For me, 0 Sale in April 2026 with over 5000 images+vidoes combined. I do not see toggle for unlmited plan, I think it is invite only.

Quote from: 5stock5 on May 03, 2026, 11:59
For me, 0 Sale in April 2026 with over 5000 images+vidoes combined. I do not see toggle for unlmited plan, I think it is invite only.

I thought I was doing stinky:    April 2026   19DL $2.65 with 6,500+ images.

Nope I'm not on the unlimited plan.

And I know I've written before, before the upgrade and the dimes, I used to make that in a day, often, well over that. Now it takes a month? 

Quote from: Uncle Pete on May 03, 2026, 16:42

Quote from: 5stock5 on May 03, 2026, 11:59
For me, 0 Sale in April 2026 with over 5000 images+vidoes combined. I do not see toggle for unlmited plan, I think it is invite only.

I thought I was doing stinky:    April 2026   19DL $2.65 with 6,500+ images.

Nope I'm not on the unlimited plan.

And I know I've written before, before the upgrade and the dimes, I used to make that in a day, often, well over that. Now it takes a month? 

🎵 🎵 🎵 🎵
Let it go, let it go
Can't hold it back anymore
Let it go, let it go
Turn away and slam the door
I don't care what they're going to say
Let the storm rage on
The cold never bothered me anyway
🎵 🎵 🎵 🎵

10 sales on pond5 so far this year.

I'll continue to upload there. Looking forward to the dataset payout at the end of the year but I'll manage my expectations so as not to be disappointed.

Quote from: danielvisuals on May 04, 2026, 00:31
10 sales on pond5 so far this year.

I'll continue to upload there. Looking forward to the dataset payout at the end of the year but I'll manage my expectations so as not to be disappointed.

Yep I've had 10 sales on Pond5 this year as well.

Quote from: Uncle Pete on May 03, 2026, 16:42

Quote from: 5stock5 on May 03, 2026, 11:59
For me, 0 Sale in April 2026 with over 5000 images+vidoes combined. I do not see toggle for unlmited plan, I think it is invite only.

I thought I was doing stinky:    April 2026   19DL $2.65 with 6,500+ images.

Nope I'm not on the unlimited plan.

And I know I've written before, before the upgrade and the dimes, I used to make that in a day, often, well over that. Now it takes a month? 

$2.65 for the whole month? I thought you were a seasoned contributor? What did you use to make in a month?

I understand you don't have video and that's probably contributing to the very low earnings. 

Quote from: danielvisuals on May 04, 2026, 00:31
10 sales on pond5 so far this year.

I'll continue to upload there. Looking forward to the dataset payout at the end of the year but I'll manage my expectations so as not to be disappointed.

Mr. Optimist.

Quote from: Pacesetter on May 04, 2026, 02:27

Quote from: Uncle Pete on May 03, 2026, 16:42

Quote from: 5stock5 on May 03, 2026, 11:59
For me, 0 Sale in April 2026 with over 5000 images+vidoes combined. I do not see toggle for unlmited plan, I think it is invite only.

I thought I was doing stinky:    April 2026   19DL $2.65 with 6,500+ images.

Nope I'm not on the unlimited plan.

And I know I've written before, before the upgrade and the dimes, I used to make that in a day, often, well over that. Now it takes a month? 

$2.65 for the whole month? I thought you were a seasoned contributor? What did you use to make in a month?

I understand you don't have video and that's probably contributing to the very low earnings.

Sure "Seasoned" and that season is Winter!  Correct I don't have video, or I should say, I went exclusive on P5, so I'm waiting to upload everything, everywhere else, after the merger (if there is one) when I drop P5 completely. Things that used to sell on SSTK have gone dormant. Adobe, is the other side, still growing and improving. But this is about SSTK and the bottom line is, when they went to dimes, my downloads dropped to almost nothing and what I get now are dimes. Actually RPD is 14¢ which is pathetic.

Quote from: SimonSays on May 03, 2026, 20:02
🎵 🎵 🎵 🎵
Let it go, let it go
Can't hold it back anymore
Let it go, let it go
Turn away and slam the door
I don't care what they're going to say
Let the storm rage on
The cold never bothered me anyway
🎵 🎵 🎵 🎵

I did upload one image a couple months ago. I'm working on residuals now, until I find out if the merger means Getty will be cutting my head off and deleting over 5,000 images. But you're right and I've said the same myself when some people keep thinking Microstock is going to some how come back. Dead is Dead. 

My view is, Adobe, Alamy and iStock are going to be all that's left.

how many of you are still contributing?  i've stopped uploading to SS, you guys can have all the dimes.

Quote from: Uncle Pete on May 04, 2026, 18:26
Sure "Seasoned" and that season is Winter! 

Well, this one made me chuckle, nice!

Quote from: Uncle Pete on May 04, 2026, 18:26
My view is, Adobe, Alamy and iStock are going to be all that's left.

It really depends on how you look at it, I guess. The industry is ever changing, and the days of single sales and reporting are fading out. Unlimited starts to find it's way to bigger agencies too, just as subscriptions and bottom of the barrel prices did.

How I look at it is: how much brings microstock, all agencies combined, in over a period of one year. So yeah, I do unlimited. Shutterstock, because it brings in a fair amount of money. I also have a smaller Motion Array portfolio, until they made their submission process even worse, which also contributes a fair share. Sites like Freepik and Vecteezy are a different story, they are not worth the hassle.

All in all, it's a twisted dilemma. I don't like unlimited plans. At all. But I don't consider them to be worse than the .10$ commissions at Shutterstock, or the 0.02$ sales at iStock/Getty. I do respect people taking a stance, standing their ground, but in the end, it doesn't change anything, as in this highly saturated market, none of our individual content really matters. But it does make a difference, on individual earnings.

Embrace the barb wires, accept it for what it is, and have a good laugh at it. I try that approach. And, well, meanwhile, also look at the positives. I just came back from holiday, paid with microstock earnings. I also booked another one, and finally bought a decent graphics card to speed up my editing workflow. I mean, it's a frustrating industry, but I can not neglect it still earns me a nice bonus that allows me to do or buy things I like.

Of course, not making a living of it, and for those who are making a living of it: they have a different story and view, and they have my permission to rant excessively on how the industry treats them.

I think Shutterstock is completely dead for those without an unlimited download subscription. Unfortunately, that leaves me with only Adobe. I have little hope that will change now.

Honestly, it's probably not just one reason. Shutterstock keeps changing algorithms and pushing "unlimited" content, so some portfolios just lose visibility over time. Even strong images with lots of downloads can get buried. And with lower payouts now, it feels even worse. You're definitely not alone - many people are seeing this. Have you noticed if your drop started after any specific change like opting out of something?

Quote from: sinandogan on May 06, 2026, 09:42
I think Shutterstock is completely dead for those without an unlimited download subscription. Unfortunately, that leaves me with only Adobe. I have little hope that will change now.

I opted out of the unlimited download plan, but Shutterstock isn't dead for me. In April, I had more downloads on Shutterstock than on Adobe. And in May, I'm earning more on Shutterstock than on Adobe in these 6 days.

Sure, it doesn't perform as well as it did two years ago, but it's not dead for me.

It's very surprising that different contributors seem to have very different experiences with SS. Maybe it's related to where the contributor is located geographically, or maybe it is related to the type of content.

Saying Shutterstock "isn't dead to me" doesn't mean anything for other people, we have to talk numbers, clearly.

May 2025 until 6th - 367 downloads, 225.60 USD
May 2026 until 6th - 205 downloads, 132.23 USD

Quote from: Bauman on May 06, 2026, 13:18In April, I had more downloads on Shutterstock than on Adobe.

This doesn't say anything as well, on AS I had 1.7$ RPD while on SS was 0.5$ RPD for April. Even tho I had 40% less downloads on AS last month I earned more than SS.

I am surprised that the experience is so different for different people, because for me the change is so DRASTIC that it is hard to imagine what could cause such a great difference in performance for different people. I do microstock full time - or used to, really have to search for something else now. There has not been a single month where I did not earn 4 figures in years, I used to sell hundreds of photos on SS each month.
A week into the month and my current earnings on SS this month are 3.38$.
That's not just "a bit different" or " a slight decrease", that's a drastic free fall and it is hard to imagine that other people aren't expereince such a drastic change. What is happening? What is different about my portfolio that I am affected like this and others are not? I really do not understand it. I haven't changed anthing on my end, so clearly, if it is not an overall decline due to Ai that everyone is affected by, something must have changed on SS's end that is causing such a decline for specific portfolios. What have I done to piss SS off?

Quote from: Her Ugliness on May 06, 2026, 15:21
I am surprised that the experience is so different for different people, because for me the change is so DRASTIC that it is hard to imagine what could cause such a great difference in performance for different people. I do microstock full time - or used to, really have to search for something else now. There has not been a single month where I did not earn 4 figures in years, I used to sell hundreds of photos on SS each month.
A week into the month and my current earnings on SS this month are 3.38$.
That's not just "a bit different" or " a slight decrease", that's a drastic free fall and it is hard to imagine that other people aren't expereince such a drastic change. What is happening? What is different about my portfolio that I am affected like this and others are not? I really do not understand it. I haven't changed anthing on my end, so clearly, if it is not an overall decline due to Ai that everyone is affected by, something must have changed on SS's end that is causing such a decline for specific portfolios. What have I done to piss SS off?

this is exactly my experience too.  i don't have an "unlimited" option on my account and perhaps you don't either or opted out.  i have no idea if "unlimited" people are earning more than $3 but i'm abandoning any agency that pays less than $100 per month with my portfolio size.  i gave up on a bunch of agencies a while ago but SS was showing growth and promise a year ago.  now it's dead and i'm done with them.

it is interesting to see different experiences for different contributors but if even DaLiu is reporting a downturn it's clear the end is near.

Quote from: Her Ugliness on May 06, 2026, 15:21
I am surprised that the experience is so different for different people, because for me the change is so DRASTIC that it is hard to imagine what could cause such a great difference in performance for different people. I do microstock full time - or used to, really have to search for something else now. There has not been a single month where I did not earn 4 figures in years, I used to sell hundreds of photos on SS each month.
A week into the month and my current earnings on SS this month are 3.38$.
That's not just "a bit different" or " a slight decrease", that's a drastic free fall and it is hard to imagine that other people aren't expereince such a drastic change. What is happening? What is different about my portfolio that I am affected like this and others are not? I really do not understand it. I haven't changed anthing on my end, so clearly, if it is not an overall decline due to Ai that everyone is affected by, something must have changed on SS's end that is causing such a decline for specific portfolios. What have I done to piss SS off?

ha, i literally have the exact same amount

Quote from: DaLiu on May 06, 2026, 14:40
Saying Shutterstock "isn't dead to me" doesn't mean anything for other people, we have to talk numbers, clearly.

May 2025 until 6th - 130 downloads, 69 USD
May 2026 until 6th - 118 downloads, 110 USD

Fewer downloads, but the day must end. Higher earnings thanks to two sales over $20.

On Adobe 120 downloads - 105 USD

I don't know if it's because I don't have files on the unlimited download plan, but my RPD between SS and AS is very similar for many months (except for the first few months of the year, when I have a lower level on SS. Level 5 now).

I don't have videos or AI. Only photos.

Quote from: wds on May 06, 2026, 14:03
It's very surprising that different contributors seem to have very different experiences with SS. Maybe it's related to where the contributor is located geographically, or maybe it is related to the type of content.

They didn't offer me unlimited, which seems to be an important difference. 90% of my portfolio on SSTK is Editorial. Which makes me different from most others. That also makes it difficult to compare AS because other than a minor bit of illustrative editorial, my Adobe is 50/50 illustrations/photos. But comparing my SSTK to what it was, it's dead there.

I know people see the Connect sales on IS and think, what a 2 cent download. They aren't the same as downloads. IS pays 15% for photos and 20% for illustrations. RPD for me is $0.61 lifetime. Same as the rest, No Video right now.

When I say Microstock is dead, I mean Microstock, not anything else. There are other opportunities and outlets for earning from images. Some of those are just fine. Microstock is Dead!

Quote from: Bauman on May 06, 2026, 16:50

Quote from: DaLiu on May 06, 2026, 14:40
Saying Shutterstock "isn't dead to me" doesn't mean anything for other people, we have to talk numbers, clearly.

May 2025 until 6th - 130 downloads, 69 USD
May 2026 until 6th - 118 downloads, 110 USD

Fewer downloads, but the day must end. Higher earnings thanks to two sales over $20.

On Adobe 120 downloads - 105 USD

I don't know if it's because I don't have files on the unlimited download plan, but my RPD between SS and AS is very similar for many months (except for the first few months of the year, when I have a lower level on SS. Level 5 now).

I don't have videos or AI. Only photos.

Yes, you're going to see these fluctuations month to month but the overall trend downwards.

Like I said before, the unlimited plan is hurting video sales more than photo sales.

Quote from: DaLiu on May 06, 2026, 14:40

Quote from: Bauman on May 06, 2026, 13:18In April, I had more downloads on Shutterstock than on Adobe.

This doesn't say anything as well, on AS I had 1.7$ RPD while on SS was 0.5$ RPD for April. Even tho I had 40% less downloads on AS last month I earned more than SS.

right DL (& therefore RPD) are meaningless - only thing that counts is $ earned --100 x 10c sales are better than 1 $8 sale

Quote from: danielvisuals on May 07, 2026, 00:09
Like I said before, the unlimited plan is hurting video sales more than photo sales.

I do not sell videos at all and my photo sales have gone from several hudred a month to basically nothing, so I don't think I can agree.

I took a good look at where my photos are placed in the search in comparison where they used to be and I think I figured it out. It is indeed the unlimited download plan.

It's not just that the contributors that were offered to be part of the plan get an extra income through the plan. The images that customers with this plan can download at no additional cost get downloaded much more often, raise in ranks and push the other images out, so our images are much further down in the serach and cannot be found easily. So even customers without the unlimited plan do not buy our images, because they don't find them.

Seems very unfair practice. Even if the rest of us gets offered to be part of the unlimited plan at some point (which I never wanted to be part of, but it seems like it is eat or die), by that time our search ranks will be completely destroyed.