Istockphoto
Depends
Confidence: Medium
Buy if your team licenses images regularly and wants Getty-backed rights and indemnification; subscriptions reward volume.
Comparison
Istockphoto vs Shutterstock
Istockphoto and Shutterstock both land on Depends.
Shutterstock
Depends
Confidence: Medium
Buy only if you need volume licensed stock media and will track auto-renewals closely . the library is real, but billing practices earned a $35M FTC settlement.
| Compare | Istockphoto | Shutterstock |
|---|---|---|
| Verdict | Depends | Depends |
| Best for | Marketing teams buying images weekly | Marketing teams buying licensed images at volume |
| Who it's not for | Anyone needing a handful of images . free sites cover you | Anyone needing a few free images |
| Privacy | Mature Getty-owned vendor with a HackerOne response policy; only finding is a 2009 phishing incident.12 | No known public vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed. |
| Support quality | Refunds granted per Reddit; 927 Trustpilot reviews | Cancellation complaints dominate negative reviews |
| Public sentiment | Opinion is split: some find the entry price reasonable, while others complain bitterly about annual subscription renewals.¹ | Public reviews skew sharply negative on billing and cancellations, while long-time contributors report steadily shrinking earnings.14 |
| Biggest gotcha | Annual subscription rates are the loudest user complaint; read renewal terms before committing³ | Auto-renew traps: FTC fined $35M over cancellation hurdles. Calendar your renewal date and cancel in writing.13 |
Pick Istockphoto when
- Marketing teams buying images weekly
- Agencies wanting Getty-backed licensing
- Sites needing indemnified commercial imagery
- Designers wanting exclusive content
When Istockphoto is not a fit
- Anyone needing a handful of images . free sites cover you
- Students and zero-budget projects
- Teams burned by subscription auto-renewals
- One-off downloaders; credits and plans add friction
Pick Shutterstock when
- Marketing teams buying licensed images at volume
- Content teams wanting photos, video, and music in one subscription
- Enterprises needing indemnified AI-generated content
When Shutterstock is not a fit
- Anyone needing a few free images
- One-off buyers . subscriptions auto-renew and are hard to cancel
- Contributors expecting meaningful income
- Budget teams tired of confusing pricing tiers
Sources
- Trustpilot reviews of www.istockphoto.comtrustpilot.comreview
- Is iStock worth it? . Reddit r/webflowreddit.comreview
- iStock.com is a scam! . Reddit r/Designreddit.comreview
- iStock review . Photutorialphotutorial.comreview
review
- Is iStock A Scam Or Legit? . AliDropshipalidropship.comreview
- iStock Plans and Pricingistockphoto.comofficial
- iStock homepageistockphoto.comofficial
news
- iStock response policy . HackerOnehackerone.comsecurity
- iStock security profile . Nudge Securitynudgesecurity.comsecurity
- iStockphoto Warns Users of Phishing Attack . Selling Stockselling-stock.comsecurity
news
- Trustpilot . Shutterstock Customer Service Reviewstrustpilot.comreview
review
review