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Pixabay VS Shutterstock

Compare Pixabay VS Shutterstock and see what are their differences

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Pixabay logo Pixabay

Over 270,000 free photos, vectors and art illustrations

Shutterstock logo Shutterstock

Shutterstock is a provider of stock photos, illustrations, and vector art. The website allows individuals to purchase a subscription and download copyrighted art for creative projects. Read more about Shutterstock.
  • Pixabay Landing page
    Landing page //
    2018-11-21
  • Shutterstock Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-20

Pixabay features and specs

  • Free to Use
    Pixabay offers a vast collection of high-quality images, videos, and music, all free to use even for commercial purposes. No attribution is required, which makes it very user-friendly.
  • High-Quality Content
    The platform provides high-resolution images and videos, ensuring that users have access to top-notch media assets suitable for various projects.
  • User-Friendly Interface
    The website is easy to navigate, with a clean layout and efficient search functionality, making it simple for users to find exactly what they are looking for.
  • Diverse Collection
    Pixabay hosts a broad range of media types, including photos, illustrations, vector graphics, videos, and music, catering to a wide array of creative needs.
  • Community-Driven
    The platform is supported by a community of contributors who regularly upload new content, ensuring the repository stays fresh and up-to-date.
  • Safe for Work
    Pixabay has strict guidelines on content that is uploaded, ensuring that the images and videos are safe for work and suitable for all audiences.

Possible disadvantages of Pixabay

  • Limited Niche Content
    While Pixabay offers a wide variety of general content, it may lack more specialized or niche media, which might be available on premium stock websites.
  • Attribution Encouraged
    Although not strictly required, attribution is encouraged. Some users may find this a minor inconvenience if they prefer not to acknowledge the source.
  • Inconsistent Quality
    Due to the community-driven nature of the platform, the quality of user-uploaded content can sometimes be inconsistent, requiring users to sift through lower quality images to find the best ones.
  • Competing Paid Content
    Pixabay often displays sponsored images from paid stock image sites like Shutterstock, which might persuade users to consider premium options even when looking for free content.
  • Legal Ambiguity
    Despite images being free to use, there can occasionally be legal ambiguities with regard to model releases or trademarks, putting a burden on the user to ensure compliance.

Shutterstock features and specs

  • Large Library
    Shutterstock offers millions of high-quality images, videos, and music tracks, providing a diverse and extensive selection for users.
  • Search Functionality
    Advanced search and filtering options make it easy to find exactly what you're looking for quickly.
  • Flexible Pricing Plans
    A variety of subscription plans and on-demand options allow users to select a payment method that fits their budget and needs.
  • High-Quality Content
    Stringent quality controls ensure that users have access to professional and high-resolution media.
  • Royalty-Free License
    All content is royalty-free, providing users with the peace of mind of knowing they can use the media without ongoing costs.
  • User-Friendly Interface
    The platform is designed to be intuitive and easy to navigate, even for those who are not tech-savvy.
  • API Access
    Shutterstock provides API access for businesses that need to integrate media directly into their own applications.

Possible disadvantages of Shutterstock

  • Cost
    Shutterstock can be relatively expensive, especially for individuals or small businesses with limited budgets.
  • Subscription Limitations
    Some subscription plans have limits on the number of downloads per month, which can be restrictive for high-demand users.
  • Stock Feel
    Some users feel that the images and videos can have a 'stock' or generic appearance, which may not suit all creative projects.
  • Watermarked Previews
    Previews of media assets have watermarks, making it difficult to fully assess an image's suitability before purchase.
  • Occasional Inconsistency
    Despite quality controls, there can be occasional inconsistency in the quality of available media.
  • Overused Content
    Popular images and videos may be widely used across multiple platforms, reducing originality in projects.
  • Complex Licensing for Commercial Use
    While content is royalty-free, licensing terms for commercial use can sometimes be complex and require careful review.

Analysis of Shutterstock

Overall verdict

  • Yes, Shutterstock is considered a good resource for individuals and businesses seeking diverse and quality digital media assets.

Why this product is good

  • Shutterstock provides a vast collection of high-quality images, videos, and music tracks, catering to a wide range of creative and commercial needs. It offers flexible licensing options and easy-to-use tools for editing and customizing content. The platform is known for its reliability and the comprehensiveness of its library.

Recommended for

  • Graphic designers looking for stock images and vectors.
  • Content creators needing royalty-free music and video clips.
  • Marketing professionals seeking visuals for campaigns.
  • Web developers requiring images for websites and mobile apps.
  • Businesses of all sizes in need of customizable and scalable media solutions.

Pixabay videos

+ Add

Copyright Free Videos & Images From Pixabay

More videos:

  • Review - Using Pixabay - Royalty Free Images
  • Review - Why I dont trust Google and Pixabay on Free for Commercial Use

Shutterstock videos

+ Add

How Much Money Can You Make on SHUTTERSTOCK in Your First Year? Earnings, Best Sellers, and Thoughts

More videos:

  • Review - Stock Photography for Beginners | Is Shutterstock Worth it in 2020?
  • Tutorial - Shutterstock Contributor Tutorial and Tips for Beginners

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Pixabay and Shutterstock)

Pixabay

Shutterstock

Image Marketplace
70 70%
Image Marketplace
30% 30
Photos & Graphics
60 60%
Photos & Graphics
40% 40
Vector Art
78 78%
Vector Art
22% 22
Stock Images
56 56%
Stock Images
44% 44

User comments

Share your experience with using Pixabay and Shutterstock. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Pixabay and Shutterstock

Pixabay Reviews

12 Best Sites Like Freepik For Downloading Photos
Pixabay is a vibrant community of creatives where thousands of users from all around the world share content. Unlike most sites out there, the content available at Pixabay is 100% safe to use. Not only content shared are copyright free but also released under the Pixabay License. At Pixabay, you get to choose from over 2.6 million+ high-quality stock images, videos, and...
Source: www.devdude.com
Freepik Alternatives: 10 Sites Like Freepik for Free
Freepik similar website, Pixabay, has a talented community that has shared more than 4.2 million excellent stock images, videos, and music for everyone to use. Pixabay is a cheerful group of creative people who share free images, music, videos, and more. Everything on Pixabay can be used without asking or giving credit to the artist, and it’s even okay for some business...
Source: mockey.ai

Shutterstock Reviews

12 Best Sites Like Freepik For Downloading Photos
You must have heard of Shutterstock before and if not, it’s high time that we make it familiar to you. Headquartered in New York, Shutterstock is one of the biggest such websites out there. More than 1 million users worldwide share their content on the platform. More than 1 billion images, video clips, and music tracks have been downloaded through the platform. Also, stock...
Source: www.devdude.com
The best Freepik alternatives 2023
Shutterstock provides over 400 million stock images compared to Freepik’s 41 million. It also offers more advanced features, flexible licensing options, and higher maximum image resolutions. The drawback is that Shutterstock is more expensive. But with its vastly larger library and premium features, it can be worth it for professional needs.
Source: photutorial.com
The Complete List of Video Marketing Tools (Updated for 2022)
Shutterstock is arguably the largest stock-anything site with more than 14 million stock footage, music, and images available in their library. If you know you’re going to need many stock content, you can’t go wrong with Shutterstock.
Source: breadnbeyond.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Pixabay seems to be a lot more popular than Shutterstock. While we know about 204 links to Pixabay, we've tracked only 19 mentions of Shutterstock. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Pixabay mentions (204)

View more

Shutterstock mentions (19)

  • [HELP!] I need your feedback about my creations!
    Other reputable places to sell vector artwork online are shutterstock.com, and stock.adobe.com Each will have their own requirements and tutorials for submitting artwork. You can also start your own page on Etsy.com. Source: over 1 year ago
  • I just started my first freelance job. Am I expected to source my own stock photos or do I ask?
    "Freelance" means, "You're on your own, kid." However, all of the things you ask are possible--access to your client's assets, buy your own and bill them, source free images. shutterstock.com is one of my favorites. I was searching for free/royalty free images endlessly until I just bought a monthly subscription. The time savings makes up for the time spent scouring the internet. Good luck and have fun!... Source: about 2 years ago
  • "you coolio" is too offensive i guess
    Just found out the image had "shutterstock.com" on it. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Y2K Aesthetic - how do I create a Y2K computer browser?!
    Go to shutterstock.com and type in these exact keywords. Vaporwave, windows 98, y2k computer browser. You should get a ton of vector assets that will help cut your design time in half. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Where to find graphics like blood splatter, dirt, lightning etc. for use in photoshop?
    Look for royalty-free images. You may try shutterstock.com if you need more and are ok to make a subscription or unsplash.com if you want free images. Moreover you may try deviantart.com or google search for blood splatter. Source: over 2 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Pixabay and Shutterstock, you can also consider the following products

Unsplash - Unsplash is a website with high-quality free HD images. It has a catalog of more than three hundred thousand striking images that are neatly organized with tags. Read more about Unsplash.

Pexels - Find the best free stock images about Browser Home Page. Download all photos and use them even for commercial projects.

Artlist - Music licensing for Film and video production

Getty Images - We offer high-quality, diverse and relevant stock photos, stock footage, stock music and editorial...

Free To Use - Platform providing access to a library of copyright-safe music that is free to use in monetized content shared on platforms such as YouTube. Users can download unlimited background music 100% for free – no registration required.

Freepik - All-in-one AI creative suite with the highest-quality assets

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