10 best stock photo agencies to sell images

This list includes 10 microstock photo agencies recommended for photographers and illustrators willing to sell their images online. The best ones are at the top of the list but all of them are worth trying!

Submitting your work to all of these sites will provide 10 sources of income for your business. As your online portfolio grows, your income will grow as well.

Dreamstime

Highly recommended. Good downloads and fair image review process. You can sell photos and vector illustrations. For each image sold the photographer receives a 50% fee (60% for exclusive images). For each image download you get can from $0.50 to $7 depending on image size and its popularity. Earnings from subscription sales start at $0.35 per image. Earning for extended licenses are up to $25 per image. You can request payment as soon as your balance has reached $100. Payments can be sent by Paypal, Moneybookers or bank check.
Accepts photos and vector illustrations.

Fotolia

Photographer’s commission for non-exclusive files starts at 33% and can go up to 47% (depending on the number of images sold). Earnings from subscription sales are 30 - 37 cents per image. Earnings for Extended license sale start at $20. You can request payment once your balance has reached $50. Image review process is usually fast but sometimes images get rejected with all kinds of strange reasons. With the growth of its photo library, Fotolia becomes more and more picky and often rejects photos that other agencies would normally accept. But it’s certainly worth trying, Fotolia is one of the best microstock agencies.
Accepts photos, vector illustrations and footage.

Shutterstock

Highly recommended! Shutterstock is based on a subscription model that encourages buyers to download a greater volume of images than they would at most other agencies. Shutterstock will pay you 25-36 cents every time one of your images is downloaded. Your commission raises as your earnings grow and can reach up to 38 cents per download. Recently Shutterstock has introduced the new On Demand Subscription, offering contributors $0.81 to $2.85 commission for each image sold. Earnings for Enhanced License sale are $28 per image. You can sell photos, illustrations in Vector format, and footage. Shutterstock is famous for their high-quality image collection, but for new photographers it can be quite challenging to get accepted. Each new contributor has to submit 10 images for initial review and get 7 of them approved to be able to start selling. Don’t be discourage if you are not approved at once - you can try again in 30 days, and it’s really worth the effort!
Accepts photos, vector illustrations and footage.

BigStockPhoto

It is quite easy to get your photos approved at BigStock. It doesn’t mean that bad-quality images will be accepted but approval ratio is still very high. You can make from 50 cents to $3.00 per image download, and more on Special License downloads. Vector images are also accepted. While not a top performer, BigStockPhoto is still considered to be one of the ‘Big 6’ microstock agencies and can give you a nice addition to your monthly income. You can request payment once your earnings have reached $50.
Accepts photos and vector illustrations.

iStockPhoto

A pioneer of microstock industry, iStockPhoto offers a huge image collection and boasts the largest number of exclusive contributors. You can sell photos, Vector illustrations, Flash files, Video and Audio. iStock pays a base royalty rate of 20% for each file download and up to 40% for Exclusive contributors. 20% is the lowest payout in the industry but despite this, iStock can give you the highest monthly income compared to other agencies! Exclusive artists benefit higher commissions, faster review times, better portfolio exposure and lower upload limits, which result in much better sales than whose of non-exclusive artists. iStock will offer you to go exclusive with them after you reach 250 downloads. The choice is still up to you because when you become exclusive you can not sell your work on other sites. You will need to submit 3 best samples of your work to be approved. Once approved to start selling, non-exclusive artists can still have hard time getting their photos and illustrations rejected. The review process is very strict but it can teach you a lot since each rejection is explained and you often have a chance to correct your image and resubmit it. You can request payment when your account balance reaches $100 USD.
Accepts photos, vector illustrations, flash files, footage and audio files.

123rf

123.rf is an up and coming microstock agency accepting for sale photos and Vector illustrations. Depending on the quality and size of your portfolio, you can get a nice monthly addition to your income. You will receive $0.36 per subscription download and 50% for each Credit download. The review process is fast, and images get accepted quite easily. Worth trying!
Accepts photos and vector illustrations.

FeaturePics

Featurepics will give you a 50% royalty for each image sold, which is a good commission in the microstock industry. Sales are slow but it can be worth trying if you already have a big portfolio ready to upload. Uploading is very easy and practically takes no effort. When your earnings reach $50, you can request payment to be issued by Paypal, Moneybookers or check.
Accepts photos and vector illustrations.

CanStockPhoto

Sales are slow at CanStockPhoto but they are increasing thanks to the partnership with Fotosearch, one of the world’s largest stock photography agencies. Now all CanStockPhoto collection is represented on Fotosearch, allowing your images to get maximum exposure. At CanStockPhoto photographers are offered $0.25 for subscription sales and a 50% commission for guest & member purchases (that is from 50 cents to $1.25, and $2.50 for Vector images). Images sold through Fotosearh earn you much higher royalties. You can request payment by Paypal after your account balance reaches $50, or by Moneybookers or cheque when your earnings reach $100.
Accepts photos, vector illustrations and footage.

StockPhotoMedia

Scandinavian agency. Photos get easily approved and commissions are paid in Euro. Sales are slow but with a big portfolio you can still earn some additional income. You will be credited with 35% for small images, 45% for medium images, 55% for large images, and 50% for vector illustrations of the revenue generated by every image download. You can request payment when your earnings exceed 60 EUR or every 3 months (which is nice because it guarantees payment even with slow sales). Payment is issued by Paypal or Moneybookers.
Accepts photos and vector illustrations.

ScanStockPhoto

Another Scandinavian agency. You get 1 Euro for each image sold and can request a payout when your balance exceeds 50 EUR. Sales are slow but with a big portfolio you can still earn some extra cash. Uploading is easy, review process is usually fast and photos get accepted easily.
Accepts photos and JPEG illustrations (all Vector files have to be saved as JPEGs).