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Dreamstime Review
Tuesday, April 30th
2024 Stock Photo Service Reviews
Dreamstime
- Prices from $14.99 to $1,750 for credits
- Prices from $25 to $219 per month
- Tens of millions of results on many searches
- Download from 5 to 9,000 images per month
- Extended licenses
- Photo sizes from 480px-12mp+
- Vector images available
- Music and video stock available
- AI technology in searches
- "Safe search" feature
- "A+" rating and accreditation from the BBB
Dreamstime proudly declares itself to be the world's largest stock photo platform with an impressive user base of 32 million individuals. This juggernaut of a platform offers a variety of royalty-free images. Established in 2000, Dreamstime offers a vibrant and dynamic community-driven platform.
Photos from around the world
The extensive stock image collection includes contributions by photographers around the globe. The site maintains a solid process of quality control through the review and approval of all images by seasoned editors. Dreamstime regularly refreshes its database with a multitude of new images and titles each day. It's important to note that while many images are offered free of charge, they are still copyrighted, and for those seeking content without copyright restrictions, there's a wonderful array of public domain images available.
Test out the platform for free before you decide
Dreamstime makes it incredibly straightforward to get started. With a no-obligation 7-day free trial, you can test out the platform and explore its wide pool of resources. During the trial, you can download up to 15 images. There are plenty of options if you do decide to join the site after your trial. You can choose a credit package or explore monthly and yearly subscriptions.
Searching for images is a breeze
Unearthing the ideal images on Dreamstime is a breeze, courtesy of the omnipresent search bar visible from every page on the site. But it doesn't stop there; Dreamstime also helps your search experience by offering numerous filtering options that allow you to hone in on your perfect pic. Criteria include relevance, best-selling status, latest uploads, content featuring people, pricing tiers, licensing types, media properties, and more. And for those who want to avoid any NSFW photos during their browsing session, there's a "Safe Search" feature to keep any results that are appropriate for the workplace or that fit child-friendly viewing standards.
Multi-millions of results
To showcase how Dreamstime stacks up against the competition in terms of search results, we used the same three search parameters at every stock photo company. The terms we used include two "popular," generic search terms, "family" and "landscape" , and one more complicated search term to find a lesser-used set of photos: "underwater girl" . The searches turned up 4,505,539 results for "family," 19,111,152 results for "landscape," and an impressive 20,601 results for "underwater girl" .
Images from 480px-12mp+
At Dreamstime, you'll find a variety of photo file types to suit your creative needs. These different image types provide a range of sizes and formats to accommodate various projects. Whether you need a smaller image for web use or a high-resolution file for print, Dreamstime offers flexibility in price and options whether you are in need of a large image or a little icon. You can even find resizable vector images. Here's a list of the available options:
- Extra Small (480px)
- Small (800px)
- Medium (3 - 5MP)
- Large (5 - 8MP)
- Extra Large (8 - 12MP)
- Maximum (Over 12MP)
- TIFF Maximum
- Vector/RAW Original size
Pick from credits or subscriptions
You can choose to purchase a photo license from Dreamstime through credit packages or subscriptions (monthly and annual).
- The credit packages range from 3 credits (which means you can download 3 images, videos, or audio) to 550 credits. The prices for these packages range from $14.99 to $1,750.
- If you decide to go with the subscription plan instead, you can choose between monthly subscriptions or an annual plan.
- The 1-month plans offer a range of downloads for photos starting from 5 downloads per month and going as high as 750 images per month. The prices for these range from $25 to $219.
- If you decide to go with the annual subscription, you get access to 750 downloads per month and pay for the whole year which costs $2,028.
The company offers a variety of free images also, for customers who don't want to subscribe right away. And, you can download anywhere from 5-9,000 images each month.
Stock photos backed by AI technology
A standout feature of Dreamstime is that the company has harnessed the power of artificial intelligence and machine learning. Using this cutting-edge technology for automatic image classification, enriched by object detection, keyword suggestions, and smart cropping, Dreamstime offers a more tailored search experience for users. However, as AI is a newer technology, Dreamstime might occasionally struggle to restrict the results solely to your specific category. But as technology advances, you can expect these results to grow even more specific.
Mixed reviews raise questions about reliability
Our research into Dreamstime's reputation led us to a mixed opinion of the company as a whole. To start with, Dreamstime holds an impressive "A+" rating and accreditation from the Better Business Bureau, which conveys a level of confidence in the business as a whole. However, when we checked out Dreamstime on third-party verified review sites, the average rating across multiple sites was 3.5 out of 5 stars, showing some highly mixed opinions about the site. Some of the complaints included being charged prior to the end of the free trial, prices at the site being higher than competitors, and some customers noted that they were overcharged for larger packages when they only purchased a handful of photos. The positive reviews included praises for Dreamstime's selection of free images and many reviews gave this stock photo company props for the user-friendliness of the platform.
Wide selection, but keep an eye on your budget
While Dreamstime has a lot of solid benefits like large numbers of results, free images, and AI-backed search technology, it is a little pricier than the competition. Plus, with some mixed reviews, it doesn't quite reach the top score of our best companies. On the other hand, the company is armed with a commendable inventory of high-quality images and competitive pricing. Overall, Dreamstime establishes itself as a compelling option and it's definitely worthy of consideration. Its AI technology and "safe search" features help Dreamstime stand out from the pack and outweigh some of the poor reviews, earning it a solid rating overall.
More Stock Photo Service Reviews
The 10 Best Stock Photo Services
Where is the Best Place to Find Stock Photos Online Today?
In today's digital age, high-quality stock photos can make or break a design. These resources are instrumental to a variety of creative and professional projects, spanning editorial, website design, commercial advertising, entertainment, and artistic industries. Stock photos serve as visual first impressions that help send a message.
Whether you have a website or even just a flier, a stock photo that reflects the essence of concepts and ideas can leave a lasting impression on your audience. And while there are a variety of companies that offer royalty-free stock images you can use in your designs, you may be surprised to know that there are huge differences between these companies - both in the number of photos they offer, and the price points you will pay.
Stock Photo Service FAQ
Continued from above...
Why do creatives need stock photos? It all has to do with licensing. Licensing restrictions come into play when a photographer or creator wants to protect their work from being used by others without their permission. So, pulling any photo off Google isn't going to do you any favors, especially if your project generates revenue. At the less stressful end, you can just be asked to take down the images, and you have to do all your work again. At worst, you may have a lawsuit or fines on your hands for using images that aren't yours.
Stock photo services are a way to avoid this problem altogether. By using royalty-free stock photos or paying fees to a service that offers licensed photos, you can be sure that you're allowed to use the photos for whatever purpose you need.
The landscape of stock photography is as diverse as the projects it supports. You can choose to purchase images on an individual basis or grab images in bundles or collections. Many platforms operate on a monthly or annual subscription, catering to the preferences and requirements of both casual users and frequent consumers who use stock photos for work. Typically, the cost per image decreases with extended subscription terms or larger image purchases.
Stock photo industry leaders house huge image repositories, with collections numbering in the tens of millions or more. For instance, one company alone has a collection of more than 400 million images. These agencies heavily depend on contributions from a global community of photographers and artists, and so much of your payment goes toward paying royalties to those talented folks who bring stock images to life.
Plus, the world of stock photography extends beyond static photos, encompassing a wide array of visual assets. While photos are the bedrock, stock photo services also provide access to videos, vector art, illustrations, editorial images for news stories, and preformatted templates tailored for social media, blogs, marketing materials, and advertisements.
With so many stock photo services out there, it can be hard to know where to start. So, we put together some things to keep in mind as you browse your options. Hopefully, these will help you narrow down photo companies a bit faster:
- Cost. Check out the pricing as well as how often you need to pay. Are you looking for one-time photo selections? Or are you looking for something that offers you total access on an annual plan?
- Selection. Keep in mind that there is often inherent variation in image quality across different stock photo services. The caliber of images is influenced by factors such as the photographers' expertise, experience, reputation, and their approach to capturing subjects, composition, and lighting. So make sure you check out the quality of the images and the variety of styles.
- Resolution. Within the realm of stock photos, image resolutions are a key consideration. These resolutions are measured in pixels (dots) and encompass a spectrum, from lower pixel density suitable for web use (around 400 pixels horizontally) to high pixel density catering to 4K (4,096 pixels horizontally) and even 8K (7,680 pixels horizontally) images. The latter in particular is tailored for high-definition television output, computer screens, and print applications. You want to make sure that the service you choose has photos in the resolution you need for your project.
- Downloads. The flexibility of stock photo services extends to download options as well. Some platforms offer unlimited downloads per image, while others adhere to a one-time download model. Understanding these download policies can influence your choice of stock photo provider, especially if you anticipate needing to reuse images frequently.
To help you find the best site to start pulling images, Top Consumer Reviews has researched and reviewed today's premier online destinations for stock photos. Our mission is to take the stress out of licensing worries and lengthy image searches, so you can get back to what you do best: creating beautiful designs.
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