The internet is bustling with content. No matter what subject it is, there will be something relevant to it available on the great Internet. However, nobody simply likes reading through long materials. To make matters interesting, supporting images and illustrations are generally added.
These images and illustrations can help the content become visually stunning and captivating. Therefore, platforms such as Shutterstock, which is a stock photo website, have become increasingly popular in the last few years.
However, as more and more content is being uploaded on the internet, the demand for stock photos keeps increasing. With that emerges more stock photo websites that provide amazing photo inventory for you to choose from.
Keeping that in mind, in today’s article, we will be looking at a few alternatives and competitors of Shutterstock that you can rely on and count on. After all, what is the harm in having a few more options to look into? Then without further delay, let us get right to the point!
Table of Contents
Understanding Stock Photo Websites
Before getting to the crux of the matter, let us first understand what a stock photo website is. Stock photo websites are online platforms that contain a large collection of images, illustrations, vector arts, etc., for companies and individuals to download from at a particular price.
These websites welcome photographers and artists to sell their work, which they put up for people to purchase and use as per their needs. However, these pictures are protected by watermarks by the host websites.
With the concept of stock photo websites clear, let us now take a look at a few of the alternatives and competitors of Shutterstock that also houses an amazing collection of photographs to browse from.
iStock
The first alternative on the list is iStock. It is an international, royalty-free, micro photo stock website that houses millions of images, illustrations, videos, clip arts, vectors, and even audio tracks for people to download and use. There are thousands of artists, designers, and photographers globally that contribute to the iStock community for royalties in return. Its parent organization is Getty Images, which is another highly reputed stock image website like Shutterstock.
Adobe Stock
The image stock from Adobe, Adobe Stock, is an excellent alternative to Shutterstock. Not only do you get an amazing photo collection here, but you also can directly open them on other Adobe applications such as InDesign CC, Photoshop CC, or Illustrator CC, etc. This allows you to start working without having the trouble of downloading and accessing the pictures separately. Quick, efficient, and with a great collection, Adobe Stock is definitely worth trying.
Pixabay
Pixabay is a good choice for stock images if you are looking for copyright-free and free-of-cost images and videos. It has a large collection of vibrant stock images and videos that are free for downloading and utilizing, be it for personal or commercial use. The materials available on this stock photo website are all open under Creative Commons CCO, which allows people to use the material without having to give credit to the artist or requiring their permission.
Burst
The next on the list is Burst by Shopify. This stock photo website has a stunning and colorful collection of photographs that are available for commercial and personal use. All the collections here are copyright-free and licensed under Creative Commons CCO that you can use without any permission or credit issues. The best part is that they upload new images every week.
Depositphotos
Depositphotos provides you with a large collection of royalty-free images for you to use commercially. Pertaining to every thinkable topic, Depositphotos will have something or the other in store for you. All these are priced very reasonably, so you need not worry about your budget or expenditure. Visit their site, surf through their images, and download your needed images without worrying about funds. An excellent alternative to Shutterstock, Depositphotos is highly recommended.
Alamy
If you are looking for options, Alamy might as well be your one-stop solution. Alamy has a community where over 600,000 photographers and over 600 photo agencies worldwide contribute images for you to select from. Not just that, nearly 100,000 fresh new images are uploaded daily. It allows you to have a large collection at your disposal, with a wide variety of topics covered. Therefore, no matter what you are looking for, you will find it at Alamy.
Unsplash
Unsplash provides you with a beautiful collection of images that you can freely download and use. Images available on Unsplash are carefully curated by the Unsplash community so that it lives up to your expectations. With the wide range of images available here, you are guaranteed to find the perfect image for your content— for free. Unsplash curates their collection weekly, so you can find new pictures every time you come back.
Morguefile
With a large collection that contains over 380,000 images, Morguefile has a lot to offer to its clients. All the pictures here are of the highest quality and resolution and can be downloaded without the need for any attribution. This means hundreds and thousands of images are at your disposal at Morguefile. All these images are available for commercial use, making it a worthy competitor for Shutterstock.
Stocksy
Stocky offers you VIP services for the best stock images on the Internet. With high-quality images and a refined search option to help you find your perfect images, Stocksy is a reliable and creatively abundant stock photo website that you can access without a moment of worry! Not only that, but Stocksy is also well known in the market for its quick and friendly customer support services.
Good Stock Photos
If you are looking for exclusive nature pictures, Good Stock Photos is your ultimate destination. Housing thousands of high-quality and exquisite images of nature, Good Stock Photos allows you to download images in high resolution that can be used for commercial and personal use alike. With the contribution of thousands of photographers, Good Stock Photos has the best collection when it comes to nature photos.
Crestock
Crestock has a strong community of photographers, illustrators, and designers, providing the most popular and stunning pictures that you can hope for. Starting from $1 only, you can buy all the pictures that you need. Want to save some more? Go for a subscription or follow the credit system to pay less and download more pictures.
Takeaway
Shutterstock is a great platform for browsing and downloading stock materials. However, knowing a few alternatives and competitors is always a good thing as it will only increase your options. Also, you can compare the prices offered by various platforms and choose from the one that benefits you the most.
With that said, refer to this guide and select your best alternative to a stock photo website so that your content never looks dull and boring, even again.
