the mockup's license says so. Unblast says third-party items are licensed as their authors specify.
Sites that make their own files are simpler. The Mockups Design license allows commercial and client work without credit, but you may not share the editable PSD files; once you place your design and save a flattened image, you can share that image with clients and on social media. Pixeden asks you to contact it before using a resource in an item you sell on a marketplace.
No Photoshop? Our screenshot mockup generator frames a screenshot in the browser, and the background remover cuts out a product photo before you place it.
Credit rules and non-commercial licenses
Two sites in the list ask for more than the others. The Storyset terms require free users to credit the site; dropping the credit needs a paid Flaticon subscription. The absurd.design free license covers personal, educational and other non-commercial use only, and asks for the credit "Illustration(s) from absurd.design" with a link in each product.
A good credit sits close to the artwork or on a credits page, names the site and links to it. Even where credit is not required, DrawKit, Pixeden and Scale say they appreciate it.
How we checked
For every site we opened its own license, terms or FAQ page on the date shown and wrote down only what it says. We did not use reviews or roundups. Where a page does not mention commercial use or credit, the cell says "Not stated"; that does not mean it is forbidden, only that we found no statement. We left out sites whose license pages we could not open. Licenses change, so check the source link before a big project. To recolor an illustration to your brand, build the colors with the color palette generator, and turn SVG art into images with the SVG to PNG converter.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use free illustrations on a business website?
On most sites in this list, yes. unDraw, DrawKit, ManyPixels, Scale, Open Doodles and the CC0 libraries allow commercial use. The exceptions are absurd.design, whose free license is non-commercial only, and Storyset, whose terms require a credit to the site.
Do I have to credit the illustrator?
Not on unDraw, DrawKit, ManyPixels, Open Doodles, Scale, Openclipart or the packs marked CC0 on illlustrations.co. Storyset and absurd.design require a credit on the free plan. For mockups collected from many creators, credit depends on each file's license.
Can I sell T-shirts or posters with free illustrations?
Usually not with libraries that have their own license. DrawKit bans products like posters, mugs or t-shirts with copies of its art, and absurd.design's free license excludes merchandise and print. CC0 art, such as Open Doodles or Openclipart, carries no such rule in the license.
What does CC0 mean for illustrations?
CC0 is a public domain dedication: the creator waives their rights, so you can copy, change and use the art, also commercially, without asking. Openclipart, Open Doodles, Open Peeps and Humaaans state CC0 on their sites. Trademarks shown in a picture are a separate matter.
Can I give the mockup PSD to my client?
Check the file's license first. Mockups Design says you may not share its editable PSD files, but you may share the flattened image with your design in it. Pixeden bans passing its resources to third parties. On curated sites like Mockup World, each creator's terms apply.