Do you have a knack for photography? Why not turn that passion into your profession? Did you know multiple websites pay you for your photos? If you’re wondering which photo-selling websites are best for selling stock photos, then this guide is for you.
Photographers are always in high demand, and thousands of photographers sell their photos online. If you’re looking for an extra source of income, then these websites are sure to help you out.
A simple Google search “best websites to sell photos online” will give you results with hundreds of websites. All of them claim to be the best marketplace. Not all of them can’t be the best place to sell photography and stock videos. So, you need to know which is the best place to begin.
To help you out, we’ve compiled a list of the best websites to sell your images and make money online.
Best Places to Sell Photos and Videos Online
1. Adobe Stock
Adobe Stock is the website that should be your destination if you’re looking to sell your photos. As you must have guessed from the name, Adobe Stock is owned by the makers of the most popular photo editing software, Photoshop.
Adobe Stock has been around for almost 20 years, and it’s one of the top photo-selling marketplaces. Even though there are hundreds of photo-selling marketplaces out there, Adobe Stock remains one of the best ones.
Adobe Stock is integrated with Adobe Cloud, which makes it incredibly popular among photographers, as they can upload albums directly from Lightroom.
Here are some reasons why you should choose Adobe Stock to sell your photos online:
- It supports a number of assets, such as images, vector graphics, illustrations, and stock videos.
- Doesn’t need exclusive rights to your images, meaning you can sell your photos on multiple platforms at once.
- Offers free access to Adobe Portfolio for contributors so you can create a portfolio and showcase your skills.
Adobe Stock is one of the best places to sell your photos online. The platform is easy to use, free to sign up, and is available for millions of users.
Pricing/Payout Policy – Free signup. Contributors receive a 33% royalty on all images sold.
2. Shutterstock
Almost everyone has heard about Shutterstock; it’s one of the oldest photo and video-selling marketplaces. They have over 600 million images, videos, and music tracks. The platform is home to over 200 million contributors.
Shutterstock has a significant amount of customers, so you’re sure to sell whatever you put on the platform.
You can sign up to Shutterstock as a contributor for free, and you’ll start earning as soon as someone purchases your content. Here are some features that show why Shutterstock is one of the best photo-selling marketplaces:
- It supports a number of assets, such as images, vector graphics, illustrations, and stock videos.
- Doesn’t need exclusive rights to your images, meaning you can sell your photos on multiple platforms at once.
- You get a referral bonus if you refer other photographers or artists to Shutterstock.
- Offers a personalized portfolio page and a dashboard to track earnings.
One thing that you definitely should know about Shutterstock is that the platform is super competitive. But that shouldn’t stop you from using Shutterstock, as the platform is excellent.
Pricing/Payout Policy – Free sign-up and six different levels of earning. Commissions range from 15-40% of the purchase price.
3. Alamy
Alamy is a British online photo-selling marketplace. It’s one of the best websites to sell photos online, and it even has an iPhone app (Stockmio) to capture and upload photos on the go. The platform pays earnings up to $1 million each month.
Alamy handles the licensing process that comes with online selling and provides photographers with a straightforward contract. Alamy doesn’t edit whatever you publish for sale; you can have complete control over your platform.
It’s super easy to sign up with Alamy, and it’s an excellent platform for students who are looking for some quick buck. Students receive a remarkable 100% commission for two years. Here are some great features that make Alamy the best website to sell photos online:
- It supports a number of assets, such as images, vector graphics, illustrations, and stock videos.
- Doesn’t need exclusive rights to your images, meaning you can sell your photos on multiple platforms at once.
- Offers an analytics dashboard to help you track sales and see what kind of photos sell the most.
Pricing/Payout Policy – Free signup and three commission levels. Most contributors receive 40%, but you have to meet a threshold of $250 or more in gross sales every year. Contributors that have $25K in gross sales earn 50% commission.
4. Etsy
Etsy is one of the best marketplaces to buy and sell handmade goods, custom products, vintage clothes, and more. But most people don’t know, but it’s also one of the top photo-selling websites.
Etsy has millions of users buying photos from the platform every month. The platform has a bigger customer base than other stock photo-selling websites. Moreover, Etsy operates as your eCommerce store. You can buy and sell images, but you can also choose to sell other products on the platform.
Here are some reasons you should choose Etsy to sell photos online:
- You can set the price for your photos and products, which means the platform offers the highest earning potential.
- Complete control over how you display your photos on the platform.
- Offers an Offsite Ads program where the platform automatically advertises your products on the web (15% fee on sales for the service).
Pricing/Payout Policy – Free sign-up and a $10 monthly fee for more perks. Etsy has a listing fee (the first 40 listings are free; after that, you’ll have to pay $0.20 each). There’s a transaction fee (6.5% of the sale price) and a processing fee if you want to receive payments through the platform (3% + $0.25).
5. SmugMug
SmugMug is another well-known online photo-selling platform that allows you to protect, store, and share digital photos. The entire setup process on the platform takes just 15 minutes.
SmugMug partners with a number of print labs, so you can sell traditional prints or products as well. Your images can be printed on just about anything, including metal, glass, and keepsakes. Here are some reasons you may want to choose SmugMug:
- Private gallery and user-friendly tools.
- Custom price setting option.
- Unlimited photo storage option, including managing RAW files.
- Pre-built website templates and personal event sites.
Pricing/Payout Policy – To sell on SmugMug, you’ll need to sign up for plans that cost $28 per month, and contributors get to keep 85% of their profits.
6. iStock Photo
Remember Getty images? iStock Photo is a small branch of the same brand. The only significant difference between Getty and iStock is that your photos are not exclusive to iStock, which means you can sell your photos with any other platform.
Non-exclusive photos mean your commission rate will be lower. Commissions range from 15-45%, based on whether the images are exclusive or non-exclusive.
Here are some features that may make you choose iStock Photo:
- Doesn’t need exclusive rights to your images, meaning you can sell your photos on multiple platforms at once.
- Offers a generous license, allowing constant, worldwide, non-exclusive, and unlimited scope.
Pricing/Payout Policy – Free signup. Contributors receive royalties 30 days after the end of each month in which the license of sale was made. Commission rates are between 15-45%.
7. 500px
500px is another excellent online photo-selling website that’s targeted towards professionals. The website is fundamentally different from other stock photo-selling websites.
500px acts as a community platform that allows you to host and share photos, connect with other contributors, provide and receive feedback, and build a portfolio to sell photos online and earn money.
The payment and pricing policy is also different than other stock photo-selling platforms. Contributors have to pay a monthly subscription fee to use the platform and sell photos. As long as you have a paid subscription, you’ll get 100% commission on all the sales.
If you don’t sign up for a subscription plan, you’ll receive only 60% of the commission, which is still higher than other platforms on the list.
If all this didn’t convince you, here are some reasons that you should use 500px to sell photos online:
- In-built analytics features that give you insights into where your photo views are coming from. It also gives you insights into which images are most popular, how your pictures fare compared to those of your competitors, and more.
- Add your profile, portfolio, and resume to the available-for-hire directory and get discovered by potential clients (Pro plan).
- “Pulse algorithm” increases your exposure by adding new uploads to the discovery page.
- Weekly photo challenges with prizes, called Quests.
Pricing/Payout Policy: 3 membership plans ranging from free to $9.99/month. Paid plans include unlimited photo uploads and 100% commission.
8. Snapped4u
Snapped4u is another online photo-selling website that you can use. After you shoot photos of an event, you can make a new gallery, upload the images in JPEG format, and set photo prices. Once your images are uploaded, users of the platform will be able to buy the photos, and Snapped4u will share the files with the buyer via email.
Each Snapped4u seller has their page, so customers who buy multiple photos can find it all in the same place. Here are some other reasons that may make you want to use Snapped4u:
- Set your prices with a maximum photo price of $20.
- Get paid for all purchased photos on the 1st of the month via PayPal.
- Galleries are posted for four months, but they can be renewed after they expire.
Pricing/Payout Policy: There’s a one-time $10 registration fee along with a commission fee. Snapped4u charges $0.50 on all photo sales under $5 and 10% above $5.
9. Fotomoto
Fotomoto isn’t an online photo-selling marketplace; it’s a widget that you can integrate with your website to help you sell photos digitally. After you set up your Fotomoto account and add the shopping widget to your site, visitors will be able to purchase your images digitally.
If you’re selling canvases or physical prints, you can let Fotomoto handle the entire process. The service will take the whole process, including printing, packaging, and shipping.
Here are some reasons why you should choose Fotomoto:
- It integrates with numerous platforms, including WordPress, Joomla, Flickr, and Squarespace.
- The widget is very customizable. You can adjust the widget’s settings to display your branding and logo.
- User-friendly dashboard for customization and tracking.
Pricing/Payout Policy – There are three subscription plans ranging from a free plan with a 22% transaction fee to $10 a month with a 10% transaction fee.
10. Stocksy
Stocksy is a popular mid-range stock photography site, and it’s a great way to sell photos online for a number of publishers and creatives. When you become a contributor, Stocksy offers high payouts, as you can earn up to 50% royalty on standard licenses. If you spring for an extended license, you can get a 75% royalty.
The only downside of the platform is that the photos you publish there will be exclusive. Being exclusive means you won’t be able to sell the photos anywhere else.
Stocksy is also an artist-owned cooperative, which means contributors will be able to control the direction. Contributors can receive profit-sharing through patronage returns when the co-op has a surplus. Amounts are determined based on your contributions to the co-op through the sale of your photos and/or footage.
Which Website is the Best for Selling Photos?
Adobe stock, Shutterstock, or any other platform on this blog can be great options for selling your photos online. Alternatively, you can also create your own WordPress site to sell your stock images. This way, you won’t have to pay a commission to any third party.
If you’re a seasoned photographer with incredible photos to sell, we recommend you give 500px a try. If you don’t like any of the options mentioned above, here are some other options you can try out:
- Dreamstime
- Fine Art America
- 123RF
- Foap
