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Top 4 premium photo stock sites

NEWS:  Fotolia’s premium stock site, Dollar Photo Club officially closed on April 15, 2016 after being acquired by Adobe in January 2015. Existing DPC members have the option to transfer all unused downloads to the new Adobe Stock at no charge for one year, with the added promotion of $10 for 10 downloads a month for the first year only. After that, image prices rise by 5 times.

So what are the alternatives for sourcing unique stock photography, without breaking the bank?

When free photo sites don’t have what you need or you just want an image that hasn’t been used multiple times over already, premium image libraries are a valuable source. We’ve long relied on Dollar Photo Club for highly engaging visuals to assist in the creation of content within budget, so with this news we’ve done a little research into alternatives we know you may also be interested in.

Big Stock

With over 17 million royalty free stock images, illustrations and vectors to search from, Big Stock offers a user friendly search experience and flexible subscription plans beginning at $79 a month for 150 images ($0.53 an image) or the more expensive pay-as-you-go options. If it’s something particular you need to find, chances are you will find it here and worth the money if large quantities are required on a monthly basis…view Big Stock Photos>

Big Stock

Stockfresh

Owned by the original founders of Getty Images, this site is certainly one to watch. With over 800,000 quality images, easy navigation and pre-purchased credits from $1 an image, this is one of the closest comparisons to Dollar Photo Club we’ve been able to find in terms of price and quality…view Stockfresh photos >

Stockfresh

Stock Photo Secrets

With the demise of Dollar Photo Club, it was only a matter of time before someone jumped in with a similar offer to snap up wavering members considering moving to Adobe. Stock Photo Secrets and the limited 99club subscription offers 200 downloads over 12 months for just $99, and further downloads within this time frame at $0.99 each. Credits and subscriptions after that period are a little pricey, but with over 4 million curated royalty free images, vectors and videos available it’s worthwhile jumping on board for 12 months…view Stock Photo Secrets>

Stock Photo

123rf

Updated with over 60,000 pieces of fresh content daily, 123rf keeps things fresh with over 100,000 contributors for unparalleled content. Buying credits and downloading on demand is your cheapest option here, beginning at $1.50 an image and if quantity is required, subscription offers start from as low as $79 a month for 5 images a day…view 123rf photos>

123rf

Whilst they all offer great choice of stock and flexibility on usage, when budget is of concern we all just want to know which is the cheapest though, right? So here’s a snapshot of key pricing differences to determine which is right for you and your project.

Screenshot 2016-04-05 14.53.15

What alternative sites would you add to the list? Let us know in the comments so we can check them out!

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