iStock, from Getty Images vs. Substack

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
iStock, from Getty Images
Score 8.5 out of 10
N/A
iStock by Getty Images headquartered in Seattle is presented as a complete creative resource for original content, with millions of photos, illustrations, videos & audio to choose from.N/A
Substack
Score 8.6 out of 10
N/A
Substack is a subscription-based newsletter publishing platform.N/A
Pricing
iStock, from Getty ImagesSubstack
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
iStock, from Getty ImagesSubstack
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Best Alternatives
iStock, from Getty ImagesSubstack
Small Businesses
Anchor by Spotify
Anchor by Spotify
Score 9.0 out of 10
Anchor by Spotify
Anchor by Spotify
Score 9.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Pexels
Pexels
Score 9.2 out of 10
Pexels
Pexels
Score 9.2 out of 10
Enterprises
Pexels
Pexels
Score 9.2 out of 10
Pexels
Pexels
Score 9.2 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
iStock, from Getty ImagesSubstack
Likelihood to Recommend
8.8
(4 ratings)
8.7
(6 ratings)
User Testimonials
iStock, from Getty ImagesSubstack
Likelihood to Recommend
Getty Images
The best examples I have of my experience with iStock, from Getty Images comes from times I am creating prototypes or design concepts to show off a new content type or provide visual examples of how a page could look with the addition of good photography. My only downside is sometimes it can be a struggle to find organic looking stock images which is a key part of the brand identity we have.
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Substack Inc.
I think Substack is better for people who want to set up a personal-facing branded website vs people who just want to post random musings every so often. Monetization is better there than any other collective publishing platform as well as organic reach via email. Substack also allows you to build direct relationships with your readers via emails and own them 100% which is great long-term if you use it to pivot to another site or another form of writing/content creation. Substack would be less helpful for someone wanting to write as a part of a group, not individually, or someone who's unwilling to put their personal brand behind their content. It's less optimized for SEO (which other platforms allow you to do) and can be harder to curate content based on your interests (you really have to go in knowing what you want vs finding it on the fly).
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Pros
Getty Images
  • Variety
  • Diversity
  • Ease of use
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Substack Inc.
  • Because it has a very high Domain Authority ranking relevant backlinks in a published article will help make my store more searchable.
  • Substack is very easy to work in. The toolset they provide may not be as extensive as other platforms but it is certainly enough to create a meaningful, interesting post.
  • Substack is very focused on creating a community of writers that support each other. They run an ongoing email campaign that reinforces their focus on building a community of writers.
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Cons
Getty Images
  • Specificity
  • Lots of odd photos
  • DEI
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Substack Inc.
  • editor is on the primitive side - it's wysiwyg, but missing some embed options
  • integrate with google analytics
  • percentage cut that Substack takes can become a burden as your revenue grows. Problems scaling.
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Alternatives Considered
Getty Images
Compared to these others I feel that iStock has better variety and selection, better ease of use/interface/search features, fresher selection, and better pricing options. I don't like that Adobe Stock only has subscription options (last I checked) and I do not use them for that reason. I don't like the interface of Shutterstock as much and it's harder to download a test image to try out.
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Substack Inc.
Medium is not so good for running newsletter. I find the mail that a user gets is very easily readable. Also as a creator it's very easy for me to track the analytics and monetise my blogs unlike Medium. Blogger is a very old technology. The kind of integrations and the support for Markdown / different media is very great in Substack.
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Return on Investment
Getty Images
  • Provided good stock imagery for really niche content areas, sometimes organic photography can be hard to replicate what stock does well
  • Helped to quickly gain access to advertisement ready music tracks when the marketing team have been stuck for audio
  • Allowed designers to provide high fidelity examples of brand styling or campaign ideas
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Substack Inc.
  • I haven’t made any money from it
  • Can be disheartening when you realise you’re putting in maximum effort for minimum audience
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ScreenShots