Google Images is a Google web-based image search engine. It performs two major functions: reverse image search and image search.
So, how does reverse image search work? Easy: You upload an image or enter the image URL as your search query and hit enter. Similar photos, web searches, pages containing the image, and various resolutions will appear in the results.
On the other hand, to use the image search feature, you type a keyword in the Google search bar and click images. You will see all images related to your search query.
The results page is a grid of thumbnails organized from left to right and top to bottom regarding match accuracy. You can filter the search results by image size, color, time, type, and usage rights.
Unfortunately, Google Images comes with limitations. As Google uses a guess to determine if the phrases are linked to the image, you might not receive accurate results. On top of that, some images come with watermarks, and most are copyrighted, meaning you can’t use them for free.
To get around these limitations, this post highlights the best alternatives to Google Images that you can use to search for high-quality images or conduct a reverse image search.
Let’s jump in.
Best Google Images Alternatives
1. Bing Visual Search
Our first Google Images alternative is Bing Visual Search which features a comprehensive image search engine with high-quality images and photos in various dimensions. When you want to search for an image, just input an image URL in the search area from your computer or smartphone.
Also, you can search by using an image as the foundation for your reverse search; you can simply copy and paste the picture on the search bar, and similar pictures appear. Bing Visual Search can detect images with words and convert them to text, which you can then search or copy to your clipboard.
When searching with Bing Visual Search, you have more features to explore than Google Images, including the Who is that? Text recognition, Shop that look, Furniture finder, etc.
It permits you to post photos of animals, plants, famous people, and even famous places. Moreover, this free platform can help you modify the search engine to display photos with or without copyright.
2. Prepostseo
It provides the fundamental capabilities you would anticipate if you are familiar with Google’s image search, such as picture uploading and image URL searching.
Using the reverse image search tool, your uploaded images are safe and secure. It does not save your material in its database or share any of your images with the public.
So, you don’t need to be concerned if you want to search for images. This feature puts Prepostseo above Google Images in terms of data security and user privacy.
In addition to searching image features, the platform has innovative tools which we can’t miss mentioning. It has more than 95 SEO and web management solutions that help more than a million customers build their careers and futures worldwide.
The article rewriter, grammar checker, paraphraser, and word counter are some of its most used SEO tools. You can access the site for free using an Apple or an Android phone or tablet.
3. IDQB
If you are passionate about anime or graphic design, you need to get this free tool. You can use a URL or a file’s thumbnail to upload a picture or find it. The platform supported file formats such as PNG, JPEG, and GIF.
Since IDQB is a multi-service image search engine, it will look for the picture you upload on several websites. In this instance, all websites have an anime theme, including Sankaku Channels, Konachan, Danbooru, and many more.
If there’s a certain site that you don’t want results from, don’t worry; IDQB enables you to activate or disable any of the sites as you choose. I haven’t seen this feature on Google Images.
Also Read: How To Reverse Image Search On Instagram?
4. Getty Images
Getty Images is a stock picture provider with a diverse portfolio of assets. However, the site has a reverse picture search capability. You’ll be able to browse through its massive stock of images depending on the image you had in mind by uploading or dragging it in.
Many of the images on this site have high-quality resolution than Google Images.
The photos you discover on Getty Images are royalty-free for inventive purposes and provide you with a wide range of content options. However, some come with copyright, and you must pay to access them.
The process of uploading is straightforward, and clicking any of the results directs you to the Getty Images page on which you can buy the image’s licensing.
5. Pinterest
Pinterest offers a big collection of photos owing to user-created pins; thus, this is a source you can consider when looking for a specific image. People who love fashion and beauty can use Pinterest to search for whatever picture they need.
Compared to Google Images, it allows you to create pins, add a title to them, and include a destination URL. You can create these pins based on different ideas.
Did you know that Pinterest features a built-in visual search feature? Being an image-based site, it makes sense.
When you see anything in a pin and want to learn more about it, hit the search option in the corner. Next, choose the area of the pin that interests you, and it will show you other similar pins.
You can narrow your visual search findings by topic to discover what you’re searching for. So you can learn more about the name and location if you zoom in on it.
You can get Pinterest on smartphones, tablets, and PCs, and it has applications for Android and iOS.
Explore the best alternatives to Pinterest in this post.
6. TinEye
You can use TinEye to search for an image or get images that look alike online for free. This alternative to Google Images allows you to do reverse image searches.
TinEye continuously searches the web and updates its index with new photos. The platform index now contains around 55.6 billion photos.
You can upload an image by selecting the upload option and then finding the picture you want to look for on your computer or mobile device. Secondly, you can copy and paste the image URL into the search box to do a URL search.
The user interface of TinEye is so simple for a newbie; compared to Google Images, it’s better.
TinEye provides browser extensions for quicker reverse image searches directly from any website. These extensions enable you to use TinEye’s technology to right-click any image and conduct a search for it. Besides, these extensions are available for Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Opera.
You can rapidly switch between the search result and your search image using the TinEye Compare tool. This brings out any variations between the two pictures. It’s especially helpful to examine how photos have been scaled, twisted, or altered.
7. Flickr
Flickr is a unique image search engine since the photos come from professional and amateur photographers who share their work on the site. It comes with more than ten million photos.
This is the place to go if you appreciate browsing and looking for lovely pictures. Also, Compared to Google Images, their pictures are up to date because the photographers keep submitting.
Be careful to filter your searches according to the appropriate user license if you seek images for marketing or commercial projects.
8. PhotoSearch
PhotoSearch helps you to locate all types of photos using its enormous database. Compared to Google Images, it offers a straightforward yet attractive user interface and lets you customize how the results are displayed.
To get the image you want, the platform has a search bar at the top where you can insert an URL of an image, the image, or words to describe the image you want.
Besides, it features topics like animals and pets, cars and motors, travel and tourism, etc. The topics help you to search for the images easily. Also, you have the privilege of knowing the name of the image author.
You can upload images on the platform and edit them because it has editing tools. Additionally, it has a free app that is accessible on Android’s Play Store.
Also Read: Best Search Engines Other Than Google
9. Freepik
Another high-quality image search tool is Freepik. It is a website with millions of pictures in diverse categories. Many of them are not copyrighted; therefore, you are free to download and use them for any goal or purpose, whether personal or professional.
Other images have copyright protection. You can use filters to avoid the ones that are copyrighted. Plus, the filters on Freepik allow you to locate photos based on age, persons, gender, forms, date of release, and other fascinating criteria. This feature gives Freepik an edge over Google Images.
It allows you to create and submit photographs, vectors, drawings, and mockups. Because of its regularly updated collection, you can get the most recent and fashionable images and designs. With every download of your resources, you might begin to earn money.
10. Yandex Images
Yandex Images includes a robust search engine for high-quality pictures, videos, drawings, etc. Its user interface is comparable to Google Images’, and it has many filters, including one for picture format, which enables it to provide search results for PNG, JPG, and GIF images depending on your preferences.
There is a search bar on the site where you can reverse search images by uploading them or inserting image URLs. Its filter will help you narrow down your results.
To access filters, go to the upper right corner of the screen and select Filters. It searches for photos by default without considering the date of posting.
Use the mouse wheel, the keyboard’s PageUp, PageDown, or Spacebar to navigate the search results page. You can load the next set of images by selecting “More images” at the bottom of the page. Using your keyboard’s arrow keys will allow you to see the photos in order.
11. Yahoo! Images
Another website with a sizable collection of high-quality photos and images is Yahoo! Images. With the help of its robust search engine, you can find all relevant photographs instantly.
Yahoo! Images has a search bar where you can input the picture’s name and relevant results appear. You’ll choose from the results what you want.
Also, its filters will improve the search accuracy if you have particular needs for the desired results. Its user interface is simple compared to Google Images.
Although it does not show the photographs within the search engine and instead refers to the website where it is stored, it also allows you to select copyrighted or copyright-free images.
12. Unsplash
You may have noticed that some websites credit Unsplash as the source of certain images or photos. This is because it contains a huge library of high-quality images, videos, and wallpapers that are free for personal and commercial use.
It contains a search field where you can type a keyword related to the image you’re looking for. Tons of relevant results will show, and you can select the ones that match your search.
On this site, you can find many copyright-free images to use for your project compared to Google Images. However, to access some pictures on Unsplash, you need to pay because the picture comes with copyright protection.
Not to mention, you can upload your photo. As a result, the site now has millions of pictures.
13. Search by Image
Search by Image enables simple reverse image searches and supports more than 30 search engines, including Google, Yandex, Bing, Baidu, and TinEye.
On the page, you can choose a picture and do a search using the image URL. This is its standard search mode.
The alternative search method is to choose one picture from the page and use the image file. This search method is ideal for websites, such as private sites, where direct picture linking is prohibited.
It comes with an extension that enables you to verify images. Search by Image platform is popular among photographers since it allows them to examine how their work (pictures) is disseminated on the web. At the same time, buyers find it useful for locating similar things at lower rates using images search.
Compared to Google Images, it has an app for iOS users, which they can access on the App Store.
14. das Image Search and Explore
Das Image Search and Explore has a search box that allows you to look up any image. It lets you view the results in detailed views with full zoom, grids, tables, etc.
This free app allows you to select between bright and dark modes or browse in either portrait or landscape mode.
You need to know it doesn’t give providers access to your search history or personal data. Your search history is only stored on your device. Alternatively, you can have it removed once you exit the program or never have it persist in the first place.
It offers filters that narrow your search by picture type, color, black, size, and white, image layout (landscape, portrait, or square), image genre (photo, line drawing, clipart, or gif), and freshness. It has more and better search filters than Google Images.
15. Openverse
Openverse is a component of the open-source WordPress project. It comes with a search bar where you can insert the name of the image you want to search. It will present relevant results from which you’ll choose the exact image.
This search engine indexes “openly licensed photos from the internet.” This implies they’re either free, in the public domain, or covered by a Creative Commons license. Compared to Google Images, Openverse has more copyright-free images.
It has helpful filters that allow you to focus your search on certain license types.
16. Reverse.photos
Our last Google Images alternative is Reverse.photos. Its image search function is presently only from desktop computers; it is not accessible from an iPad or a mobile device.
So, if a friend shared an image on Facebook or WhatsApp that you’d like to verify, you’ll need to download the picture to your computer before running a reverse image search.
Unlike Google Images, the platform integrates easily with social media platforms. You can easily conduct reverse image searches on Android and iPhone with Reverse Photos.
Simply select an image from your mobile phone’s photo collection by clicking the “Upload Image” button. When you click the “Show Matching Images” button, Reverse.photos will submit your photo to its collection of images and display images that are visually similar to yours.
Users of Tinder and Facebook can search by Image to look up the profile photographs of possible dates. Tourists use it to discover where photos were taken.
All your submitted photographs are hosted confidentially on the Google Cloud and are inaccessible to other users. All photographs are instantly erased from cloud storage within a few hours of posting.
Wrap Up
My favorite Google Images alternative is Bing Image Search. The platform has dozens of images that you can’t miss to get the results of the images you are looking for.
It supports reverse image search; you can also use words to describe an image if you are searching for it. You can get images with no copyright protections that you can use in your commercial projects.
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