iStock is one of the top places to buy stock photos. Its photo and video collection is not as large as Shutterstock’s or Adobe Stock’s, but it’s more heavily curated. I’ve used iStock in the past and still do for occasional, high-quality downloads, but it’s not my go-to choice anymore, mainly due to the smaller photo selection.
Throughout this iStock review, I will repeatedly compare it to similar stock photo subscriptions and websites and point out what I like or dislike about iStock.
How much does iStock cost?
iStock provides stock content through three subscription types. The Basic plan costs $29 per month for 10 downloads from the Essentials collection when you commit annually, or $40 per month without commitment. The Premium plan at $70 per month includes 10 downloads from both Essential and Signature collections. If you need videos and audio too, the Premium + Video plan starts at $99 per month for 10 downloads of any content type.
Larger subscriptions with more downloads are also available at a lower cost per download. The 750-image Basic plan, for instance, brings the price down to $0.22 per image, while smaller plans range from $1.80 to $2.90 per download. Annual plans save you 20% compared to monthly subscriptions. There’s also a 30-day free trial.
For comparison, 10 images cost $29 per month at Shutterstock, $29.99 at Adobe Stock, and $10 at Depositphotos. Video and audio subscriptions also cost roughly the same. To save money, consider unlimited plans like Envato Elements ($16.50 per month), Artlist ($39.99 per month), or Motion Array ($24.99 per month).
Basic plans work well for regular blog posts and social media, while Premium access makes sense for commercial projects needing higher quality.
For less frequent needs, credit packs start at $15 for one credit (one Essential image) and go down to $8 per credit. The Signature collection media costs three times more credits than the Essentials: images from 1 or 3 credits and videos 6 or 18 credits. Extended licenses require buying the standard license first, then paying 18 more credits.
Their newer AI image generator costs $24.99 monthly for unlimited generations, though results vary in commercial usability.
Read more: iStock pricing, explained
Standard royalty-free terms but expensive extended licenses
iStock offers two royalty-free licenses for all media: standard and extended. They are almost identical to the licenses you find at most competitors, like Shutterstock and Adobe Stock.
The standard license comes with every file you download through subscriptions or credit packs. You can use these files on websites, social media, ads, billboards, and presentations. You’re free to modify, customize, or resize the content as needed. You get up to 500,000 prints, and only one user can access the file at a time. This covers most project needs, but you can’t create products for resale.
The extended license removes these restrictions when your project demands more. You get unlimited prints, multiple users within your company, and the right to create products for resale (with specific quantity caps). Your protection also increases from $10,000 to $250,000 per file.
But extended licenses at iStock are much more expensive than at competitors: you can buy them with credits (18 or 21 credits per file), costing $144 to $216 for images and $168 to $252 for videos.
Average-sized, highly-curated media library
As someone who uses stock photos often, I’ve gotten to know the major stock sites’ collections like the back of my hand. In my experience, iStocks’ library is higher quality thank to the higher curation standards, reminescent of its owner, Getty Images. But iStock doesn’t have more great images than its competitors, but it has fewer mediocre ones.
Here’s everything iStock offers:
- 173 million images
- 17.5 million videos
- 100,000 music and SFX at Epidemic Sound
Image and video collections are divided into the cheaper Essential images and videos and the higher-quality Signature images and videos. The Signature collection three times as expensive as the Essentials collection, on average.
Finding the ideal high-quality asset for a blog post is thus easier, yet iStock’s selection can feel limited for larger image needs, especially when compared to Shutterstock’s ~500 million.
However, I found that you can quickly run out of fresh downloads when you repeatedly search for the same terms. For example, a search for “home office” images on iStock yields very similar results, particularly in their Signature collection. In this example, the collection features multiple images from the same photoshoot, which, while beneficial for certain projects, limits diversity of an already mid-sized stock photo library.
Customer support
A few years back, iStock’s customer support left much to be desired, taking a page out of their parent company, Getty’s book (which, by the way, still struggles with customer service). However, I was pleasantly surprised to see that iStock has made significant improvements in this department recently.
Now, if you’re seeking help, you have a couple of options: dial 420-246-031-860 (note: this line is operational only during standard business hours) or send them a query using their online form.
During my several latest interactions, I got a response to an email in a mere 30 minutes. And that was on a Saturday! Kudos to the team for such an improvement in their customer service.
Although customer support through email is quick, I still miss the option to get in touch via live chat, which often makes it easier to explain your trouble, especially if it’s on the intricate side.
Integrations, plugins, & more
To make browsing and finding the right files easier, iStock offers two plugins and a few tools. The most popular among creators is the iStock Plugin for Adobe Creative Cloud. Straight off the bat, it’s apparent that iStock by Getty Images has invested significant resources into making its vast library of high-quality content more accessible.
Being able to easily search through millions of photos, illustrations, and vectors without having to toggle between my browser and Adobe software is super convenient. And not needing to log in to access everything is also a nice surprise. But honestly, it’s not that groundbreaking—Adobe Stock and Shutterstock plugins for Creative Cloud do the same thing, and in my opinion, a bit better.
Nevertheless, it smoothly it integrates with Adobe’s programs. I can just drag and drop images right into Photoshop or Illustrator, and any edits I make carry over once I license the file. It does make going from idea to final design much easier. The “boards” feature for saving and sharing selections is a nice touch too and helps with collaboration. But again, not exactly revolutionary.
But it’s not 100% perfect. Even though it claims to be an “easy, convenient, and expedient experience,”, I did notice a small lag at times that reminded me this isn’t a built-in Adobe feature. Compared to the Shutterstock plugin, which I’ve also tried, the Shutterstock one felt a little more responsive in my experience.
One cool thing is that iStock doesn’t only work with Creative Cloud – it also works with Dropbox. You can connect your iStock account and then access and share all your content across devices and with other users too.
Another thing iStock and Getty Images have is a feature called VisualGPS Insights, which you can find under Search Trends.
The good thing about this is it gives you a really comprehensive look at visual search trends, which a lot of stock sites don’t really offer. The interactive data on trending searches, from topics like “Halloween” to “AI”, is super helpful if you’re a marketer or content creator wanting to make sure your images align with what’s popular.
It breaks things down by region and industry too, so you can get really specific data that’s great for niche campaigns. And the “rising and falling trends” part shows terms that are dramatically gaining or losing popularity, so you can stay on top of real-time shifts in what people are visually searching for.
What other customers think
But enough about just my thoughts—I wanted to get a broader perspective beyond my own iStock review. So I asked around our Photutorial readers and scoured reviews on sites like G2, Trustpilot, Reddit etc. to get the full scoop on iStock.
Overall, most reviews of iStock are positive. People love the absolutely massive media library with millions of high-res photos and 4K videos. For folks who only need images occasionally, the huge selection is great value.
The interface makes sifting through everything pretty easy too, with good search filters to drill down selections by image type, orientation, number of people, ethnicity and more. Users also like the simple licensing system and how effortless downloads are.
However, heavy users don’t love the expensive subscription costs and limits on monthly downloads. Some were frustrated by the lack of rollover for unused downloads each month, which surprised me since iStock actually allows up to 250 rollover downloads on all tiers.
Some users also complained about inconsistent quality in certain image categories. As one small business owner put it: “The depth of images is lacking. You can find something similar to what you want, but seeing related images grouped together is hit or miss.“
So while the library itself is huge, some find it tough to locate really specific, unique images due to so-so navigation and search. And the stock seems to cater more to general consumer use rather than specialized business needs.
Finally, a few customers had mediocre experiences with customer support when dealing with technical issues.
