Shutterstock is one of the biggest and most popular image banks around the web, but its massive library of high-quality stock images is locked under a paid threshold. If you keep wanting to try them without cashing out and downloading photos free from Shutterstock, you may wonder: is there a Shutterstock Free Trial?
Why yes, there is! Until very recently they weren’t doing free trials, but you’ll be happy to know that as of now, the stock photo giant has a new 30-day trial for free available for everyone. The Shutterstock free trial is now a reality, and we bring it to you right here! If you were wondering how to get Shutterstock free, this is the ultimate way to get your Shutterstock image download sorted at no cost!
In addition, you can also get one free photo and one free vector image every week from Shutterstock’s website, with no strings attached. So many options to get Shutterstock image downloads for free. Cool, huh?
Read on as we give you the full scoop on these two ways to get free royalty-free images without watermark from Shutterstock!
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Shutterstock Free Trial: 10 Free Images for 30 Days
The new Shutterstock Free Trial lets you download up to 10 stock images (and vector images alike) during one month, totally free of charge. It is essentially giving you the first month from an annual Shutterstock Pro (formerly Shutterstock regular subscriptions) for free, for you to test the waters with their service and image quality, all the while getting Shutterstock images free download.
Shutterstock has a variety of subscription plans available, but only the annual, 10 images a month plan comes with a free trial deal. However, nothing stops you from using this trial period to get Shutterstock images for free and later switch to a free account just for browsing, a monthly subscription, upgrade to a higher-volume annual plan, or even go for an on demand pack should you wish so –in that case, make sure to take advantage of our cool Shutterstock Coupon Codes for discounts:
Or access your Shutterstock Free Trial right now!
How to Get the Shutterstock Free Trial
It’s very easy! Just follow these steps:
- Click on the Shutterstock Free Trial banner below or click here to start your free trial process
- You will also land on Shutterstock’s Free Trial page, where you must click on the “Start your trial” button to get the purchase/checkout process started
- You will see the plan payment details including that it’s billed monthly at $29, and below this that the entirety of the monthly fee is discounted and your total to pay is zero.
- Complete the purchase details, including the billing information
- Hit the “complete checkout button”
- Done! You now have 30 days to download up to 10 images of your choice from Shutterstock
Quick tip: Alternatively, you can access the free trial from Shutterstock’s plans page, where you can see all the subscriptions and image packs available. Here, you must select the annual subscription for 10 downloads a month, and you’ll see the red sign disclosing the free trial. Our way is faster, though! Here is the Shutterstock pricing page.
Important: This is an annual plan, after the first month, you will be charged the regular $29 a month price automatically –this is why you must enter your credit card info to unlock the trial. To avoid any charges, you must cancel your Shutterstock subscription plan within the initial 30 days of activating it.
What’s included: The free trial lets you download any 10 high-quality images or vector images of your choice from Shutterstock’s catalog of over 400 million files for 30 days. All images you download come with their Standard License, meaning these are royalty-free images, suitable for commercial use, and legally verified. They are also all high resolution and suitable for professional use, be it digital or print, and you can see all these details on the image page.
Extras: Besides access to downloads, the trial period also gives you full access to other perks in Shutterstock’s service, such as your own homepage with personalized suggestions, their curated collections, and the premium version of the new Shutterstock Create –a cool photo editor pro for editing images and create visuals on the fly.
About stock videos: This 30-day trial does not include any stock videos. In fact, none of this agency’s subscription plans includes stock footage. You can buy Shutterstock stock videos separately, but as of now, there is no free trial for video available.
How to Cancel the Shutterstock Trial for Free
If you don’t wish to pay for a Shutterstock subscription after your free trial is up, you need to cancel the plan before the trial period is up.
You can do this easily, though. Here is how:
- Log in to your Shutterstock account
- Go to the Plans page
- Click on your current plan
- Select “Cancel plan early”
- Done! You will see a notification on the screen that your plan has been successfully canceled. Additionally, you will be asked to select a reason for the cancellation (but it does not affect the cancellation itself)
Remember that as long as you cancel within the period that the trial is active, you will not be charged a penny, and you get to use your 10 free downloads until the end of the month anyway!
Important: Shutterstock bills the upcoming monthly subscription about 48 hours before the previous month expires. This means that to avoid being charged automatically for the next month, you must cancel your trial at least more than 48hs before it’s due.
However, if you missed that window and were automatically charged, but you wish to cancel the trial, you can contact Shutterstock directly to request a cancelation. As long as the original 30 days of free testing are not expired, they will help you with free cancelation.
What Happens if I Stay Subscribed After the Trial Ends
If you are happy with the service and the number of downloads and want to keep the paid plan, you can simply stay subscribed. As they already have your payment information, once the trial period ends, you will continue paying $29 monthly for another 11 months. As we mentioned before, the possibility to upgrade or modify your plan is also there.
Note: Shutterstock subscriptions automatically renew whether they’re month-to-month or annual, like in the case of the free trial. So make sure to unselect the auto-renew option in your user account if you do not wish to automatically continue your plan for another year.
Plus: You can cancel a paid Shutterstock plan anytime you wish, but cancelation fees may apply. In the case of the annual 10 downloads a month plan, the cancelation fee will equal the amount of savings from the regular month-to-month price that you accumulated through your subscription.
Bonus: Shutterstock’s Weekly Free Stock Images
Another way to obtain free stock photography from Shutterstock –that doesn’t involve entering your credit card information– is through their long-running offer of weekly freebies. Every week, the agency releases one free stock photo and one free vector file that you can find on their website and download totally free of charge, with no further commitment. All you have to do is sign up for free on their platform, and you will be granted access to these free downloads.
Here’s how to do it:
- Sign up for free at Shutterstock
- Go to the weekly free images page
- Click the download button below the image or vector
- Done! The file will be downloaded immediately
Tip: The free image and vector given away for free get renewed every Tuesday, so visit it weekly to catch the new freebies as they come.
Plus: Signing up on Shutterstock is free, and it gives you more than just free downloads. You can save photos to your personal collections, download watermarked comps to test-edit images before purchasing, and keep track of all your activity, including download history.
A note: You can use the 30-day trial and the weekly giveaways simultaneously!
The company tries to vary the themes and genres included in their weekly free files, and they come with a Standard License, so they’re perfectly safe to use. This is just another way to access Shutterstock’s stock images without having to pay for them, and the highlight is with this method, there is no need for cancellations or further payments.
Heads up! If you are hunting for more freebies from stock photo agencies, check our full list of stock photo-free trials! There is more than one powerful alternative in there!
If you are looking for info regarding stock video licensing, check the Shutterstock Video License comparison, as Shutterstock now has both Standard and Enhanced video licensing available!
Shutterstock Images Without Watermark for Free
The Shutterstock Free Trial is so great because it gives you professional, royalty-free images from Shutterstock without the protective Shutterstock watermark, including their valid license, without having to pay for them.
See, Shutterstock only releases the high-resolution, non-watermarked version of their images after you pay for them, be it through a subscription or an image pack. But with this trial, you can download the images in the highest resolution available, with a valid royalty-free license that covers commercial use, 100% free. These images are safe to use in creative projects for your business.
And unlike other methods to get Shutterstock images without watermark, with this one, you also get to choose which 10 images you want from their library, with over 406 million. You can use the search bar and its advanced search features to find and download your favorite images. It doesn’t get any better than this.
Did you think their library size is impressive? Check out the Shutterstock statistic report for more relevant numbers!
Shutterstock Free Trial FAQ
Is Shutterstock a free image website?
No. Shutterstock is an online stock photo agency that sells royalty-free licenses to download and use stock imagery. Its photos aren’t free, you have to pay for them.
Is there a free version of Shutterstock?
You can sign up for a user account on Shutterstock for free and navigate the entirety of the website and its libraries of stock images, videos, and music for free, even without an account.
But to download content from Shutterstock, you have to pay. There is no free version of Shutterstock, except for the special and limited-time offer for Shutterstock’s free trial.
Are there free images on Shutterstock?
Yes. You can find two weekly free pictures on Shutterstock’s homepage and also unlock 10 free image downloads for one month with the Shutterstock free trial
How do I get 10 free images on Shutterstock?
By signing up for the Shutterstock Free Trial right here. This offer lets you download your choice of 10 Shutterstock free images with a Standard license for 30 days.
Is Shutterstock Free Trial really free?
Yes. The Shutterstock free trial period gives you free access to Shutterstock, including 10 image downloads, during 30 days, and it’s completely free of charge.
Can you cancel Shutterstock before free trial ends?
Yes. If you don’t wish to stay subscribed and begin paying for your plan, you can cancel your subscription plan before the free trial period ends, and you won’t be charged a dime.
Is Shutterstock easy to cancel?
Yes. You can cancel your free trial right on your Shutterstock account settings, on their website, and you can always contact the company directly for this, too. While you have 30 days to download your free stock photos and you can cancel anytime, we recommend to cancel plan early –at least five days before the expiration of the free trial– to make sure no billing has been issued and you won’t see any charges.
How much is Shutterstock after free trial?
If you wish to move to a paid subscription after the free trial ends, you must stay subscribed. Shutterstock will automatically charge you for the plan on your selected payment method. The free trial will sign you up for an annual subscription for 10 downloads per month, with a monthly subscription fee of $29.
Alternatively, you may also upgrade your plan to one with a bigger volume of downloads (at higher price points), or switch to a monthly plan with no annual commitment, for example. Shutterstock has really low prices.
Get Awesome Stock Images for Free at Shutterstock
So there you go, two great options to download stock photography for free from one of the most popular agencies!
Which free trial do you like the best? Are you going to try them both? Share your thoughts in the comments.
And happy designing!
