Everyone who accesses or uses Pexels content must follow the same Terms of Service, whether you’re using our website, apps, plugins, or API.
You can review the Pexels License and the full Terms of Service here:
Pexels License (summary): https://www.pexels.com/license
Terms of Service (full text): https://www.pexels.com/terms-of-service
Key terms that matter most for API use
1. You can’t sell or distribute Pexels content on a Standalone basis (digital or physical)
The Terms prohibit selling or distributing content “Standalone”, meaning no meaningful creative effort has been applied and the content remains substantially the same (for example: only applying a filter, resizing, or cropping). This restriction explicitly includes selling or distributing content as prints, wallpapers, posters, or on merchandise and other physical products when it’s Standalone.
2. You can’t use or compile Pexels content to replicate a similar or competing service
This includes compiling content to build a similar or competing service, or copying the look and feel of the Service. The Terms also prohibit bulk, large-scale, or systematic copying unless explicit permission has been granted.
3. Don’t use the API to build datasets or train ML/AI models
The Terms prohibit data mining, extraction, scraping, and automated data collection or extraction from the Service or content for unauthorised purposes, explicitly including machine learning purposes. In practice, this means you may not use the API to collect Pexels photos/videos or metadata at scale to train, fine-tune, evaluate, or otherwise develop ML/AI models or datasets, unless you have explicit permission from Pexels.
What this means in practice
Wallpaper apps are not permitted when they distribute Pexels content as wallpapers in a Standalone way, or when they compile content in a way that replicates a similar or competing service.
Printing on products for resale: You can’t sell Pexels content “as-is” on physical goods or as prints when the content is Standalone (for example: only resizing, cropping, or applying simple edits). Also, if a piece of content depicts trademarks, logos, or brands, you can’t use it commercially in relation to goods and services, including printing it on merchandise or other physical products for sale.
For personal use, an individual user can download an image from Pexels and print it for themselves, as long as they are not selling or distributing it on a Standalone basis.