"Matters of Size": Megapixels, Mega-Bytes & XXXLs
Stock Image Buyers: Which Agency's Credits are Cheaper?*
Unlike in other walks of life, when it comes to evaluating which stock agency is most cost-effective for buying images, “size” does not always matter! "Size" is all about how you measure it.
DO NOT trust the price of "Labels". If you are a designer, buying images for your project and deciding which stock agency offers the most cost-effective solution, do not fall victim to the labeling game stock agencies play. By the "labeling game" I am referring to the custom among stock agencies to "label" their images from "small" to "extra large" or "ultra-size resolution". Do not judge prices by how much different agencies charge for a "small" image. Price of an image size as described by its "label" (small, medium, etc.) is not a good indicator of whether a stock agency offers most cost-effective images. These labels vary from site to site and may refer to drastically different image resolutions. “Small” means different things across different agencies and the same “small” image may cost you anywhere from $1 to $3, depending on the agency you are turning to. On the other end of the spectrum, if you are looking for the largest image possible for your project, again “large” or “extra large” is going to cost you significantly more or less, again, depending on which agency you turn to. The same 30-megapixel (mp) image may cost you anywhere from $4 to $20, and wouldn’t you rather pay less and save yourself $16? Really?
DO NOT trust the price of "File sizes". Just like you should never buy into the “labeling” game, you should also never trust “deals” at stock agencies that price and measure their images in kilobytes and megabytes. The trick that stock agencies use charge more money than at a competitor's site and to make money is that many buyers do not realize that an image that can be effectively printed as a poster AND a small, post-card sized image can “weigh” the same amount of megabytes. Let me paraphrase: you may have two images, with two identical file sizes, but one of them will print a beautiful 12 x 18 poster and the other will only print a 5 x 7. The more complex an image is, the more information it contains in terms of color transitions and details, and the bigger the size is going to be. Isolated images, simpler, cleaner stock designs, images with fewer color transitions, less noise, etc. are "lighter" (there are many factors that explain image "weight" in bytes; e.g., compare an image of a forest with millions and million of little leaves and an image of a monotone ocean landscape against a monotone, clean blue sky). But file size (raw size) in megabytes DOES NOT MATTER for your purposes, which are, I assume to pay the least amount of $ for the biggest possible maximum output resolution (unless you are on dial-up and you need to download the smallest file size). The “weight” (file size) of an image in megabytes has nothing to do with the maximum print output. Two different images, one “weighing” 1 megabyte and another 10 megabytes may still be best for prints up to the same maximum sizes!
DO trust the price per megapixel. How do you decide which agency to turn to depends on one specific criterion and one only. This criterion is the only criterion that is comparable across ALL stock agencies and that offers a reliable yardstick for figuring out which agency best suits your creative needs and your budget. The only criterion that you should pay attention to as a designer looking for the best deal is MEGAPIXELS. Knowing the size of the image you are looking for – in MEGAPIXELS, not in megabytes, and not in “large’, “medium”, or “small” - is what will help you distinguish agencies that overcharge you as a buyer from those that don't. Once you know the size of the image you need in megapixels, the choice of a stock agency should be a relative no - brainer.
Figuring out the size of your image in MEGAPIXELS is easy. Just multiply each dimension (in inches) of the desired size of your project (say, 4 x 6 inches) by the desired resolution (72 ppi is usually suitable for web projects, 300 ppi for best quality printed products; 200 is usually acceptable ppi for many printed projects as well). Say, in my example, my desired resolution is 300, and I want a 4 x 6 print. Let’s do the math: 4*300 = 1200; 6 * 300 = 1800. So, what you are looking for is an image with the following dimensions in PIXELS: 1200*1800. One more step and you can convert these to MEGAPIXELS: just multiply 1200 by 1800 = 2,160,000 pixels, or about 2 MP – two megapixels (divide by 1000000 - one and six zeroes). AHA! NOW! Which agency offers best deals on 2MP images (See Table 3 for comparison below). Your best bet is Dreamstime! For images up to 3mp, dreamstime offers the best deal among all agencies – only $1. The next best option is to go with stockxpert for $2. If you are careless, you may fall prey to agencies that charge $5 for a 2MP image. Honestly, that’s a buyer rip-off!
Here, for your convenience, I offer two tables (Tables 1 and 2) that should help you convert the size of your desired image into megapixels. Once you know what the size of your project is in megapixels (MP), proceed to Table 3, where you can go to Column 1, find your desired MP size and find the best deal!
Table 1: Figuring out the output of your image in MEGAPIXELS
Desired Resolution in ppi |
Your Desired Image Output Size in Inches (top row) and in MEGAPIXELS (in corresponding cells) |
|||||||
2 x 3’ |
4 x 6’ |
6 x 8’ |
8 x 10’ |
10 x 14’ |
12 x 18’ |
14 x 20’ |
20 x 30’ |
|
72 |
0.03 |
0.1 |
0.2 |
0.4 |
0.7 |
1.1 |
1.5 |
3.1 |
100 |
0.06 |
0.2 |
0.5 |
0.8 |
1.4 |
2.2 |
2.8 |
6.0 |
150 |
0.13 |
0.5 |
1.1 |
1.8 |
3.2 |
4.9 |
6.3 |
13.5 |
200 |
0.24 |
1.0 |
1.9 |
3.2 |
5.6 |
8.6 |
11.2 |
24.0 |
250 |
0.37 |
1.5 |
3.0 |
5.0 |
8.8 |
13.5 |
17.5 |
37.5 |
300 |
0.54 |
2.2 |
4.3 |
7.2 |
12.6 |
19.4 |
25.2 |
54.0 |
600 |
2.1 |
8.6 |
17.3 |
28.8 |
50.4 |
77.8 |
100.8 |
216.0 |
This table offers the most commonly-used image sizes (first horizontal row) and tabulates them against some of the possible ppi (first column). For example, you need an 8 x 10 print at 300 ppi. The table suggests that you need an image that is at least 7.2 megapixels.
If your preferred image output size and/or resolution are not included in the table above, here's an algorith for your own calculations:
- Your desired resolution: (R)
- Your desired output (in inches): A by B
- Multiply your desired resolution by each side of the desired output: (A x R) = V1; (B x R) = V2
- Multiply the two values (V) by one another and divide by 1000000: V1 x V2 /1000000
- There you go – your desired output in megapixels (MP) MP output
Table 2: PPI multiplication table (some commonly preferred PPIs multiplied by some commonly preferred outputs in inches)
Preferred ppi |
Some preferred values of desired output size in inches |
||||||||
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
|
72 |
72 |
144 |
216 |
288 |
360 |
432 |
504 |
576 |
648 |
100 |
100 |
200 |
300 |
400 |
500 |
600 |
700 |
800 |
900 |
150 |
150 |
150 |
450 |
600 |
750 |
900 |
1050 |
1200 |
1350 |
200 |
200 |
400 |
600 |
800 |
1000 |
1200 |
1400 |
1600 |
1800 |
250 |
250 |
250 |
750 |
1000 |
1250 |
1500 |
1750 |
2000 |
2250 |
300 |
300 |
600 |
900 |
1200 |
1500 |
1800 |
2100 |
2400 |
2700 |
600 |
600 |
1200 |
1800 |
2400 |
3000 |
3600 |
4200 |
4800 |
5400 |
For square images, just find the dimension of the side of your square, find the desired resolution and multiply the image in the corresponding cell by itself. For example, if you want to print a 54x4 image at the 200 ppi resolution, you’ll find the value of “800” in the corresponding cell. Just multiply 800 by itself and divide by 1000000 (six zeroes): you get 0.64 MP – that’s an image of less than one megapixel !
Now, on to what you are here for - a comparison table that tells you just how far your dollars willl go with different stock agencies if you are looking for direct, credit (not subscription) purchases.
Table 3: Comparison of Cost-Effectiveness of Credit Purchases Across Major Stock Agencies
(Note: Canstock and 123rf do not allow buyers to purchase single credits, their cheapest credit packages are $9 and $15 respectively, which may still be acceptable to some for-credit image buyers)
| Desired Image Output in megapixels | Stock Agencies (price in $ for a given image output) |
|||||||
| Fotolia | Stockxpert | Crestock | Dreamstime | Istock | Bigstock | Canstock | 123rf** | |
| 0.1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2.5 | 1 | 1 |
| 0.5 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 2.5 | 1 | 1 |
| 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 2.5 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 1.5 | 2 |
| 3 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 1.5 | 2 |
| 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 1.5 | 3 |
| 5 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 10 | 10 | 2 | 3 |
| 6 | 4 | 3 | 10 | 3 | 10 | 10 | 2 | 4 |
| 8 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 4 | 10 | 10 | 2 | 4 |
| 11 | 5 | 5 | 15 | 4 | 15 | 15 | 2.5 | 4 |
| 16 | 6 | 10 | 15 | 4 | 20 | 15 | 2.5 | 4 |
| > 30 | 7 | 10 | 15 | 4 | 20 | 15 | 2.5 | 4 |
How to use this table? In the first column, find the value of your preferred image output in megapixels. Then check out the corresponding row for the best deal. Say, you need a 1 megapixel image. The best deals for 1mp image are offered by Canstock and 123rf (but you would need to buy a small credits package at these two sites); you can also pay $1 per 1 credit needed to buy the image at Dreamstime and Stockxpert.
As you see, some values in "price" cells are in bold font and some are not. That's because different agencies have different "cut off" points for pricing. The "bold" prices are cut off points as specified by the agency. The values that are not emphasized in bold are the values that I filled out for you. For example, Crestock offers three image sizes, valued at $5, $10, and $15. As you see, everything up to 6mp goes for one price - $5; 6mp is Crestock's next cut off point and you will pay $10 for images above 6mp. Its third cut off point is at 11mp, and you will pay $15 for images above 11mp. The same logic applies to all the columns. Some mp values are not offered, for the sake of convenience and usability of the table. But they are easy to figure out: For example, you need a 7mp image - just look up the values for the next smallest resolution offered in the table - 6mp.
Some summary observations: On average, Dreamstime seems to offer the best, most cost-effective, systematic and predictable pricing scheme for a per-credit image buyer. (If you are willing to put up with buying $9 credit packages and download several images at a time, Canstock offers a competitively-priced stock image library. And, although 123rf does not offer a systematic price scheme that tells buyers their price per megapixel, they do offer good deals as well). After Dreamstime, your next choice of the most cost-effective stock photo agency should be Stockxpert, which is competitive against its next biggest competitor, Fotolia (where you'll be an extra dollar for any image size) for images up to 15-16mp. Canstock, arguably a second-tier stock agency, offers the best deals, but you'll still have to buy credit packages, the cheapest being $9. So, if you are looking to buy only one image - go with DT, if you are looking to buy over 3-4 images - go with Canstock (I wonder why CS doesn't allow per-credit purchases... it might make it much more competitive!). Istock is the most expensive of them all.
Bottomline: don’t be loyal to an agency just because you like them or you have an account with them. Be a smart shopper and turn to agencies that save you the most money.
NEXT TIME, in part 2 of this series, I will evaluate how far buyers' $$$ go with subscription packages.
______________________________________
* This is the first article in a several-part sequel on pricing structures across stock agencies. This article compares cost effectiveness based on the price of a single credit only. It does not look at "subscription package" prices. It also does not take into account "gradated" pricing, such as at Dreamstime, when prices vary depending on the popularity of an images. I assume that, given a saturated market and a relatively flexible buyer, buyers will always be able to buy the cheapest image among all the comparable images.
*** 123rf does not price its images by megapixels at all. I could not figure out clear cut off prices for its images. Two different images with the same image size in megapixels may be priced differently. What 123rf seems to be doing is either taking the biggest size of the uploaded image and then treating it as the "ultra high", largest size available for download and then taking a certain percentage of the biggest size and offering it as smaller versions. I checked out a lot of different images trying to figure out the system, but, after all my efforts, I could not. Which pretty much means that you can't expect consistency in image pricing if you are looking for, say, ten 4mp images. Generally, though, their prices are "web" for up to about 1.5mp images, "print" for their 1.5-4mp images, "ultra high" for images 4-6mp images, and highest resolution for images above 6mp. I have not, however, found systematic MP criteria. Also, like Canstock, 123rf does not seem to offer single credits for purchase, the cheapest credits package is $15.