Visuals are everything nowadays. The evolution of social media sites alone is proof of that. We went from posting gigantic blocks of text to uploading a single image with a hashtag or two. Similarly, you will rarely find articles, blogs, advertisements or online stores created in the last century without any pictures. The thing is, not everyone can afford a professional photographer. But that doesn’t have to stop you. We’ve compiled a short list of the best stock photo sites where the perfect images are just a click away.
If you’ve ever dipped your toes in the world of design, you are most likely familiar with Shutterstock. Not only has it been around longer than most stock photography websites, but it also offers one of the biggest stock photo libraries on the market. Shutterstock holds over 350 million images that can be personalized using Shuterstock’s very own editing app. Advanced filtering options enable you to sift through this abundant collection with ease. As far as premium stock photography websites go, the customizable pricing plans make Shuterstock’s services available to pretty much anyone. Read Review
- ⦿Huge selection of images
- ⦿Very detailed filtering options
- ⦿Built-in editing tool
iStock is a subsidiary of the renowned visual media company Getty Images. The website has two main image categories: Essentials and Signature. The Essentials collection is budget-friendly but doesn’t include the exclusive images that come with the Signature collection. Due to its plugins, iStock is a great stock photo service for those already using Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign. Those browsing the website for inspiration will appreciate the many albums that make going through millions of images in the iStock library an enjoyable journey. Read Review
- ⦿Affordable
- ⦿Adobe Creative Cloud plugin
- ⦿Large library
123RF might not be as established as some of its competitors, but its impressive growth over the years can’t be overlooked. Some of the most famous companies in the world have started using this website and so should you. The reason behind this might be that 123RF is gradually developing a reputation for being the best stock photo website for modern and captivating art, which isn’t a surprise considering that over 90,000 new works are added to it daily. The low prices and free online editing tools are the cherry on top. Read Review
- ⦿Low-cost
- ⦿Free editing tools
- ⦿90,000 new works added daily
Photocase has made a reputation for itself as a premium stock photo website with extremely high standards. This Berlin-based company chooses to focus on quality instead of quantity. Hence, its collection isn’t enormous, but it does contain unique stock photos that you won’t find anywhere else. It’s among the best stock photo sites for photographers who truly want to showcase their capabilities, as well as users who can appreciate them. On the Photocase site, you can read specific details about each photo and the techniques that went into creating them. The license you get with every image includes any commercial use you can think of. Read Review
- ⦿Authentic stock photos
- ⦿High-quality images
- ⦿Broad usage of photos with a single license
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Our Methodology
Image selection and licenses
In order to make our best stock photo sites list, we first looked at the variety and quality of the stock images. Many websites now have extensive libraries, but few have rigorous selection processes, so you end up seeing the same content on ten different websites at different prices. Our goal was to single out those that offered the best or most unique high-resolution photos at reasonable prices with widely applicable licenses.
Pricing plans
Price is always a big issue. In any purchase, you want to know that you’re getting your money’s worth. Free stock photo sites can be a good option for smaller projects or personal use, but the quality and variety of their images can’t compare to those provided by any premium stock photo service. Therefore, we carefully picked out paid websites that offered plenty of affordable options for both one-time and long-term users.
Ease of use
Even the smallest of libraries can be a pain to navigate if there aren’t any albums or advanced filters there to help you. Not to mention the irritation that arises from having to wrestle with poorly organized web pages. For these reasons, we wanted to present you with websites that offer a simple and enjoyable browsing experience. Finding just the right photo shouldn’t take hours.
Customer support
We believe that top stock photo sites should have a customer support team that’s knowledgeable and easy to reach. Sometimes, even the most seasoned users will need assistance deciding the right size for a download or deciphering the limitations of their acquired license.
Best Stock Photo Sites: Top 4
- Shutterstock
- iStock by Getty Images
- 123RF
- Photocase

Reviews
Shutterstock Review
EXCELLENT
EXCELLENT
EXCELLENT
EXCELLENT
- ⦿ Multilingual customer support
- ⦿ Superb standard license
- ⦿ Well-organized
iStock by Getty Images Review
GOOD
EXCELLENT
EXCELLENT
GOOD
- ⦿ Customizable pricing
- ⦿ Hand-picked albums
- ⦿ Reputable parent company
123RF Review
EXCELLENT
FAIR
EXCELLENT
EXCELLENT
- ⦿ Website available in 14 languages
- ⦿ Wide variety of licenses
- ⦿ Geolocation feature for searching content
Photocase Review
EXCELLENT
EXCELLENT
EXCELLENT
FAIR
- ⦿ Available license transfer
- ⦿ Pro Search
- ⦿ Creating personal collections with lightboxes
Stock photos are images that are most often licensed for specific uses. Stock photo sites buy images from photographers and then sell them to their customers.
Unisplash, Pexels, and Pixabay are regarded as the best free stock photo sites. However, even though the images that you download from these websites are free, you are still required to follow certain rules when using them.
Shutterstock currently owns one of the largest stock photo libraries on the internet, so you shouldn’t have any trouble retrieving images of great quality from there. You can check out our best stock photo sites list for more excellent websites that sell high-resolution images.
The quickest way to find out if an image is copyrighted is to ask the person who posted it. If no such person can be found, you can always input the image into Google Images and see if your photo pops up with a copyright notice on it.