The phrase "free asset" only tells you that there is no charge. It does not mean any use is permitted. What is allowed differs from site to site, and two sites that both say "commercial use OK" can mean very different things. Before you use an asset in paid work, check these five points.
1. "Commercial use" means different things on different sites
Many sites say "commercial use OK", but the scope varies. A site may allow use on your own website while treating client deliverables or products that include the asset as a separate case.
These uses are the ones most often treated differently. Match your case against the "permitted uses" section of the terms.
- Building the asset into a deliverable you hand to a client
- Selling merchandise (T-shirts, stickers, and so on) that uses the asset
- Using it in paid content such as paid newsletters or paid seminar material
- Embedding it as an asset inside an app or a game
2. Whether attribution is required
Some sites require attribution and some do not. Skipping it where it is required is a breach of the terms. Where it is required, the exact form is often specified as well: whether the site name alone is enough, whether a link is needed, and where the credit has to appear.
Terms sometimes cover media where a link is impossible, such as print or slides, in a separate clause.
3. Redistributing or selling the asset itself is prohibited almost everywhere
Creating something with an asset and handing out or selling the asset itself are two different acts. The second is prohibited almost without exception. Avoid bundling assets into a collection you distribute, reselling the files as downloads, or sharing the source files outside your organisation.
Editing does not necessarily change this. If the edit is small — a colour change or a crop — the result may still count as "the asset itself", and redistributing it remains risky.
4. Trademarks and logos need care
Taking a free asset as-is and registering it as a trademark is explicitly prohibited by many sites. Beyond the terms, there is a practical reason: the same asset is available to everyone, so it works poorly as a mark that identifies you, and it never accumulates value as a brand.
For the core, long-lived parts of an identity — a company logo, a product symbol — commission something made for you.
5. What is actually depicted in the asset
With photographic assets, the portrait rights of the people shown, and trademarks, logos or buildings caught in the background, can all become issues. For photos of people, the key question is whether a model release was obtained.
Illustrations deserve a look too. Check that nothing closely resembles an existing character, a company logo, or the distinctive style of a particular artist. Even when the asset site screens for this, you are the one publishing the result, so a quick visual check is worth the time.
How Visual Hub handles this
Assets on this site are free for both personal and commercial use. No attribution is required, and editing is allowed. Permitted uses include websites, blogs, social media posts, presentations, internal documents, YouTube thumbnails, and printed materials.
What we prohibit is redistributing or selling the assets themselves, registering them as trademarks, using them for purposes that violate public order and morals, and bulk collection as AI training data. See the Terms of Use for the full text.
This article summarises general points to watch for. For a specific project, check the terms of the site you are using directly.