Wirestock alternatives for stock footage

If you used Wirestock to reach stock agencies, you need a Wirestock alternative: since January 20, 2026, its terms stop sending new content to Shutterstock, Adobe Stock, Pond5 and the other marketplaces. Here is what the terms say word for word, what it means for your clips, and the options for footage, each from official pages.

By RushPilotUpdated 13 October 2026Rules checked against official sources on 13 October 2026

On this page

What Wirestock changed in 2026

Wirestock used to take your files once and distribute them to stock agencies for a 15% share of the royalties. Its Terms of Use, effective January 20, 2026, end that for new content. The exact text, as read on 13 October 2026:

“starting January 20, 2026, Wirestock will not license or otherwise provide to the content marketplaces any New Content you submit to Wirestock (“New Content” is defined as Content you first submit to Wirestock after January 20, 2026). Any Content submitted by you to Wirestock prior to January 20, 2026, which was licensed by Wirestock to the content marketplaces, will continue to be governed by these Terms.”

The same terms name Shutterstock, Adobe Stock, Alamy, Dreamstime, Depositphotos and Pond5 as examples of content marketplaces. Two other changes followed.

Wirestock’s changes, from its terms and blog
Date	Source	What changed
January 20, 2026	Terms of Use	No new content to the content marketplaces; every submission joins the Dataset Deals Program, with “no option to opt out”
April 9, 2026	Blog post	Portfolio and Marketplace retired; approved content moved to Paid per sale projects; unapproved content removed; Premium plans discontinued and refunded
As of October 2026	Home page	Presents Wirestock as “premium multimodal data” for AI labs, with paid projects for creators

What it means for Wirestock contributors

New footage does not reach the agencies through Wirestock. Its video page still invites “original videos, clips, or drone footage”, but approved clips are paid “when your approved content is licensed as part of a collection”, inside Wirestock.
Everything you submit can go into AI datasets. The terms say: “If you do not want your Content to participate in the Dataset Deals Program do not submit it to Wirestock.” You receive your fractional share of 50% of a dataset payment, or an amount Wirestock sets for bundled deals.
Older content can stay at the agencies. Content licensed to marketplaces before January 20, 2026 remains under the terms, at 85% of the royalty to you.
Unapproved submissions are gone. The April post says content “submitted but never approved will be removed from the platform”, so keep your own copies and metadata.

How this compares with BlackBox, line by line, is in Wirestock vs BlackBox. How the agencies themselves handle AI training is covered in AI training licenses for stock footage.

Leaving Wirestock: what the terms say

If you want your older clips withdrawn from the marketplaces so you can sell them yourself, you close your Wirestock account, and the terms set the timing:

Account closure: “no later than 120 days” after Wirestock receives your written request.
Removal from the marketplaces: 90 days for up to 100 items, 30 more days for each extra 100. The terms’ own example: 350 items, 150 days. Where a marketplace takes six months or more, up to one year.
What survives: licenses already granted to Wirestock’s partners, dataset partners included, for content provided before termination.

The terms add: “You may thereafter be able to initiate a relationship directly with those content marketplaces.” They do not say how an agency treats a clip that Wirestock placed there and that you later upload again yourself.

Wirestock alternatives, compared

Each line comes from the official pages, read on 13 October 2026. The key difference is who holds the agency account and who gets paid by the agency.

Wirestock alternatives for footage, as of 13 October 2026
Option	Agency account	Agencies	Runs on	Published price
Upload directly	Yes. Yours; the agency pays you	Any agency that accepts you	Browser plus an FTP client	Free; you keep the full contributor share
BlackBox	No. BlackBox collects and pays you	Shutterstock, Pond5, Adobe Stock, iStock, DepositPhotos, Freepik, Envato, Canva	Web portal; footage only, approval first	Free membership; 15% of net sales plus about 3% fee
StockSubmitter	Yes. Yours; passwords kept on your computer	40, including Shutterstock, Adobe Stock and Pond5	Windows 10 or newer, 64-bit only	Free (33 submissions a month per agency); €4 to €62.50 a month
Microstock Plus	Yes. Yours; passwords stored encrypted on its server	33, including Shutterstock, Adobe Stock and Pond5	Browser	Free if you never bought a plan and earned under $50
Xpiks	Yes. Yours; upload by FTP, SFTP or FTPS	Any agency with an FTP-type server	macOS, Windows, Linux	€0 (15 files per session), €49 one-time, €99 a year
SendStock AI	Yes. Yours; upload by FTP or SFTP	“50+ platforms supported”	Windows and Mac apps, web app	Free (100 AI requests); Pro $6.99 a month

BlackBox’s FAQ and terms, as read on 13 October 2026, do not mention AI training datasets. The uploaders list video among supported files or agencies, without describing a video-specific workflow.

BlackBox is the closest match to what Wirestock used to do for footage. The uploaders are compared in more detail, with their upload routes, in stock footage upload software, compared.

Uploading to the agencies yourself

Going direct means one contributor account per agency, but no commission on top of the agency’s. The three largest footage agencies each document a bulk route:

Bulk upload routes for video
Agency	Route	Notes from its help page
Shutterstock	FTPS, ftps.shutterstock.com, port 21	Names FileZilla, Cyberduck and WinSCP
Adobe Stock	SFTP, port 22	For qualified accounts; “ideal for bulk uploads and large videos”
Pond5	FTP, ftp.pond5.com	Separate FTP password, at least eight characters

The metadata then goes in through each agency’s form or a CSV file. Doing that for three agencies at once, with their different title and keyword rules, is set out in uploading to several stock agencies.

Where RushPilot fits

RushPilot replaces the part of Wirestock that saved you typing, without the distribution: clips go to your own accounts, and each agency pays you directly. It is a desktop app in private beta, so you cannot download it today; join the waiting list.

It covers video only and three agencies: Shutterstock, Adobe Stock and Pond5. For each clip it looks at a few frames, writes the title, description and keywords to each agency’s rules, checks common rejection reasons, and uploads once you approve. It does not handle photos, illustrations or 3D, and it does not sell to AI datasets on your behalf.

Sources

Official agency pages. Rules change: when in doubt, the agency's own page wins. Spotted an outdated figure? Tell us from the about page.

[1]Wirestock: Terms of Use · page updated 20 Jan 2026Effective date stated in the terms; read on 13 October 2026.
[2]Wirestock blog: What’s New in Wirestock: A Guide for Creators · page updated 9 Apr 2026
[3]Wirestock: home pagePage without a date, read on 13 October 2026.
[4]Wirestock: Sell videos and footagePage without a date, read on 13 October 2026.
[5]BlackBox: FAQPage without a date, read on 13 October 2026.
[6]BlackBox: Terms of Service · page updated 29 Aug 2024
[7]StockSubmitter: home page and pricingPage without a date, read on 13 October 2026.
[8]Microstock Plus: home pagePage without a date, read on 13 October 2026.
[9]Xpiks: home pagePage without a date, read on 13 October 2026.
[10]Xpiks: pricingPage without a date, read on 13 October 2026.
[11]SendStock AI: pricingPage without a date, read on 13 October 2026.
[12]Shutterstock: How do I upload content via FTPS? · page updated 21 Apr 2025
[13]Adobe Stock: Submit videos to Adobe Stock · page updated 11 Jun 2026Read from the Wayback Machine copy of 22 September 2026; the live help center blocks automated access.
[14]Pond5: Using the FTP (File Transfer Protocol) uploader · page updated 5 Nov 2024Read from the Wayback Machine copy of 13 June 2026; the live help center blocks automated access.

Questions

Does Wirestock still send content to Shutterstock and Adobe Stock?

Not for new content. Its Terms of Use say that starting January 20, 2026, Wirestock will not license or otherwise provide to the content marketplaces any content you first submit after that date. The terms name Shutterstock, Adobe Stock, Alamy, Dreamstime, Depositphotos and Pond5 as marketplaces.

What happens to clips I sent to Wirestock before January 20, 2026?

Content submitted before that date and licensed by Wirestock to the marketplaces “will continue to be governed by these Terms”. Wirestock’s April 9, 2026 post adds that previously approved content moves to Paid per sale projects and unapproved content is removed from the platform.

Can I opt out of Wirestock’s AI dataset deals?

Not under the current terms. They say each item you submit automatically joins the Dataset Deals Program and that “there is no option to opt out”. The only way to keep a clip out is not to submit it.

How long does it take to leave Wirestock?

Up to 120 days after a written request. Removal from marketplaces takes 90 days for up to 100 items, 30 more days per extra 100 items, and up to one year where a marketplace is slow. Licenses already granted survive.

What is the closest Wirestock alternative for video?

If you want someone else to place your footage at agencies for a commission, BlackBox works that way: footage only, 8 agencies named in its FAQ, 15% of net sales plus about 3%. If you would rather keep your own agency accounts, upload yourself or with an uploader such as StockSubmitter, Microstock Plus or Xpiks.

Is RushPilot a Wirestock alternative?

For video, partly, and not yet. RushPilot is in private beta. It does not distribute: it prepares clips and uploads them to your own Shutterstock, Adobe Stock and Pond5 accounts, so you keep each agency’s full contributor share.