Listing photos

Real estate photography pricing in 2026: what agents pay for photos and add-ons

We opened 24 public price lists from US real estate photography companies on November 10, 2026 and recorded what each one charges. For photos of a home of about 2,000 sq ft, the median is $197 and the range is $135 to $395.

This is a sample of published list prices in 17 states, not a national survey, and every price list is linked below. Agents can use it to budget a listing. Photographers can use it to see where their own rates sit, and our page on virtual staging for real estate photographers covers the add-on that 20 of these lists price per photo.

median, photos for about 2,000 sq ft

$197

lowest and highest list

$135 to $395

published price lists, 17 states

24

median studio price to stage one photo

$30

How much does real estate photography cost in 2026?

A standard listing shoot costs about $200. On the 24 price lists, the median for photos only at a home of about 2,000 sq ft is $197, and 15 of the 24 charge between $150 and $250. Four lists are under $150 and five are over $250, up to $395 at an Atlanta studio.^[5]

For each list we took the tier that tops out at 2,000 sq ft, however the studio words it: up to 2,000, under 2,000 or 0 to 1,999. Where a list breaks at another size, we took the tier that contains 2,000 sq ft. Three lists price by photo count, so for those we took the package nearest 25 photos.

How does this sample compare with national cost guides?

It sits inside the national ranges, toward the low end. Snappr's 2026 guide says photographers charge $150 to $500 per listing and $150 an hour on average.^[25] HomeGuide says $150 to $300, on a page dated March 15, 2024.^[26] Our $197 median is inside both, but four of our lists are below the $150 floor and four are above HomeGuide's $300 ceiling.

PropPhoto, a photographer directory, measured 684 packages from 333 photographers in August 2026: a standard package costs $200, and the middle half run $150 to $300.^[27] That matches our median. The add-ons differ, because PropPhoto prices each service sold alone: a 2D floor plan at $205 against our $85 as an add-on, and drone photos at $125 against our $100. Its video figure, $195, is lower than our $275.

What do real estate photographers charge by home size?

Most charge by square footage, and size adds little: the median list adds $30 for a 3,000 sq ft home and $70 for a 4,000 sq ft home. Of the 24 lists, 21 set the price by size and three by photo count.

What do real estate photography packages include?

A base package is usually 25 to 30 edited interior and exterior photos, delivered the next day, with a license to use them to market the listing.

• •Photo count. Twelve lists state one at this size. It runs from 20^[16] to more than 40^[20], and nine of the 12 give 25 to 30.
• •Turnaround. Thirteen lists state one. Ten deliver the next day or sooner and three take up to two days. Same-day delivery is a paid extra where it is listed: $75 in Minneapolis^[10] and $150 in the Bay Area.^[22]
• •Editing. Nine lists include a blue-sky edit or guarantee in the base price.
• •Usage rights. Five lists publish their terms, and all five describe a license to use the photos, not a transfer of ownership. The Dallas list limits it to the duration of the listing.^[1] The Salt Lake list calls it an unlimited marketing license.^[18]

How much do drone photos, video, 3D tours and floor plans add?

At the median, drone photos add $100, a 2D floor plan $85, a 3D tour $159 and a walkthrough video $275. For each service we recorded the lowest price a list publishes for a home this size. We used the add-on price where a list has one and left out prices that require another purchase.

Drone real estate photography pricing depends mostly on the photo count: where a list states one, the add-on usually buys 4 to 10 aerial stills. For a 3D tour we took the cheaper of a Zillow 3D or a Matterport tour. Ask how long the tour stays online, because hosting can be billed later: the Bay Area list includes three months and charges $75 for each three months after.^[22]

What moves the price of a real estate photo shoot?

Five things move it: home size, travel, the local market, turnaround, and whether twilight is a second visit or an edit.

• •Size. The median list charges $30 more at 3,000 sq ft and $70 more at 4,000 sq ft.
• •Travel. Studios include a radius and charge beyond it. The Dallas list includes 30 miles, then adds $50 for 31 to 50 miles.^[1] The Charlotte list includes 20 miles, then adds $35.^[4] The Orlando list charges $0.67 a mile after 20 miles.^[7]
• •Market. In this sample the lowest prices are in Columbus and Bucks County, Pennsylvania, at $135.^[11][15] The highest are in Atlanta at $395^[5] and in Boston, Seattle and the Bay Area at $350.^[13][20][22]
• •Turnaround. The Seattle list delivers in two business days and charges $50 for next day.^[20]
• •Twilight. A photographer who returns at dusk costs $200 at the median. A virtual twilight, which is an edit of a daytime exterior, costs $25 an image, and the Minneapolis list does it free on request.^[10]

What does full listing media cost for a 2,000 sq ft vacant home?

About $590 at the sample medians if the studio stages six photos, and about $430 if you stage them yourself. The example covers photos, drone, a floor plan, one virtual twilight and six staged photos of the empty main rooms.

Add a 3D tour at the $159 median and the first column becomes $746. Add a walkthrough video at $275 as well and it is $1,021. Staging is the line with the widest gap between the two columns. If you are weighing real furniture for the same house, see what home staging costs and the options for a vacant home.

How is virtual staging priced: per photo by the studio, or done yourself?

Studios charge per photo: $30 at the median, and $10 to $75 across the 20 lists that price it. Doing it yourself costs under $1 a photo.

Some lists discount volume. The San Antonio list drops from $25 to $20 a photo at five photos^[3], and the Seattle list sells three for $99, then $30 each.^[20] The Denver list includes AI staging in every package and charges $25 for staging done by hand.^[17] Turnaround is a day or two: the Bay Area list quotes two days with one free revision^[22], and HomeJab quotes 24 hours with unlimited revisions.^[24]

With StageHQ, you upload a photo of an empty or furnished room and get a staged listing photo in about a minute. Credit packs start at $19 for 20 photos and go down to $0.28 a photo on the largest pack. Credits never expire and no subscription is required. See StageHQ pricing, or the virtual staging cost guide for per-photo prices across methods.

The trade-off is plain. When the studio stages the photos, someone else picks the furniture, checks the result and redoes it if it is wrong, and you wait a day or two. When you do it yourself, it costs less and the photo is ready in about a minute, but choosing the style and judging the result is your job. 'Match furniture' reuses the same furniture set on a second camera angle of the same room, and exports can carry a 'Virtually staged' badge with the original and staged pair. Read your MLS's rules for virtually staged photos before you publish either kind.

Before

After

How should photographers read these numbers?

Read them as published list prices to place yourself against, not as a rate to copy. If your photos-only price for a home of about 2,000 sq ft is under $150, you are below 20 of these 24 lists. If it is over $250, you are above 19 of them, alongside studios in Atlanta, Boston, Seattle and California.

The base shoot is about a third of the full ticket. In the example above, photos are $197 of $587, or 34%. The rest is add-ons, and the two that need no second visit, virtual twilight and virtual staging, sell for $25 and $30 a photo at the median.

Look at the virtual staging line. Twenty lists sell it at a median of $30 a photo, and staging a photo yourself costs under $1 and takes about a minute. It works best when the empty room is shot for it: from a doorway at chest height, with a full wall and plenty of floor in frame. Our guide on how to photograph rooms for virtual staging covers the setup.