Bigstock vs Pixabay

Bigstock is a stock-image marketplace offering more than 50 million royalty-free photos and illustrations, along with HD stock video clips. Image downloads come as JPGs, while vector illustrations are available in AI or EPS formats. Subscriptions include small, medium, large, and extra-large JPG sizes, plus vectors. Bigstock provides API access and supports web use. Subscription allowances vary by plan: for example, the 50 images/month plan is $79 a month, while the 5 images/day plan is also $79 a month. Unused subscription downloads do not roll over. Standard licenses do not expire, but each image has an aggregate print limit of 250,000 copies. Use on merchandise for sale or above that limit requires an extended license, priced at $99.00 or 50 credits. New users may be offered a seven-day video trial of up to 35 clips; trial enrollment automatically bills a subscription afterward unless canceled.

Pixabay is a community library of royalty-free photos, illustrations, vectors, videos, music, sound effects, and other media. Its About page reports more than 6.3 million assets. Users can browse on the website or Android and iOS apps, choose a download size, and download media; full-resolution photos and videos require sign-up. The content license permits free use without attribution and allows adaptations, subject to limits: media cannot be sold or distributed on its own, and recognizable trademarks cannot be used commercially in relation to goods or services. Pixabay also offers a REST API for searching and retrieving images and videos as JSON. By default, it allows up to 100 requests per 60 seconds, requires 24-hour caching, and prohibits systematic mass downloads. API users are asked to identify Pixabay as the media source when showing search results. Uploading media requires a registered account. Pixabay is a Canva Germany GmbH brand based in Berlin, and says it reviews reported or potentially violating content using automated tools and human moderators.