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, which 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.