iStock Scraper

Scrape iStock search results and contributor portfolios without logging in. For each asset you get the title, caption, contributor, collection (Main, Signature, Signature+), upload date, orientation, preview, and optionally the full keyword list. Use it for microstock keyword research, competitor portfolio analysis, trend spotting and mood boards.

Each query or portfolio also produces a niche report: total results, the share of assets uploaded in the last 12 months, Signature share, top contributors, top keywords and iStock's related searches. In one table you can see whether a niche is saturated or still open.

You pay per asset. Proxies are included.

Features

• Any source: keyword search, contributor portfolios, or any iStock search, portfolio or asset URL with its filters.
• Every media type: photos, illustrations, vectors and videos (with clip length and 4K/HD).
• Sort like buyers do: best match, most popular (iStock's ranking by sales and engagement) or newest.
• Filters: orientation and number of people.
• Keywords and details: the asset's full keyword list, main keyword, themes, location, release type, exclusivity and maximum resolution.
• Niche report: one summary row per query, so you can compare dozens of keywords at once.
• Reliable: blocked requests are retried with fresh proxy sessions, and residential IPs take over automatically.

Use cases

• Microstock keyword research: find topics where buyers pick recent uploads (a high "new in the last 12 months" share means the niche is still open).
• Better keywording: copy the keyword structure of top-selling assets for your own uploads.
• Competitor analysis: track a contributor's portfolio size, best sellers and newest uploads.
• Trend monitoring: schedule a run with sort: newest and see what is being uploaded.
• Creative research: collect previews and titles for a mood board.

Input example

{
  "searchQueries": ["remote work", "christmas background", "ai technology"],
  "mediaType": "photography",
  "sort": "mostpopular",
  "maxItemsPerSource": 120,
  "includeKeywords": true,
  "nicheReport": true
}

Output example

An asset:

{
  "type": "asset",
  "query": "sunset",
  "position": 1,
  "totalResults": 7507024,
  "assetId": "1703754111",
  "url": "https://www.istockphoto.com/en/photo/sunset-dramatic-sky-clouds-gm1703754111-538988459",
  "title": "Sunset dramatic sky clouds",
  "caption": "Cloudscape and dramatic orange sky, sunset shot",
  "contributor": "valio84sl",
  "assetType": "image",
  "mediaType": "photography",
  "collection": "Main",
  "isSignature": false,
  "orientation": "Horizontal",
  "dateSubmitted": "2023-09-27T22:44:35Z",
  "thumbnailUrl": "https://media.istockphoto.com/id/1703754111/photo/sunset-dramatic-sky-clouds.jpg?s=170x170…",
  "keywords": ["Sunset", "Sky", "Cloud - Sky", "Dusk", "Cloudscape", "…"],
  "mainKeyword": "Sunset",
  "themes": ["Nature and landscape", "Spring", "Autumn"],
  "location": "Bulgaria",
  "releaseType": "no_release_required",
  "maxDimensions": { "width": 8192, "height": 5464 },
  "megapixels": "44.8 MP"
}

A niche report:

{
  "type": "niche-report",
  "query": "sunset",
  "sort": "mostpopular",
  "totalResults": 7507024,
  "sampledAssets": 120,
  "newLast12MonthsPercent": 1.4,
  "signaturePercent": 27.1,
  "uniqueContributors": 52,
  "topContributors": [{ "contributor": "valio84sl", "assets": 8 }],
  "topKeywords": [{ "keyword": "Sky", "assets": 67 }],
  "relatedSearches": ["sunset sky", "sunrise", "ocean sunset", "beach sunset"]
}

Rows have a type field (asset, niche-report or error), so you can filter them in the dataset or via the API.

Pricing

Event	Price
Asset	$0.0008
Keywords and details (only with Include keywords)	$0.0015 per asset
Niche report	$0.003 per query or portfolio

1,000 assets cost $0.80, or $2.30 with keywords. A failed request is not charged.

Tips

• iStock shows at most 6,000 assets (100 pages) per search. Split broad topics into narrower queries.
• sort: mostpopular with 100–200 assets per query gives a good niche report at low cost.
• For a contributor, combine the portfolio with sort: newest to see what they upload lately.

FAQ

Do I need an iStock account? No. The actor reads public pages only.

Does it return download counts? No. iStock does not publish them. Use the most popular rank (position) as the demand signal.

Is it legal? The actor collects publicly available data. You are responsible for how you use it. Previews are watermarked and copyrighted by their owners.