Where to Purchase Stock Photos in 2025
In this review, I will guide you on where to purchase high-quality stock images, photos, videos, and illustrations. This comprehensive comparison of current stock photo subscriptions and conditions will assist you in finding the best places to purchase photos, images, audio, and videos.
You will know which microstock agencies sell images and under what conditions, as well as which photo stock agencies provide the cheapest options for buyers in 2025.
Below is a comparison of the best price offers from popular stock photo agencies with extensive image collections for sale:
| Name | USD | USD | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
(vector) | (raster) | |||
Depositphotos | max $5.80 | Minimum prepaid download package: 5 images for only $29. Stock site |
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Dreamstime (DT) | Minimum prepaid download package: 3 credits for $14.99. Stock site |
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Bigstockphoto (Bigstock) | max $18 | Minimum prepaid download package: 10 for $35. Stock site |
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Shutterstock (SS) | max $14.50 | Smallest prepaid download package: 2 images for $29. Stock site |
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Vector-Images | Only vector illustrations in the database. Stock site |
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123RF | Smallest credit package: 30 for $24. Stock site |
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Top Online Platforms to Buy Stock Images
Whether you’re involved in fields such as interior, web, or print design, or you’re an author seeking unique, high-quality images for your latest work, you might be wondering where to download affordable stock photos or buy photos and vector illustrations cheaper online.
Creating your own illustrations or photographs requires professional skills and a significant time investment. As the saying goes, time is money, and often, quite a lot of it.
While it’s possible to find outdated pirated CDs containing stock images from top microstock sites, in today’s digital age, why risk copyright infringement issues that could lead to financial losses and erode trust with your clients?
Additionally, countless others have used pirated material from these CDs, making this option unsuitable.
I propose a simpler and entirely legal method to obtain the exact high-quality photo or image you need, with minimal investment of time and money: microstock photography sites. These stock photo sites offer the option to purchase images under a royalty-free license, which, as you might expect, is quite affordable and cheap.
Buying stock photos and illustrations through these online platforms, known as microstock photo agencies, is now more cost-effective than searching for the desired image on the internet or sifting through offline stock databases.
Moreover, stock image databases containing hundreds of millions of well-organized, high-quality illustrations and photos across various themes are readily available for online purchase.
Stock inspectors rigorously assess the quality of photos and illustrations, ensuring that only high-quality images desired by designers are sold under extended or other royalty-free licenses.
If you’re dissatisfied with the quality of a purchased stock photo or illustration, the photo bank will promptly refund your money.
To find stock photos, videos, or images to buy from a microstock database, you can search by keywords, categories, authors, resolution, or other parameters (e.g., whether the image includes space for adding text).
Purchasing a stock photo or illustration from an image bank grants you the right to use it according to your selected license.
If your usage of purchased stock images exceeds the conditions of a standard Royalty-Free (RF) license (e.g., in very high quantities), you can buy an Extended RF or other appropriate license offered by the microstock site.
In 2025, some stock photo banks offer exclusive rights to use microstock photos. In such cases, the stock image you purchase will be immediately removed from the the microstock agency’s sales and become exclusively yours.
In addition to high-quality photos and images (both raster and vector), many top stock photo agencies offer the option to purchase stock video clips, audio clips, and flash animations.
Below, I’ve provided a review detailing the terms for purchasing vector images and stock photos from popular online stock agencies. This overview includes information on stock photo pricing. You can purchase stock illustrations and photos by clicking on the banner of your chosen stock imagery website.
Purchasing Stock Photos on Shutterstock
Shutterstock, based in the USA, is the best place for purchasing stock images through subscription, boasting a vast library of over 1 billion images.
Shutterstock offers a subscription plan at $249 per month, allowing you to download up to 25 photos or vector images daily under the standard royalty-free license, totaling 750 images per month.
With this Shutterstock subscription plan, the final price for one stock photo or image will be around $0.33.
Opting for a longer Shutterstock subscription reduces the monthly fee, enabling you to purchase stock photos at a lower cost.
Registering on Shutterstock is free and doesn’t require a subscription. Once registered, you can browse and select stock images for future purchases and download weekly free photos and vector illustrations.
Shutterstock Subscription Plans and Pricing:
1 month (30 days) – from $49.00 to $249.00
12 months (365 days) – from $348.00 to $2388.00
Tips for Shutterstock Buyers:
- Avoid downloading stock photos labeled ‘approx’, as this indicates an interpolated image size.
- Shutterstock offers individual stock video clips up to one minute in length for purchase.
- Stock video prices range from $10 to $50, depending on file format and size.
- Shutterstock is among the few cheapest stock photo sites with a local languages interface.
To pay for a Shutterstock subscription plan, you can use:
Purchase Depositphotos Subscription
Depositphotos is a relatively new but rapidly growing microstock agency, offering cheap stock images from a database of over 100 million images, categorized by popularity.
Notably, Depositphotos expanded its database from scratch to 1 million images in just three months.
Currently, Depositphotos is actively incentivizing its buyers.
Depositphotos provides multiple options for purchasing stock images, including subscriptions, credit purchases, SMS purchases, bonus images, and package deals.
On Depositphotos, 1 credit equals $1. To purchase images at a lower price, take advantage of their promotion: ‘For each image purchased with credits, you get a second one for free’.
Additionally, you can download bonus images from the site at any time.
For individual stock image purchases using credits, the pricing per size is as follows:
XS – 0.5 credits
S – 1 credit
M – 2 credits
L – 3 credits
XL – 4 credits
XXL – 6 credits
XXXL – 9 credits
Vector – 9 credits
Depositphotos offers a range of subscription plans, from a monthly subscription allowing 10 image downloads for $10.90, to an annual plan priced at $1,699.
Additionally, there’s an affordable monthly subscription plan for $66.75, permitting 75 image downloads per month.
For low-volume download needs, this Depositphotos plan is both optimal and cost-effective.
Beyond the aforementioned options, Depositphotos also allows purchasing stock photos and illustrations via SMS.
By sending an SMS with a specific code, a designated number of stock images will be credited to your account for download at your convenience.
SMS options and photo prices on Depositphotos:
message $1 – 1 image
message $3 – 4 images
message $5 – 7 images
message $10 – 15 images
Accepted payment methods for buying stock images on Depositphotos include:
Purchasing Stock Photos via Dreamstime
Dreamstime is a European microstock photography site that offers affordable options for purchasing stock photos and illustrations, available both individually and through subscription plans.
On Dreamstime, the price of individual stock images depends on the author’s rating and the image’s popularity, determined by the number of sales.
Similar to other leading stock photo agencies, Dreamstime offers clients free image downloads in the ‘free images’ section upon registration.
Dreamstime image sizes and prices (for base level 1):
Extra Small size (480 pixels) – from 1 credit
Small (800×600 pixels) – from 3 credits
Medium (3MP – 5MP) – from 4 credits
Large (5MP – 8MP) – from 5 credits
Extra Large size (8MP – 12MP) – from 6 credits
Highest (over 8MP) – from 7 credits
Dreamstime credit package prices:
8 Credits – $9.99
13 Credits – $14.99
25 Credits – $24.99
52 Credits – $49.99 (bonus 4%)
108 Credits – $99.99 (bonus 8%)
Dreamstime subscription plans’ prices (with a daily download limit of 10 images):
1 month – $128.99
3 months – $369.99
6 months – $679.99
1 year – $1299.99
To purchase credits and Dreamstime subscriptions, you can use the following payment methods:
Buying Stock Photos from BigStockPhoto
BigStockPhoto may not be as large as some other stock photo sites, but it remains one of the most cheapest stock image sites.
Notably, BigStockPhoto has been acquired by the owners of Shutterstock, suggesting that its operational model may differ from that of its parent company.
As previously noted, Shutterstock offers stock photos and illustrations solely through subscription plans, whereas BigStockPhoto operates differently, selling images from its 50 million-strong collection exclusively on an individual basis.
Additionally, unlike other affordable stock photo sites, BigStock offers to buy cheap stock images under RF and ERF licenses, as well as ten specially designed licensing options tailored to various use cases.
Image sizes and prices on BigStockPhoto:
0.5 MP – 1 credit
2 MP – 2 credits
5 MP – 4 credits
16 MP – 6 credits
Vector – 6 credits
BigStockPhoto credit package prices:
5 credits – $15 (1 credit = $3.00)
12 credits – $29 (1 credit = $2.42)
25 credits – $49 (1 credit = $1.96)
60 credits – $99 (1 credit = $1.65)
140 credits – $189 (1 credit = $1.35)
350 credits – $350 (1 credit = $1.00)
700 credits – $630 (1 credit = $0.90)
To purchase packages for photos and illustrations on BigStock, you can use the following payment methods:
BigStock offers the option to purchase images through a subscription plan.
Buying Stock Photos on iStockphoto (Getty Images)
iStock, a Canadian microstock photography site, is a veteran in the market and is currently a division of Getty Images.
iStockphoto was the first stock agency to sell images under a royalty-free license.
Today, the iStock photo site has some of the strictest quality requirements for photos and illustrations uploaded to its database.
As of now, Getty Images’ database contains nearly 200 million high-quality stock assets—including photos, raster and vector illustrations, flash, and video clips – available for purchase at premium prices.
On iStock, individual images range from 1 to 15 credits, depending on the file’s size and type.
As you may have noticed, almost all stock photo agencies sell images on a per-credit basis. Why?
In my view, using credits allows photo banks to manage their pricing more flexibly.
Registered Getty Images users receive free weekly downloads of stock photos and illustrations.
Illustrations on iStockphoto are priced as follows:
XSmall (400x300px) – 1 credit
Small (800x600px) – 3 credits
Medium (1600x1200px) – 6 credits
Large (2560x1920px) – 10 credits
XLarge (4200x2800px) – 15 credits
XXLarge (4900x3300px) – 20 credits
XXXLarge (5600x3700px) – 25 credits
Illustration prices on iStockphoto are relatively expensive:
Basic – 1 credit
Moderate – 5 credits
Detailed – 10 credits
Complex – 15 credits
Elaborate – 25 credits
iStock video clip sizes and prices:
Small – 15 credits
Medium – 25 credits
NTSC/PAL – 40 credits
HD 720 – 75 credits
HD 1080 – 90 credits
On iStock, you’ll need to purchase credits in packages. iStock credit package prices:
12 credits (1 credit=$1.52)- $18.25
26 credits (1 credit=$1.50) – $39.00
50 credits (1 credit=$1.46) – $73.00
120 credits (1 credit=$1.42) – $170.00
300 credits (1 credit=$1.30) – $390.00
600 credits (1 credit=$1.15) – $690.00
1000 credits (1 credit=$1.07) – $1075.00
1500 credits (1 credit=$1.03) – $1550.00
2000 credits (1 credit=$0.95) – $1900.00
The more credits you purchase on iStockphoto, the lower the cost per credit.
This policy is similar to other microstock photography sites.
For purchases on iStockphoto, you can use the following payment options:
How to Buy Stock Illustrations on Adobe Stock
Adobe Stock is one of the newer European agencies but has quickly established itself among the leading microstock platforms in the online image market.
Adobe’s database, formerly Fotolia, now contains over 100 million images, available for purchase individually or via subscription.
Additionally, after registering on Adobe photo stock, buyers gain access to a large number of free stock image downloads.
Recently, Adobe Stock introduced a local language interface, making it easier for non-English speakers to purchase stock images and photos.
Image sizes and pricing on Adobe stock:
XS Standard (0.15 MP) – from 1 credit
S Standard (0.5 MP) – from 3 credits
M Standard (2 MP) – from 5 credits
L Standard (4 MP) – from 7 credits
XL Standard (8 MP) – from 8 credits
XXL Standard (16 MP) – from 10 credits
vector images – from 4 credits
The average cost per credit on Adobe.com is:
1 credit = $1
You can buy from 10 to 3,200 credits at a time on Adobe.com. The unit price per credit varies depending on the size of the microstock credit package.
Purchasing larger credit packages is more economical. For example, if you purchase a 3,200 Adobe credit package, the unit cost of one microstock credit will be $0.75/credit.
If you buy the minimum 10 Adobe credit package, the unit cost of one credit will be $1.20/credit.
Adobe’s monthly subscription starts at $249, allowing you to download 25 stock photos and illustrations per day from Adobe.com.
Adobe accepts the following payment methods for subscriptions or credits:
How to Purchase Stock Images from 123RF
123RF, also known as 123 Royalty Free, is a microstock agency boasting a collection of nearly 100 million images. While it emphasizes a subscription model similar to Shutterstock, 123RF also offers options for purchasing individual stock images.
Unlike Shutterstock, 123RF offers more affordable subscription plans with significantly higher daily download limits.
Thanks to this policy, the cost per stock image on the 123RF subscription plan can be as low as $0.21. It is a very low price for stock images for those looking to buy cheap photos and illustrations online.
With this approach, the cost per stock image on a 123RF subscription can be as low as $0.21, making it an excellent choice for those looking for where to buy photos and illustrations online at a low price.
Additionally, purchasing individual images on 123RF is also quite appealing.
Image sizes and pricing on 123RF:
S – 1 credit
M – 2 credits
L – 3 credits
XL – 4 credits
XXL – 5 credits
XXL TIFF – 10 credits
Credit package prices:
15 credits – $15
32 credits – $30
56 credits – $50
115 credits – $100
350 credits – $300
1200 credits – $1000
3300 credits – $2500
7400 credits – $5000
Subscription Plans on 123RF and their prices (daily download limit: 5 / 26 images):
30 days – $89 / $230
90 days – $199 / $590
365 days – $749 / $1960
To purchase stock photos, images, or videos on 123RF, you can use the following payment options:
The former Russian photobank, Fotogenica, offers several advantages: a large selection, convenient payment methods, and accounting documents for legal entities.
* Image collection – over 11 million
* Types of content available – photos, graphics, vector illustrations, videos
* Payment options – bank transfer, WebMoney, YooMoney, payment terminals, SMS, and many more.
Happy shopping on photobanks!
Article contents
- 1 Top Online Platforms to Buy Stock Images
- 2 Purchasing Stock Photos on Shutterstock
- 3 Purchase Depositphotos Subscription
- 4 Purchasing Stock Photos via Dreamstime
- 5 Buying Stock Photos from BigStockPhoto
- 6 Buying Stock Photos on iStockphoto (Getty Images)
- 7 How to Buy Stock Illustrations on Adobe Stock
- 8 How to Purchase Stock Images from 123RF
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