Stock footage upload software, compared

What we compared

“Best” depends on how you work, so this page sets out facts you can check instead of a score. Each tool is described on the same five points, all read on its own site:

1. Agencies: how many it lists, and whether Shutterstock, Adobe Stock and Pond5 are among them.
2. Video: whether its own pages mention video files, and how.
3. System: Windows, Mac, Linux or browser.
4. Price model: free tier, subscription, one-time licence or commission on sales.
5. Upload route: FTP-type transfer from your computer, or transfer from the vendor’s servers.

Keywording quality is left out on purpose: it is compared tool by tool in keywording tools for stock footage, compared.

Stock footage upload software, compared

Of the five third-party tools, Microstock Plus, Xpiks and SendStock AI name video files on their own pages. None of the pages we read describes a video-specific workflow, such as reading several frames of a clip or writing a different title length per agency. Test three real clips on a free tier before you pay: one 4K, one vertical, one with a long file name.

FTP, web or server: how files reach the agency

Every uploader uses a door the agency already opens to contributors. Knowing which one tells you what a tool can do for video, and what you can do with no tool at all.

A desktop tool like Xpiks or SendStock AI sends files over one of these routes from your own connection. Check that the protocol matches: Shutterstock asks for FTPS, which Xpiks lists and SendStock AI’s pricing page does not. Microstock Plus works differently: your files are delivered to each agency “from our servers”, and it keeps your agency passwords “on a remote server in the encrypted form”. StockSubmitter says it keeps passwords on your computer only. Agencies also cap how much video you can send each week; the numbers are in upload limits by agency.

Services that upload for you

A distributor takes your files once and places them at agencies under its own arrangements, for a share of the sales. Three names come up for footage, in very different states as of October 2026.

What changed at Wirestock, and what its contributors can do now, is on Wirestock alternatives. dropstock.io’s home page says it is “rethinking the platform” and asks users to check back.

Tools that fill forms but do not send files

Some tools stop one step short of the upload. AutoKeyWorder is a Chrome extension that, per its home page, reads each image and fills the title and keywords on the upload page of Adobe Stock, Shutterstock, Freepik and other sites. You still upload the file yourself. Web keyworders that return a CSV per agency work the same way; they are compared in the keywording guide linked above.

Choosing microstock submission software for video

• You work on Windows and send to many agencies: StockSubmitter lists 40. Its free plan is enough to test video on a few clips. More on its limits in StockSubmitter alternatives.
• You work on a Mac or Linux: Xpiks runs on all three systems and uploads by FTP, SFTP or FTPS. Its documentation says little about video; see Xpiks alternatives.
• Your connection is slow: Microstock Plus delivers from its servers once your files reach it.
• You want AI metadata and FTP upload in one app with a free tier: SendStock AI’s free desktop app includes FTP and SFTP upload; check FTPS before relying on it for Shutterstock.
• You would rather hand off everything: BlackBox, for footage, against a commission.
• You send a few clips a week: the agencies’ own web forms and an FTP client may be all you need.

How the whole chain fits together, from folder to approval, is on the automating stock footage uploads page.

Where RushPilot fits

RushPilot is a desktop app for stock video contributors, in private beta. You cannot download it today; you can join the waiting list.

It is narrower than the tools above: video only, 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 such as resolution, duration, logos and upscaling, and waits for your approval before it uploads. It does not handle photos or vectors, and it does not send to the other agencies these tools list.