Dreamstime (www.dreamstime.com) has a 3.5 out of 5 rating on OK.one, based on 107 user reviews collected here. It is listed under Media & Publishing and its reputation is mixed. Opinions are polarized: 62% rate it 4 stars or higher while 31% give 1 star; The business has replied to 95% of negative reviews. Last updated 2026-08-10.
I've tried an enormous number of image sites over the years, but since I discovered Dreamstime in 2018, the others have gone to the wayside! Dreamstime has the most amazing images, is so easy to use, and is cost effective to use. It is my go-to image site, and I cannot say enough good things about it! I am so grateful to have discovered it.
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I publish a monthly newsletter called "Companion" for friends and family, and wow! Do I look like a pro. I have no website. Just a mailing list. Thanks to your beautiful and wide variety of photos, drawings, cartoons, graphic art... It's all very uptown for a small endeavor but it gives my memoir-style communication polish. Thanks for this service!
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I'm giving one star and ensuring others read this and the many other reviews about the 'free trial' Signed up to Dreamstime’s advertised free trial, which stated I would get 15 images for 1 week, with £25 off, making it £0 for those 15 images. What was not made clear is that the images available during this ‘free trial’ are still watermarked. That means they're not actually usable for any real project, which defeats the purpose of a trial if you are trying to test images in real designs or content. To access non-watermarked images, you still need to move into a paid subscription. So in reality, the trial feels should be called '15 image watermarked preview' of the library rather than a genuine opportunity to download and use images for free. Why does this matter??? In order to access this trial, I had to provide full personal and credit card details. If someone decides not to continue, the company still holds all of that sensitive information, even though the ‘free’ offer did not deliver what I feel most people would reasonably expect. Overall, this felt misleading and not transparent. I would advise others to be careful.
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience. We genuinely appreciate feedback like this, even when it’s critical, as it helps us understand where expectations may not have been met. We’re sorry to hear that the free trial did not work the way you expected. To clarify, the purpose of our trial is to allow users to explore the Dreamstime library, test search functionality, and preview images before committing to a paid plan. During the trial period, images are provided with watermarks so users can evaluate suitability before licensing them for final use. We understand, however, that this distinction may not have been clear enough at the point of sign-up. Your point about transparency is important. While the trial terms are outlined on our website, we recognize that the wording may lead some users to reasonably expect fully usable, non-watermarked downloads. We are actively reviewing how this information is presented to ensure it is clearer and sets accurate expectations from the start. Regarding payment details, these are requested during sign-up to allow a seamless transition should a user choose to continue, but no charges are made during the trial period. We take data protection seriously, and all personal and payment information is handled in accordance with strict security and privacy standards. I have personally made sure your payment details have been removed from our system(s). Please write at [email protected] so we can sort this out. We’re sorry that this experience left you feeling misled — that’s never our intention. If you’d like, our support team would be happy to review your account or discuss available options. Thank you again for raising these concerns and helping us improve.
Overall, I like almost everything. Fast verification, fast payouts, user-friendly website. I don't like that you have to upload the additional vector file separately, which takes a lot of time. And of course, I'd like to see more sales.
"Hi kontur-vid, Thank you so much for your positive feedback! We're delighted to hear that you're enjoying our fast verification, quick payouts, and user-friendly platform. Your satisfaction means a lot to us. We understand that uploading additional vector files can be a bit cumbersome, and we’re actively working on ways to streamline this process. Your input is invaluable, and we're committed to improving your experience. Regarding your interest in more sales, we’re constantly exploring new strategies to help our users boost visibility. Keep an eye out for upcoming features, and please feel free to share any ideas you have. Thanks again for your comments and for being a part of our community! Best regards, The Dreamstime team
Payout are too low. almost all are .35 cents and a larger payout is rare. I sell a larger volume on Adobe and average around .65 per pay out. The ease of uploading and the lack or rejection's is the only thin k that keeps me up loading. I know of a couple fellow contributers who have quit uploading to dreamstime. I quit up loading and pulled all my images off of Shutterstock when they changed to a teir system that really lowered payouts.
Hi Scott, thanks for the detailed feedback. Just to add some context: an average payout around $0.35 per download is actually quite competitive compared to many other agencies—especially for subscription downloads, where royalties are often lower across the industry. Larger royalties do tend to be less frequent because they usually come from on‑demand/credit purchases or extended licenses. That said, we understand your point, and we’d be happy to look at your recent sales mix (subscription vs. on‑demand/extended) and your portfolio to see if there are ways to increase the share of higher-paying downloads. If you’d like, send us your Dreamstime username via [email protected] and we’ll take a look.
I have only one complaint. Last year they deleted one of my most popular images that had been up on their site for years without saying a word. I uploaded it again. That one was also deleted so I wrote them. I never got an explanation as to why. Other than that I have no complaints. My photos are usually approved promptly and I received payment shortly after requesting they send it. I didn't keep a record of the exact date of the experience but believe it was sometime in 2024.
Thanks for your review and for sharing both the positive experience and the issue you ran into. We’re sorry that one of your top images was removed without a clear explanation—especially after it had been online for years and then was deleted again after re-upload. That’s not the experience we want you to have, and we understand how frustrating that is. In some cases, older files can be removed due to updated licensing/compliance requirements, a rights/ownership concern, or a system/DMCA-related flag, but you should always be given a reason (or at least a case reference) when you ask. If you’re willing, please contact us at [email protected] with your contributor username and either the image ID(s) or the filename/title. We’ll look up the moderation history and tell you exactly why it was taken down, and whether it can be reinstated or what changes are needed to keep it online. We’re glad approvals and payouts have otherwise been smooth, and we appreciate you working with us to get this resolved.
From a creator's standpoint, the earnings and provisions are decent, the site has easy-to-use functions and is very overlookable. However on the downside, there is still no possibility to arrange images of one theme in albums (only lightboxes that don't follow the same logic), which is a standard with all competitors I've tested in the past. Furthermore, the upload AI sometimes does strange things. But what is really annoying is that the description field can neither handle special characters, nor is the maximum amount of characters stated. You'll simply notice at some point that half the text is cut off. I for one found a workaround for the issue, but it always adds an extra effort. This is something I wish to be improved in the future to make contributing easier.
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