Adobe Stock Photos

[rob]

Maybe I am just confused but Adobe call their service royalty free but they still charge for their pictures.

James' site also has the same statement of "royalty free" but he offers free pictures.

Am I missing something?

[James]

"Royalty free" means you don't have to pay a "royalty" each time you use the image. So you may have to pay a one-off fee but you can then use it many times without further charge.

Consider records being played on the radio. These are not "royalty free" as the radio station has to pay every time the song is played.

It can be confusing, I agree!