Pixabay

One of the largest free stock media platforms globally, operating as a Canva subsidiary with millions of royalty-free assets

Pixabay is a community-driven platform that provides a vast library of high-quality, royalty-free stock media including photos, illustrations, vectors, videos, and music. Founded in 2010 and headquartered in Germany, the platform operates under the Pixabay License, which allows users to freely use content for commercial and non-commercial purposes without attribution requirements. With over 4 million assets contributed by a global community of creators, Pixabay has become one of the most visited stock media destinations on the internet. In 2019, Pixabay was acquired by Canva, the Australian graphic design platform, which integrated Pixabay's content library to enhance its own design ecosystem. Despite the acquisition, Pixabay continues to operate as a standalone platform with its own brand identity and user community. The platform serves a broad audience ranging from individual creatives and bloggers to marketing professionals and small businesses seeking cost-effective visual content. While Pixabay is not a traditional AdTech company, it plays a meaningful role in the creative and marketing technology ecosystem by supplying visual assets used extensively in digital advertising, social media campaigns, and content marketing. Its freemium-adjacent model — offering free content while benefiting from Canva's broader monetization strategy — positions it as a key content resource layer within the broader creative and marketing technology stack.