Adobe Stock is a service that provides access to high quality, royalty-free stock assets for content creators. Adobe Stock offers millions of assets that are available for a wide range of creative projects, though some assets cost more to use than others. This service is a separate offering from Adobe’s other tools, though it is integrated with most Creative Cloud applications.
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How does Adobe Stock work?
To use Adobe Stock, a content creator must start by searching and filtering the content for the right asset for their project. Searches should be based on relevant keywords, subject matter, and asset type. The search results can then be filtered based on specific criteria. For images, the filtering criteria include:
- Color (hex input or swatch)
- Orientation (portrait or landscape)
- Price (subscription content or premium/video content)
- Copy space
- Depth of field
Once a creator has selected an asset to use, they purchase it using a credit pack or subscription plan based on their needs and the type of asset they want to download. Videos, for example, are not included with subscription plans and can only be downloaded with credit packs.
There are also limitations with how a downloaded asset may be used. Most assets are cleared for unrestricted digital use, but assets intended for resale or high-volume print runs require an extended license.
Once an asset has been purchased and downloaded, the creator imports the asset to their project. Purchased assets are also available for use directly in the appropriate Creative Cloud applications, like Photoshop, Lightroom, Illustrator, and Premiere Pro.
What types of assets does Adobe Stock offer?
Adobe stock offers seven different types of assets:
- Photos
- Illustrations
- Vectors
- Videos
- Audio
- Templates
- 3D models
Photographers, illustrators, videographers, musicians, and graphic designers ages 18 and up can sell their original assets to Adobe Stock for 33 percent royalty fees. This allows artists to leverage Adobe’s platform and sell their work to an international audience of creators.
How much does it cost to use Adobe Stock?
Adobe Stock customers can choose from two options to purchase assets: subscription plans and credit packs. Subscription plans are ideal for creators or businesses that need a regular number of assets per month. Plans range from $29.99/month for 10 assets to $199.99/month for 750 assets. Team plans allow for sharing licenses across users, whereas licenses are restricted to individual account owners with Individual plans. Adobe Stock also offers Enterprise plans that can be customized for large organizations.
Alternatively, customers who only need a very small number of assets on occasion would be better suited to buy credit packs. Plan subscribers may also purchase credit packs if they’ve run out of their monthly allowance for standard assets, want to download a video or premium asset, or require an extended license. Credit packs range from $49.95 for 5 credits (equivalent to 5 images) to $1,200 for 150 credits (equivalent to 150 images or 18 HD videos). Credits expire 12 months from the date of purchase.
