Pixabay Image Scraper

Pixabay Image Scraper

Extract free stock images from Pixabay by keyword or search URL. The Pixabay Image Scraper returns clean, structured image data — titles, tags, dimensions, download links, engagement metrics, and full uploader details — ready for design tools, content pipelines, or dataset building.

Search by keyword with optional location context, or paste a Pixabay search URL, and get every image's download links, tags, engagement metrics, and uploader attribution in one structured record.

Copy to your AI assistant

Copy this block into ChatGPT, Claude, Cursor, or any LLM to start using this actor.

Apify Actor: parsebird/pixabay-image-scraper. Scrapes free stock images from Pixabay (pixabay.com). Call via ApifyClient: client.actor("parsebird/pixabay-image-scraper").call(run_input={"keyword": "nature", "results_wanted": 20}). Also accepts location (extra search context, e.g. a city or country), url/startUrl (a full Pixabay search URL, startUrl takes priority), max_pages, and proxyConfiguration. Returns per image: id, mediaType, mediaDescriptiveType, width, height, uploadDate, name, title, alt, description, pageUrl, imageUrl_small, imageUrl_large, downloadUrl, tags, likeCount, commentCount, viewCount, downloadCount, isEditorsChoice, isAiGenerated, nsfw, vector, isLowQuality, qualityStatus, username, profileUrl, user_id, user_avatarSrc, user_isAvailableForHire, user_isActive, user_donation_paypal, canvaRetouchUrl. Full API spec: https://apify.com/parsebird/pixabay-image-scraper/api. Get your token: https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations.

What does Pixabay Image Scraper do?

This actor reads the same structured image data Pixabay's own search page uses to render results — no manual clicking, no guessing at CSS selectors. You give it a keyword, an optional location, or a Pixabay search URL, and it returns every matching image with dimensions, tags, engagement metrics, and download links.

• 🔍 Keyword and location search — search a plain keyword, or add a location for more specific visual research (e.g. "cherry blossom" + "Tokyo").
• 🔗 Direct search URLs — paste a Pixabay search URL (url or startUrl, which takes priority) to preserve an exact search you've already built in the browser.
• 🖼️ Full image variants — small and large preview URLs plus the direct download link for every image.
• 📊 Engagement metrics — likes, comments, views, and downloads for every result.
• 🏷️ Rich classification — media type (photo/illustration/vector), editor's-choice and AI-generated flags, quality status.
• 👤 Full uploader attribution — username, profile URL, avatar, hire availability, and donation links when provided.

What data can you extract from Pixabay?

Field	Description
title / alt / description / tags	Image copy and Pixabay's own comma-separated tags
mediaType / mediaDescriptiveType	Photo, illustration, or vector, and a human-readable category
width / height	Image dimensions
imageUrl_small / imageUrl_large / downloadUrl	Preview and full-resolution download links
likeCount / commentCount / viewCount / downloadCount	Engagement metrics
isEditorsChoice / isAiGenerated / nsfw / vector / isLowQuality	Classification flags
username / profileUrl / user_avatarSrc	Uploader attribution
user_donation_paypal	Uploader's donation link, when provided

Input parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
keyword	string	No	—	Search term such as nature, sunset, or city skyline
location	string	No	—	Additional search context such as Tokyo or Pakistan
url	string	No	—	Full Pixabay image search URL; takes priority over keyword
startUrl	string	No	—	Alternate full Pixabay search URL; takes priority over url
results_wanted	integer	No	20	Maximum number of unique images to save
max_pages	integer	No	999	Maximum number of result pages to process
proxyConfiguration	object	No	Residential proxy on	Apify Proxy settings — residential proxy is required and on by default (Pixabay blocks Apify's datacenter IPs)

Output example

{
  "id": 7133867,
  "mediaType": "photo",
  "mediaDescriptiveType": "photo",
  "width": 3150,
  "height": 2100,
  "uploadDate": "2026-06-02T10:22:48.283309",
  "name": "Sunset, Sand, Beach, Islands",
  "title": "Download free HD stock image of Sunset Sand",
  "alt": "Free Sunset Sand photo and picture",
  "pageUrl": "https://pixabay.com/photos/sunset-sand-beach-islands-leaf-7133867/",
  "imageUrl_small": "https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2022/04/15/07/58/sunset-7133867_640.jpg",
  "imageUrl_large": "https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2022/04/15/07/58/sunset-7133867_1280.jpg",
  "downloadUrl": "https://pixabay.com/images/download/x-7133867_1920.jpg",
  "tags": "Sunset, Sand, Beach",
  "likeCount": 875,
  "commentCount": 144,
  "viewCount": 415881,
  "downloadCount": 376185,
  "isEditorsChoice": true,
  "isAiGenerated": false,
  "username": "Kanenori",
  "profileUrl": "https://pixabay.com/users/kanenori-4749850/",
  "user_id": 4749850
}

Download results as JSON, CSV, Excel, HTML, or XML directly from the Apify Console, or fetch them via the Apify API / dataset endpoint.

Use cases

• Design and content pipelines — pull curated, license-clear stock images by keyword directly into a CMS, design tool, or asset library.
• Dataset building — build labeled image datasets with tags and dimensions for computer vision or ML projects.
• Website and blog imagery — automate sourcing relevant images for articles, landing pages, or social posts by topic and location.
• Uploader/creator discovery — surface active, high-output Pixabay contributors by keyword niche.
• AI-generated content auditing — use the isAiGenerated flag to filter or separate AI-generated results from photography.

How to scrape Pixabay images

1. Set your search — enter a Keyword (and optional Location), or paste a Pixabay search URL into the URL/Start URL field.
2. Set limits — Results Wanted caps total images returned; Max Pages controls how deep pagination goes.
3. Leave Proxy Configuration on — residential proxy is enabled by default and required for reliable access.
4. Run the actor — click Start in the Apify Console, or trigger it via the API or on a schedule.
5. Get your data — download the dataset as JSON/CSV/Excel, or pull it via the API.

How much does it cost to scrape Pixabay?

This actor uses Pay-Per-Event (PPE) pricing — you're charged per image extracted, not per compute unit.

Event	Price per event	Price per 1,000
image-scraped (Free plan)	$0.00099	$0.99
image-scraped (Bronze / Silver / Gold plans)	$0.00089	$0.89

A run collecting 500 images costs roughly $0.45–$0.50 depending on your Apify plan. All Apify accounts include a free trial with credits to try the actor before committing to a paid plan.

FAQ

Why is a proxy required? Pixabay blocks Apify's datacenter IPs via Cloudflare, even from a real browser. A residential proxy is enabled by default in Proxy Configuration to keep runs reliable — turning it off will cause runs to fail. Cloudflare's challenge is intermittent even through a residential proxy, so the actor automatically retries with a fresh session and proxy IP if a request is blocked.

How does location combine with keyword? The two are joined into a single search phrase (e.g. "cherry blossom" + "Tokyo" → searches cherry blossom Tokyo), matching how you'd refine a search directly on Pixabay.

Does this actor download the actual image files? No — it returns the downloadUrl and preview image URLs so you can download files yourself, on your own schedule and infrastructure.

Does this actor support scheduling and integrations? Yes. Use Apify Schedules to run it daily or weekly, connect it to Zapier, Make, or Slack, or call it through the Apify API from your own backend.

What are the limitations of this actor? ⚠️

• Results reflect Pixabay's public image search only (photos, illustrations, and vectors — not videos or music)
• Very obscure keywords with zero matches naturally return no results

Is it legal to scrape Pixabay?

Yes. This actor only accesses publicly available image listings that Pixabay makes visible to any visitor. It does not bypass login walls or access private accounts. Scraping publicly available data is generally considered legal — see Apify's overview of web scraping legality for more detail. Users are responsible for ensuring their use of the collected data complies with applicable laws and Pixabay's Terms of Service, including attribution requirements where they apply.

Python and JavaScript usage

Python (apify-client):

from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

run_input = {
    "keyword": "nature",
    "results_wanted": 50,
}

run = client.actor("parsebird/pixabay-image-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item["title"], item["downloadUrl"])

JavaScript (apify-client):

import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' });

const input = {
    keyword: 'nature',
    results_wanted: 50,
};

const run = await client.actor('parsebird/pixabay-image-scraper').call(input);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
console.log(items);

Related Actors

• Pexels Stock Image Scraper — free stock photos from Pexels
• Unsplash Image Scraper — free stock photos from Unsplash
• Pinterest Search Scraper — image search results from Pinterest
• Pinterest Image Downloader — bulk-download Pinterest images

Browse the full catalog on the ParseBird Apify Store page.