E
ERoyalty-free music and sound effects with direct licensing for video creators
From $17.99/mo
Artlist vs Shutterstock
Pricing, features, platforms and who each one suits — side by side.
A
Choose Artlist if…
- you want the lower entry price ($9.99/mo vs $25/mo)
- you're in its core audience: youtubers, social media creators
S
Choose Shutterstock if…
- you're in its core audience: marketers, graphic designers
Side by side
Feature Artlist Shutterstock
Pricing modelPaidPaid
Starting price$9.99/mo$25/mo
Free plan
Free trial
API
Open source
PlatformsWebWeb
CategoryRoyalty-free music & sound effectsStock photos, icons & fonts
CompanyArtlistShutterstock · United States · since 2003
Full feature lists
A Artlist
- Royalty-free music library
- Sound effects catalog
- AI image and video generation with credits
- Unlimited generation on select models (yearly plans)
- Max plan bundling stock assets and AI tools
- Team business plans with parallel generations
S Shutterstock
- Royalty-free stock photos, vectors and illustrations
- Stock video clips
- Royalty-free music licensing
- AI image generator with monthly credits
- Unlimited download subscriptions
- No-commitment image packs
- Standard license for creative and digital use
What you'd pay
The cheapest plan that fits, per month, billed yearly where the plan offers it.
Artlist
Music & SFX$9.99/mo billed yearly ($14.99 monthly)
AI Starter$11.99/mo billed yearly ($19.99 monthly)
AI Core$23.99/mo billed yearly ($39.99 monthly)
AI Creator$41.67/mo billed yearly ($69.99 monthly)
Max Business$399/mo billed yearly
Custom BusinessCustom
Shutterstock
Image downloads subscription$25/mo ($300 billed yearly)
Unlimited Images$29/mo billed yearly ($348)
Unlimited Plus$69/mo billed yearly ($828)
Image packsFrom $29
Strengths and limitations
Artlist
- Music & SFX plan from $9.99/mo billed yearly
- AI generation and stock assets available in one subscription
- Unlimited generation on select models with yearly plans of 40,000+ credits
- The AI tools work on credits, so usage is capped on most plans
- Monthly billing costs considerably more than yearly billing
Shutterstock
- Image packs available with no commitment
- Unlimited plans cover a library of 100+ million assets
- Annual billing lowers the monthly price
- Covers images, video, music and AI generation
- Unlimited Images plan applies only to a qualifying part of the library
- Base subscription is limited to one seat
- Lowest unlimited prices require annual billing
More comparisons
Other options to consider
EE
From $17.99/mo
E
Royalty-free music and sound effects with direct licensing for video creators
Royalty-free music & sound effectsAPI
E
EE
From $16.50/mo
E
Unlimited stock assets and AI generation for creators under one subscription
Stock photos, icons & fonts
U
U
Free, from $6.99/mo
U
Human-made royalty-free music, sound effects and stock video for creators
Royalty-free music & sound effectsFree plan
S
SRoyalty-free music and sound effects licensing for video creators and brands
From $9.99/mo
S
From $9.99/mo
S
Royalty-free music and sound effects licensing for video creators and brands
Royalty-free music & sound effectsAPI
M
MM
Paid
M
Curated music and sound effects licensing for filmmakers, agencies and creators
Royalty-free music & sound effects
P
P
From $24.99/mo
P
Curated royalty-free music and sound effects licensed for video creators
Royalty-free music & sound effects
Facts from each vendor's public pages, prices checked Nov 13, 2026. Editorial policy