The bottom line
With cheap subscription plans and unlimited downloads, Vecteezy is a good option for beginner graphic designers. Vectors are gorgeous, images are okay but lack variety and quantity, and stock videos are not the best.
Pros
- Cheap.
- Absolutely gorgeous vectors.
- Easy to use built-in editor.
- Access to a community of other creatives.
Cons
- Smaller content library than some competitors.
- Search is sometimes inaccurate.
- Free vectors are limited.
- A free account forces you to attribute.
What is Vecteezy?
Vecteezy is an online collection of stock photos, videos, and vector images. All content is free to download, but it comes with certain restrictions, so a monthly charge is required to take advantage of all its features.
Vecteezy competes with large stock photo sites with a focus on customers with a smaller budget, such as freelance graphic designers. But it’s not a good source of graphics for all creative professionals, since pros would find more use with Adobe Stock and Adobe Illustrator.
Pricing
Vecteezy offers a Free and a Pro plan. The Pro plan costs $9.00/month with a yearly subscription and $14.00/month with a monthly subscription. Both plans give you unlimited downloads, access to the editor, full commercial rights, and no need for attribution.
| Free | Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly | $0.00 | $14.00 |
| Yearly | $0.00 | $9.00 |
| Unlimited downloads | ✗ | ✓ |
| Commercial rights | ✗ | ✓ |
| Millions of resources | ✓ | ✓ |
| Editor access | ✗ | ✓ |
| No attribution required | ✗ | ✓ |
| Fast downloads | ✗ | ✓ |
| No ads | ✗ | ✓ |
| Priority support | ✗ | ✓ |
Subscription or pay as you go?
Subscription Pro plans are a lot more affordable when you need a lot of downloads. From $9.00/month, you get unlimited downloads, whereas the pay as you go option costs $10 for 1 download, $15 for 5, and $20 for 10.
By subscribing you activate a Pro plan that comes with several features not available with the pay as you go option. For example, you can use the editor, get unlimited access to Brusheezy.com and exclusive bundles.
In the end, choose the option that best fits your budget. But pay as you go doesn’t seem like an excellent investment. So, I recommend a subscription plan, either with a monthly or a yearly commitment.
Is Vecteezy free for commercial use?
Vecteezy is free for commercial use, but certain restrictions apply. You must attribute Vecteezy.com, you may make up to 50 copies or sales or generate up to 10,000 views, and your budget must be below $1,000.
To omit the attribution and be allowed to expand your campaign, you need to get a Pro plan, which gets you a pro license.
Features
1. Bundles
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.
How do I get a bundle?
You can get a bundle in several ways:
- Join Vecteezy Pro. You’ll receive a bundle of your choice as a welcome gift.
- With the Pro subscriptions. Vecteezy periodically releases limited-time bundles to all Pro members.
- Buy it for $39. Any user, Pro or Free can buy a bundle. Bundle purchases are not refundable.
How many files are in a bundle?
All bundles are unique, and the number of files varies. Before you buy, you can check the number of included files by clicking on the show page.
Which license comes with a bundle?
Every bundle comes with a Pro license, with a few exceptions. For example, you may not embed fonts from bundles on websites, documents, apps, software, or e-books. Also, bundle content doesn’t have a legal indemnification.
2. Vecteezy SVG Editor
This web-based SVG editor is easy to use and works with the free plan as well. You can add shapes, text, and vector images, as well as edit their attributes. However, it’s simplistic and too limited to advanced designs.
If you’re into graphic design, I recommend investing in Adobe Illustrator, as it’s what most professionals do. So, it’ll give you the technological edge over your competition, who doesn’t use it.
License
Vecteezy licenses all its content with three licenses: Free, Pro, and Pro Extended. The licenses differ in price, legal guarantee, attribution requirement, and view and copy limits. The licenses also differ between vectors, photos, and videos.
| Free license | Pro License | Pro Extended License | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free with Pro plan | $99.00 |
| Legal guarantee | Up to $500 | Up to $10,000 | Up to $100,000 |
| Attribution | Required | Not Required | Not Required |
| Prints, Packaging, & Merch | Up to 50 Copies | Up to 100,000 Copies | Unlimited |
| TV, Online Video, & Film | Budgets up to $1,000 | Budgets up to $10,000 | Unlimited |
| Ads, Signage, & Decorations | Up to 10,000 Views | Up to 100,000 Views | Unlimited |
| Digital Media | Vectors: Up to 50 Sales; Photos, Videos: Unlimited Views | Vectors: Up to 100,000 Sales; Photos, Videos: Unlimited Views | Unlimited |
| Merchandise | ✗ | ✗ | 100K cards, 10K posters, 2K T-Shirts |
Alternatives
1. Adobe – Best for designers
Price: Illustrator – $20.99/month; Photoshop – $9.99/month; Adobe Stock – $29.99+/month or $0.27+/image.
Adobe’s features and services make it the best all-in-one solution for creatives like photographers, graphic designers, painters, and video editors. Compared to Vecteezy’s editor, there’s Adobe Illustrator (for SVG) and Adobe Photoshop (for JPG and PNG). Both are much more advanced than the Vecteezy editor, but also more difficult to use. However, they give you the same design options as the pros.
Use Adobe Stock for vectors and images. Compared to Vecteezy, Adobe Stock offers over 220 million assets created for Adobe by the world’s best artists. The best part is that Adobe Stock is integrated with Creative Cloud, which means you can download all vectors (and other assets) from any Adobe app. This saves you a lot of money because you can test the images before you buy them.
2. Canva – Cheapest & easy to use
Price: $9.95/month, $1+/image.
Canva is a remarkable online platform for graphic design. Its drag-and-drop editor is miles ahead of Vecteezy’s while being just as easy to use. Canva is better for designers who don’t need the advanced features that Adobe offers but want the same integration. Additionally, Canva is cheaper than Adobe and costs roughly the same as Vecteezy.
3. Freepik
Price: $10.00/month (yearly); $14.99/month (monthly).
Freepik is a decent alternative to Vecteezy with over 5.7 million vectors, 14+ million stock photos, and almost 700K PSD files. Like Vecteezy, the free plan requires you to attribute Freepik. You don’t get unlimited downloads, and the website is going to be full of ads. However, Freepik doesn’t come with a content editor.
4. Shutterstock
Price: $0.22+/image.
Shutterstock provides stock photos, vectors, and illustrations. It costs as much as Adobe Stock, but it doesn’t come with useful integration. Shutterstock has an image editor, but it’s not specialized for vectors.
FAQ
Which is better, Vecteezy or Freepik?
The major difference between Vecteezy and Freepik is that Vecteezy offers a built-in online SVG editor while Freepik doesn’t. Both sites offer vectors, photos, and videos, and they both cost around $10/month.
What is Vecteezy used for?
Vecteezy is best used as the source for vectors, but you can also get stock photos and videos.
Can I use Vecteezy for print on demand?
Yes, you may use Vecteezy for on-demand printing, but you must use the right license. You should get either Pro license (up to 500K prints) or Pro Extended license for larger prints.
Can you use Vecteezy for logos?
No, you may not use Vecteezy for logos, unless you buy an Exclusive license that provides you all the right for a logo or trademark use.
Can I use Vecteezy for commercial?
Yes, you may use both Free and Pro content for commercial purposes, but certain restrictions apply. I recommend using the Pro license for any commercial projects as they allow more copies.
Is Vecteezy copyright free?
No, Vecteezy is not copyright free. All content is licensed under a royalty-free license.
Summary
Vecteezy is a great source of vector images but not ideal for photos and videos. It’s very cheap and allows you to download unlimited vectors each month.
The SVG editor is not the best since it’s too simple for most work you need to do. Unless you’re a beginner, I recommend an alternative like Canva or Adobe Illustrator.