12 Top Sites to Download Free Icons and Illustrations (2025)

In today's visually-driven market, high-quality icons and illustrations are no longer a luxury. They are essential for creating compelling websites, engaging presentations, and polished marketing materials. For startups, solo creators, and even established marketing teams, sourcing these assets can be a significant challenge, often involving tight budgets and complex licensing agreements. The good news is that an incredible wealth of free resources exists, provided you know where to look.

This comprehensive guide cuts through the noise to bring you the definitive list of the top sites to download free icons and illustrations. We'll dive deep into each platform, analyzing not just their libraries but also the crucial details: licensing terms, file formats, and ideal use cases. Forget generic lists; this is your practical roadmap to elevating your design projects without breaking the bank. For designers managing multiple projects and client relationships, integrating these assets efficiently is key. A specialized CRM for UX/UI Designers can be instrumental in streamlining workflows and keeping project assets organized alongside client communications.

We'll explore massive marketplaces brimming with variety, niche open-source libraries with unique styles, and powerful tools that let you customize assets on the fly. Each entry includes screenshots and direct links to get you started immediately. By the end of this article, you'll have a curated toolkit of reliable sources, empowering you to find the perfect visual elements for any project.

1. Flaticon: The World's Largest Icon Database

Flaticon positions itself as one of the top sites to download free icons and illustrations, primarily due to the sheer volume of its library. With millions of assets, it’s often the first and only stop needed for designers, marketers, and developers looking for a specific icon. Its powerful search engine and filtering options allow users to quickly find icons by style (e.g., linear, filled, black), color, or category, making it an incredibly efficient tool for any project.

The platform’s user experience is straightforward, even with advertisements present on the free tier. The built-in editor is a standout feature, allowing for on-the-fly color adjustments without needing to open external software like Adobe Illustrator. This is perfect for marketers needing to quickly align an icon with their brand palette for a social media post or presentation.

Key Features and Usage

• Massive Library: Unmatched variety covering nearly any conceivable topic.
• Icon Collections: Organize icons for different projects into shareable collections, streamlining team workflows.
• Online Editor: A simple but effective tool for changing colors and making minor adjustments directly in the browser.
• Download Formats: Free users get access to PNG files, while premium subscribers unlock scalable vector formats like SVG, EPS, and PSD.

The primary limitation of the free plan is the licensing. Strict attribution is required for every icon used, which involves linking back to Flaticon. This can be cumbersome for professional projects, making the premium plan a worthy investment for teams that need high-volume, attribution-free assets.

Website: https://www.flaticon.com

2. The Noun Project: Icons for Everything

The Noun Project has carved a unique niche by aiming to create a global visual language. With millions of curated icons created by designers from around the world, its library is celebrated for its artistic diversity and consistent, minimalist aesthetic. This makes it one of the top sites to download free icons and illustrations for projects requiring a clean, modern, and universally understandable look.

What truly sets The Noun Project apart are its integrations. Its Mac app and plugins for Adobe Creative Cloud, Google Workspace, and Microsoft Office allow users to drag and drop icons directly into their work. This seamless workflow is a massive time-saver for professionals who need to quickly find and place assets without interrupting their creative process, making it a staple in the modern design process in graphic design.

Key Features and Usage

• Vast and Diverse Library: Offers an enormous collection of icons with a strong focus on high-quality, symbol-based designs.
• Powerful Integrations: Desktop apps and plugins for major software suites (Adobe, Google, Microsoft) streamline workflows significantly.
• On-the-Fly Customization: The apps allow for easy color and background shape adjustments before dragging the icon into a project.
• Developer API: Provides robust API access for developers to integrate the icon library directly into their own applications.

The free tier is generous but comes with a crucial string attached: every icon requires attribution. For professional or commercial use where attribution is impractical, the Icon Pro subscription is almost essential. It unlocks royalty-free licensing, unlimited downloads, and full customization features, making it a valuable tool for teams and individuals alike.

Website: https://thenounproject.com

3. Icons8: A Unified Ecosystem for Creatives

Icons8 goes beyond being just a repository for free icons and illustrations; it offers a cohesive ecosystem of assets and tools. It provides a vast library of icons, illustrations, photos, and even music, all designed with a consistent style, which is a major advantage for brands looking to maintain visual harmony across their projects. This integrated approach makes it a powerful resource for designers and marketers who need more than just a one-off asset.

What truly sets Icons8 apart is its suite of design apps and plugins. Tools like the Pichon desktop app allow for offline access to the entire library, while integrations for Figma and other platforms streamline the design workflow significantly. This focus on tooling demonstrates an understanding of the modern creative process, making Icons8 one of the top sites to download free icons and illustrations for teams embedded in these environments. You can learn more about its powerful integrations in this list of the best plugins and extensions.

Key Features and Usage

• Diverse Asset Library: Access icons, illustrations, photos, and music from a single platform.
• Design Apps and Plugins: Native applications for Mac and Windows, plus plugins for Figma, Sketch, and Adobe Creative Cloud, improve workflow efficiency.
• API Access: Developers can programmatically integrate Icons8 assets into their applications, websites, or services.
• Flexible Subscriptions: Offers separate plans for different asset types or a comprehensive "All-Access" bundle, with unused downloads rolling over to the next month.

The free tier is generous but comes with limitations. Users are restricted to lower-quality PNGs and must provide a prominent link back to Icons8. The premium subscription removes this attribution requirement, unlocks high-resolution SVG and other vector formats, and provides full access to the platform’s powerful suite of creative tools.

Website: https://icons8.com

4. Freepik: The All-in-One Creative Asset Hub

Freepik has evolved from a simple resource site into a comprehensive creative ecosystem, making it one of the top sites to download free icons and illustrations. Its massive library spans vectors, stock photos, PSD files, and a growing collection of icons and illustrations suitable for nearly any project. The platform's strength lies in its sheer diversity and the integration of modern tools, including an AI image generator.

The user experience is clean, with powerful filters that allow users to sort assets by color, orientation, style, and file type. For those seeking more than static images, Freepik's integration with sister projects like Storyset provides access to customizable and animated illustrations, adding a dynamic flair to web pages and presentations. This "one-stop-shop" approach saves creators significant time by consolidating their asset search.

Key Features and Usage

• Vast Asset Diversity: Offers millions of vectors, icons, illustrations, photos, and even video templates.
• Integrated AI Tools: Includes AI-powered image generation and editing features directly on the platform.
• Storyset Integration: Provides access to a library of customizable, animated illustrations perfect for modern web design.
• Advanced Filtering: Detailed search options help narrow down the enormous library to find the perfect asset quickly.

The free plan is generous but comes with a significant catch: attribution is mandatory for every downloaded asset. This requirement, along with daily download limits, makes the Premium subscription a practical necessity for professional and commercial use. Premium users gain attribution-free licensing and unlimited downloads, unlocking the platform’s full potential.

Website: https://www.freepik.com

5. Vecteezy: High-Quality Vectors with Clear Licensing

Vecteezy has carved out a strong reputation as one of the top sites to download free icons and illustrations by emphasizing quality and providing crystal-clear licensing terms. It offers a vast collection of vectors, photos, and videos, but its strength lies in its high-quality, professionally curated vector graphics and icons. The platform is particularly useful for businesses that need reliable, commercially safe assets without legal ambiguity.

The user experience on Vecteezy is clean and modern, making it easy to search and filter through its extensive library. A key differentiator is its transparent approach to licensing; each asset is clearly marked as "Free" or "Pro," with explicit guidelines on usage rights. This clarity helps teams avoid potential legal issues, a critical factor for any professional creative asset management workflow. For more details on this topic, learn more about creative asset management.

Key Features and Usage

• Transparent Licensing: Provides very clear, easy-to-understand license agreements, including commercial use with attribution for free assets.
• In-Browser Editor: A powerful online editor allows for customization of colors, text, and elements before downloading, streamlining the design process.
• Curated Content: Assets are reviewed for quality, ensuring a higher standard compared to some other free resource sites.
• Unlimited Pro Downloads: The competitively priced Pro plan offers unlimited downloads and removes attribution requirements, making it a cost-effective solution for heavy users.

The main limitation for free users is the mandatory attribution and usage caps. However, for businesses needing legally sound assets and extensive creative freedom, the Vecteezy Pro subscription offers significant value, including full legal indemnification.

Website: https://www.vecteezy.com

6. Iconfinder: Flexible Marketplace for Icons and Illustrations

Iconfinder operates as a vast marketplace, distinguishing itself with a hybrid model that caters to both free and premium users. It offers a substantial collection of assets, but its real strength lies in its flexible purchasing options. For teams that need high-quality, commercially-licensed icons without committing to a monthly subscription, Iconfinder's pay-as-you-go credit system is an ideal solution, making it one of the top sites to download free icons and illustrations for varied project needs.

The platform provides excellent transparency regarding its licensing, which is a significant advantage for commercial projects. While its free selection is smaller than some competitors, the available assets are still high-quality. The user interface is clean, and the search filters are effective, allowing users to quickly sort between free and premium content, different license types, and icon styles to find the perfect asset.

Key Features and Usage

• Flexible Purchasing: Choose between a Pro subscription for frequent downloads or a pay-as-you-go credit model for occasional needs.
• Clear Licensing: Premium icons come with a Basic License that allows commercial use without attribution, with very clear FAQs explaining usage rights.
• Team Collaboration: Pro plans include features for teams, allowing members to share downloads and manage assets collectively.
• API Access: Developers can integrate Iconfinder's library directly into their applications, streamlining workflows for dynamic content needs.

A key consideration is that even with a premium license, there are restrictions on using assets in logos, templates, or for redistribution. The number of truly free, no-attribution-required icons is more limited compared to fully open-source libraries. However, for businesses needing a reliable source for legally-sound premium icons with flexible payment terms, Iconfinder is an excellent choice.

Website: https://www.iconfinder.com

7. unDraw: Modern Illustrations for Every Project

unDraw is a standout resource for anyone needing modern, high-quality illustrations that can be instantly customized to fit a brand’s aesthetic. Created by Katerina Limpitsouni, this open-source library offers a curated collection of SVG images that are perfect for landing pages, user interfaces, presentations, and social media content. Its key differentiator is the on-the-fly color customization, which makes it one of the top sites to download free illustrations.

The platform’s core strength lies in its simplicity and generous licensing. Users can select an illustration, enter their brand's primary hex code, and watch as the entire library adapts in real-time. This feature eliminates the need for graphic design software for basic color changes, empowering marketers and developers to create cohesive visuals in seconds.

Key Features and Usage

• Live Color Customization: Instantly apply your brand’s color palette to any illustration directly on the website before downloading.
• Scalable SVG Format: All downloads are available as lightweight, scalable SVGs, ensuring crisp quality at any size without slowing down your website.
• Cohesive Art Style: The consistent, modern style ensures that any combination of illustrations will look harmonious together in a single project.
• Continuously Updated: The library is regularly updated with new illustrations covering a wide range of topics, from business and technology to lifestyle.

The most significant advantage of unDraw is its completely free license. All illustrations can be used for any personal or commercial project with no attribution required. While its library is smaller and stylistically focused compared to larger marketplaces, its ease of use and cost-free, no-strings-attached model make it an essential tool for startups and lean creative teams.

Website: https://undraw.co

8. Storyset (by Freepik)

Storyset, a project by Freepik, is a game-changer for anyone needing high-quality, customizable illustrations without the hassle of a complex design tool. It stands out by offering a curated collection of beautiful vector illustrations that can be personalized directly in the browser. Users can change colors, hide specific layers, and even add simple animations, making it one of the top sites to download free illustrations for landing pages, presentations, and onboarding screens.

The platform’s major selling point is its in-browser editor, which allows non-designers to quickly adapt professional-looking graphics to their brand’s aesthetic. The various illustration styles, such as "Pana" and "Rafiki," offer distinct visual themes, ensuring consistency across a project. Its ability to add subtle animations makes it particularly useful for creating engaging digital experiences, similar to what you might find in a professional animated video. These features are why many of the top explainer video companies use similar dynamic assets.

Key Features and Usage

• Customizable Illustrations: Easily change the main color of any illustration to match your brand palette.
• Layer Editing: Hide or show specific elements within an illustration to tailor it perfectly to your context.
• Built-in Animator: Apply simple animations like "pan," "zoom-in," or "fade-in" to bring static images to life.
• Multiple Styles: Choose from several unique and cohesive illustration styles to maintain a consistent look.

The free plan is very generous, but attribution is required, meaning you must credit Storyset. For commercial projects where attribution is impractical, a Flaticon Premium subscription removes this requirement, providing a clear and affordable upgrade path for professional use.

Website: https://storyset.com

9. DrawKit: High-Quality, Brandable Illustrations

DrawKit carves out its niche among the top sites to download free icons and illustrations by focusing on quality over quantity. Instead of a massive, sprawling library, it offers curated packs of high-quality, brandable illustrations perfect for modern product and marketing visuals. The art style is clean, contemporary, and easily adaptable to a company's brand, making it a favorite for startups and marketing teams looking for a cohesive look.

The platform provides a generous collection of free illustration packs, available in both SVG and PNG formats, allowing for immediate use and customization. The user experience is clean and straightforward, letting you browse packs by category or style without hassle. For teams that need assets that fit perfectly into a project's creative direction, these illustrations are an excellent starting point. Ensuring these visuals align with your project's goals can be streamlined with a solid plan; you can learn more about how to structure your visual needs with a creative brief template.

Key Features and Usage

• Curated Illustration Packs: Focuses on complete, themed sets rather than individual assets, ensuring visual consistency.
• Brand-Friendly Style: The clean and simple aesthetic is designed to be easily customized with brand colors.
• Pro Membership: Offers full access to all assets, including exclusive packs, with a clear and affordable pricing structure (including a lifetime option).
• Download Formats: Free packs are available in SVG and PNG, offering scalability and ease of use for web and print.

The main limitation is its smaller catalog compared to mega-marketplaces. While the free library is valuable, many of the most desirable and newly updated packs are reserved for Pro subscribers. However, for those who value a distinct, high-quality aesthetic, DrawKit's premium offering is a worthwhile investment for creating polished marketing materials and user interfaces.

Website: https://www.drawkit.com

10. Open Doodles

Open Doodles is a standout collection of free, hand-drawn illustrations created by designer Pablo Stanley. Unlike massive libraries, its value lies in a cohesive, friendly, and approachable art style that brings a human touch to digital products. This makes it an excellent choice for startups and brands looking to convey personality in user interfaces, empty states, onboarding flows, and marketing materials. Its strength is its focused, curated nature, offering a consistent aesthetic out of the box.

The platform offers a simple generator that allows users to mix and match different illustration compositions and change colors directly on the site. For more advanced customization, the entire collection can be downloaded as a pack of SVG and PNG files. It's also integrated with the Blush design tool, enabling even greater creative control. This flexibility makes Open Doodles a highly practical resource among the top sites to download free illustrations.

Key Features and Usage

• CC0 License: All doodles are public domain, meaning they are completely free for personal and commercial use with no attribution required.
• Composition Generator: Quickly create unique scenes by combining different characters, objects, and backgrounds.
• Downloadable Formats: Get access to high-quality SVG and PNG files for easy editing in any design software.
• Cohesive Style: The consistent, quirky art style ensures brand consistency without needing to commission a custom artist.

The main limitation is its stylistic niche and finite library. While perfect for its intended use, the collection is not continuously expanding, so it may not suit projects that require a vast or diverse range of imagery. However, for a zero-friction, high-quality illustration set, Open Doodles is unmatched.

Website: https://www.opendoodles.com

11. Streamline: The Ultimate System for Consistent Visuals

Streamline positions itself as more than just a library; it’s a comprehensive visual system. Its major strength lies in the incredible consistency across its vast collection of icons and illustrations. Every asset is designed to work together, making it an invaluable resource for brands that need to maintain a cohesive visual identity across all platforms, from their website to their mobile app. This makes it one of the top sites to download free icons and illustrations for teams prioritizing brand consistency.

The platform is built for professional workflows, offering seamless integration with tools like Figma through dedicated plugins. This allows designers to access and customize assets directly within their design environment, drastically speeding up the creative process. The user experience is clean, modern, and focused on helping users find entire matching sets rather than just individual icons.

Key Features and Usage

• Massive, Consistent Libraries: Icons and illustrations are organized into cohesive families, ensuring a uniform style.
• Powerful Integrations: Apps and plugins for Figma, a color editor, and an API (in beta) streamline professional workflows.
• Team Collaboration: Pro plans include team seats and features for managing assets across an organization.
• Flexible Formats: Free packs offer SVG, PNG, and even JSX formats, catering to both designers and developers.

The free offering provides access to specific packs but requires clear attribution for any use. While premium sets are visible to free users, their downloadable resolution is limited, pushing professional users toward a subscription. The paid plans unlock the full high-resolution library and remove attribution requirements, making it a must-have for startups and enterprises building a scalable visual language.

Website: https://www.streamlinehq.com

12. Iconscout: A Unified Asset Marketplace

Iconscout broadens the definition of a typical icon library by positioning itself as an all-in-one design asset marketplace. Beyond static icons, it offers an extensive collection of illustrations, 3D assets, and even Lottie animations, making it a powerful resource for projects requiring dynamic or modern visuals. This diverse offering sets it apart as one of the top sites to download free icons and illustrations for teams needing more than just basic vector shapes.

The platform is built for professional workflows, providing powerful plugins for Figma, Adobe XD, Canva, and other popular design tools. This integration allows designers to access and insert assets directly into their projects, saving significant time. While many of the best assets are locked behind a premium subscription, the free selection is still substantial and high-quality, though it often requires attribution.

Key Features and Usage

• Diverse Asset Types: A major strength is its library of icons, 3D illustrations, and Lottie animations all in one place.
• Powerful Integrations: Plugins for major design software streamline the creative process, allowing for drag-and-drop implementation.
• Online Editors: Built-in tools let users customize colors, edit animations, or manipulate 3D models directly in the browser.
• Format Variety: Supports a wide range of formats, including SVG, PNG, and even glTF for 3D and JSON for Lottie animations.

The primary drawback is that the free offerings are designed to lead users toward a paid plan. While you can find excellent free resources, the "unlimited downloads" and best-in-class assets are reserved for subscribers. The royalty-free license on paid plans removes attribution requirements, making it a practical choice for commercial projects and large-scale creative teams.

Website: https://iconscout.com

Top 12 Free Icon & Illustration Sites Comparison

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Choosing the Right Resource and When to Go Custom

Navigating the vast landscape of free visual assets can feel overwhelming, but as we've explored, the right resource can dramatically accelerate your creative workflow. The key isn't just knowing the top sites to download free icons and illustrations; it's about developing a strategic approach to selecting and implementing them based on your specific project demands, brand identity, and long-term goals.

This guide has equipped you with a detailed analysis of twelve powerful platforms, from the sheer volume of Flaticon and Freepik to the minimalist charm of Open Doodles. The crucial takeaway is that there is no single "best" platform, only the best platform for a particular task.

A Strategic Framework for Selection

To make your decision process more efficient, consider your primary needs through this lens:

• For Maximum Variety and Topic Coverage: If your projects span diverse industries and you need an icon for nearly any concept imaginable, platforms like The Noun Project and Flaticon are unparalleled. Be prepared to manage attribution requirements meticulously, as this is the trade-off for their extensive libraries.
• For Brand Consistency and Design Systems: When building a cohesive visual language, consistency is paramount. Icons8 and Streamline excel here, offering massive, systematically organized families of icons and illustrations. Their consistent styling makes it easy to maintain a professional look across all your marketing materials, from your website to your pitch decks.
• For Modern, No-Attribution Illustrations: For tech startups, SaaS products, and digital-first brands, unDraw and Storyset are game-changers. Their open-source licenses and clean, contemporary aesthetic provide a frictionless way to add high-quality visuals to landing pages and user interfaces without worrying about complex licensing.
• For Unique, Hand-Crafted Aesthetics: If you want to move away from the standard corporate look, resources like DrawKit offer a more artistic, boutique feel. These are perfect for brands aiming for a more personal, approachable, and creative visual identity.

Beyond Stock: The Case for Custom and AI-Driven Creation

While these free resources are incredibly powerful for daily content, social media posts, and internal presentations, they have inherent limitations. The very assets that make your project look good are also being used by countless other brands, potentially diluting your unique visual identity. This is where you must consider the transition from free assets to bespoke creative.

When does it make sense to invest in custom design?

1. Core Brand Identity: Your logo, primary website illustrations, and key marketing campaign visuals should never be generic. These are foundational elements that define your brand and require complete originality.
2. Complex or Niche Concepts: If you need to visualize a proprietary process, a unique feature, or an abstract concept specific to your industry, you simply won't find a suitable stock asset.
3. Achieving a Competitive Edge: In a crowded market, unique, high-quality visual storytelling is a powerful differentiator. Custom illustrations ensure your brand's narrative is communicated in a way no competitor can replicate.

Furthermore, the creative landscape is evolving. Beyond relying solely on pre-existing assets, learning about AI art generation techniques offers a powerful avenue for creating truly unique illustrations tailored to your needs. This approach can bridge the gap between generic stock and expensive custom work, allowing for rapid ideation and the creation of visuals that are truly one-of-a-kind.

Ultimately, the smartest marketing and creative teams build a hybrid workflow. They leverage the efficiency of the top sites to download free icons and illustrations for high-velocity content needs while strategically investing in custom assets for high-impact, brand-defining projects. This balanced approach ensures both scalability and brand integrity, allowing you to create stunning visuals without breaking your budget or sacrificing your unique voice.

When your brand's story is too unique for stock assets, it's time to level up. Moonb provides a dedicated, on-demand creative team to craft bespoke icons, illustrations, and designs that are exclusively yours. Stop searching and start creating with a professional partner who understands your vision by visiting Moonb today.

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