E
ERoyalty-free music and sound effects with direct licensing for video creators
From $17.99/mo
PremiumBeat vs Shutterstock
Pricing, features, platforms and who each one suits — side by side.
P
Choose PremiumBeat if…
- you want the lower entry price ($24.99/mo vs $25/mo)
- you're in its core audience: video editors, youtubers and content creators
S
Choose Shutterstock if…
- you're in its core audience: marketers, graphic designers
Side by side
Feature PremiumBeat Shutterstock
Pricing modelPaidPaid
Starting price$24.99/mo$25/mo
Free plan
Free trial
API
Open source
PlatformsWebWeb
CategoryRoyalty-free music & sound effectsStock photos, icons & fonts
CompanyPremiumBeatShutterstock · United States · since 2003
Full feature lists
P PremiumBeat
- Curated royalty-free music catalog
- Per-track Standard and Premium licenses
- Full track, short edits and loops per download
- Annual music subscription option
- Commercial distribution under Premium license
- Site in many languages
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.
| Team size | PremiumBeat | Shutterstock |
|---|---|---|
| 1 person | $9.99 Creator subscription | no published plan |
All plans and prices
PremiumBeat
Creator subscription$9.99/mo billed annually ($119.88/yr)
Standard subscription$24.99/mo billed annually ($299.88/yr)
EnterpriseRequest a quote
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
PremiumBeat
- Each Standard track includes full, short and loop versions
- Clear two-tier per-track licensing
- Subscription available for regular use
- Standard license excludes commercial distribution
- Premium license covers only one project per purchase
- No free plan
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
A
AA
From $9.99/mo
A
Royalty-free music, sound effects, stock footage and AI generation for creators
Royalty-free music & sound effects
M
MM
Paid
M
Curated music and sound effects licensing for filmmakers, agencies and creators
Royalty-free music & sound effects
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
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
P
P
From $10/mo
P
Royalty-free stock video, music, sound effects and images for creators
Stock photos, icons & fonts
Facts from each vendor's public pages, prices checked Nov 13, 2026. Editorial policy