Choosing the Stock Photo Website for Shopping

Today, I’d like to continue discussing the pros and cons of purchasing images from stock photo agencies, as well as explore the different sales models that can help buyers choose the right microstock for their needs.

As mentioned earlier, stock photo agencies offer two main sales models for purchasing photographs, illustrations, videos, and other media.

If, for example, you only need a few images, consider microstock agencies that offer these options:

• Pay-per-Image Model: Pay for each image individually.
• Credit System: Purchase credits to download a set number of images.

This means you pay the stock agency an advance, which covers the cost of credits (the local currency unit for that specific agency), allowing you to buy a set number of stock images.

Some of the largest stock photo websites with pay-per-image models include Dreamstime, Adobe Stock (formerly Fotolia), iStock by Getty Images, Bigstock, and 123RF.

If you need a large number of high-quality images or require a constant supply of new content, a subscription model might be the best fit for you.

This can be a highly cost-effective option, as stock agencies offer images at wholesale prices on a subscription basis.

Shutterstock is one of the most popular microstock agencies offering a subscription model.

For instance, with Shutterstock’s subscription plan, you pay $249 for 30 days of access, during which you can download up to 25 images of any size per day. As a result, the final cost of one image under this plan will be 33 cents.

This is definitely a great deal. In fact, opting for a larger package, such as a yearly plan, reduces the cost per stock image even more.

In principle, almost all popular stock agencies offer subscription sales models, but undoubtedly, Shutterstock is the leader in this sales segment.

Considering our specific needs and the importance of various documentation, it’s essential to have the necessary paperwork (invoice, license agreement, acceptance certificate) when purchasing images for accounting purposes. In this case, try using domestic stock agencies.

The leading stock photo website in the former Soviet Union is the microstock agency LORI, which provides buyers with all the required documentation.

Many people looking to buy photos or vector illustrations from foreign stock agencies may face a language barrier, as most stock agencies are primarily created in English.

However, in recent years, owners of foreign stock agencies have been increasingly attentive to buyers who don’t speak English, and local-language interfaces are gradually being introduced on stock agency websites. To date, iStockphoto, Shutterstock, Fotolia (now Adobe Stock), and Depositphotos can boast of a local-language interface.

Stock agencies accept payments from buyers made using payment cards from the largest global payment systems: Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover.

No credit card? No worries. If you don’t have a card from Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover, you can use Webmoney or Skrill to pay for your stock images.

PayPal is widely accepted by many stock agencies and is available to users in various countries, including Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.

If you don’t have a bank card or an account with Webmoney, you can take advantage of a unique offer from Depositphotos.

The Depositphotos stock agency offers the opportunity to buy images from its database using a mobile phone by sending an SMS to the number specified on the stock agency’s website.

When buying images from a stock agency, many buyers wonder how many times a given image has already been purchased. Such statistics are displayed in the image parameters of some stock agencies.

However, since the same works can be sold through dozens of stock agencies, it makes sense to pay attention to exclusive photographs and illustrations that are sold only by one particular stock agency.

iStock by Getty Images offers a strong collection of exclusive images. Exclusive images always have sales statistics, so you will know exactly how many times a given image has already been sold by the stock agency.

If you are looking for unique images that have never been sold before, micropayment stock agencies may not be the best option. Purchasing unique images under the RM license is possible on macrostock sites, where prices for such images are in the hundreds and thousands of dollars.

It has been confirmed: the more credits you buy at a stock photo site at once, the cheaper the cost per image, thanks to the reduced unit cost of each credit.

Stock Photo Website Pricing and Subscription Plans

To help you make an informed decision for shopping, here’s a comparative table of the top micropayment stock photo websites:

If you’re interested in buying images, visit the ‘Purchase Images from the Stock’ tab to find a stock photo website that fits your budget and needs.