Alamy - Reviews and experiences

Slow at first, now fine for daily recipe checks, pretty glad.

Spotted it on their site, sceptical at first; fees seemed steep. I tipped a coworker, though ended pleasantly surprised.

Not reliable — saw their listing first, friend warned me.

Uploads feel like shouting into a void. I got almost no sales despite decent images. Kinda disappointing, though I did get one unexpected licence that was nice. If you need steady income, look elsewhere.

Bought this for a poster during a move, was sure the "hi-res" would be bogus. Downloaded a smaller file and got annoyed, but support sorted it quickly so I'm relieved and pretty happy.

I bought this print and hung it last week. First look made me wince — faded, fuzzy, you could tell it was from a cheap printer. I panicked, framed it, and now it looks alright, which I'm relieved about.

Downloaded and braced myself. The preview said 30MB but the file was smaller. I kept an open mind and checked it. When I zoomed in the image still looked sharp — that’s when I relaxed. Customer rep explained the compression. Not perfect, but if you need quality ask for the original.

I noticed one of my prints — which I'd posted on my website and Facebook — popped up on Alamy. I told friend, contacted their support; the response was slow and vague, seemed like they didn't take it seriously, really frustrated.

By the third week I was still chasing replies — I first used the product in January and thought it looked fine, but an image glitch made me email support. Multiple follow-ups, no answer. Kinda frustrating, I was hoping for one response.

Spotted Alamy after a friend tipped me. At first it seemed decent, but the payout is annoying — they only pay after you hit US$50 and the money crawls in, taking ages to clear. Overall, it’s made me rethink uploading; I’m a bit annoyed, though images did get really decent reach, I guess.

Was pretty wary before I bought — these image-rights groups (PicRights, Visual Rights Group, Pixray) sounded like the usual scary racket. I’ve had bad runs with other copyright squads before, so I almost backed out. Turned out the process was transparent, not clever extortion. Still pricey, but fair enough, I guess.

I ordered an image for my daily newsletter and at first I thought they'd charged me twice — panic, the usual. The download didn't show up so I bought it again. Customer service was slow to reply, but they dug in, found the duplicate charge and refunded it. Delivery was quick after that. Still wary, but satisfied enough to use them again.

two charges appeared on my Monzo, no confirmation email, nothing. Repeated emails went unanswered, phone hold times were ridiculous, kept hanging up. After a week and a couple of calls I got a refund, that's fixed, though the whole process felt sloppy and suspicious.

Bought into them back when I needed steady side income after moving and medical bills. I uploaded a bunch of shots and it worked at first. Lately the site feels cheap — tiny payments, messy dashboard. I removed my images years ago but they still pop up and pay pittance. Kinda annoyed, yet something still trickles in, so I check it sometimes.

I almost didn’t click buy — the thumbnails looked too similar and I had that nagging doubt that I was getting the wrong actor. After purchase I realised four shots were of someone who just looked like the person I wanted. Support admitted their error right away (pleasant folks, actually) which eased me, but then they offered a store credit instead of cash. I grumbled — I’ve had straight refunds from other places before — but after a few emails I used the credit to pick other images and, surprisingly, I’m happy with what I ended up with. Still prefer cash refunds, though.

I got a notice about a photo I used last month — kind of a shock. At first, like, their approach felt aggressive, like a demand with no room to talk; I panicked. But after I phoned, the rep actually explained options and sent a licence instead of immediately suing. Delivery of the paperwork was a couple days later than promised and the first message was harsh, but overall service fixed it.

I thought it would be straightforward. I’ve used the site a few times before, just grabbing images for a personal project, and never had trouble. A few weeks ago I downloaded an image I believed was licensed. Turned out not. I pulled it down as soon as I knew. Then came an email asking for £450 — citing "past license use" and work fees. The message felt terse and a bit threatening. The invoice had no VAT, and when I asked they called it a "settlement fee", which didn’t add up. I reported it and closed my account. Disappointed and a bit annoyed, honestly.

we deliver a compressed JPEG for quick download, then open in Photoshop and export as TIFF to get the 'full' size — which is a workaround, not an honest product. It sort of works after you do that, but it’s annoying, misleading and adds extra steps to my workflow. Not perfect, but usable if you know how to fix it. I’d warn others — check the specs and don’t assume.

awesome photos, but the customer support nearly ruined the deal. I first found the collection when a colleague shot me a link and I told a buddy to try it too. I bought a handful because the image quality was honestly better than I expected — crisp, rich colours, overall a nice surprise for the price. Then the headache: payment went through, yet I never got the files or even a proper order confirmation. I emailed them over and over, sent all the details, waited and waited, and mostly got silence or vague promises. It felt like I was the only one actually chasing this; they'd ghost me for weeks and then say "figure it out yourself" — which is just wild. After months I kinda gave up on the roughly $150 they still have. So yeah, content is solid, but delivery and service need serious work. If you’re just browsing, go for it, but be ready to follow up and save screenshots.

a promotion where clients could buy three photos for a dollar each. Fine for buyers, not so fine if you made the work. I needed the money — rent, odd repairs, the kind of bills freelancers know — so it stung more than it probably should have. Pulling the images down felt like taking back control; simple, practical, and oddly calming. The platform itself still does the job — images get exposure, buyers find stuff, and I did make decent sales there once — but the pay model had shifted and that mattered. It isn’t a perfect split: I miss the passive sales I used to get, and maybe I could grin and bear it, but for me the trade‑off wasn’t worth it. Closing the account was the moment I knew I was done — not dramatic, just a clear, factual decision that felt right.