Stock Photo & Video — Head-to-Head Comparisons
10 stock photo & video comparisons. Each page shows side-by-side pricing, plan limits, and feature differences — verified daily against vendor pages.
How these stock photo & video products compare
Stock media pricing in 2026 splits by business model. 'Per-asset' (Shutterstock On Demand 2-25 image packs, Adobe credit packs, iStock credits): pay by download, assets don't expire with subscription end. 'Monthly subscription' (Shutterstock 10-750/mo, Adobe Stock 10-750/mo, iStock 10+/mo): fixed monthly allowance, unused downloads rarely roll over. 'Unlimited subscription' (Envato Elements $16.50/mo Core, $39 Plus, $109 Ultimate): unlimited downloads across photos, video, music, templates, fonts, 3D. Adobe Stock integrates natively with Creative Cloud (Photoshop, Premiere, Illustrator) — unique advantage for Adobe users. iStock and Shutterstock have the deepest traditional editorial libraries. Envato Elements has the broadest creative asset coverage (beyond just photos/video). Depositphotos competes on price — historically 30-50% cheaper than Shutterstock for similar libraries. AI-generated stock is now standard across all five, included at standard asset prices.
How to choose between stock photo & video options
First: what's your actual usage volume? 1-5 images/month: buy On Demand packs (Shutterstock 2-pack $39, Adobe credit packs). 10-50/month: subscription saves ~40% vs per-asset (Adobe Stock 10/mo at $29.99 annual, iStock Basic at ~$29/mo). 100+/month: Shutterstock 750-asset at $199/mo is cheapest per-asset ($0.27 each). Unlimited: Envato Elements at $16.50/mo covers photos + video + music + templates — can't be beaten for multi-format creators. Second: do you use Adobe Creative Cloud? Adobe Stock integration (preview, edit, license inside Photoshop/Premiere) is a genuine workflow advantage — worth 10-15% premium over competitors. Third: video or photos? Most plans are photo-focused with limited video; Shutterstock Video 10-pack ($125-150) and Adobe Stock HD videos included in Standard are the main options. 4K video usually separate premium. Fourth: editorial (news/events) or creative (lifestyle/business)? Getty iStock has strongest editorial library; Shutterstock competitive; Adobe focuses on creative. Fifth: license type? Standard license covers most use cases; Extended/Enhanced license for merchandise, reselling, or large print runs — usually 5-10x standard price per asset.
All 10 head-to-head comparisons
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