The 5 best custom photo book services to help you preserve your memories

When you buy through our links, Insider may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more. From Shutterfly and Mixbook to Walgreens, here are the best photo book services to make modern, sleek albums.

Mixbook; PrintiqueWe’ve grown accustomed to having nearly every photo we’ve ever taken at our fingertips and while smartphone and cloud storage is great, there’s something wonderful and cozy about reliving memories over a beautiful photo album.  But nostalgia isn’t the only benefit of photo books— you can compile photos taken from multiple sources, tell a story, or create a memorable gift. Custom photo books let us layout our favorite pictures to our exact liking.

With themed styles, countless cover choices, and customizable designs, we can capture our memories in a beautiful, bound book.  We’ve chosen five of our favorite custom photo book services you can use to make your own album. They offer a range of products with different levels of customization and quality so you can choose the right service for you whether your priority is printing speed, user-friendliness, quality, design options, or price.

Here are the 5 best custom photo book services:Best value: Shutterfly, from $14. 99Shutterfly is a major photo service platform where you can get prints, design holiday cards, create home decor, and make photo books. It offers dozens of pre-made themed styles as well as the option to completely customize your book.

 Most user-friendly: Mixbook, from $19. 99You can start with one of Mixbook’s trendy themes or a blank book, choose a landscape, square, or portrait layout, and start adding pictures to its many layout options.  Best for professionals: Blurb, from $14.

99Blurb is designed for amateur and professional photographers, so it works with Adobe InDesign, Lightroom, and Photoshop for the highest quality prints and highest design control.  Fastest turnaround: Walgreens, from $9. 99Walgreens offers a basic, beginner-friendly, and quick custom photo book service.

The editor is simple and very easy to use with an overall “fun” feel. Highest quality: Printique, from $9. 99Printique is a great high-quality photo book option for non-professionals, offering leather and fabric covers and only using professional photo and inkjet paper to ensure your photos are printed at their best.

Best value: ShutterflyShutterflyShutterfly is a major photo service platform where you can get prints, design holiday cards, create home decor, and make photo books. It offers dozens of pre-made themed styles as well as the option to completely customize your book.  Pros: Mainstream, straight-forward photo service that offers what you’d expect from a custom photo book makerCons: The customization tools can be finicky and aren’t the smoothest on the marketOnce you choose a size, type of cover, and page type, Shutterfly offers you to “Make it Fast” or “Make it Manually”— either using its shortcuts or a fully customizable layout.

 Shutterfly also offers a “Make My Book” free designer service that’s still customizable but removes most of the leg work. You can choose your style and photos, include any special requests, and edit or accept the final product that’s guaranteed in three business days or less.  Browse Shutterfly’s photo books here.

Most user-friendly: MixbookMixbookMixbook has been rated as many people’s favorite custom photo book service because its design system is extremely intuitive and user-friendly.  Pros: Intuitive and user-friendly design toolsCons: Users have reported some quality issues that can be hard to resolve with the customer service teamYou can start with one of their trendy themes or a blank book, choose a landscape, square, or portrait layout, and start adding pictures to its many layout options.  Mixbook has a huge collection of stickers, designs, and fonts but it also lets you upload your own stickers or backgrounds to make it even more personal.

Plus, you can invite others to collaborate on your photo book so they can upload and add their own photos or pages. Browse Mixbook’s photo books here. Best for professionals: BlurbBlurbBlurb is designed for amateur and professional photographers, so it works with Adobe InDesign, Lightroom, and Photoshop for the highest quality prints and highest design control.

 Pros: Great for high-control design and a high-quality final productCons: Not very beginner-friendlyIt also offers its own downloadable design tool which allows for full creative control but isn’t very beginner-friendly if you’re looking for a “drag and drop” template. Blurb is great for professional-looking photo books or high-quality gifts. And if you’re looking to self-publish your photography: it’ll even help you list your book on Amazon and bulk order your product.

Browse Blurb’s photo books here. Fastest turnaround: WalgreensWalgreensWalgreens offers a basic, beginner-friendly, and quick custom photo book service. The editor is simple and very easy to use with an overall “fun” feel.

Pros: Same-day printing for many products, coupons are often availableCons: Lower or inconsistent qualityWalgreen’s photo books are almost fully customizable and the tools in its editor are neatly organized, which is great for not overwhelming the designer but can arguably make it a little hard to find exactly what you’re looking for.  Though the same-day pick-up is extremely convenient, it does mean quality can be lacking (though it may not be obvious). For example, the fast “flat lay” books aren’t bound as a true flatlay but are constructed to give a flat appearance.

The photos themselves may also print imperfectly and the quality of your book can heavily depend on your Walgreens location and the experience of the photo team. Browse Walgreens’ photo books here. Highest quality: PrintiquePrintiquePrintique is a great high-quality photo book option for non-professionals, offering leather and fabric covers and only using professional photo and inkjet paper to ensure your photos are printed at their best.

Pros: Premium materials and printingCons: Not as customizable with stickers or designs You can choose linen, metallic, or pebble-textured pages in addition to its glossy, matte, and best-selling Luster options. The only things less customizable are the photo layouts themselves: Printique requires the photographs to take center stage rather than stickers, words, or themed designs.  Though all of Printique’s options are already high quality, you can upgrade to a Premium album which is built, bound, and printed a little differently so it has a luxurious feel through every page.

Premium albums are customized similarly but have different design options available such as a metal album cover and are created with longevity in mind. Browse all of Printique’s photo books here. Read the original article on Insider.