Shutterstock Contributor vs Phlow
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Shutterstock Contributor
Empower visual artists to earn money by uploading and managing their creative content on the go. Track sales, gain customer insights, and stay updated on creative trends to optimize your portfolio and maximize earnings.
- Upload images directly from phone
- Monitor sales and portfolio performance
- Access customer insights and download data
- Stay updated on creative trends
- Manage creative work on the go
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Visual artists, photographers, and content creators- earn money in your creative field no matter where you are in the world. This is the Shutterstock Contributor app. We can't wait to showcase your incredible content, so you can earn money through your creative work. Made exclusively for approved Shutterstock artists, upload new images to the platform directly on the app to earn money through your craft. Access the app to see how potential customers interact with your portfolio and uploaded content. Educate yourself on what's trending in the creative content world, and what visuals you should be creating and selling next. Image Submission Made Easy Upload and submit images straight from your phone. It's that easy to earn money on the go! Earnings & Activity Monitor your sales, as well as the performance of your creative portfolio and work. Customer Insights & Data See what's being downloaded from your portfolio, get notified when your images are being looked at, and see what customers are purchasing around the world. The more you know, the better! Not on Shutterstock yet? Visit submit.shutterstock.com to apply now. We can't wait to have you be a part of our creative community.
Phlow
Capture and edit photos and videos with professional-grade filters and effects. Offers real-time RAW capture, live video filters, and advanced color grading tools. Seamlessly integrates with your device's photo library for non-destructive editing.
- Real-time RAW capture
- Live video filters
- Advanced color grading
- Interval capture
- Seamless camera roll integration
- 4K video editing
- Blur, Bloom, and Grain tools
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Here's everything you get when you subscribe today (we think it's a steal): * PHLOWSYNC™: A world first! Never before have you been able to go from capture to professionally colored photo straight to Photos App in full RAW non-destructively. No more exporting or duplicate files. Just shoot photos with Phlow and edit them as you normally would. All changes sync back to that file in Photos App. * PRO (RAW) CAMERA: No Fusion. No Jpgs (unless you want them)… The heart of Phlow is our raw camera. Shoot stunning images in PhlowRAW (our proprietary raw imaging process) with your favorite presets and film emulations in real time. Whether you're looking for a vintage effect, polaroid style vibe, or subtle film effect, we have you covered. * INTERVAL CAMERA (SELF TIMER): Solo content creators rejoice! Our beautiful interval camera allows you to take up to 30 photos in your desired interval timing (a photo every 2, 3, 5, 10 seconds etc). * UNRIVALED PRO PHOTO & VIDEO FILTERS AND PRESETS (SETS): Quality over everything. We've perfected the art of color grading to make your life easier. Simple, stunning, and mistakable for film. Natural pro-level color grading including film filters, photo grain, and film effects. * LIVE PRESET VIDEO COLOR GRADING: Shoot live videos with your favorite video filter effects and color in real time! A huge time saver for those who want to just shoot and post. Great for longer form content, selfie videos, YouTube makeup tutorial style videos and anything else you don't want to manually edit. * SEAMLESS CAMERA ROLL INTEGRATION: Editing photos and editing videos from anywhere on your device through our seamless camera roll integration. * 4K VIDEO EDITING (COLOR GRADING): Beautiful color grading over your 4K footage, with the ability to scrub and trim your video while you edit. * BLUR TOOL, BLOOM TOOL, GRAIN TOOL (MORE COMING SOON!): The perfect effects for that dream glow and film aesthetic. * STACK+ "TAP TO ADD" EFFECTS: STACK+ quick add-ons are a simple way to quickly layer effects on top of your edit. Add authentic Film Curves and effects for real film effects, one click color toning color enhancers, fades and more. * HDR VIDEO COLOR GRADING: HDR is here to stay but that doesn't mean those videos can't be colored to your liking. Your HDR content can now look just as good as your standard video color grades. * PRO TOOLS: Tools that just work well. Pro level exposure tool, HSL for targeting specific colors, copy/paste, and many more to come in future updates. * PROFESSIONAL LEVEL EXPORT QUALITY: Forget fuzzy uploads. High quality exports are here and they separate your content from the crowd. Stunning exports that will stand out on instagram, TikTok, and all other social platforms. * PHLOW CAMERA WIDGET: Quick draw access to the Phlow camera! One tap of our widget opens the camera so that you never miss the moment Join the Phlow family today! We're excited to see you on the inside. What others are saying: "This app is one of the most incredible things I've come across! The raw camera has absolutely blown me away!!! It shoots so dang good and my husband also hasn't stopped raving about it. I just got home from a Europe trip and I was able to get some amazing pictures throughout the beautiful places we visited with Phlow!" Auto renewable subscription information: Start your Phlow subscription with a 7 day free trial on our annual plan. Once your trial ends, you will be charged for the annual subscription. Your Phlow subscription will automatically renew, unless auto renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can turn off your subscription anytime from your phone settings. The seven day trial only applies to the annual subscription. Read our terms: https://phlowapp.com/pages/terms Read our privacy policy: https://phlowapp.com/pages/privacy-policy support@phlowapp.com www.phlowapp.com www.instagram.com/phlowapp
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Phlow at 81% against Shutterstock Contributor's 36%. Phlow also leads on rating (4.9 vs 4.4) and update cadence (every 8 days vs monthly). Shutterstock Contributor's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10) and ratings volume (8.6K vs 2.6K). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Phlow sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $1.89 per 7 days. Shutterstock Contributor asks for nothing beyond the download.
Phlow holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 8.6K and 2.6K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 36% of Shutterstock Contributor's written reviews are positive against 81% of Phlow's.
Shutterstock Contributor ships an update monthly, Phlow every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Shutterstock Contributor | Phlow |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (8.6K ratings) | 4.9 (2.6K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 36.3% of reviews | 80.7% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 8.6K — better | 2.6K |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Every 8 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 70 MB | 254 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Shutterstock Inc. | Phlow, Inc. |
Customer experience
Shutterstock Contributor
Phlow
User reviews
Shutterstock Contributor
From 8.6K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Easy to use
- 📱 Convenient mobile app
- 💰 Potential to earn money
- 📊 Useful for tracking sales and portfolio
Room to improve
- 🔍 Strict and inconsistent review process
- 💸 Low payouts for contributors
- 🤖 Automated rejections without clear feedback
- 📤 Difficulty uploading and managing content
- 🔒 Privacy concerns with required personal information
Phlow
From 2.6K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 User-friendly interface
- 🚀 High-quality photos and videos
- 💡 Innovative presets and editing tools
- 🤩 Elevates content creation
- 🎨 Stunning filters and color grading
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional crashes and bugs
- 🕰️ Slow performance and lag
- 💰 Subscription-based model
- 📥 Difficulty downloading photos/videos
Bugs and requests
Shutterstock Contributor
Reported bugs
3 issues- Frequent app crashes and glitches
- Inconsistent upload and review status updates
- Incorrect or misleading rejection reasons
Requested features
4 requests- Batch editing and uploading capabilities
- More detailed analytics and sales reporting
- Ability to edit and manage portfolio within the app
- Support for video uploads and tracking
Phlow
Reported bugs
3 issues- Inconsistent camera exposure
- Cropping tool not functioning properly
- Crashes when opening certain photos/videos
Requested features
4 requests- Live camera view without presets
- Advanced editing tools (e.g., selective editing, masking)
- Batch export and download options
- Improved video recording features (e.g., zoom, frame rate)
In-app purchases
Shutterstock Contributor
No in-app purchases
Phlow
- All Access$1.897 Days
- Phlow: Raw Camera + Presets$5.901 Month
- Phlow Pro Weekly$7.997 Days
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- Phlow Pro - Monthly$8.001 Month
- Phlow: Camera & Photo Editor$12.491 Month
- All Access7 Days trial$48.001 Year
- Secret Price - Yearly$49.991 Year
- Phlow: Camera & Photo Editor7 Days trial$59.901 Year
- Phlow Pro - Yearly7 Days trial$59.991 Year
- Phlow Platinum Lifetime Access$450.00
Questions
Is Shutterstock Contributor free?
Is Phlow free?
Which has better reviews, Shutterstock Contributor or Phlow?
Do Shutterstock Contributor or Phlow have ads?
Which is updated more often, Shutterstock Contributor or Phlow?
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