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Brief
Unsplash was acquired by Getty Images (Jan 2021)— see Getty Images for current status.
Unsplash

Unsplash

Content Marketing & Creative Asset Technologyunsplash.com

Unsplash provides unlimited access to millions of high-quality, freely usable photos contributed by a global creator community, enabling brands, developers, and marketers to source professional visual content at zero cost while offering advertisers native visual sponsorship opportunities at scale.

Last updated Jul 3, 2026 by the ATDb Editorial Team · Connections updated Jul 6, 2026

Founded
2013
HQ
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Parent
Getty Images
Connections
25

At a glance

Employees
51-200
Funding
$7.25M
Revenue
$10M-$50M
Stock
N/A
23integrations1corporate family1acquisitions
Creative PlatformContent Discovery

About

World's largest free stock photography platform by contributor community and API adoption, operating as a subsidiary of Getty Images

Unsplash is a stock photography platform that provides access to over 3 million high-resolution photos contributed by a global community of photographers, all available under the Unsplash License which allows free use for commercial and non-commercial purposes. Founded in 2013 by Mikael Cho and team in Montreal, the platform quickly became the go-to resource for designers, marketers, developers, and content creators seeking professional-quality imagery without licensing fees or attribution requirements. Unsplash was acquired by Getty Images in April 2021, operating as a subsidiary while maintaining its distinct brand and community-driven model.

Business model

Marketplace with Advertising and API Licensing

Target market

SMB, Mid-Market, Enterprise

What they offer

  • Unsplash Photo Library

    A searchable database of over 3 million free high-resolution photos contributed by photographers worldwide, available under the permissive Unsplash License.

  • Unsplash API

    A developer API enabling third-party applications, design tools, and platforms to integrate Unsplash's photo library directly into their products.

  • Unsplash Brand+

    A native advertising product that allows brands to sponsor curated photo collections, placing their imagery in front of creators and designers actively searching for visual content.

  • Unsplash for Figma

    A plugin integration for the Figma design platform allowing designers to search and insert Unsplash photos directly into their design workflows.

  • Unsplash Instant

    A browser extension that replaces new tab pages with curated Unsplash photography, extending brand and content reach to everyday browsing moments.

Key features

3M+ freely licensed high-resolution photosPermissive Unsplash License for commercial useRobust public API with broad third-party integrationsNative Brand+ visual advertising sponsorshipsPhotographer contributor community and attribution systemAdvanced search with AI-powered visual discoveryCollections and curation toolsIntegration with major design and CMS platforms

Use cases

Sourcing imagery for digital advertising creatives and social media campaignsWebsite and blog visual content without licensing feesProduct mockups and UI/UX design prototypingBrand sponsorship and native visual advertising via Brand+Powering image search within SaaS and design applications via APIEditorial and journalistic illustrationEmail marketing visual assetsPresentation and pitch deck imagery

Customer segments

Graphic designers and creative professionalsDigital marketers and content creatorsWeb developers and product teamsBloggers and editorial publishersAdvertising agenciesSaaS and app developers (API consumers)Enterprise marketing teamsPhotographers seeking exposure

Tech & specs

Technology stack

Ruby on RailsReactPostgreSQLAmazon Web Services (AWS)Imgix (image processing)ElasticsearchGraphQLFastly CDN

Security & compliance

GDPRCCPAUnsplash License (proprietary open license)

Deployment

Cloud

API

Yes

Corporate history
  1. 2013 · Founded
  2. 2021Acquired by Getty Images
    Still operating as part of Getty Images
Connection details
See integrations with Unsplash (23)

Explore further

4 views
On the AtlasCreative & DCORecent M&Aon the TimelineOn the Mapby country + regionOn the GraphNetwork around Unsplash