Canstockphoto – Complete Review
CanStockPhoto is one of the most established microstock agencies, founded in 2004 in Halifax (Canada), and since then the number of images in its portfolio has grown steadily. Although the site is very simple and does not offer the same appeal of sites like Photodune, Shutterstock and Fotolia, the CanStock community has over 50 thousand contributors and over 31 million files in portfolio (updated January 2017). In recent years the agency has not been able to renew and has gradually lost positions towards competing agencies. It still remains in my personal top 10, but certainly at the last place.
It is pretty simple to become a contributor for Canstockphoto: you just need to register on the site and to send some sample images of your best works. The review process is quite generous and as soon as you are accepted as a contributor, you can start uploading your images either via web form on the site, or via FTP. The submission of the files is one of the simplest among all agencies: you don’t even need to select categories for the uploaded files. You simply must confirm the files imported from the FTP server, even in a single block. The review process of the files is definitely one of the fastest among all known microstock websites: at best you will have a result within a few hours, while at the latest you will have a feedback after a maximum of 1-2 working days. The reviewers are quite generous and it often happens to get approval for images that maybe other agencies have previously rejected (such as Shutterstock and Fotolia, for example). Nevertheless, Canstockphoto doesn’t accept editorial images and only standard or enhanced licenses are offered to customers.
Canstockphoto boasts of having one of the highest earning commissions in the category: this is true with regard to direct downloads (with earnings ranging from 20% to 50%), but the vast majority of the images are sold on subscription with a fee of only $ 0.25 per file. Payments are made upon request by the contributor via Paypal, Skrill or by bank check and the minimum thresholds to request a payment are easily accessible (only $ 50 for payments by Paypal).
There aren’t many other noteworthy amenities about Canstockphoto, although it’s available a community with an active forum and tutorials on various topics regarding the Agency and the world of microstock. It is also possible to create within the database some thematic galleries of images, which will then benefit from a specific visibility granted by Canstockphoto, but it is required that the images that make up the gallery come from at least 3 different contributors.
Ultimately, you shouldn’t expect too much satisfaction from this agency: the downloads are not as frequent as elsewhere and earnings (apart from the direct downloads) are just below average. It must be said, however, that the experience of being a contributor for Canstockphoto is definitely not very demanding and requires a very little effort in terms of time needed to submit images and to see them approved. For those who are non exclusive authors, Canstockphoto is definitely an option to consider if you decide to have at least 10 agencies to which contribute with your works.
Below is the table with the main informations about Canstockphoto:
| Logo |  |
| Website | www.canstockphoto.com |
| Social Links/Blog | Facebook, Twitter, Forum |
| Headquarters |  Halifax, CANADA |
| Portfolio | 30.341.081 (updated to January 2017) |
| Website Traffic Rank | by  |
| Admission Test | You need to send some sample images of your best works to be accepted as a contributor. |
| Image Size | Minimum 3 Megapixel (2000 x 1500 pixels) |
| Accepted File Types | Photos, Vectors, Footage |
| Severity of the Reviewers | Medium-Low |
| Editorial Images | Not accepted |
| Types of Licences | Standard License, Enhanced License |
| Price of the Images | Starting rom $2.50 per single download, from $0.44 per single credit and from $0.21 per single download on subscription. Prices grow depending on the size of the image to be purchased (according to this schedule) |
| Earnings for Contributors | From 20% to 50% or $0.25 per download on subscription (table) |
| Payout Minimum Threshold | $50 with Paypal / $100 with Skrill or Bank Checks |
| Payment Mode | Upon request once thresold exceeded, via PayPal, Skrill or Bank Checks |
| Exclusivity | Program not available |
| Referral Program | 10% of purchases made by referred customers up to six months; $ 5 for every 50 sold pictures by referred contributors, up to 6 months and to a maximum of $ 50 |
| Uploading Mode | Webform, FTP |
| Recognition IPTC data from file | Automatic |
| Currency | $ US Dollar (USD) |
| Supported Languages | Czech, Danish, German, Greek, English, Spanish, French, Hungarian, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Dutch, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Swedish |
| Tools | Forum, Thematic galleries |
| Download Release Forms | Model Release Property Release |
Related Pages:
- Check the list of the Top Microstock Agencies
- Check my Microstock Agencies Evaluation Criteria
- Check the Earnings Comparison
- Check the Payout Comparison
- Check the Referral/Affiliate Programs Comparison
- Check the Exclusivity Comparison
- Check the Editorial Images Management Comparison
- Download the Model Releases Forms for Each Microstock Agency
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