best stock photos

10 Best Stock Photo Sites

best stock photos

Here are the top 10 best stock photo sites which most online publishers use to source for the best photos. Sourcing high-quality stock photos is an essential part of creating an awesome website.

Your online website should look professional so that you can attract visitors to stay longer. If your website is new and you don’t have enough resources to pay for professional photographers, you should consider taking advantage of stock image websites. You will be surprised how cheap it cost to get stock photos for your business.

So here are the best 10 best stock photos sites I would recomend.

1. Shutterstock

best stock photo sites featured image

Visit Shutterstock

Shutterstock is an American company that sells stock footage, photography and music. This website is a beast when it comes to stock images. They share images for both commercial and personal use. The site has more than two hundred million photos, music tracks, and stock video clips and offers plans that meet your budgetary needs. You have a chance to explore the professional stock photos that are added daily.

The stock images are high quality and can be used for ad designs and magazines. The price is cheap and you can save by purchasing a monthly subscription plan to download 750 images and pay less than $0.30 for an image. That’s an unbeatable price for the quality.

2. iStock

best stock photo sites istock

Visit Shutterstock

iStock is an online website that offers royalty-free images, videos, and illustrations. This micro-stock photography company is based in Canada. The photos on this website are well organized, and you can easily choose the image you need by browsing through the categories offered.

iStock has an essential collection category that gives you the everyday picture that you need. The company adds close to half a million images, videos, and illustrations each month. iStock offers excellent plans that you can easily afford. iStock is another popular choice to go to for stock illustrations and photos.

3. Getty Images

best stock photo sites getty images

Visit Getty Images

Getty Images is among the world’s best photo libraries that creative stock photos, illustrations, and stock photography. The company has its headquarters in Seattle, United States, and has over 200 million images, paintings, and photography. Getty Images has a license that allows you to use the video, image, or illustration for a specific time depending on the type of license that you have purchased.

Getty Images has the highest quality stock photos that are used by big brands and agencies for video commercials and posters. So be prepared to fork out a hefty price for a stock photo.

Getty Images is also the main provider for editorial images. If you have a news website and need editorial photos of recent events happening around the world, this is the place to look for it.

4. Adobe Stock

best stock photo sites adobe stock

Visit Adobe Stock

Adobe Stock is a company owned by a famous software company Adobe. Adobe stock offer services to designers and business owners who want to use their photos, videos, illustrations, 3D assets, and vector graphics. The website has millions of high-quality royalty-free creative projects.

The company offers different subscription plans, and you will just choose the plan that fits you most. You can browse, test, and use these professional stocks in your favorite editing app. Their images are deeply integrated into the Creative Cloud platform.

5. Storyblocks

best stock photo sites storyblocks

Visit Storyblocks

Storyblocks offers ultimate royalty-free images, video footage, audio tracks, and effect templates. This is a perfect choice, especially if you are looking forward to bringing your stories to life. The agency offers its clients unlimited access for only $30 a month, and you can download as many videos and images as you need.

There are millions of pictures there, and thousands more are uploaded daily, thus you are sure to find what you need. This is a good place to look for stock videos for your Youtube or commercial videos.

6. 123RF.com

best stock photo sites 123rf

Visit 123RF

123RF is an excellent option if you are planning to start a creative projects. The site has millions of images, videos, illustrations, and graphics. Once you register to be their member, you have access to their royalty-free photos.

123RF stock agency was founded in 2005. The agency has worked on expanding its portfolio to serve the ever-growing market. Their images are arranged in categories, thus making it easier to find the photo that you are looking for. You should always remember to check your license agreement. The site regularly updates its images, thus making it an excellent choice for your website projects.

7. Dreamstime.com

best stock photo sites dreamstime

Visit Dreamstime

Dreamstime website offers the perfect stock of Royalty-free images and vectors that you can use on your project. The website has over 129 million images that include public domain and free images. The company is based in Brentwood, Tennesse.

This site offers plans that have monthly limits. The company has a vast library that provides a buy out option, which allows you to acquire the copyright ownership. This is an excellent site if you are looking for a website with cheaper subscriptions. The company uploads over three hundred thousand images every week. The photos are priced based on size and ownership.

8. Depositphotos

best stock photo sites depositphotos

Visit Depositphotos

Depositphotos is one of the most extensive photo company globally and adds over thirty thousand photos daily. The site offers premium high-quality pictures, royalty-free images, vector arts, and illustrations. The photography agency is based in Florida.

You can access their library, which has over 100 million copies, which are available online and in print. Their images are captured by professionals located in all parts of the world. The agency is a perfect match for those who want to look for stock photos for their blog or website.

9. Pond5

best stock photo sites pond5

Visit Pond5

Pond5 offers exclusive and inspiring images that will fit your project. The photos, videos, audio tracks are 100% royalty-free. The company is located in New York City. It has a huge collection and has over ten million stock footage.

The agency offers two buying options. There is no consistency in pricing since the artists determine the prices. Pond5 also offers free downloads.

10. Alamy

best stock photo sites alamy

Visit Alamy

Alamy contains a diverse photo collection. Its headquarters are in Oxfordshire, United Kingdom, but has branches in the United States. The company has over two million images and continues to upload over one hundred thousand images daily.

The company has no subscription plans, and the cost depends on the type of license you choose. The price starts from $19.90 for a license.

Different Types of Stock Photo Licenses

  • Royalty-free licenses – People mostly misunderstand what royalty-free term means, and they might find themselves in trouble after using a site’s image in an unauthorized way. You should understand that this license is not copyright free and is not free of charge. Royalty-free images typically require one to pay for one-time fee for you to use.You are not given the right to own the image, but you are allowed to use it. If you wish to use any image many times, the royalty-free license is a great deal because you save license fees.
  • Right-managed (RM) licenses – This type of license is usually bought in the stock photography agencies. This license is sold for a one-time use basis. The buyer has the right to use a specific photo in a specific way, and not any other way. The customers negotiate with the stock agency, on how they will use the image, and they are issued to the specific image that they choose.Before you buy the image, you must clarify with the agency on whether the photo purchased will be used for commercial or personal purposes. If you feel like you want to change the purpose of the image bought, you will have to acquire a new license.
  • Creative Commons Licenses – These licenses are offered by the Creative Common (CC) organization. The organization offers free licenses to creators who want to make their work available. When the creators use this license, they are giving consensts for their content to be used under certain set conditions.This license is important because it protects the author’s work from being copied. The creator has the right to decide how his work will be used. If you use the creator’s work in a way without permission, the creator can take legal action.
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