7 Sites That Pay for Your Templates and Digital Files

7. Can your photos

Seven ways to sell templates and files, starting with photos that earn per license. Number seven: can your photos, vectors or video clips earn each time a buyer licenses them? 123RF pays between thirty and 60% commission on each license sold. Contributors upload original work there, and it sells licenses to buyers.

Your level, and so your share, depends on your downloads over the previous twelve months. At the first level, a subscription download pays about twenty-two cents. Payments go out automatically on the fifteenth of each month or later, once you reach the minimum payout. In the page's example, that minimum is $50.

By our count, if each download paid about twenty-two cents, around 230 downloads would reach $50. You need original work of your own, and an account with a payment service you choose, to be paid. Signing up as a contributor takes three short steps, ending with how you want to be paid. Content is sold on a non-exclusive basis, so you are free to upload it to other platforms too.

You always stay the copyright owner, because buyers only purchase the right to use your work. Payout methods differ by country. Next, a site that pays for every download. Subscribe if you want more guides like this, each one checked against the platforms' own pages, linked below.

6. Can creators get paid for every download of their work

Number six: can creators get paid for every download of their work? Vecteezy accepts photos, vectors and videos from contributors, and pays for every download they receive. To apply, you fill out a form, then upload your ten best resources through a link sent by email. Anyone with creative resources to share can apply, enthusiast or professional.

In its free program, you earn $5 per thousand downloads of vectors and photos. Videos earn $10 per thousand downloads. Its pro program uses a subscriber share model, with a 50% revenue split. There are no deadlines or required assignments, so you create what you want, when you want.

It does not accept logo templates, three-dimensional renderings, photos with digitally added text, or illustrations saved as jpg files. The program is non-exclusive, so you can keep sharing your work on other platforms. By our count, if your vectors reached 10,000 downloads in its free program, that would bring $50. Program rules and payout options differ from place to place.

After that, three-dimensional models that buyers use in their own projects.

5. Who buys three-dimensional models

Number five: who buys three-dimensional models, and how does the maker get paid? TurboSquid sells digital products, from three-dimensional models to tutorials. Most of its returning customers are production professionals with a budget for stock models. New members start with a royalty of 40% of each sale.

Exclusivity is optional. Exclusive members who also use its affiliate program can reach as much as 80% on an asset. Uploading costs nothing, because the site only takes a percentage when you make a sale. Starting an account takes less than a minute, and you complete your payment information before you can publish, its help pages say.

After you publish, your work can appear in search results within a few minutes. Taxes that may be due are withheld from your percentage. Balances are paid monthly, on the first business day of the month. You can also have payments held until your balance reaches an amount you choose.

Its pricing guide says to compare similar models first, because a complex model priced under $10 makes buyers question its quality. By our count, if a model sold for $50, a 40% royalty would be $20 before taxes. Tax withholding rules differ by country. Then, a store of your own, with a monthly plan instead of a sale fee.

4. What if you would rather run your own small store than join a marketplace

Number four: what if you would rather run your own small store than join a marketplace? Sellfy gives creators a store builder for digital downloads, subscriptions and merchandise. Its transaction fee is 0%, and you pay for a monthly plan instead, its pricing page says. The starter plan is $29 a month, or twenty-two a month when paid yearly.

It covers up to $10,000 in sales a year, with unlimited products. There is a fourteen-day free trial. And if it is not working for you, there is a full refund within thirty days of upgrading. You also pay the payment service's fee, typically 2.9% plus thirty cents.

Money arrives right after each purchase, in the payment account you connect. One digital product can hold up to fifty files. You do not need a website, because you can share your store on social networks. If yearly sales pass the plan's limit and you do not upgrade, it may charge a 2% overage fee.

By our count, at $29 a month, four ten-dollar sales would cover the plan, even after the payment service's fee. It is available worldwide, but payment methods depend on your country. That's four of the seven: stock files, pay per download, three-dimensional models and your own store. Up next, another store builder, with a choice between a sale fee and a monthly plan.

3. Is it better to pay a small fee on each sale

Number three: is it better to pay a small fee on each sale, or a flat monthly plan? Fourthwall sells digital products, like ebooks or software, on the creator's own storefront. There are no upfront costs, and no credit card is needed to start, its page says. You upload your files, build your storefront, then promote and sell.

It hosts the files and handles secure delivery to buyers. On the free plan, it charges a 5% platform fee on digital product sales. On its Pro plan, which its page shows at $15 a month, that fee drops to zero. Paying yearly for Pro saves $48.

The fee is based on the list price, so a discount code does not lower it. In its own example, a ten-dollar ebook sold at 20% off pays a fifty-cent platform fee on the free plan. Payment processing fees are charged on top, on either plan. It acts as the merchant of record, so it handles sales taxes.

It collects payments in different currencies and manages the conversion. Earnings are deposited into your bank account automatically each month. By our count, 5% of $300 in digital sales is $15, the Pro price its page shows. Tax forms and payout methods differ from country to country.

In one breath: stock files, pay per download, models, your own store, and a fee or a plan all pay in different ways. If you want to see how rising prices affect your money, the video on protecting your money from inflation is linked on screen. Almost at the top: templates for a workspace app.

2. Can a planner or tracker you built for yourself become a template others buy

Number two: can a planner or tracker you built for yourself become a template others buy? On Notion's Marketplace, creators feature and sell templates to Notion users. Selling directly there starts with an application and a waitlist, and the review may take a few months, its help page says. Notion may approve or reject submissions at its discretion.

You can also list a template and link to an outside payment site instead. A template is first published as a public page that buyers can duplicate. Then you submit it with a price if it is paid, plus screenshots or short videos of up to sixty seconds. When you sell directly, Notion is the merchant of record and charges 8% plus forty cents per transaction.

That fee covers payment processing, purchase support, refunds and fraud monitoring. It handles sales tax or value-added tax, while creators report their own income taxes. Creators who live outside the platform's home country pay an extra 1% to convert their payouts to local currency. Funds are held for fourteen days in case of refunds.

Payouts start every two weeks once your balance reaches $20, or more in some countries. A buyer who purchases directly can request a refund within fourteen days. The refunded amount is taken from your payment account. By our count, if a template sold for $10, the fee would leave $8 and eighty cents.

That fee is eighty cents plus forty cents, so $1 and twenty cents. Selling directly depends on your country being on its eligible list. Before number one, a guess: what share of each paid template sale does the last platform let creators keep?

1. What do you keep when the website template on your laptop sells

Number one: what do you keep when the website template on your laptop sells? The answer: on Framer, you keep 100% of the revenue from paid template sales. Framer runs a marketplace where creators publish templates, free or paid. It does not process payments, so buyers pay on a checkout page you link.

Any fees on that payment come from the checkout service you choose, not from Framer. Your checkout page must go straight to payment, show the product and price, and match the listed price. It must also be public, with no login before purchase, and include a clear refund or cancellation policy. After a purchase, you give the buyer access yourself, usually through a remix link.

Templates are published the moment you submit them, with no review process or waiting period. So its guide asks you to test the template across browsers and screen sizes, and fix broken links first. To publish, you open its Marketplace, create a template listing and fill in the details, including the preview link. Publishing a template also enrolls you automatically in its creator program.

Templates can also earn a commission when someone upgrades to an eligible paid Framer plan through your template's remix link. Even free templates can earn affiliate income when people sign up for Framer through them. You can edit the price, images and description at any time. You can also sell the same template elsewhere.

By our count, if a template sold for $40, Framer would take nothing, and all forty would go through your checkout. Ten such sales at $40 each would be $400, before the checkout service's fees. Payment and tax rules differ where you live. So each of these seven takes its cut in its own way, from a share of each license to nothing at all.

Here they are again, the seven ways: stock files on 123RF, pay per download on Vecteezy and models on TurboSquid. Then your own store on Sellfy, a fee or a plan on Fourthwall, and templates on Notion's Marketplace and on Framer. Today, you can open one platform's seller page, linked below, and check one rule. Which one would you try first?

Tell us the number in the comments. Results vary, rules differ where you live, and this is information only, not financial advice. This is Wealth Filings. Subscribe, because next we cover how new businesses find their first money, in part twenty-seven of How Money Really Works.

Next on Wealth Filings, How Money Really Works, part twenty-seven: how new businesses find their first money.