Shutterstock Reviews 

Be aware of the billing process. Scam.

You are a scam. Charge twice for one purchase then sign the client to automatic pay on PayPal. That is fraud. You are a fraudulent scheme to trick clients. Hope you all land in jail...including the troop of foreigners answering the phone who can't speak Englisn.

I purchased their unlimited annual prepaid plan (about $800/year), but in reality, it only allows downloading a maximum of 100 items per day from their limited library of 80 million assets. After 4 months of use, my account has been deactivated today. Although I have contacted them, I have not received a satisfactory response. They have permanently locked my account and arbitrarily taken all the money I paid without refunding a single cent, even though I had only been using the service for two months. Stay away from this scam company.

Can't cancel subscription nothing but a rip off if you try to cancel right away they want to charge a $156 cancellation fee when their service isn't even worth that much. Stay away from these crooks.

Extremely hidden that after having done some serious reading the stuck me up with a yearly plan I cant get rid of. Dont fall for it, avoid Shutterstock plans.

Have been using Shutterstock for years now, its the same 350 image subscription, when they lower their prices they change the name enough so they can call it a new subscription type, they don't tell their customers the price has lowered and keep them on the higher subscription, they have been overcharging me for years and they won't answer my emails currently.

We’ve been using stock image platforms for over 20 years, and unfortunately Shutterstock has been one of the most frustrating experiences we’ve had.

Their licensing structure is restrictive — particularly around editorial use — unless you upgrade to significantly more expensive tiers. Compared to alternatives like iStock, the value for money simply isn’t there.

Customer service was rigid and policy-driven, with little willingness to apply discretion, even in reasonable circumstances.

Based on our experience, we would recommend looking at iStock or other platforms before committing here.

Avoid this service

Low grade Scum. Your execs should be in jail for your business practices. People please do NOT be tempted to use a company who breaks consumer law, defies cancelled subscriptions and basis a busienss on theft from their clients

Watch out for their auto-renewal, they put you automatically on an opt-out. They've set everything up in a way that you don't see or know it. You don't get any notification that you paid or that you are going to pay/are out of credits.

I've lost about 500 euro's this way.

Misleading “Unlimited” Plan – Feels Like a Scam!

I am extremely disappointed and honestly feel cheated by Shutterstock.

I signed up and paid for what was advertised as an “Unlimited Download” subscription S199/month, expecting full access as promised. However, right after payment, my account was suddenly limited to only 100 assets (photos and videos).

This was NOT clearly explained before I paid. If there was a limit, it should have been made obvious upfront. Calling it “unlimited” while secretly restricting users is completely misleading.

After hitting the 100-download limit, I was blocked from downloading more content — which directly contradicts what they advertised.

This feels like false advertising and a bait-and-switch tactic.

I wasted my time and money trusting this company, only to realize the so-called “unlimited” plan is not truly unlimited at all.

I have requested a full refund because this experience has destroyed my trust in Shutterstock.

To anyone considering subscribing, the marketing is misleading and you may not get what you pay for.

Very frustrating experience. I would not recommend Shutterstock to anyone!

If you have to buy photos that you can only find on Shutterstock, first make sure that you deactivate the automatic "recharging" feature, otherwise once you've used all your credits you will be automatically charged again.
Then be aware that their support team is at best incompetent at worst dishonest (surely the Company policy).
Avoid if you can.

They have predatory charges if you try to cancel the account. Its overpriced and ridiculous but they have to insert these types of predatory fine print to make any money.

Stay away from shutter stock!
They charged me $29 subscription and a $169 earlier cancellation fee without me knowing I was subscribed for a year with a month to month plan. Thank you and you are warned!

I would like to send a check since I don’t xenf money over the internet can you send me an address?

They don't pay their contributors. I have funds that they just won't send to me for my work.

I just told them to keep the money since I tried getting them for over a year now.

Removed all my videos and pictures uploaded with them and moved to other platforms that are actually paying their contributors

I was charged for a Shutterstock subscription even though I never used their services. I didn’t download or access any content, yet the subscription fee was still taken.

The billing and cancellation process is not clearly explained, which makes this experience feel misleading and unfair. Charging customers who receive no value is disappointing, especially given the high price of the service.

I would recommend being very careful when signing up and keeping a close eye on payments. Based on my experience, I wouldn’t use Shutterstock again.

I had no idea I was signing up to a full year with huge cancellation fees or I NEVER would have signed up. I should have cancelled during the trial. What an epic waste of money and definitely deceptive billing practices.

Not a fan of them anymore! they're charging high for a video clip. This company charges over 120 euro for a video download plan.

Very dissatisfied with Shutterstock’s unclear communication regarding image usage rights for artist reference photos.