A
Shutterstock vs Uppbeat
Pricing, features, platforms and who each one suits — side by side.
S
Choose Shutterstock if…
- you're in its core audience: marketers, graphic designers
U
Choose Uppbeat if…
- you want a free plan to start with
- you want the lower entry price ($6.99/mo vs $25/mo)
- you're in its core audience: youtubers, social media creators
Side by side
Feature Shutterstock Uppbeat
Pricing modelPaidFreemium
Starting price$25/mo$6.99/mo
Free plan
Free trial
API
Open source
PlatformsWebWeb
CategoryStock photos, icons & fontsRoyalty-free music & sound effects
CompanyShutterstock · United States · since 2003—
Full feature lists
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
U Uppbeat
- Human-made royalty-free music library
- Sound effects downloads
- YouTube channel safelisting against copyright claims
- Stock video up to 4K on higher plans
- Motion graphics and LUTs
- Licenses for freelance client work and businesses
What you'd pay
The cheapest plan that fits, per month, billed yearly where the plan offers it.
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
Uppbeat
FreeFree
Essentials$6.99/mo billed yearly ($8.99 monthly)
Creator$8.99/mo billed yearly ($12.99 monthly)
Pro$14.99/mo billed yearly ($24.99 monthly)
Business$34.99/mo billed yearly ($59.99 monthly), excl. tax
Strengths and limitations
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
Uppbeat
- Free plan available for individuals
- Paid plans start at $6.99/mo billed yearly
- Unlimited downloads on all paid plans
- Free plan is limited to 3 downloads and 25% of the catalog
- Client work requires the Pro plan or higher
- Stock video is not included in Essentials
More comparisons
Other options to consider
A
From $29.99/mo
A
Licensed stock photos, videos and audio with AI image editing tools
Stock photos, icons & fonts
G
G
Paid
G
Licensed stock photos, editorial images and video for commercial and media use
Stock photos, icons & fonts
E
EE
From $16.50/mo
E
Unlimited stock assets and AI generation for creators under one subscription
Stock photos, icons & fonts
F
F
From $14.50/mo
F
AI image, video and audio generation plus 250M+ stock assets for creatives
AI image & video generationAPI
P
P
From $10/mo
P
Royalty-free stock video, music, sound effects and images for creators
Stock photos, icons & fonts
U
U
Freemium
U
Free high-resolution stock photos, plus a paid Unsplash+ library for commercial use
Stock photos, icons & fontsFree planAPI
Facts from each vendor's public pages, prices checked Nov 13, 2026. Editorial policy