iStock vs Shutterstock for video contributors

iStock vs Shutterstock for contributors at a glance

Royalty rates: download targets against yearly levels

Both agencies reset a counter on January 1, and both raise your share as the count grows. The difference is who has a counter. At Shutterstock, every contributor does. At iStock, only exclusive contributors do: a non-exclusive contributor earns the same 20% on video whatever the volume.

The fine print differs as well.

• iStock: a higher download target pays the higher rate on new licenses from the following month. Downloads count across iStock and Getty Images channels, and a Signature Plus download counts as two. The total you end the year on sets your starting rate for the next year, which can move up or down.
• iStock subscriptions: your percentage applies to a minimum price per file. For video, that minimum is $0.10 non-exclusive; exclusive, it is $0.75 for Essentials clips and $10.00 for Signature or Signature+ clips.
• Shutterstock: each download is paid at the level you hold when it happens, and the count restarts every January 1, for everyone.

On these numbers, a non-exclusive contributor who sells 50 video licenses a year or fewer at Shutterstock gets a share at or below iStock’s 20%. From the 51st license, Shutterstock’s share passes it. Rates for every agency are compared in how much stock footage earns, and the earnings calculator runs your own figures.

Exclusivity: the real fork in the road

Shutterstock has no exclusive program. Its policy page (13 September 2025) says you keep your copyright and may sell anywhere, then adds the catch: if you agree to exclusivity elsewhere, you cannot sell that same content on Shutterstock or any other platform.

Getty’s exclusivity page sets out what iStock exclusivity involves:

• It applies by file type. Exclusive for video, you cannot license any video on a royalty-free basis elsewhere.
• Getty normally asks for around 50 files in your portfolio when you apply.
• You may apply first, but must remove your files from competitor sites before the exclusive contract starts.
• Exclusive creators get priority inspection, access to briefs and custom content, a rewards program, and their exclusive content offered to all Getty Images customers.

So the question is less “iStock or Shutterstock” than “iStock exclusive or everyone else”. Non-exclusive at iStock, you can upload the same clip to both. Exclusive for video at iStock, your clips leave Shutterstock, Adobe Stock and Pond5.

Video rules each one publishes

The length rule shapes the edit. A 50-second shot fits Shutterstock as is, while Getty suggests 30 seconds unless the action needs more. Getty’s advice is to let the action set the length and leave room for the editor. The full Shutterstock list is on the Shutterstock requirements page.

What Getty keeps behind the login

Getty’s public “Preparing your content” article links to the “complete video technical requirements”. On 11 October 2026, that article redirected to the contributor sign-in page. We do not use third-party copies of these rules, so here is what a non-member cannot read:

• accepted containers and codecs;
• resolutions and aspect ratios, vertical included;
• frame rates, so whether 48 fps passes is unknown;
• title, description and keyword limits;
• whether an upload limit applies, which the public pages do not mention.

The rate card, by contrast, is public. The iStock rate card effective July 1, 2026 sits on an open article, which is why the royalty table above can be exact.

AI content and data licensing

Neither agency accepts AI-generated content from contributors. Getty names Stable Diffusion, Dall-E 2 and Midjourney, and says the rule does not prevent 3D renders or digital editing tools. Shutterstock does not accept AI-generated content either.

Training data is where they differ on paper. Shutterstock licenses contributor content as datasets for computer vision and machine learning, and pays a 20% average royalty on that revenue through its Contributor Fund. You can turn data licensing off, with separate toggles for images and video, in your account settings. The Getty contributor pages read for this guide do not describe a data licensing program or an opt-out; check your agreement inside the account. More in stock footage and AI training licenses.

Two companies, no merger

Getty Images and Shutterstock agreed to merge, then did not. Getty’s Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2026 says the UK Competition and Markets Authority required the sale of Shutterstock’s entire editorial business, Getty’s board decided on June 30, 2026 not to pursue it, and Getty sent written notice terminating the agreement on July 7, 2026.

For contributors, that keeps two portals, two rate structures and two sets of rules. To join iStock, Getty’s application page asks for six original samples, not made or modified with generative AI; if they are accepted, you sign a non-exclusive agreement with Getty Images (US), Inc. Royalties are paid in US dollars through Payoneer or PayPal.

Which one to choose

Most contributors who stay non-exclusive upload to both, and add Adobe Stock and Pond5. All four are compared in the best sites to sell stock footage.