ShutterstockReviews 532

I signed up for a trial period months ago and forgot to cancel as i have not used it. When i tried cancelling my account, they charged me $80 to do so, My other option is to wait it out what a rip-off. When i tried telling them fine give me credit for the months i have not used it they said no it's month to month. So I'm paying for nothing. I will never support shurrter stock again just a shiety company.

So, I think their website is doing some unnecessary tracking or other security because both my linux computers wont allow the downloads, usually that means there is some security compromise on the site. Customer care are useless and now not responding to provide any workable solution.
Be wary of this site

The last time I used Shutterstock I was careful to choose the pay per item option and next thing I know I've been charged $30 per month for the past 3 months for a subscription. I will never use them again.

This company have the nerve to charge me a cancellation fee of $40 after I had their product for months paying $29 a month but hardly used it. And wouldn't let me cancel it until I pay the Effen $40. You got some nerve Shutterstock!

Same as the other 1-star reviewers. I remember now signing up years ago and having the same issue. Clearly, they are not listening to review sites and changing their policies around billing and their 'free' plan offering. Don't give them your CC. Free plans should be always offered without billing details being mandatory. It is super easy to 'forget' you've signed up for a subscription and I'm guessing they bank on that. I probably would have kept the subscription but also found buying just one extra image was ridiculously expensive. Use elements.envato.com instead or for higher end options go to stock.adobe.com - way better. And their plans and pricing are not 'sneaky'.

The website is extremely inconvenient for using by an android phone while the app doesn't have all the functionality that the website has.
As a contributor my photos do not appear in my portfolio and cannot be shared via the portfolio link. When I addressed the issue via email, I received an automatic reply that the team knows about the issue, but didn't specify time it will be sorted. Photos that are not in the portfolio simply do not appear when you look for photos by keywords in the database.
The review process is as clumsy as the website. Photos get rejected because there are authentic names of railway stations in the station building that are not translated. Photos get rejected because there's ugly graffiti, simply called hooliganism, but deemed intellectual property by shutterstock.
Very disappointing experience.

If you let your free trial lapse you have to pay for 12 months and there are no cancellations allowed, unless you pay a fee which is just as much as the remaining payments. Then even if you cancel they can still take out money. I approached them multiple times about cancelling and they still took money out of my account after they had confirmed my subscription had ended. They also then refused to refund as they don't have a refund policy. It cost me over $400 because I accidentally let my trial lapse and had to pay for 12 months. Unless you're using it all the time it's absolute daylight robbery and I would not recommend.

Absolute terrible design programs. Way too convoluted for the average joe with not much time on their hands [or neurodivergent! EeeeK]
But the kicker is i signed up for monthly payments... from the trial. Went to cancel it later after being charged 3 different ways apparently i signed up to programs i didnt know werent included... & the monthly bill is actually classed as an annuaL so i cant cancel or i owe them the years payment! I am on the disability pension & this has absolutely Fd up my living expenses this year. Went to complain or ask to cancel... nope. Should of read the fine print.
If they were going to rip people off At leasT make it a user friendly interface... STAY CLEAR!

After finding out they have been charging me for a year they would not credit or reverse charges. They opt you in to the monthly charge automatically. Use any other site but Shutterstock.

I wish I had read these reviews before signing up for what I thought was a "free" trial with Shutterstock. I clicked the button on their page to sign up for a "free" trial and ended up with an annual commitment. It was clearly a bait and switch operation that is meant to fool you into purchasing an annual commitment. Unlike most companies that offer 30-day free trials, they go out of their way to make it difficult but utilizing promotion codes to establish the trial. Than, when you want to cancel the trial, you find out you've signed up for an annual commitment and they tell you it's going to cost $20 to cancel.

The entire process is setup to be confusing and difficult and charge you. It's very scammy.

Sign up for the trial and get locked in for a year, then get charged a cancellation fee. I usually cancel my subs to various companies to go sign up for another month here and there when needed, these guys won't get another dime from me ever

They trick you with language when signing up. They don't explain that "annual " is a locked in 12 month period. They make it sound like monthly. But when you go to cancel they hit you with fees. Also, many of the videos and images require payment after the membership. Stay away from these guys!

I tried to find details of the payment plan under the 'details' section but it just takes you to a generic page with no specific information. I was in a hurry (my bad) and signed up for the monthly annual plan. After 3 months I realized it wasn't what I wanted and tried to cancel and they are saying they will charge over 400 dollars to cancel. Other sides offered pleasant other solutions. Not these guys...

Horrible scam. I went to cancel my account during my trial period. The Shutterstock said I did not have an account, so I couldn't cancel. I just got charged $29 and discovered this is the 2nd month they've done so! I went to cancel (via e-mail) and was told in order to cancel I must pay a $40 cancellation fee. Who does that?! Horrible, horrible, horrible. I went to delete my account and it wouldn't allow me to because I "have an active account" which I tried to cancel! I am beyond disgusted by this rip-off company. Never again!

I accidentally purchased an image on the website because it had a button that said "licenses" instead of "license". (On portuguese, makes more sense, on english is not that different. The brazilian version of the website has a substantive "licenses" on it, and the verb is different, so it does not give you the ideia of making a purchase). Anyway, I asked immediately to cancel, and they said they could't. Clearly the button is that way on purpose.

These guys find everyday to overcharge you that you can imagine. Don't think for a second your plan is your real cost.

I made the unfortunate mistake of making an account and forgetting to cancel it before the free trial ended. This is by far the worst website to make this mistake on. I was charged $30 per month (and this is supposed to be a bargain price for an annual membership) plus a $40 cancellation fee. I take responsibility for forgetting about my subscription but I was forced to call customer service to cancel my account and remove my payment method. If you are busy or forgetful then this is a truly horrible website to subscribe to. I have never been charged a cancellation fee for a subscription, especially one that was more expensive than the actual monthly payments. Once you call customer service, be ready to provide your 9 digit user ID multiple times. It is very clear that they want to do everything in their power to keep your credit card and continue billing you for as long as they possibly can. License your stock images literally anywhere else. It would've been less trouble to produce the images I used myself.

They charged me $30 when I have never even used their product. Somehow I had a subscription that was charged through my PayPal which is just suspicious in its own right seeing as I NEVER use PayPal for anything except receiving payments. Then they refused to reimburse me and said that they sent me product but couldn't show me the proof of this.