Exploring Getty Images’ Prices For Exclusive Stock Photography

Getty Images is not only one a historic stock photography agency, but also one of the most prestigious worldwide. With decades in business and a traditional background as well as a strong online service, Getty Images’ photos are all you’d ever want for your designs: professional, high quality, and as varied as they can be. But then it comes down to the big issue: cost.

As you may have guessed, their photos come at a much higher price point than those of popular online agencies such as Shutterstock or their very own iStock. And there are several reasons for this. However, here we tell you about a great purchase option that makes Getty Images much more affordable for the slimmer pockets: the Ultrapacks. Have a read!

Pack SizeLarge Images / 4K and HD VideosMedium ImagesSmall Images / Low-Res Videos
Single$499$399$199
5 Pack$1,750 ($350 each)$1,495 ($299 each)$750 ($150 each)
10 Pack$3,300 ($330 each)$2,700 ($270 each)$1,400 ($140 each)
15 Pack$4,500 ($300 each)$3,750 ($250 each)$1,950 ($130 each)

Why Do These Images Have A Higher Cost?

The prices from this agency will always be significantly higher than in other online outlets, but as with everything, you get what you pay for. In the case of Getty, you’re paying for prestige, quality, reliability, variety and exclusive, unique content. Equally relevant, their Royalty Free and Editorial licensing options are legally backed up by their decades in the industry and give you very generous usage rights.

This is what leads the agency's prices to fall anywhere between a couple of hundred and several thousands of dollars per image, which is a pretty big contrast from the $1 to $20 average price on other stock photo sites.  However, you can benefit from the Ultrapacks offer and get these prestigious, hardly found elsewhere images for a small fraction of the single purchase price, ranging from $130 to $499 per download. 

What Does Premium Stock Photography Means?

There are several factors that contribute to Getty being synonymous with premium stock imagery. For one, this is a very prestigious company with a solid global presence that includes an international network of professional photographers and exclusive access to all kind of high profile events, from the Olympics to the Oscars and beyond; in the same vein, their commercially available content is sourced from some of the most renowned photographers in the world, and its exclusive to the platform.

And then, the flexible license terms with the additional peace of mind of being backed by a household name in image licensing and beyond, result in exclusive, high-quality and unique imagery.

Getty Images Editorial Photos

Ultrapacks: Royalty Free & Editorial Photos For Less

The good news is that while their royalty-free photos come at higher price points than other online marketplaces, the Ultrapacks offers make them much more affordable. These are prepaid download packs that you can buy and then use to get Royalty Free images for commercial and editorial use, whenever you want. Divided by image resolution and with several volume options, they give a greater discount the higher the quality and the bigger the pack is.

This alternative gives you amazing, even exclusive imagery with the quality and trustworthy stamp of Getty Images, for as little as $130. Certainly a big cut from the single purchase cost! A great feature is that these packs never expire, so it’s a long-term investment. Even better, you can download stock videos with the very same packs. 

Buy Quality and Unique Photos at Getty Images

Now you know those “Getty Images expensive photos” are way more accessible than you thought, you can go on and get yourself some to use in your upcoming designs!

When buying photos at Getty Images you get photos that you are not likely to find elsewhere. Professional shots from all over the world, covering the most various themes and styles, and backed by the global reputation of this iconic stock photography agency.

Amos Struck
Amos Struck

Amos Struck, a renowned expert with over two decades in the stock photography industry, is known for his profound expertise in both stock imagery and artificial intelligence (AI). He is the founder of StockPhotoSecrets.com and a driving force behind the innovative AI-driven platform, Stockphotos.com. His pioneering work in visual AI is marked by co-founding Ximilar AI. Amos also established the Microstock Expo Conference, a key event in the stock photography sector. As a regular speaker at major industry conferences like DMLA and a prominent member of CEPIC, he consistently contributes to the industry's growth and evolution through a blend of technological innovation and market insight.

6 Comments
  1. Hi there,
    I am 75, semi-retired living on a small farm in Idaho. I paint water colors as a hobby and would like to draw and paint some of you photos of chickens for gift cards to sell in coffee shop etc. please let me know what the cost would be.
    Thank you….Joe

  2. 130$ is not “little”. I own an e-commerce and I need pictures, I need to pay less, and not paying for a prestigious brand, I only need the pictures, not the brand.

    • Getty Images is a great source of stock photos if you need a very particular image or special rights on an image. If you just need basic images for your e-commerce shop, simply check out our special offers section and get images as cheap as 0.50$.

  3. 500 dollars per image? thats actually insane wtf

    • HI there, Getty Images is a very prestigious agency and they specialize in exclusive, high-end, and hard-to-get imagery. Their prices reflect that, but they’re certainly not for every budget, that is true. The $475 per image rate is the highest, for one single large-sized photo (4K and HD videos cost the same), and it goes for less if you buy a bundle. There are cheaper prices available –for example, a small web-sized image goes for $150-$175–. That said, there are a lot of much more affordable options out there, including iStock which is under the Getty umbrella and has great quality images for as little as $0.22 each (bear in mind these are non-exclusive stock images). Hope this helps!

Leave a reply

Stock Photo Secrets
Logo