Two prices for one library
iStock advertises a plan at $29 a month. That buys the Basic collection. The images iStock is known for, the exclusive and hand-picked ones it says you can only get there, are in Premium at $70 a month, more than double.
So the honest twelve-month price for the whole library is $840, the dearest entry in our stock photo comparison. Compared like for like, Basic at $348 sits mid-table, above Shutterstock for ten a month.
iStock renamed its collections recently. Essentials is now Basic and Signature is now Premium, so older comparisons and receipts use the old names for the same things.
It scores 7.5 under how we rate, above two of our four picks, and sits in also considered because neither of the slots it could fill is its best argument.
The only credits here that do not expire
This is where iStock beats everyone. Credits bought outside a subscription "never expire" as long as you log in to your account at least once a year.
Adobe Stock and Shutterstock packs expire after twelve months. Dreamstime credits do too. For a buyer who needs six images this year and might need six more in three years, iStock is the only library where the money waits.
Rollover, up to 250 a month
Subscribers on an annual or auto-renewing plan can roll over up to 250 unused downloads a month. Turn off auto-renew and let the term end, and the rolled-over downloads go with it. The same trapdoor as Adobe Stock and Dreamstime, with a smaller cap than Dreamstime's 5,000.
The annual plan can be paid monthly, quarterly or upfront for the same total. Licences on downloaded files do not expire.
Legal protection, including on generated images
Every licensed image carries legal protection of up to $10,000, iStock's own figure, level with Shutterstock's Standard licence, Adobe Stock and Dreamstime.
Premium now also includes iStock's AI image tools, which it says are trained only on licensed content and which come with the same automatic $10,000 protection on what you generate. iStock adds that your generated images are not put back into its library for other customers.
It is also only on Premium, which brings the argument back to price. The protection on generated images is a reason to pay $70 a month if you were going to generate images anyway. It is not a reason to pay it for photos.
Who it suits
Occasional buyers who want credits that do not run out, and brands that want Premium images not sold on every other library.
Basic is not a bad product. For everyday office, food or travel photos the Basic collection may hold everything you need, and at that price iStock is a normal mid-priced library with unusually kind credit terms. The problem is only the comparison: the number on the plan card and the library in the marketing are two different things. Anyone comparing the Basic price against Shutterstock should compare Premium instead, and then the case is much weaker.
Prices, credit, rollover and collection terms on this page were read from the iStock plans and pricing page and its FAQ on . We did not test the service.
