Canva's built-in stock library is convenient — you never leave the design tool. But "convenient" is not the same as "best." For creators who care about image quality, selection variety, and not being locked into a subscription, the alternatives are worth understanding.
What Canva Offers
Canva's stock library has roughly 3 million free photos and over 100 million in the Pro tier (behind a $15/month subscription). The free library is solid for basic needs but noticeably thinner than dedicated stock platforms. The killer advantage is integration — images drop straight into your design.
Canva free: ~3 million photos, limited video, watermarked "Pro" items if accidentally placed.
Canva Pro: 100 million+ assets, video, audio, brand kit.
The Case for Using Pexels and Pixabay Instead
Selection
Pexels and Pixabay together cover over 5 million free assets. More importantly, the quality ceiling on Pexels is higher than Canva's free tier — Pexels curates every submission by hand.
Licence clarity
Canva's licence is more complicated than it appears. Assets downloaded in Canva designs carry Canva's licence, which restricts standalone use (you cannot take a Canva stock photo and use it outside of a Canva design in some cases). Pexels and Pixabay licences are simpler and explicitly cover standalone commercial use.
No subscription required
Pexels and Pixabay are completely free, forever. No Pro tier, no watermarked previews, no accidental charges.
When Canva Wins
- You design everything in Canva anyway and the stock library covers your needs
- You are on Canva Pro and want access to the 100M+ library
- You need Canva-specific assets like brand kits, templates, and elements
When Free Alternatives Win
- You need high-quality photography for a website, ad, or client project
- You want video footage (Canva's free video selection is very limited)
- You want the clearest, most permissive licence for commercial use
- You do not use Canva as your primary design tool
The Best Workflow
Use Pexels or Pixabay (or MediaFlow to search both at once) to find and download your image, then upload it into Canva. You get the best of both worlds — superior stock selection and Canva's design tooling — without paying for Canva Pro.
Related: Free stock photos for commercial use · Best free stock photos for social media · Free stock photos for small business marketing