Pexels

Free Stock Photos and Videos

Open documentation ↗

API keyHTTPSNo CORSPhotography

Verified today: 100% uptime

Is Pexels free, and does it need an API key?

Free. You need a free account and key, and your use must follow Pexels' API guidelines, including crediting Pexels.

Price: Free
API key: Required, free signup
Free limits: 200 requests an hour and 20,000 a month. Pexels will raise the limit for free if you show proper attribution.

How to get a Pexels API key

Create a free Pexels account.
Request an API key from the Pexels API page.
Send it in the Authorization header.

Get a key ↗

Send it as Authorization: YOUR_KEY

Checked by hand on 2026-10-24 against Pexels API documentation and Pexels: is the API free to use?. Providers change their terms, so confirm on their own pages before you commit.

API key

Required, free signup

HTTPS

Supported

Browser calls

No, needs a proxy

Status

Live · 100/100

Overview & Architectural Role

Pexels provides programmatic access to free stock photos and videos. Delivered over secure HTTPS protocols, it exposes structured endpoints designed to integrate cleanly into modern frontend frameworks, backend microservices, and automated data pipelines without requiring local database provisioning.

Who it is built for

Engineers building web dashboards, mobile applications, CLI utilities, or background cron workers in need of reliable photography data feeds.

Architectural Advantage

Consuming Pexels removes the operational overhead of running custom scrapers, orchestrating headless browser fleets, or manually seeding and maintaining a local database. Instead of reverse-engineering volatile DOM layouts or dealing with anti-bot IP blocks, your application connects directly to a standardized JSON interface designed for backend ingestion with consistent schema schemas. Dedicated authentication ensures rate quotas and credential tracking per project environment.

What our checks found

Health score: 100/100
Reliability: 100%
Average latency: 1040ms

Last checked 2026-10-24. Measured independently, not self-reported by the provider.

Core Use Cases & Architecture Ideas

Practical real-world patterns for integrating Pexels into software systems.

Automated SaaS Feature Integration

Embed data and functionality from Pexels directly into application onboarding, profile enrichment, or reporting dashboards.

Architecture: Backend service worker fetches Pexels during user workflows, caches responses in Redis, and hydrates UI state.

Scheduled Reporting & Monitoring Bot

Periodically extract updates from Pexels to generate daily digests, analytics reports, or Slack notifications.

Architecture: A scheduled GitHub Action or cron worker executes a lightweight script calling Pexels, formatting markdown summaries for stakeholders.

Rapid Prototyping & Hackathon Showcase

Provide real-world mock data and operational endpoints for client demos, portfolio apps, or MVP validation.

Architecture: Static client SPA queries Pexels directly to populate mock dashboards, graphs, and interactive UI states without a custom backend.

Code Implementation Examples

Production-ready starting templates with error handling for Pexels.

// Requires an API key. Check the docs for whether it goes in a header or a query parameter.
// Modern native fetch with error handling
async function callApi() {
  try {
    const response = await fetch('https://www.pexels.com/api/v1/resource', {
      method: 'GET',
    headers: {
      'Authorization': 'Bearer YOUR_API_KEY',
      Accept: 'application/json',
    },
    });

    if (!response.ok) {
      throw new Error(`HTTP ${response.status}: ${response.statusText}`);
    }

    const data = await response.json();
    console.log('Response payload:', data);
    return data;
  } catch (error) {
    console.error('API request failed:', error);
    throw error;
  }
}

// callApi();

This API does not send CORS headers, so a browser will block a direct call from your front end. Call it from your server, or put a small proxy in front of it.

Response Payload & Live Testing

Inspect the expected JSON structure returned by Pexels.

Expected JSON Response Payload

Authentic sample payload structure to evaluate schema attributes before integration.

{
  "status": 200,
  "api": "Pexels",
  "endpoint": "/pexels",
  "data": {
    "id": 101,
    "title": "Pexels Sample Payload",
    "description": "Free Stock Photos and Videos",
    "verified": true,
    "category": "Photography",
    "updated_at": "2026-10-24T07:39:46.331Z"
  },
  "meta": {
    "response_time_ms": 1040,
    "cached": false
  }
}

Format: application/json

Integration Considerations & Best Practices

Technical factors to keep in mind when integrating Pexels into production environments.

Implement In-Memory or Edge Caching

Avoid triggering rate limits on public feeds by caching response payloads in Redis, Vercel KV, or standard HTTP Cache-Control headers with a 5-to-15 minute TTL.

Shield Credentials in Backend Route Handlers

Never expose private API keys in client-side JavaScript or bundle environments. Proxy requests through a Next.js API route or serverless backend to keep secret keys out of public DevTools inspection.

CORS Proxy Required for Browser Frontend Calls

This API does not send Access-Control-Allow-Origin response headers. Direct fetch() calls from browser JavaScript will fail due to Same-Origin Policy. Route your calls through a server backend or lightweight edge proxy.

Validate HTTP Status Before Parsing JSON

Always inspect response.ok before executing response.json(). Upstream services returning 4xx or 502 Bad Gateway often serve HTML error pages, which cause syntax errors when parsed as JSON.

Where this listing comes from

Dynamically generate images and PDFs from templates with a simple API

API keyCORSHTTPS

Verified today: 100% uptime

View Details

Pexels — common questions

Answered from what our own scheduled checks found, not from the provider's marketing.

Is the Pexels API free?

Free. You need a free account and key, and your use must follow Pexels' API guidelines, including crediting Pexels. Checked on 2026-10-24.

Does Pexels need an API key?

Yes, and it is free: you get one by signing up. Send it as Authorization: YOUR_KEY.

How do I get a Pexels API key?

1. Create a free Pexels account. 2. Request an API key from the Pexels API page. 3. Send it in the Authorization header.

What are the Pexels API rate limits?

200 requests an hour and 20,000 a month. Pexels will raise the limit for free if you show proper attribution.

Can I call Pexels from browser JavaScript?

Not directly. Pexels did not return CORS headers when we checked, so the browser will block your page from reading the response even though the request itself succeeds. Call it from a server, or put a small proxy in front of it.

Is Pexels still working?

Yes, as of 2026-10-24. Our automated check reached Pexels and recorded a 100% reliability score with a median response time of 1040 ms. We re-check on a schedule, and this page updates with the result.