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Selling Photos as Microstock - Rates and Commissions
Interested in selling photos? We'll break down the rates and commissions paid by various top microstock agencies to photographers who are selling their photos.
Microstock agencies commonly license images under the royalty free model, and that is what these various rates and commissions reflect.
As of 2007:
Shutterstock
Photographers earn a $.25 flat fee per image download. After a photographer has sold $500 of images, the rate goes up to $.30 per download.
Fotolia
Pricing method is based on the exclusivity of the image. For exclusive images (images that are only available on Fotolia), a commission of 50% - 64% is offered. Non-exclusive images receive 33% - 47% commission.
The percentage of commission is based on the rank of the photographer-- the higher the rank, the higher the commission. Rank is earned by the number photos downloaded (sold). To reach the maximum earning percentage, a photographer must have sold 500,000 photos.
Dreamstime
A flat rate of 50% of the sale is offered for non-exclusive images, while exclusive images command a 60% commission. If the photographer is exclusive* to Dreamstime, they get a bonus of $.20 per submitted photo.
*Being an exclusive photographer means you only post your work at one agency.
iStockphoto
A 20% commission on sales is offered for non-exclusive photographers. That rate doubles to 40% if the photographer is exclusively represented by iStockPhoto.
StockXpert
Photographers selling photos at StockXpert earn a 50% straight commission on all sales.
LuckyOliver
Carnies (photographers) receive a 30% basic royalty on sales. Exclusive images earn 35% - 50%, based on the number of sales a photographer has generated.
123RF
Individual image sales earn 50% each, while subscription-based downloads earn $.36 each.
Big Stock Photo
Photographers earn $.50 to $1 for each photo downloaded, based on the resolution of the image sold.
Selling photos to microstock agencies can be a great way for photographers to add to their income. While commissions and payout rates for royalty free image sales between the top micropayment agencies varies, higher payouts can be achieved by image exclusivity or even photographer exclusivity.
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