Unsplash is one of the best sources of free, high-quality photography on the internet. The Unsplash License permits both commercial and personal use — making bulk downloads genuinely useful for web design, marketing materials, presentations, and more.
The problem is that Unsplash's interface is designed for browsing and single-image downloads, not batch collection. If you need 20 or 50 photos from a search for your project, clicking through each one individually is a slow process. Here is how to speed it up.
Bulk Download Free Unsplash Photos
Download multiple Unsplash search results at once — no clicking through each photo individually.
Add to Chrome — FreeUnderstanding Unsplash Image Sizes
Unsplash serves photos at different sizes depending on where you access them:
| Context | Typical width | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Search results grid | ~400px (thumbnail) | Small grid thumbnails |
| Search results on hover | ~1080px | Larger preview loads on hover |
| Individual photo page (display) | 1080–2000px | High quality display version |
| Download button (original) | 2000–8000px+ | Full original resolution |
| API response with size params | Any (up to original) | Request specific dimensions |
Method 1: Chrome Extension on Search Results
Step-by-step: Bulk downloading from Unsplash search
- Install Bulk Image Downloader.
- Search for your topic on Unsplash (e.g., "forest", "business meeting", "abstract background").
- Hover over photos in the grid — moving your cursor over photos triggers Unsplash to load the larger 1080px preview. Hover over each photo you want to ensure the larger version is loaded.
- Scroll to load more results — Unsplash uses infinite scroll. Continue scrolling until you have enough photos loaded.
- Open the extension — Click the Bulk Image Downloader icon.
- Filter at 800px minimum — This excludes thumbnail-sized images and keeps the 1080px previews.
- Select all and download.
Method 2: Individual Photo Pages for Full Resolution
For the original full-resolution photos (not the compressed display versions), you need to go through individual photo pages:
- Open an Unsplash photo page.
- Click the Download free button (or the download arrow icon).
- Choose your size: Small, Medium, Large, or Original.
This gives you the maximum quality file. The tradeoff is that it requires visiting each photo page individually.
Semi-batch approach using browser tabs
- From the search results, right-click each photo you want and select "Open in new tab" — do this for 10-20 photos at once.
- Switch to each tab and click the Download button.
- This is faster than searching for each photo again, though still requires individual downloads.
Method 3: Unsplash API (Developers)
For programmatic bulk downloading, Unsplash provides a free API. Registration at unsplash.com/developers gives you an API key with 50 requests per hour on the free tier.
# Search for photos and get download URLs
curl "https://api.unsplash.com/search/photos?query=forest&per_page=30" \
-H "Authorization: Client-ID YOUR_ACCESS_KEY"
# The response includes urls.full for full resolution
# and links.download for the official download URLlinks.download_location endpoint (not just download the image directly from the CDN URL) to properly attribute downloads to photographers. This is part of Unsplash's API Terms — important if you are building an application.
Getting Larger Images from the Unsplash CDN
Unsplash serves images from the Imgix CDN and images.unsplash.com. Both support URL-based resizing. An Unsplash image URL looks like:
https://images.unsplash.com/photo-[id]?w=1080&q=80&auto=format
You can modify the query parameters:
w=— Set width in pixels. Remove the parameter or set to a larger value for a larger image.q=— Set JPEG quality (1-100). Higher quality = larger file.fm=jpg— Force JPEG format. Usefm=pngfor PNG.- Removing all parameters gives the original full-resolution file.
? mark. This often returns the original full-resolution version directly.
Skip the Manual Downloads
Collect all the Unsplash photos you need from a single search page in under a minute.
Install FreeUnsplash License — What You Can and Cannot Do
Unsplash photos have a permissive license that is worth knowing before bulk downloading for commercial use:
You CAN:
- Use for commercial projects (websites, ads, marketing materials)
- Modify, edit, and crop photos
- Use without attribution (though it is encouraged)
- Use in personal projects and apps
You CANNOT:
- Sell unaltered Unsplash photos as your own stock photos
- Use to create a competing stock photography service
- Imply endorsement by the photographer
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I bulk download photos from Unsplash?
Yes. Use Bulk Image Downloader on any Unsplash search page. Hover over photos to load larger versions, scroll to load more results, then download all at once with a 1000px minimum size filter. The Unsplash API is also available for programmatic bulk access.
Are Unsplash photos free to use commercially?
Yes, under the Unsplash License. Photos are free for commercial and personal use. Attribution is appreciated but not required. The main restriction is that you cannot sell unaltered Unsplash photos as your own stock imagery.
What resolution are Unsplash photos?
Original files range from 2000px to 8000px wide depending on the photographer. Display versions on the site are typically 1080px. The full-resolution download is available via the Download button on individual photo pages, or by removing size parameters from CDN URLs.
Does Unsplash have an API for bulk downloading?
Yes. Register at unsplash.com/developers for a free API key. The Photos Search endpoint returns photo data including download URLs. The free tier allows 50 requests per hour. The API requires triggering the download endpoint for proper photographer attribution.
How do I get the original full resolution from Unsplash?
Open an individual photo page and click the Download button. Alternatively, take a CDN image URL and remove or modify the width parameter (w=1080 → remove it entirely) to request a larger version directly.
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