Where is the best place to find photo books? Photo books have become one of the most popular ways to preserve and showcase life's best moments. Unlike scrolling through endless photos on a phone, a photo book transforms your normally digital memories into something lasting and tactile. Photo books are popular for important life milestones like weddings, new babies, graduations, or even everyday family memories like vacations you never want to forget.
Weak
Chatbooks is a print company that's been around since 2014. Unlike some other sites in our review that offer prints of all kinds, Chatbooks is a site that specializes in photo books. The company promises a "family feel" because it was a family owned and operated company when it got started. Now, it's a much larger company that has over 150 employees, but promises to keep that "individualized" feel if you need help with your photo books at any time. As a bonus, Chatbooks provides free shipping on all standard shipping orders and eco-friendly packaging for all shipments.
Only 10 books, but they have custom options
Chatbooks has plenty of photo book options to choose from. You can find classic photo book designs, yearbooks, designer cover photo books, and layflat styles. There are also options for seasonal photo books or "monthly" books that let you keep track of precious moments as they happen throughout the year. Technically speaking, though, there are only 10 items to choose from. These are all customizable with multiple sizes on each listing and different cover colors to choose from. However, it does seem to still be a smaller overall selection than we've seen at other photo book stores (especially considering that Chatbooks specializes in photo books).
Disappointingly limited design tool
Chatbooks allows you to upload photos from your computer, your phone, or from Google Photos, so you can access all of your favorites from Instagram or just those that you've filed away for fun photo book purposes. However, design options are a little limited with this design software. Chatbooks doesn't let you move photos around or add additional text boxes to the pages. You can either have full photo pages (or collage pages) where you directly upload the photos to the page, or full pages of text. However, the photos are hard to select for specific "placeholder" spaces. The only helpful feature we could find was the global "rearrange" options, where you can change around the photo book pages. But there aren't any ways that we could find to edit text fonts or colors, so what you see is what you get.
Pricing from $15 to $80 per book
Chatbooks' pricing isn't too costly compared to other photo book stores in our review. The least costly photo book starts at $15 for the Classic style This option is for the 6x6 size with a softcover finish. The most costly photo book option at Chatbooks is the layflat style, which is $80 without any customizations. This price requires a minimum of 20 pages of photos, but the cost can go up if you add additional pages to your design during editing.
Lifetime refund guarantee
Chatbooks has a decent return policy, promising returns and exchanges for new and unopened products, slightly used products, or those that are defective because of Chatbooks' error. Chatbooks also offers a lifetime return policy. The company says that if you're not happy with your photo book for any reason (they specify that this includes prints, ships, feels, and even smells), Chatbooks promises to make it right. There are no return costs, and the policy applies to the U.S., UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
Increasing complaints are a red flag
Chatbooks has a concerning "F" rating from the Better Business Bureau. It reports that Chatbooks has failed to respond to complaints as the primary reason for the rating. On the other hand, Chatbooks' reputation on Trustpilot is much better than its BBB score. Currently, this company holds a 4.2-star average rating out of 5 with over 2,000 total ratings to back up the score. 70% of all ratings on Trustpilot have earned a full 5 stars, too. However, the recent reviews over the last few months show an increase in negative feedback. One customer said that the company is a "good idea," but the service has been "worsening" over time. We had to go back 7 months from the date of our review to find a single review with 5 stars. The rest were 1- or 3-star ratings. The complaints include long delivery times, issues with limitations in the design tool, and more.
A falling reputation isn't competitive
Chatbooks initially seemed like a solid choice with its lower-than-average costs for photo books and a lifetime refund policy, but the reviews show a completely different story. With an "F" rating from the BBB and increasingly upset feedback from customers, this may not be your first (or second, or third) choice for photo books. The limited inventory, too, is a bit of a downside. Regrettably, with its falling reputation, Chatbooks earns one of the lowest scores in our review.
Continued from above...
Photo books have become one of the most popular ways to preserve and showcase life's best moments. Unlike scrolling through endless photos on a phone, a photo book transforms your normally digital memories into something lasting and tactile. Photo books are popular for important life milestones like weddings, new babies, graduations, or even everyday family memories like vacations you never want to forget.
With modern stationery stores and other online retailers, it's easier than ever to get a photo book made exactly how you picture it (pun intended). Modern photo book retailers give you total control over layouts, covers, and page designs without needing any design experience. You can choose from hundreds of templates, mix text with your photos, and select background themes that match your story. You'll feel like the editor of a fancy magazine, except instead of fashion and perfume, you and your memories (or those of your loved ones) will be the star.
Ordering photo books online also makes the process more cost-effective than traditional printing methods. In the past, creating a custom photo album meant paying for professional printing or buying expensive materials to try to DIY a photo book. Now, online retailers offer flexible pricing and special deals that fit almost any budget. Many services allow you to order just one copy or take advantage of discounts for larger quantities, which is perfect if you want to share copies of your creation with family or friends (like a wedding gift bag idea, maybe). Plus, digital previews and online editing tools help prevent mistakes before printing, saving you time and money in the long run.
At the end of the day, photo books make thoughtful and lasting gifts for loved ones. Whether you're creating a family yearbook, a travel recap, or a celebration of a new baby, a photo book tells a story that words alone can't express. It's something people can hold, flip through, and treasure for years, long after a social media post has faded from memory. Giving someone a personalized photo book shows care and effort, making it the perfect way to share your memories, celebrate your connections, and keep those special moments alive.
So, if you're ready to start designing your next photo book but you're not sure where to begin, don't worry - we've put together some photo book factors that can help you narrow down the best site to design and print your favorite memories:
No matter what your reason is for printing and sharing your memories, you want your photo book to be something beautiful to return to for years and years of enjoyment. To help you get your memories preserved like a top-tier gallery, Top Consumer Reviews has researched and ranked the top photo book stores available today. This way, you can reminisce and delight in your family memories with loved ones and friends any time you want. Enjoy having your favorite photos right in the palms of your hands!
Compare Any 2 Products
Why Have Photo Books Become So Popular?
The simple answer to that question lies outside of the photo book itself: Digital photography and a computer.
The days of coming back from a European vacation with a hundred rolls of exposed film and no way of knowing if you got a good photograph of anything is over. After spending many dollars on developing the film, it was normal to fill several traditional photo albums with shots of dubious quality, a time consuming and expensive activity. Few people, aside from yourself, want to see a dozen shots of the Eiffel Tower from different angles. But they will be happy to look at one great photo of the icon on the Seine, especially if it was taken by you. If it is context with other spectacular photos of the City of Light, well, what's not to like?
Digital cameras allow you to click away until you get the image you want. If you know how to use the digital camera, then loading the photographs into your computer is probably easy for you, as well. The final step, creating a photo book, using the best of your best photographs, rather than oodles of ordinary ones, is a simple effort for anyone.
Therein lies the reason for photo books' rising popularity. The books, created from your skill, your eye for composition and your flair for storytelling, provide a way for you, and others, to truly enjoy the event you have experienced. And with the help of photo book companies, you can do it without too great an effort nor too great an expense.
Photo books are a perfect memento for a wealth of occasions, especially since you can determine exactly how many photo book copies you need for yourself and to share.
It goes without saying, the bride and groom will treasure their wedding photo album, but the parents of the couple, would no doubt enjoy a photo book of the event, perhaps with more candid, family shots included than would be in the formal arrangements. A photo book of Mom and Dad's Fiftieth Wedding Anniversary party, with Grandma and Grandad taking a turn on the dance floor, would probably be a best seller if it were available to the whole clan, and with a photo book, it can be.
Photo book services allow a digital photographer to easily manipulate, crop and resize images. They also provide easy access to a wide range of other variables, from backgrounds to photo placement and fonts for captions.
Photo book cover options include spiral bound, soft covers, hard backs, leather bound and dust jackets. Photo books can be created in several different sizes, from 4x6 inches to portfolio sized perfect for display on the coffee table. Choices include photo books which either have page curl and those with lay flat features.
The result is a totally customizable photo book of personal memories.
Top Products.
Top Reviews.
Top Consumer Reviews.
Reviews
Browse through thousands of reviews.
Social Media
Like us? Follow us! We'd love to have you join our community.
Newsletter
Stay up to date with the latest reviews. We'll keep you informed, and we'll never sell your information to anyone.
