Where To Sell Stock Footage? The Best 3 Sites and The Wildcard
Are you a video producer or videographer looking for ways to sell your clips as stock footage? You’ve come to the right place! Here, I’ll introduce the best 3 sites to sell your stock footage and offer a wildcard option too.
Many people think that any stock footage site will do, but that’s partially true only if you’re already established. When you’re just starting out, it’s important to be choosy about the sites to sell stock footage.
All stock media websites have different pricing models, royalty rates, and sales volume along with contributor friendliness. All these factors have an effect on your sales and earnings potential.
The only thing that truly matters is whether or not the site can generate sales; If a platform can’t help you make sales, then it’s not worth your time.
Luckily I’m here to help you. I have used years experimenting and studying the top stock media websites and know exactly which platforms you should start with.
In this post, I’ll be giving you a rundown of the three best options for selling stock footage: Pond5, Adobe Stock, and Shutterstock. And as a wildcard, Wirestock.
Related Posts:
- Wirestock Review – All-In-One Site to Sell Stock Media: No time for keywording and distribution of your content? Then consider this!
- A Comprehensive Guide To Selling Stock Footage: Full guide to selling stock footage
What Makes A Good Stock Footage Site?
When looking for a stock footage website to sell your content, there are several factors that you should consider.
Firstly, the pricing model, or how the stock site sells the footage. Different websites sell their footage in different pricing plans, so it is important to understand what type of pricing structure the site uses. For example, the price of the subscription plan and how many stock footage clips the buyer can download with it. This determines the price per download and therefore how much you earn as royalties.
Secondly, the royalty rate is important. This is a no-brainer. The higher the royalty rate, the more money you can make. You want to make sure that the stock footage site pays out a fair percentage of the earnings to contributors.
Thirdly, you should also consider the sales volume and website traffic of each stock footage website. The more traffic the stock site has, the more chances you have of making sales.
Finally, it’s important to look for a website that is contributor-friendly. This means a stock site that is easy to use and navigate, has helpful and supporting staff, has a community, and has good guides for contributors.
Now let’s take a closer look at each of these factors
The Pricing Model
The pricing model or how the stock sites sell stock footage determines how much you can get from each sale. As a general rule, the higher the subscription plan, the less money you get from each download.
For example, Shutterstock sells a subscription plan of 5 downloads per month costing around €89 / month. This means each download costs around €17.80 for the buyer. So if you have a 30% royalty rate, you will be making €5.34 per download.
However, from a subscription plan of 20 downloads per month costing €179 / month, your royalty rate will be only around €1.80 per download.
So it’s important to understand the pricing plans of each stock video website to determine how much money you can get from each sale.
In this post, I’ve collected the pricing plans and royalty rates of each stock footage site to make it easy for you to see how much money you can make from single sales on each site.
The Royalty Rate
Now, this is a no-brainer. The higher the royalty rate, the more money you get from each sale. The royalty rate differs from website to website. For Shutterstock, Adobe Stock, and Pond5 the royalty rate ranges as follows:
- 15% – 40% on Shutterstock depending on your contributor level
- 35% on Adobe Stock
- 40% or 60% on Pond5 depending are you a non-exclusive or exclusive contributor.
So, in order to maximize earnings potential, it is important to consider the royalty rate of each stock footage site before signing up.
The Sales Volume and Traffic
The more visitors the website has, the more chance you have of making sales. Website traffic is the best indicator of how popular the site is among buyers. If a site has low traffic you can’t expect to get many sales either. So it’s important to consider the traffic of each stock footage site.
I’ve collected the traffic data for each stock footage website and listed it in this post so you can easily compare them. The data is based on Ubersuggest website analytics tool.
However, since we don’t know what part of the traffic consists of stock footage buyers, it’s difficult to compare the websites based on their website traffic. But we can use the traffic data as an indicator of how popular and active the stock footage site is.
Also, because I am a contributor on all of these sites discussed in this post I have first-hand experience with the sales volume which I’ll share with you too.
Contributor Friendliness
Contributor-friendliness? It’s also important to look for a website that is contributor-friendly when selling stock footage. This means a stock site that is easy to use and navigate, has helpful and supporting staff, has good guides for contributors, and preferably has a community too.
Contributors want to feel appreciated and supported by the stock site they are working with, so it’s important to find one that makes you feel this way. This will motivate you to make more stock footage, as well as develop your skills and create even better content.
Shutterstock – High Volume Stock Footage Site
Shutterstock is one of the biggest stock footage sites in the world, so it’s a great platform to sell stock footage. It has a large selection of stock footage, with over 22 million clips to choose from.
Selling stock footage with Shutterstock is easy and straightforward, and they pay a commission of 15% – 40%, depending on your contributor level. Additionally, they have a large user base, with over 200 million visitors each month making it the most popular stock site in the world.
Pricing Model
Shutterstock sells stock footage through subscription and on-demand plans. The subscription plan is designed for buyers who download a lot of footage and offers better value per video download. The on-demand plan is designed for buyers who download only a few clips and costs more per video download.
Shutterstock offers these subscription plans for stock footage:
- 5 downloads/month
- 10 downloads/month
- 20 download/month
The subscription plans are divided into 3 payment methods: monthly, annual (paid monthly), and Annual (prepaid).
Shutterstock also offers these on-demand plans:
- 5 downloads / year
- 10 downloads / year
- 25 downloads / year
There are three different quality levels for these plans: SD, HD, and 4K. There’s also an extended license plan for each quality level.
Royalty Rates
Shutterstock offers 15%-40% royalty for each clip sold depending on your contributor level which can amount to a few dollars per sale to hundreds of dollars per sale.
Below you’ll find the current earnings structure
Shutterstock Video Contributor Levels. The level reset back to level 1 on January 1st of each year| Contributor Level | Downloads / Year | Royalty Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Up to 10 | 15% |
| Level 2 | 11 to 50 | 20% |
| Level 3 | 51 to 250 | 25% |
| Level 4 | 251 to 5,000 | 30% |
| Level 5 | 5,001 to 25,000 | 35% |
| Level 6 | 25,000+ | 40% |
How Much Does Shutterstock Pay Per Footage Download?
Shutterstock offers 15% to 40% royalties per downloaded clip. The royalty amount is based on the price/video and calculated below for different subscription and on-demand video plans.
Shutterstock Video Subscription Plans and Prices and Royalty per Download for the Contributors| Videos/Month | Price | Price/Footage | Payment Type | Royalty/Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | €89.00 | €17.80 | Annual Monthy Paid | €2.67 - €7.12 |
| 10 | €139.00 | €13.90 | Annual Monthy Paid | €2.09 - €5.56 |
| 25 | €179.00 | €7.16 | Annual Monthy Paid | €1.07 - €2.86 |
| 5 | €829.00 | €13.82 | Annual Prepaid | €2.07 - €5.53 |
| 10 | €1,399.00 | €11.66 | Annual Prepaid | €1.75 - €4.66 |
| 25 | €1,799.00 | €6.00 | Annual Prepaid | €0.90 - €2.40 |
| 5 | €169.00 | €33.80 | Monthly Paid | €5.07 - €13.52 |
| 10 | €319.00 | €31.90 | Monthly Paid | €4.79 - €12.76 |
| 25 | €599.00 | €23.96 | Monthly Paid | €3.59 - €9.58 |
Shutterstock On-Demand Video Plans and Prices and Royalty per Download for the Contributors
| Videos/Year | Price | Price/Footage | Video Type | Royalty/Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | €230 | €46.00 | SD | €6.90 - €18.40 |
| 10 | €459 | €45.90 | SD | €6.89 - €18.36 |
| 25 | €1,000 | €40.00 | SD | €6.00 - €16.00 |
| 5 | €269 | €53.80 | HD | €8.07 - €21.52 |
| 10 | €499 | €49.90 | HD | €7.49 - €19.96 |
| 25 | €1,199 | €47.96 | HD | €7.19 - €19.18 |
| 5 | €529 | €105.80 | 4K | €15.87 - €42.32 |
| 10 | €999 | €99.90 | 4K | €14.99 - €39.96 |
| 25 | €2,399 | €95.96 | 4K | €14.39 - €38.38 |
Sales Volume and Traffic
The traffic to the Shutterstock website currently stands at around 200 million visitors every month, making it the most popular stock footage site in the world.
However, how big part of that traffic consists of stock footage buyers is unknown. But the large website traffic is a good indicator of Shutterstock’s popularity and therefore its potential to sell your stock footage.
In terms of downloads, Shutterstock has been my second-best platform in 2022. I sell around 35% of my stock footage on Shutterstock.
Contributor Friendliness
Not very good. Shutterstock decided to cut the royalties for the contributors in 2020 from 33% to a level-based system of 15% – 40%. Levels are based on yearly downloads and reset every year to 15%.
The impact was severe as the earnings drop was quite deep. For me, the drop in return-per-download (RPD) was at least 30%.
Shutterstock has also closed a popular forum that used to be a great community platform and dialog space between Shutterstock and the contributors. So instead of developing and uniting a community, Shutterstock is causing it to fall apart.
These changes haven’t been well received by the contributors and have resulted in a lower contributor satisfaction level on the platform.
So as of now, Shutterstock is the most hated platform among stock contributors. However, because Shutterstock is such a big player in the market, it cannot be ignored as a source for selling stock footage.
These issues do not affect the sellability of your footage, but it’s good to keep in mind when you sell stock footage on the platform.
Adobe Stock – Contributor-Friendly Stock Footage Site
In contrast to Shutterstock, Adobe Stock is a much more contributor-friendly platform. They have been working on building a community and maintaining a fair and relatively transparent relationship with their contributors.
Adobe Stock collection consists of approximately 24 million stock footage and sells them both through subscriptions and on-demand.
The website traffic to Adobe Stock currently stands at around 50 million visits per month, making it one of the most popular stock footage sites in the world. Adobe Stock’s integration into Creative Cloud brings in even more sales potential.
Contributors earn 35% royalty per clip sold, which is fairly good in comparison to other stock footage sites.
Let’s dive deeper into details next.
Pricing Model
Adobe Stock offers two types of plans for stock footage: subscription and on-demand.
The subscription plans include 3 HD videos per month and 25 HD videos per month options.
Subscription plans allow buyers to purchase also standard assets, such as images and vectors.
The plans are divided into monthly and annual payment methods.
The on-demand plans are purchased with credits. Generally, 1 HD clip cost 8 credits and 4K clip cost 20 credits. The price of the footage depends on the credit pack the buyer has.
Adobe Stock offers high-definition (HD) and 4K resolution single-video downloads as well.
Royalty Rates
Adobe Stock royalty rate for stock footage is 35%. The amount you earn for each downloaded video depends on whether it was purchased on-demand or as part of a subscription plan.
On average, you earn between $22.40 and $70.00 per download for on-demand stock footage, and between $2.80 and $7.84 for videos downloaded through a subscription plan.
How Much Does Adobe Stock Pay Per Footage Download?
Adobe Stock is the only site with a clear royalty structure and pays a relatively good royalty rate of 35% per download.
Below you’ll find a detailed royalty structure that Adobe Stock Pays per footage download.
| VIDEO (35% ROYALTY) | |
|---|---|
| Buyer's plan | Earnings / download |
| HD - 25 CREDITS PER MONTH Monthly / Annual subscriber | $7.84 / $5.60 |
| HD - 40 CREDITS PER MONTH Monthly / Annual subscriber | $5.25 / $4.20 |
| HD - 350 CREDITS PER MONTH Monthly / Annual subscriber | $4.55 / $3.85 |
| HD - 750 CREDITS PER MONTH Monthly / Annual subscriber | $3.50 / $2.80 |
| HD - 16-500 CREDIT PACK OR ON-DEMAND | $22.40 to $28.00 |
| 4K - SUBSCRIPTION, 40-500 CREDIT PACK OR ON-DEMAND | $56.00 to $70.00 |
Sales Volume and Traffic
Adobe Stock receives approximately 50 million visits per month, making it one of the most popular stock footage sites in the world.
The integration of Adobe Stock into Creative Cloud brings in even more buyers.
However, as with Shutterstock, it is unknown how big a part of Adobe Stock traffic consists of stock video buyers.
For me, Adobe Stock is the best site for selling stock footage. This year 43% of my stock footage sales come from Adobe Stock. That makes 34 sales from only 433 clips in my portfolio.
Contributor Friendliness
Adobe Stock has been working hard on building a community and maintaining a fair and relatively transparent relationship with its contributors.
The Adobe Stock community is full of friendly staff and helpful contributors who are always happy to give feedback and offer advice. This is a great way to improve your skills as a videographer and learn more about the industry.
Adobe Stock community can be found in their discord server.
Pond5 – Stock Footage Site Where You Can Set Your Own Prices
Pond5 has a stock footage collection of more than 34 million clips and sells them as single downloads, subscriptions, and on-demand. This is the largest selection of stock footage available on any stock footage site.
Pond5 is specialized in selling stock footage but sells also images, audio files, and even 3D models.
It is a very popular stock site and offers contributors the ability to set their own prices.
The website traffic to Pond5 currently stands at around 0.7 million visits per month. However, these are mostly stock video buyers.
Contributors earn 40% – 60% royalty per clip sold, depending on exclusivity.
Let’s dive deeper into details next.
Pricing Model
At Pond5, contributors have the power to set their own prices for each clip. However, this only applies to single-file and credit-pack downloads.
Pond5 offers single footage downloads, subscription plans, and credit packs.
Since credit packs are based on real money, the price of clips is always the same regardless of which credit pack the buyer has.
Pond5 has only one subscription plan; The 10 clips per month plan.
Royalty Rates
The royalties you earn on Pond5 depend on whether you choose to be an exclusive or non-exclusive contributor.
If you are an exclusive contributor, you will earn 60% of the sale price for each video that you sell. If you are a non-exclusive contributor, you will earn 40% of the sale price for each piece of footage that you sell.
How Much Does Pond5 Pay Per Footage Download?
Pond5 is the only stock footage site that allows contributors to set their own prices.
Therefore, the amount a contributor earns per clip varies according to the price set for each clip and your exclusivity status.
Below you’ll find a table where you’ll find the details of how much you can make per video download.
Pond5 Video Plans and Prices and Royalty per Download for the non-exclusive and exclusive contributors| Plan | Price/Video | Non-Exclusice 40% | Exclusive 60% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single Download | Your Price | 40% from your price | 60% from your price |
| Credit Packs | Your Price | 40% from your price | 60% from your price |
| 10 Video Sub | €21.00 | €8.40 | €12.60 |
Sales Volume and Traffic
Pond5 has only 0.7 million visits per month. However, this traffic consists mainly of stock footage buyers.
Even though the traffic seems a bit low compared to the other two above, Pond5 is one of the best sites to sell stock footage because the sales volume is high.
For example, I only have 460 stock video clips in my Pond 5 portfolio, and still, on average, people purchase one of my videos every month. This is pretty good with such a small portfolio.
Contributor Friendliness
Pond5 is an incredibly user-friendly stock footage site for contributors. Not only does it provide helpful blog posts and community forums for advice about selling stock video footage, but it’s also the only platform that lets contributors set their own prices.
This means sellers can determine exactly what price they think is fair for their footage, so you don’t have to worry about being taken advantage of or not getting paid enough.
WireStock – Sell Stock Footage on Multiple Site At Once
Wirestock is the wildcard of the bunch, offering a unique approach to selling stock footage.
Wirestock spares you the tedious work of keywording and uploading to different stock sites. All you need to do is shoot the video footage and submit it to Wirestock and they will take care of everything else.
This saves a ton of time and effort for contributors who want to sell their footage across multiple platforms.
However, they take a 15% cut from each sale you make from their platform and you need to subscribe. Since they make the process of keywording and distribution so easy, this may be worth it for some contributors.
Read my full review of Wirestock here: Wirestock Review – All-In-One Site to Sell Stock Media
Why These Are The Best Sites To Sell Stock Videos?
As you can see, there are many different options available for selling stock footage. However, the three websites I mentioned above – Shutterstock, Adobe Stock, Pond5 – are the best sites to sell stock videos.
So, Why Are These The Best Sites To Sell Stock Videos? Because of the high customer base and sales volume. While the royalty rate is important too, the volume is the one that really counts. Even if the royalty rate would be 100% it would still not be worth it if there were no sales.
Shutterstock, Adobe Stock, and Pond5 all have very high levels of sales volume, making them the best sites to sell stock videos.
Wirestock, on the other hand, is the best choice for those who want to sell their footage on multiple platforms at once and don’t have time for keywording and uploading.
So no matter what goals you have, these sites would be a great choice for selling stock footage.
Comparison Of The Royalty Rates Between Shutterstock, Adobe Stock, and Pond5
Finally, I have compiled a comparison table of the Royalty Rates between the best stock footage sites for easy comparison.
| Comparison of Royalty Rates and Amounts Between Shutterstock, Adobe Stock and Pond5 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Stock Footage Site | Royalty Rate | Royalty/Download Subscriptions | Royalty/Download On-Demand Plans |
| Shutterstock | 15% - 40% | €0.90 - €13.52 | €6.00 - €42.32 |
| Adobe Stock | 35% | €2.80 - €7.84 | €22.40 - €70.00 |
| Pond5 Non-Exclusive | 40% | €8.40 | Depends your price Min €10 |
| Pond5 Exclusive | 60% | €12.60 | Depends your price Min €15 |
Conclusion
Not all sites are created equal when it comes to selling stock footage. This post introduced you best sites to sell your work.
Every stock footage website has unique pricing, royalty rates, sales volume, and contributor friendliness which will all affect how much money you can earn and how motivational you are.
All that really counts in the end is if the site can help you make sales; If a platform can’t do that, then it’s not worth your efforts.
According to my first-hand experience, the three best options for selling stock footage are Pond5, Adobe Stock, and Shutterstock.
If you’re looking to sell stock footage on multiple platforms at once, Wirestock is a great choice.
No matter which platform you use to sell your stock footage, make sure it’s the right one for you and that you have realistic expectations.
It’s not easy to sell stock footage, but with the right platform and a bit of dedication, you can generate a decent passive income from it.
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