lilly-rum-L6W9ZIQ5saM-unsplash
Find the best sites for unique stock photos fit for your content. Lilly Rum//Unsplash

People have always been visually driven so it’s no surprise that we’re attracted to beautiful images. This is especially true when it comes to online content. People are more likely to stop scrolling and give time to an eye-catching image. In fact, articles with interesting images are more likely to get 94% more views than those without images, on average. So if you want to drive traffic to your blog posts, then you’ll need beautiful images in the form of photographs and illustrations.

As images are a vital aspect of design, particularly photography, then do try to make the most of it. Any website, whether good or bad, needs to have some amount of images or photographs to break all the text. Unfortunately, these images can be expensive so many end up with just generic and typically overused photos. Get access to the best stock images for free or a minimal fee with the best stock image websites. Here are some of the best stock images sites for 2022.

1. Shutterstock

Shutterstock's array of themes and photos
Shutterstock's array of themes and photos shutterstock.com

Shutterstock is already a household name when it comes to stock photos. You get royalty-free products including photos, videos and audio files for your content at affordable prices. Curated stock assets will ensure you’re not left with cheesy stock photos. Instead, you get multi-dimensional, trending products under numerous categories so you have the perfect images for your content. It also has a handy mobile app so you can browse for the perfect image anytime, anywhere. Subscription plans start at $29 per month for 10 images or choose to get their on-demand packs that cost a one-time fee of $49 for five images. They also offer a 1-month free trial.

2. iStock

iStock offers curated and themed photos
iStock offers curated and themed photos istock.com

iStock is developed by Getty Images so expect eye-catching images and videos that easily engage your audience at a budget-friendly fee. Through an AI-powered search engine, it features creative visual content from photographers and videographers all over the world. With each purchase, you avail of both editorial and commercial licensing. iStock uses a credit system that starts at $12 for 1 credit but goes lower the more credits you purchase which comes out to 3 credits for $33. These credits are what you use to purchase images and videos but there is also the option to buy them in US dollars.

3. Yay Images

YayImages
YayImages yayimages.com

With over 13.5 million royalty-free stock photos and vectors, Yay Images can help improve your content marketing and drive traffic to your website. Stock images, vectors and videos are sourced from 18,000 artists in over 145 countries. It categorizes vectors and photos in their respective labels to make it easier for users to discover and find the ideal image for their content. Subscription plans start at $11.99 per month which offers unlimited access to images and footage.

4. Alamy

Alamy
Alamy alamy.com

Alamy is a comprehensive collection of images that includes everything from stock photos, trendy vectors, historical archive photos and news and current events photos. Alamy offers more than just royalty-free images, it offers bespoke licensing to fit any project plus full commercial use of any image for your use. Alamy features different collections and relevant categories so your content is always up to date. Purchase your desired image or photo which offers two prices: standard and royalty-free with the latter being priced much higher. However, get a 30% discount when you avail of their image packs.

5. StockUnlimited

StockUnlimited
StockUnlimited appsumo.com

Get the most out of your content with StockUnlimited. Get access to a million high-quality and royalty-free stock assets including images, graphics, icons and fonts. Your purchase comes with a selection of audio files that you can use for your sound and music editing. You can also customize these stock assets to make them blog and social media-ready. Get it on sale for just $49 on AppSumo today.

6. JumpStory

JumpStory
JumpStory appsumo.com

JumpStory gives you unlimited access to millions of stock images, videos, vectors, icons and audio clips that are sure to drive traffic and increase engagement on your site and social media channels. With authentic stock images like these, they can outperform other conventional stock images by up to 80%. JumpStory also comes with a simple editor so you can edit images to fit your marketing and creative needs. JumpStory also features an AI-powered TextMatch search that finds the best stock image to match your copy. Get it on sale for just $135 on AppSumo today.

7. Ingimage

Ingimage
Ingimage appsumo.com

Get millions of stock images, vector graphics and HD videos that are all curated so you can add that dash of creativity to your next project. Ingimage is perfect for niche topics and categories as it offers only high-quality stock assets so you don’t have to go through ordinary and subpar ones. With Ingimage, you are given a minimum of 100 credits that you can use to download any product from its curated stock library. Get it on sale for just $69 on AppSumo today.

8. Generated Photos

Generated Photos
Generated Photos appsumo.com

Any marketer or designer can attest that looking for photos of diverse models can be difficult. Generated Photos offers realistic headshots of people in all colors and ages which are entirely AI-generated. Through filters, you can narrow down the age, ethnicity, gender, hair color and facial expression. Get it on sale for just $69 on AppSumo today.