Pexels Scraper: Stock Photos & Videos, No API Key

Scrape Pexels stock photos and videos without a Pexels API key. A simple alternative to the Pexels API when you want a ready dataset instead of building an integration.

Get direct image renditions, downloadable MP4 files, creator attribution, tags, dimensions, duration, colors, and Pexels license details in one structured dataset. Add views, downloads, likes and camera data with one switch.

Collect by keyword, URL, media ID, creator, collection, similar media or the curated feed, and filter by orientation, size, people, resolution and video length.

What does this Pexels scraper do?

The Actor reads public Pexels data through a real browser session and converts media records into clean JSON, CSV, Excel, XML, RSS, or JSONL exports.

It can:

• 🔎 search photos by one or more topics;
• 🎥 search videos by one or more topics;
• 🔗 extract exact Pexels photos and videos by URL or numeric ID;
• 👤 export a creator's portfolio;
• 🗂️ export a Pexels collection;
• 🧲 find media similar to a photo or video;
• ⭐ collect the curated photo and video feeds;
• 📐 filter by orientation, size, people, resolution and video length;
• 📊 add views, downloads, likes and camera data;
• 📦 collect direct files and multiple renditions;
• 👤 preserve creator attribution and profile links;
• 🏷️ export tags, dimensions, colors, duration, and FPS;
• ⚖️ include the Pexels license name and URL;
• ♻️ remove duplicate media IDs across inputs.

No Pexels login or API key is required.

Who is this Pexels scraper for?

Content and social teams

Build repeatable asset shortlists for campaigns, editorial calendars, landing pages, and newsletters.

Designers and creative producers

Compare portrait, landscape, and square media and download the rendition that fits each placement.

Publishers and SEO teams

Enrich articles and content briefs with stock-media options while retaining attribution and source links.

AI and data teams

Create transparent media metadata datasets with source, creator, tag, dimension, and license provenance.

Developers and automation builders

Feed Pexels search results into DAM systems, content pipelines, spreadsheets, webhooks, or custom applications.

Why use this Actor?

The public Pexels website contains more metadata than a simple image-link collector usually preserves.

This Actor normalizes photo and video records into one stable contract.

You receive both a convenient primary download URL and a full renditions array.

A browser session handles the public website even when ordinary HTTP requests are rejected.

A global result limit keeps usage predictable, and every run ends with a status such as "Got 100 of 100" or the reason it stopped early.

Optional Apify Proxy settings provide a recovery path when Pexels challenges your location.

Supported Pexels inputs

Use queries for topic discovery.

Examples include:

• coffee
• remote work
• ocean waves
• sustainable energy

Use startUrls for:

• Pexels photo search URLs;
• Pexels video search URLs;
• exact Pexels photo pages;
• exact Pexels video pages;
• creator pages such as https://www.pexels.com/@pixabay/;
• collection pages such as https://www.pexels.com/collections/coffee-beans-52hiqzw/;
• the /photos/ and /videos/ galleries and the home page.

A photo or video URL also works with only its number, such as https://www.pexels.com/video/1409899/.

Use mediaIds, usernames, collections, similarTo and curated when you prefer plain values to URLs.

Only public pexels.com routes are accepted.

How to scrape Pexels photos and videos

1. Open the Actor input page.
2. Add search keywords, Pexels URLs, media IDs, creators or collections.
3. Choose Photos, Videos, or Photos and videos, and any filters.
4. Set a small maxResults value for your first run.
5. Click Start.
6. Preview results in the dataset table.
7. Export the dataset or connect it to another service.

For exact asset lookup, paste a photo or video detail URL and set maxResults to 1.

Input reference

Field	Type	Default	Description
queries	string array	[]	Pexels search topics.
startUrls	URL array	[]	Public Pexels search, gallery, photo, or video URLs.
mediaIds	string array	[]	Numeric photo or video IDs.
usernames	string array	[]	Creator usernames or profile URLs.
collections	string array	[]	Collection slugs or URLs.
similarTo	string array	[]	Photo or video IDs or URLs to find similar media for.
curated	boolean	false	Also collect the curated feed.
mediaType	string	photos	photos, videos, or all.
orientation	string	any	any, landscape, portrait, or square.
size	string	any	any, large, or medium. Keywords and search URLs only.
peopleCount	string	any	any, 0, 1, or 2. Keywords and search URLs only.
minWidth, minHeight	integer	none	Minimum dimensions in pixels.
minDuration, maxDuration	integer	none	Video length in seconds. Needs mediaType videos or all.
includeDetails	boolean	false	Add views, downloads, likes and camera data. Slower.
maxResults	integer	20	Global result cap from 1 to 10,000.
proxyConfiguration	object	none	Optional Apify Proxy settings.

Provide at least one input.

A URL in startUrls returns what that page shows, regardless of mediaType. Filters apply to everything except exact IDs and exact photo or video URLs.

Example: photo search

{
  "queries": ["coffee shop", "remote work"],
  "mediaType": "photos",
  "maxResults": 25
}

Example: photo and video search

{
  "queries": ["ocean waves"],
  "mediaType": "all",
  "maxResults": 40
}

Example: exact assets

{
  "startUrls": [
    { "url": "https://www.pexels.com/photo/cup-of-coffee-on-saucer-459489/" },
    { "url": "https://www.pexels.com/video/sea-waves-rushing-to-the-shore-1409899/" }
  ],
  "maxResults": 2
}

Example: filtered 4K landscape videos

{
  "queries": ["ocean waves"],
  "mediaType": "videos",
  "orientation": "landscape",
  "minWidth": 3840,
  "minDuration": 10,
  "maxDuration": 30,
  "maxResults": 50
}

Example: a creator's portfolio with engagement data

{
  "usernames": ["pixabay"],
  "mediaType": "all",
  "includeDetails": true,
  "maxResults": 50
}

Example: a collection and similar media

{
  "collections": ["coffee-beans-52hiqzw"],
  "similarTo": ["459489"],
  "maxResults": 40
}

What data can you extract from Pexels?

Field	Description
mediaId	Stable Pexels media ID.
mediaType	photo or video.
title	Pexels media title or alt text.
description	Human-readable media description.
creator	Creator ID, name, profile, location, and available socials.
attribution	Ready-to-store attribution text.
tags	Search and subject tags.
width, height	Original media dimensions.
aspectRatio	Numeric width-to-height ratio.
orientation	landscape, portrait, or square.
duration	Video duration in seconds.
fps	Video frames per second.
detailUrl	Canonical public Pexels page.
thumbnailUrl	Preview image URL.
primaryDownloadUrl	Preferred direct media/download URL.
renditions	Available photo sizes or video quality files.
dominantColor, colors	Available Pexels color metadata.
licenseName, licenseUrl	License provenance.
query, sourceUrl	Input provenance.
publishedAt, scrapedAt	Publication and collection timestamps.
views, downloads, likes	Lifetime counts. With includeDetails.
camera, cameraMake, aperture, focalLength, iso, shutterSpeed	Camera facts of photos, null when the photographer did not publish them. With includeDetails.
photographedAt, fileSizeBytes, location, latitude, longitude	Photo facts, null when unpublished. With includeDetails.

Output example

{
  "mediaId": "459489",
  "mediaType": "photo",
  "title": "Cup of Coffee on Saucer",
  "description": "A beautifully crafted latte with heart-shaped art in a blue cup on a wooden table.",
  "creator": {
    "id": "2659",
    "name": "Pixabay",
    "profileUrl": "https://www.pexels.com/@pixabay-2659/"
  },
  "attribution": "Photo by Pixabay on Pexels",
  "tags": ["Coffee", "Cup", "Latte"],
  "width": 1920,
  "height": 1280,
  "orientation": "landscape",
  "detailUrl": "https://www.pexels.com/photo/cup-of-coffee-on-saucer-459489/",
  "thumbnailUrl": "https://images.pexels.com/photos/459489/pexels-photo-459489.jpeg?auto=compress&cs=tinysrgb&w=750",
  "primaryDownloadUrl": "https://images.pexels.com/photos/459489/pexels-photo-459489.jpeg",
  "licenseName": "Pexels",
  "licenseUrl": "https://www.pexels.com/license/",
  "query": "coffee",
  "scrapedAt": "2026-07-20T00:00:00.000Z"
}

Fields unavailable for a media type are omitted rather than filled with misleading values.

Direct downloads and renditions

Photo records include small, medium, large, and original/download variants when Pexels exposes them.

Video records include direct MP4 files with their width, height, FPS, MIME type, and available download URL.

primaryDownloadUrl is convenient for simple workflows.

Use renditions when you need to choose a specific resolution or quality.

Always preserve detailUrl, creator, and license fields alongside downloaded assets.

How much does it cost to scrape Pexels media?

The Actor uses pay-per-event pricing.

A run currently has a $0.005 start fee, charged with the first saved record, plus a tiered price per saved media record. A run that saves nothing costs nothing.

The BRONZE reference price is $0.0010075 per record, with lower per-record prices on higher Apify plans.

For example, 25 records at the BRONZE rate cost about $0.0302 including the start fee.

From 2026-11-13 the price will be $0.00047018 per record at BRONZE, with the same start fee and lower prices on higher plans.

includeDetails does not change the price per record.

You are charged for records successfully written to the dataset, not for duplicates that are skipped.

Actual platform usage and plan-specific prices are shown before every run in Apify Console.

Tips for reliable Pexels extraction

• Begin with 10–20 records to validate your keywords.
• Use specific multi-word topics for more relevant assets.
• Split unrelated campaigns into separate runs for clearer provenance.
• Use media IDs or direct detail URLs when you already know the desired asset.
• Filter with orientation, minWidth and video length rather than filtering the export afterwards.
• Enable Apify residential proxy only if direct access is repeatedly challenged.
• Keep creator attribution and license URLs in downstream exports.
• Prefer rendition dimensions instead of guessing file quality from URL text.

Pagination and deduplication

The Actor follows pages until the global result cap or the source's available pages are reached. It uses Pexels' public browser JSON routes within an anonymous session; blocked sessions are renewed with bounded retries.

Pexels shows at most 480 results for one search, whatever total it reports. When you ask for more, the Actor continues through landscape, portrait and square results, up to about 1,440 per keyword. Add more keywords to go further. Creators, collections and the curated feed have no such limit.

The maximum is a cap, not a guarantee of that many results. Partial source failures retain already saved records and are reported in the run's status message and log. A run close to its timeout stops cleanly and keeps what it saved. Browser setup and cleanup have deadlines so a stalled browser operation fails clearly rather than waiting indefinitely.

Results are deduplicated by mediaType and mediaId.

If the same photo appears under two keywords, only the first occurrence is saved.

The first source/query remains available in sourceUrl and query.

Integrations

Google Sheets and Airtable

Export a campaign shortlist for review, filtering, and creative approval.

Webhooks and Make

Trigger an automation when a run finishes, then route direct asset links into a publishing workflow.

Zapier

Send new dataset records to project-management or content-planning tools.

Cloud storage and DAM systems

Download a chosen rendition and store its Pexels attribution beside the binary asset.

AI pipelines

Use descriptions, tags, orientation, and dimensions to select media before expensive vision processing.

Use the Pexels scraper API

The Actor ID is automation-lab/pexels-stock-media-scraper.

Node.js

import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: process.env.APIFY_TOKEN });
const run = await client.actor('automation-lab/pexels-stock-media-scraper').call({
  queries: ['sustainable energy'],
  mediaType: 'all',
  maxResults: 20,
});
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
console.log(items);

Python

from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient(token='YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN')
run = client.actor('automation-lab/pexels-stock-media-scraper').call(run_input={
    'queries': ['sustainable energy'],
    'mediaType': 'photos',
    'maxResults': 20,
})
items = client.dataset(run['defaultDatasetId']).list_items().items
print(items)

cURL

curl -X POST \
  'https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/automation-lab~pexels-stock-media-scraper/runs?token=YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"queries":["ocean waves"],"mediaType":"videos","maxResults":10}'

Use with Apify MCP

Connect AI assistants to this Actor through the Apify MCP server.

Claude Code

claude mcp add --transport http apify \
  'https://mcp.apify.com?tools=automation-lab/pexels-stock-media-scraper'

Claude Desktop

Add this server in Settings → Developer → Edit Config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "apify": {
      "url": "https://mcp.apify.com?tools=automation-lab/pexels-stock-media-scraper"
    }
  }
}

Cursor

Open Settings → Tools & Integrations → MCP Tools, add a remote HTTP server, and use:

https://mcp.apify.com?tools=automation-lab/pexels-stock-media-scraper

VS Code

Open MCP: Add Server from the Command Palette, choose HTTP, and enter the same actor-specific MCP URL.

Example prompts

• “Find 20 portrait photos about remote teamwork and return direct download links with attribution.”
• “Collect ten ocean videos and rank the available files by resolution.”
• “Extract this Pexels photo URL and summarize its creator, tags, dimensions, and license.”

Legality and responsible use

Pexels publishes media under the Pexels license, but users remain responsible for how they use each asset.

Review the current license at pexels.com/license before redistribution or commercial use.

Do not imply endorsement by identifiable people or brands.

Respect privacy, publicity, trademark, and applicable data-protection rights.

The Actor only accesses public pages and does not bypass authentication.

This independently developed Actor is not affiliated with or endorsed by Pexels. It uses Apify's standard Store terms and does not use AI models or send data to AI providers.

Browser processing uses Apify infrastructure; blocked cloud requests may use automatic Apify residential proxy fallback. No separate third-party account or off-platform payment is required. For help, open an issue in this Actor's Apify Console Issues tab.

Limitations

Pexels can change its website structure or anti-bot controls.

A challenged location may require Apify Proxy configuration.

Search order and result counts can change as Pexels updates its catalog.

The Actor does not download binary files into the dataset; it returns direct URLs and metadata.

Pexels may expire, transform, or redirect CDN URLs over time.

Account-only workflows such as your own likes or private collections are not supported.

There is no color filter, because Pexels ignores it on the public route we read.

Camera facts exist only when the photographer published them, and videos have none.

Troubleshooting

Why did my run return no records?

Check that at least one query or supported public Pexels URL was supplied.

Read the run's status message. A valid search with no matches succeeds with zero records and no charge.

Try a common query and inspect the run log for an HTTP challenge.

If repeated attempts are challenged, enable Apify residential proxy in the advanced input section.

Why is a direct URL rejected?

The Actor fails closed for non-Pexels domains and unrelated Pexels routes.

Use a public search, photo, video, creator, collection, /photos/ or /videos/ URL.

Why is a video field missing?

Photo records do not have duration or FPS.

Optional fields are omitted when Pexels does not expose them.

FAQ

Do I need a Pexels API key?

No. The Actor reads anonymous public website data.

Can it scrape both photos and videos?

Yes. Set mediaType to all for keyword searches, or supply mixed detail URLs.

Does it download the media files?

It exports direct files and download URLs. Your workflow can download the chosen rendition afterward.

Can I use results commercially?

Usage depends on the current Pexels license and other applicable rights. Review each asset and its context.

How many results can one run collect?

maxResults accepts 1–1,000 records. Smaller runs are faster and easier to review.

Are duplicates charged?

No. Duplicate media IDs are skipped before dataset storage and per-record charging.

Related stock media and enrichment actors

Combine this Actor with other Automation Lab tools when your workflow needs broader discovery or enrichment:

• Google Images Scraper for web-wide image discovery.
• Image Metadata Extractor for technical file analysis.
• Website Content Crawler for matching media to page content.

Use only actors that fit your source, license, and data-quality requirements.

Data retention and export

Apify stores run datasets according to your account retention settings.

Failed operations send sanitized diagnostic input, exceptions, and Actor/build/run IDs to our private GlitchTip service for repair. Near a configured run deadline, one diagnostic snapshot records the active phase, phase/run elapsed time, remaining time, and bounded work counters so a platform timeout can be investigated even without an exception. It does not extend or shorten the run, or change output and charges. Secret fields and URL query strings are removed; diagnostic reports are retained for 30 days.

Download results as JSON, CSV, Excel, XML, RSS, or JSONL.

For durable archives, copy datasets and selected media files into storage you control.

Retain detailUrl, attribution, and licenseUrl so every asset remains traceable.

Start collecting Pexels media

Choose a campaign topic, keep the first run small, and review the returned renditions.

Then increase maxResults or schedule repeat searches as your content pipeline grows.