ProRes or H.264 for stock footage?

Codecs each agency accepts

Each agency publishes its own list. Two codecs appear on all three: ProRes and H.264. Inside a .mov container, either one passes the codec check everywhere.

ProRes vs H.264 for stock footage

Some background first, which no agency spells out. ProRes compresses each frame on its own; the 422 family stores 10-bit 4:2:2 color and keeps a lot of data per second. H.264, as cameras and most exports use it, compresses across groups of frames, usually at 8 bits and 4:2:0, and produces much smaller files. ProRes holds up better to grading and re-encoding; H.264 is quicker to upload and cheaper to store.

Adobe’s page on its Premiere export presets gives the clearest rule any agency publishes:

• ProRes “is preferred by Contributors and customers on Adobe Stock,” and every Adobe Stock QuickTime preset uses ProRes 422 HQ.
• Use ProRes when the source is 10-bit or higher and uses 4:2:2 or higher color subsampling.
• Use H.264 when the source was captured at 8-bit or 4:2:0.
• Do not export a lower-spec source to ProRes to improve it: “Putting 8-bit files in 10-bit containers does not give them 10 bits of color.” It only makes the file bigger.

The other two agencies point the same way. Shutterstock says it is best to capture in the desired codec from the start, and that transcoding to an accepted codec “may introduce compression.” Pond5 ranks unmodified camera files first and warns that “compression causes banding and artifacting.” Recompress as little as you can.

File size limits: what fits in a minute

The codec decides whether a clip fits under each agency’s cap: 10 GB at Shutterstock, 3,900 MB at Adobe Stock, and at Pond5 3 GB for HD and vertical footage, 5 GB for 4K to 6K and 6 GB for 8K. Getty Images allows 6 GB. The table converts published data rates into the size of a 60-second clip.

Two limits follow from the table. At Adobe, a UHD clip in ProRes 422 HQ tops out at about 44 seconds at 24 fps and 35 seconds at 30 fps. At Pond5, a 4K vertical clip falls under the 3 GB vertical cap, which ProRes 422 HQ fills in about 34 seconds at 24 fps. When a clip is too heavy, trim it first, then step down from 422 HQ to 422 or LT, and keep H.264 for when nothing else fits.

One older Shutterstock article on noise still asks you to compress “as little as possible while staying under the 4GB limit.” The technical requirements page, updated in December 2025, says 10 GB; follow that one.

H.265, Motion JPEG and other edge cases

• H.265 (HEVC). Shutterstock accepts it but does not recommend it “at this time due to a known HDR compatibility issue.” Pond5 accepts it. Adobe’s list names ProRes, H.264, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, Motion JPEG and PNG, and not H.265. For one upload set, re-encode HEVC phone and drone files to H.264 at a high bitrate.
• Motion JPEG and Photo JPEG. Adobe accepts Motion JPEG; Pond5 refuses it but accepts Photo JPEG; Shutterstock lists PhotoJPEG at the 75% quality level. They are different codecs, so check the exact name in your export settings.
• AVI. Pond5 refuses it and asks you to convert to MOV or MP4. It is not on Shutterstock’s or Adobe’s container lists either.
• Alpha channels. Shutterstock takes PNG for clips that need transparency, and its alpha article describes a second route: export the picture, then a black-and-white luma matte right after it, as one video.
• Silent audio tracks. Adobe notes that deleting audio from the timeline still leaves a silent track in the export. Untick audio in the export settings instead.
• UHD versus DCI. Exporting UHD footage with a 4K DCI preset adds black bars on the sides, “which results in automatic rejection,” according to Adobe. Match the preset to the source size.

One export for all three agencies

For a single master file per clip that every published list accepts:

1. a .mov container;
2. ProRes 422 HQ or 422 for 10-bit 4:2:2 sources, H.264 at a high bitrate for 8-bit or 4:2:0 sources;
3. the native resolution, with no upscaling, and a frame rate on all three lists (see the frame rate guide);
4. LOG footage graded to Rec. 709: Adobe asks for a simple grade, and Shutterstock prefers Rec. 709;
5. no audio track;
6. under 3,900 MB for Adobe, and under 3 GB for an HD or vertical clip headed to Pond5.

Pond5 alone would rather have the untouched camera file, but one graded master saves you from managing two versions. The video spec checker reads the codec, frame rate, resolution and size from a file and compares them with each agency’s list, and the stock video requirements page sets every other rule side by side.