There are basically two types of Shutterstock Licenses: Standard and Enhanced. These two licenses fit most people’s needs for the end usage of the content. Shutterstock offers many more license types, for most of us only need a Standard or Enhanced License. Here is a side by side look at the difference between the two licenses:
| STANDARD LICENSE | ENHANCED LICENSE | |
| License Duration | Perpetual | Perpetual |
| Regions of Use | Worldwide | Worldwide |
| Digital use including websites, mobile apps, software, & eBooks | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Print such as books, magazines, & posters | Up to 500,000 copies | Unlimited |
| Legal Indemnification | Up to $10,000 | Up to $250,000 |
| Advertising such as billboards, signage, subway ads, & tradeshows | Up to 500,000 gross impressions (views, not viewers) | Unlimited |
| TV, Online Video, and Film | Production budgets up to $10,000 | Unlimited |
| Web or Print Temples | No | Yes |
| Merchandise | No | Yes |
| Packaging | Up to 500,000 units | Unlimited |
| Decoration for personal use | Yes | Yes |
| Decoration in an office or public space | No | Yes |
Let’s say you found an awesome image that you’d like to print on a t-shirt. You definitely need an Enhanced License for that because a t-shirt is classified as merchandise.
If you know you are going to need more than one Enhanced License this year, I suggest you buy a multi-pack. You can choose between a 2, 5, or 25 pack, which will lower the price per License.
| 2 Pack | = $199 |
| 4 Pack | = $449 |
| 25 Pack | = $1,699 |
PRO TIP: You only have one year in which to use these licenses. Whatever you don’t use after 12 months from the purchase date, you lose.
When you’ve found the image you want, click on the red download button above the image.
A side panel with slide out with some options. By default, the license type is Standard. Change the type of license to Enhanced and select download (if you have Enhanced License credits) or Buy and Download (if you don’t have any Enhanced credits left).
This is will take you to check out. If you have purchased an Enhanced Download image pack, you will not need to enter your payment information again. If will only ask you to confirm if you would like to use one of your Enhanced License credits for this asset.
If you have already downloaded this image with a Standard License and then realise that you require an Enhanced License, you will need to go through the same process.
PRO TIP: the amount you paid for the Standard License will not be applied to the Enhanced License. If you already know that you will need an Enhanced License for an image, download the image with an Enhanced License the first time around.
That’s it! If you need more information on the differences between a Standard and Enhanced license, check out this article on Shutterstock.