The stock image market is a sector where photographers and visual content creators sell images to clients who need them for editorial, advertising, or digital projects.
There are two main business models in this industry: microstock and macrostock.
But what exactly are they, and what are their main differences?
Microstock
Microstock is a business model focused on selling images at low prices and on a large scale.
Here are some of its main features:
Low prices: Images are sold at affordable prices, often just a few dollars per download, making them ideal for small businesses, bloggers, and freelancers.
Quantity over quality: The focus is on selling a high volume of images, even though the earnings per individual photo are low.
Easy access for photographers: Amateur photographers can enter the microstock market relatively easily, though competition is high.
Royalty-Free licenses: Most microstock images are sold with royalty-free licenses, allowing buyers to use the image multiple times without additional costs.
Examples of microstock platforms: Shutterstock, Adobe Stock, iStock, and others.
Macrostock
Macrostock, also known as traditional or premium stock, focuses on high-quality images sold at higher prices.
Here are its main features, which distinguish it from microstock:
Higher prices: Macrostock images can cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars, making them suitable for large companies and advertising agencies with substantial budgets.
Exclusivity and quality: Many images are sold with exclusive licenses, ensuring the buyer has unique usage rights.
Higher earnings for photographers: Although sales volume is lower compared to microstock, the earnings per image sold are significantly higher.
Rights-Managed licenses: Macrostock images are often sold with rights-managed licenses, meaning the price varies depending on usage (duration, distribution, media type).
Examples of macrostock platforms: Alamy, Getty Images, Image Source.
