We use cookies to give users the best content and online experience. By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to allow us to use all cookies. Visit our Privacy Policy to learn more.

Manage Cookies
Resources for Businesses My BBB
Share
Business Profile

Digital Media

Shutterstock, Inc.

This business is NOT BBB Accredited.

Find BBB Accredited Businesses in Digital Media.

Complaints

Customer Complaints Summary

  • 46 total complaints in the last 3 years.
  • 43 complaints closed in the last 12 months.

If you've experienced an issue

Submit a Complaint

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

Sort by

Complaint status

Complaint type

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:06/26/2025

    Type:Billing Issues
    Status:
    Unanswered
    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    I was a Shutterstock contributor for over a year with no violations. On April 29, 2025, my account was suspended after Shutterstock claimed that one of my submitted images was found on another website. They requested evidence of ownership, and I submitted several outtakes from the same photoshoot, along with full ********* showing my camera, date, and original image files.Despite following their instructions exactly, they never responded. I sent multiple follow-ups for nearly two months, yet received no reply. Their lack of communication is unprofessional and unfair, especially considering the content I contributed over time.I am requesting a clear, written response explaining whether my account will be reinstated or permanently disabled and based on what grounds. I deserve at least a transparent answer.

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:06/23/2025

    Type:Billing Issues
    Status:
    Resolved
    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    I've been charged by Shutterstock for YEARS unbeknownst to me due to a less-than-obvious disclaimer about auto-renewing charges after believing I was making a one-time purchase.I have been refunded the final transaction amount and am not seeking reimbursement of the original amount. Attached are all of the bills in between.

    Customer Answer

    Date: 07/18/2025

    Better Business Bureau:

    At this time, my complaint, ID ******** regarding Shutterstock, Inc. has been resolved.

    (By clicking "OK", your complaint will be closed as Resolved.)


    Sincerely,

    **** ******

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:06/16/2025

    Type:Billing Issues
    Status:
    Resolved
    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    I thought I was signing up for their free trial and not only does a free trial not exist, they charge an outrageous cancellation fee that they don't tell you ******** because their website and terms are poorly designed on purpose, I'm being told that I need to pay for something that I didn't even use in the first place. Charging someone when they didn't even use your product is at best deceitful. Would never even think about using shutterstock again.

    Customer Answer

    Date: 06/18/2025

    Better Business Bureau:

    I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me and the matter has been resolved.

    Sincerely,

    ********* ******



     

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:06/11/2025

    Type:Product Issues
    Status:
    Unanswered
    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    Dear BBB service department, At 2023, Shutterstock auto debit 3 cancelled free one month trial subscriptions. This resulted in 1 1/2 year of monthly auto debit from my account. Total amount was $1.621,77. I have only received a refund of $230 intead of the full amount. At 2024 July, Shutterstock again auto debit 7 months of non existing subscription from my account. A total amount of $377.58. Shutterstock has violated my financial resources to auto debit without authority. I have reached out to Shutterstock customer service recently and my first attempt was denied. They say I was not entitled! They took money from my account for something I did not subscribe! I reach out to them again and they say they will look into the matter however they have not come back to me at all. I am only requesting to get a full refund for something I did not use. I need help to receive a full refund from ********* from Shutterstock. I have two email accounts under ********************** at that time: ******************** and ************************** I desperately need help to resolve this matter. I am a freelance Art ********* I use shutterstock downloads for my business. I pay every month for the downloads. I am only asking back what was rightfully mine. Moreover, they have violated my financial data to use my **** card without authorization! This is really absurd. I have all bank statements as proof of such transactions. Best Regards ***** ***

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:06/09/2025

    Type:Service or Repair Issues
    Status:
    Unanswered
    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    We used their services and then cancelled. They continued to deduct from our account so we called. They refunded $75.00, but started charging us monthly again. Until I saw the charges that went back months, we called again to an extreme apology and were told we would receive a refund. Not only did we not receive the refund they are still trying to take the money from my over limit (thank goodness) card. This is criminal behavior they are just hoping we dont notice the charges!!

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:06/05/2025

    Type:Billing Issues
    Status:
    Resolved
    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    I am reaching out to request assistance regarding an ongoing issue with Shutterstock that has persisted for over six months. As a professional in the creative industry, I feel I have been wrongfully treated and ignored throughout this process.I am a graphic designer with over 20 years of experience, and I have been contributing to microstock platforms such as Adobe Stock, Getty Images, Freepik, Pexels, and Shutterstock for the past three years. I have built my portfolio with care and professionalism and have never encountered any issues with any of the platformsuntil now.On October 24, 2024, I received a notice from Shutterstock stating that my contributor account had been disabled due to intellectual property concerns regarding one of my uploaded photos. Shutterstock requested original source files and supporting content, which I promptly provided all description with links in attachment Contact:Jakub Zerdzicki ********************* Thank You

    Customer Answer

    Date: 06/12/2025

    Better Business Bureau:

    I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me and the matter has been resolved.
    My Shutterstock contributor account has been re-activated.

    Thank You so much!

    Sincerely,
    ***** *********



     


  • Initial Complaint

    Date:05/29/2025

    Type:Billing Issues
    Status:
    Resolved
    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    I left ****************** in January 2025 and would use my personal credit card for purchases.On May 9, 2025, I received an alert on my credit card for $6035 for a charge from Shutterstock for a contract with my former company. I called my credit card company ************************ for Fidelity)and they told me to file a claim with Shutterstock.On May 9, 2025, I contacted Shutterstock and a representative told me I would be credited within 5 business days.I never received a credit, so I called them again yesterday and spoke with ****** and she said ***** ***********, they sent me the following email, which is outrageous! "Good afternoon ******, I'm ********* your point of contact for Shutterstock- My colleague has reached out to me to mention ******* ***** no longer works with ******* however his personal card was charged for the amount of $6,035 USD. In order to provide ******* with a refund, we will need a new card on file since the account/subscription has already been used, and we do not provide refunds once the account is activated. I look forward to hearing from you, and getting this resolved as soon as possible. Best regards,******** ****** Client Partner, Corporate I ************************************* e. ********************************** I never authorized the charge from Shutterstock. I called my previous employer, but they are not cooperating saying its not their problem.Please help.Thank you

    Business Response

    Date: 06/11/2025

    Thank you for reaching out!
    We apologize for the delay in our response. We are currently in contact with your former employer and working on the resolution.
    Please be assured, that the charge will be reversed, but it may need a few more days to settle. 
    Thank you for your patience!

    Customer Answer

    Date: 06/11/2025

    Better Business Bureau:

    I have reviewed the response provided by the business regarding Complaint ID ********, and I find the proposed resolution acceptableprovided they follow through on their commitment.
    It is unfortunate that I had to resort to filing a formal complaint to receive proper attention. Prior to this, I contacted the company multiple times and was repeatedly given empty assurances by both sales and customer service.
    After reviewing feedback on platforms such as ****** and Yelp, it appears my experience is not unique; many other customers have shared similarly poor reviews.
    I hope the business honors their word and makes meaningful improvements moving forward.

    Sincerely,

    ******* *****



     

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:05/05/2025

    Type:Billing Issues
    Status:
    Resolved
    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    Last month, I was looking for a specific photo I could only find on Shutterstock. I was just trying to quickly get access to it, and it seemed in the moment that purchasing the annual plan was the easiest thing to do. I overlooked the fact that it was $31/month because there was a tab that said Annual. I assumed that this $31 would pay for an annual plan, and like any other plan, I could cancel it if I wasn't using it. I was mistaken on all fronts. This month, there was a new charge for $31, so I went to my plan to try to cancel my plan, since I had only downloaded that one photo. At that time, I found out that I had agreed to a contract that if I cancel the plan, I have to pay $145 for the cancellation?? There's no way half of people would sign up for a plan with those terms. I chatted with customer service immediately to try to clear this up, and they told me exactly what the policy already told me. They said they are "escalating" it, but I am not holding out hope, and the fact that I'm having to do this feels unacceptable. These companies prey off people not able to read all the fine print legal words that are constantly in our faces with terms of use and privacy policies. I understand that somewhere in there, there was fine print where I agreed to this, but it is not fair, not normal and a scam-like policy. I want my account canceled with NO charge necessary.

    Customer Answer

    Date: 05/29/2025

    Better Business Bureau:

    At this time, my complaint, ID ******** regarding Shutterstock, Inc. has been resolved.

    (By clicking "OK", your complaint will be closed as Resolved.)


    Sincerely,

    ***** *****

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:04/25/2025

    Type:Service or Repair Issues
    Status:
    Resolved
    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    I am a teacher in ************** (us citizen). While looking for images to show to a class I found two SHUTTERSTOCK images that I liked. Following the link I found that I could pay what I believed to be a one time annual fee of $29 usd. I paid it via ******. I had difficulty downloading one of the images onto an iPad (watermarks remained) so I went to my computer a day or so later to download the image there. When I did I was shocked to find that the plan they had me listed for was annual but at $29 per month! I contacted them to cancel and was told that I could not cancel without paying an additional charge of $159!!!!! After contacting them again they said I could pay an additional $20 instead. I have only downloaded 2 images. I would like the 10 monthly images promised me but I do not want to pay $49 for them! The class I used them for is an unpaid class. 49 dollars is a lot of money to me. It was definitely not clear upon my initial signup that I was going to be charged $29 monthly.

    Customer Answer

    Date: 04/25/2025

    Better Business Bureau:

    I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me and the matter has been resolved.

    Sincerely,

    *** *******



     

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:04/15/2025

    Type:Product Issues
    Status:
    Answered
    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    Initially I was asking for a cancellation of my yearly contract, it was not possible they daid and they gave me different offers with amounts that changed with a time limit to accept.I was asking wuestions on what membership was taking 45 dollars from my account because I dont recall that being a thing I agreed to, they would ask me information about my back and date etc and then when given the info said they have no records of this transaction.I have kept the emails, the customer service has been very confusing and they keep taking money and no one is giving me direct answers, its been months of this. I only needed shutter-stock for two school projects. And made the mistake of not knowing it was for a year. Any help is appreciated with any of this thankyou.

    Business Response

    Date: 05/02/2025

    Thank you for reaching out!

    We're writing to confirm, that your subscription was now cancelled and you won't be charged for it again.

    If you have any questions or concerns, please let us know!

Shutterstock, Inc. is NOT a BBB Accredited Business.

To become accredited, a business must agree to BBB Standards for Trust and pass BBB's vetting process.

Why choose a BBB Accredited Business?

BBB Business Profiles may not be reproduced for sales or promotional purposes.

BBB Business Profiles are provided solely to assist you in exercising your own best judgment. BBB asks third parties who publish complaints, reviews and/or responses on this website to affirm that the information provided is accurate. However, BBB does not verify the accuracy of information provided by third parties, and does not guarantee the accuracy of any information in Business Profiles.

When considering complaint information, please take into account the company's size and volume of transactions, and understand that the nature of complaints and a firm's responses to them are often more important than the number of complaints.

BBB Business Profiles generally cover a three-year reporting period, except for customer reviews. Customer reviews posted prior to July 5, 2024, will no longer be published when they reach three years from their submission date. Customer reviews posted on/after July 5, 2024, will be published indefinitely unless otherwise voluntarily retracted by the user who submitted the content, or BBB no longer believes the review is authentic. BBB Business Profiles are subject to change at any time. If you choose to do business with this company, please let them know that you checked their record with BBB.

As a matter of policy, BBB does not endorse any product, service or business. Businesses are under no obligation to seek BBB accreditation, and some businesses are not accredited because they have not sought BBB accreditation. BBB charges a fee for BBB Accreditation. This fee supports BBB's efforts to fulfill its mission of advancing marketplace trust.