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Know Your Stock Photo Earnings

Compare royalties across every major platform. Track your Shutterstock tier. Reverse-calculate the portfolio size you need to hit your income target.

Platform Earnings Calculator

Select Platform

Adobe Stock
Shutterstock
iStock / Getty
Alamy
Dreamstime
Pond5
Downloads via subscription plans
Single-image or credit pack purchases
What buyers pay per license
Total approved images on platform
Monthly Earnings
$0.00
subscription + on-demand
Annual Earnings
$0.00
projected
Per Image / Month
$0.00
avg across portfolio
Adobe Stock pays a flat 33% royalty on subscription downloads (approx. $0.33/download). On-demand licenses also earn 33%.
Disclaimer: Earnings estimates are approximations based on publicly available royalty data. Actual payouts vary by license type, subscription plan, buyer region, and platform policy changes. Always verify current rates at each platform's contributor portal before making business decisions. Rates shown are accurate as of early 2026 to the best of our knowledge.

Platform Comparison

Monthly Earnings Ranking

Platform Sub Earnings OD Earnings Total / Month Annual
Note: Alamy earnings shown for on-demand only (no subscription plan). iStock shown at non-exclusive rate (15%). Shutterstock at selected level.
Comparison uses approximate mid-range royalty rates. Actual earnings depend on exclusivity, license type, and buyer subscription tier. Verify current rates at each platform's contributor hub.

Shutterstock Tier Tracker

Shutterstock resets download counts every January 1. Higher tiers = more per download. Track where you are and what you need to reach the next level.

Used to project next tier date

All Tiers

LevelDownloads NeededRateYou Are

Earnings at Each Tier

Shutterstock tier rates are approximations based on publicly available contributor data. Tiers are determined by subscription download count within the current calendar year, resetting January 1. Verify current rates at contributors.shutterstock.com.

Income Goal Calculator

Enter your target monthly income and we'll tell you exactly how many downloads — and how large a portfolio — you need to get there.

Typical range: 60–90%
Industry avg: 0.3–1.0 per image
Your Path to Your Goal
Monthly downloads needed—
Portfolio size needed—
Sub downloads needed—
OD downloads needed—
Images to upload per week (to reach in 1 year)—
Goal calculations are projections based on average industry download rates. Actual results vary based on image quality, keywords, niche demand, and platform algorithm. New portfolios typically take 6–18 months to reach consistent download velocity.