Shutterstock Alternatives – 5 Royalty Free Image Sites for Better Images

If you have ever looked for that perfect stock image, you know the frustration you can experience in trying to find the image or graphics you need. Shutterstock.com is a very popular image site that has a wide range of image types and sizes to choose from. The problem is that Shutterstock is not free. In fact, you must pay for every individual image that you download. So the cost can add up quickly if you need more than one image or graphics for your project.

In this post, we’ll offer 5 sites that offer royalty-free images that you may want to consider that are a bit less of a hassle and less expensive.

Stockadobe.com

Stock Adobe is a site that offers royalty-free images at a premium monthly rate of $29.99. For this price, you get up to 10 images per month. The images are quite attractive and professional and you get the quality that is so customary with Adobe.

They also offer a variety of formats of media to download including:

  • Images
  • Templates
  • Videos
  • 3D images

You can also get high-quality new media like HD videos and 4K videos at the rate of $79.99 per video. If quality is what you’re after, you may like the content offered by Adobe Stock media.

Pexels.com

Pexels.com is another good alternative to ShutterStock.com. They offer a royalty-free license on all of their materials and their license is very easy to understand and straightforward. All images and content on their site is under the Creative Commons license. You can get as many images as you want and use them in your personal or commercial projects.

They feature some HD wallpapers, as well. They also allow you to be a contributor by uploading your own images. One thing to keep in mind regarding Pexels is that they are based in Germany so they have different copyright and usage laws than those in the United States. However, the “Creative Commons Zero” license is the one they use and it is universally recognized as a full rights usage license. Ask them if you have any questions.

Pixabay.com

Pixabay is a great royalty-free image and video site that allows you to download royalty-free images for free. This means you can use them in any individual or commercial project without attribution and without worrying about infringing on anyone’s intellectual property. They operate under a Creative Commons license for the United States. This allows you to use the images in your own projects at will. Some images might require attribution but most do not.

The best thing about this site is the fact that the images you download are free and you never have to pay for them.

iStock Photo

iStockphoto.com is another good option if you don’t want to pay the higher prices of images on ShutterStock.com. iStock Photo offers a package price on a monthly premium for $99 per month for 10 images. While this is a bit costly, it allows you to download ten images at one price, rather than paying for them individually.

They also have a credit system that allows you to download images with credits that you collect for a set price. They offer photos, illustrations, videos, and even audio file downloads. Check with the site to learn about their terms.

Burst.shopify.com

Burst.shopify.com is another excellent choice for collecting images. Why? They are royalty-free under the CCO (Creative Commons Zero) license, which means that you can use the images in your individual or commercial projects without restrictions. They are also free of charge, which is also great! This is one of the few sites where you can find royalty-free images in one place on a variety of themes and topics.

Shopify.com developed this resource for entrepreneurs in order to promote entrepreneurs and new businesses and startups so they can be more successful with an eCommerce site. Shopify is one of the most popular online eCommerce solutions available to entrepreneurs today.

They developed this site as a resource for entrepreneurs to help them develop content without restrictions or legal hassles.

Know the license

Remember to always check the license of each individual image and don’t just go by the policies of any one website. However, these five sites are excellent alternatives to Shutterstock.com if you are wanting to find a source for photos, videos, and content to use in your creative projects or advertisements.

With the growing number of people looking for content, business owners must become content producers, as well. It’s not enough to allocate all of this responsibility to others. As a business owner, you need to be able to have an active role in creating some of your content yourself so that you will have a wider appeal to your target audience.

Remember that your content should always be original and it should always reflect the uniqueness of your brand.

These five sites should help you accomplish this by giving you plenty of digital assets to use for your projects.

How to Start a Blog in the Next 10 Minutes

One of the most exciting things about blogging is that anyone can get started in just a few minutes time. There are no prerequisites to getting started with a blog and there are no technical skills required. Anyone can go live with a blog in just minutes by selecting a domain name and setting up their WordPress hosting account. Both of these are required if you want to have a blog or website on the internet today.

Before doing this, you should first think about why you want to create a blog in the first place and how you were going to provide value to your audience. Once you have this in mind, you can then register your domain name and set up hosting with our recommended web hosting solution, Bluehost.

Bluehost currently powers a number of our websites and more than 2 million other domains and websites on the internet. They are also the recommended web host by WordPress, the platform that powers the majority of websites on the internet today.

To get started, click on the image below. As a reader of blogging.org, you will also receive 60% off your web hosting package and get a free domain name at the time of sign up. This is a special offer that we have in place as we have partnered with Bluehost.

No matter what type of blog or content you are going to create on the internet, be assured that you will be able to find amazing royalty free images and stock photos to complement your content as well. Check out each of the resources mentioned above and also to set up a blog of your own.

To learn more about the blog setup and content creation process, be sure to visit our main page tutorial at blogging.org.