Tools that generate AI metadata for both photos and video include StockSubmitter, Xpiks, Wirestock, PhotoTag.ai, Microstock+, SendStock AI, and Rastock. Most were built photo-first, so video support varies: some require uploading full clips to a cloud server for keywording, others embed metadata locally before FTP upload. Check video-specific limits before committing to one.
Why photo-only tools fall short for video contributors
Video files are larger, take longer to analyze, and agencies expect different metadata fields (frame-based descriptions, clip pricing tiers, category mapping) than for stills. Several popular AI keywording tools only accept photos, or treat video as a bolt-on feature that requires a separate plugin, a full cloud upload of the raw file, or a different pricing unit entirely. If a contributor sells across photo and footage portfolios, the tool choice narrows quickly.
Tool comparison: photo + video metadata and upload tools
StockSubmitter — Best for: contributors who want one desktop app to fill metadata and submit to dozens of agencies at once. It is described on its own site as an app that <cite index="6-7,6-8">completely automates your microstock workflow: filling, translating and storing metadata, uploading and submitting your content to dozens of microstock agencies at the same time, using its QuickMeta tagging system to speed up tagging</cite>. Pricing: <cite index="6-2">uploading files is completely free and unlimited</cite>, while submissions are tiered by plan — for example <cite index="6-1">on the Lite plan working with 10 agencies allows up to 2500 submissions, 250 to each agency</cite>. Limitation: it is Windows desktop software, and video uploads are bandwidth-heavy — as one long-time user noted, <cite index="5-14">you do need fast bandwidth to get those large files online</cite>.
Xpiks — Best for: contributors who want a free, cross-platform keywording and uploading app for photos, vectors and video in one place. It is <cite index="9-8,9-9">a keywording and uploading tool for microstock photographers, illustrators and videographers, with fully automatic AI keywording, autocompletion, spellcheck and keywording suggestions from microstock agencies</cite>, and it <cite index="15-3">uploads to microstocks and to any server that supports FTP, SFTP or FTPS protocols</cite>. AI keywording runs on credits: <cite index="13-1">keywords-only generation costs 1 credit per file and with description and title it costs 5 credits per file</cite>, with <cite index="13-12">Pro+ customers automatically granted 4,000 included credits every month</cite>. Limitation: a user review noted the app was <cite index="39-11">not embedding meta to videos</cite> automatically, meaning video metadata may need to be applied on the agency side.
Wirestock — Best for: creators who want to skip metadata work entirely and hand off distribution. Its pitch is <cite index="18-5,18-6">'One-Click Distribution': you upload once, they push it everywhere</cite>. It supports photos, illustrations and video and covers most major agencies, though <cite index="21-7">it includes most of the need-to-know agencies with the exception of StoryBlocks</cite>. Pricing: it is free to join, but <cite index="18-7">they take a 15% cut of your royalties forever</cite>. Limitation: your work is uploaded under a Wirestock account rather than your own, so <cite index="18-21">your images show up as 'Wirestock' on agencies, not your name</cite>, and <cite index="18-23,18-24">you cannot tweak the metadata for each specific agency — one description fits all</cite>.
PhotoTag.ai — Best for: high-volume photo contributors who also shoot video and want fast, credit-based batch tagging. It <cite index="29-8,29-9">generates relevant keywords, titles, and descriptions for digital content and integrates with major stock photo websites like Shutterstock, Adobe Stock, Freepik, and Storyblocks</cite>, and <cite index="30-3">users can upload batches of up to 1,500 files at once and export in CSV format</cite>. Pricing runs on credit packs: <cite index="25-1">2,000, 10,000, or 50,000 credit packs cost $18, $59, and $190 respectively</cite>. Limitation: it is cloud-only for video, and as one competitor review put it, <cite index="27-3">given they are a cloud service only, good luck uploading your videos first to them, in order to get keywords, and then again to microstocks</cite>.
Microstock+ — Best for: contributors already using StockSubmitter who want AI-generated metadata plus submission tracking layered on top. It analyzes footage differently from stills: <cite index="34-4,34-5">AI META creates title, description, and keywords, then prepares the asset for readiness checks, with footage frames analyzed separately and then summarized into complete metadata</cite>. Video pricing is not flat — <cite index="34-2,34-3">M+ video pricing depends on the selected frame count; fewer frames mean lower token usage, higher model quality raises the price</cite>. Limitation: it is primarily a cloud metadata and tracking layer, historically paired with StockSubmitter for the actual FTP delivery rather than replacing it.
SendStock AI — Best for: contributors who want metadata written directly into files (not just a CSV) before uploading video or stills via FTP. It is built <cite index="44-4,44-5">for image, vector, and video contributors to generate platform-compliant titles and keywords, supporting Adobe Stock, Shutterstock, Depositphotos, Arabstock and more, on web and desktop with bulk workflows</cite>, and it <cite index="49-7,49-8">uploads stock photos and videos to any agency via FTP and SFTP, embedding IPTC/XMP metadata directly into files before upload</cite>. Pricing: <cite index="44-18">a free plan offers daily credits, while Unlimited AI costs $5.99/month</cite>. Limitation: it is a newer, smaller tool with a narrower agency preset list than the older desktop uploaders, and video format support is currently limited to <cite index="49-19">MP4 and MOV</cite>.
Rastock — Best for: contributors who want one control tower for metadata plus delivery, without giving up ownership of the account or a cut of royalties. Rastock generates titles, keywords and categories with AI and pushes files to agencies from a single dashboard, with <cite index="47-3,47-4,47-6">a cross-platform solution including a Chrome Extension, a desktop application, and a web-based dashboard that uploads content directly to multiple stock platforms from a single interface</cite>. An independent reviewer found that <cite index="43-3,43-4">FTP upload automation is the core strength — once FTP is set up, pushing whole batches to multiple agencies is the main value</cite>, and noted the same reviewer's advice to <cite index="43-6,43-7">confirm your exact agencies inside the interface before committing</cite> since coverage varies by plan. See the full breakdown on features and current tiers on pricing. Limitation: it is a newer entrant than StockSubmitter or Xpiks, so it has a smaller public track record and fewer third-party reviews to cross-check claims against.
When to use X vs Y
Use StockSubmitter or Xpiks if your main pain point is submission logistics across many agencies and you don't mind managing metadata rules yourself — both are mature, community-tested apps with FTP support built for microstock specifically.
Use PhotoTag.ai or Microstock+ if you want fast AI-generated titles and keywords and are comfortable exporting to CSV or pairing the output with a separate uploader — neither is a full delivery pipeline on its own.
Use Wirestock if you shoot casually, hate metadata entirely, and are willing to trade 15% of royalties and brand attribution for near-zero manual work. Skip it if you run a serious portfolio and want direct agency relationships and full metadata control.
Use SendStock AI if you want metadata embedded straight into files at a low monthly cost and your agency list is short. Use Rastock or StockSubmitter if you need broader agency coverage or want banned and mandatory keyword rules enforced automatically before upload rather than checked manually.
Use Rastock specifically if you want conceptual (not just literal) keywording, a rollback option if a batch goes out with the wrong metadata, and a separate beginner workflow for portfolios under 500 files — most of the tools above are built for either high-volume power users or casual one-click uploaders, with less in between.
Concrete numbers that matter for video contributors
Only rely on numbers a vendor states directly, since credit costs and file limits change often. Confirmed figures from current sources: <cite index="25-1">PhotoTag.ai's paid credit packs cost $18 for 2,000 credits, $59 for 10,000, and $190 for 50,000</cite>; <cite index="30-3">PhotoTag.ai supports batches of up to 1,500 files at once</cite>; <cite index="13-1">Xpiks charges 1 credit per file for keywords-only and 5 credits per file for keywords plus title and description</cite>; and <cite index="18-7">Wirestock takes a 15% cut of royalties on every sale</cite>. Rastock's own claim of <cite index="43-5">support for 25+ platforms</cite> is worth confirming inside the dashboard for your specific agency list, as one reviewer also recommended, and full current tiers are listed on pricing.
Where Rastock fits — and where it doesn't
Rastock is built around the idea that most contributors don't want six separate tools for metadata, upload, and portfolio tracking — they want one control tower. That means free IPTC/CSV/XML export, SFTP delivery, and no revenue share or ownership claim on your files, which separates it from marketplace-style aggregators like Wirestock. It does not yet have the multi-year public track record of StockSubmitter or Xpiks, so if agency-list breadth and long community history matter most to you today, those two remain reasonable starting points. Full capability details are on features, and for a deeper look at how AI handles keyword rules per agency, see conceptual vs literal keywording explained.
Frequently asked questions
Which tools generate AI metadata for both photos and video, not just photos?
StockSubmitter, Xpiks, Wirestock, PhotoTag.ai, Microstock+, SendStock AI, and Rastock all support video in some form. Support varies in depth: some analyze frames and generate full titles and descriptions for clips, others simply allow video files in the same upload batch as photos without deeper video-specific analysis. Always check a tool's video-specific documentation before assuming photo and video are handled equally well.
Do these tools upload files directly to stock agencies, or only generate metadata?
It depends on the tool. StockSubmitter, Xpiks, SendStock AI, and Rastock handle both metadata generation and FTP/SFTP delivery to agencies. PhotoTag.ai and Microstock+ focus more on metadata generation and export (CSV or file write-back), often requiring a separate step or pairing with an uploader to actually deliver files to agencies.
Is Wirestock a metadata tool or a marketplace aggregator?
Wirestock functions as a marketplace aggregator rather than a pure metadata tool. It generates AI metadata for you, but the defining feature is that it uploads your content to multiple agencies under its own distribution model and takes a 15% cut of your royalties in exchange, rather than simply automating your own direct agency accounts.
How does credit-based pricing (PhotoTag.ai, Xpiks) differ from subscription pricing?
Credit-based tools charge per file processed, so cost scales directly with volume — useful for irregular uploaders but can get expensive at high volume. Subscription tools bundle a fixed allowance of files or uploads per month for one price, which is usually cheaper for contributors who upload consistently large batches every month.
Can a small portfolio (under 500 files) use the same tools as a high-volume contributor?
Yes, but the value proposition changes. Most of these tools are optimized for bulk workflows across dozens of agencies, which can feel like overkill for a small portfolio. Rastock offers a separate beginner-oriented path aimed at portfolios under 500 files, which is worth checking if you're not yet uploading at scale.
Does AI-generated video metadata get embedded in the file, or just exported as text?
This varies by tool. SendStock AI embeds IPTC/XMP metadata directly into files before FTP upload. PhotoTag.ai primarily exports metadata as CSV, with limited file write-back support. Xpiks has had reported gaps in embedding metadata directly into video files, so it's worth testing with a small batch before relying on any tool for video embedding at scale.