The basics
- How iStock works
- Collections and cost
- Licensing
- Searching for files
- All about credits
- All about subscriptions
- Requesting a refund
- Canceling a subscription
- Using Boards to save and organize images and video clips
How iStock works
iStock provides ready-to-use photos, illustrations, vectors, and video clips that you can put in almost any project you can think of. All of our content comes from our community of contributors and is thoroughly vetted to ensure it meets our high standards.
When you download a file on iStock, you're buying a license that lets you use the file in advertising, websites, blogs, presentations, video productions, podcasts, and more. Our files are all royalty-free, which means you can use them in as many projects as you want for as long as you want, within the terms of the license. By purchasing extended licenses, you can use them in even more ways.
Collections and cost
Every file on iStock falls into one of two collections. Our Essentials collection gives you the everyday content you need, while the Signature collection features millions of premium handpicked stock files that you can only get from us. All content can be purchased with credits, or with a subscription.
Credits
The credit cost to download a file with our standard license depends on the file type and collection it belongs to:
- Essentials photo, vector or illustration – 1 credit (view sample images)
- Signature photo, vector or illustration – 3 credits (view sample images)
- Essentials video clip – 6 credits (view sample clips)
- Signature video clip – 18 credits (view sample clips)
The more credits you buy, the less they cost. View credit pack pricing.
Subscriptions
iStock subscriptions feature our lowest prices. Each plan includes content from different collections and/or file types, to fit our members' unique needs and budgets. View plans.
- Basic subscription: all industry standard photos, vectors, and illustrations from our budget Essentials collection.
- Premium subscription: everything from our Basic subscription, plus images from our premium Signature collection.
- Premium + Video subscription: everything from our Premium subscription, plus all iStock videos and every music track and sound effect available from Triple Scoop Music.
Licensing
- Standard licenses
- Editorial use only photos
- Extended licenses
- Prohibited uses of iStock content
- Name a licensee
Standard licenses
Every file downloaded on iStock comes with a standard license that lets you use it in a wide variety of projects including advertising, websites, blogs, presentations, publications, video productions, podcasts, and more.
All of our files are licensed on a royalty-free basis, which means you only pay for the initial download of a file and don't have to pay the creator a royalty each time you use it.
There is no expiration date on your rights to use files downloaded during your subscription period. Files licensed with credits can also be used in as many projects you like for as long as you want.
No matter how you pay for it, every file comes with a Legal Guarantee that protects you for up to $10,000.
Editorial use only photos
Unlike the majority of our collection, editorial photos don't have any model or property releases, which means they can't be used for commercial, promotional, advertorial or endorsement purposes. These images often include news, sports and entertainment images that portray real-world people, places, events and things and are intended to be used only in connection with events that are newsworthy or of general interest (for example, in a blog, textbook, newspaper or magazine article).
Extended licenses
If you need to use our content in ways not covered under the standard license, you can add an extended license to any standard license purchased with credits that will give you additional rights including:
- Unlimited reproduction/print run
- Multiple users can use the file
- Create products for resale (including print on demand products and electronic templates)
- Increased indemnification up to $250,000 with an Extended Legal Guarantee
Prohibited uses of iStock content
No matter what license you buy, you can never use iStock content for the following uses:
- Unlawful uses such as within pornographic or defamatory works
- Uses that promote violence or incite hatred
- In violation of any applicable regulations or industry codes
For the complete list of prohibitions read the Content License Agreement. Questions? Contact us.
Name a licensee
If you're licensing content for a client or company other than your own using credits, you can name them as the licensee (files licensed with a subscription will always belong to you as the licensee.)
When you name a licensee, you're identifying an individual or company as the holder of the license rights. This lets them use the file under the same terms it was downloaded under for use in current and future projects. It also means you are not a licensee for that asset and won't be able to use it for any other client or entity other than the one named, including yourself.
Once you've named a licensee, you'll be able to sort your download history by licensee name to see only the files assigned to them, which makes it easy to track your credit spend for each licensee.
To name a licensee for a specific file, simply go to your credit download history, click "Name a licensee" and enter their legal entity as the name.
Searching for files
Start your search by typing what you're looking for into the search bar at the top of the iStock website and selecting the file type you're looking for (by default, we'll only show you photos and illustrations).
Our latest search technology can understand longer and more descriptive phrases, so don't be afraid to look up exactly what you're looking for, such as "superfast ball breaking through the net."
You can turn off enhanced search at the top of the results page if you prefer searching for one keyword at a time or need something particular, such as a type of plant species. Other filters that may be helpful can be found under the refine panel on the left of the page.
If you want more information on optimizing your search, check out our iStock Search Guide.
All about credits
Credits are like iStock's very own currency and can be used to download any file on iStock – including photos, illustrations, and video files. Files licensed with credits can be used in as many projects as you like for as long as you want.
Credits are sold in preset packs – the larger the credit pack, the less you'll pay per credit. Simply load your account with credits to download files as you go.
Credits never expire as long as you sign in to your iStock account once a year.
All about subscriptions
Subscriptions let you enjoy our lowest prices on images and videos by paying a flat rate to access a set limit of downloads every month. You can subscribe for a single month, or a full year.
iStock has three subscriptions to choose from:
Basic subscriptions give you the industry standard photos, vectors, and illustrations in our budget Essentials collection.
Tip: Look for the collection toggle below the search bar on a search results page and select "Essentials" to search only for images available with a Basic subscription.
Premium subscriptions include everything from our Basic subscription, as well as any of the handpicked Signature collection images that you can only get from us.
Premium + Video subscriptions give you access to every image, video, music track, and sound effect that iStock has to offer—no exceptions.
There is no expiration date on your rights to use files downloaded during your subscription period.
Requesting a refund
Unless required by local law, there are no refunds for subscriptions or credit packs you purchase.
Annual subscription refunds
If you have signed up for an annual subscription, you may not cancel the subscription before the end of your contracted term, nor will you receive a refund of the remaining subscription months, unless local law requires us to give you the option to cancel and receive a refund. If your subscription is set to auto-renew, you can turn it off at any time in your account settings to ensure your subscription does not roll over at the end of your contracted term. This does not apply to any of our Free Trial programs. See below for details on the Free Trial.
Monthly subscription refunds
If you have signed up for a monthly subscription and your subscription is set to auto-renew, you will not be eligible for a refund if you cancel your subscription after renewal, nor will you be eligible for refunds for previously auto-renewed monthly subscriptions.
Free Trial subscription refunds
If you've downloaded content during your paid subscription and would like to cancel, you will not be eligible for a refund and may incur an administrative fee in order to cancel your subscription.
If you've downloaded no content during your Free Trial month and no content during your paid subscription, you may be eligible for a refund.
Canceling a subscription
Subscription cancellations - If you have signed up for an annual subscription, you may not cancel the subscription before the end of your contracted term, nor will you receive a refund of remaining subscription months, unless local law requires us to give you the option to cancel and receive a refund. If your subscription is set to auto-renew, you can turn it off at any time in your account settings to ensure your subscription does not renew at the end of your contracted term. Please note that turning off auto-renew does not cancel your subscription, nor does it prevent the next monthly billing of your annual subscription. It does prevent your subscription from automatically renewing to an additional annual term.
Free Trial subscription cancellations - You can cancel your Free Trial before it converts to a paid annual subscription before your trial month ends. To cancel, go to the Overview page of your account, and click on "Cancel free trial." Any content you download during the Free Trial month (i.e. first month of your subscription) is yours to keep, even if you cancel. You can also cancel through our contact us email form before your trial month ends.
Unless you cancel before the Free Trial month ends, you'll be charged the monthly fee for each remaining month of your annual subscription. Canceling during your paid annual subscription may incur an administrative fee that covers customer care processing and royalties paid to our contributors. See our Free Trial cancellation policy.
Using Boards to save and organize images and video clips
A Board is the best place to organize, save and share your favorite files on iStock, letting you group images and video by project, brand or interest.
The easiest way to save to a Board is when you're signed in and searching. When you find an image you'd like to add to a Board, simply look for the '+' sign on the top right corner of the image or video to add a file to a Board. If you don't have a Board already, you'll be prompted to create a new Board. Otherwise, your image or video clip will be added to the last Board you viewed or used.
You can view the contents of all your Boards by selecting Boards from the menu and then selecting "View all Boards."
If you click on a Board from the Board menu while searching for images or viewing a detailed information page, a preview reel will appear at the top of the page. You can click 'Go to Board' to see the full contents of your Board. From there you can click 'Share' to get a link to either send to people you want to just be able to view, or 'Collaborate' for those you want to be able to edit and modify the contents.
You can remove a file from your Board by clicking the garbage can icon in the top right of the image.