Alamy Contributor Guide 2026: New Commission Tiers and the AI Ban
Alamy's amended contract takes effect 1 September 2026: AI images banned, Gold now needs $3,000 in sales, payout threshold up to $75. What changed and why.
# Alamy Contributor Guide 2026: New Commission Tiers, the AI Ban, and What Actually Changed
Alamy published an amended contributor contract on **13 July 2026**, and it takes effect for every existing contributor on **1 September 2026**. Three changes matter most: AI-generated images are now banned outright, the commission tiers have been restructured so that Gold requires $3,000 in annual sales instead of $250, and the payout threshold rises from $50 to $75. If you sell on Alamy, your effective commission rate is likely about to change.
This guide walks through what changed, who is affected, and how to adapt your metadata workflow to a 453-million-image library.
## The new commission tiers
Alamy now runs four tiers. The thresholds are based on your gross licence fees during a Revenue Year, and that year has also shifted: it now runs **1 September to 31 August** instead of 1 July to 30 June.
| Tier | Annual gross sales | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Bronze | Under $250 | New tier. Applies the following Revenue Year if you stay under $250. |
| Silver | $250 – $3,000 | 20% commission on Alamy website sales. |
| Gold | $3,000 – $25,000 | The core 40% rate. |
| Platinum | Over $25,000 | 50%, and only for content marked exclusive to Alamy. |
The important detail is the Silver band. Under the previous contract, clearing $250 in a year kept you on Gold at 40%. Under the new terms, $250 only moves you to Silver at 20% — you now need **$3,000** to reach Gold. For a contributor earning somewhere between those two figures, that is a halving of the commission rate on the same sales.
New contributors are also affected: registrations from 1 September onward start on **Silver**, not Gold as before.
If you are on Bronze and cross $250 mid-year, you move up to Silver immediately for future sales rather than waiting for the next Revenue Year. The same applies moving from Silver to Gold at $3,000.
## AI-generated images are now banned
This is the change with the sharpest edge. Clause 2.2 now states that content "must not be created using artificial intelligence image generation tools," and that submitting such content "will be deemed a material breach of this Contract."
Material breach matters because it sits alongside clause 21.2.2.1, which lets Alamy terminate for a breach that is not capable of effective remedy. Combined with clause 1.1.4 — which now blocks you from re-registering for **one year** after termination — the downside of submitting AI work is no longer a rejected file. It is potentially your account.
There is a related tightening for news content. Clause 22.2 now prohibits manipulation or post-production "including without limitation the use of photo editing software incorporating artificial intelligence tools" where it alters the truth, context or editorial integrity of a news image. Ordinary AI-assisted retouching on commercial work is not what this clause targets, but on news content the bar is deliberately high.
If your workflow includes Midjourney, Stable Diffusion or similar generative output, Alamy is now closed to that content. Other agencies still accept it under labelling rules — our guide to [how to sell AI-generated images](/blog/ai-metadata-generator-for-stock-photos) covers where generative work is still welcome and how to declare it.
## The other changes worth knowing
**Payout threshold: $50 to $75.** Clause 13.3 raises the monthly payment threshold. If you are a low-volume contributor, expect longer gaps between payments. For closed accounts the threshold moved from $15 to $30.
**Unclaimed balances expire faster.** Previously, funds you failed to collect were forfeited after two years. Clause 13.7 reduces that to **one year** where your payment details are missing, incorrect or unsupported. Check that your payout method is current.
**No release now means editorial only.** Clause 5.1.10 clarifies that where content shows people, property or intellectual property and no release is indicated, the content "will be restricted to Editorial Use only." Missing release information no longer just risks a rejection — it silently caps the commercial value of the file.
**You carry the liability.** A new line in the Background section makes you responsible "for paying any and all costs and/or damages arising from complaints and claims relating to your Content." Accurate rights information is now a financial matter, not an administrative one.
**Metadata wording changed.** The contract used to say you "will caption and keyword (tag) your Content." It now says you "will provide accurate metadata (caption, keywords and tags)" and that the information "must be correct and kept up to date." Accuracy is now contractual language.
## What this means for your metadata
That last point connects the contract to the practical problem. Alamy holds over 453 million images. Unlike agencies that cap you at 49 or 50 keywords, Alamy does not impose a hard limit — which sounds generous until you realise that broad tags in a library that size put your image somewhere no buyer will ever scroll.
Two things follow from the new contract:
**Accuracy beats volume.** Now that "correct and kept up to date" is contract language and you carry liability for claims, padding tags with loosely related terms is a genuine risk, not just weak SEO. Every keyword should be defensible against the actual image.
**Specificity is how you get found.** In a 453M library, "business meeting" is invisible. "Hybrid team video call in a converted warehouse office" describes something a real buyer searches for. Alamy's search rewards precise, unambiguous phrasing far more than breadth.
Practically, that means writing for the buyer's brief rather than the subject: the setting, the demographic detail, the mood, the usable copy space, the season, the region. Our guide to [writing metadata for stock photos](/blog/how-to-write-metadata-for-stock-photos) covers the underlying fields, and [choosing keywords that convert](/blog/best-keywords-for-stock-photos) goes deeper on research.
## Adapting your workflow
If you are staying on Alamy, three practical moves:
**Audit release information first.** Given the new editorial-only default and the liability clause, a pass over your existing portfolio's release flags is worth more than new uploads. Anything showing recognisable people or property without a release is now capped at editorial.
**Recalculate whether Alamy still fits.** If your annual Alamy sales sit between $250 and $3,000, you are on 20% from September. Compare that against what the same files earn elsewhere before committing more of your output. This is a portfolio allocation decision, not a loyalty one.
**Separate your AI work.** If you produce both captured and generated content, they now need different destinations. Keeping them in one upload pipeline is how accidental breaches happen.
That last point is where tooling helps. Managing per-agency rules — different keyword limits, different category systems, different AI policies — by hand does not scale past a few hundred files. Rastock AI [generates per-agency metadata and delivers over FTP](/features) to 10+ agencies, so an Alamy batch can follow Alamy's rules while a Freepik batch follows Freepik's, without you tracking the differences manually. Plans are listed by upload volume on the [pricing page](/pricing).
## Is Alamy still worth it?
For contributors clearing $3,000 a year, the core 40% rate is unchanged and remains competitive — meaningfully better per sale than most microstock agencies. Alamy also still has no hard keyword cap, accepts a broader range of editorial and archival material than most competitors, and pays monthly.
For contributors below $3,000, the answer changed on 13 July. Twenty percent is a different proposition, and it deserves an honest comparison against where else those files could sit. Alamy has not hidden this — the tier table is public — but it has not been widely discussed either, and 1 September will surprise a lot of people.
This guide is part of our overview of [where to sell stock photos](https://rastock.ai/blog/where-to-sell-stock-photos), which compares every major agency on royalties, review standards and AI policy.
## Related reading
- [Getty Images and iStock Contributor Guide 2026: Rates, AI Rules and Metadata](https://rastock.ai/blog/getty-istock-metadata-standards)
- [Freepik Contributor Guide 2026: AI Labelling, Earnings and Bulk Uploads](https://rastock.ai/blog/speed-up-freepik-uploads-with-ai-metadata)
- [Dreamstime Approval Rates: Why Files Get Rejected and How to Fix It](https://rastock.ai/blog/dreamstime-approval-rates-ai)
Frequently asked questions
When do the new Alamy contributor terms take effect?
Alamy published the amended contract on 13 July 2026. For contributors who registered before that date, it comes into force on 1 September 2026, following the 45-day notice period. Anyone registering from 13 July 2026 onward is already on the new contract.
What are Alamy's commission tiers in 2026?
Four tiers based on gross annual licence fees: Bronze under $250, Silver $250–$3,000 (20%), Gold $3,000–$25,000 (the core 40% rate), and Platinum above $25,000 (50%, exclusive content only). The Revenue Year now runs 1 September to 31 August.
Does Alamy accept AI-generated images?
No. Under clause 2.2 of the amended contract, content must not be created using AI image generation tools, and submitting such content is deemed a material breach. Combined with the one-year re-registration block after termination, the risk is account-level rather than a simple rejection.
What is Alamy's payout threshold now?
US $75 per month, raised from $50 under clause 13.3. For closed accounts the threshold moved from $15 to $30. Unclaimed balances where payment details are missing or invalid are now forfeited after one year instead of two.
Why did my Alamy commission drop to 20%?
The tier thresholds changed. Previously $250 in annual sales kept you on Gold at 40%. Under the new structure, $250–$3,000 places you on Silver at 20%, and Gold now begins at $3,000. Crossing $3,000 mid-year moves you up immediately for future sales.
How many keywords should I use on Alamy?
Alamy does not impose a hard cap like the 49–50 keyword limits at other agencies, but volume is not the goal. With over 453 million images in the library, broad tags leave you unfindable. Use precise, specific phrasing you can defend against the actual image — accuracy is now contract language.