Our reviewers evaluate products and services based on unbiased research. Top Consumer Reviews may earn money when you click on a link. Learn more about our process.
Do you love gift giving seasons but find getting all the presents ready for a big celebration is super stressful? Do you wish you had a way to take the hard work out of gift boxing and give the picture-perfect present every time? Whether you're packaging for Christmas, Birthdays, Weddings, or Anniversaries, or if you're a professional looking to spice up your delivery packaging, you want to be able to make it just right.
Finding the right Gift Boxes can be challenging when shopping the limited selection in your local brick-and-mortar stores. As you start shopping for gift boxes online, you'll see that some retailers specialize in large orders, for those people buying in bulk. Other stores focus on more creative boxes, for those people looking for something unique.
Wednesday, March 22nd
Known for their home organization options, The Container Store is a mass-market retailer that offers solutions for any kind of container you can think of - including gift boxes. Stacked against the competitors on this list, The Container Store strikes a nice balance among price, design, and function.
Affordable pricing
Their basic boxes are priced per unit, with the lowest coming in at $0.69 per box, which is competitive with retailers like Paper Mart. However, The Container Store doesn't require you to purchase the boxes in packs. You can buy a single unit at the wholesale price if one box is all you need. But if you need a huge order, you're still only paying wholesale for 50 units.
What can you contain at The Container Store?
The Container Store certainly lives up to its name when you look at all the different gift boxes they offer. From basic white boxes to colorful themed boxes with lids and built-in bows, to food containers, The Container Store has it all. At a glance, they offer boxes such as:
While most of these boxes can be purchased in individual units, some come in packages of 4 or 6, and these are specifically marked on the site as package options.
Colors, patterns, and more
While The Container Store offers the basic white boxes in almost all their designs, if you're looking for something more specialized, they also offer boxes with designs for birthdays, specific holidays, and wedding-appropriate designs. Many of these designed boxes are 4x4 cubes and run between $6-$10. So, you will pay a bit more of a premium for a pre-decorated box, but you can always opt for something more simplistic for the wholesale price.
Not just boxes
On top of a variety of box shapes and designs, they also offer a wide range of gift bags, including jumbo bags for the super special gifts like bicycles or other objects that are just too hard to wrap. And, if you need to finish it off, you can get your bows, ribbons, and tissue paper at The Container Store too.
Boxing up your purchase
The Container Store offers flat-rate shipping starting at $8 even for multiple items in an order. However, if you don't want to pay for shipping you can always find an in-person location to pick up your wares. You can pre-order online for in-store pickup: as a major retailer, locations for The Container Store appear all over the place. On top of that, they also have a great return policy. As long as you have your original receipt, The Container Store offers exchanges or refunds within 120 days of your purchase.
Best of both worlds
With wholesale prices and beautifully designed gift box options, they offer the best of both worlds: low-cost options and more personalized gifting all in one place. While it's not as specialized as some of the retailers on our list for business packaging, they offer wholesale pricing for large purchases, and provide packaging options for food, wine, and other business-focused items. Plus, they also provide single-unit purchase options for the average gifter along with a multitude of patterns, materials, and shapes to fit exactly what you need to wrap.
Top shelf
The Container Store has a little bit of everything. With this amazing balance of business and personal gifting, and a wide variety of options, The Container Store is at the top of our list for gift boxes.
Paper Mart has been in business since 1921. They promise to use over 100 years of industry experience to provide great products for the best price. With creative gift box options and a variety of materials, they stand out as one of the best-priced options for gift boxes in our review.
25 box minimum order
Paper Mart doesn't allow for single purchase boxes. Instead, they offer groups of gift boxes at a minimum of 25 units per order. But these sets are priced competitively and make it easy for you to gift all year round without buying more boxes for every holiday or event. They strike a balance between the individual gifter and the business owner.
Boxes galore
With one of the largest selection of box types online, Paper Mart offers a massive variety. If you can think of it, Paper Mart can put it in a box. They categorize their boxes by Regular and Specialty with 10 types of regular boxes and 17 types of specialty ones. A standard red 8x8 box with a lid is $1.52 per unit. However, they do need to be purchased in packages. For 25 units the total price is $38.
Buy them in sets
You can buy Paper Mart gift boxes in 25, 50, 100, and 200+ package sizes, but they don't offer a single purchase for their box options. While most of their prices are low, some of the more decorative specialty boxes can get up to $8.54 per unit. However, overall the per unit price remains under $1 for most options.
Custom designs = higher minimums
On top of their prefab options, Paper Mart also offers custom designs in Jewelry, Apparel, Gable, and Fold-lid gift boxes. However, all of these excel gabled require a 300 unit minimum purchase. The gabled boxes only required a 100 unit minimum, but you're looking at $100-$300 per custom order no matter which style you choose.
Unique box options
If you need extras they have everything you need, from tissue paper, bags, labels, and more. Some of their unique box options include:
Intuitive shopping
For many of Paper Mart's boxes with lids, you have to buy units from separate listings. However, if you select a box and add it to your cart, the site will take you directly to the cart and suggest the appropriate lid for the box size you chose. The same process will work in reverse. If you choose a lid first, the site will suggest an appropriately-sized (and colored) box to go with it. You don't have to take those options if you want to mix and match, but it makes it easy to ensure all your purchases are complete with a box and lid where those two items are necessary to complete the gift box.
Shipping can be spendy
Paper Mart works with FedEx shipping, and offers a range of options for your shipping needs. The cheapest of these is around $16.90 inside the US, though it will depend on how many items you're purchasing. If you happen to live near the Paper Mart store in California, however, you can choose to pick up your order in person and waive the shipping fee altogether.
Lowest price guaranteed
One of the highlights of Paper Mart is their promise to offer the lowest prices per unit anywhere. If you find an identical product with a lower price elsewhere you can submit the information to Paper Mart before you make your purchase or within 10 days of a recent purchase. Their price match process has a few requirements and doesn't include competitors' sale prices, but it's a great way to ensure you're getting the best deal for your gift boxes.
Great value, great options, all in one package
If you're looking for a great place to find unique, fun, and exciting gift boxes, Paper Mart is a great place to start. Their low prices per unit and price matching offer you confidence that you're getting a great deal on quality products. With all of their unique box shapes and familiar ones too, you can definitely find a way to gift that feels special. While you can't buy single items, they offer small package options as low as 25 units, which keep you from having to buy new gift boxes every gifting season.
Box & Wrap is a unique wholesale packaging service. Open since 2004, their mission is to provide smaller-scale customers with the same type of unique packaging that you usually see from large corporations.
Wide variety of boxes
Box & Wrap has a wide variety of options starting at $1 for one small box or bag all the way up to $179 for one wine box. Their basic box with a lid comes in a variety of sizes, with most starting at $4 for a complete 8x8 box, and between $50 and $300 for a pack of 50 (depending on size). They also offer other packaging necessities like bags, tissue, and labels. As a special addition, Box & Wrap offers an option for custom packaging, promising small minimums with unique colors and designs.
Folds, lids, and tucks, they have it all
If you were worried that Box & Wrap wouldn't have a box shape suitable for your gift, don't be. They have every shape and size available. With boxes for pastries, candies, wine bottles, and more, they make sure that there's a shape that fits everyone. Some of the options include:
Tips and tricks
There's a lot going on at Box & Wrap, but don't stress. If you don't know where to start they have a tab just for tips and tricks. You can find instructions for measurements, ideas for designs, and video instructions for assembly. They don't want to leave you on your own, and these are free of charge. Their logo and custom branding section is similar, offering your guided pages so that you feel confident designing a box that's perfect for your loved one or event. Just keep in mind some of the printing options start at $3 per print, so you'll be paying a little extra for that custom design.
Packaging and branding solutions
One of the highlights of Box & Wrap is their wholesale option, where you can purchase large packages of boxes for wholesale prices. This is a great opportunity for a business owner who needs boxes for their products either to mail or to elevate the purchase experience. They provide packaging solutions for a wide range of businesses including:
With options for "luxury" style boxes (some ranging up to $179 per unit), there is a design at Box & Wrap for any type of business.
Shipping costs will vary
One of the important things to remember is shipping. The shipping price will change depending on which boxes you buy, the size, and the number of items. Box & Wrap offers standard ground shipping starting at $2 per package and 3-day expedited shipping starting at $40.85. So, just make sure you order with plenty of time to spare if you don't want to pay a premium for shipping. However, if you order more than $150 worth of gift boxes and other items, you will qualify for their $20 flat rate shipping, so if you need to buy a bunch of boxes in one go, that's the best shipping deal you're going to get with Box & Wrap.
Good all around and great for a business
The options at Box & Wrap are great if you're looking for boxes for one recipient, a package deal to kickstart a gift-giving season or even to upgrade your business. They have a great variety of box types, price points, and goodies like packing paper and labels. With the option for custom boxes you get even more flexibility: you can choose something pre-made or something unique to the person you want to give a gift to. It also opens up possibilities for custom packaging if you're a business owner. With wholesale and single purchase options, Box & Wrap stands out in our reviews.
First opened in 1983 in Chicago, IL, Paper Source is a store for all things paper: wrapping paper, bags, and, of course, gift boxes. Their products offer a unique presentation, with decorative gift boxes that are available in a variety of sizes and patterns. You can wrap them or add a bow and leave them as is.
Six gift box styles
Paper Source specializes in creating fun and beautiful patterns on well-loved standard box shapes. They offer six styles of gift boxes for a variety of purposes:
Styling and design
While at first glance some of their offerings might feel basic, the fan-favorite box with a lid design is Paper Source's showstopper. Instead of plain white or even simple colors, Paper Source offers designs for specific holidays, and patterns that elevate the simple gift box into something exciting all on its own. While Paper Source does sell wrapping paper, the goal with their box designs is to keep you from needing wrapping paper at all - like tartan designs, pine trees, and watercolor-style artwork already printed onto the boxes.
Sometimes simple is better
If you want something simple, they offer gold and white options as well. Their standard boxes with lids are hard-sided and stand up on their own. A basic white box with a lid is $7.50 per box, but as a reusable, sturdy item, the quality makes up for the higher price.
No wholesale or bulk pricing
If you're looking to buy a lot of boxes in one go, however, Paper Source doesn't offer package deals, so you will have to pay for as many individual units as you'd like. With their cheapest gift box running $3.50 per unit and their most expensive size running $17.50 per unit, it's important to consider how many boxes you'll need for your gift giving.
Getting the gift boxes to you
While shipping for single items starts at $7 per order, which isn't too bad, Paper Source is a large enough company to have in-person stores across the US. If you happen to live close to a Paper Source location, you can pick up your wares in person and skip the shipping fees altogether. The company is based in Chicago, IL, so there's several locations in that area, but there are also 150+ locations across the US including in Florida, California, Georgia, Utah, and New York. So, before you pay for shipping, double check to see if you can pick up your boxes in person.
Extras
The prices are a little higher per unit with Paper Source, but they have everything you might need in one place. On top of offering tags, bows, ribbons, bags, and wrapping paper so that everything you gift can be color or thematically coordinated, they also offer stationery gift items and other items to put inside your boxes. So, on top of gift wrapping materials, Paper Source can help you select the perfect item to go inside it.
Great individual options, but not ideal for large purchases
If you're looking to give a few beautifully presented gifts for a holiday, birthday, or wedding shower, Paper Source is an amazing place to stop. Their box patterns are unique and artistic and allow you to really get into decorating your gifts for that special someone. However, if you're looking for a large quantity of gift boxes for a business or to hand out packaged party favors, Paper Source isn't the best place to shop. Their per-unit pricing doesn't change if you buy multiple boxes, so it can get expensive quickly if you need more than a few boxes at a time.
A great stop for custom boxes, Emenac Packaging is an exciting business-focused gift box option. The company offers customized printing and packaging solutions for all your business and individual needs.
In-house designers
They have in-house designers who provide artwork options for all of their box types, and you aren't charged for the design prep. However, you can't see their prices until you choose the box you want, upload photos of your completed design, and submit your contact information. However, this means that Emenac is great for designers and businesses.
Variations on boxes
Emenac offers a wide variety of options, covering their bases with custom boxes for gifts, food, cosmetics , retail, and clothing. They offer a variety of materials and cuts including:
Catchy customizations
The only box they don't offer is the basic box with a separate lid. However, Emenac Packaging is a specialist in producing catchy customizations which include options to emboss, perforate, laminate, gloss, matte and several other options. Along with their digital & offset printing services for custom designs, you can choose to highlight your design with pop-up logos or get 3D effects.
Special deals
On top of their promise for premium print quality and fast turnaround, Emenac also offers free shipping and free proofing online, so you can make sure you like the final design before you purchase. They offer wholesale price plans starting from 2,000 boxes and special discounts for graphic designers & resellers. They also offer favor and gift boxes with special discounts depending on your event needs. While Emenac doesn't provide prices on their website for any of their products, the reviews note the prices are fair for the value, and most customers give Emenac five stars.
Great for personalized boxes
This option is great if you really need something personalized. Emenac specializes in business-focused boxes that allow you to design and explore product packaging until you get exactly what you need. With free shipping along with single purchase options, it stands out in the gift box market.
Just wish it was easier
But if you're looking for something easy to pop in a cart and buy right away, this might not be for you. The only way to buy through Emenac is to request a quote, and there are no prices on the site itself. All of that keeps Emenac Packaging in our "just above average" category among retailers of gift boxes.
Mid-Atlantic Packaging is a great stop if you need lots of gift boxes all in one go. Founded in 1982 in Delaware, they have over 40 years of experience providing packaging to companies and customers
Competitive rates
Mid-Atlantic Packaging offers competitive rates for their packages. While most of their gift boxes require you to buy at least 25 units, their basic 8x8 box requires 100 units minimum. However, their prices are extremely competitive at $117 for 100 units, making their boxes $1.18 each.
Back to basics
If you're looking for flashy designs or holiday themes. Mid-Atlantic Packaging isn't the place. They specialize in the basics, and they stick to it. This retailer offers a variety of box shapes including:
A few customizations
Some of these options allow for gloss or matte finishes and different color options. Jewelry, gift, gable, and pouch are some of the most colorful options with metallics available as well as standard colors. While they do have a few custom options, you can find better customization at some of their competitors in our review.
Putting together an order
Since their purchases come mostly in packages with a few standout options available for single purchase, Mid-Atlantic Packaging has a policy for a $50 minimum purchase. If you don't reach the minimum, you will be charged a $10 processing fee. On top of this you will be charged standard ground shipping for your purchase. However, if you don't like your product, you can return it within 30 days, unless you purchased a custom item.
Good if you're looking for "good enough"
While this isn't the most exciting option on our list, if you just want to stock up on boxes for your gift-giving needs, Mid-Atlantic Packaging is a great low-price option. While they don't have much in terms of design, they do have a long history of happy customers. Overall, we feel Mid-Atlantic is a great middle of the road option if you need lots of boxes.
Uline is a family-owned business offering shipping, industrial, and packaging materials to businesses throughout North America. If your business needs packaging, they offer competitive deals on bulk-purchase packages.
Four basic box types
With four categories of boxes and clear previews of what you can get through their service, everything is available at a glance. Uline offers:
29 different gift box styles
Within these categories there are 29 different styles to choose from. With a basic 8x8 box/lid combo costing $2.50 per unit, Uline has competitive prices with other business-focused box services like several other retailers in our evaluation. However, Uline does require a minimum purchase of 50 units in a package and does not offer single purchase options. However, they do offer better prices the more packages you purchase.
Good deals for bulk buying
While the average gifter won't find much help here with Uline requiring a 50 unit minimum on most orders, anyone who needs to order in bulk will be rewarded. For example, their 8x8 box with a lid starts at $125 for a single case. However, if you buy 5 cases the price per case goes down to $122. Although you'll have to buy 250 units to get the better deal, it will bring the per unit price down to $2.44 per box. This may be helpful especially with companies that are looking to buy tons of boxes for their products.
Black and white basics
While they have decent pricing, there isn't anything special about the color options at Uline. Their basic box with a lid only comes in black and white. Even their Printed Mailers, which offer a printed pattern on a mail-approved box, only offer two patterns: green lattice and blue lattice. So, if you're looking for a service that offers exciting colors and designs, Uline isn't for you.
Business support
With many of their offerings built to sit on shelves (or hang from them), it's clear that Uline specializes in selling to clients who run a business that requires specialized packaging. However, if you're looking to supply boxes for a wedding or a party with a lot of guests, there are a lot of fun options for food-safe boxes and treat displays with Uline for competitive wholesale costs.
Competitive prices, but low creativity
Since Uline focuses on businesses rather than individual gifters, it makes sense that they don't have a lot of artistic options on their site. They offer competitive pricing, good previews for items, and a family owned vibe that feels trustworthy. While they don't stand out as anything special for gifting, if you need bulk packages, Uline offers reliable prices, and good quality items.
The Packlane approach to gift boxes is customizable from the inside out. They offer the chance to create an experience with your mail or display boxes with printed interior and exterior designs. Great for a business owner looking to stand out in their industry, they provide four key options to upgrade your packaging and make every part of your business feel like you.
A few shapes and sizes
Packlane carries four main styles of boxes, three of which are intended to be the shipping box for your item. Their focus is on business, so if you're looking to send professional-looking packages or to package a product, they offer:
Stylish custom designs
All of the Packland gift boxes offer stylish custom designs. However the Econflex is offered only in kraft brown instead of the colorful options of the other boxes. Each box type comes in a variety of sizes. For a standard 8x8 box in white you'll pay $38 for a single unit or $2.98 per unit if you order 500.
Custom pricing
Packlane's pricing is based on high-volume purchases. The more boxes you buy, the cheaper they will be per unit. However, buying a single box will set you back a decent amount, so this isn't an ideal site for one-time gift boxes. They adjust their pricing across five things: dimensions, box style, ink coverage on the box, box material, and quantity (higher quantities = bulk savings). But, as you add custom elements to your design on the site you can see your price change right away - no need to wait for a quote.
Purchase, proofs, and process
So, how does Packlane work? Once you've uploaded your design, decided on a box and completed your purchase, Packlane's team will review your design and send a 2D digital proof within 24 hours. You can work directly with their team to make changes and finalize your design before putting it into print.
Packlane is for professionals
While their designs are unique and brandable, Packlane's options are fairly limited if you're interested in gifting. Packlane is almost exclusively for businesses who want to ship products to customers. If you're looking to spice up your business, this is a great place to get a ballpark on what packaging will cost, but if you're trying to put together gifts for an event or family member, Packlane isn't the shop for you.
Bags & Bows is a smaller, package-focused option for gift boxes. They offer a variety of box types, including folding lid, separate lid, food-safe boxes, wine boxes, and more. Plus, they are committed to customer service.
No singles
Bags & Bows only sell their boxes in packages, no singles. So, if you're looking to box up a gift or two, you might need to be prepared to buy for the next few holidays with Bags & Bows. For example, their basic white box with a lid is offered in a $60 package. However, you do get 25 lids and 25 boxes for this price, making each item $2.40 per box.
One stop for all the extras
On top of boxes, Bags & Bows also offers bags, tissue paper, gift wrap, baskets and fun extras like custom ribbons or gift-card holders. You can get everything all in one place here. With a variety of options in each category, there are plenty of themes and materials to explore to make sure your gift box is complete and fits the theme of your event or business.
Old school web shopping
Bags & Bows has been one of the top sellers of wholesale retail-packaging supplies since 1994. Unfortunately from their website, you can feel that they've been around for a while. It's hard to navigate and find what you're looking for, requiring pages and pages of scrolling to find boxes and their separately sold lids.
Great value
However, they do know how to sell large-scale packages of gift boxes. They make sure that the value you're paying for the package reflects how many individual items are in a box. For example, their gable boxes, finished with a varnish to make it more luxurious, are $169 per 100-box package - making the individual items each $1.69. This is a great deal if you have a steady flow of customers that need packaging or for a large-scale wedding favor option.
Shipping and fees get costly
Like some of the others on our list, Bags & Bows does charge for shipping. For a single pack of 25 boxes (and lids), the standard ground shipping within the US is $24.44, which takes a $60 order almost to $90. They also charge a mandatory $7 fee for making a purchase. While the boxes themselves might be an excellent price, Bags & Bows really gets you on the shipping.
Added fees were disappointing
Despite having fewer options and a slightly outdated UI, Bags & Bows seems like a good contender. If you're okay with only buying packages of boxes instead of single products, it's a great way to get value for your money. But then you see the shipping cost. With high shipping and a $7 order fee, the price you see in your cart is nowhere near what it will cost when you finally put your credit card in. With better options out there, Bags & Bows just doesn't stack up against other retailers of gift boxes.
US Box Corp is an online-only retailer for large-scale box purchases. Offering 10 different box styles, including gift boxes, this site offers a fairly basic approach and focuses almost entirely on a bulk-buying market.
Packages of 50
There are 8 sub-categories of gift boxes, each with their own pricing, and each item is offered in packages of 50 units. Their standard box with a lid in white is $152.50 for the boxes and lids in the package price. This makes the boxes $3.05 per unit, and you can't purchase individual units from US Box Corp. Although you can request a sample item, they're shipped with the standard flat-rate shipping price, so your $3 sample will cost $10.68 by the time you check out.
Shipping gets confusing
While some items qualify for $20 flat-rate shipping, all other items will have their shipping calculated at the time of purchase. It's not an intuitive way to see exactly what you're paying, especially if you're buying more than one item. You won't know what the shipping cost is until you get to the end of checkout, and shipping can get expensive without that flat-rate deal. You don't want to have to return to US Box Corp either. They charge a 25% restock fee and leave you to eat the shipping costs.
Custom colors
One of the features of US Box Corp is their custom color imprint options. You can buy 1 color or 2 on many of their gift box options. Custom color imprints require a purchase of $150 for a one-color imprint (including 1,000 units) or $300 for a two-color imprint (including 1,000 units). You cannot combine sizes in the unit minimums, so if you want more than one box size with a custom design, you will need to spend at least $300 or $600 depending on how many colors you want in the design.
Lackluster UI
Compared to other sites on our list, US Box Corp doesn't bring anything special with its website design. If you buy a box that has more than one piece, you have to find each piece separately on the site, and once you've added one item to your cart, you have to go back and find its other half. It's very confusing to navigate: although you can see all of the box type options at a glance, you can't preview photos until you narrow down your search sufficiently. Compared to the ease of finding two-part boxes on several rivals' sites, the US Box Corp online store feels out of date and hard to use.
Better choices available
An ok option for large scale packages of gift boxes, US Box Corp does what it needs to do, but nothing more. With minimal custom options, and fairly basic box designs, it doesn't stand out against competitors. If you need to bulk purchase, you're likely to get better prices and a smoother customer experience with one of US Box Corp's higher-ranked rivals. Save yourself some time and start your gift box buying somewhere else instead.
Gift wrapping is a tradition that goes back thousands of years. The first gifts were decorated in fabric before greeting cards, tissue paper, and printed gift paper became popular. Now, it's an industry all its own. Today, Americans spend more than $3 billion on gift wrap each year. But wrapping paper is unwieldy, hard to use, and hard to recycle. Many gifters are switching over to gift boxes, which you can use again and again.
With so many different gifts, gifters, and recipients, it can be hard to know how to pick out gift wrapping or boxes. Fortunately, online gift box services will put it all together for you wholesale. However, it can be hard to choose which service to go with. The boxes all look so nice, and everyone has a different style. Whether you're looking for something for your loved ones or a business-focused packaging option, we've got all the best gift box services here for you to consider.
So, how do you choose the best gift boxes for your needs? If you're not sure where to start, here are some factors that can help you pick the best boxes for you:
To help you take the stress out of beautiful gift-giving, Top Consumer Reviews has evaluated and ranked today's most popular online gift box services. We hope these will make it easy to choose the best gift boxes for your needs, so you can feel confident you've got the perfect present every time.
Select any 2 Gift Boxes to compare them head to head