Vecteezy review 2023: not bad, not good

Vecteezy is one of those stock photo sites everyone usually just forgets about. It’s not that it’s bad; it just doesn’t excel at anything—photos are average and repetitive, videos look amateurish, and the search is cluttered. Does that mean that Vecteezy isn’t worth your money? Not necessarily, but I wouldn’t buy a Vecteezy subscription.

So, what exactly is Vecteezy? Vecteezy is an online marketplace that provides access to millions of resources, such as photos, vectors, videos, and bundles, through a paid subscription plan, which costs $9.00 or $14.00 per month. While these prices are affordable, I would look at Shutterstock for images, Envato Elements for videos, templates, and fonts on a budget, and Adobe Stock if invested in the Adobe ecosystem.

Vecteezy pricing

Their pricing strategy appears to be in a bit of a testing phase. For some users, the Pro plan comes in at a wallet-friendly $9.00 per month when billed annually, or $14.00 per month for a more flexible month-to-month commitment. However, in other instances, the same Pro plan costs $10.99 per month for the yearly bill cycle and shoots up to $19.99 when paid monthly. That’s a noticeable price variation, especially since there are no additional features or perks involved.

On the budget-friendly side of things, Vecteezy hasn’t forgotten about those wanting a more economical route. The platform offers a free plan that unlocks millions of downloadable resources. The catch? You won’t get commercial rights, and you’ll have to give credit where credit’s due with proper attribution. It’s a reasonable alternative for personal use, but if you’re in the market for something more professional, you’ll likely want to opt for one of the Pro plans.

If you’re not ready to subscribe but still want the benefits of premium downloads, you can opt for a pay-as-you-go option. This means you pay for each download separately or purchase several in bulk. However, it’s important to note that this option can be more costly compared to subscribing.

• 1 download: $10.00 ($10.00/download)
• 5 downloads: $15.00 ($3.00/download)
• 10 downloads: $20.00 ($2.00/download)

Subscription or pay-as-you-go? Vecteezy offers both. If you need frequent access to a wide array of photos, vectors, and special features, the subscription plan is your best bet, starting at just $9.00/month for unlimited downloads. But if you need only a handful of downloads, consider the pay-as-you-go route, though it’s pricier per item—$10 for one download, $15 for five, and $20 for ten. Your choice boils down to how extensively you’ll use Vecteezy and what your budget allows.

Decent licensing terms

Put simply, Vecteezy provides royalty-free licensing, which means that you only need to pay for the license at the time of download and can use the licensed content freely and indefinitely within the terms of the license agreement.

Here’s the complete breakdown:

Vecteezy’s general liability to you is capped at the greater of $100 or what you’ve paid them in the last six months, unless the law states otherwise or specific indemnification rules apply. If your claim involves indemnification related to licensing, different limits apply: $500 for Editorial or Free Licenses, $10,000 for Pro Licenses, and $100,000 for Pro Extended Licenses. For claims involving both you and a sublicensee, the payout won’t exceed the set limit for that specific content and will be divided based on incurred losses.

What are bundles, then?

We already know that you get unlimited downloads of all Vecteezy content with an active Pro subscriptions, so why would anyone needs bundles? While an active Pro subscription grants you unlimited downloads of Vecteezy content, bundles bring something extra to the table. A bundle is a package of various creative resources grouped together and distributed as a single download. Contributors on Vecteezy create these bundles, and they often include exclusive content like fonts, slide decks, Photoshop brushes, mock-ups, and more, which might not be available otherwise.

Securing a bundle is straightforward. Once you join Vecteezy Pro, a welcome gift in the form of a bundle is yours to claim. Additionally, Pro members are periodically treated to limited-time bundles. If subscription isn’t your style, there’s the option to directly purchase a bundle for $39, accessible to both Pro and Free users, but remember, these are non-refundable.

Wondering about the variety in a bundle? Each one is unique, with the number of files varying. A quick click on the show page lets you in on the specifics before purchase. As for licensing, bundles generally come equipped with a Pro license. However, there are limitations – embedding fonts from bundles in various platforms is a no-go, and legal indemnification is not part of the package.

A bundle comprises several creative resources, not just one. These files are usually packed into a folder and distributed as a single download. Like all other resources on Vecteezy.com, the contributors create bundles. However, they may contain content that is not otherwise available, such as fonts, slide decks, Photoshop brushes, mock-ups, and more.

Search got better, but …

Vecteezy’s search engine has made commendable strides, particularly when it comes to nuanced filters like content type, license, and even the age of people in images. In many ways, it’s evolved into a robust, user-friendly system—something that definitely brings a smile to my face. But let’s get real for a moment. Filtering by the number of people in the images still leaves you scratching your head. For something that you’d expect to be straightforward, it’s anything but.

And let’s talk about the elephant in the room: the AI-generated filter. In an era where AI-created images are flooding the landscape of stock photo platforms like Vecteezy and Freepik, the filter that’s supposed to help you navigate this influx is sadly ineffectual. Looking for a realistic photograph? Prepare to wade through a sea of AI-generated options, which is more than a little frustrating.

Worse yet, when the selection is already limited, the search engine throws a curveball by populating your results with thousands of off-topic images. So, instead of seeing a curated list of the 20 best matches, you’re left scrolling endlessly through a jumbled assortment that just complicates the task at hand.

All in all, while the search function has made significant progress, it’s a mixed bag of delight and disappointment. There’s still work to be done to take the user experience from “good” to “great.”

FAQs

Just for fun

Vecteezy is one of the most confusing names spelled in the stock image industry. Here’s are the most common ones, and the all refer to “Vecteezy”:

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