Bigstock vs Dreamstime
Features, use cases, pros and cons, and pricing side by side — and which one to pick.
Best for: Content marketers and bloggers who need a steady flow of licensed thumbnails, header images, and social graphics, Freelance designers and small agencies producing commercial client work on predictable budgets
Read the full Bigstock reviewBest for: Regular buyers of stock photos who want the lowest per-image cost through a monthly subscription, Bloggers and small businesses sourcing occasional files through pay-as-you-go credit packs
Read the full Dreamstime reviewCommission may apply at no extra cost
Bigstock vs Dreamstime: features compared
Compare key features side by side
Feature Comparison Summary
Which should you choose?
Choose Bigstock if
- You prefer a basic library without extras you won't use.
Choose Dreamstime if
- You need photos, 4K video, vectors, music, and sound effects together.
- Your team needs multi-seat access and API integration.
Bigstock vs Dreamstime: pros and cons
Bigstock
Bigstock bundles royalty-free photos, vectors, illustrations, and video into one library, with a free entry tier plus subscription and credit options that fit both steady and occasional buyers. It's less suited to exclusive imagery, deep editorial archives, or enterprise-level legal cover. Overall, it's a practical, budget-friendly pick for freelancers, marketers, and small teams.
Pros
- Covers photos, vectors, illustrations, and video footage in one library, so teams do not need separate vendors for stills and motion
- Everything is licensed royalty-free, keeping commercial use legally straightforward without per-project rights negotiation
- Supports both monthly subscriptions and usage-based buying, letting payment match actual download volume
Cons
- Assets are licensed non-exclusively, so the same images and clips can appear in other buyers' campaigns
- Editorial, celebrity, and breaking-news imagery is limited compared with dedicated news agencies
- Monthly subscription downloads do not always match real usage, meaning light months can leave paid downloads unused
Dreamstime
Dreamstime pairs a 368-million-file library with subscription pricing that drops to $0.23 per image, covering photos, 4K video, music, and vectors under one lifetime royalty-free license. Trial terms, refund conditions, and independent user reviews are hard to pin down, though. Overall, it's a practical, affordable pick for regular buyers who check the license fine print first.
Pros
- Subscriptions drop the cost to $0.23 per image, with the first week of the 15-image monthly plan free, so regular buyers know their unit cost before committing.
- Every download includes a royalty-free license with lifetime rights covering web, print, social, and commercial projects worldwide — no per-use royalties to track.
- One marketplace covers photos, editorial images, 4K footage, illustrations, vectors, music, and sound effects, with hundreds of new video and audio files added daily.
Cons
- License limits, free-trial terms, and refund conditions aren't spelled out up front — broader distribution likely requires a paid extended license, so you must read the terms of service before choosing an annual plan.
- API integration, multi-seat access, and volume pricing are reserved for corporate accounts, so small teams on standard plans can't access them.
- If you only download a few images a year, a monthly subscription may not pay off, and the plan range stretches up to $91,863/month at the high end, so larger-team costs require direct inquiry.
Bigstock and Dreamstime in detail
Bigstock
Bigstock is an online media library that aggregates royalty-free visual assets — photography, vector graphics, illustrations, and stock video footage — into one searchable catalog. Assets are organized into top categories so users without a precise keyword can still browse effectively. Every download is covered by a royalty-free license, meaning you pay once through a plan or credits and can reuse the file in permitted projects without ongoing royalties. The catalog serves both still-imagery needs for web and print and motion content for video editors.
Standout features
- Multi-Format Media Library
- Royalty-Free Licensing
- Search and Category Browsing
- Flexible Purchase Models
Use cases
- Blog and Content Marketing
- Social Media and Ad Creative
- Web Design and Landing Pages
- Video Editing and B-Roll
Dreamstime
Dreamstime is a stock content marketplace that's been running since 2000. It connects about 60 million users with 1.4 million contributors who add photos, editorial images, 4K video footage, illustrations, vectors, music, and sound effects daily. It suits solo bloggers buying occasional images, regular users on subscriptions, and agencies or global brands that need corporate accounts with multi-seat access and API integration.
Standout features
- One License, Lifetime Rights
- Find the Right File Faster
- Every Asset Type in One Marketplace
- Flexible Ways to Buy
- License Assets on the Go
Use cases
- Mixed-format content teams
- Agencies and global brands
- Try before you buy
Pricing compared
List prices from each vendor's pricing page, before taxes and add-ons. Costs are per month.
| Pricing compared | Bigstock | Dreamstime |
|---|---|---|
| From (cheapest paid plan) | €49/mo Most Popular (Images) | €19/mo Unlimited downloads |
| Free plan | No | No |
| Free trial | Not stated | Not stated |
| Money-back guarantee | Not stated | Not stated |
| Annual billing savings | — | — |
| Pricing model | Flat price | Flat price |
| Cost for 1 user | €49/mo Most Popular (Images) plan, billed monthly | €19/moCheaper Unlimited downloads plan, billed monthly |
| Cost for 5 users | €49/mo Most Popular (Images) plan, billed monthly · price per account (user limit not stated) | €19/mo Unlimited downloads plan, billed monthly · price per account (user limit not stated) |
| Cost for 10 users | €49/mo Most Popular (Images) plan, billed monthly · price per account (user limit not stated) | €19/mo Unlimited downloads plan, billed monthly · price per account (user limit not stated) |
| Cost for 25 users | €49/mo Most Popular (Images) plan, billed monthly · price per account (user limit not stated) | €19/mo Unlimited downloads plan, billed monthly · price per account (user limit not stated) |
| Plans | 6 | 8 |
| Prices checked | Checked Nov 4, 2026 | Checked Nov 6, 2026 |
| Price history | Tracking prices since Oct 1, 2026. No price change detected yet. | Tracking prices since Oct 15, 2026. No price change detected yet. |
- Cheapest plan that fits each team size. Per-user plans are multiplied by the number of users (respecting stated minimums and seat packs). Plans that include some users cost their base price plus the extra-user price for each user beyond those included. Flat-priced plans with no stated user limit are counted as one licence per user.
Cheaper for your team size
For 1 user (billed monthly), Dreamstime costs €19/mo vs Bigstock at €49/mo.
Computed from published list prices on the dates shown. Excludes taxes, add-ons and promotions.