Home » Stock Photo Questions & Answers » [2023 Update] What is Adobe Stock? (Get 10 images for FREE!)

Stock Photo Questions & Answers

[2023 Update] What is Adobe Stock? (Get 10 images for FREE!)

Amos Struck

February 17, 2023

If you use Adobe Creative Cloud applications or look for stock images and other assets to use in your designs safely, you will likely come across the name Adobe Stock more than once. If the question of what is Adobe Stock raised in your mind, and if you’re curious about what it offers exactly, it’s your lucky day: I’m here to answer this and more.

Here you will learn what Adobe Stock is, the specifics of its stock photo service, and what’s in it for you: the value in Adobe Stock images for designers and some expert tips on exploiting its benefits in your favor when designing using Adobe products.

As a bonus, we'll tell you how to get 10 free images from Adobe Stock right now!

By the end of it, I dare say you'll love Adobe Stock. Ready? Let’s get started!

What is Adobe Stock

Adobe Stock is a complete and professional stock photo agency by Adobe that is seamlessly integrated into Adobe systems, mainly in the creative apps on the Adobe Creative Cloud platform.

Adobe Stock is a royalty free stock photography service that offers a collection of over 200 million high-quality images (photos, illustrations, and vector graphics) accessible from the Adobe Stock website and the library feature on any of the Creative Cloud applications, including popular design tools like Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign or Premiere Pro. The service includes collections of other creative assets such as stock videos, fonts, 3D graphics, audio content, and more, all royalty free and with millions of files to choose from.

You can search, select, test edit, license, and apply these high quality royalty free stock photos and other premium assets to your creative projects right on your favorite Adobe CC app’s interface, without third-party services, without having to import files, and without any of the hassles of using other stock photo sites. In fact, you can sign in to Adobe Stock with the same Adobe ID you use for your other Adobe programs. This is one of the core benefits of the way Adobe Stock work, and what sets it aside from other stock agencies.

Adobe Stock offers world class assets suitable for commercial purposes and a first-class user interface with lots of useful features, such as visual search where you can drop an image into the search bar to find similar content in Adobe's catalog, advanced filters to narrow results, and more to find the perfect image for your project.

There are options for a Standard and an Extended license –both royalty free–, that cover all kinds of commercial uses, from the web and social media to TV broadcast and print materials. They also have an Enhanced license for premium content, which adds product-for-resale rights (like to put on a t shirt for example) to Standard images.

For more in-depth details, you can read our Adobe Stock review. And you should definitely seize the chance to try the service for free with our great Adobe Stock Free Trial with 10 free photos for one month! That is one of several ways to download Adobe Stock photos without a watermark, which lets you download free images of your choice during the free trial period with a standard license that you get to use and keep forever.

If you love Photoshop, don't miss this Photoshop free trial! You can combine it with an Adobe Stock subscription to edit high-quality photos for free. If you want to maximize your budget and get a complete photo editing suite, you should go for the Photography plan, which you can read about in our Adobe Creative Cloud pricing breakdown!

What Does Adobe Stock Offer

Stock photos are the obvious answer, but there’s more. Adobe Stock has over 200 million curated images, all HD quality and ready to use legally in your work under a Royalty-Free license. They also have a Premium collection with high-end imagery, plus dedicated collections in other media types like stock videos, templates, 3D models, audio tracks, and more. They include a selection of editorial content — media under a special license for editorial use only.

Adobe Stock photos can be bought via subscription plans. These can be a monthly membership or an annual commitment (billed monthly), and they go from just 3 downloads a month up to 750 images a month. The plans are very convenient, with low prices that take a single image prices down to less than a dollar each. You can also buy credit packs that let you access premium and additional content in an on-demand model.

For customers who want to buy on demand, they sell credit packs. You buy these packs and then use the credits to download Adobe Stock assets at your own pace. Pricing in credit varies depending on if it's a stock image, a 3D graphic, a video, etc., but in general, the prices per image on demand are higher than with a subscription plan.

Extended licenses can only be bought on demand.

Another bonus point in Adobe Stock’s offer is its intelligent search technology, which lets you find the right kind of images you’re after using keywords, image recognition, and machine learning (powered by Adobe Sensei), helping you get more accurate results faster and easier. More details on this can be found in our complete Adobe Stock review.

What’s in For Me in Adobe Stock?

So, is Adobe Stock worth it for you? The service has a lot of benefits, but certainly, designers using Creative Cloud are the ones who can get the most out of it.

The main highlight of this service is its full integration with Creative Cloud apps. For any designer using this platform and its software applications in their creative work, Adobe Stock makes their workflow much faster and easier. Having a huge stock photo collection right on your design app, with images you can test and edit into your design before deciding to purchase, and the clear usage rights and legal backup of an Adobe Stock license, are a great added value that makes your life easier and helps you create better designs faster.

Another relevant is price points. Adobe Stock has options for all budgets, but the best price is high-volume subscriptions, suitable for those needing hundreds of downloads every month. Even so, their small volume options are very convenient, considering all the functionality the service gives you. Probably the one thing missing in Adobe Stock is a plan with unlimited downloads, but we don't think you'll miss it with so many benefits.

Then, the quality of the images is not only professional and high resolution but also very trendy and fresh. Adobe Stock premium content is strongly creativity-focused, so here, you can find the latest and best work from talented visual artists worldwide. You can even see an artist's portfolio of stock images, as well as multiple images from the same photo shoot available for purchase on Adobe Stock.

Finally, they have all kinds of creative media available. Adobe Stock included video footage not long after launching, and now there is also the Adobe Stock audio collection, plus all the different image types.

BONUS: Get 10 Free Images from Adobe Stock!

If you want to dip your toes in the Adobe Stock waters before diving in with your money into a paid subscription, great news: the Adobe Stock free trial lets you download 10 free images of your choice during one month!

This is a first month free offer for an annual subscription with 10 images per month. But you get the initial 30 days with its 10 downloads, free of charge. If you cancel your account within the 30 days of the trial, you are not charged a dime.

Unlock it right now:

Additionally, Adobe Stock has a Free section on their website where you can find a selection of free assets, including photos, vectors, and videos. These are available for all users, buyers or not, as long as they have a valid Adobe account.

Note: Adobe Stock protects its images from unauthorized use, so when you click on images in their library, you see lower-quality, watermarked images that have the Adobe logo overlaid on them. Don't worry, these are only previews of the actual, high-resolution, and non-watermarked photos you'll get after you pay for them and hit the download button. Here you can learn the best ways to download images from Adobe Stock without a watermark!

Discover Adobe Stock for your Designs

Now you know what is Adobe Stock, what it offers, and how you can use it to improve the design quality and creative workflow for your business or company.

It’s time to discover its image collection and experience firsthand how well the service works for you! Visit Adobe Stock here right now!

Remember that for more details, you can read our Adobe Stock review.

And don’t forget that you don’t have to spend money to try the service out! Our Adobe Stock Free Trial gives you 10 free photos in 30 days for free!