Design your way

If you’re a web designer, work within a magazine, or run a website, you need a steady source of great-looking images to use in your work. But how choose from the plethora of agencies that you encounter online?

This might help: I’ve compiled an up-to-date list with 10 of the best stock photo agencies out there, based on the quality and pricings that they yield.

Fotolia

New York-based Fotolia is a leader among stock image providers. It takes pride in a royalty-free image database that is more than 24 million strong. Since its inception 8 years ago, Fotolia has grown to become the most preferred microstock solution on the wide expanse of the internet. Currently, more than 4 million users testify for the reliability and convenience of this service.

Creating a membership is free of charge, yet the acquisition of images, vectors, logos and videos from Fotolia occurs either via subscription, or a credit system. In terms of subscription options, two plans are available for Individual or Multiple user membership: monthly and daily. In a single day, members of a daily subscription can download a number of images/videos ranging from 25 to 250, on a minimum expense of $0.19 each.

Alternatively, for monthly subscribers, that number increases from 25 to 5000 in a month starting from $0.84 per file, not to mention that there is no daily limit. The longer the subscription period, the better the discounts per image kick in. Besides, all unused downloads from one month are not lost, but add to the cumulus of the next month if the subscription remains active. Unless the user notifies Fotolia 8 days prior to expiry (for monthly subscriptions) and 15 days in advance (for daily ones), all subscriptions are automatically renewed.

Apart from subscriptions, credits can be used to get hold of an image from Fotolia’s collections. The equivalent of one credit is $0.74, and once purchased, it is viable for 365 days. Going the route of credits is a must if the user needs to download images with an extended rf license. In addition, the premium files from the Infinite Collection are exclusively available for purchase through the credit system.

123RF

123RF is entitled to second place in this hierarchy because it’s a consecrated titan with 22 million royalty free stock photos in their vaults. On a daily basis, approximately 35.000 creative files make it to their collection after being approved by an expert selection team. And when I say creative files, I mean not just photos, but vectors, video footage, and audio files as well. Besides, what I find very interesting about 123RF is the fact that contributors are allowed to upload only high quality content via a mobile application named 123RF On-The-Go.

Moreover, another aspect that makes 123RF stand out is the possibility to download from their section of over 30.000 images, graphics, digital arts and audio files – completely free of charge. You may as well face it that this token of good will can hardly go by unnoticed.

Whether the user is involved in a subscription plan or makes purchases with credits, 123RF has instated a 100% Money-Back Guarantee, which the user can tap into in a window of time of 72 hours after having made the purchase.

Aside from the free register-and-browse option, there are three very convenient subscription plans at the user’s disposal: Basic, Premium, and On Demand. Whereas the first two allow for an increasing download rate per day, along with a sizable discount attached to the number of days that were signed, the On Demand plan is based on credits and does not limit the number of daily downloads.

iStockphoto

iStock is nothing more, and nothing less than a legend. This super-sized giant commands an exclusive collection of 6 million photos, videos, vector illustrations, audio tracks and Flash media, a number that makes all the other stock agencies’ quota pale by comparison. The proverbial head start comes as no surprise, seeing as it is common knowledge that iStock was the original web source for royalty-free stock images, having launched sometime 13 years ago.

Presently, their homepage offers a unique deal: half of their images at half the price – which is intriguing enough, because we all know that iStock harbors exclusive content. Options range freely from the elite Editor’s Picks category, to the Lightbox which features free stock files every week. Whenever the user is seeking something specific, iStock provides all the means for a meticulous search by means of a comprehensive set of filters, including category, keywords, price, license type, color, resolution, and much more. Thus, narrowing down the scope of a search has never been done more accurately.

As regards pricing, their credit system is particularly appealing, seeing as 15 to 30.000 credits can be purchased online, and they enable the user to save over 25%. As far their subscriptions are concerned, the user is free to scale away amidst three main variables: duration (3, 6, or 12 months), daily credits (ranging from 20 to 240 per day), and the plan price adapted to the designated requirements. Furthermore, a discount code is currently available which entitles you to 14% off on credits. Just click on the iStock link above and add ISTOCK14 at the checkout.

Depositphotos

Depositphotos is a safe bet. The microstock agency has a comprehensive stack of photos, videos and vector images (around 17 million). I would like to stress that they possess an exclusive collection comprised of almost 4600 vector illustrations, out of which one vector is assigned as weekly giveaway. Another plus worth mentioning is the Depositphotos Lightbox, because it offers 20% discounts for a set of season-specific photos and vectors. Last but not least, aside from the Pay-As-You-Go credit option, the subscription calculator enables the user to set the limits of a daily/monthly usage, with a download rate from 5 to 200/5000.

Cutcaster

Cutcaster is another high-quality addition to the top 10 stock agencies. It is an exclusive marketplace for top-notch photos, illustrations and vectors, organized into sizable collections according to topic. For instance, the Crescendo Collection is made up of 920 crisp and pixel-perfect images, and is definitely worth delving into. You can also check out their neatly organized picture collections. Cutcaster established that their users can either pay as they go without registering, or nvest in one of their four credit packages: bronze, silver, gold, or customizable for over 100 credits. Overall, given enough credits, a maximum discount of 49% is on the table.

Stockfresh

With a database that contains over 300.000 vectors, and tons of other photos and graphics, Stockfresh makes a very positive impression. Their interface is really easy to use, and the search box makes for a fast and precise singling out process. As a matter of fact, it is my contention that going to them for a rasterized graphic or photo is hassle-free and is going to save you a lot of time. Here, the pricing options are prepaid credits ranging from a minimum of 5 ($4.99) to 500, and subscription plans starting from 1 month ($99) to one whole year.

Bigstock

Bigstock is easy and affordable. A Shutterstock brand with a solid collection of 14+ million quality images, vectors and illustrations offering plans for graphic designers, freelancers, small businesses, and app developers. Bigstock’s awesome, risk-free 7-Day Free Trial of their popular monthly subscription plan allows up to 5 downloads per day. This means a total of 35 Free Images can be downloaded in your first week, and the Free Trial can be cancelled any time. For lower volume customers, Bigstock’s previous pay-as-you-go model has been replaced with prepaid credit packs which offer greater savings. These options start at $35 for 10 credits. The perks of a subscription plan include free re-downloads and a discounted rate up to $0.35 per image when you sign up for an annual plan with 5 downloads per day.

Dreamstime

Dreamstime are proud to stand by their 18 million stock photos, illustrations and images. That is an impressive number, but it’s more than accounted for, given that they’ve been around since 2000. I’ll warrant that 13 years is more than enough time to form up an extended community of photographers who are passionate about what they do. Thousands of new files are admitted to Dreamstime every day. After signing up, the user can download away from a palette of several thousands of freely available images. Finally, their credit packages range from 11 to an unlimited number, and their monthly subscriptions start from 750 downloads per month.

PhotoSpin

PhotoSpin is also a good source of stock photos, vectors and illustrations. This service offers more than 3 million images stacked in two major collection options: Premier and Expanded. The Premier Collection has two yearly subscription options, Plus and Super Plus, depending on the size of the JPEG and EPS files that the user has in mind for download. On the other hand, The Expanded Collection altogether yields around 2.4 million of PhotoSpin’s total of 3, and the collection is made available through 4 categories, 4 options (1, 3, 6 or 12 months) and 16 different subscription plans.

Thinkstock

Thinkstock is part of Getty Images, and holds an impressive collection of illustrations, vectors and photos, put at the subscriber’s disposal by means of a partnership with over 40 famous names, such as iStockphoto or Jupiterimages. Each image acquired from Thinkstock is of high quality and comes with a license. Moreover, the price of every download doesn’t scale along with the chosen image size. Finally, the agency offers notable code discounts for new customers who can save 20% off a pro annual subscription by using R4HPC46N, or 60% off a monthly subscription with GTDPC46N.