Shutterstock’s pricing structure is notoriously complicated and has been fundamentally changed three times in the last 16 months. I wrote this guide on Shutterstock video pricing to help you better understand how to buy videos at Shutterstock and whether the price is competitive with the Shutterstock alternatives I recommend. If you use code PHOTUTORIAL15 at checkout, you’ll get 15% off your next purchase at Shutterstock.
How much Shutterstock videos cost
You can buy standard Shutterstock videos with subscriptions or with packs. The Enhanced license is also available with packs. Premium and Editorial videos are available as single purchases, while teams get a Flex subscription that can be used to download anything. Anyone can use our Shutterstock coupon code for 15% off with PHOTUTORIAL15.
| Buying option | Total cost | Cost per video |
|---|---|---|
| Subscriptions (5 to 20 videos) | $79 to $669 per month | $8.33 to $37.80 |
| Packs (Standard) (5 to 25 videos) |
SD: $299 to $1,299 HD: $359 to $1,579 4K: $599 to $2,299 |
$52 to $120 |
| Packs (Enhanced) (5 to 25 videos) |
SD: $669 to $1,699 HD: $729 to $1,949 4K: $969 to $2,669 |
$68 to $194 |
| Select (premium) videos | $349 (a la carte) | $349 |
| Editorial videos | $149 (a la carte) | $149 |
| Flex subscriptions for teams (10 to 66 videos) | $349 to $789 per month | $12 to $35 |
Shutterstock video subscriptions
Shutterstock footage subscriptions (for individuals) are relatively straightforward. Prices vary based on the subscription tier, and whether you choose to pay monthly or commit to yearly (or even yearly prepaid), but not on video resolution—SD, HD, and 4K footage all cost you 1 download credit.
Opting for yearly means you pay less monthly for the same package. The annual (pay upfront) option gives you an additional 20% discount over the annual plan, which is paid monthly. For instance, the tier with 5 video downloads costs $99 per month (annual, billed monthly) but $949 per year with the upfront option, which works out to $79 per month.
| Monthly downloads | Month-to-month | Annual | Annual (pay upfront) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | $189/month | $99/month | $949/year |
| 10 | $359/month | $159/month | $1,599/year |
| 20 | $669/month | $199/month | $1,999/year |
Buying footage through Shutterstock video subscriptions (from $8.33 to $37.80 per video) costs approximately the same as competitors. For instance, at Adobe Stock, you get from 1 to 25 videos for $29.99 to $249.99 per month (from $7.99 to $22.39 per video). At iStock, you will pay $99 per month for 10 videos or $265 for 50 ($5.30 to $10 per video), which is cheaper than Shutterstock and Adobe Stock.
However, buying footage through Shutterstock video plans is still more expensive than unlimited footage subscriptions, like Envato Elements ($16.50 per month), Motion Array ($19.99 per month), or Artlist ($29.99 per month).
Shutterstock video packs
Video packs are an a la carte option with credits valid for up to one year from the purchase date. This makes them a better choice than subscriptions, where downloads don’t roll over month-to-month for users who don’t need to download regularly. However, as a tradeoff, the cost per video is higher with packs.
Unlike subscriptions, video resolution matters with packs. The cost varies based on the pack tier (size), license (Standard or Enhanced), and video resolution (SD, HD, 4K).
| Pack type | Standard License | Enhanced License | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Downloads | SD | HD | 4K | SD | HD | 4K |
| 5 | $299 | $359 | $599 | $669 | $729 | $969 |
| 10 | $549 | $669 | $999 | $919 | $1,039 | $1,369 |
| 25 | $1,229 | $1,579 | $2,299 | $1,669 | $1,949 | $2,669 |
Compared to other services selling footage on-demand, Shutterstock is in the same ballpark. At Pond5, footage costs from $25 onward (up to several thousand, $60 on average), from $64 per video at Adobe Stock, and from $48 at iStock. Depositphotos is much cheaper, with on-demand footage starting at $8 per download.
Shutterstock premium (Select) videos
Shutterstock Select is their premium royalty-free stock footage collection, with contributions from industry professionals using cinema-grade cameras and lenses. This footage is diverse and features authentic lifestyle moments to establish shorts and high-impact action shots. Clips are available in 4K and HD, but not more—for higher resolutions, you’ll need to look at Artlist or Pond5.
Select videos are available as only single purchases, costing $349 per clip. There are no bulk discounts, and footage costs are the same regardless of resolution. At Getty Images, premium footage costs between $150 and $500, depending on the resolution and the number you buy upfront. Stocksy costs between $75 and $400 per clip.
Shutterstock Editorial videos
Shutterstock has a special section of editorial footage—these are the videos that have not been cleared for commercial use. You can use these videos for news articles, archives, publications, documentaries, nonfiction books, and public services content, but not for advertising, merchandise, social media, or promotional articles.
These videos are available as single downloads for $149 per clip. They come with an Editorial license—a rights-managed (single-use) license with an increased indemnity of $25,000 instead of $10K.
FAQs
Why are Shutterstock videos so expensive?
Shutterstock video costs are in line with average industry prices, ranging from $8 to $120 per royalty-free clip and $350 for premium videos. The prices for stock footage are high due to high production costs (videographers need to buy expensive cameras, hire people, and edit videos using expensive software). At the same time, Shutterstock adds at least $10K insurance (indemnity) to every video they license, pays videographers their share, and also covers their own operating costs.
Overall, Shutterstock video prices are fair and competitive. Licensing footage this way will cost less than creating your own.
How to buy Shutterstock videos?
Buying Shutterstock videos is easy and won’t take longer than a minute or two. You can either start by purchasing a plan first, if you already know what you need or first find videos and buy a plan at the checkout, depending on what you selected. Here’s how to do the former because by doing it vice versa, you can’t select subscriptions:
- Navigate to shutterstock.com/pricing/video and select a video plan.
- Click the Buy now button and create an account.
- Enter your payment information and confirm.
- Navigate to shutterstock.com/video and enter a keyword in the search bar.
- Narrow down the results using Filters sidebar or swapping between “Standard”, “Premium”, and “Editorial” in the secondary menu.
- Find a video you like and click the download icon.
