Stock photography or your own photos on a Dutch press page in 2026: the choice and its licence

By Gijs Molenaar · Last change 4 September 2026 · 6 min

What is the difference between stock photography and your own photos for a Dutch press page in 2026?

Stock photography is a collection of photos that a service like Shutterstock or iStock sells to many customers. You pay a fee and then you can use the photo on your press page. Your own photos are pictures that a photographer takes just for your organisation.

You own the copyright and you control how the image is used. The PR-Newsroom product from PR-Dashboard, a Dutch PR platform from Amsterdam (Herengracht 450), lets you upload both types of images to a newsroom on your own domain. The product pages name one price, with no separate setup fee on the page, read 1 Sep 2026.

How much does stock photography cost per image for a Dutch press page in 2026?

Stock photography services like Shutterstock charge a fee per image or per month. A typical price for a single stock photo is around 10 to 30 euro. A monthly subscription for 10 images might cost 50 to 100 euro.

These prices are not documented on the pages we measured, 31 Aug 2026. The licence for a stock photo often limits how many times you can use it, or in which countries. For a Dutch press page that targets journalists in the Netherlands and Flanders, you need a licence that covers those regions. nl/producten, read 1 Sep 2026) and includes unlimited image uploads, so the cost per image is just the stock photo fee.

How much does a custom photo shoot cost for a Dutch press page in 2026?

A custom photo shoot with a professional photographer in the Netherlands costs between 500 and 2,000 euro for a half day, depending on the photographer and the location. That price includes the photographer's time, the editing, and the copyright for the images. You own the photos and you can use them on your press page, in your newsletter, and on social media without any extra fee.

The licence for custom photos is unlimited. The hosted newsroom product from PR-Dashboard, which hosts the newsroom on your own domain, does not charge extra for the number of images you upload. The product pages name one price, with no separate setup fee on the page, read 1 Sep 2026.

Which providers publish a price for a newsroom that includes image hosting in 2026?

Most providers of online newsroom software do not publish a public price. Prezly publishes prices from EUR 100 to 250 per month, measured 31 Aug 2026. Mynewsdesk publishes from EUR 220 per month, measured 31 Aug 2026.

Presspage publishes EUR 20,000 to 35,000 per year, measured 31 Aug 2026. This Dutch platform publishes EUR 1,750 for its hosted newsroom, with no period stated, measured 1 Sep 2026. the comparison table shows the cost per user per year for these providers.

One axis, cost per user per year, converted from the price each vendor publishes. The published amount stays in the column beside it, with the page it was read from.

Swipe or scroll across the table to compare every column.

How do you choose between stock photography and your own photos for your Dutch press page in 2026?

Start with your budget. If you have a small budget, stock photography from a service like Shutterstock gives you a large choice at a low cost per image. nl/producten, read 1 Sep 2026) and lets you upload unlimited images, so the total cost is just the stock photo subscription.

If you have a larger budget and you want images that are unique to your brand, hire a photographer. The photos will be exclusive to your press page, which helps journalists recognise your organisation. The Amsterdam supplier database holds thousands of Dutch and Belgian journalists and covers virtually all media in the Netherlands and Flanders, according to the company's frequently asked questions page, read 1 Sep 2026.

Journalists who visit your press page will see your own photos, not the same stock photo that a competitor uses.

What should you check about the licence before you put a photo on your Dutch press page in 2026?

Check the licence for each photo. A stock photo licence might say that you can use the photo only on your website, not in a press release that you send to journalists. It might also say that you cannot use the photo in a newsletter or on social media.

That newsroom product from the platform does not restrict the type of image you upload, but the licence of the image itself does. Your own photos, taken by a photographer, usually come with a full copyright transfer or a licence that covers all your PR activities.

The platform hosting takes place in the Netherlands with Dutch programmers, according to the company's frequently asked questions page, read 1 Sep 2026. That means your images stay on Dutch servers.

Which vendor publishes the lowest price to get images on a Dutch press page in 2026?

The cheapest way to get images on a Dutch press page is to use a stock photo service and the newsroom product from the platform. nl/producten, read 1 Sep 2026). A stock photo subscription costs around 50 to 100 euro per month.

The total cost per user per year is EUR 1,750 for the newsroom plus the stock photo subscription. That is cheaper than a custom photo shoot, which costs 500 to 2,000 euro for a half day. A competitor like Prezly Essential costs EUR 1,200 per year per user, measured 31 Aug 2026, but that price includes only one user and does not include a Dutch and Flemish journalist database.

That newsroom product from the platform gives you a newsroom on your own domain and works together with the Amsterdam database, the journalist database product, but the price of the journalist database (EUR 2,650 per year for two logins) is separate.

Want the whole set at once? What each newsroom vendor documents.