AI keywording tools for stock photographers,
compared honestly
Four other tools generate AI keywords, titles and descriptions for stock contributors too. Here’s exactly how BatchMeta compares — pricing, marketplace coverage and the real feature gaps, both ways.
No credit card required. Or use your own API key for free.
The short version
BatchMeta is the cheapest way to try AI keywording — $4.99 for 500 credits that never expire, or free forever with your own API key. It's also the only tool here built so your original photos and videos never leave your browser, and it names more marketplaces than any competitor on this page. The honest trade-off: no Lightroom plugin and no vector support yet — both exist elsewhere below, so if either is a dealbreaker for you, we say exactly where to find it.
What actually matters when you compare these
- Pricing model — one-time credits that never expire, or a recurring subscription you lose access without?
- Cost at your actual volume, not just the cheapest headline number — subscriptions and credit packs compare differently once you factor in how much you shoot.
- Which marketplaces it names by name — a tool that never mentions yours probably wasn't built with it in mind.
- Whether your original files are uploaded anywhere, or only ever analyzed and discarded.
- Extras that matter to your workflow: a Lightroom plugin, vector/SVG support, an API, or metadata written directly into the file.
At a glance
A snapshot of how the five compare — see the methodology note in the FAQ below for how each number was sourced.
| Tool | Starting at | Pricing model | Marketplaces named | Standout |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BatchMeta | $4.99 / 500 credits | One-time credits, never expire — or free with your own API key | Adobe Stock, Shutterstock, Freepik, Dreamstime, Vecteezy, Pond5, Getty/iStock | Originals never leave your browser |
| CyberStock | $9/mo · 200 credits (early-bird) | Subscription, plus one-time top-up credits | Adobe Stock, Shutterstock, Getty | Keywords driven by real buyer-search data (their claim) |
| PhotoKeyworder | €8.99/mo · 400 images | Subscription or one-time credits | Not listed on their site | Lightroom plugin |
| PhotoTag.ai | ~$18 · 2,000 credits | One-time credits, no subscription | Not listed on their site | Free BYOK, Lightroom plugin, file-embedded metadata |
| Stocktag | ~$3/mo · 100 credits | Subscription tiers, plus one-time credits | Adobe Stock, Shutterstock, Getty Images, iStock | Turkish-first, exports CSV + XMP |
CyberStock’s price is a limited-time “early bird” rate; its regular price is $14/month. Stocktag’s and PhotoTag’s pricing pages are JavaScript-rendered apps that didn’t render for us in a plain fetch, so their figures here come from earlier notes rather than a direct read — verify those two especially. Prices, plans and features change without notice for every tool here, including ours: visit each provider’s own site for current numbers before deciding.
Each tool, in detail
BatchMeta
$4.99 / 500 creditsProcesses everything client-side — your photos and videos are downscaled and analyzed in the browser, and only small preview frames are ever sent anywhere. It's the only tool on this page that makes that specific claim. Credits are one-time and never expire, starting at $4.99 for 500 (about a cent each), or free forever with your own Gemini, OpenAI or Claude key. It also names the most marketplaces here — Freepik, Dreamstime, Vecteezy and Pond5 are covered, and none of the four tools below mention any of them on their own sites. The honest trade-off: no Lightroom plugin, no vector/SVG support, and no in-file metadata embedding — all three exist somewhere below, if any of them matter more to you than price and marketplace coverage do.
CyberStock
$9/mo · 200 credits (early-bird)Its core pitch is that it keywords from real buyer demand, not just image content — trained on "50M real buyer searches, Google Trends and SEMrush signals," so a sunrise photo gets tagged for what buyers actually type instead of what a vision model sees. We haven't tested whether that holds up in practice. It also ships "CyberPusher," which uploads your finished files straight to the marketplaces for you — a genuinely different scope than BatchMeta, which deliberately never handles your original files server-side. Pricing is subscription-first: $9/month for 200 credits at its current early-bird rate ($14/month regular), rising to an unlimited tier at $79–159/month, plus one-time top-up credits that don't expire. Only Adobe Stock, Shutterstock and Getty are named specifically.
PhotoKeyworder
€8.99/mo · 400 imagesRun by a Lithuania-based studio, offering both a monthly subscription (from €8.99 for 400 images) and separate, never-expiring prepaid credits (from €9.99 for 300). It has a Lightroom plugin, which BatchMeta doesn't. Video costs 3 credits against 1 for a photo — a steeper ratio than BatchMeta's 2-credits-per-video.
PhotoTag.ai
~$18 · 2,000 creditsThe broadest feature set of the four: an API, a Lightroom plugin, vector/SVG keywording, and — like BatchMeta — a free BYOK mode using your own OpenAI or Gemini key. It also writes metadata directly into a file's IPTC/EXIF fields, something BatchMeta doesn't do (BatchMeta only ever hands you a separate CSV). Its site is localized into roughly 20 languages, more than any other tool here. Pricing runs on one-time credits with no subscription — around $18 for 2,000 per their last published pricing; their pricing page is a JavaScript app that didn't allow a fresh read, so check it directly before comparing.
Stocktag
~$3/mo · 100 creditsThe one tool here whose marketing site defaults to Turkish rather than English, which suggests its primary market is Turkey rather than a global English-first audience. It exports both CSV and XMP, and names Adobe Stock, Shutterstock, Getty Images and iStock specifically. Its cheapest subscription tier was last seen around $3/month for 100 credits, with a separate one-time pack around $5 for 500 (never expiring); like PhotoTag, its site is a JavaScript app that didn't allow a fresh pricing read, so check it directly before comparing.
Which one fits you
Different contributors need different things. Here’s a straight answer for the situations that come up most.
Selling on Freepik, Dreamstime, Vecteezy or Pond5
→ BatchMeta — the only one that names all fourWant a Lightroom plugin
→ PhotoTag or PhotoKeyworderSell vector or SVG work
→ PhotoTag or CyberStockWant files auto-uploaded to marketplaces, not just keyworded
→ CyberStockSelling primarily into the Turkish market
→ StocktagWant a one-time price, not a recurring subscription
→ BatchMeta or PhotoTag — both sell credits that never expire, no subscriptionWant metadata written into the file itself, not just a CSV
→ PhotoTagNone of these apply to you? BatchMeta is the simplest default: cheapest way in, the most marketplaces covered, and free forever if you'd rather use your own API key.
Frequently asked questions
How this comparison was made, and what it doesn’t cover.
Which of these tools is cheapest to start?
Depends whether you're comparing one-time prices or monthly subscriptions — they aren't really the same purchase. Among one-time, never-expiring credits: BatchMeta is $4.99 for 500 (about a cent per image — pulled live from our own pricing, so it's always current); PhotoTag's last known one-time price was around $18 for 2,000, though we couldn't load their pricing page directly this time. Among cheapest monthly subscriptions: Stocktag's last known tier started around $3/month for 100 credits (also unconfirmed this time), PhotoKeyworder is €8.99/month for 400 images, and CyberStock is $9/month for 200 (its current early-bird rate). Treat the Stocktag and PhotoTag figures as a starting point, not settled fact — check their sites directly. CyberStock's entire pricing structure has already changed once since we first researched it, which is exactly why we're flagging this rather than presenting old numbers as current.
Do any of these tools upload my original files?
BatchMeta doesn't — it downscales images and samples video frames entirely in your browser, and only those small preview frames are ever sent anywhere. We can't confirm how the other four tools handle your original files one way or the other; none of them publish that detail as clearly as we could find, so ask them directly if it matters to you.
Which of these tools has a Lightroom plugin?
PhotoTag and PhotoKeyworder both do. BatchMeta and CyberStock are web-only, and we didn't find one listed for Stocktag.
Is BatchMeta really free with my own API key?
Yes — bring your own Gemini, OpenAI or Claude key and BatchMeta adds no markup, ever. Fair-use daily caps apply (1,500 requests per account per day) to prevent abuse, not as a hidden paywall. PhotoTag also offers a BYOK mode; the other three don't appear to from what's on their sites.
How was this comparison made?
By reading each tool's own public marketing and pricing pages directly — no hands-on testing of the other four, and no data pulled from review sites. CyberStock and PhotoKeyworder render their pricing pages as plain HTML, so we could read their numbers directly. Stocktag and PhotoTag are JavaScript-rendered apps that only returned a loading screen to a plain fetch, so their figures here come from earlier notes rather than a fresh read — worth verifying directly on their own sites before deciding. We recheck this comparison from time to time, not on a fixed schedule, and prices, plans and even entire pricing structures change. Treat every number on this page — including ours — as a starting point, not a live quote. When in doubt, the provider's own site is always the source of truth.
Try BatchMeta on your own batch
25free credits at signup — enough to compare it against whatever you’re using now. After that, 500 credits cost $4.99 and never expire.
- No credit card required
- Files never leave your browser
- Credits never expire
Selling on a specific marketplace? See every export BatchMeta generates.