iStock, from Getty Images vs. JumpStory

The best examples I have of my experience with iStock, from Getty Images comes from times I am creating prototypes or design concepts to show off a new content type or provide visual examples of how a page could look with the addition of good photography. My only downside is sometimes it can be a struggle to find organic looking stock images which is a key part of the brand identity we have.

Incentivized

Not well suited for anything compared to other options. All major competitors in stock imagery space perform better in every way that mattered to us

• Variety
• Diversity
• Ease of use

Incentivized

• Find stock photos
• Download different sizes
• Save images

• Specificity
• Lots of odd photos
• DEI

Incentivized

• Limited selection of imagery with poor search capability.
• No ability to filter.
• The AI is useless.
• Scammy "trial period" that auto-switches to the expensive annual paid plan without notice.

The usability of the platform is average at best.

The customer support did not try to resolve my issue with the accidental charging and the refund I requested. Although they were quick to answer my email.

Compared to these others I feel that iStock has better variety and selection, better ease of use/interface/search features, fresher selection, and better pricing options. I don't like that Adobe Stock only has subscription options (last I checked) and I do not use them for that reason. I don't like the interface of Shutterstock as much and it's harder to download a test image to try out.

Incentivized

it is the worst of all options

• Provided good stock imagery for really niche content areas, sometimes organic photography can be hard to replicate what stock does well
• Helped to quickly gain access to advertisement ready music tracks when the marketing team have been stuck for audio
• Allowed designers to provide high fidelity examples of brand styling or campaign ideas

Incentivized

• it cost us money that would have been much better spent elsewhere
• it cost us time to try to deal with the company by email and to write reviews
• it annoyed us while testing and aggravated us when we learned we had been duped