10 Best Stock Photo Sites for Photographers to Sell in 2017

If you have an eye for photos and need for cash, you need to check out the 10 best stock photo sites for photographers to sell in 2017.

On average, I’m pretty sure I take at least one photo a day, and some days I take way more than that. It’s so easy to just pull out my smartphone and take a quick pic, whether it’s for my own album or social media. If I’m traveling or going to a cool event, I like to take my actual camera, in hopes to snap some really great photos. While both these devices cost me more money than I would like to spend, it never occurred to me to use them to make a few quick bucks. I know a number of people who have a photography business as their main or side business and are very successful. However, there’s a way to make money from it without even maintaining a business and that’s where stock photo sites come in. I currently have a laptop that is bogged down with thousands of photos from over the past few years. While they’re great to look at and post on social media so friends and family can see, it would be even better if I could get money for some of them. I mean, there has to be at least one good shot out of a few thousand, right?

While there’s a huge market for photographers and stock photos on the internet, there’s also a market for companies aiming to help the freelance photographer. And if you’re really interested in stepping your photography game up, you can check out this list of 10 Best Stock Photo Sites For Bloggers to get a better idea of what companies are looking to buy. According to the Photography Research Report made by IBISWorld, the stock photo market revenue has risen in the last 5 years to $10 billion.

While you can head to websites like Amazon and Etsy (which landed photography among the 10 best things to sell to make money), stock photo sites are the best option you have at making money from your photos, according to Reddit. MicrostockInsider made a guide for best-selling images, ranking some of the most popular images as portraits, landscapes, tabletop photography, travel and art photography, and vectors or illustrations.

To compile our list of 10 best stock photo sites for photographers to sell in 2017, we started out with Microstock Agency Media Chart that took a look at over 50 stock agencies that accept new contributors. We then did research on our own to rank them according to the content you can post, registration billing, selling fee, number of users, and the acceptance rate. We also consulted several other sources for reviews, mostly by clients.

Without further ado, we present you the 10 best stock photo sites for photographers to sell in 2017.

10. 123rf

All content you upload on 123rf will bring you some money based on your contribution level to the site, which is counted at the end of every month according to the amount of sold photos. You can earn between 30% and 60% for the 10th level, or, to be more precise, between $216 and $432.

9. Photoshelter 

For every sale you make via Photoshelter, you can earn between 8% and 30%. This may seem low, but the perk is that you get to determine the price of your photos on your own. After choosing the package that suits you the most, you will be making your own website and you will be given a chance to work with some of the site’s partners, who will help you by promoting your artwork, in the exchange for the fee, after each sale you make.

8. ClipDealer

ClipDealer’s sales are all made in Euros and there are 4 different billing methods for media sold, which can get a little confusing. Price depends on the size of the photo, but you will get 50% of the overall price for your photo.

7. Snapped4U

Register for free, make your own gallery, and manage all your photos on your own. Although there is no limit for photo posting, site owners recommend that you don’t upload more than 300 photos per gallery, but each gallery expires after a few months. Here, you are charged a 10% fee per sale.

6. iStockPhoto

iStockPhoto is a respectable stock photo site, but what prevented us from placing it at the top of our list of 10 best stock photo sites for photographers to sell in 2017 is that they only receive 500 new contributors annually. That means that your application should be strong enough to beat the competition. But after you are in, you can even sell your flash files, and for every image or video posted by you and licensed by iStockPhoto you will earn between 15% and 45%.

5. Shutterstock

Here you can sell your images, illustrations, videos and music tracks, and depending on the subscription package, you can earn from $0.25 to $120 per image. There are three ways of earning on Shutterstock, through Standard license, On Demand and any other subscription.

When it comes to Standard License, you have the potential to earn an annual amount of $500. For On Demand sale, your earning is determined by the JPEG photo size. All other subscription packages will bring you 20% of every sale, and this number will slowly be increased to 25%, then 28%, and finally, 30%.

You can also make more money by bringing another contributor on the platform, which will earn you an additional fee every time they make a sale.

4. Fotolia

You just need to be 18 years old to start a free account on Fotolia that’s up next in our list of best stock photo sites for photographers to sell in 2017. After that, you are free to upload any content you own, and earn between 20% and 63% for sale via pay-as-you-go system, or minimum 33% for images and 35% for video sale via Subscription.

3. Pond5

Pond5 helps you to connect with customers that will know how to appreciate your art, whether it’s images, videos, 3D models, illustrations, video, music or sound effects. For every sale you make, you will earn 50%, and the best part is that you set your prices as you wish without any limitation.

2. Fantero

Fantero focuses more on the success of contributors than customers. Every action you make on Fantero is bringing you some kind of money, and there is even a bonus of $11 if you reach $100. For every sale of your work, they are giving you 50%-75% of all the payment. They’ll also Fantero give you 10% of every contributor’s earnings you bring to the platform.

1. Smugmug

While you are determining which photos to upload and how to set your prices, Smartmug will organize your portfolio and bring the customers to check your work out. All of your work is allowed to have watermarks and print marks, and for saving the originality of your photo, you can put a limit on a display size. If someone is interested in buying your photo, you will get 85% of the sale. These high earnings are what landed Smugmug at the top of our list of 10 best stock photo sites for photographers to sell in 2017.