Best Stock Media · alternatives
Best Shutterstock alternatives (2026)
7 alternatives to Shutterstock in stock media, ranked by entry price. Shutterstock starts at $7/mo. Every figure links to the public page it was captured from — the vendor's own wherever the vendor publishes the number, otherwise the named public source — with the date we captured it.
Key takeaways
- Free alternatives: Pond5, iStock.
- Closest by price: Depositphotos ($12.99/mo), Storyblocks ($21/mo), Pond5 ($25/mo).
Shutterstock alternatives compared
| # | Alternative | Entry price | Free | HIPAA | Best for | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Depositphotos | $12.99/mo | No | — | Bloggers, small business owners, and freelancers on a tight budget needing affordable per-image rates | photutorial.com |
| 2 | Storyblocks | $21/mo | No | — | Video editors and YouTube producers who download 5+ clips per month and need unlimited access | storyblocks.com |
| 3 | Pond5 | $25/mo | Yes | — | Video-first creators who need 4K and 8K footage with per-clip control rather than unlimited-download plans | blog.pond5.com |
| 4 | Envato Elements | $39/mo | No | — | High-volume freelancers and agencies needing mixed asset types (photo, video, audio, templates) under one flat fee | elements.envato.com |
| 5 | iStock | $40/mo | Yes | — | Budget-conscious buyers needing Getty-quality content at lower price points than Getty Images direct | istockphoto.com |
| 6 | Adobe Stock STALE · 2026-06-13 | $49.99/mo | No | — | Adobe Creative Cloud subscribers who want in-app licensing without context switching | stock.adobe.com |
| 7 | Getty Images | not priced monthly | No | — | Major brand campaigns where image rights clarity and exclusivity matter | gettyimages.com |
Data current through 2026-09-05. STALE marks a row with at least one plan we have not re-checked at its source in over 30 days. 1 of 7 rows above is marked. Compare any two directly on the Stock Media index.