Why Fotolia?
Fotolia was the first agency I signed up with. They regularly range somewhere in the Top 5, directly behind Shutterstock. This is one of the websites you definitely should open a contributor account at.
Founded in 2004, the agency mostly sells to Europe, in particular to Germany. The Website is of course international, Fotolia is active in 23 countries and available in 14 languages. In 2015 the agency was bought by Adobe. This means that you can reach millions of Creative Cloud users and sell directly through Photoshop CC, Illustrator CC, InDesign CC and other desktop apps. Being part of the huge Adobe Stock network should soon start to show an overall raise in sales.
Royalty System
1. Fotolia subscriptions and Adobe Stock sales
The question is as usual: what can I earn? And the answer is simple: you will earn 33% royalty for every file sold! (For video footage it is even 35%!)
Get 33% on every sale on a Fotolia subscription or on Adobe Stock. Actual payout will depend on the price of the image paid by the buyer. Minimum guarantee applies to make sure contributors are always fairly compensated, whatever the price is.
| Product | Payout |
|---|---|
| Adobe Stock – On Demand | 3.30 |
| Adobe Stock – 10 images a month (monthly) | 1.65 |
| Adobe Stock – 10 images a month (annual) | 0.99 |
| Fotolia – 5 images a month | 1.65 |
| Adobe Stock – 750 images per month | Minimum guarantee |
| Fotolia – Daily subscription plan | Minimum guarantee |
| All other products | 33% of the sale price |
* payout can vary by country depending on actual price in local currency
2. Fotolia credit sales
At Fotolia, commission rates are based on contributors ranks. The higher the rank the higher the % commission.
Contributors with higher ranks can also increase their prices above the base level of white contributors. However, if a file does not sell within a period of 180 days, its price is automatically set back to the minimum. Afterwards, if the file sells three times in six months, the contributor can once again update the price.
Commissions and max prices by rank for non-exclusive contributors
| Ranking | Royalty | XS | S | M | L | XL | XXL | X |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White | 20% | 1 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 30 |
| Bronze | 23% | 1 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 60 |
| Silver | 25% | 1 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 100 |
| Gold | 31% | 1 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 100 |
| Emerald | 37% | 2 | 6 | 12 | 16 | 20 | 24 | 100 |
| Sapphire | 40% | 3 | 9 | 18 | 24 | 30 | 36 | 100 |
| Ruby | 43% | 3 | 9 | 18 | 24 | 30 | 36 | 100 |
| Diamond | 46% | 3 | 9 | 18 | 24 | 30 | 36 | 100 |
Requirements
To sell your files on Fotolia you must:
- Be at least 18 years of age
- Be the exclusive author of every file you upload
- Own or have authorization for all the rights to the elements represented in your files (e.g. products, people, property)
- Your account must have been confirmed (by clicking the link included in the confirmation email)
Heard enough? Sign up for your contributors account by clicking on the logo:
Or visit our Microstock Beginners Guide for more Information on how to get started:
The Microstock Guide 
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