IconScout is one of the few places where icons, illustrations, Lottie animations, and 3D graphics all sit under one login, which is exactly why WordPress designers end up there. A single site build usually needs all four: icons for the menu and feature blocks, an illustration for the hero, a small animation for the loading state, maybe a 3D graphic for a pricing section. The question is whether IconScout is the best way to get them, or whether one of the options below fits your project better.
This list compares six libraries on what matters for WordPress work: which asset types each one covers, whether free assets need a credit, and how easily the files go into a WordPress site.
Why do WordPress designers look for IconScout alternatives?
Attribution is the first reason. IconScout asks you to credit the contributor when you use a free asset, and the download window gives you the credit text to paste. That is fine on a blog, but most clients do not want a list of icon credits in the footer of their company site.
The second is consistency. IconScout has more than 14 million assets from a large pool of contributors, so the icon you find for "support" and the illustration you find for "onboarding" are often drawn by different people. On a homepage where both sit next to each other, the different line weights and color treatments are easy to spot.
The third is cost. The free tier is useful for a few downloads, but regular client work usually means a subscription. If you only need one asset type, a dedicated free library can cover it for nothing.
Quick comparison
| Library | What you get | Free plan | Attribution | WordPress fit | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IconScout | Icons, illustrations, Lottie, 3D | Yes, limited | Required on free assets | Download files | Huge choice in one place |
| Creative Stall | Icons, illustrations, Lottie, stickers, 3D | Yes, plus Pro | Not required | Download files, JSON works with Lottie blocks | Matching styles across a whole site |
| Icons8 | Icons, illustrations, animated icons | Yes | Link required on free plan | Download files | Many visual styles |
| LottieFiles | Lottie animations | Yes | Depends on the animation | Official Gutenberg block | Animation only |
| unDraw | Flat illustrations | Fully free | Not required | Download SVG or PNG | Quick recolorable illustrations |
| Font Awesome | Icons | Yes, plus Pro | Handled in the files | Official WordPress plugin | Icons inside the block editor |
1. IconScout
IconScout is the reference point for this list. Its library covers roughly 11.6 million SVG icons, 1.4 million Lottie animations, 862,000 3D assets, and 791,000 illustrations, so for almost any search term you will find something. It also has editors for recoloring assets in the browser and plugins for design tools, which saves time before anything reaches WordPress.
The downsides are the ones above. Free assets need attribution, styles vary because so many contributors supply the library, and the most useful parts sit behind a paid plan. If your team already pays for IconScout and the attribution question is settled, it may still be the right choice.
2. Creative Stall
Creative Stall is the closest match to IconScout in terms of what it offers, with icons, illustrations, Lottie animations, stickers, and 3D graphics in one library of close to 5 million assets. The difference is how they are organized. Assets come in packs where everything shares one style, so you can take the icons, the hero illustration, and the loading animation for a site from the same family and they will look like they belong together.
For WordPress, two details matter. No attribution is required, so nothing needs to go in the footer, and that holds for client sites and paid themes. The Lottie files download as JSON, which works with WordPress Lottie blocks, including the free LottieFiles plugin covered below. Icons and illustrations come as SVG and PNG.
The trade-offs: the library is smaller than IconScout, so very niche search terms may return fewer results, and the larger part of the collection is on the Pro plan. There is no WordPress plugin, so assets are downloaded and uploaded to the Media Library like any other file.
3. Icons8
Icons8 is strong on variety. Its icons come in dozens of visual styles, from flat and outline to 3D, iOS, and hand-drawn, and the same company offers illustrations and animated icons. If a client brief calls for a specific look, Icons8 often has a matching set across all of those.
The free plan requires a link back to Icons8 wherever the assets appear. That puts it in the same position as IconScout on attribution, so it only solves that problem if you pay for a plan.
4. LottieFiles
LottieFiles only does animation, but for WordPress it has an advantage the others do not: an official Gutenberg block. The plugin lets you pick from more than 50,000 free animations, upload your own Lottie JSON, or paste a URL, and then control speed, looping, and the trigger (page load, click, scroll, or hover) from the block settings.
License terms depend on the animation, because LottieFiles hosts work from many creators, so check each file before using it on a client site. And it will not help with icons or illustrations, so it works best alongside one of the other libraries here.
5. unDraw
unDraw is a free library of flat illustrations that you can recolor to your brand color before downloading. The license allows commercial use and does not require credit, which makes it an easy pick for landing pages, empty states, and blog headers.
Every illustration is drawn in the same flat style. That is good for consistency and less good if you want variety, and the collection is illustrations only, with no icons or animations. The license also does not allow you to bundle the illustrations into packs for resale, which matters if you sell themes.
6. Font Awesome
Font Awesome is the easiest way to get icons into WordPress without downloading files. The official plugin, made by the Font Awesome team and active on more than 400,000 sites, adds an icon block to the editor and lets you insert icons inline with text. The free set covers most interface needs, and a Pro plan unlocks more styles.
It is icons only, and Font Awesome icons are recognizable. Many sites use them, so they rarely give a design its own character.
How do you add these assets to WordPress?
SVG is the format to use for icons and most illustrations, because it stays sharp at any size and the files are small. WordPress blocks SVG uploads by default for security reasons, so you need a plugin that sanitizes SVG files before allowing them, rather than turning the restriction off entirely.
Lottie animations need a block or widget to play. The LottieFiles plugin adds one to the block editor, and Elementor Pro has its own Lottie widget. Upload the JSON file to the Media Library and point the block at it.
Whichever library you use, keep icons and illustrations from one style family where you can. Repeated visual elements in a consistent style help visitors recognize a site and find their way around it, which is covered in more detail in this piece on memory anchors in web design.
Which one should you choose?
If you need icons, illustrations, and animations for the same site and want them to match, Creative Stall and IconScout are the two that cover all of it. Creative Stall is the better fit when you cannot add attribution or want every asset in one style. IconScout is the better fit when you need the widest possible search results.
If you only need one asset type, the free single-purpose libraries are hard to beat: unDraw for illustrations, LottieFiles for animations, Font Awesome for icons inside the editor. They also pair well with a lightweight theme from a list like these free WordPress themes, where a few good visuals do most of the design work.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to credit IconScout when I use free assets?
Yes. IconScout asks you to credit the contributor for free assets and provides the credit text when you download. Creative Stall and unDraw do not require attribution.
Can I use Lottie animations in WordPress without coding?
Yes. The free LottieFiles plugin adds a Gutenberg block, and Elementor Pro includes a Lottie widget. Both play a JSON file from your Media Library or a URL.
Is it safe to upload SVG files to WordPress?
It is safe if the file is sanitized first. SVG files can contain scripts, which is why WordPress blocks them by default. Use a plugin that cleans the file on upload instead of allowing all SVGs.
