# Shutterstock AI Image Generator vs Step1

Shutterstock AI Image Generator records 47,855,171 monthly visits with +3.2% month-over-month growth and Paid pricing. Step1 records 0 monthly visits with — growth and Free pricing.

| Metric | [Shutterstock AI Image Generator](https://openaitools.app/tool/shutterstock-com) | [Step1](https://openaitools.app/tool/step1) |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Website URL | https://www.shutterstock.com/ai-image-generator | https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/step1/aghjfakpkmlhmppddoingmepnlignjgd |
| Categories | AI Image Generator, AI Design Generator, AI Photo Editor | Web3, Graph AI, AI For Data Analytics |
| Pricing Model | Paid | Free |
| Monthly Visits | 47,855,171 | 0 |
| MoM Growth Rate | +3.2% | — |
| Primary Market | United States | Global |
| Direct Visits | 12,470,325 | 0 |
| Review Score | 4.3 | 1.8 |
| Saved Count | 45 | 1 |
| Supported Platforms | Website | Browser Extension |

## Shutterstock AI Image Generator

Unlike standalone consumer text-to-image generators where copyright hygiene and commercial usage rights remain legally murky, the Shutterstock AI Image Generator is built specifically for businesses, marketers, and agencies that require clear licensing paperwork. Rather than relying solely on a single proprietary model, Shutterstock evolved its generator into a unified multi-model workspace: users can manually pick from frontier image engines—including OpenAI's GPT Image 2, Google's Imagen 4 Ultra and Gemini 3.1 Flash, and Runway Gen-4—or let Shutterstock's built-in AI Model Recommender select the optimal engine for a given prompt.

Every image downloaded from the generator ships with a Shutterstock Standard License and up to $10,000 in legal indemnification coverage, while Enterprise and Business customers can request on-demand human compliance review for full contractual indemnification and private team generations. Shutterstock also addresses ethical sourcing head-on through its Contributor Fund, which pays royalties to stock artists whose licensed works were used in training datasets, while keeping contributor-uploaded AI art out of its traditional 625-million-asset library. Note that by default on individual plans, AI images generated on the platform are added to Shutterstock's public catalog for other customers to license unless your organization is on a Business/Teams plan with private generations enabled.

In 2026—following the July 7, 2026 termination of the proposed Getty Images merger—Shutterstock sharpened its hybrid Stock + GenAI subscription lineup and launched a Claude connector (August 2026) alongside its existing ChatGPT app. Creators who only need AI visuals can subscribe to the standalone GenAI plan at $15/month billed annually ($180/year) or $29/month month-to-month for 100 monthly generation credits. For teams blending authentic photography with synthetic graphics, Unlimited Images ($29/month billed yearly) bundles unlimited downloads from 83M+ curated stock photos with 50 AI credits/month, while Unlimited Plus ($69/month billed yearly) unlocks 100M+ stock images, videos, music, and SFX alongside 100 monthly AI credits.

**Pricing & Plans:** New users get 2 free trial generations, after which the standalone GenAI subscription costs $15/month billed annually ($180/year) or $29/month with no contract for 100 AI generation credits per month. AI generation credits are also bundled into stock subscriptions, including Unlimited Images ($29/mo billed yearly with 50 AI credits/mo) and Unlimited Plus ($69/mo billed yearly with 100 AI credits/mo), alongside custom Teams and Business indemnification plans.

- **Multi-Model Selector & AI Model Recommender:** Provides single-dashboard access to leading third-party visual models—including OpenAI GPT Image 2, Google Imagen 4 Ultra, Gemini 3.1 Flash, and Runway Gen-4—with an automated recommender that matches prompts to the best engine.
- **Standard Commercial License & $10,000 Indemnification:** Attaches a commercial Shutterstock Standard License and $10,000 legal indemnification to every downloaded AI image, with full human-reviewed indemnification available on Enterprise and Business tiers.
- **AI Image Editor & Generative Outpainting:** Includes browser-based inpainting, magic object erasure, background removal, image reference guidance, and aspect-ratio canvas expansion that routes royalties directly to the original contributor when editing stock photos.
- **Unified 625M+ Stock & GenAI Search with Claude/ChatGPT Apps:** Displays stock photos, vectors, 3D assets, and AI generation options in one workflow, complemented by official ChatGPT and Claude connectors for conversational asset discovery.
- **Ethical Contributor Fund Compensation:** Compensates hundreds of thousands of human photographers and illustrators via Shutterstock's AI Contributor Fund while enforcing strict DE&I and brand-safety guardrails.

**Strengths:** Every downloaded AI image includes a clear commercial Standard License backed by $10,000 legal indemnification; Aggregates top frontier models (GPT Image 2, Imagen 4 Ultra, Gemini 3.1 Flash, Runway Gen-4) under one $15/mo annual plan; Seamlessly combines 625M+ authentic stock assets with generative AI tools and ChatGPT/Claude assistant connectors; Ethically compensates human artists through the Contributor Fund and pays direct royalties on AI-edited stock photos

**Limitations:** Images generated on individual plans are added to Shutterstock's public library and are not exclusive unless on a Business/Teams plan; Unused monthly generation credits (50 or 100/month) expire at the end of each monthly billing cycle; Experimental AI Video Generator outputs do not yet carry commercial licensing coverage, limiting them to previsualization

[Profile (Markdown)](https://openaitools.app/tool/shutterstock-com.md)

## Step1

Step1 is a Chrome extension that describes itself as an AI-based Web3 user graph. Rather than judging accounts on raw activity alone, it analyses behaviour and reputation signals to build a profile of each participant, then estimates how much that user deserves from reward and incentive programs.

The problem it targets is a familiar one in Web3: distinguishing genuine contributors from freeloaders and automated farming accounts. Incentive campaigns are frequently drained by bots and low-effort wallets, while real users are under-rewarded. Step1's stated goal is to shift that balance by scoring quality of engagement and proposing economic models that reward it.

It is a lightweight extension installed from the Chrome Web Store, offered by Step1 official. It collects web history to perform its analysis and declares that this data is not sold to third parties or used for creditworthiness decisions. Note that the listing has not been updated since mid-2023 and has a small user base, so it is best treated as an early-stage Web3 experiment rather than a mainstream productivity tool.

**Pricing & Plans:** Free to install from the Chrome Web Store. No paid tier is listed.

- **AI-driven user graph:** AI and big-data methods combine on-chain signals into a picture of who a Web3 user is and how they behave.
- **Reward optimisation:** Scores and compares participants so that genuine contributors stand out from freeloaders and farm accounts.
- **Fair incentive models:** Aimed at making incentive programs fairer by rewarding high-quality participation rather than volume.
- **Simple Chrome extension:** Installs from the Chrome Web Store and runs alongside your normal Web3 browsing.
- **Cross-platform analysis:** Analyses user activity and reputation across Web3 rather than relying on a single protocol's data.

**Strengths:** Free Chrome extension with no paid tier; Targets a real Web3 problem: separating real users from freeloaders; Runs in the browser with minimal setup; Declares data is not sold to third parties

**Limitations:** Very small install base (roughly 73 users), so there is little community or documentation support; Extension has not been updated since July 2023, which is a long gap for a Web3 product; Requires a Chrome-based browser and an active Web3 wallet to be useful; Claims and metrics around reward optimization are hard to verify independently

[Profile (Markdown)](https://openaitools.app/tool/step1.md)

## Frequently Asked Questions

### How do Shutterstock AI Image Generator and Step1 compare in monthly traffic?

Shutterstock AI Image Generator has 47,855,171 monthly visits, while Step1 has 0. Traffic estimates describe audience size, not product quality.

### How do their growth rates compare?

Shutterstock AI Image Generator has a month-over-month growth rate of +3.2%; Step1 has —.

### How does pricing compare?

Shutterstock AI Image Generator: Paid. New users get 2 free trial generations, after which the standalone GenAI subscription costs $15/month billed annually ($180/year) or $29/month with no contract for 100 AI generation credits per month. AI generation credits are also bundled into stock subscriptions, including Unlimited Images ($29/mo billed yearly with 50 AI credits/mo) and Unlimited Plus ($69/mo billed yearly with 100 AI credits/mo), alongside custom Teams and Business indemnification plans. Step1: Free. Free to install from the Chrome Web Store. No paid tier is listed.

## Alternatives

| # | Tool Name | Monthly Visits | MoM Growth Rate | Pricing Model | Summary | Profile (Markdown) |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 1 | [Adobe Firefly](https://openaitools.app/tool/adobe) | 396,998,213 | -8.6% | Freemium | Commercially safe generative AI studio with built-in copyright indemnification and native stock asset ecosystem integration. | [.md](https://openaitools.app/tool/adobe.md) |
| 2 | [Photoroom](https://openaitools.app/tool/photoroom) | 18,213,872 | -2.8% | Freemium, Free Trial, Contact for Pricing | E-commerce focused visual editor specializing in product photography background removal and generative scenes. | [.md](https://openaitools.app/tool/photoroom.md) |
| 3 | [Picsart](https://openaitools.app/tool/picsart) | 16,511,620 | +3.8% | Freemium, Free Trial | All-in-one creative studio combining AI generation with robust photo editing and design tools. | [.md](https://openaitools.app/tool/picsart.md) |
| 4 | [Midjourney](https://openaitools.app/tool/midjourney) | 8,609,446 | -0.9% | Freemium | Industry-leading image generator producing higher-fidelity visuals, though lacking native stock asset libraries and commercial indemnification. | [.md](https://openaitools.app/tool/midjourney.md) |
| 5 | [123RF AI Search Engine](https://openaitools.app/tool/123rf-ai-search-engine) | 6,259,718 | +3.7% | Free Trial, Paid, Contact for Pricing | Stock photo platform combining traditional licensed media search with native AI image generation capabilities. | [.md](https://openaitools.app/tool/123rf-ai-search-engine.md) |
| 6 | [Depositphotos AI Image Generator](https://openaitools.app/tool/depositphotos-ai-image-generator) | 5,804,983 | -2.8% | Freemium | Stock media platform offering text-to-image generation backed by commercial licensing support. | [.md](https://openaitools.app/tool/depositphotos-ai-image-generator.md) |
| 7 | [Imagine Ai Art Generator](https://openaitools.app/tool/imagine-ai-art-generator) | 2,459,527 | +15.6% | Free | Generate images, video and audio at scale with 50+ AI models | [.md](https://openaitools.app/tool/imagine-ai-art-generator.md) |
| 8 | [Playground AI](https://openaitools.app/tool/playground-ai) | 572,912 | +0.4% | Freemium, Free | Browser-based AI design studio geared toward social graphics, marketing visuals, and image editing. | [.md](https://openaitools.app/tool/playground-ai.md) |
| 9 | [Clipdrop](https://openaitools.app/tool/clipdrop) | 456,718 | -16% | Freemium, Contact for Pricing | AI photo editing suite for background removal, cleanup, upscaling and image generation | [.md](https://openaitools.app/tool/clipdrop.md) |
| 10 | [Thunderbit](https://openaitools.app/tool/thunderbit) | 391,726 | -21.9% | Freemium, Contact for Pricing | Agentic web scraper that turns any page into ready-to-use data | [.md](https://openaitools.app/tool/thunderbit.md) |

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Source: https://openaitools.app/compare/shutterstock-com-vs-step1

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