DreamsTime
Reviews and Complaints

As someone who has been using Dreamstime for several years, I can confidently say that it has been an invaluable resource for my creative projects. The platform offers a great selection of high-quality images, illustrations, and videos that have consistently met my needs. What sets Dreamstime apart is not just the variety of content but also the user-friendly interface that makes searching, purchasing, and downloading a seamless experience. The customer service, as highlighted by many users, is commendable, showing a genuine understanding of users' needs and providing prompt assistance. While there may be minor areas for improvement, such as streamlining payment processes, the overall experience with Dreamstime has been positive and rewarding. Whether you are a graphic designer, photographer, or creative professional, Dreamstime is a reliable partner that can enhance the visual appeal of your projects. I highly recommend exploring Dreamstime for your next creative endeavor.

My credit card on file expired and I didn't know about it for awhile and only found out weeks later when I signed in to Dreamstime website. I updated my card info, but it still showed all of the credits I had built up to be gone. I sent them a message requesting that they consider reinstating my credits under the circumstances and "poof" it was solved... that easy! I appreciate the way Dreamstime handles customer service! Thank you!

Back in 2010, a well known law firm became notorious for suing website owners for improper use of their images. After chatting online in social media, I finally was introduce to the ONLY image database this particular law firm does NOT own, and, that is Dreamstime.

Dreamstime.com has a wide variety of images with an even wider range of prices. I've found so many great images that cost only 1 credit, or FREE that this more than makes up for that PERFECT one that costs more.

Not only prices but customer service that is to be much admired AND appreciated! Dreamstime.com is a business model for us all to follow.

Don't believe me? Check this out: http://www.eparrs.com/blog/when-free-isnt-free-at-all/ I send ALL my website customers to Dreamstime.com for their image needs.

Yes, I am very happy to work with Dremastime. Since many years! Very good library of photos and illustrations, also video clips. I also appreciate direct contact with support. This is very important in today's virtual world. They are always at my disposal and very efficiently answer my questions and doubts.
We negotiate a very good contract - yes you can! All you have to do, is talk honestly, about your needs. Sometimes I can't find photos that interest me, but that's my creative thinking, and I can change the design - you can too. Dreamstime gives me a sense of 'safe' in creating projects. Thank you, and I will be happy to use their services further.

For the criticism of some statements here: Forgive me, but I do not understand the claims of some users. Do you want something for free and in premium quality? Sorry guys, but you can't do that. Let's respect our joint work. It is not Dreamstime duty to creates the image library, we create it. If something is not there, it is not the fault of Dreamstime! Understand this. Maybe it's your fault and you searching incorrectly? Dreamstime has a different selection of photos than the competition and it is very valuable to me. At least I have less chance that my project will not be similar to others.

I have been a customer on and off for many years and their recent Holiday Subscription deal (50% off) was simply too good to pass up so I signed up for the 750 image/month subscription... excellent value! The website is intuitive and search engine yields excellent and relevant results. I would say that a good percentage of the photos found at the site are similar to comparable micro-stock sites (e.g. Shutterstock) but there are unique photos as well which will always have the Dreamstime feel and appeal to them. I am a stock photography buyer professional so it is critical to understand the terms and conditions of working with the images as well as understanding those of your subscription or credit purchase. Keep this in mind so as not to be surprised when charges you agreed to appear on your statement. You have the ability to manage your account using your profile and subscription tools and I would encourage any buyer to become familiar with these before making a purchase. Understand this is a business and micro-stock companies need to make a living to be smart about what you are buying. There are free image sites for those who would prefer not to deal with the transactional side of things but, again, remember you use a service, such as a stock photography site, for a reason... and that is not only to find a pretty picture but ALSO to license it. From that standpoint, Dreamstime offers a competitive product in this market and, although I cannot comment on customer service, which I have not used, it makes sense to educate yourself on what a stock photography business provides and what its terms and conditions are behind the service it provides relative to the fees you pay. Having purchased Getty Images priced fees in the past, I am very pleased with Dreamstime.

Been using Dreamstime for about 10 years for book cover art. Very competitive pricing and great, easy to find images.

The images are crisp and beautiful and are tastefully made. It’s perfect for what I need for my business. Thank you so much!

I run a high school CTE Digital Media Arts program, which includes Yearbook and Digital Photography. You are a great, varied resource for examples of photography!

I really like the images. They are exactly what I need. They are cute and add some personality. They don't look generic like the images from other companies.

The pictures have been very helpful for teaching first grade, especially during corona when we had to use Zoom. When I find a picture or border that works, it really livens things up!

So far, so good! We have been utilizing the free image library, and though it is quite limited compared to the photos available for a fee, all of the images are easily downloaded and amazing quality.

The pictures are professionally considered and projects the story I want to display in my business. There are multitudes of pictures with different juxtapositions displayed. You can’t go wrong with any choices made.

I have used this website for business-related social media posts and other content. I have found the selection to be very diverse and have also used their content on our website. It is easy to use and offers a good variety of products to choose from.

I write a daily blog about spiritual issues and Dreamstime ALWAYS has the exact photo that I need to convey the idea visually, Have received many complements on the photos used in the Blog. Thank you, Dreamstime for offering such a broad spectrum of choices. I will continue to use Dreamstime in the future.

As a small business that needs and depends on great graphics, I can't do without Dreamstime! The quality and the huge selection is most important. Great customer service, easy-to-use platform and very reasonably priced. I like that if I have any credit that it rolls over into the next month as I am busier some months than others.

I've enjoyed being a contributor on Dreamstime. If the mobile uploading app was more efficient and user friendly, I'd still be adding to my portfolio. Customer service (especially Carmen) have always been helpful in resolving any issues I might have. I enjoy the community forums and checking out all the talented photographers and designers that utilize Dreamstime services.

I publish a newsletter with a confidential title. The latest issue, which was published today, consists of 40 pages. I utilize Dreamtime images to enhance the content I write or to substitute stories that are republished under a confidential agreement. My sole expense is Dreamtime, and up until now, it has proven to be worthwhile. There is a wide selection of excellent work available. The newsletter primarily focuses on Climate Change, Challenges to Democracy, Science, and poetry. It is distributed solely via email as a PDF document. The variety of offerings from Dreamstime has adequately fulfilled my requirements.

I signed up with their trial subscription in October. It stated that it was going to be $39/mo after the trail. I paid for October.

In November I was charged for $156. I told visa I did not recognize this charge. So they refunded me, but then in December they reverted the charge. So then I called Visa, Visa said Dreamstime sent them a letter saying that the terms were that after October it would go to a weekly $39, so $156/mo. At that point they told me I need to call Dreamstime. But, I never got an email nor physical mail of the change of plans or what was entailed other than when I signed up it saying that it would be a reoccuring $39/mo. There was no notice in my account or on their website, nothing, absolutely nothing.
So I call them to ask them about this, they said, well you called your credit card instead of calling us so now we can't do anything. And I told them, but you didn't say you were going to charge me more than $39/mo, I thought someone hijacked my account or something. And then I said, but even on your website there's nothing that indicated the weekly charge. They responded that since of December (the month after they charged me $156) they no longer charge that, they just charge a flat rate of $39/mo. And just like that, they wouldn't budge on anything. They won't meet me halfway and just charge me the $39/mo for November, just that I'm out of $156 and I didn't even use their services in November.

Be careful of this company. They say one thing, change the prices drastically without notice and then expect the customer to just pay. Learn from my mistake and use another service.

This is what I'm trying to send them, but Dreamstime has blockers installed on their site and/or servers:

Dear "Customer Service" Management:

You only refunded $50.00 instead of the $75.00 that you overcharged me! I searched your Customer Service COMPLAINTS and SCAMS online! I am a Victim of at least one of your ongoing Schemes. I'm alerting my bank and others of your ongoing fraudulent activities... I canceled the account well before the 7-day trial. You should have applied my FULL refund by now. Please refund all the money that you embezzled from me and do NOT charge my account ever again!

Your [I'm not a robot/reCAPTCHA feature is deceptive and I can NOT submit any of my new complaints to you]. I see you have your Business Relations and Development in Bucharest, Romania…

Very Sincere,

Charles Hall

P.S. Even your [I'm not a robot reCAPTCHA feature is deceptive...]

Dear Dreamstime Support Team,

I hope this message finds you well. I am writing to you regarding my account on Dreamstime, which appears to have been blocked. When I attempted to log in, I was surprised to find that my account had been blocked, as indicated in the attached screenshot. Regrettably, I did not receive any communication explaining the reason for the block, despite having already uploaded images to Dreamstime.

I would be most grateful if you could kindly restore my account, so that I may continue my work on your platform. I sincerely appreciate your attention to this matter and look forward to hearing from you soon.

My Email : [protected]@gmail.com

Thank you very much.

Best regards,

Farzana Hussain

On 3/26/2020 I created an account on dreamstime to get a photo for a project to promote physical activity in Portuguese families during the covid-19 pandemic. I chose to create a free trial account on dreamstime. When downloading a photo I found that, strangely, the photo had a watermark, and I was required to pay to have that photo. After authorization from the responsible portuguese organization, I obtained authorization for one month of the lowest plan. After 3/26/2020, there was never any activity on the created account again. However this company charged a total of 207 euros, between April 2020 and January 2021. Bearing in mind that neither I nor the organization was informed of the need to cancel the account, taking into account that dreamstime registered a complete lack of activity on the free trial account after 3/26/2020, and that dreamstime took advantage of our lack of knowledge, I request the reimbursement to the portuguese organization of the total amount of 207 euros.

This company, has it's agents mislead customers into believing you just make a payment to use site for use of images as requested. Then you are hit with another charge for downloading... When asked on charges, they tell you it is a one time charge and no other charges are forthcoming, next month, more charges and if you use paypal, will give them money even after you canceled or managed the account to stop any future payments, sending you confirmation email. Now I am disputing on Paypal for a charge again allowed after the fact of me telling them to stop all payments to Dreamstine.com LLC

So I tried the free trial and downloaded my "free 10 photos" I then canceled my subscription and turned off auto renew. I have now been charged twice since and I cannot find out how to delete my card information or delete my account. I will be filing a complaint with the better business bureau and put a stop payment on them with my bank. Bunch of scam artists if you ask me. I want my money back. I did not authorize these payment and my subscription was canceled. Do not try the free trial. It isn'tfree. This website should be shut down for fraud and theft

I'm frustrated with dreamstime.com, I started their free trial.. after the first day I realized that they did't have the images I was really looking for, so I deleted my credit card information.. yet was still billed for a month payment. I called to rectify this.. because per their logs I haven't logged in nor downloaded pictures since supposedly deleting my credit card information during the trial.. and they refused to refund my payment. I think they'd be much more successful if they employed honest business practices, it's a shame that they resort to this.

This company uses unethical terms and conditions to refuse to close out my contributor account. I have stated in writing on more than one occasion that I wish to close my account. They refuse saying that my images must stay online for minimum 6 months as per their terms and conditions. As the owner of all copyrights to my images and with NO licenses currently held for them, no money outstanding, there is NO reason for them to refuse to take down my images and delete my account.

My only conclusion is that they are a scam.

I STRONGLY advise that NOBODY entrust them to sell their images or open any type of account with them.

I have been contacting Dreamstime for over 2 months. My account was functioning fine. Then out of the blue I am unable to log in. I tried resetting the password at least 30 times. It never works. I called and got someone who isn't even in customer service. Why is that? Because they don't have a customer service department. If anything goes wrong with their website, oh well! Who cares is their attitude. I have given them ample opportunity to fix this problem. They owe me money. I was an affiliate and was referring people to them. Now that they will not help fix the password issue I am out the money I earned from my affiliate marketing. I will be filing a BBB complaint since this is not acceptable. I thought Comcast was the worst company in the USA when it came to customer support, but I was wrong. It is Dreamstime. This company appears to be a scam. They want you to refer people to their site, have them spend money and then never pay you the money you earned for the referral.
This is the first company I have ever known to skip out on paying referral fees and not responding to any requests for assistance. RATED FFFFFF+++++
Don't bother with them go to Getty Images instead. Must better company and service. They actually care.

Never buy anything from them, don't try their one week trial because once you subscribe it will be hard to cancel it. Yes, once you buy something, even if it's a very small purchase, you'll be subscribed and in a week it will automatically renew and you'll be charged.
Same happened to me and it took me 2 weeks to make them stop. Isn't it ridiculous? I thought I would send an email asking to cancel the subscription, but it wasn't so easy. I called and emailed numerous times, they weren't responsive at all. But 2 weeks later they gave up and canceled after charging me, of course.
Be careful, people!

I canceled my account right before i was supposed to get charged again.I got charged anyway when I clearly cancelled my account.I canceled because I am with shopify and can get pictures from them thru there sight.I was charged and also because I hadn't got paid yet and did not include
this payment when I balanced my check book so not only did you fraudulently charge my card 25.00 after I cancelled but I also have an overdraft of 30.00.I would like a refund please. My name is Kimberly duhon cell [protected]. [protected]@gmail.com

Their pricing plan is a scam. They propose a 0, 05 cent PROMO DEAL as they call it on their website. Issue you an invoice at that amount with the description "Subscription 5 images". When your credit card bill arrives, you are not deducted of the 0, 05 cent but for the full month of 25 dollars. They consider their PROMO DEAL as a Free Trial. This is cheating as there are no mention it is a Free Trial, nor on their pricing plan, no on their invoice. Additionally they issue invoices which they do not honore (?) meaning they are producing bogus invoices. This is fraud ­ to create false invoice. You need to ask your self how their accounting is held. Beside all this, they are rude and hide themselves on rules and procedures which are not existing or hidden in their obscure website. Ex: sending an email announcing a new transaction is going to happen => never receive this email though they say they have sent one, the lack of clear information on their pricing plan (nor on the pricing plan page nor on the invoice) => they tell you it is indicated in the left corner while you are doing the payement with your credit card ­ all in small caps and why there (not at the beginning or at the end confirming the purchase or on the invoice), the renewal button was off before sending the email complaint and they say they had to turn off the button ­- blend lie!

I am not the only one complaining about their service: https://www.sitejabber.com/reviews/www.dreamstime.com, https://www.complaintsboard.com/dreamstime­b124335

I want a refund. This by principle. I am myself a self­ contractor and I cannot imagine I would do that to a client. This is a blend lack of transparency. Hiding behind the spam problem (because not receiving an email informing the renewal of a subscription) is ludicrous, especially at our time. Knowing that spamming issues exists, why not write the purchase true description on the invoice. Fact is what I bought is not complying with what they are doing. I bought 5 images subscription. That is it like mentioned on their Promo Deal. Not a monthly subscription as they make out.
This case will be reviewed by a complaint specialist at the Better Business Bureau, and then forwarded to the business for their response. It can take up to 30 days for the Bureau to receive a response/resolution to your complaint. You will be notified when the business has responded.

3/2/2017
I was attempting to purchase an image on Dreamstime and had problems with the website asking me for my password several times. In the confusion I checked my account invoice to see if the credit card was hit and discovered I was charged a Subscription Rate for almost a year without my knowing it. (My husband handles credit card billing and thought it was something I was doing for business). When I called Dreamstime for help, I talked with 2 representatives who were both rude from the start. I asked if they'd ever had this problem before and was told "no". After looking at the reports, looks like this is a common complaint for Dreamstime. Too bad, I had used this service for years. I'm bummed this happened. I took the loss, but the Dreamstime team didn't have to be so rude. Buyers beware. Dreamstime hits you for a Subscription Fee whether you agree or not!

When I signed up for Dreamstime I had no idea they will charge a membership fee. While I was setting my account I had to enter my card number and that time I couldn't understand why they asked for such an information. That was a huge mistake but I gave them all the information.
And the same day I got charged. One month later the same thing happened. I tried to remove my credit card number from this site but wasn't able to do that. Customer service did not provide any help, I contacted them many times and asked them to stop charging my card but everything was useless.
Please, beware of this site! They will take your money without any warning and without your permission and you'll never get it back!

I need help with this site! I received a charge on my card and when I contacted my bank they said that I was charged by a website called Dreamstime. I never heard about this site and never used it and did not subscribe to anything. How did they get access to my card and who are these people? I tried to contact them numerous times and asked them to return the money the stole from me but they never replied! I really need help!

Www.Dreamstime.com i called the card operator and they gave me this number to locate this theft authorization [protected] for three months i have been receiving a bill in the invoice of my card with the name of this company, i did not buy anything in this place, i do not know this site, i have used my card improperly, i requested a refund from the site that claims that it has already done so but i did not receive anything, on the contrary after i have requested cancellation and refund, they have yet to file another bill for the next month, i come to denounce because i feel injured, i demand my money back, i did not buy and i did not request any service in that site

I signed up for a free trial and the first month was supposed to be free. About three weeks later Dreamstime charged my card for a membership without my permission. There was still one week left but they already took my money as if I had agreed to become a member. I only wanted to try this site and that's all, I never agreed to anything!
I contacted these guys and cancelled my account but they still refused to return my money. What a scam.

I signed up for the website www.dreamstime.com. Several weeks passed and it was ok, but only now I noticed that they took larger sum for the registration than I expected. I emailed the online chat agent and asked to get money back. But the support team was fake, and it was created only in order to distract customers’ attention. Be careful and I have cancelled my subscription.

I recently signed up for the website www.dreamstime.com. It was mentioned that it was for free, but it was big lie I ever heard. They charged me for the registration after couple of minutes after the registration. I tried to cancel it, but they ignored all my emails. I have no idea what to do now. I wonder if there are other people, who had the same experience. Let’s share views about this website.