Adobe Stock categories and their numbers

The Adobe Stock categories list has 21 entries, and the CSV wants a number instead of a name. Here is each category with its number and Adobe's description, how to pick one for a video clip, and the CSV rules for the Category column.

By RushPilotUpdated 11 October 2026Rules checked against official sources on 11 October 2026

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Adobe Stock categories list with numbers

Adobe's current category page, last updated on 11 June 2026, describes 21 categories and lists what each one is best for. The numbers come from an earlier version of the same page (see below). Descriptions are summarized from Adobe's.

Adobe Stock categories with their CSV numbers
No.	Category	Adobe's description	Best for (per Adobe)
1	Animals	Animals, insects or pets, domestic or wild	Wildlife, pets
2	Buildings and Architecture	Homes, interiors, offices, temples, barns, factories, shelters	Architecture, interior design, urban scenes
3	Business	People in business settings, offices, business concepts, finance, money	Corporate settings, meetings, workflows, finance
4	Drinks	Beer, wine, spirits and other beverages	Cocktails, coffee culture, bartending, brewing
5	The Environment	Nature, or the places where people work and live	Sustainability, weather, climate, natural settings
6	States of Mind	People's emotions and inner experiences	Abstract concepts, mental health, meditation, emotion
7	Food	Food and eating	Ingredients, recipes, dining, food preparation
8	Graphic Resources	Backgrounds, textures and symbols	Design elements, patterns, digital assets
9	Hobbies and Leisure	Pastimes such as knitting, model building and sailing	Recreation, crafts, relaxation
10	Industry	Work and manufacturing: automotive, steel, clothing, energy	Factories, production, construction, energy
11	Landscape	Vistas, cities, nature and other locations	Scenic views, cityscapes, destinations
12	Lifestyle	People at home, at work and at play	Daily life, family scenes, social activities
13	People	People of all ages, ethnicities, cultures, genders and abilities	Portraits, human subjects
14	Plants and Flowers	Close-ups of the natural world	Botanical shots, gardens, nature details
15	Culture and Religion	Traditions, beliefs and cultures worldwide	Celebrations, ceremonies, heritage
16	Science	Applied, natural, medical and theoretical sciences	Research, medical imagery, lab work
17	Social Issues	Poverty, inequality, politics, violence	Activism, awareness, societal challenges
18	Sports	Sports and fitness: football, basketball, hunting, yoga, skiing	Athletics, fitness, competitions, training
19	Technology	Computers, smartphones, virtual reality and other tools	Devices, software, connectivity
20	Transport	Cars, buses, trains, planes and highway systems	Vehicles, logistics, infrastructure
21	Travel	Destinations, cultures, travel gear, global lifestyles, landmarks	Tourism, exploration, adventure, journeys

Adobe publishes one category list for all content types. The current page writes names in sentence case (Buildings and architecture); the numbered list used title case.

Where the numbers come from

The current help page lists the categories without numbers. The numbers come from the previous version of that page, last updated on 13 September 2021 and titled "Adobe Stock categories by number", which gave the same 21 categories as a numbered list in the same order. We read it in a Wayback Machine copy of 6 December 2025, since the old address no longer serves the page.

Adobe's CSV template, which the server reports as last modified on 2 October 2026, tells you to "enter the number matching the category in the upload-CSV dialog". That dialog sits behind the contributor login. The order on the public pages has not changed since 2021, but check the dialog once before your first large CSV. A mismatch would file every clip in the wrong category without any error.

Choosing a category for a video clip

Adobe's video upload page puts category next to title and keywords as the metadata to fill in: "Choose the category that best describes the subject of the video." Its category page adds three rules:

Consider the primary subject, but also context, mood and intent.
Be accurate: choose the category that matches the theme, "not just the most popular option".
If no category is a perfect fit, select the closest one to the core subject.

When you upload, Adobe's system (Adobe Sensei) suggests a category from the content. Adobe calls the suggestion "a great starting point" and asks you to double-check it and pick another from the drop-down menu if it fits better.

Adobe's video overview lists themes in high demand for footage. Here is how they line up with the categories; the mapping is ours, based on Adobe's descriptions.

Adobe's high-demand video themes and the categories that match them
Theme named by Adobe	Likely categories
Lifestyle and people in action	Lifestyle (12), People (13)
Nature and landscapes	The Environment (5), Landscape (11), Animals (1)
Business and technology	Business (3), Technology (19), Industry (10)
Health and wellness	Sports (18), Science (16), Lifestyle (12)
Travel and culture	Travel (21), Culture and Religion (15), Transport (20)
Abstract and conceptual motion	Graphic Resources (8), States of Mind (6)

Adobe also names vertical 9:16 video as a theme. Vertical is a format, so it has no category: describe it in the title and keywords.

Categories that overlap

Several Adobe categories cover similar ground, and a clip can only go in one. These are the pairs that come up most with footage, with the deciding question.

Overlapping Adobe Stock categories and how to decide
Pair	Decide by asking
Landscape (11) or The Environment (5)	Is the view the subject, or a climate, weather or sustainability theme?
Landscape (11) or Travel (21)	Would a buyer use it to sell a destination? Then Travel.
Lifestyle (12) or People (13)	Is the person doing an everyday activity, or is the person the subject?
Business (3) or Lifestyle (12)	Is the setting an office or a business concept?
Plants and Flowers (14) or The Environment (5)	Is it a close-up of a plant, or a wider natural setting?
Food (7) or Drinks (4)	What is in focus: the dish or the glass?

The category narrows a search; the title and the first keywords do the matching. Adobe weighs the first ten keywords most, as explained in Adobe Stock keyword order.

The Category column in the CSV

The Adobe Stock CSV has five columns in a fixed order: Filename, Title, Keywords, Category, Releases. Category is the fourth.

Rules for the Category column
Rule	What Adobe says
Required?	No. Filename, Title and Keywords are the required columns
Recommended?	Yes: "we highly recommend that you add categories" (earlier CSV page)
Value	The number of the one category that best describes the content
Length limit	None stated ("Not applicable")
Empty cell	Allowed, since the column is optional

A row for a clip of a train crossing a bridge looks like this, with 20 for Transport:

Filename,Title,Keywords,Category,Releases
train_bridge_0001.mov,Freight train crossing a steel bridge,"train, bridge, railway, freight, transport, steel, river",20,

The number needs no quotes. The keyword list does, because it contains commas. The rest of the format, from the 30-character file name to UTF-8 encoding, is in the Adobe Stock CSV guide, and the clip itself has to meet the Adobe Stock video requirements.

Adobe Stock and Shutterstock categories compared

If you send the same clips to both agencies, the category step is done twice, in two different formats.

Categories at Adobe Stock and Shutterstock
Point	Adobe Stock	Shutterstock
Number of categories	21	26, of which 19 are available for video
Categories per file	1	1 required, 1 optional
Required	No, but recommended	Yes, at least 1
CSV value	A number, 1 to 21	The category name, 2 separated by a comma
Suggestion at upload	Yes, a suggested category	Keyword suggestions; categories not mentioned

Shutterstock's full list, with the seven categories it keeps for images only, is in Shutterstock video categories.

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]Adobe Stock: Choose the right category for your content · page updated 11 Jun 2026
[2]Adobe Stock: Choose the right category (earlier version, "Adobe Stock categories by number")Adobe page dated 13 Sep 2021, read in the Wayback Machine copy of 6 December 2025. Source of the numbers 1 to 21.
[3]Adobe Stock: CSV requirements · page updated 11 Jun 2026
[4]Adobe Stock sample CSV template (Sample_Adobe_Stock_CSV_upload.csv)CSV file with no displayed date; the server reports it as last modified on 2 October 2026. Downloaded on 11 October 2026.
[5]Adobe Stock: Organize with CSV files (earlier version)Adobe page dated 8 May 2024, read in the Wayback Machine copy of 17 May 2026. Source of the advice to add categories.
[6]Adobe Stock: Submit videos to Adobe Stock · page updated 11 Jun 2026
[7]Adobe Stock: Video submission overview · page updated 11 Jun 2026

Questions

How many categories does Adobe Stock have?

21. Adobe uses the same list for photos, illustrations, vectors and video; no separate list for video was found.

What number is each Adobe Stock category in the CSV?

1 Animals, 2 Buildings and Architecture, 3 Business, 4 Drinks, 5 The Environment, 6 States of Mind, 7 Food, 8 Graphic Resources, 9 Hobbies and Leisure, 10 Industry, 11 Landscape, 12 Lifestyle, 13 People, 14 Plants and Flowers, 15 Culture and Religion, 16 Science, 17 Social Issues, 18 Sports, 19 Technology, 20 Transport, 21 Travel.

Can I choose two categories on Adobe Stock?

No. The CSV's Category column takes the number of the one category that best describes the content, and the portal offers a single drop-down. Shutterstock, by contrast, allows two.

Is the category required on Adobe Stock?

Not in the CSV, where Category is an optional column. Adobe still recommends adding one, and its video upload page lists category with title and keywords as the metadata to fill in.

Do I type the category name or the number in the CSV?

The number. Adobe's CSV page says to enter the number of the category, and its template points to the number shown in the Upload CSV dialog.

Does Adobe pick a category for me?

It suggests one. When you upload, Adobe's system suggests a category from the content. Adobe calls it a starting point and asks you to check it and change it if another one fits better.

Which category should a drone clip go in?

The one that matches the main subject. A coastline could be Landscape (11) or Travel (21), a city at night Landscape (11) or Buildings and Architecture (2), a herd of animals Animals (1).