Exclusive vs non-exclusive stock footage

Exclusivity by agency

The table compares the published terms for video, read on 12 October 2026. "Share" is your percentage of each license; the price it applies to varies by plan and agency.

Pond5: the Exclusive Video Artist Program

Pond5 pays non-exclusive video contributors 30% of net revenue and exclusive ones 40%. Its program page defines exclusive content as content "unavailable for sale on any marketplace other than Pond5 or Shutterstock". The contributor agreement, in force since 15 January 2025, sets the details:

• Scope: enrollment applies to all video footage Pond5 has accepted from you, and to "Similar Footage": any video from the same shoot or similar to an enrolled clip. You cannot keep one series exclusive and sell the rest elsewhere.
• Removal: your video and similar footage must be off all other marketplaces when you enroll. Pond5 offers a two-week grace period to clear them.
• Shutterstock: the agreement states that Shutterstock and its group of companies do not count as an "Other Marketplace".
• Exit: at least 180 days’ written notice. Until then, every accepted clip stays under the exclusivity terms.
• Other media: the program covers video only. Music, sound effects, photos, illustrations and templates pay 30% either way.

If your clips are already only on Pond5 and Shutterstock, Pond5 says the upgrade is immediate and your rate changes to 40%. How Pond5 sets the price that the 30% or 40% applies to is covered in Pond5 pricing for contributors.

iStock: exclusive by file type

Getty’s exclusivity page says that for the file types you are exclusive for, you "cannot license any of that type of content on a royalty-free basis elsewhere". Exclusive for video, your clips leave Shutterstock, Adobe Stock and Pond5; your photos can stay if you are not exclusive for photos.

The minimum price line matters for subscription sales: your percentage applies to at least that price. To apply, you open a support ticket under Agreement, then Apply to become Exclusive; Getty normally asks for around 50 files that show consistent quality. You must remove your files from competitor sites before the exclusive contract is activated, and the exclusive rate starts on the first day of the following month. Getty lists other benefits for exclusives: priority inspection, access to briefs and custom content, a rewards program, and exclusive content offered to all Getty Images customers.

Shutterstock and Adobe Stock: non-exclusive

Shutterstock says it "does not offer an exclusive program" and that you may sell your work on any other site. Its exclusivity policy adds one condition: if you agree to exclusivity elsewhere, you cannot sell that same content on Shutterstock. Pond5’s program avoids the conflict by allowing Shutterstock; iStock video exclusivity does not.

Adobe describes Adobe Stock as "a non-exclusive platform, meaning you can sell your content elsewhere, too", and pays 35% of the net price of each video license. Its Supplemental Work Addendum is the exception: when Adobe requests content and the request expressly asks for exclusive work, you grant Adobe an exclusive license to what it accepts, paid at the amount offered.

What exclusivity does to your pay

No agency publishes how many more licenses an exclusive clip sells, so the only published effect is the change in share. On that basis, and assuming your number of sales and their prices stay the same, the arithmetic is short.

A worked case on stated numbers: suppose your clips earned $300 last year on Pond5 non-exclusive and $150 on Adobe Stock, with nothing on iStock. Exclusive at Pond5 with the same sales, Pond5 would pay $400, a gain of $100, and you would lose the $150 from Adobe. Net, $50 less. With $60 from Adobe instead, the move would gain $40. The numbers are hypotheses chosen to show the test; your dashboards give the real ones.

One effect sits outside this arithmetic: sales volume. Getty says exclusive content is offered to all Getty Images customers, and Pond5 lists more earning potential through its reseller and partner programs, but neither publishes by how much. Treat any volume gain as a bonus you cannot yet measure. The stock footage earnings calculator runs both scenarios with your own sales.

Which one fits you

The agency-by-agency comparisons are in Pond5 vs Shutterstock, iStock vs Shutterstock and Adobe Stock vs Pond5. What each share means per sale is in how much you can make selling stock footage.