The 15 Best Free & Cheap Stock Photo, Images and Illustrations Websites
Images can make or break a website. This lens provides a well researched list of the best free and cheap stock image sites on the internet.
How Can I Benefit From this Lens?
When photos and illustrations are well chosen and relevant to the content, they greatly improve your customer's experience and enjoyment. Irrelevant eye-candy serves no purpose and is an unnecessary distraction. So chose thoughtfully.
Using the sites listed below you should have no problem finding free and cheap images that bring your pages alive.
Using the sites listed below you should have no problem finding free and cheap images that bring your pages alive.
Free Images
Stock.Xchng
Stock.Xchng - 350k photos contributed by 25k+ photographers.The site is clean, professional and easy to use.
They cleverly have 'premium photos' which link you to StockXpert, but there are plenty of excellent free images within this site.
This tends to be my first port of call for free photos and illustrations.
Take a look at their most popular images here.
Free Images
FreeLargePhotos.com
FreeLargePhotos.com - Only 2,200 images, mostly focused on places and landscapes.Poor looking site, but there are some very professional photos.
Take a look at their most popular images here.
Free Images
MorgueFile.com
MorgueFile.com - This site has been around since 1996.It has a limited number of photos, but many of them are very high quality.
The site is difficult to search and navigate, but if you put in the effort you can be rewarded with some great free images.
Have a look at their image archive here.
Free Images
StockVault.net
StockVault.net - The site is a genuine community for photographers and designers so they take pride in their work.Just under 10k images provided by just over 2k photographers.
Free for personal and non-commercial use. One of the best free image resources on the web.
Their 'Premium Images' divert you to paid sites.
Take a look at their most downloaded images here.
Free Images
FreeDigitalPhotos.net
FreeDigitalPhotos.net - Photos for use on the web are free. Print quality photos are $10.A few gems amongst some amateur stock.
Take a look at their most popular photos here.
Free Images
FreeFoto.com
FreeFoto.com - 114k images in 148 categories that are free for online use.About 10% are very good, so worth taking a look.
Not a pretty site, but works OK.
Take a look at their most popular images here.
Other Free Photo Sites
Fotogenika - Limited categories and choice. A handful of good images. Slow site.
FreeImages.co.uk - 2,500 free images. Most are pretty ordinary, but you just might find some that meet your needs.
ImageAfter.com - Some good texture photos. Other images amateur, which is a shame because the site is much more professional than many of the free photo sites.
Note: If you use free images please credit the photographer and link back to their site. This will encourage them to provide more free photos.
FreeImages.co.uk - 2,500 free images. Most are pretty ordinary, but you just might find some that meet your needs.
ImageAfter.com - Some good texture photos. Other images amateur, which is a shame because the site is much more professional than many of the free photo sites.
Note: If you use free images please credit the photographer and link back to their site. This will encourage them to provide more free photos.
$1-$10 Royalty Free Images
StockXpert
StockXpert - Late to the game, but has caught up quickly.Claims to be adding 10,000 new photos a week across its 150 categories.
From $1 a photo. Many semi-professional images.
Take a look at their top rated images here.
$1-$10 Royalty Free Images
Fotolia
$1-$10 Royalty Free Images
iStockPhoto.com
iStockPhoto - Bought by Getty Images, who are the biggest stock photo company in the world.They have 2.8m images (March 2008). They were the market leader, but have lost ground to Fotolia and StockXpert.
US customers pay $1 for a credit, UK customers pay £1.
Take a look at their most popular images here.
$1-$10 Royalty Free Images
BigStockPhoto
BigStockPhoto - 1.8m images.Prices start at $2.50 for 1 credit and go down to $1 if you buy 300 credits.
Nice clean, easy-to-use site.
Take a look at the most popular images here.
$1-$10 Royalty Free Images
Dreamstime
Dreamstime - 2.5m images.Some are free, whilst most can be purchased from as little as $0.26.
The pricing page is ridiculously (and unnecessarily) complicated.
Some very professional photos. Worth keeping an eye on.
Take look at the most popular photos of the day here.
$1-$10 Royalty Free Images
VectorStock.com
VectorStock - if you are specifically looking for vector images, rather than photos, this site is worth a look.You will find a lot of royalty free vector illustrations that are not available elsewhere.
Prices range from $1 - $3.
Most popular VectoStock images are here.
$1-$10 Royalty Free Images
123RF
123RF - 1.6m images, many of which are exclusive to this site.They have a reasonable selection of free images which photographer's offer to promote their paid-for portfolios.
Credits start at a $1 each and can go down to around $0.65 if you buy 300 credits.
They also have subscription plans for heavy users.
Take a look at their most downloaded images here.
Bit More Expensive, But Great Quality
snapvillage.com
snapvillage.com - Owned by Corbis, the second biggest stock photo company in the world.Around 150k photos.
The quality shines through, but expect to pay more.
Images start at $1 and go up to $50.
The photographer picks the price and believe me price is not necessarily a reflection of quality.
There are some fantastic images for between $1 and $10, and some very ordinary shots at $50. If you are planning on downloading a lot of photos go for the $199/month subscription.
The site is easy to navigate and search.
Take a look at a selection of their most viewed images here.
More Expensive, But Very Professional
Getty Images
Getty Images - Getty is the biggest stock photo company in the world by some way.However they have been used to licensing images on an expensive per use basis. They are just coming to terms with the new online world of microstock sites.
They now offer 25k low resolution, web-only images for $49 each.
If you want an image on your home page that really knocks your visitor's socks off, it could be worth investing in a Getty image.
Search the Getty site here.
Conclusion
Now you have no excuse for not having a great looking website, with an exciting range of photos that compliment your articles. So... What Are You Waiting For?!
For hundreds more FREE articles and to get the world's leading membership website solution, visit www.subhub.com
Other Articles on Squidoo by Miles Galliford
Co-Founder of SubHub.com
Miles Galliford writes new articles 2 to 3 times per week, for the free resources section of SubHub.com.
Listed below, you'll find some more example articles by Miles:
Listed below, you'll find some more example articles by Miles:
- How to Start a Profitable Online Magazine
- In this Squidoo lens, i'll give you all the information you need to plan, build and run a profitable online magazine.
- The 17 Most Important Things to Consider When Starting an Online Magazine or Membership Website
- If you are planning on starting an online magazine or membership / subscription website, getting things right from the very beginning can save you a lot of time, money and heartache later.
This lens should tell you everything you need to know, allowing you to make the right decisions and plan well. - How Do I Get the First 1,000 Visitors to My Website?
- In the lens How to Build a Recession Proof Online Business, I suggested that a website could get 1,000 visitors in its first month after launch. A number of readers contacted me to ask how they could achieve this.
So here is my answer with real data to illustrate each activity. - 101 Things Worth Knowing Before Starting Your Own Membership Website
- Running a membership website is almost certainly one of the most rewarding, fun and ultimately profitable 'jobs' you can undertake. However, like any business, you need to go into things with your eyes wide open.
Having watched dozens of online publisher's launch their websites, I have made a number of observations which I hope you will find useful. - Free and Cheap Stock Images
- Images can make or break a website. This lens provides a well researched list of the best free and cheap stock image sites on the internet.
- 35 Free or Cheap Online Resources for Your Internet Start Up
- This lens provides an outline (including url's) of some fantastic free and cheap web resources and applications that will help you 'bootstrap' your start up.
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More Free Articles From Miles Galliford & SubHub
Over 300 exclusive articles about planning, running and marketing a profitable content website.
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byAdd your feedback, or recommend a site of your own
Please let me know about any good image sites that you have used and I will keep this list updated.
Alternatively, leave me a comment.
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- MissyandGruber MissyandGruber Sep 9, 2009 @ 11:06 am
- Great Site! Thanks for the info. You might want to check your stockvault.net link. Its goint to .com instead!
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- scdavidson scdavidson Aug 22, 2008 @ 5:26 pm
- Please consider adding Brightqube ( http://www.brightqube.com/ ) to your list. They have both microstock ($1-$10 images) and the pricier stuff from dozens of agencies, all at one site.
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- StephenC StephenC Apr 1, 2008 @ 1:11 pm
- Terrific info! Thanks.
Gas and Auto Expense Money Saving Tips
StephenC
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- Mar 31, 2008 @ 4:56 pm
- Yo!,
Exellent Lens, Rated 5 Stars. Have a peak at my lens - satellite TV for PC.
Dan ;)
Make sure you join my fan club
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- Mar 27, 2008 @ 2:43 am
- Hi, Miles Galliford Great Lens. I have also created a lens in same niche . Hope u like it%uF04A Here's a brief intro:
click here
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- GreensboroRealEstateBroker GreensboroRealEstateBroker Mar 22, 2008 @ 8:58 am
- Miles, these are great resources for those building lenses. Thanks for the info.
"Thanks for visiting this lens, and check back as it'll be regularly updated!"
by Miles Galliford
I have worked for 20 years in the digital content business. Early on with big organisations including Dow Jones, BT and IPC. Most recently I have co-f... (more)
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