Best Paid Stock Image Websites

Images are a vital part in Cover Art design. However, images are subject to ownership and license agreements so it is important that you do not use any images you do not own or have a license to use commercially. We have put together a list of the best paid websites that offer stock images for use. Many of these sites offer other assets that are great for your designs such as fonts, videos, add-ons, etc.

  • Paid stock image sites offer a bigger selection of stock images and assets, making it more likely that you’ll find the right photograph or other asset for your creative work.

  • Paid stock photography sites will offer you a greater variety of sizes or dimensions before you download your image, with the larger, higher resolution pictures costing you more. (usually)

  1. Shutterstock

    • Shutterstock helps creative professionals from all backgrounds and businesses of all sizes produce their best work with incredible content and innovative tools, all on one platform.

  2. Stock Unlimited

    • StockUnlimited is a subscription-based website that provides subscribers with unlimited downloads of stock graphics, stock images, icons, buttons, backgrounds, textures and much more. They add thousands of new and fresh files every week to ensure they always meet your needs for the most up-to-date content.

  3. Envato Elements

    • Envato Elements is a great resource with millions of assets, including stock photos, fonts, music tracks, and web templates. With a subscription, you’d be able to use their educational resources and business management tools, besides all these graphic assets – a great resource for designers and web developers. Their photo collection is packed with unique, artistically clicked shots that you can search by tag, orientation, background, and color. 

  4. Adobe Stock

    • Adobe Stock is owned by the software giant Adobe. It is a collection of curated photos, videos, illustrations, vector images, templates, and 3D assets to find the right image for your creative projects. You can access it directly via the website. It is also integrated into the Creative Cloud platform, which makes it easy to use within any Adobe software like Photoshop or Illustrator.

  5. Storyblocks

    • Storyblocks offers unlimited downloads for photos, videos, and music curated from a global professional photographer team. Storyblocks has a colorful and straightforward interface. All content is royalty-free. So, you can use it forever, even after your membership expires.

  6. Getty Images

    • Getty Images gives you an extensive collection of photos, vectors, illustrations, videos, and music that cover creative, editorial, current, and vintage photos from their archive content.

  7. Photocase

    • Photocase has a relatively small collection of well-curated, unique photos. The photos are shot artistically and hardly look like typical stock images. This company is known to run a tight review process for each image.