Istockphoto
Depends
Confidence: Medium
Buy if your team licenses images regularly and wants Getty-backed rights and indemnification; subscriptions reward volume.
Comparison
Istockphoto and Shutterstock both land on Depends.
Buy if your team licenses images regularly and wants Getty-backed rights and indemnification; subscriptions reward volume.
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 |