Getty Images is a popular website in the photographer community to sell photos. However, selling your photos on Getty Images is not as easy you think. Getty Images has tight enough rules to be met by photographers. Plus, contributor registration is not always open all the time. There are several alternatives you can opt to if you want to sell your photos to a stock photo website, which we will cover in this article.

If you have never sold your photos on a stock photo website before, there are some things you need to know first. In most cases, when you sell your photos via a stock photo website, your photos will be sold as royalty-free photos. This means that anyone who has bought your photos can use them without paying a royalty to you, the photographer. You can read the license types applied by the stock photo website you want to sell your photos on to learn more about how the buyers can use your photo.

If the photos you want to sell contain a human element, you will usually also be asked to add a model release. You can read this post to learn more about the things you need to know before selling your photos on a stock photo website. If everything has been prepared and you are ready to sell your photos, here are some websites you can choose as the Getty Images alternatives.

1. Alamy

Probably, the main reason why many photographers are obsessed to sell their photos on Getty Images is that in Getty Images your photos are sold by an expensive price. in Getty Images, a single 339 x 509 px photo is sold $50, while a large photo (3456 x 5184 px) is sold $499.

Alamy is the best Getty Images alternative if you have the same reason as the one above. In Alamy, a single 450 x 300 px photo is sold $49, while a photo with the largest resolution (above 5000px) is sold $525. In Alamy, your photos are sold as either royalty-free photos or royalty-based photos. You will earn 40% for every photo sold (or 50% if your photos are exclusively available on Alamy). Becoming an Alamy contributor is also easier compared to Getty Images. You can visit this page to apply to become an Alamy contributor. Alamy has about 110,000 global buyers.

2. Stocksy

Stocksy is another great alternative if you think that your photos have a high sale value. In Stocky, a single photo can be sold $300 with an Extended license, while the cheapest price for a single photo is $15 (815 x 614px). Your photos will be sold as royalty-free photos in Stocky.

Becoming a Stocky contributor is also easier than Getty Images. You can visit this page if are interested to become a Stocky contributor. Stocky gives you a 50-75% commission for every photo sold. One thing. You are required to make your photos exclusively available on Stocky. Meaning that you can sell the same photos on other stock photo agencies if you have uploaded them to Stocky.

3. Adobe Stock

Adobe Stock offers several ways for users to buy a photo. They can buy a photo from Adobe Stock via a subscription-based model or a one-time purchase with a price of $79 (Extended license). The cheapest plan offered by Adobe Stock for the subscription model is $29 per month. This plan allows users to download 10 photos per month. If your photos are bought via this plan, they cost about $2.9 per image. But note this: Adobe Stock is owned by Adobe Inc., the company behind Photoshop, Adobe Spark, Illustrator, Lightroom, and several other creative tools.

Today, Adobe requires users to create an account to use its products (Adobe Creative Cloud). Everything is now synced with a single Adobe account. Once you uploaded your photos to Adobe Stock, they can be accessed via Adobe products. For instance, when a user is working on a design using Adobe Spark and he/she need a photo, he/she will search for a photo right from the Adobe Spark app. If the photo used is yours, you will earn a commission. Adobe Spark itself offers a 35% for every photo sold. Everyone with an Adobe account can upload their photos. You can visit this page to register to become an Adobe Stock contributor.

4. PhotoDune

PhotoDune is one of the members of the Envato network, other than Themeforest and Codecanyon. It can also be a great alternative to Getty Images. In PhotoDune, your photos will be sold with a one-time purchase model. There are two license types offered by PhotoDune: Regular License and Extended License. A photo bought with a Regular License costs $8, while a photo bought with an Extended License costs $60. The commission rate offered by PhotoDune for a photo sold is 50%. Visit this page if you want to apply to become a PhotoDune contributor.

5. Shutterstock

Shutterstock is a popular microstock photography website direct competitor of iStock (a microstock photography website by Getty Images). Selling your photos on this website is also a good option although your photos might are not sold at a price you expected. Shutterstock adopts a subscription-based model in selling their photos. The commission rates offered Shutterstock are vary depending on some parameters. You can read our review in this post to learn more about contributing to Shutterstock.

6. Stock Photos by Canva

Canva is a popular online design tool. People use this tool to create things like flyers, social media post materials, blog post materials, brochures, and other marketing campaign materials. There are over 10 million users who use Canva. When working on a design with Canva, users can add a photo (much like Adobe Spark). Some photos on the Canva library are free to use, some require you to make a purchase. If your paid photos are used by a Canva user, you get a commission. Those who don’t use Canva can also buy your photos ($10 per photo). You can visit this page to apply to become a Canva contributor.

7. Depositphotos

Depositphotos has a similar business model to Shutterstock. Your photos will also be sold via a subscription-based model. It also accepts a non-subscription payment model, though (on-demand). Becoming a Depositphotos contributor is also easier, at least if compared to Getty Images. You can visit this page to apply to become a Depositphotos contributor. Same as Shutterstock, the commission rates offered by Depositphotos are also vary depending on your contributor level.

8. 123RF

123RF is an old player in the stock photo field. It has been around since 2005. It can also be a great alternative if your obsession to become a Getty Images contributor cannot be achieved. You have over 5 million potential buyers if you sell your photos on this website. 123RF offers 30% – 60% commission rates. The business model adopted by 123RF is not much different from Depositphotos and Shutterstock. It accepts a subscription-based business model as well as a one-time purchase model. You can visit this page to learn how to become a 123RF contributor.

9. Storyblocks

Storyblocks might is not as popular as other websites above, but it can also be a great alternative to Getty Images to sell your photos. Photos you sell on this website can also be sold on other websites. The Storyblocks buyers ranging from editors, YouTube creators, designers, and so on. You have over 180,000 potential buyers if you upload your photos to this website. Storyblocks itself accepts subscription-based payment only. It will pay you based on how much of your content is downloaded. You can visit this page to apply to become a Storyblocks contributor. You will be asked to enter a URL that refers to your portfolio.

10. Dreamstime

Dreamstime is another alternative to sell your photos. When uploading your photos to this website, you can choose whether you want to make them exclusively available on Dreamstime on not. This will affect the number of commission you will earn. You will have a higher commission rate of you set your photos to available on Dreamstime only. You can visit this page to apply to become a Dreamstime contributor. In Dreamstime, your photos will be sold via a subscription-based model.