Shutterstock is horribly slow so far this month both in the number of downloads and RPD. Adobe, on the other hand, is doing pretty well.

It is possible that many customers are flowing from SS to AS, and with the end of the year many of them closed their subscription in favor of AS.

Quote from: Jaggy on January 16, 2026, 15:00
Shutterstock is horribly slow so far this month both in the number of downloads and RPD. Adobe, on the other hand, is doing pretty well.

I thought it might just be me.  Very anorexic sales. Similar to P5 where come January last year sales ceased almost completely.  P5 never recovered.  They are the lowest earner for me now. Maybe $200 a year with 6k assets.

Quote from: jovannig on January 16, 2026, 15:22
It is possible that many customers are flowing from SS to AS, and with the end of the year many of them closed their subscription in favor of AS.

We would expect the numbers to go down as well if people are leaving but thats not the case, I see some decrease in number of sales but that is influenced as well by the unlimited plan.

I've been a Shutterstock contributor since 2012.
My best period was 2019, when I was getting 200–300 downloads per day and could comfortably make a living from it.

Since 2019, my earnings have been declining exponentially. Today, 10–30 downloads per day is the norm, and my earnings this month are around $140.
Yes — $140.

At this point, I'm honestly starting to wonder whether I've been shadowbanned. My suspicion is that the unlimited plan has completely distorted the algorithms. Since I'm not included in unlimited licensing, I'm not generating those "internal" sales signals, and my files are likely being pushed further and further down in search results.

What makes this even more frustrating is the fact that I cannot participate in unlimited sales at all, despite being a contributor for over a decade and having achieved strong results in the past.

At this stage, the only thing I feel toward Shutterstock is embarrassment and disappointment.

To be honest, the only reason I'm still in microstock at all is Adobe Stock and iStock, both of which have performed significantly better for me recently.

Quote from: Micha91 on January 16, 2026, 17:21
I've been a Shutterstock contributor since 2012.
My best period was 2019, when I was getting 200–300 downloads per day and could comfortably make a living from it.

Since 2019, my earnings have been declining exponentially. Today, 10–30 downloads per day is the norm, and my earnings this month are around $140.
Yes — $140.

At this point, I'm honestly starting to wonder whether I've been shadowbanned. My suspicion is that the unlimited plan has completely distorted the algorithms. Since I'm not included in unlimited licensing, I'm not generating those "internal" sales signals, and my files are likely being pushed further and further down in search results.

What makes this even more frustrating is the fact that I cannot participate in unlimited sales at all, despite being a contributor for over a decade and having achieved strong results in the past.

At this stage, the only thing I feel toward Shutterstock is embarrassment and disappointment.

To be honest, the only reason I'm still in microstock at all is Adobe Stock and iStock, both of which have performed significantly better for me recently.

Thanks Micha91.

I've been with Shutterstock for 15 years, and my best year was 2014.

However, I've seen a much less steep decline than yours. Let's say I went from 100-120 downloads a day to about 30-50 a day. That's a decrease of about 60%.

What I meant is that I also didn't accept the Unlimited Plan, but I haven't seen such a rapid decline, and my images in the search don't seem to be affected.

From 2024 to 2025, I lost 6.33% of my earnings on Shutterstock, while overall I increased my earnings by 13.5%, although in September 2025 I noticed a decline across all agencies, which is continuing into January. 

The increase in my earnings is also due to the extra hours I've put in and increased productivity, but honestly, I was hoping for something better.

Unfortunately, I'm full-time, and I fear that, if nothing changes, this could be my last year. I'm really at the limit; I can't go lower any further, otherwise I won't be able to support my family. 

It's not an easy time, and the agencies aren't helping us with their greed. For example, Istock's 15% doesn't seem very fair to me. And even Shutterstock, with its subscription plan, I don't think it'll give us more than 20-25% (35% of Level 5 is for on-demand/single sales)

Adobe has the most equitable earnings, but it allows for a mountain of AI slop that makes a lot of traditional content invisible. And I don't think producing AI content is a good strategy, because it's easily copied, the competition is huge, and few agencies allow it.

Updated revenue share for the big three, based on my personal data (December 2025 included), showing the rise of AS at the expense of SS:

Quote from: DaLiu on January 16, 2026, 12:21
First time ever when at this time at the month even tho I am level 4 on SS after 1st week, AS is passing SS on income overall with 3 times less sales.

But then you're not including the end of month payment from the unlimited downloads which I assume is quite consequential with the size of your portfolio. For me, that payment makes up for the drop in other sales.

Quote from: danielvisuals on January 16, 2026, 21:39

Quote from: DaLiu on January 16, 2026, 12:21
First time ever when at this time at the month even tho I am level 4 on SS after 1st week, AS is passing SS on income overall with 3 times less sales.

But then you're not including the end of month payment from the unlimited downloads which I assume is quite consequential with the size of your portfolio. For me, that payment makes up for the drop in other sales.

For me, shutterstock has dropped 80% year on year. I still have no access to the unlimited model, so this is hurting me a lot I suppose.

Adobe stock is now making 5x more revenue with less content.

Quote from: jovannig on January 16, 2026, 15:22
It is possible that many customers are flowing from SS to AS, and with the end of the year many of them closed their subscription in favor of AS.

Possible, but also I see an upswing in IS downloads for my images, and most are the same on all three places. (except... no editorial news on IS or AS. and some other minor differences, between all of them. Adobe is much easier for me to get my illustrations accepted.) I don't see AS growing, but I do see IS moving up. And yes, SSTK is just some scattered dimes for me, it's a disaster.

Quote from: PeteStock on January 17, 2026, 08:26

Quote from: danielvisuals on January 16, 2026, 21:39

Quote from: DaLiu on January 16, 2026, 12:21
First time ever when at this time at the month even tho I am level 4 on SS after 1st week, AS is passing SS on income overall with 3 times less sales.

But then you're not including the end of month payment from the unlimited downloads which I assume is quite consequential with the size of your portfolio. For me, that payment makes up for the drop in other sales.

For me, shutterstock has dropped 80% year on year. I still have no access to the unlimited model, so this is hurting me a lot I suppose.

Adobe stock is now making 5x more revenue with less content.

What Unlimited model?  I didn't apply and I wasn't one of the chosen.

​Q: Which Contributors are included?
A: Only a small Contributor Pilot group, who have been notified by email, are invited to participate in the initial launch of the Unlimited downloads subscription. If you have received the invitation via email, you have been automatically opted into licensing.

Q: How can my contributor account be included?
A: You can let us know if you are interested in being included in this licensing option in the future by adding your Contributor ID here. We will get back to you with next steps if your content is the right fit for the Unlimited offering.  (source:  https://submit.shutterstock.com/help/en/articles/11498880-unlimited-downloads-subscription-contributor-faq)

interesting.  i wonder if the contributors who have opted in are getting any real money or if it's 13c per month.

Quote from: DaLiu on January 16, 2026, 12:21
First time ever when at this time at the month even tho I am level 4 on SS after 1st week, AS is passing SS on income overall with 3 times less sales.

On January 6, you posted that you had a total of 171 downloads on Shutterstock in January up to that point. Did you get 330 downloads on the rest of January 6 and January 7? That's impressive.

Quote from: Wilm on January 19, 2026, 21:43

Quote from: DaLiu on January 16, 2026, 12:21
First time ever when at this time at the month even tho I am level 4 on SS after 1st week, AS is passing SS on income overall with 3 times less sales.

On January 6, you posted that you had a total of 171 downloads on Shutterstock in January up to that point. Did you get 330 downloads on the rest of January 6 and January 7? That's impressive.

Sorry, I meant 2nd week.

Quote from: DaLiu on January 20, 2026, 11:40

Quote from: Wilm on January 19, 2026, 21:43

Quote from: DaLiu on January 16, 2026, 12:21
First time ever when at this time at the month even tho I am level 4 on SS after 1st week, AS is passing SS on income overall with 3 times less sales.

On January 6, you posted that you had a total of 171 downloads on Shutterstock in January up to that point. Did you get 330 downloads on the rest of January 6 and January 7? That's impressive.

Sorry, I meant 2nd week.

Ah, okay. Still impressive!

from 50$ per week to 5$   

Leveled up again. One week later than last year.

Quote from: Julied83 on January 20, 2026, 19:01
from 50$ per week to 5$   

From 50$ per day to 5$   

My earnings on Shutterstock in 2023 averaged over $470 a month. My earnings so far January 2026 is $18.49.

Quote from: Pacesetter on January 22, 2026, 21:13
My earnings on Shutterstock in 2023 averaged over $470 a month. My earnings so far January 2026 is $18.49.

Are you included in the unlimited plan? If not then I'd say you are now lacking visibility which is hurting your sales. My advice would be to contact SS and ask to be I included in that plan. I'm still getting higher value sales, although noticeably less than before but the extra earnings from the unlimited somewhat make up for it.

Quote from: danielvisuals on January 22, 2026, 22:47
Are you included in the unlimited plan? If not then I'd say you are now lacking visibility which is hurting your sales. My advice would be to contact SS and ask to be I included in that plan. I'm still getting higher value sales, although noticeably less than before but the extra earnings from the unlimited somewhat make up for it.

I disagree. I didn't sign up for the unlimited plan, and my sales on SS are stable. I reached level 4 one day late compared to 2025, and in the last week I've had a few sales >$10, which will put me at the same level as I did in 2025 for January 2026.

I think just the opposite: that the unlimited plan is the end of microstock, as demonstrated by Envato Elements.

I have a small portion of my portfolio on Envato (about 15%) and in the last few months I've been earning about $1-$2 per day, selling about 60-80 images per day. And that means an RPD of $0.01-$0.03 per image... the truth is: unlimited plans are the death of stock.

Unlimited plans are a win-win-lose business. The platforms and customers win, the creators lose.

Quote from: Bauman on January 23, 2026, 07:10
I disagree. I didn't sign up for the unlimited plan, and my sales on SS are stable. I reached level 4 one day late compared to 2025, and in the last week I've had a few sales >$10, which will put me at the same level as I did in 2025 for January 2026.

I think just the opposite: that the unlimited plan is the end of microstock, as demonstrated by Envato Elements.

I have a small portion of my portfolio on Envato (about 15%) and in the last few months I've been earning about $1-$2 per day, selling about 60-80 images per day. And that means an RPD of $0.01-$0.03 per image... the truth is: unlimited plans are the death of stock.

Unlimited plans are a win-win-lose business. The platforms and customers win, the creators lose.

No! the creators can buy a coffee in a bar after 200 or 300 sales... Who would have thought we'd get to this point?!

In a recent past, we spoke about Macrostock. Here is the Nanostock today, the new pollution!

Quote from: Bauman on January 23, 2026, 07:10

Quote from: danielvisuals on January 22, 2026, 22:47
Are you included in the unlimited plan? If not then I'd say you are now lacking visibility which is hurting your sales. My advice would be to contact SS and ask to be I included in that plan. I'm still getting higher value sales, although noticeably less than before but the extra earnings from the unlimited somewhat make up for it.

I disagree. I didn't sign up for the unlimited plan, and my sales on SS are stable. I reached level 4 one day late compared to 2025, and in the last week I've had a few sales >$10, which will put me at the same level as I did in 2025 for January 2026.

I think just the opposite: that the unlimited plan is the end of microstock, as demonstrated by Envato Elements.

I have a small portion of my portfolio on Envato (about 15%) and in the last few months I've been earning about $1-$2 per day, selling about 60-80 images per day. And that means an RPD of $0.01-$0.03 per image... the truth is: unlimited plans are the death of stock.

Unlimited plans are a win-win-lose business. The platforms and customers win, the creators lose.

Whatever rocks you boat buddy   

Unlimited plans are great for low-value content, like apples on white or people shaking hands. If someone spent a few minutes on a piece of content, they'll be fine selling it for a few cents.

Quote from: Bauman on January 23, 2026, 07:10

Quote from: danielvisuals on January 22, 2026, 22:47
Are you included in the unlimited plan? If not then I'd say you are now lacking visibility which is hurting your sales. My advice would be to contact SS and ask to be I included in that plan. I'm still getting higher value sales, although noticeably less than before but the extra earnings from the unlimited somewhat make up for it.

I disagree. I didn't sign up for the unlimited plan, and my sales on SS are stable. I reached level 4 one day late compared to 2025, and in the last week I've had a few sales >$10, which will put me at the same level as I did in 2025 for January 2026.

I think just the opposite: that the unlimited plan is the end of microstock, as demonstrated by Envato Elements.

I have a small portion of my portfolio on Envato (about 15%) and in the last few months I've been earning about $1-$2 per day, selling about 60-80 images per day. And that means an RPD of $0.01-$0.03 per image... the truth is: unlimited plans are the death of stock.

Unlimited plans are a win-win-lose business. The platforms and customers win, the creators lose.

I agree with Bauman. I tested Motion Array (another agency offering unlimited plan) in 2024 with a sample of cca 100 photos and I deleted them as soon as I could (after 3 months). I needed around 16 sales to see "estimated earnings" of 1 USD - it felt like giving my photos for free.. and it was before they introduced changes in their reward system, now you have to sell even more photos to earn 1 dollar. No, thanks