Shutterstock Reviews 2,736

If I could rate 0 I would. They have 3 contact options listed for customer service and none of them work. What a joke. So sorry I ever signed up

Shutterstock disabled all 5 of my paid plans without any valid explanation. I have contacted support multiple times over the past weeks, but they just gave vague responses like "we're reviewing your case" – and then completely ignored me.

I lost access to my entire account and over $50,000 worth of subscriptions and assets. This is not just unprofessional – it's outright theft. I trusted this platform and invested heavily for long-term use, only to be shut out with no refund, no resolution, and no accountability.

PayPal can't help because the transaction is over 180 days old, and Shutterstock refuses to take any action. This is a serious warning to others: **your account and your money are not safe**.

Avoid Shutterstock at all costs if you value your work and your investment.

As a genuine contributor who has submitted only original work, I’m extremely disappointed with how Shutterstock has handled the suspension of my contributor account.

My account was disabled without warning due to a supposed copyright infringement on one of my photos — a photo I personally took outside my home. I provided several outtakes of the same scene and even offered to take a new photo at the same location with myself included, to prove ownership. Despite this, Shutterstock has failed to give any clear explanation of why the image was flagged or what evidence supported their claim.

The appeals process has been slow, opaque, and disheartening. E-mails are left unanswered, or met with vague responses, and there seems to be no way to engage in a fair or transparent review. I’ve been treated more like a fraudster than a valued contributor, and it's deeply frustrating to have my work dismissed without proper justification.

I would strongly caution any creators considering joining Shutterstock as a contributor. If issues arise, you may find yourself with no support, no communication, and no recourse. And no access to your funds! Creators deserve better.

They advertise an unlimited download plan on Google searches. When you visit the site it says that it's an unlimited plan with unlimited downloads. Then after X amount of downloads it says "you have reached your limit of downloads. You can come back tomorrow." This is a limit. THE OPPOSITE OF UNLIMITED.

I see a class action lawsuit or US penalties coming. I will be making a youtube video on this to raise awareness so no one else gives them money. They are using bait and switch and fraud to make money. This means that one can only assume that this company is run by criminals.

Shutterstock is a scam. The contract is misleading. Good luck getting out if it. Customer service reps are RUDE. If o could give shutterstock a zero I would. Shame in you for taking advantage of artists.

The modern trend of locking ppl into a contract like Adobe is shameful. Most designers are not multi million dollar companies and you guys are just shady and greedy. Also good luck with the customer service

Scammers. Make you believe you’re buying a one off purchase and then they tell you you’re locked into a year contract with high cancellation fees

Do not use this Company - signed up tried to use it but did not work tried to get refund after 15 mins - they refused. TERRIBLE

Are you a professional application? How can you say the original photo is made by AI? The original photo in Maldives beach is said to be AI. I doubt this application. You can't distinguish between the original photo and AI. It's really stupid.

Close to a scam.
I trialed for one-month and when I wanted to cancel my subscription I had to pay 50% for the rest of the annual fee. I felt trapped as I did not have another choice so this was the "softer" way out. From the ~$300 annual subscription I had to pay $175 (tax included), just to avoid monthly charges of $30

Worst company ever! I've paid around $350 this year, but have received no usable content! Every time I try to download something, there's either a watermark or they want to charge me more! HUGE WASTE OF MONEY! Don't waste your time or money on this scam of a company!!!!!!

This company is terrible. I signed up for month to month and somehow ended up on an annual subscription billed month to month. Every time I try to download an image I get an error message and can't download but my credits expire at the end of the month. The catalog is seriously limited. I looked for Herbs and there were 2 images. That was it. Most of the images I'm looking for say sorry we don't have images for that. Unless you like frustration stay away from them

Like some previous reviews... DO NOT SIGN UP! Nowhere did it mention that they were trapping you into a year contract! And you pay extra to cancel! Don't do it!

AVOID! I signed up to shutterstock, only intending to use it for a short time for a project. Then when I went to cancel, they told me I was cancelling early and charged me £70 to cancel. On top of this, I don't get to use the credit I have paid for. This is a scam company- they don't make it clear what you're signing up to and I feel completely ripped off. I would have used this company again but now, I never ever will due to the underhand way it has approached my cancellation. Unacceptable, poor business ethics- making money by conning people into signing up to something they don't realise they are signing up to.

AVOID, DO NOT SIGN!!!!!

Don't know how it happened but I unknowingly signed up for a subscription, then I thought that i canceled my subscription but they took money out of my account and they make it very hard to cancel. Opened up a chat with an agent and during a long discussion Tatiana just cut me off.

DO NOT SIGN UP FOR ANYTHING WITH THIS COMPANY!!!

So far, not very impressed. I have enquired about what my rights are regarding images, bought for the purpose of Artist reference photos, so as not to run into copyrights issues, but the responses from shutterstock, seem almost, deliberately obtuse, encouraging me to purchase enhanced licenses, but they will not clarify what my rights of usage are. I am consequently, already feeling dubious as to whether I would trust them or not. I have sought clarification and will update this review, if my experience improves.

Very good experience. Purchased 50 images for month to month, no contract price of £75 (plus VAT). Many coupon codes floating around can bring the price down. Much better value than similar iStock plan (£109) or Adobe Stock (£60 for 40 images, so same price per download but you have to pay more for premium images). Was able to cancel contract afterwards in my account dashboard no problem, and licenses are for forever. Excellent variety of high quality photos. Excellent search and reverse search (i.e. upload a photo to see if they have it or similar ones) features. Lots of additional features to edit images and AI that I didn't need. User experience very simple, elegant and easy to use.

I wanted one picture and now I am stuck with one year subscription, this is nonsense. Avoid in all causes!!!

Dishonest company took renewals for 7 years on an account that was unused never once emailed to say they are renewing, now they ignore emails and never repond

Shocking company! Used only one image and signed us in for a year! Went to cancel and charged us £85 for the privilege ! Avoid this company at all costs !!!!!