Pravatar Alternative
Pravatar popularized the URL-based placeholder avatar: drop a link in an img tag and get a profile photo. Its images are photos of real people, which brings variety but also questions you may not want in a commercial project: whose face is this, and under what license? LoremFaces is a Pravatar alternative built on AI-generated faces, so nobody in your mockup exists, and the same URL pattern still just works.
Try LoremFaces in One Line
<img src="https://www.loremfaces.net/96/id/1.jpg" alt="Placeholder avatar">
What is Pravatar?
Pravatar serves real photographs as placeholder avatars through a simple URL API with dynamic sizing and image IDs. The variety is large, but the photos depict real people, which can raise licensing and consent questions in commercial or public-facing work.
LoremFaces vs Pravatar
| Feature | LoremFaces | Pravatar |
|---|---|---|
| Avatar type | AI-generated faces | Photos of real people |
| Realistic faces | Yes | Yes |
| URL-based API | Yes | Yes |
| API key required | No | No |
| Consistent IDs | Yes (same ID, same face) | Yes (with image ID) |
| Number of faces | 5 curated faces | Larger photo pool |
| Real-person licensing questions | None (no real people) | Possible (real photos) |
| Pre-optimized sizes | 6 fixed sizes, CDN-cached | Dynamic sizing |
When to Use LoremFaces
- Commercial mockups - AI-generated faces depict nobody, so there are no consent or licensing questions to answer
- Consistent personas - five faces with stable IDs keep the same "user" recognizable across every screen
- Public marketing material - safer to publish than real people's photos pulled from a stock pool
When to Keep Using Pravatar
- Large variety - Pravatar's bigger photo pool helps when a mockup needs dozens of visibly different users
- Random-by-default flows - Pravatar's URL options make randomized galleries quick to assemble
Frequently Asked Questions
Is LoremFaces a free alternative to Pravatar?
Yes. LoremFaces works the same way as Pravatar (an image URL, no API key, no signup) but serves AI-generated faces instead of photographs of real people.
What is the main difference between LoremFaces and Pravatar?
The people in the photos. Pravatar serves photos of real humans, which brings more variety but potential licensing and consent questions. LoremFaces faces are AI-generated, so they depict nobody and are safe to use in commercial mockups.
How many faces does LoremFaces have?
Five curated faces, each available in six sizes from 24px to 256px. The same ID always returns the same face, which keeps personas consistent across a prototype. If you need dozens of visibly different users on one screen, Pravatar's larger pool may fit better.
When should I keep using Pravatar?
Keep Pravatar when you need a large variety of distinct faces at once and the real-photo licensing question does not matter for your use case.
Integration Guides
Ready to switch? Drop LoremFaces into your framework: