Taking photos like a pro is a real job. Unfortunately, website creators don't necessarily have the financial resources for this. The image bank is the perfect solution since it allows you to retrieve quality and royalty-free photos and videos, completely legally. If AIs are starting to develop in the niche, nothing is better than a natural photo. Below, our comparison to access the best image bank in 2024.
© Unsplash – Campaign Creators
If image banks are so successful, it is because (fraudulently) using an image that is not royalty-free can be expensive. Photographers no longer hesitate to hire lawyers to obtain compensation in the context of illegal use of content. After all, it is perfectly legitimate to pay a photographer for the work they have done and the time they have spent producing it.
You must therefore ensure that all images, photos and videos used on a website (or other commercial media) have been approved by the owner of the content so that it can be replicated. For an image used without permission, the fine can be as high as several thousand euros – which should dissuade you.
So be careful to protect yourself well, the bill can be very high. A solution in our comparison of the best image banks allows you to reduce this risk as much as possible in all simplicity, for a very reasonable cost. However, you should not be fooled by fake law firms that send fraudulent emails to webmasters claiming to have the rights to the images: this type of scam is booming – and even Presse-citron is a victim.
Now here it is, there are several large and best image banks available on the internet. Shutterstock, Adobe Stock (formerly Fotolia), Getty Images, Dreamstime and 123RF are all recognized players worldwide in this category. They share a large part of the market, ahead of lesser-known and smaller players where the quality is often lower.
We have therefore established this comparison of image banks to help you find the one that best meets your expectations. Below, you will find the details of each of these platforms to identify the best image bank according to your specific use. The platforms we have mentioned are a good compromise between free (limited) image banks, images from premium sources such as AFP or Reuters and AI solutions such as Dall-E or Midjourney.
Below, you will see the details of the platforms that are available on the French market with the most attractive offers. They each have their specificities (in particular on the diversity of images, videos and other content), with a trunk that is common to them. You will see in this image bank comparison information on the history of each. We detail the important information as well as their various current offers.
The 10 best image banks in 2024:
- Adobe Stock
- Shutterstock
- iStock by Getty Images
- Dreamstime
- 123RF
- Unsplash (free)
- Pexels (free)
- Pxhere (free)
- Flickr
- Midjourney
Below, we have put together a comprehensive guide to help you understand the pros and cons of each of these image banks. This selection is updated over the months to give you a good overview of all the offers available on the web. They will allow you to have a maximum of content on all types of themes. This concerns images, photos, videos or other music. The formats are displayed explicitly on each of the platforms.
1) Adobe Stock (formerly Fotolia)
Fotolia is originally a French company that was founded in 2004 by successful entrepreneur Thibaud Elzière. Ten years after its creation, the site was bought by Adobe, which also integrated it into its Creative Cloud suite, and then renamed it Adobe Stock.
It remains accessible to the general public and offers more than 200 million different contents: images, vectors, templates, videos. To return to our comparative guide of the best image banks, Adobe Stock also offers audio files. It is today one of the most complete banks for all content creators. We will also appreciate the “free” section with royalty-free images.ta
According to information provided by Adobe Stock, more than 7 million people use the service every day to enjoy royalty-free images. The platform also prides itself on being the bank where contributing artists receive the highest commissions in the market, which is why the world's best artists, photographers and image creators share their works on Fotolia (now the Stock image bank).
For those familiar with the Adobe group's artistic environment (Photoshop, Lightroom, Premier, After Effects), this is an even more obvious choice. From a UX point of view, this image bank is the best in our comparison. It is an excellent tool that stands out among the best tools on the market.
© Adobe Stock
A very positive point for Adobe Stock is that the platform does not increase its prices over time. It has been at least 4 years now that the prices have been the same. There are two possibilities: either you take a pack of credits (which you can spend whenever you want), or you take a monthly subscription with a certain number of images to download. The latter is more advantageous, but it imposes a monthly usage constraint. Note that you can also either subscribe monthly or annually.
To start the experience with this premium image bank, Adobe offers everyone 10 free Adobe Stock photos. This allows you to discover the interface and access content at no cost. Then, for 750 images per month (or 25 videos), it will cost you 159 euros excluding VAT if you take the annual subscription. The more images you order, the lower the price. In terms of value for money, and image quality, Adobe is excellent.
2) Shutterstock
At the top of our comparison of image banks, not far behind Adobe Stock, we find Shutterstock. It is an American company that was founded in the early 2000s and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. It is now the largest online image bank in the world with more than 400 million contents present on the site.
200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000While it was originally based on a monthly subscription system, for a few years now it has been possible to purchase content individually (in the form of packs like Adobe Stock). At the moment, there is an offer that allows you to have 2 free images: this is significantly less than Adobe Stock but at least it allows you to discover this platform. The prices are the same as Adobe Stock: 159 euros excluding VAT per month for 750 images, for example.
Every day, more than 200,000 new images join a large library of millions of images. Added to this are millions of videos, music and other 3D files. You can read our Shutterstock review to find out more about this excellent platform, which is one of our favorites on the market. Note that Shutterstock also highlights a database of images generated by its own AI. Called Shutterstock AI, the latter can help you create your own visuals.
Shutterstock's AI © Shutterstock
Of its millions of customers that it lists in Across the world, the Shutterstock image bank is proud to have international companies as well as advertising agencies, websites and bloggers. With a pricing structure adapted to all needs, the Shutterstock platform is one of the best image banks on the internet. Note that there are also a million content creators who come to enrich the library of the site.
We will also appreciate the customer support (available in French) which is particularly available in case of request. We have been using it for several years, and we have never been disappointed by its offer. It is one of our favorite platforms in our comparison of image banks. With Adobe Stock, Shutterstock is our second favorite tool.
3) iStock by Getty Images
iStock by Getty Images is a more high-end image bank than the others, which also has an impact on the price of the products. This can be useful for large companies or magazines looking to have premium images with lots of celebrity photos and news photos. More traditional images are also available.
As you can see, iStock by Getty Images is slightly different from the other image banks in this comparison. However, the basic offer is very similar, and iStock largely competes with its competitors. However, it is a niche market and it struggles to position itself against the ogres Adobe Stock or Shutterstock.
To ride the trend, iStock has also introduced an AI generator that can create virtual images on the fly. To do this, it has partnered with Nvidia and offers a specific package: 100 generations for 13.99 euros. This remains significantly less advantageous than pure players in the segment such as Midjourney which charge a monthly and unlimited subscription.
© iStock by Getty Images
In terms of pricing, the basic offer is advantageous since it will cost you 134 euros per month for 750 images. That said, you do not have access to the premium images that it offers in a second subscription (which costs 267 euros per month). We will still note one specific point at iStock that is appreciated: you have the right to carry over up to 250 undownloaded images per month. If you do not use the 750 downloads in a given month, you will therefore have a surplus that will be paid the following month. This is not the case with Adobe Stock or Shutterstock.
4) Dreamstime
Dreamstime is part of the same generation as Shutterstock and it also comes from the United States. Founded in 2000, Dreamstime is an image bank that has more than 200 million photos, 52 million users and a base of 150,000 photographers to feed the database with new content. On average, 3.5 million photos are added each month.
In terms of pricing policy, Dreamstime is quite similar to the competitors we mentioned above: the customer can buy a pack of images one-off or a monthly package. For example, if you take the monthly subscription of 750 images, it will cost you 180 euros. If you opt for this same formula with a 12-month commitment, it will cost you 150 euros. We appreciate the fact that Dreamstime also offers an intermediate offer with a significant volume of downloads: 200 images per month for 91.88 euros. This is a very good compromise because 750 images can be a little too big for many players.
Note that the Dreamstime platform works with a system of credits that can be spent (depending on the content and its format, the number of credits for a product changes). Another positive point: there is a large database of free and royalty-free photos and illustrations, which is not necessarily the case on other platforms.
Dreamstime also offers an interesting database of videos and audios. Customers can also subscribe to a monthly video subscription, which can be very practical in certain cases. The price for this best image bank is significantly lower than that of competitors, and this can make it a good compromise.
© Dreamstime
5) 123RF
123RF is an image bank that was created in Malaysia and offers the general public more than 100 million different contents. As you can see in our comparison of the best image banks, 123RF offers images, visuals, videos and music. In total, it can boast of having a community of 300,000 content creators and millions of customers.
As you can see in this comparison of image banks: whether it is Shutterstock, Adobe Stock, Getty Images or 123RF, all rights offer subscriptions for a limited number of images (with credits) or a monthly package. However, it is the monthly subscription that is more useful than buying a one-time image pack.
Like Shutterstock, 123RF has chosen to embrace AI with a proprietary solution that allows you to create images, modify backgrounds, enlarge image planes or even generate text. For all this, you will need to subscribe to the Plus plan, which costs 39 euros per month (or 199 euros per year). It is a very good way to understand artificial intelligence and the software is very comprehensive. Note that you have a 7-day trial to validate your subscription.
© 123RF
How all content is produced ?
An image bank is a resource that aggregates a large number of images that are royalty-free. This includes photos, visuals, illustrations, icons or even videos and music in some cases. The comparison of the best image banks therefore aims to compare these different offers in France. The players have also developed a section around the generation of images by AI.
This content is produced by professionals and artists (except AI) who are then paid for each download of their products by the image banks. The principle is the same as a Deezer which charges a subscription to listeners, and which pays part of the commission to the artists who created the photo or video content. In the end, it is legitimate and normal to pay back a sum for work done.
Free or paid: what solution ?
While there are free (and very limited) image banks like Unsplash, Pexels or Pxhere, others are paid. Free image banks are generally very limited in terms of content and you will quickly have to migrate to a paid image bank to have different and more premium visuals. If you have a professional activity, having a paid image bank is almost mandatory. Also, opting for a better paid image bank means recognizing the work of photographers and other content producers.
You generally have to subscribe to either a monthly subscription or a fixed amount that will allow you to download a limited number of images over a given period of time. With these 2 versions, the customer will then have access to the entire best image bank and will be able to choose the images that they like the most. This is a good way to have unique (or almost) images in very good quality.
Generally, the best image banks also offer several models of use, depending on whether it is for reproduction in very large numbers (such as in magazines or on posters) or for limited use online. In all cases, it is strictly forbidden to resell the image directly, without having taken this option. Depending on the formula you want, the price of an image generally varies between €0.3 and €20 per unit.
And you, what is your favorite image bank ?