As a 100% bootstrapped company since 2005, we have grown to be one of the world's largest digital stock agencies with an evenly distributed global footprint. 123RF has helped a wide clientele of individuals and businesses tell their stories using creative imagery, sounds and motion contributed by talents from around the world.
- 123RF
123RF started life in Malaysia in 2005. Like it’s main competitors, Shutterstock and iStock, it is home to millions of royalty-free images, videoclips and audio files.
123RF offers quality, low-price stock photography options. It is priced to offer something for everyone, whether you need a one-off photo for a project or have a high volume need
They boast large corporate customers such as Google, American Express and Microsoft, but are equally suited to a small business owner looking for an image for a social media post, book cover or poster.
You can buy either standard stock images from 123RF or choose from their premium "EVO" range.

123RF User Experience
123RF has an easy to use interface with powerful search facility. Users choose an asset, save it to their 'likebox' (not the usual 'lightbox'), choose their payment model and download. The process is easy and the choice of images huge.
They have a couple of nice touches like offering a selection of images for free (small size good for web use) and in the my account section, you have you download history so if you need to re-download any assets, this can be done easily.
Just be aware that services like 123RF leave the default setting on purchases to ‘auto renew’ so be sure to switch this off if you don’t want to be charged with additional months/credit packs.
Licensing with 123RF
The licensing rules are very similar for 123RF as they are with other royalty-free stock photography websites such as Shutterstock, iStock and Adobe Stock. Royalty-free means you purchase the right to use the asset multiple times, worldwide with no time expiry.
Depending on what you need your asset for, you’ll need to choose a licence type. There are three types:
Standard licence
- Used for web/electronic uses such as websites, banners, newsletters, PDFs, blog, email and presentations.
- Used for printed material such as magazine articles, books, advertising, brochures, booklets and business cards.
The use of an image with a standard licence is limited to 500,000 print runs.
Extended licence
Carries all the same benefits as the Standard licence but allows print runs of more than 500,000. You can use the asset for products or services intended for resale or distribution.
- Good for merchandise or book publishing of more than 500,000 copies.
Editorial licence
Content marked ‘Editorial Use Only’ may not be used for commercial / advertising / promotional purposes.
Credits and Subscriptions
To give you an idea of how many credits you need to download images, video and audio clips, check out this table:
Credits required to download one image of this resolution
Image resolution
Standard
EVO
S
1
-
M
2
5 - 40
ML
3
-
L
4
10 - 80
XL
5
15 -120
XXL
6
20 - 160
XXL (TIFF)
10
30 - 170
Extended Licence
50-100
70 - 260
Video Resolution
240p Web Definition (WD)
15 - 80
90
480p Standard Definition (SD)
40 - 200
115
720p High Definition (HD)
55 - 280
130
1080p High Definition (HD)
65 - 360
140
Exclusive Logo Collection
250 credits
Audio
Standard
Extended License
Music Audio Tracks
From 6 to 120 credits
Additional 75 credits each
Sound Effect Clips
From 2 to 16 credits
Additional 75 credits each
123RF Pricing
You can purchase from 123RF in three ways, either via download packs and subscriptions for standard images or via credits for video, audio clips and TIFF files.
With credits, they do expire after one year so make sure you purchase as many as you are likely to need as they don’t carry the quota forward.
Not sure which payment model would be best for you? This table outlines the differences between credits and subscriptions:
Download with Credits
Download via Subscriptions
Download Expiration
Credits expire 1 year from the date of purchase
Subscriptions expire depending on plan
Image Size
Different Content sizes at different credit rates
Download up to XXL size images or EPS vectors. (Excluding EVO and Footage)
Licensing
Standard Licence & Extended Licences, Multiseat Licence
Standard Licence only
Daily Download Limit
No daily download limit with sufficient credits
Fixed daily download limit depending on plan
Suitability
Suitable for low volume users (as low as 59p per image)
Suitable for high volume users (as low as 12p per image)
EVO Downloads
Yes, from 5 to 260 credits
No
Video Footage Downloads
Yes, from 15 to 65 credit
No
Audio Music & SFX Downloads
Yes, from 2 to 120 credits
No
Exclusive Logo Downloads
Yes, 250 credits each
No
123RF Support
123RF have a great FAQ section which will give you information on licensing and other terms and conditions.
They also have a UK number you can call if you need to seek advice about making sure you a purchasing the correct licence for your image.
Live chat is also offered 24/7.
123RF Ratings and Reviews
123RF is well rated with the 860 reviewers on Trustpilot giving it an average 8.6/10. 68% gave 5 stars.By far and away away, the biggest grievance was the expiry of credits. It might be 123RF have since updated their pricing details to make sure this is clear, but take note, you have 12 months to use your credit pack with credits expiring thereafter.
Customer support was also well rated. They offer a good range of support choices should you need help and advice.
Main Benefits of using 123RF
- More than 80 million creative works and growing.
- 90,000 daily content from 300,000 creative contributors.
- 12,000,000+ monthly active users at 123RF.com.
- Trusted, well rated and long established.
- Good selection of free images.
- Able to re-download images should you need to.
- 24/7 support available.
About 123RF
123RF started life in Malaysia in 2005. Like it’s main competitors, Shutterstock and iStock, it is home to millions of royalty-free images, videoclips and audio files.
123RF offers quality, low-price stock photography options. It is priced to offer something for everyone, whether you need a one-off photo for a project or have a high volume need
They boast large corporate customers such as Google, American Express and Microsoft, but are equally suited to a small business owner looking for an image for a social media post, book cover or poster.
You can buy either standard stock images from 123RF or choose from their premium "EVO" range.
123RF User Experience
123RF has an easy to use interface with powerful search facility. Users choose an asset, save it to their 'likebox' (not the usual 'lightbox'), choose their payment model and download. The process is easy and the choice of images huge.
They have a couple of nice touches like offering a selection of images for free (small size good for web use) and in the my account section, you have you download history so if you need to re-download any assets, this can be done easily.
Just be aware that services like 123RF leave the default setting on purchases to ‘auto renew’ so be sure to switch this off if you don’t want to be charged with additional months/credit packs.
Licensing with 123RF
The licensing rules are very similar for 123RF as they are with other royalty-free stock photography websites such as Shutterstock, iStock and Adobe Stock. Royalty-free means you purchase the right to use the asset multiple times, worldwide with no time expiry.
Depending on what you need your asset for, you’ll need to choose a licence type. There are three types:
Standard licence
- Used for web/electronic uses such as websites, banners, newsletters, PDFs, blog, email and presentations.
- Used for printed material such as magazine articles, books, advertising, brochures, booklets and business cards.
The use of an image with a standard licence is limited to 500,000 print runs.
Extended licence
Carries all the same benefits as the Standard licence but allows print runs of more than 500,000. You can use the asset for products or services intended for resale or distribution.
- Good for merchandise or book publishing of more than 500,000 copies.
Editorial licence
Content marked ‘Editorial Use Only’ may not be used for commercial / advertising / promotional purposes.
Credits and Subscriptions
To give you an idea of how many credits you need to download images, video and audio clips, check out this table:
Credits required to download one image of this resolution | ||
Image resolution | Standard | EVO |
S | 1 | - |
M | 2 | 5 - 40 |
ML | 3 | - |
L | 4 | 10 - 80 |
XL | 5 | 15 -120 |
XXL | 6 | 20 - 160 |
XXL (TIFF) | 10 | 30 - 170 |
Extended Licence | 50-100 | 70 - 260 |
Video Resolution | ||
240p Web Definition (WD) | 15 - 80 | 90 |
480p Standard Definition (SD) | 40 - 200 | 115 |
720p High Definition (HD) | 55 - 280 | 130 |
1080p High Definition (HD) | 65 - 360 | 140 |
Exclusive Logo Collection | 250 credits | |
Audio | Standard | Extended License |
Music Audio Tracks | From 6 to 120 credits | Additional 75 credits each |
Sound Effect Clips | From 2 to 16 credits | Additional 75 credits each |
123RF Pricing
You can purchase from 123RF in three ways, either via download packs and subscriptions for standard images or via credits for video, audio clips and TIFF files.
With credits, they do expire after one year so make sure you purchase as many as you are likely to need as they don’t carry the quota forward.
Not sure which payment model would be best for you? This table outlines the differences between credits and subscriptions:
Download with Credits | Download via Subscriptions | |
Download Expiration | Credits expire 1 year from the date of purchase | Subscriptions expire depending on plan |
Image Size | Different Content sizes at different credit rates | Download up to XXL size images or EPS vectors. (Excluding EVO and Footage) |
Licensing | Standard Licence & Extended Licences, Multiseat Licence | Standard Licence only |
Daily Download Limit | No daily download limit with sufficient credits | Fixed daily download limit depending on plan |
Suitability | Suitable for low volume users (as low as 59p per image) | Suitable for high volume users (as low as 12p per image) |
EVO Downloads | Yes, from 5 to 260 credits | No |
Video Footage Downloads | Yes, from 15 to 65 credit | No |
Audio Music & SFX Downloads | Yes, from 2 to 120 credits | No |
Exclusive Logo Downloads | Yes, 250 credits each | No |
123RF Support
123RF have a great FAQ section which will give you information on licensing and other terms and conditions.
They also have a UK number you can call if you need to seek advice about making sure you a purchasing the correct licence for your image.
Live chat is also offered 24/7.
123RF Ratings and Reviews
123RF is well rated with the 860 reviewers on Trustpilot giving it an average 8.6/10. 68% gave 5 stars.By far and away away, the biggest grievance was the expiry of credits. It might be 123RF have since updated their pricing details to make sure this is clear, but take note, you have 12 months to use your credit pack with credits expiring thereafter.
Customer support was also well rated. They offer a good range of support choices should you need help and advice.
Main Benefits of using 123RF
- More than 80 million creative works and growing.
- 90,000 daily content from 300,000 creative contributors.
- 12,000,000+ monthly active users at 123RF.com.
- Trusted, well rated and long established.
- Good selection of free images.
- Able to re-download images should you need to.
- 24/7 support available.
Images
- Photos: High-quality stock photos to help bring your ideas to life.
- Vectors: Scalable graphics and illustrations for your designs.
- Editorial: Images for news publications.
Video Footage
- 4K, HD, SD, and Web resolution.
Audio Clips
- High-quality tracks. Simple, straightforward pricing.
- Search by Genre, Mood or Instruments.
Features & Options of 123RF
Images
- Photos: High-quality stock photos to help bring your ideas to life.
- Vectors: Scalable graphics and illustrations for your designs.
- Editorial: Images for news publications.
Video Footage
- 4K, HD, SD, and Web resolution.
Audio Clips
- High-quality tracks. Simple, straightforward pricing.
- Search by Genre, Mood or Instruments.
Download Packs
- 5 Images – £26.
- 25 Images – £115.
- Valid for one year.
- Download at anytime.
- No monthly commitments.
Subscriptions
- 150/month downloads- £59/month or £39/month annual.
- 200/month downloads – £109/month or £96/month annual.
- 780/month downloads – 149/month or £109/month annual.
On Demand Credits
(Standard Images, Editorial Images, EVO, Vectors, TIFF, Footage and Audio)
- 20 credits – £18.
- 40 credits – £33.
- 90 credits – £70.
- 200 credits – £153.
123RF Pricing
Download Packs
- 5 Images – £26.
- 25 Images – £115.
- Valid for one year.
- Download at anytime.
- No monthly commitments.
Subscriptions
- 150/month downloads- £59/month or £39/month annual.
- 200/month downloads – £109/month or £96/month annual.
- 780/month downloads – 149/month or £109/month annual.
On Demand Credits
(Standard Images, Editorial Images, EVO, Vectors, TIFF, Footage and Audio)
- 20 credits – £18.
- 40 credits – £33.
- 90 credits – £70.
- 200 credits – £153.
Rating score is a weighted average from the following respected sources:
Ratings Summary
Rating score is a weighted average from the following respected sources: