For each photo you sell on Adobe Stock, you can potentially earn up to 33% of the amount paid by the customer. But again, like Shutterstock, this amount depends on what type of licensing the customer purchased as well as his or her subscription plan. To sell on Adobe Stock, you will need to:

1. Create a contributor account
2. Upload photos in JPEG format
3. Assign photo properties and keywords
4. Sign model release forms
5. Submit your image for approval

After your photo is approved, you will then be able to earn royalties through the Adobe Stock site.

Getty Images and iStock are some of the leading stock photo websites in the world. iStock is part of Getty Images and was originally the first source for user-generated stock photos. The difference between Getty Images and iStock is that iStock is a microstock agency while Getty Images is a stock photo site. Stock sites generally require exclusivity. This means that if you are selling your photos non-exclusively, you will only receive a royalty rate of 15%.

PhotoDune is a microstock agency that sells royalty-free photos and images. The website is also a community for photographers to ask questions and share resources with each other. Photographers who want to sell their photos on Photodune have to submit a portfolio of their best images before uploading images of their work to the site. They will then have to wait to be approved by Photodune. They will be able to upload their photos to customers to purchase once they’re approved.

Photodune sells photos at a fixed price. Each photo can sell anywhere from $1 to $56. PhotoDune takes a percentage of the sales amount, which ranges from 33% to 70%.

Depositphotos is a content marketplace that sells royalty-free images along with other content like videos and editorial files. There are two ways Depositphotos sells images: through subscriptions or on demand. Photographers that sell their photos on Depositphotos get paid based on their contributor level, and each level is determined by the number of photos you sell.

Here is a chart which breaks down the six contributor levels:

To break down this chart, we’ll give you an example to clarify the concept. If you are at the Silver level, you have sold between 5,000 to 24,999 photos on the site. For every photo that is sold by someone who purchased a subscription, you’ll earn $0.32.

Shutterstock is one of the largest websites that market and resell stock photos and other types of creative content. To sign up for Shutterstock, you create an account and input basic information about yourself, and upload photos to the website. Shutterstock then reviews your portfolio to check for quality. Once you’re approved, customers will then be able to purchase your pictures through the platform.

One thing to note about Shutterstock is that, previously, Shutterstock paid you according to your lifetime earnings on the platform. Many photographers preferred the old earning structure because they were rewarded for making more sales on the platform. However, recently Shutterstock implemented a new earnings structure, which was based on total sales for the year. The unfortunate downside to this new earning structure is that your tier rank resets every year on January 1st, making it harder for photographers to move up and earn more money.

Dreamstime is a stock photo agency that has been around since 2000. Dreamstime pays its contributors using a tiered royalty system, and they’re more generous with photographers who are exclusive contributors. Contributors can earn between 25% to 50% of the revenue share. Dreamstime is a good photo agency for beginner photographers, as they aren’t as selective as some other sites like Getty Images.

123RF is another stock photo agency that works similarly to sites like Depositphoto or Shutterstock. 123RF allows you to upload content on other platforms because all content sold on 123RF is non-exclusive. Photographers can make between 30% to 60% from each license sold, but that number depends on how many of their photos are accepted on their website. But there is a catch—to earn 60%, you would have to have over one million photos or more accepted by the website.

Bigstockphoto is one of the oldest international microstock photography websites on the market. Like most stock websites, you will need to pass a test first in order to start submitting your photos to the website. Each photo you submit on Bigstockphoto will have to go through an approval process.

As you begin to submit more photos, you will be assigned an approval rate, which is the percentage of photos submitted that were approved. An approval rate of less than 50% means that you can only submit 10 images per day. Photographers on Bigstockphoto can potentially make $0.25 to $0.50 per photo, depending on whether the customer buys the photo via subscription or credit. Bigstockphoto has a lucrative referral program, which allows you to earn 35% of the amount for every first purchase photo of yours purchased through your referral.

Another way to sell your photographs is through EyeEm, a company that uses artificial intelligence to find the best images to sell to its customers. EyeEm is also a partner of Getty Images, which means that if EyeEm’s algorithm likes your photo, it will add the image to Getty Images, potentially allowing your photo to earn higher commissions and more eyeballs on your photos. Another added benefit of EyeEm is that it hosts a massive community of photographers.

Though mostly known for its extensive stock video collection, Pond5 is an online royalty-free media marketplace company that has started to expand its library of stock photography and sound effects. Although not as well known as other stock photography sites, Pond5 is generous with its royalties. Contributors are allowed to set their prices, which is incredibly convenient. Each time your image sells, you earn 40% to 60% of the revenue.

Alamy is an incredibly popular site for selling photos, with an extensive image library of over 120 million. Alamy has one of the highest commission rates for photographers, allowing you to take 40% of each direct sale from the platform. Another compelling aspect of Alamy is that you can sell your photos non-exclusively, which means you can also sell your photos outside of the platform. However, although you can earn more per photo on Alamy, sometimes it can be harder to sell those photos as frequently as other larger stock platforms.

If you want to sell your photos via print, Fine Arts America is a popular choice for thousands of photographers. You can sell phone cases, wall art, mugs, and more with your photos printed on them with Fine Arts America. Fine Arts America charges a base price, and you can set the markup. For customers that purchase your photos digitally, Fine Arts America takes a 30% cut from the price.

Etsy is a trendy eCommerce platform that sells handmade crafts and vintage items. Like Fine Arts America, Etsy photographers primarily use Etsy to sell digital images of physical prints. Setting up your own Etsy shop is incredibly easy. Setting up a listing only costs $0.20 for each digital or print photo, and your work is showcased to millions of Etsy users. Unfortunately, like most major eCommerce sites, the downside is that you are competing with millions of other talented photographers. Additionally, unlike Fine Arts America, Etsy does not handle fulfillment or shipping, which means you’ll have to handle those tasks yourself.