Shutterstock is a resource that provides users with royalty-free and stock images, illustrations, videos and more. You can use these resources for a variety of purposes, from creating a website to developing a brochure. Using Shutterstock can help you save significant amount of money since a subscription will provide you with access to over a billion products, and you won't have to pay individual photographers or artists each time you need a specific image for something.
We have compiled a comprehensive review of Shutterstock, how it works, and what you can expect if you sign up for their services. Read through our review to help you decide if you are ready to sign up for one of their plans to help meet your personal or business needs for stock images, videos, music clips, and more.
Features
About Shutterstock
Shutterstock was created to help business professional find images and content to create powerful websites, tools, and other resources needed to help them succeed. When you subscribe to one of Shutterstock's plans, you'll have access to the images, videos, and music tracks you need to create quality, professional-looking materials.
There are more than 300 different images available on the site. Each day about 200,000 more images are uploaded. With this wide selection, you'll be able to find the perfect image to match any need.
In all, Shutterstock offers over a billion resources for its customers. These include the images, videos, and music clips available for download through the site.
More than one million contributors from around the world add their content to Shutterstock. This allows them to offer a variety of themes and subjects that will help you find exactly what you need for each and every task.
Images
With a Shutterstock subscription, endless possibilities are right at your fingertips. You can find all of the images you need to create stunning, professional, and quality work whether you are designing a website, create a document for work, or completing any other task.
Since there are millions of images, Shutterstock has made it easy for you to find just what you need. If you hover over the Images tab at the top of the website, you can view the different image types you may be interested in. These included photos, curated collections, offset images, and vectors.
Hovering over the Images tab also brings up a sub menu under image categories. If you're looking for something related to a theme or category but don't have a specific image in mind, you can click on the corresponding category and look for the right image that inspires you. Some of the category options include backgrounds/textures, celebrities, holidays, science, food and drink, education, vintage, transportation, and technology.
If you have a more specific subject or image type in mind, you can search using a keyword to bring up a list of images that will match your criteria. Once you click on the Images tab, you'll be taken to the Images page where you'll see a search bar across the top.
Just type in your keywords to begin your search. You can choose to search through all the available images, or you can choose to only search photos, illustrations, or vectors.
After you start your search, you'll be taken to a page that displays the images that match what you searched for. There will likely be numerous images to choose from, so Shutterstock offers sorting and filtering options to help you narrow down the images to find what you need.
Across the top of the page, you may see some curated collections that offer different subsets of images related to your search terms. You can click on these if they are more related to what you are looking to find.
The left side panel on the page will allow you to filter your results by looking for images with specific colors, images that contain or don't contain people, images with only horizontal or vertical orientations, and many other options depending on the images that are displayed based on your search. You can also choose to view only photos, vectors, or illustrations if you didn't initially do this when starting your search.
If you've signed up for an account, you'll be able to download any of the images that match what you're looking for and put them to use in your specific project.
Footage
In addition to finding royalty-free images on Shutterstock, you'll also be able to download. You'll find video options in numerous categories including nature, business, technology, slow motion, and animation. Many of these videos are available in 4D or HD, so you will be able to find high-quality options to match your needs.
Each week, new video options are added to the site, so the available options are always decreasing. On average, over 81,000 new clips are added each week.
You can search using a specific keyword to find the video clip you're looking for, or you can browse through the different categories Shutterstock uses to organize the millions of options.
Music
You'll also be able to find and download music clips. Music is very powerful and can help you create the right mood for your presentations, websites, and more. Shutterstock offers thousands of song options that are exclusively available on their website. The tracks you download will all include shorts and loops to help you satisfy your needs for each specific project you're working on.
Music tracks are organized into different collections to help you find what you want. Some of these collection categories include Cheerful Mood, Light on Your Feed, The Art of Adventure, Atmospheric, Christmas Classics, Vacation Vibes, and Indie Hits.
Mobile Apps
Shutterstock knows that much design, development, and creativity don't always take place when you're sitting in front of a computer screen. This is why they offer a user-friendly mobile app.
You can use the mobile app to find images, videos, and music clips the same way you'd be able to on a computer. If you find something you love, you can save it, download it, or even share it with others.
The Shutterstock app is available in the Apple App Store and on Google Play.
Shutterstock Editor
Often, when you find an image, there may be a few tweaks or modifications you want to make to it to help it meet your specific needs. The Shutterstock Editor was developed to help you easily make these changes to provide you with the powerful image that offers everything you need.
You can make minor edits to images or add text using the editor. You can also select from different templates to further customize or improve and image to match your specific needs.
Shutterstock's editor includes numerous intuitive tools designed to help you quickly accomplish your task and create a customized image in no time. You can even import your business logo into the editor to allow you to add it to your images.
Plans and Pricing
Everyone's image needs are different. This is why Shutterstock offers different subscription options to make sure you are only paying for what you need.
If you're just looking to purchase a few images at a time without the commitment of a monthly subscription, you can purchase one of the on-demand packs. These allow you to download either two, five, or 25 images.
If you will be using Shutterstock on a more regular basis, signing up for a monthly subscription plan is definitely the best option. Images purchased through these plans work out to be much cheaper than images purchased through an on-demand pack. Plus, monthly subscription plans also include use of the Shutterstock Editor Pro, which is not included with the on-demand packs.
There are subscription options available that will let you download 10, 50, 350, or 750 images each month. If you choose to sign a yearly contract, you'll receive an even more discounted rate. But there are also no contract options that will allow you to cancel or modify your plan at any time if your needs change.
Separate plans are also available if you are planning to use Shutterstock to download videos or music clips.
Plans are also available for business looking to allow multiple team members to have access to images. Shutterstock offers plans for 2 users, 3 to 10 users, over 11 users, and larger, customized enterprise plans.
Pros
Cons
Final Verdict
Shutterstock will provide you with access to the content you need for a wide variety of tasks and projects. You'll be able to create effective, influential, and stunning content to help your business succeed. Visit their website today to get a better idea of just how much they have to offer.
