A royalty free (RF) license grants a broad bundle of reproduction rights to a client. Typically this will include unlimited repeat use in any media, at any size and for any purpose, by the client.

The advantage to the photographer is the easy sell of a proposition that appears extremely generous, almost equivalent to copyright itself. RF licenses are perceived much as 'all you can eat for £10' bargains by clients. In fact the small print may impose conditions such as maximum size, or prohibit advertising use. RF licenses are also well suited to e-commerce and immediate download , in contrast to the complex modular pricing of RM licenses.

The disadvantage to the photographer is that RF turns photographs into commodity items. As with any commodity, volume and price are the key factors. All control of usage is permanently lost as soon as an image is issued with an RF license. The worst aspect of RF is that many clients have come to expect RF licenses even for commissioned work that has little or no resale value, yet with no compensating increase in fees. Further there is no ongoing relationship with the client after delivery.

The advantage to the client is that RF grants almost complete control over when, where and how many times they use the image and at a fixed price. As price is not geared to usage in any way  they do not need to monitor or manage use. 

The disadvantage to the client is that exclusivity is unobtainable. The basis of RF pricing is volume, and that means the same image may be purchased and used by competitors. RF stock is often sold as collections  at very low per-image prices. This looks irresistible but few clients ever use more than a small percentage of the rights bought. They may end up paying more than if they had licensed specific rights via rights managed (RM) licenses.