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5 of the cheapest stock photo agencies

By Amos Struck on July 1, 2011 10:55 am in Stock Photo Buyers-Guide / 5 comments

Everyone is looking for a deal and the researchers at Stock Photo Secrets have completed a comparison of all the stock photo agencies we use and have come up with a list of 5 of themost cheap stock photo agencies at a per stock photo price.

Our list includes PhotoSpin, Shutterstock, Photoexpress, Fotolia and Depositphotos. If you are regular stock photo or stock image buyer, see what the prices are per download and how you can save hundreds of dollars on stock photos

Prices per stock photo on the 5 stock photo agencies

This is a list that was researched this year, 2011 and compared stock photo prices at each agency. Some agencies had credit buying programs, some offered subscription buying options. Our focus was to find the cheapest per stock photo price so we could inform you the buyer. This list is for royalty free stock photos only and does not include special collections, exclusives or vector images.

5. Shutterstock

The lowest price on Shutterstock is 28¢ for one royalty free stock photo. When you sign up for Shutterstock you will also have access to their weekly free photos and other bonuses. Check out the weekly Shutterstock free photos available at Stock Photo Secrets

4. Dreamstime

The lowest price on Dreamstime is 20¢ for one royalty free stock photo. They also have a free photo gallery when you sign up at Dreamstime. Dreamstime has a very flexible buying system that will get you to the 20¢ per photo price easily.Their sign up is easy and fast.

3. Fotolia

The lowest price on Fotolia is 14¢ for one royalty free stock photo. Add a free image a gallery, Microsoft add-on and the Fotolia Desktop, and you have a great deal. Sign up for a Fotolia membership now and start downloading stock photos for 14¢ and use their many online resources.

2. Depositphotos

The lowest price per photo on Depositphotos is 10¢ per royalty free stock photo. They are currently running a free trial for all new members where you can download 35 photos (5 photos per day for 7 days) and then choose your buying plan for more 10¢ images. Signing up for Depositphotos will bring you lots of advantages and membership is for free.

EXCLUSIVE OFFER: Register now and get 5 free credits and 15% Discount!

The cheapest stock photo agency on a price per photo comparison

The cheapest stock photo agency on a price per photo comparison is PhotoSpin where you can end up paying less than 1¢ per stock photo. The image library is large, over 2.5 million images, they have been selling stock photos since 1999 and it is no surprise that the website is run by designers, photographers and website specialists who want to make stock photography affordable.

More about the PhotoSpin Coupon Code here

Exclusive Special Offer – 1,000 Stock Images only $37

We have negotiated a exclusive special deal with PhotozMania. You can buy a high-quality exclusive stock images bundle existing of 1,000 Stock Photos in highest resolution for just $37. The real value of this stock bundle is $177 – i think this is one of the cheapest offer we have seen here on Stock Photo Secrets.

Did we miss a good stock photo agency that has a better deal? Do you have a stock photo agency that you use and want to let us know if their prices are as good if not better than what our researchers have found? Sign up for each of the stock photo agencies listed and start saving today!

(VIDEO) How to choose between the cheapest 5 Stock Photo Agencies

5 Shutterstock Alternatives Compared
February 9, 2012
Dreamstime Review
April 30, 2011
7 of the cheapest stock photo subscriptions
May 30, 2011
PhotoSpin Review
February 8, 2013
Which Top 5 Stock Photo Agencies accept Paypal?
June 23, 2011

About the author

Amos Struck is the founder and editor of Stock Photo Press, a publishing company which operates several German and international stock photo online magazines, including fotoskaufen.de (buy photos), fotos-verkaufen.de (sell photos) and StockPhotoSecrets.com. He is also creator of the Microstock Photo Plugin for WordPress, MicrostockCharts.com and GuteWolke.com – a company introducing stock photo venders to new sales outlets. He’s committed to shaping the future of the stock photo industry through innovation and strategic investments.

5 Comments

cutcaster says:

July 15, 2011 at 7:23 pm

It would be nice to see how you computed this bc I have recently done all these calculations and am very familiar with these claims/numbers by other sites. The amounts are only the cheapest if you buy 1000′s of dollars in credits or subscription packages. What you found appears to be the cheapest subscription model based on buying the largest subscription package an agency offers which very few buyers do. What about one single image download which is what most buyers do, either via credits or credit card?

Also where do you get that photospin offers images for 1c? I see you took $329/18000 images a year maybe but that is not for the whole collection like you wrote. Just the 450k images in two of their collections and its just the smaller sizes.

Reply
- Amos Struck says:
  
  July 19, 2011 at 12:35 pm
  
  Thank you for your comment! You are right that it’s not that easy to compare the image prices. We just want to give a short overview for regular stock photo buyers. We might do another article which will compare the “Pay-as-you-go” prices for non-regular stock photo buyers. You are welcome to supply your comparison for it.
  
  Reply
ArenaCreative says:

February 9, 2012 at 1:32 am

Nice breakdown. There are also many price comparison stock image search engines popping up around the web. Will they catch on with buyers? Who knows – only time will tell.

What it comes down to, with image buyers, isn’t always just the price. Most buyers have budgets for their marketing projects. With microstock pricing models, no matter where they decide to buy is going to depend on things other that price. The prices are low, and a few dollar difference between agencies doesn’t always matter to them. Ease of use, selection, quality, convenience, customer support, brand familiarity, quality are just some of the key factors that come into play when someone is deciding where to buy.

Reply
MathiasIan says:

September 13, 2012 at 7:49 am

Photodune.net has images from 3.00 a piece. You wont have to spend 100′s per month if you only need a few photos. By the way, Photo spin has the worst pictures in the world.

Reply
- Amos Struck says:
  
  September 13, 2012 at 10:43 am
  
  Thank You Mathias for your comment. We also like Photodune, as they have a lot of great stock photos for a quite cheap price. But this blog post is about the cheapest stock photo. I admit that some of the very cheap agencies might not have a huge collection but every customer can check the collection before he order. You might find this article interesting, in which we compare the big microstock agencies on credit base.
  
  Reply