Photography — entry 014 of 25
Pexels
Pexels' JSON API serves its library of free stock photos and videos for keyword search, curated collections, and per-item lookups, with photo results carrying several pre-generated JPEG sizes ready to use without further processing. A personal key sent via the Authorization header is the only credential required — no OAuth flow — and a live probe of the search endpoint showed a 25,000-request rate-limit window tracked per key rather than per IP. There is no paid tier: under the Pexels License, images and videos are free for personal and commercial use, with attribution appreciated but not required.
AuthenticationAPI KeySign up with the provider to obtain credentials.
HTTPSSupportedTraffic is encrypted in transit.
CORSEnabledCallable directly from browser JavaScript.
PricingFreeNo paid tier — free for the documented use case.
FormatsJSONResponses can be requested as JSON.
GreatAPIs Score
Score64
Authentication15/25API key required
Pricing20/20Free to use
Docs0/20No docs or spec available
Formats9/15Single response format
Freshness20/20Verified within 6 months
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<a href="https://greatapis.com/api/pexels/"><img src="https://greatapis.com/badge/pexels.svg" alt="Scored 64 on greatapis.com"></a>Auth quickstart
- Sign up with the provider to get an API key.
- Send it on every request as a header
Authorization: <key> - The exact header isn't documented — Authorization is a common default; confirm in the provider's docs.
Stored keyNo key stored
Your key is stored only in this browser (localStorage) and sent directly to the API — never to greatapis.