Adobe Stock Reviews – Is it Worth the Money?

You will require a reliable stock photo agency to supply creative content and assets for your graphic designing needs.

While Adobe Stock is a fine option, we are not sure if it is the best one for you.

Therefore, in this Adobe Stock review, we will discuss benefits, pros, and cons, and factors to consider as well as some alternatives you might favor more. 

Quick Summary of the Main Product

Adobe Stock is a popular stock photo agency that offers royalty-free stock photos with high resolution to facilitate your creative ideas. 

You will experience a smooth Adobe Stock workflow if you are a Creative Cloud user.

Creative Cloud users enjoy access to video editing, graphic design, web development, and much more. With a Creative Cloud subscription, you can also gain access to various cloud services.

As an online course content creator, you will greatly benefit from their 60 million+ multimedia files. Adobe Stock photos will provide you with top-quality content used to create excellent graphics.

Features and Benefits

Smart Image Search

You do not need to worry to find content on a specific topic in a sea of multimedia files. 

Adobe Stock smart search allows users to access files and download images in the most convenient way possible. 

You can search for topic names, keywords, or similar content in the search bar and get accurate results quickly. Content is further categorized into approximately 25 other lists. 

These include:

• Food
• Business
• Animals
• Nature
• Sports, etc.

It’s easy to find images related to a particular topic by looking up the respective category. 

The intelligent search goes beyond keywords or topics in Adobe Stock. It’s easy to find similar content to what you already have. 

You can drag and place your image to a specific field you require which will present you with related colors, objects, etc.  

Moreover, it also allows you to use advanced search features like orientations, size, font, etc. to look for content.

Adobe Creative Cloud

Adobe Stock only offers standard editing features. So a subscription to Creative Cloud will be a lot of help.

The Creative Cloud is an amalgamate of more than 20 mobile and desktop-based applications. Some of their services include:

• Web development
• Graphic Design
• Video construction
• UX
• Stock Photography

For your online course business, you will benefit from three of the six categories in Design and Creativity offered by Creative Cloud:

• Adobe Photoshop – Create, edit, and blend images and art.
• Adobe Illustrator – Build attractive illustrations and vector art. 
• Premiere Pro – Create and edit video content.

Furthermore, Creative Cloud Libraries allow you to browse, save and share assets between Adobe apps. 

This also allows you to get 100GB of cloud storage for collaboration and sharing.

User-friendly Interface

Adobe Stock has a friendly and intuitive user interface which makes tasks easy even for beginners. You can find media files divided into groups of:

• Illustrations
• Audio files
• Videos
• Templates
• 3D files
• Vector graphics

If you require professional stock photos that are admin recommended or clicked by journalists, you may find them in the editorial tab. Here, you can also reach Archives.

Every tab comes with a brief description which consists of informative lists of what purpose each field serves.

Adobe Stock Contributor

Adobe Stock Contributor allows you to start earning money. It allows you to expand your creative horizons and sell photos to millions of people.

If you have complete ownership of creating a high-quality image, video, or vector art content then you can become an Adobe Stock Contributor artist and make sales. 

Adobe Stock License

There are three types of licenses:

• Standard License
• Enhanced License
• Extended License

You can reproduce 50,000 copies of all media assets in the Standard License. Not just this, Adobe Stock also allows you to reproduce more than 50,000 copies of some media assets in The Enhanced License.

However, standalone files are not to be issued and merchandise or products cannot be created for resale.

All Standard License permissions are granted to the Extended License including merchandise creations of primary products.

The Editorial Use assets must only be used in newspaper or public interest-worthy circumstances. They must not be used for commercial purposes such as advertisements etc. 

Additional Features

Adobe Stock Images offers quality as well as quantity. Among its many beneficial features, it never allows high standards to falter. Only 4K resolutions in photos and video content is found.

Moreover, you will never lag. Adobe Stock will keep you up-to-date all the time.

Another great advantage Adobe Stock Images provides is subscription plans. You can select a subscription plan that best suits your needs. Each subscription plan offers different sets of features in bundles. 

Factors to Consider Before you Decide to Buy Adobe Stock Images

Adobe Stock Free Trial

Adobe Stock allows you to view designs, crop or resize photos, and view options before you download or purchase content.

You can test their services during a one-month free trial period where you can get 10 free images.

Adobe Stock Subscriptions 

Adobe Stock subscription plans involve monthly subscriptions in different asset plan sizes:

• 3 images for $3 $29.99
• 40 images for $99.99
• 350 images for $199.99
• 750 images for $249.99

Moreover, Adobe Stock also comes with annual subscription plans which involve:

• 10 images for $3 $29.99
• 40 images for $79.99
• 350 images for $169.99
• 750 images for $199.99

Adobe Stock Pricing 

Our team experienced how the Adobe Stock on-demand pricing is a bit complicated. First, you need to purchase credits which are used to purchase stock photos, templates, videos, and 3D files. 

The on-demand credit packs pricing includes:

• 5 credits for $49.95 at $9.99 per credit
• 16 credits for $149.99 at $9.37 per credit
• 40 credits for $359.99 at $8.99 per credit
• 80 credits for $669.99 at $8.37 per credit
• 150 credits for $1,200.00 at $8.00 per credit

Now, let’s discuss the concept behind credit packs. To license purchases of an image, you need to evaluate how much credits will cost you. 

First, determine how to purchase credits: 

• Standard images purchase 1 credit
• Premium 3D purchases 2-10 Credits
• Videos purchase 8-20 Credits
• Premium templates purchase 2-4 Credits
• Premium image purchases 12-50 Credits

Other Factors 

You can get paid based on the Adobe Stock Contributor plan when a customer purchases your work. You receive:

• 33% royalties on images
• 35% royalties on video

Low payouts improve with more downloads with $0.38 commission rates.

The Adobe Stock Bonus Program offers access to Creative Cloud assets if you are an active Contributor completely free.

For 5000+ downloads, you receive free access to all Creative Cloud apps for one year.

For 150-4999 downloads, you receive a one-year plan of any one of the following:

• Photography
• InDesign
• Illustrator
• After Effects
• Premiere Pro

Advantages and Disadvantages of Adobe Stock Image 

What we liked	What we didn’t like
• Offers free trial • Multiple plans • Payments can be made at the end of the year • Quality ensured • User-friendly • Can be accessed by any Adobe’s software	• High price • Lower stock images • Bad reviews on TrustPilot

Social Proof

As far as stock agencies go, Adobe Stock has received glorious praise from customers. 

Customers have experienced satisfaction with every Adobe product and now they have added Adobe Stock to the list as well.

The quality and professionalism that these stock photos provide are some of the many favorite things of Adobe Stock for the customers. The content is easy to find and navigate which saves a lot of time. 

For the customers, the most helpful part of Adobe Stock is the access to PNG, EPS, and Illustrator files. The stock photos inspire them to get creative while these files help bring their ideas to life. 

Some of the reviews we came across are:

Adobe Stock Alternatives (Recommendations)

#1: Best User-Friendly Stock Photo Agency – Envato Elements Review 

Envato Elements is a royalty-free stock asset service that is especially beneficial for freelancers and businesses that hope to excel online. Thus, this software will help you a lot more as an online course business.

You get to explore a large multimedia platform from this stock photo service which offers:

• High-quality photos
• Fonts
• WordPress themes
• Templates
• Vector graphics
• 3D files
• Add ons
• 200000+ premium photos

The best part about Envato Elements is its affordability. You can have access to unlimited downloads of more than 56+ million files at a low monthly fee. 

You can also create a free account and avail 12 files per month to add them to your assets.

Factors to Consider Before you Decide to Buy Envato Elements

Pricing and Subscription plans

 Envato comes with three subscription plans:

• Individual Plan: $16.50 per month
• Teams Plan: $10.75 per month
• Enterprise Plan: Custom  licensing

Teams can save 35% with this plan. You can cancel your subscription anytime.

Free trial

You do not need to worry to test Envato Element’s services without a free trial. You can sign up for a free account and avail of their services for free. 

However, these services will be greatly limited and you will not be able to get the full Envato experience.

Other Factors

An important factor to consider is that Envato has a single-use license only. Each element you download can only be used one time in a project.

Envato Elements are not available as on-demand services. They cannot be printed on mugs, t-shirts, or other items. Moreover, their items are not allowed to be used for merchandise. 

What we liked	What we didn’t like
• Affordable • Easy to use • Unlimited downloads at a low price • Provides great value for money • Access to Premium Content with all subscription plans • Updated items available every day	• A wide variety sometimes leads to dated content.

Best User-Friendly Photo Stock Service

Envato Elements is hands down the best stock photo service since it is very affordable and provides a buffet of unlimited downloadable content.

#2: Best Microstock Photo Agency – Shutterstock Review 

Shutterstock is one of the most renowned royalty-free microstock agencies out there. This stock image website facilitates your content editing and creation needs. 

They offer:

• Image downloads
• GIFS
• Videos
• Vector files
• Music 
• Templates
• Editorial

There are many other resources to allow beginners and professionals alike to construct high-quality content.

Research depicts that Shutterstock is considered to be the biggest stock photo service since it was the first one to come out. It is set on 350 million images with 101,000 new images updated every day.

This service is out to facilitate teachers and you will benefit from their services a lot. You can sign up for a free trial and test your creative skills with them.

Factors to Consider Before you Decide to Buy Shutterstock

Pricing and Subscription Plans

Shutterstock comes with three subscription plans. The Individual plan involves:

• 10 images at $29/month
• 50 images at $99/month
• 350 images at $169/month
• 750 images at $199/month

The team plan involves:

• 750 images at $379/month for 2 users
• 750 images at $479/month for up to 10 users
• 750 images/month at different rates for 11+ users

It has exciting plans for Enterprises as well and is favored by top enterprises such as Google, Microsoft, National Geographic, Capital One, etc.

Free Trial

Shutterstock has a 10 images/month annual plan that is completely free if you cancel within the first 30-days.

Other Factors

You should know about the credit packs involved in each license before you opt for Shutterstock.

 You can avail images by a 5 image pack through:

• Standard license: $49/year
• Enhanced license: $449/year

You can avail images by a 25 image pack through:

• Standard License: $229/year
• Enhanced License: $1699/year

You can also get a 2 image pack with an Enhanced license for $199/year. However, a subscription is not available for this license.

What we liked	What we didn’t like
• Offers free trial • High quality is guaranteed • Several plans offered • Vast music, video, image library • User-friendly	• Expensive • A bad review on TrustPilot

Best Microstock Photo Agency

Shutterstock is a well-known stock photo and design app which guarantees quality and celebrates creativity.

Guide to Buy

To create interactive visuals for your online course business, you should browse thoroughly for the best stock photo software. There are a lot of worthy tools available out there. 

However, only a few will be of use to you. 

In this case, you should consider some factors before making a decision. These factors are:

Pricing

All stock photo services offer their services on subscriptions and different price plans. Some services are more expensive than others. You should look for one that offers access to more tools at a lower price.

Subscription and Licenses 

Every stock photo service has various license criteria to avoid copyright issues. This involves some limitations that follow the content you download and pay for. Make sure to thoroughly review the terms and conditions that follow each license plan. 

Free Trial

Each graphic design software has its expenses. To test whether these expenses provide the quality and consistency you require, you should first sign-up for a free trial.

It will give you plenty of time to judge whether the software meets your expectations regarding the quality or not. It will help make an informed decision. 

Other Factors 

Find a service that offers iOS, Android, Mac, and Windows compatibility. 

Moreover, try to work with a stock photo application that has an easy and intuitive user interface. This will help you easily navigate through the content and save much time.

Wrapping Things Up…

We believe Adobe Stock is an excellent competitor and one of the best stock photo companies out there. Not only does it provide multiple media files, templates, and tools, it also gives you a chance to share your creativity with the world.

While Adobe has always delivered quality, Adobe Stock might not be the most suitable option for you.

You should consider Envato Elements. In our opinion, it is the best user-friendly stock photo company that offers high-quality content no matter what.

Let us know your thoughts on Adobe Stock.