PROS
- Premium stock photos
- Heavily curated
- Great support team
- Unlimited royalty-free license
CONS
- Very expensive
- No subscriptions that would get you discounts
- Difficult to become a contributor
This is my in-depth Storyblocks review.
In this post, I’ll compare Offset to Shutterstock, explain Offset’s pricing, and let you know how to join the Offset contributor program.
Let’s get right into it.
What is Offset (by Shutterstock)?
Offset is a premium stock photo site by Shutterstock that licenses high-quality commercial and editorial royalty-free images. Offset emphasises simplified customer experience by leveraging on-demand only licensing.
The key differences between Offset and Shutterstock:
- Only world-class photographers may contribute to Offset, while anyone can apply for Shutterstock’s contributor program.
- Every image at Offset is carefully checked for quality and hand-picked. So even if you’re a professional photographer with flawless technique, not all your pictures are going to make it to Offset.
- While you can choose from a plethora of subscription and on-demand packs at Shutterstock, you can only buy images at Offset one at a time or in packs of 5 or 10 images.
Pricing
Offset doesn’t offer subscription plans like Shutterstock does. Your only options are to buy one image at a time, or to purchase image packs of 5 or 10 images. Price also depends on the image size.
Image are available in two sizes: Small (72 dpi) and large (300 dpi).
| Image Number | Small | Large |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $249 | $349 |
| 5 | $1,119 ($223.80/image) | $1,579 ($315.80/image) |
| 10 | $2,119 ($211.90/image) | $2,999 ($299.90/image) |
Obviously, the more images you purchase, the lower the price per image gets. So, if you know that you’ll need more than 1 image, I highly recommend getting an image pack of 5 or even 10 images.
How do I pay?
You can purchase any Offset image with a credit card, on demand only. Your credit is charged only once when you pay. There are no hidden fees or recurring subscriptions.
Should you need more than 1 image, you can opt for image packs.
Licensing
All Offset images are royalty-free with unlimited distribution and global rights (you may use them anywhere in the world).
Some images are marked with “Editorial use only” label. You may not use these images for commercial or promotional projects. They may be used solely in newspapers, news broadcasts, and similar non-commercial campaigns.
You should also note that you do not have to attribute authors of standard royalty-free images. However, Offset requires you to attribute authors of Editorial use images. For example: Image Copyright Name of Artist / Offset.com.
Contributor
Offset contributor is a place for professional photographers. In contrast, Shutterstock contributor program accepts virtually everyone. You can be an amateur with a mobile device and get accepted if you take good enough photos.
However, Offset only accepts the very best photos. Considering the prices of the photos, it’s not surprising.
For example, these are some of the Offset’s photographers:
- Joey Chou (lifestyle, wildlife)
- Anna Williams (fashion, food, interior)
- James Ransom (food)
About your guide
Matic Broz is a multifaceted creative professional, with experience as a photographer, graphic designer, and business owner. He has a decade of experience in helping other creatives improve their craft and start their own businesses. His writing and research have been featured in notable publications such as The Guardian, PetaPixel, and USA Today. Additionally, his scientific research has been recognized with a cover feature in the prestigious MDPI-owned journal. In his leisure time, he enjoys photography, hiking, and spending time with dogs. Read more
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