Contributor Contract Help Page

You do! We don’t own any of the images on our site or hold any copyright, it always belongs to you as the photographer. We just license the images for you.

You can find a copy of the Alamy commission table here. There are 4 tiers and the commission you receive will be based on the specific tier you are in: 

Bronze – 15% to contributor, 85% to Alamy 

Silver – 20% to contributor, 80% to Alamy 

Gold – 40% to contributor, 60% to Alamy 

Platinum – 50% to contributor, 50% to Alamy ((when images are exclusive to Alamy and qualifying criteria are met see Clause 13.14)

All contributors are automatically put into Silver tier when they sign up. At the end of each Revenue Year the tier you are in will be calculated as follows: 

If your total Licence Fees, net of any refunds, exceeds the threshold for the tier you are currently in during the Revenue Year, then you will automatically move up to the next corresponding tier. The commission on the new threshold will apply to future sales during the Revenue Year.

The Revenue Year runs from the 12 month period starting on the 1st September every year and ending 31st August the following calendar year.

Your gross sales exclude any ‘other income’ payments, so for example DACS and ASCRL payments would not be included in your gross sales. 

The exclusivity of your images does not affect which commission rate you are on unless you are in the Platinum tier. 

If you’re a student photographer, you can get 100% commission – visit our student page to find out more. 

The new model is based on your gross amount so the amount before commission.

No, at the end of each Revenue Year if your gross amount, minus any refunds is less than $250 then the Alamy commission for sales of your content in the following Revenue Year will switch to Alamy Bronze (15% commission); but if your gross amount is equal to or more than $250 and less than or equal to US $3,000 the Alamy commission for sales of your content in the following Revenue Year will remain on Alamy Silver for that year (20% commission). The Revenue Year runs from 1st September to 31st August.

We don’t tie you into a long term contract. If you want to leave, you just need to give us 45 days’ notice.

We’re non-exclusive so that means there are no restrictions and you can submit to other stock photo sites. If you do choose to submit to another agency, just make sure they’re non-exclusive too.

If you do want to license your images Exclusively through Alamy you can read more here about the benefits of being exclusive to Alamy. There's also guidance here about what classifies an image as being Exclusive to Alamy.

Below we have answered some frequently asked questions surrounding what classifies an image as exclusive.

Different versions of the same image

Similar versions of the same image that are available on other licencing platforms can’t be marked as exclusive (i.e. B&W, different crop, or slight adjustments). However, images that are from the same shoot, but shot from a different angle or the model is posing differently, is considered a different image and can be marked as exclusive if that particular shot is not available elsewhere.

Facebook and Instagram

You can upload exclusive images to Facebook and Instagram.

Selling direct

Images can be sold through your own website or directly to customers and still be marked as Exclusive on Alamy.

POD sites

Images that are available via POD sites can be marked as exclusive as long as they’re not offered for additional licencing through the POD site.

We consider additional products as mugs and towels the same as prints.

Images of artwork

Images of artwork in context can be marked as exclusive. The general rule of thumb is that the artwork can’t take up any more than 1/3 of the image frame.

An image cannot be exclusive if it is either an exact reproduction (in all or part) of a work of art, it is not protected by copyright, or it’s in the public domain, or for which copyright ownership is unknown.

You can read more here about the benefits of being exclusive to Alamy.

Please note that if you mark an image as Exclusive, and Alamy has searched for and found an infringement, but the image is found to be available on another stock site, then we may charge you an admin fee due to the costs spent in looking for infringements.

The new contract is here and the key changes are listed here. The contract came into force for all contributors on 1st September 2026.

If you want to terminate your contributor account with Alamy, please fill out and submit the Contributor Contract Termination Form. Once you’ve submitted your response, we’ll start the account termination process. Your account will be closed and images will no longer be available for sale on our site 45 days after you asked for your account to be closed.