Bigstock vs iStock
Bigstock
bigstockphoto.com
iStock
istockphoto.comSide by side
| Figure | Bigstock | iStock |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $53.25/mo | $14.99/mo |
| Free plan | — | — |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 13 | 7 |
| Spec score · Stock Photo Websites | 8.7 (#10) | 8.1 (#19) |
| Spec score · Stock Illustration Websites | 8.8 (#6) | 7.7 (#19) |
| API access | Yes | Yes |
| Editorial assets | Yes | Yes |
| Illustration assets | Yes | Yes |
| Integrations | A Bigstock image page offers saving a preview to Google Drive. | The iStock Plugins page supports linking Dropbox so users can access, share and collaborate with content across devices. |
| Monthly downloads | 50 | 10 |
| Support | The site lists support hours as 9am–5pm EST, Monday through Friday, and offers contact and help pages. | iStock says it aims to respond to web-form support requests within 24 business hours. |
| Vector assets | Yes | Yes |
Plans
Bigstock
- 5 images/day$79 a month
- 10 images/day$99 a month
- 50 images/month$79 a month
- 10 image credits$35, paid once
- 25 image credits$49, paid once
- 5 Images/Day — 1 month$79 a month
- 10 Images/Day — 1 month$99 a month
- 100 image credits$169, paid once
- 5 Images/Day — 3 months$199, paid once
- 10 Images/Day — 3 months$269, paid once
iStock
- Basic$29 a month
- Premium$70 a month
- Premium + Video$125 a month
- Unlimited AI$14.99 a month
- Basic$29 a month
- Premium$70 a month
- Premium + Video$99 a month
In their own words
Bigstock
Bigstock is a stock-image marketplace offering more than 50 million royalty-free photos and illustrations, along with HD stock video clips. Image downloads come as JPGs, while vector illustrations are available in AI or EPS formats. Subscriptions include small, medium, large, and extra-large JPG sizes, plus vectors. Bigstock provides API access and supports web use. Subscription allowances vary by plan: for example, the 50 images/month plan is $79 a month, while the 5 images/day plan is also $79 a month. Unused subscription downloads do not roll over. Standard licenses do not expire, but each image has an aggregate print limit of 250,000 copies. Use on merchandise for sale or above that limit requires an extended license, priced at $99.00 or 50 credits. New users may be offered a seven-day video trial of up to 35 clips; trial enrollment automatically bills a subscription afterward unless canceled.
iStock
iStock licenses royalty-free photos, illustrations, vectors and video clips for advertising, websites, blogs, presentations, video productions, podcasts and other uses. Its Essentials collection covers everyday content; Signature is a collection of handpicked material exclusive to iStock. The service also offers AI image editing to add or remove objects, extend images, change backgrounds, edit by prompt and upscale generated images to 4K. iStock says its AI is trained exclusively on licensed content, not visuals or data scraped from the web, and that generated images receive automatic legal protection of $10,000 per image. Licensed files include a $10,000 USD legal guarantee, with an Extended Legal Guarantee available up to $250,000 USD. Basic costs $29 a month and Premium costs $70 a month, each billed annually with 10 downloads monthly. Premium + Video is listed at $125 a month, with a new-customer offer noted; Unlimited AI costs $14.99 a month. iStock also offers one free Signature photo each week and free illustrations and video clips each month. API access is available, and a plugin links Dropbox for accessing, sharing and collaborating on content across devices.