Report updated May 13, 2026
Pixabay
For content creators, designers, and marketers seeking royalty-free media for commercial or personal projects.
Pixabay is a well-regarded photo & video app that is completely free. With a 4.4/5 rating from 31.1K reviews, it maintains solid user satisfaction. Users particularly appreciate high volume of free, commercial-use assets, though lack of in-app editing capabilities remains a common concern.
What is Pixabay?
Pixabay is a stock media discovery app for photos, videos, and vector graphics, serving creators on iOS and Android.
Users hire Pixabay for royalty-free assets that eliminate the legal risk and cost of commercial content licensing.
Current Momentum
v2.1 · 5mo ago
Maintenance- Last major update July 2025.
- Maintains high 4.79 iOS rating.
Active Nemesis
Kappboom - Cool Wallpapers
By Kappboom
Other Rivals
7-Day Rank Pulse 🇺🇸
Photo & VideoNo ranking data
Rating Pulse 🇺🇸
Recent User MoodAI-powered deep analysis surfacing high-signal insights. Still in beta, accuracy improves daily. For informational purposes only.
What makes this app unique?
How Is The App's Momentum Right Now?
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What Are The Key Features?
Access to millions of photos, videos, music, and sound effects released under CC0 license for commercial use
Creators upload original media directly from mobile devices to the platform
Integrated forum, messaging, comments, and likes for user-to-user communication
How much does it cost?
- Entire library available for free
- No paid subscription tiers identified
The model relies on ad-supported inventory and community-driven content growth rather than direct subscription revenue.
Who Built It?
Canva Germany
View Publisher Intel →Enrichment in progress
Publisher profile available very soon
What other apps does Canva Germany make?
What do users think recently?
Medium confidence · 99 reviews analyzed · Based on 99 reviews. Signal may be noisy.
How did the latest release land?
What is the recent mood?
Recent user voice shows a excited sentiment. Users appreciate high volume of free, commercial-use assets, but report lack of in-app editing capabilities.
What Users Love
What Frustrates Users
What Users Want
What is the competitive landscape for Pixabay?
How's The Photo & Video Market?
How does it evolve in the Photo & Video market?
Pixabay maintains a 4.79 rating on iOS across 1,639 ratings, signaling strong utility for free asset seekers. The lack of a subscription model relative to Unsplash+ creates a revenue gap that limits the pace of feature development.
| Country | Category | Chart | Rank | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇳🇬 Nigeria | Photography | AndroidFree | #97 | ▼18 |
| 🇰🇷 South Korea | Photography | AndroidFree | #135 | ▲24 |
The rivals identified
The Nemesis
Head to Head
Pixabay should lean into its professional utility and licensing superiority while considering lightweight, in-app editing features to neutralize Kappboom's customization advantage.
What sets Pixabay apart
Pixabay provides a broader library of professional-grade vector graphics and video clips for commercial use
Creative Commons CC0 licensing offers superior legal clarity for business and professional design projects
What's Kappboom - Cool Wallpapers's Edge
Kappboom features built-in image editing tools that allow users to customize wallpapers directly in-app
The app is hyper-optimized for mobile wallpaper discovery, offering a more tailored UX for device personalization
Contenders
Implements a daily curation model that encourages consistent user return visits for fresh content
Uses a daily page limit to create artificial scarcity, driving engagement through a premium access model
Provides seamless drag-and-drop integration for professional design workflows that Pixabay currently lacks
Unsplash+ subscription model offers exclusive, high-resolution content that differentiates it from standard free libraries
Baby Hummingbirds
0SpeckTech Inc.
This app competes for users interested in specific nature-themed photography and educational visual documentation.
Provides specialized life-cycle documentation that serves educational needs rather than general commercial design
Offers a highly focused content library that lacks the breadth and commercial utility of Pixabay
Hummingbird Flowers
★5.0 (1)SpeckTech Inc.
This app targets a niche segment of the visual asset market by providing specialized sticker packs and AI-generated nature imagery.
Focuses exclusively on niche sticker assets rather than general-purpose stock photography or video clips
Leverages AI-generated assets to provide unique, non-photographic content that Pixabay does not prioritize
Peers
Provides hardware-integrated gimbal control that is essential for mobile videography workflows
Offers creative studio templates specifically designed for short-form video content production
Specializes in bulk downloading and saving social media content, a utility-focused approach to media acquisition
Includes a video background remover tool that offers quick-fix utility for social media creators
Direct hardware integration with KODAK cameras provides a unique physical-to-digital workflow for users
Includes a dedicated print preview and customization suite for physical photo product creation
Advanced AI-driven generative removal and adaptive presets provide professional-grade editing capabilities Pixabay lacks
Deep integration within the Adobe ecosystem creates a high switching cost for professional photographers
New Kids on the Block
Features a manual motion masking and strobe engine that avoids AI-based processing for authentic motion effects
Enables professional-grade dual-lens recording and Apple Log capture for high-end mobile video production
The outtake for Pixabay
Strengths to defend, gaps to attack
Core Strengths
- CC0 licensing provides legal clarity for commercial users
- Community-driven uploads reduce content acquisition costs
Critical Frictions
- Lack of in-app editing tools limits creative utility
- No subscription tier restricts R&D funding
Growth Levers
- Integration with design software to increase workflow stickiness
- Premium subscription tier to fund advanced features
Market Threats
- Unsplash+ subscription model captures professional creative market
- Kappboom's integrated editing tools drain casual user base
What are the next best moves?
Ship lightweight in-app editing tools because user reviews flag missing edits as a top frustration → increase session duration
User sentiment analysis identifies lack of editing as the primary complaint.
Trade-off: Pause the forum UI refresh — editing tools have higher impact on user retention.
Audit search filtering logic because users request better refinement tools → improve asset discovery velocity
Search filtering is a top-requested feature in user feedback.
Trade-off: Same-quarter capacity available — no major lever displaced.
A counter-intuitive read
Pixabay's lack of a subscription model is not a weakness but a moat, as it keeps the platform accessible to the massive, non-professional user base that competitors ignore.
Feature Gaps vs Competitors
- Integrated photo effect tools (available in Kappboom)
- Drag-and-drop design workflow integration (available in Unsplash)
Key Takeaways
Pixabay wins on library breadth and legal simplicity, but the lack of native editing tools forces users toward competitors like Kappboom, so the PM must prioritize lightweight editing to defend the user base.
Where Is It Heading?
Stable
The stock media market is consolidating around integrated design workflows, leaving Pixabay exposed if it remains a standalone asset library. The PM must transition the app from a passive repository to an active creative tool to prevent churn to integrated platforms.
Lack of in-app editing tools drives users to competitors, which erodes the long-term retention of professional creative users.
High iOS rating baseline indicates strong product-market fit for the current core library, providing a stable foundation for feature expansion.