5 Shutterstock Alternatives for Stock Photos, Videos, Vectors, & More

When you’re working on a design or crafting content, the right creative assets can make all the difference. Whether it’s a stunning stock photo, a high-quality video, or eye-catching vector art, these resources are essential tools of the trade.

Shutterstock has long been a popular platform for stock photos and other creative assets, but it’s far from the only option. This article covers the best Shutterstock alternatives to help you find high-quality resources at affordable prices. 

By the end of the article, you’ll have a better understanding of these platforms and what they offer. And if you’re ready to access millions of high-quality photos, videos, and vectors, start a 7-day free trial of Vecteezy.

Leading Sites Compared to Shutterstock

	Shutterstock	Vecteezy	Adobe	iStock	Depositphotos
Photos	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Videos	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Vectors	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Bundles	No	Yes	No	No	No
Unlimited Downloads	$16.50/m	$9/m	Not offered	Not offered	Not offered
Credit Packs Available?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
TrustPilot	1.2	4.9	1.2	1.2	4.4
G2	4.4	4.7	4.3	3.5	4.4

1. Vecteezy

Vecteezy offers millions of stock photos, videos, vectors, and more. Many resources are free, and others require a Pro subscription or download credits. The Free license requires attribution. Upgrading to a Pro plan removes the need for attribution and opens access to millions of additional resources, including bundles.

With unlimited downloads on plans starting at just $9/month, Vecteezy presents the industry’s best value.

In April 2025, Shutterstock announced a new plan offering unlimited downloads for $16.50/month, but not all of Shutterstock’s resources are available on that plan. Users on Shutterstock’s unlimited plan can only download from contributors who have opted in to the program. If the contributor has not opted in, you’ll need a separate subscription (much higher price) or credits to download. At Vecteezy, the unlimited subscription provides access to all photos (except editorial photos), videos, vectors, and other resources.

Like Shutterstock, Vecteezy offers individual and team subscriptions, so it’s easy to find a plan that meets your needs.

Vecteezy’s Key Features:

• Unlimited downloads: Download as many photos, videos, and vectors as you need.
• Affordable pricing: Plans with unlimited downloads start at just $9 per month, making Vecteezy affordable for businesses of all sizes.
• Wide range of creative assets: Access stock photos, 4K video footage, vectors, templates, and more.
• Bundles: Download huge collections of fonts, brushes, presets, and other creative assets.
• Vecteezy Editor: User-friendly web-based design tool for social media images, YouTube thumbnails, presentations, and more.
• AI-powered background remover: Easily and automatically remove any photo’s background.
• AI reverse image search: Upload an image and find conceptually-related images available at Vecteezy.

Try Vecteezy Pro free for 7 days.

2. Adobe Stock

Adobe’s stock marketplace is another popular site like Shutterstock. Adobe Stock offers a large collection of high-quality images, videos, music tracks, etc. If you use Creative Cloud programs like Photoshop and Illustrator, you’ll benefit from Adobe Stock’s seamless integration. 

Currently, Adobe Stock doesn’t offer a subscription with unlimited downloads. Subscription pricing starts at $29/month, which allows you to download 10 photos or 1 video. The table below shows Adobe’s subscription options. 

Price	$29.99/month	$49.99	$79.99	$199.99
Monthly photo downloads	10	25	40	750
Monthly video downloads	1	3	6	25

Adobe’s plans allow downloads of photos or videos. For example, the $29.99 plan allows you to download 10 photos or 1 video, but not both.

Adobe Stock’s Key Features:

• Large library: Millions of creative assets.
• Many content types: Download stock photos, video footage, vectors, illustrations, audio files, and more.
• Creative Cloud integration: Adobe Stock is conveniently accessible from Photoshop, Illustrator, and other Creative Cloud apps.
• Customize with AI: Images can be customized with AI to remove backgrounds, expand the edges, apply a style, or apply a composition (requires generative credits).

3. iStock

iStock is owned by Getty Images, so it falls under the same parent company as Shutterstock. As one of the microstock industry’s pioneers, iStock has been around since 2000.

The pricing structure at iStock is similar to what you’ll find from Adobe Stock. You can choose from a few different tiers with a set number of monthly downloads. However, iStock’s Basic plan doesn’t provide access to all of the images in iStock’s library. 

iStock’s Premium plans allow subscribers to download any photo or illustration. Prices start at $70/month for 10 downloads and go up to $249/month for 750 downloads.

The Premium + Video subscription plans include video downloads as well as images. These plans range from $99/month for 10 downloads to $265/month for 50 downloads.

In late 2024, iStock launched a new plan for an AI image generator trained on their own visual library and data (this plan is completely separate from the stock photo subscriptions and credits). The plan costs $14.99/month and offers unlimited access to iStock’s AI tools for image generation, editing existing images, and background removal. Daily generation limits apply, although the exact limit is not listed. 

iStock’s Key Features:

• Large library: iStock has one of the industry’s biggest image collections.
• Flexible options: If you don’t want a subscription, you can buy download credits individually or in packs.
• AI image generation: Although it requires a separate subscription, iStock allows you to generate AI images that come with their standard legal protection.

4. Depositphotos

Depositphotos offers royalty-free stock photos, video clips, vectors, music, and sound effects. Unlike Shutterstock and Vecteezy, Depositphotos currently does not offer a plan with unlimited downloads. 

Subscription plans are available, but you’ll need different subscriptions for images (photos and vectors), videos, and music & sound effects.

The image subscription plans start at $29/month for 30 downloads, and go up to $169/month for 750 downloads. 

Video plans start at $79/month for 5 downloads, and go up to $159/month for 25 downloads.

The music and sound effects plan offers unlimited downloads for $12.99/month.

Credit packs are also available for those who don’t want or need a subscription.

Depositphotos’ Key Features:

• Many content types: Download photos, videos, vectors, illustrations, music, and sound effects.
• Buy a subscription or a credit pack: Depositphotos offers both.
• AI image generator: Available to customers with any Depositphotos plan.

5. 123RF

123RF is another stock marketplace with an unlimited subscription, similar to Shutterstock. You can download stock photos, videos, vectors, audio files, and fonts at 123RF.

A Plus subscription, priced at $24.90/month, offers unlimited downloads to all of 123RF’s creative assets. Credit packs are also available, starting at $39.60 for 50 credits.

123RF also offers the Blieve.ai image generator and editor. This is included in the Plus subscription, or available separately starting at $2/month for 200 credits. 

123RF’s Key Features:

• Unlimited downloads: The Plus subscription offers unlimited downloads for $24.90/month.
• Credit packs available: If you don’t want a subscription, you can opt for a credit pack instead.
• AI tools: Blieve.ai can generate images, remove backgrounds, change backgrounds, upscale images, and more.

Choosing the Best Shutterstock Alternative

Although Shutterstock is one of the largest stock photo marketplaces, it’s certainly not the only option. Vecteezy offers the best value in the industry with unlimited downloads of photos, videos, and vectors starting at just $9/month. Whether you’re a designer, freelancer, blogger, or influencer, Vecteezy offers an affordable option for all of your creative needs.

Start a 7-day free trial and see what Vecteezy offers.

 

Featured image by DC Studio.