Free Illustrations with No Attribution Required

Why attribution matters (and why it's a problem)

Attribution means adding a visible credit to your design — something like "Illustrations by XYZ". For a personal blog post that's fine, but for a client website, a mobile app, or a marketing campaign it creates real problems:

• Clients don't want third-party credits in their product
• It can look unprofessional in certain contexts (pitch decks, product UIs)
• Forgetting to add it puts you in legal breach of the license
• Some licenses require the credit to be visible on every page where the illustration appears

The clean solution: only use illustration libraries that explicitly allow no attribution use.

What to look for in the license

When checking a license, look for these phrases:

• "No attribution required" — explicit and clear
• CC0 (Creative Commons Zero) — public domain, no requirements at all
• "Royalty-free" — means no ongoing payments, but doesn't automatically mean no attribution
• MIT License — permissive, attribution sometimes required in code comments only

Avoid licenses that say "free for personal use" or "attribution required" if you're doing commercial work.

Best illustration libraries with no attribution required

1. SketchValley — No attribution, free for commercial use

SketchValley offers thousands of SVG and PNG illustrations across flat, hand-drawn, 3D and minimal styles. The license is simple: use anywhere, for anything, personal or commercial, with zero attribution. No account needed, no watermarks.

Browse SketchValley illustrations →

2. unDraw — No attribution, open source

unDraw's illustrations are open source with no attribution requirement. The style is consistent flat design with a customisable primary color. Great for SaaS and tech projects. Updated regularly with new scenes.

3. Open Peeps — CC0, no attribution

Pablo Stanley released Open Peeps under CC0 — the most permissive license available. You can use, modify, distribute, and build on the illustrations without any credit. Mix-and-match people illustrations in a hand-drawn style.

4. Humaaans — CC0, no attribution

Another CC0 release from Pablo Stanley. Mix-and-match human figure illustrations with customisable poses, clothing and skin tones. Available as SVG files and a Figma component library.

5. DrawKit (free packs) — No attribution on free tier

DrawKit's free illustration packs don't require attribution. The style is polished hand-drawn and flat. Premium packs are also available if you want a wider selection. Check each pack's license individually as terms can vary.

Libraries that DO require attribution (avoid for client work)

These libraries are popular but require a visible credit on free plans:

• Storyset by Freepik — attribution required on the free plan; paid plan removes it
• Freepik — attribution required unless you subscribe
• Flaticon — attribution required on free plan
• Icons8 — attribution required on free plan

These are fine for personal projects where attribution is acceptable, but for professional client work the attribution requirement creates friction.

Quick comparison