Category Archives: iStock

iStock Prices that are More Valuable than Ever

Now, iStock prices have become more valuable than ever. They are more expensive, but they give you better value for your money. As announced a couple of weeks ago, the stock photo website updated their pricing and plans to provide customers with better purchasing options. Exploring millions of high quality stock images, vectors, videos and music clips have never been better with the new iStock pricing. Find out more about iStock Pricing here.

The stock photo website offers two choices when it comes to purchasing stock images: download credits and subscription plans.

Pay per Download with Credits

With iStock, you can download stock images with credits. There are a number things that you will love about iStock credits. First, they never expire. This means you can use them anytime you need them since the day of your purchase. You do not have to worry about beating expiration dates. Second, you save more when you buy more. You can gain the best value for your money when your purchase more credits as they include bigger discounts.

The new iStock credits are basically the same as the old ones. The only difference is with the price. Although the new credits are essentially more expensive at $15 each, they are now more valuable. They give you access to a la carte purchases of images, videos, graphics and music files in all different sizes. That’s right! You can now purchase and download images at any size for the same prize, helping you boost up your creativity while protecting your budget.

Subscribe and Save with an Image Plan

In the past, iStock has four types of collection. The new upgrade cuts that number into two: Essentials and Signature. The Essentials Collection includes royalty-free images that you can use in any project for as long as you like. You may also find similar images in other stock photo websites, such as Shutterstocl. On the other hand, the Signature Collection contain images that you will only find in iStock. The images are exclusive to iStock so the plan is more expensive than its Essentials counterpart.

Contrary to the previous iStock prices, size will no longer be a basis of image cost. You can easily choose whichever size fits you creative needs and purchase the image for the same price. A possibility to upgrade for a bigger size is also considered. However, this is only allowed for images licensed after the change. Older downloads can only be downloaded at the same size it was originally licensed. The subscription packages offered by the stock site are cheaper than Shutterstock.

With the new iStock prices more valuable than ever, we definitely recommend checking them out and buying whichever purchase method works for your creative needs and budget.

 

iStock Photo Review: Benefits and Drawbacks of the Stock Agency

Although iStock’s main highlight is exclusive content, the stock agency also offers high quality visuals at affordable prices. It features great flexibility in licensing and a very easy to use search tool. As a child company of one of the best stock sites in the industry, Getty Images, it has a trust stamp that ensures you are getting what you pay for – perhaps even more. Although iStock is a stand-along company, it is owned and managed by Getty for over 10 years now.

Here is a brief iStock photo review, same from this link,  which you can use to decide whether it is the media source for you or not:

Let us start with the benefits first.

  • iStock has a huge library of stock assets. It has literally millions of high quality media content in its collection, whistock_logo_detail-300x76ich include stock images, stock footage, illustration and music.
  • It is one of the few stock agencies that offer exclusive content. If you are looking for stock footage you won’t find in other stock sites, get them from iStock.
  • It offers high quality and multiple resolutions at the same price. Want stock footages with higher quality and resolution? No problem. You can get them all at the same price.
  • iStock has a simple and affordable pricing and plan. It only has two price points. If you want to purchase stock content, you can get them through credits. You may also subscribe to a plan.
  • All stock content comes with a royalty-free license that allows you to use them multiple times in any project for as long as you like.
  • It features a user-friendly search engine with curated categories so you will find what you are looking for easily and faster.
  • Additional media types are also available in the stock site, including stock photos, illustrations and footage.

Despite these numerous benefits, there are also some drawbacks in the iStock footage service. Here are some of them:

  • There are no subscriptions for footage. Subscription plans are only available for image and illustration purchases.
  • Credits make the procurement process more complicated. You have to select a credit pack, pay for it and use the credits to pay for the footage.
  • Getting an extended licenses can be costly. You have to purchase a separate license for every video. This can be very expensive for high visibility projects that need legal coverages.

iStock has a high profile, built through a steady and well-established relationships with known providers, customers and media companies. Being under the umbrella of Getty, the stock media site becomes a more reliable and trustworthy stock footage service. We hope this iStock photo review will help you come to a decision whether the stock media agency should be your primary media source or not.