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500px Review

Depends

Should I use 500px?

Not disclosed - 500px.com

· 1 month ago

Fine as a free inspiration feed and hobbyist photo community, but licensing terms, paywalling, and weak support make it a poor buy for working pros. Casual photographers should try Flickr or Behance first.

Confidence

Medium. Based on 30+ public sources (reviews, security reports, official pages); some quotes truncated in source snippets.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Feature depth
  • Support quality
  • Security posture

Pricing

$0

Free

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierYes
Pro$12.9+/mo

Best for

  • Hobbyist photographers wanting curated feedback
  • Browsing high-quality inspiration feeds
  • Amateurs open to stock royalties

Not for

  • Working pros needing control over licensing and pricing
  • Anyone depending on photo sales for income
  • Privacy-cautious users — breached in 2018
  • People who expect responsive customer support

Gotchas - check before you buy

high

Opting into licensing hands 500px control of commercial pricing; contributors report poor payouts.

high

Getty exclusivity blocks selling the same photos through other stock agencies.

high

Support quality is the top complaint: 1.3/5 on Trustpilot.

medium

Full features sit behind the Pro plan (~$12.9/mo); upgrade prompts push first-purchase discounts.

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Free tier for basic photo sharing.
  • Licensing is free to join; royalties on approved photos.
  • Clean, photo-first layout praised by critics.
  • Free portfolio critiques from the 500px team.
  • Large curated feed of popular, high-quality photos.

Cons

  • Trustpilot 1.3/5 across 168 reviewers; service complaints dominate.
  • Licensing policy called 'hostile'; photographers report low payouts.
  • Exclusive Getty distribution limits where contributors can sell.
  • Veterans say community declined; multiple 'why I left' posts.
  • 2018 breach exposed 14.8 million accounts.

Sources & method

- 12 sources - July 2018 breach exposed 14.8M accounts; no newer incidents found in sources reviewed.

official x2review x7security x2news x1
  • July 2018 data breach, 14.8 million accounts affected; emails, names, dates of birth, and password data exposed; passwords were reset.

Key stats

  • Value for money: 2/5

    Rating

  • $0

    Starting price

  • 12

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 2/5. Low Trustpilot score; paywall and licensing complaints
  • Ease of use: 4/5. Photo-first layout repeatedly praised
  • Feature depth: 3/5. Sharing, licensing, portfolio; nothing beyond category standard
  • Support quality: 1/5. 'Treats its customers... terrible' threads; 1.3/5 Trustpilot
  • Security posture: 2/5. 14.8M-account breach in 2018; response was adequate
  • 1.3/5 Trustpilot rating 168 reviews
  • 4.2/5 G2 rating 27 reviews
  • $12.9+/mo Pro plan Per Creative Bloq review
  • $22.5M Total funding $8.8M Series A in 2013

Pricing

Free

$0

  • Basic photo sharing

Pro

$12.9+/mo

  • Full member features

Security

July 2018 breach exposed 14.8M accounts; no newer incidents found in sources reviewed.

  • July 2018 data breach14.8 million accounts affected; emails, names, dates of birth, and password data exposed; passwords were reset.⁶
Full analysis

Based on 30+ public sources (reviews, security reports, official pages); some quotes truncated in source snippets.

Great for browsing pretty photos; shaky as a paid service — 1.3/5 Trustpilot, licensing complaints, 2018 breach.

Methodology

Based on 30+ public sources (reviews, security reports, official pages); some quotes truncated in source snippets.

Read how a report is made.

Sources

  1. 500px Trustpilot reviewstrustpilot.com
    review
  2. 500px on G2 (27 reviews)g2.com
    review
  3. What is the state of 500px in 2024? — Redditreddit.com
    review
  4. 9 Reasons I No Longer Use 500pxmrussellphotography.com
    review
  5. 500px's Hostile Licensing Policy — Mediummedium.com
    review
  6. 500px Data Breach — Have I Been Pwnedhaveibeenpwned.com
    security
  7. Security breach affects 14.8 million 500px users — CISO Magcisomag.com
    security
  8. 500px Memberships page500px.com
    official
  9. 500px review — Creative Bloqcreativebloq.com
    review
  10. 500px Reviews and Pricing — F6Sf6s.com
    official
  11. 500px raises $8.8M Series A — Forbesforbes.com
    news
  12. The Best Photo Sharing Sites — PetaPixelpetapixel.com
    review

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