Is ClickASnap Legit? How Photographers Can Make Money From Photo Views

ClickASnap is the world’s leading photo-sharing platform that pays you to share photos.

Imagine Instagram, but getting paid every time people see your pictures. That’s the promise of ClickASnap, but how much can you really make?

The earning potential is small unless a photo attracts significant attention. However, skilled photographers who already have an online audience can make more money.

In this article, I’ll cover:

• how ClickASnap works
• how much you can make from it
• alternatives to consider

This review is based on my experience with the app and 3rd-party reviews.

What is ClickASnap?

ClickASnap is a platform where photographers can share their photos and potentially earn money from views. It operates like a photo-sharing site — but with a monetization model.

Looking at you, Instagram!

Users upload their photos, and they earn money each time someone views their image for more than five seconds. It’s advertised as one of the few platforms where users can get paid just for image views rather than needing to sell prints or licensing.

ClickASnap is a British company that is used by over 1 million photographers. The company reports that 2 million images are viewed per day on the platform.

They’re continuing to develop their site with an automated marketing system coming soon which will allow users to link their social media account to ClickASnap and have their photos automatically promoted 24/7.

Is ClickASnap Legit?

Yes, ClickASnap is legit.

However, unless you are a top-tier photographer with a large following, it’s unlikely you’ll make some serious money from the platform.

I’d look at is more as a photo-sharing and storage service, rather than a side hustle. That’s why they compare themselves to similar services in that space, like ViewBug, 500 Pixels, and Flickr:

ClickASnap has a simple system, and it’s easy to get started on the platform in just a few minutes. Below, I’ve outlined how you can get started on the platform and begin making money.

How ClickASnap Works

1. Sign Up and Choose a Plan

First, you’ll want to create an account.

As you do, you’ll be prompted to select a free or paid plan.

You must select a paid plan in order to make money from your photo views.

At press time, pricing looked like this:

• The Upload+ is $24.99 per year, or $3.99 per month
• The Pro plan is $69.99 per year, or $8.99 per month

The Pro plan not only allows you to get money from views, but it also allows you to sell your photos. The Pro plan also lets you get paid for AI-generated images (although these require more information when uploading than other images).

After you create your account, you can start uploading photos. You’ll want to make sure that the photos follow their community guidelines. The guidelines outline how you should never:

• upload other people’s content
• harass/spam other members
• photo dump many similar images
• or upload any NSFW content
• and more

Important Note: The ClickaSnap app claims you can get paid with a free account, which appears to be false based on the pricing plans above.

2. Prepare Your Photos

To prepare your photos, you’ll want to make sure the quality and format are in alignment with ClickASnap’s guidelines.

You’ll want to use high-resolution images in a standard format like JPEG or PNG. High-quality images attract more views.

You’ll also want to optimize your images for interest. Some popular topics include:

• nature
• landscapes
• portraits
• travel
• lifestyle

Make sure each photo is well-composed and visually appealing to attract viewers.

3. Upload Your Images

Once you have your photos ready, navigate to the Upload > Upload Photos section to add them to the ClickASnap platform.

Once your desired photo is uploaded, you’ll want to add the details, including:

• Title: Give the image a relevant, catchy title. Using relevant searched keywords helps your photo get noticed.
• Description: Add a brief description to provide context. Accurate tags help people find your photos based on themes, locations, or subjects (e.g., “sunset,” “wildlife,” “cityscape”).
• Tags: Add tags to help people discover your photo when they search for related topics.
• Set Visibility: Ensure the image is set to “Public” for it to be visible to viewers and earn paid views (when you have a paid plan).

5. Share and Promote

• Share on Social Media: Promote your ClickASnap profile on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter to drive traffic.
• Photography Communities: Engage with relevant online communities, like photography forums and groups, to increase exposure
• Consistency: Regularly uploading new photos and engaging with your audience on ClickASnap can boost your visibility. On the paid ClickASnap plans, you have unlimited uploads.

6. Track Your Earnings

• Monitor Views and Earnings: In your ClickASnap dashboard, you can track the number of views each photo receives and your total earnings.
• Minimum Payout: ClickASnap has a $15 minimum threshold for payout. Once you reach it, you can withdraw earnings via PayPal.

How Much Can You Make on ClickASnap?

ClcikASnap can make you some extra cash on the side if you’re a talented photographer with at least a small following.

But it would be very difficult to make significant money unless you have a large following (on the platform and elsewhere) and are posting consistently.

On the Upload+ Plan, you can earn $0.007 (0.7 cents) per paid view.

On the Pro Plan, you can earn $0.009 (0.9 cents) per paid view.

While these rates are small, earnings can accumulate if you gain a high volume of views.

For example, I came across Mike Ile’s profile. He’s a photographer in Oregon who has generated over 100,000 views on ClickaSnap. 

As a Pro member earning 0.9¢ per view, we estimate Mike has earned around $981 from those photo views… if all those views were “paid views” — lasting 5 seconds or longer.

Let’s assume you’re using the Pro Plan at 0.9 cents per paid view:

• Low Engagement: For 100 views per photo across 50 photos, you’d earn around $45.
• Moderate Engagement: With 1,000 paid views on each of the 100 photos, you could earn $900.
• High Engagement: For users with extensive promotion or a large following, 10,000 views on each of 100 photos could bring in $9,000, though this level of engagement would be quite challenging without a dedicated following.

What’s typical for beginners, active users, and those with high engagement to earn on a monthly basis?

• Beginner (Low Engagement): Around $10–$50 per month with optimized images and regular uploads.
• Active User: With consistent uploads and promotional efforts, you could realistically earn $100–$200 per month.
• High Engagement: For those with substantial followings or promotional strategies, monthly earnings could exceed $500+.

Selling Photos and Products

Receiving views on your images isn’t the only way to make money through the ClickASnap platform.

If you sign up for Pro or Seller Plan, you can sell products through a ClickASnap store as well.

This includes selling your photos as prints or putting them on merchandise such as tote bags and t-shirts to sell.

You can set the price, and they’ll deal with printing and shipping while you collect the profit. They have a helpful video walking you through exactly how to set up your shop as well.

5 Ways to Maximize Your ClickASnap Earnings

ClickASnap wants to help creators make the most of their accounts and earn the most they possibly can.

As a result, they’ve created a YouTube channel of helpful earning tips and a Facebook group of other ClickASnap members to discuss how to maximize earnings on the platform.

Here are a few key tips on how you can maximize your earnings on the platform:

1. Optimize Photo Quality and Selection

• High-Quality Images: Use sharp, high-resolution images with great lighting and composition to stand out and attract more views.
• Focus on Popular Themes: Photos of popular subjects like nature, people, places, food, travel, and landscapes often perform better and attract more views. Research current trends to see what’s popular.
• Engage with Niche Topics: Specialized niches (e.g., urban street photography, wildlife) can attract loyal audiences who are more likely to engage with your work.
• Holiday and Event-Specific Themes: Upload themed content around holidays, seasons, or popular trends to attract more views.
• Trending Topics: Keep an eye on trending photography themes or social media challenges and upload relevant content to increase viewership.

2. Add Engaging Titles, Descriptions, and Tags

• SEO-Friendly Titles: Create descriptive, keyword-rich titles to increase the chances of your photos appearing in searches on ClickASnap and search engines. Google also indexes these images so having an SEO-friendly title will help bring traffic and paid views to your image.
• Detailed Descriptions: Describe the story behind the photo, location, or technique. This adds value and encourages viewers to spend more time on your profile. This can also encourage engagement and comments on your photos, helping to boost visibility.
• Relevant Tags: Use specific tags that are directly related to your image content. This helps your photos reach the right audience and can improve their visibility.

3. Promote Your Profile and Photos

• Social Media Sharing: Share your ClickASnap profile and individual photos on social media (Instagram, X, Facebook, and Pinterest) to drive traffic to your photos. It can be helpful to load a teaser photo and link back to your ClickASnap profile.
• Embed Links: If you have a blog, website, or portfolio, embed links to your ClickASnap profile to encourage visitors to view your images there. You can even find relevant photography videos on YouTube and comments with a link to your photo.
• Leverage Photography Groups and Communities: Join online photography communities on platforms like Reddit, Flickr, or Facebook, where you can showcase your work and link to your ClickASnap profile.

4. Consistent Uploads, Engagement, and Optimizations

• Regular Posting: Post new content frequently to keep your profile active. An active profile can help you build a steady audience.
• Engage with Followers: Respond to comments and engage with followers. Building relationships increases the likelihood of repeat views from loyal followers.
• Track Earnings and Views: Monitor which photos are generating the most paid views. Focus on producing similar content or adjusting your strategy based on your best-performing posts.
• Payout Timing: Be aware of payout thresholds and times. If you’re nearing the threshold, consider uploading and promoting more to reach it sooner.

5. Utilize ClickASnap’s Features

• Paid Plans for Higher Rates: Consider investing in the Pro Plan to earn the maximum rate per paid view.
• Profile Customization: Make your profile visually appealing and professional to increase credibility and retain viewers.
• Use ClickASnap’s Promotions: If the platform offers any internal promotions or boosts, consider participating to gain extra visibility.

How Does ClickASnap Make Money?

Similar to Spotify or YouTube, ClickASnap makes money from various sources, including:

• image sales
• paid accounts
• advertising

Creators earn a percentage of the revenue when their photos gets viewed.

What We Like About ClickASnap

• Simple concept: Just upload photos and views generate earnings, unlike other sites where you need to sell prints or licenses.
• Community engagement: It provides a platform for photographers to showcase their work and get exposure.
• Fast payout: Once you make the $15 minimum, you can cash out, and it’s guaranteed to be paid out in 24 hours.
• High payouts: While $0.007 to $0.009 per view doesn’t seem like a high payout, it’s actually much higher than other content competitors. YouTube pays an average of $0.000640 per view, and Spotify pays musicians around $0.0001 per play on average.
• You own the image rights: Unlike other sites, ClickASnap never claims ownership over the photos you upload. It also prevents copyright theft by removing copyrighted images and banning users who upload photos that don’t belong to them.

What We Dislike About ClickASnap

• Must select a paid plan to make money: While the plans can be as low as $2.08 per month, you must make an investment in order to have the potential to make money from the platform.
• Qualifying views are limited: When someone looks at one of your photos for 5 seconds or more, it will be a “paid” view. The view also has to have been created organically and not via a bot or Click Circles. While it may look like your photos are gaining traction, not all of the views will make you money.
• High payout threshold: You must make at least $15 on the platform before you’re able to cash out through PayPal, which may take you a while at the $0.007 or $0.009 per view rate.

The Bottom Line: Is ClickASnap Worth Paying For?

We’re naturally wary of any side hustle app that charges money before it pays out.

In this case, it’s best to look at ClickASnap as a nice interface to store and share your best shots, and consider it a bonus if you earn any revenue from them. 

ClickASnap could be worth it for photographers who:

• already have a following
• are building a following by creating and posting high-quality photos
• are already paying (or would pay) for a cloud storage / sharing service

For those users, ClickASnap offers a way to potentially reach more viewers and get paid for the work you’re already doing.

But remember, it takes around 11,000 views to earn an extra $100 per month. 

ClickASnap isn’t worth it for people who:

• aren’t strong photographers
• don’t have any following
• wouldn’t be uploading high-quality images consistently

ClickASnap Alternatives

Some alternatives to ClickASnap include:

Shutterstock

Shutterstock is one of the largest stock photography platforms and offers high visibility for contributors, though it’s more focused on stock images.

Photographers earn royalties from each download, and there’s a strong demand for high-quality, unique images. You should know this is very much a volume game: the most successful stock photographers I’ve connected with have uploaded thousands and thousands of photos.

Adobe Stock

Adobe Stock allows photographers to sell their photos to a broad customer base, as their content is available directly through Adobe products like Photoshop and Illustrator.

This is a good option for photographers aiming for commercial sales.

Foap

Foap is a mobile-focused app where photographers can sell their images and videos.

It offers missions from brands and companies, giving photographers opportunities to earn extra through specific themed contests.

Serious About Making Extra Money?

• Start Your Free $500 Challenge. My free 5-day email course shows you how to add $500 to your bottom line.
• Join the free Side Hustle Nation Community. The free Facebook group is the best place to connect with other side hustlers and get your questions answered.
• Download The Side Hustle Show. My free podcast shares how to make extra money with actionable weekly episodes.